Help me find an oval blue/green spinel Please!

[Cherokee1979]

Blue green spinel $112.00
http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-349245.php

Thanks Elliott.

The stone is very pretty! I will show it to my mom and see what she thinks. I just hope that the dimensions on that stone are not too big for my setting. It would be close, certainly. Thanks!

 

[digdeep]

Cherokee, I would contact your jeweler and ask about the size of that spinel (4.75 x 6.2 ?? from memory) . Typically, it's more of a rebuild on a setting for a smaller stone or larger one, so it's best to ask for a price estimate to avoid surprises...........it's a small range for stones to fit an existing setting without modifications.

 

[Cherokee1979]

Cherokee, I would contact your jeweler and ask about the size of that spinel (4.75 x 6.2 ?? from memory) . Typically, it's more of a rebuild on a setting for a smaller stone or larger one, so it's best to ask for a price estimate to avoid surprises...........it's a small range for stones to fit an existing setting without modifications.

Thanks for the advice, digdeep.

The existing stone's width is 4.88 so the width of the spinel of 4.75 is perfect. However, it is the length that could possibly pose a problem, as the existing stone is 7.18mm and the Gemcal stone is 6.20.

 

[Cherokee1979]

This one also looks like a possible contender. What do you all think? Do you discern any windowing or potentially "darkening out" issues? Link: http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-350008.php

Thanks!

 

[Cherokee1979]

something like this stone could also be great, but I think that the measurements on this one make it too big for the setting. Love the color though!

http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-349245.php

Or this: http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-350015.php

 

[innerkitten]

They both have obvious windows though. Also notice the description says deep. That can sometimes mean dark.

 

[innerkitten]

Out of all the blue spinels I like the artcutgems one.

 

[Cherokee1979]

Out of all the blue spinels I like the artcutgems one.

Thanks innerkitten.

The artcutgems stone is nice, but how do you think the following blue spinel from Gemrite stacks up: http://www.gemrite.com/products/blue-spinel-71-cts

The Gemrite stone is $100 less, which is a substantial amount, and the cut on the stone still seems, to my eye, to be very nice, and even better than the artcutgems stone, as I like the "chunky" facets on the Gemrite stone? What are your thoughts in comparing the two stones? Thanks so much. I really value your advice!

 

[minousbijoux]

While I think it is lovely, I believe that Gemrite spinel will go dark in many lighting situations. Your Mom may not mind that, but its something to be aware of. By going dark, I mean it just looks like a dark stone whose color you're not sure of - when light hits it, of course, or when its in a spotlight or bright light, it will show that brighter blue.

As to John's cutting, yes its precision and he is very good as well.

Thanks munous! I'm very glad you joined in.

I certainly do not want the stone to darken out. The stone she has now (seafoam tourm) is much lighter and I think she would prefer that to darkening out.

On a separate note, as a question for you and the larger community, what are your thoughts as to the performance and cutting of the following stone from Gemcal?: http://gemcal.com/red-spinel-with-a-tint-of-orange I really like the saturation and slight tinge of orange. It almost looks like a ruby to my completely untrained eyes. However, do you detect any windowing or other issues? I am also worried that the stone might be a tad bit too small, in its length, as my current stone is 7.18mm and this spinel is 6.20mm. Thoughts??

Thanks!

Yes, it would very likely be too small for the setting. You could pay more for the basket to be resized to accommodate it, but you would have to make the call whether it would look as nice with a smaller center stone, or whether it might throw off the aesthetic of the ring. As to the red spinel - my concern is that the saturation is not strong so that there will be times that it doesn't necessarily read as bright red, but more of a brownish red. I don't know if they are willing to provide other pics (probably not for such an inexpensive stone and with Tucson upon us), but it would be great to see that on the back of a hand to get a real sense of tone and saturation. I don't know about a window; it appears slightly windowed in the photo, but the fact is that its small and would like close up in a setting. Also, if the stone does have a small window, given the 6mm size of the stone, that window would likely be 3mm or under - in other words, very small. That said, I bought a spinel from him a few years ago which looked similar to yours in the photo and turned out to be extremely well cut. HTH.

 

[minousbijoux]

Oh, and one more concern - if she loved the seafoam green, will she be okay with a darker toned red stone? Its about as far across the spectrum as you can get, lol!

 

[Cherokee1979]

Getting a pleasant looking blue spinel will be extremely difficult as spinels tend to be greyish or very dark when they are blue. If they are a bright blue, they are usually very expensive.

Would you consider a green Montana sapphire? There are some here that are light, muted green, although not what I would call seafoam:
http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_montana.html
While there are no 5x7 ovals, maybe Andrew would cut you one? Does anyone know if Andrew takes custom cutting orders?

Thanks for your post, pregcurious. The prices on gemfix's site appear to be a good bit outside of my budget, even if they had a 5x7 oval. However, their stones are STUNNING! My eyes always gravitate towards their stones! Thanks though!

 

[pregcurious]

Blue green spinel $112.00
http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-349245.php

I see a window.

 

[Cherokee1979]

Oh, and one more concern - if she loved the seafoam green, will she be okay with a darker toned red stone? Its about as far across the spectrum as you can get, lol!

Thanks, Minous! Your post about the red spinel was most helpful. I will still show it to my mom tonight, but I will not even entertain the stone if its smaller size would call for the basket to be altered, thus incurring additional unneeded costs.

As of right now, I am leaning towards the below two stones (in no particular order). I'd love to hear your input about them, if you'd be so kind!

1. Gemrite blue spinel (which I'm worried might "darken out" in some lighting): http://www.gemrite.com/products/blue-spinel-71-cts

2. Blaze-n-gems green Montana sapphire: http://blazengems.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53_55&products_id=855

I think that I might be leaning towards the sapphire for a few reasons: (a) the clarity is better; (b) the green color is quite close to the seafoam color of the tourmaline in the ring now; (c) my mom is very rough on rings, so I like the Mohs rating of 9 for sapphire above the spinel 8. But I'll just have to check with the owner as to whether the stone has been treated in any way.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Blue green spinel $112.00
http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-349245.php

I see a window.

Yes, I realize that. Just trying to provide OP with workable stones within her budget. Recutting is always an option.

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks for your post, pregcurious. The prices on gemfix's site appear to be a good bit outside of my budget, even if they had a 5x7 oval. However, their stones are STUNNING! My eyes always gravitate towards their stones! Thanks though!

I missed your budget. In that case, I would contact Dana at Master Cut Gems. He may have some Montana sapphire rough that is teal or light blue. He used to have some stones around your size, but right now I only see smaller green stones (5 x 4 mm):
http://www.mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=view&cat=251

 

[Cherokee1979]

Blue green spinel $112.00
http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-349245.php

I see a window.

Good catch, pregcurious. Thanks. Also, the dimensions of that stone are likely too big to fit into my existing head smoothly. This stone probably would not easily fit an average 7x5 oval head, I imagine?? Thanks!

Oh, and to Elliott, thanks for the suggestion! However, I will not be interested in getting a recut. Good to hear all options though!!

 

[Cherokee1979]

Thanks for your post, pregcurious. The prices on gemfix's site appear to be a good bit outside of my budget, even if they had a 5x7 oval. However, their stones are STUNNING! My eyes always gravitate towards their stones! Thanks though!

I missed your budget. In that case, I would contact Dana at Master Cut Gems. He may have some Montana sapphire rough that is teal or light blue. He used to have some stones around your size, but right now I only see smaller green stones (5 x 4 mm):
http://www.mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=view&cat=251

Thanks pregcurious. I will be sure to contact Dana!

 

[pregcurious]

Blue green spinel $112.00
http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-349245.php

I see a window.

Yes, I realize that. Just trying to provide OP with workable stones within her budget. Recutting is always an option.

Just mentioning in case the OP does not know. Thanks for your response.

 

[Cherokee1979]

Blue green spinel $112.00
http://www.gemselect.com/spinel/spinel-349245.php

I see a window.

Yes, I realize that. Just trying to provide OP with workable stones within her budget. Recutting is always an option.

I don't think the OP knows. Thanks for your response.

Thank BOTH of you for your very helpful responses. And, in fact, I know nothing when it comes to spotting windows or poor oval cuts (I like the simplicity of just buying AGSL 000 round brilliant diamonds, which is SO much easier than colored stones!) Accordingly, I will be leaning on you guys and gals to get feedback about windows, extinction, saturation, poor cut, etc. Thank you

 

[GregS]

My suggestion would be to contact a lapidary and have the Tourmaline re-cut and polished.

 

[Cherokee1979]

My suggestion would be to contact a lapidary have the Tourmaline re-cut and polished.

Thanks for your suggestion, Greg.

I had thought about that, but I think that her continuing to have such a comparatively soft stone will just continue to cause problems with the stone simply abrading away. She is VERY VERY hard on her rings, and this poor little tourmaline simply cannot put up with the beating. I literally cannot see one single remaining facet on the table/crown of the stone, and she has worn away a good amount of material (not to mention the 14k YG prongs that she managed to wear down to slivers!) Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[GregS]

Yeah, I hear you. Bidding on this stone is currently at $170 with 2 days to go. So you may be able to get it within your extended budget of $225. Jeff Davies (ebay vendor) has had this stone for a while and the color looks to be excellent, but it is very sleepy. There's a video of it below the picture.

Weight - 1.25 ct
Size - 7.10 x 5.45 x 4.18 mm
Clarity - Eye Clean - Slighty Silky
Origin - Sri Lanka
heat only - no beryllium



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHqO2QHM20o

 

[MollyMalone]

As of right now, I am leaning towards the below two stones (in no particular order). I'd love to hear your input about them, if you'd be so kind!

1. Gemrite blue spinel (which I'm worried might "darken out" in some lighting): http://www.gemrite.com/products/blue-spinel-71-cts

2. Blaze-n-gems green Montana sapphire: http://blazengems.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=53_55&products_id=855

I think that I might be leaning towards the sapphire for a few reasons: (a) the clarity is better; (b) the green color is quite close to the seafoam color of the tourmaline in the ring now; (c) my mom is very rough on rings, so I like the Mohs rating of 9 for sapphire above the spinel 8. But I'll just have to check with the owner as to whether the stone has been treated in any way.

* On my computer monitor, the green Montana sapphire comes across as too grey to be appealing to me (does anyone else think it does not merit a VVS?)

* I have yet to purchase anything from Gemrite, so have no idea how to "read" their pics. The hand shot and video of the spinel look very different on my screen from the other 2 pics.

Let me add that the Madagascar sapphire I recently purchased from Dana Reynolds (Master Cut Gems) is doubtlessly too dark for most people.
http://www.mastercutgems.com/preview.php?id=6985
But I love the teal color, the cut (and the price tag) please me -- and it "winks" brightly at me no matter what the lighting & I find that quite endearing. I.e., we all don't share the same tastes, so just because a stone is far from ideal doesn't necessarily mean it should be ruled out imo

 

[Cherokee1979]

Yeah, I hear you. Bidding on this stone is currently at $170 with 2 days to go. So you may be able to get it within your extended budget of $225. Jeff Davies (ebay vendor) has had this stone for a while and the color looks to be excellent, but it is very sleepy. There's a video of it below the picture.

Weight - 1.25 ct
Size - 7.10 x 5.45 x 4.18 mm
Clarity - Eye Clean - Slighty Silky
Origin - Sri Lanka
heat only - no beryllium



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHqO2QHM20o

That sapphire is beautiful! However, I have never bid for anything on ebay, so I might feel a little out of my depth there. However, I will show the stone to my mom and see what she thinks. She had mentioned that she would prefer no treatments whatsoever. Still worth looking at, though.

Also, however, I think that the stone might be too wide (and possibly deep) for my setting. my setting will accept a width of only approx. 5mm. I think that the sapphire's 5.5mm width might be too much??? Also, the depth of the present stone is 3.3 mm, as opposed to the sapphire's 4.18 mm, which might make the stone have to sit higher.

Thanks again, though, and I'll be sure to show it to her!

 

[innerkitten]

Out of all the blue spinels I like the artcutgems one.

Thanks innerkitten.

The artcutgems stone is nice, but how do you think the following blue spinel from Gemrite stacks up: http://www.gemrite.com/products/blue-spinel-71-cts

The Gemrite stone is $100 less, which is a substantial amount, and the cut on the stone still seems, to my eye, to be very nice, and even better than the artcutgems stone, as I like the "chunky" facets on the Gemrite stone? What are your thoughts in comparing the two stones? Thanks so much. I really value your advice!

I have seen his stones in person so I can say that he ( Gemrite ) cuts very nice stones. I am sure it would be a nice stone. I think it will be dark though. Blue spinel tends to go dark easily. It's not true with all blue spinel but a lot of blue spinel will. If it were between that one and the ones from gemselect because of budget issues I would choose that one.

p.s. I still love the green sapphire.

 

[Cherokee1979]

Thanks for your post, pregcurious. The prices on gemfix's site appear to be a good bit outside of my budget, even if they had a 5x7 oval. However, their stones are STUNNING! My eyes always gravitate towards their stones! Thanks though!

I missed your budget. In that case, I would contact Dana at Master Cut Gems. He may have some Montana sapphire rough that is teal or light blue. He used to have some stones around your size, but right now I only see smaller green stones (5 x 4 mm):
http://www.mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=view&cat=251

Thanks for the advice. Let me ask, though, will Dana charge me more to cut a stone for me as opposed to selling me one in stock?? I do notice that Dana has two heated blue sapphires in his stock right now that could probably fit my setting. What do you think about these? I tend to find the first one a bit dark, and the second one appears to have a rather noticeable window. I'm up for any comments or other stone suggestions though!!!

1). http://www.mastercutgems.com/preview.php?cat=251&id=7286

2.) http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6988

 

[innerkitten]

Thanks for your post, pregcurious. The prices on gemfix's site appear to be a good bit outside of my budget, even if they had a 5x7 oval. However, their stones are STUNNING! My eyes always gravitate towards their stones! Thanks though!

I missed your budget. In that case, I would contact Dana at Master Cut Gems. He may have some Montana sapphire rough that is teal or light blue. He used to have some stones around your size, but right now I only see smaller green stones (5 x 4 mm):
http://www.mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=view&cat=251

Thanks for the advice. Let me ask, though, will Dana charge me more to cut a stone for me as opposed to selling me one in stock?? I do notice that Dana has two heated blue sapphires in his stock right now that could probably fit my setting. What do you think about these? I tend to find the first one a bit dark, and the second one appears to have a rather noticeable window. I'm up for any comments or other stone suggestions though!!!

1). http://www.mastercutgems.com/preview.php?cat=251&id=7286

2.) http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6988

I have bought from Dana and would do so again. He's a nice guy and has a good return policy.

 

[digdeep]

And one more thing........if you can pull it off, you may want to 'buy' the top three stones with the intention of your Mom making a choice when they are seen in person; then returning two of them. Always verify the return policies but many you have on your list are good vendors re: returns. I'm always amazed at how different stones can look in person from what I have seen on my computer or in my mind. Not trying to make this more difficult, but just being realistic.

 

[pregcurious]

I thought the first one was going to be too dark, but then it looks lighter in the hand shot.

Can you get both and return one?

 

[Cherokee1979]

Thanks digdeep and pregcurious.

My plan is, in fact, to review, in detail, the vendors' return policies, and then "purchase" the top 3 stones that both me & my mother like the look of, with the intention to return two of them.

However, once we select our top 3 or slightly more, I will create a new thread and ask the advice of the good people of CS as to what they like/dislike about the stones (so as to give us more of a knowledge base in making a smart decision when the stones are in hand.) Thanks again guys!

- Jeff