Help w/ a Ruby & Yellow Gold Engagement Ring

[sja1224]

We're looking for some advice on buying a ruby engagement ring. We came into this process knowing nothing, and all we know is what we've learned in the past few weeks. We have some questions we'd appreciate help with:

1) We are thinking a ruby on a yellow gold band. Is that pretty and classic look that will not look tacky or feel dated/gimmicky? She thinks ruby on white gold / platinum looks a bit "ice princess."

2) We were told to go with 14K yellow rather than 18K because it's more durable. Does that make sense?

3) We're thinking of keeping it simple with the mounting -- either a basic 4/6-prong Tiffany-style solitaire, or simple setting with a diamond tapered baguette on each side. Are these good options for a ruby on yellow gold?

4) We're thinking of a 6.5~7mm round cut. Somewhere between 1-1.5 ct. Does that make sense?

5) We've seen both unheated and heated rubies. I guess we're amateurs, but we really can't tell the difference. Assuming a budget of $X, it seems we can get a bigger and nicer stone that's heated versus a smaller one that's unheated. We don't want something that's completely worthless (which seems to be lab-grown or lead-injected). Does it make sense for our purposes to stick to heated?

6) We're in LA, and we were recommended a wholesale jeweler in the Jewelry District who makes rings. We've met with him, and he seems like an honest guy. But we're very careful. Given that rubies have no standard color/clarity ratings like diamonds do, we're having a hard time articulating the quality of ruby that would make us happy and assessing the value of what we'd purchase. We want something that "looks nice," but we don't know how to tell what's good versus junk and how to figure out what any given ruby is really worth. We don't know how to assess whether a) we're really going to get a good deal (i.e., wholesale / near wholesale prices) from him, and b) how to make sure we're not getting totally ripped off and buying garbage. How can we protect ourselves and make sure we're getting a fair price and buying what we think we're buying?

7) Would walking around and talking to other random jewelers in the DTLA jewelry district make sense? We're afraid that, without any kind of uniform grading system, we'd have no idea how to assess the quality of a ruby and figure out what it's worth. Are we missing something?

We'd appreciate honest answers; we don't be offended. Thanks so much for all the help

 

[boerumbiddy]

I am not an expert, just a fan who has been reading up on my favorite gem on this forum. I think yellow gold looks terrific with the red of rubies and seems to make them look even redder. Many classic designs have another color for the band but make sure to put the ruby itself in a nest of gold, either bezel or prongs. A good ruby in a simple yellow gold setting is just as timeless as a Tiffany solitaire, in my opinion, and the settings you describe are indeed classic.

I have been told that 18K is not all that much less durable than 14K and my own ring is 18K. Love the weight.

Yes, you can get great-looking stones that have heat-only treatment for much less than an unheated gem, so it is partly a mind issue. Make sure that whatever stone you buy has reliable (usually AGL or GIA) certification as to actual treatment status. If the dealer doesn't already have the paperwork, ask him what it will cost to get it. Don't take his word for the treatment, and you can't discern it yourself.

As for ruby grades as you shop, you will find that rubies are among the most subjective of stones. Color really is king, and the clarity grades are meaningless for most rubies. Buy for color and glow. Round rubies are much less common than cushions/ovals, so don't limit yourself to rounds. I don't know who the dealers are that you will be visiting, but many of the best stones seem to come from specialists online. So take a look at the brick-and-mortar stores, but your best buys will probably be from a mail-order house that has a good return policy. You still get to look at the gem but you don't have to pay the store's rent! There is a great list of online dealers pinned to the top of the colored-stone forum. Start there for an idea of pricing. It's all over the map. And face the fact that a good ruby often costs more than a good diamond of the same size these days, especially if it is over a carat.
And P.S., you are very unlikely to get a "wholesale" price from anybody!

 

[Niel]

In my opinion 18k gold is the only alloy to use when you are elooming st yellow gold. If you wanted white or rose 14 is fine, heck sometimes better in terms of color, but in my opinion many 14k yellow gold alloys look tinny and it's worth the money to get 18k. Its softer but it's not like the difference between steel and butter. It's fine.

If I were you I'd fort try and find the style you like and try it on. Don't worry if it's the metal color you like or if it's got a ruby in it. Once you find the style that looks best on your hand try to find examples of photos of it in yellow gold with rubies, sure, but dont waste time trying to find it just to gauge which style looks best on your finger. In my opinion most rubies look best with some sort of diamond accents or diamond halos but you need to find what's best for you.

You're right you'll have a difficult if not impossible time telling the difference in treatments by the naked eye. As long as you are comfortable with the treatments and it's priced appropriately, I say youre fine with whatever makes you happy.
The important thing is that the treatment is disclosed and they are not charging you more than a ruby is worth. Sadly you'll find too many vendors who will tell you something is not heated when it is, or "just heated" when its more than that. Only by rubies with gia or agl certs to confirm they are what they say they are. Or, if it doesn't have a curt, it better be priced as if it's fake because it very well could be.

What's your budget?

 

[arkieb1]

Rubies are difficult, I agree use the golden rule of getting them lab certified or buy something with reliable certificates otherwise they will frequently have more treatments than the vendors disclose or in some cases even know about themselves.

I also agree with trying a range of settings on at the beginning to get a general idea of what coloured metals you like on, and what styles of rings you like first. This will ultimately save time and probably money.

 

[sja1224]

Thanks everyone for all the advice.

Yeah, I realize we're unlikely to get a true "wholesale" price, but I assume there's a huge difference between buying from a wholesaler and paying true retail. The guy in the downtown LA jewelry district we've met with doesn't have a retail shop for the public and deals mostly with other businesses rather than customers directly. Is this the type of situation that would lead to good quality and good prices, or not really? How would this compare to buying from an online specialist?

Regarding trying on various rings, we're finding it really hard to get a good sense of what the finished product would look like with ruby on yellow gold. We've been to the various big box stores (Tiffany HW, Van Cleef, etc.) and a few antique stores in BH and tried on various rings, but it's rare to find ruby on yellow gold. We have a general idea, but we still feel like much of it is being left to the imagination, and that is a bit uncomfortable.

Regarding budget, we don't really have a budget per se. Sellers always ask that, but we're more interested in knowing what it *should* cost to get a ring of sufficient size and color that we'd be happy with. It seems like a round ruby with a good color in the ~6.5-7mm size and around 1.5ct that's heated is what will make us happy. And from what we know, it seems that such a stone should be in the $2.5-3K range. Is that about right, or should it be substantially more or less?

 

[boerumbiddy]

It is so hard to say what a ruby "should" cost! Not knowing your local dealer, we really cannot say if he is good, bad or indifferent. Why not take a look at these two sites just to get an idea of the online price range and see a variety of shades of "ruby red"?

http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/
and
https://gemfix.com/

To help you visualize a ruby in yellow gold prongs, here is a link to a high-end antique jewelry dealer with some classic designs in its archives:
https://www.langantiques.com/archive.html
This one caught my eye, for example:
https://www.langantiques.com/archive/1-68-carat-natural-burma-ruby-and-diamond-ring.html

And here is one from my dream list: the Ratnaraj ruby, recently auctioned for megabucks. The diamonds are in white metal, but the ruby is set off with yellow gold.




Just a few more:
The very last one is a bad picture of my own ring, which may be the kind of design you have in mind.

 

[Niel]

What do you mean by heat? Heat only? Minor residues? Moderate residues?

I think 2-3k is low for a 7mm ruby in my opinion. In my opinion you're better off assuming the ruby will cost the same as an equivalent diamond at this point.

Well that's why I said find a style you like and then fine pictures of that style in ruby and yellow gold. What styles look best on your hand?

 

[boerumbiddy]

Maybe this will give you another idea. I have no notion of the quality of the stone, but I like the setting.
http://www.americanpearl.com/18kyegoruriw3.html

 

[chrono]

Knowing your budget is highly important. $3K for a 1.5 ct heated ruby is highly suspect. It will be closer to the $10K price range.

Reference
http://www.finewatergems.com/store/c28/Ruby.html

 

[sja1224]

Knowing your budget is highly important. $3K for a 1.5 ct heated ruby is highly suspect. It will be closer to the $10K price range.

Reference
http://www.finewatergems.com/store/c28/Ruby.html

To clarify, my price estimate was based on both what the LA jeweler told me and what I've seen from sites like James Allen. For example,if you put in round and between 1.2-1.5 ct, you get 30 options between $1K and $6K:

https://www.jamesallen.com/gemstones/red-ruby/?Shape=Round&CaratFrom=1.2&CaratTo=1.5&PriceFrom=100&PriceTo=999000&Sort=Price&ViewsOptions=List

Is James Allen a reputable site, or are these rubies junk? Perhaps finewatergems.com site is more expensive because they're Burmese?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Niel]

The finewater one is more expensive becuase it has relatively low treatment and a good color.

You don't even know is the treatment of the ruby and does not have a good color.

 

[qubitasaurus]

Sorry to thread jack, but I am curious when it says minor residues can this happen from heat only treatment? Or does it neccessarily mean the ruby got cooked with something like borax to disolve the outer surface of the stone and allow synthetic ruby to fill in the fissures? Also does minor residues mean there must have been surface reaching inclusions? Sorry to change the topic but I would really like to know.

Maybe I can add this one in recompense, it is untreated and certified by AGL so it side steps the headaches.

https://www.etsy.com/sg-en/listing/492441610/105ct-unheated-red-ruby-cushion?ref=shop_home_active_3

 

[boerumbiddy]

James Allen is a reputable site, but chiefly for diamonds. Very few Pricescope colored-stone fans would think of shopping for a ruby there.

 

[sja1224]

James Allen is a reputable site, but chiefly for diamonds. Very few Pricescope colored-stone fans would think of shopping for a ruby there.

Why wouldn't one buy rubies there -- lack of selection, or quality, or what?

I see the two sites mentioned above: http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/ and https://gemfix.com/ . Are those the most popular ruby sites?

 

[chroman]

All the JA stones seem to be either very dark, extremely opaque, or a combination thereof. There's a handful of nice ones listed at pearlmans, and a couple at gemfix, but they are apt to be more expensive than what you've talked about.

In the price/size range you mentioned this was the closest I saw with a quick look:
http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/gemstones/?sku=G88117

 

[boerumbiddy]

I saw that one from Pearlman's too, Chroman, and it was about the cheapest one that I found really attractive. Again, James Allen just doesn't specialize in rubies, just diamonds, and they seem to include rubies of rather low quality as an afterthought. Remember, you don't want dark purple or brown, you want red! I am pretty sure that Pearlman's makes full disclosure of treatment and offers certification to confirm. An AGL brief is quite affordable.