where to get a rough sapphire or ruby

[turquoisechamaleon]

hi everyone, im new here, and i would like to know if anyone knows where i could get a fairly cheap rough sapphire or ruby? i dont want to get it cut, and it doesnt have to be top quality, but (and i realise this sounds superficial and not professional at all) just pretty. if anyone can give me an idea where i could fine one...

 

[cm366]

Hi turquoisechamaleon, welcome to PS! It'll be easier to help if you can give us a bit more of an idea of what you're looking for - does the stone have to be gem quality, or just blue/red? Finding a nice specimen grade stone like the first two pictures will be relatively easy and inexpensive - this one is from South Carolina, selling for low double digits and it's around 3cm x 2.5cm. Finding a gem quality rough stone will be more difficult and it's likely to cost about as much as a faceted sapphire or ruby. Are you looking for something the size of a ring stone, something more like the size of a quarter, or more like a paperweight?

The third and fourth pics are stones from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka respectively - the first is around 2cmx2cm, the second around 2x1. They're finer specimens (more transparent like a facetable stone, with rarer colour and from historic sites) and are being sold by a vendor who regularly sources rare material and charges a premium for it. They're marked at ~$3000 and $8000, respectively. The last is more expensive because it's a full crystal which has retained its natural shape. They also have lab reports proving their authenticity, which add a few hundred bucks to the overall cost.

Hope it helps!

 

[chrono]

It would help to know your definition of "just pretty". Does it have to be facet grade, just a mineral sample quality or a nice mineral example.

 

[turquoisechamaleon]

Hey cm366, it doesnt need to be gem quality, the 1st two pictures look just about right, but the stone is quite brown... im looking for something exactly like that but a little more coloured the size im looking for is just a bit bigger than a "gem", say about 2-3cm thanks for the help and the pictures!

 

[turquoisechamaleon]

Hey Chrono, it doesnt have to be facet grade, just a nice mineral sample thanks

 

[partgypsy]

check out mineral miners, under mineral specimens. For prices in the 100's you will get the color and the crystal shape but may not get the translucency/transparancy (more expensive)

http://www.mineralminers.com/html/rbymins.stm

 

[VapidLapid]

TGT listed one today

http://www.thegemtrader.com/Apr13Ruby.htm

Also John Bets frequently has corundum crystals

http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/gifs/54990.htm

 

[turquoisechamaleon]

thanks part gypsy, this is exactly what i was looking for, if anyone knows any other sites like this, please post them so i can browse

 

[turquoisechamaleon]

thanks for the links vapid lapid