Ruby Engagement Eing

[snootyfox]

Hello all,

I have been scouring through the forum here looking at the many topics on rubies and ruby engagement rings trying to educate myself as best as possible.

Ideally I would have purchased through Gemfix but they can't sell anything over $999USD to me (I'm in Australia) so I have had to look elsewhere. I am looking at either a round or oval cut and ideally something closer to 'red' than 'pink'.

My budget is a very modest $5k total, that's in AUD, so about $3,000 - $3,500 USD, including the setting. I have a great jeweler lined up here in Melbourne to handle the setting design which I assume will cost around 1/5th my budget which leaves around $2k - $3k for the stone itself.

It's much more important to me to find a great stone clarity and colour than worrying about carat weight. So far my searches have turned up:

http://www.starruby.in/store/mozamb...lent-eye-clean-pigeon-blood-red-unheated-ruby
http://www.starruby.in/store/madaga...e-unheated-oval-cut-vs-clarity-blood-red-ruby
http://www.starruby.in/store/madaga...e-unheated-oval-cut-vs-clarity-blood-red-ruby

http://www.ajsgem.com/ruby/burma-ruby/burma-ruby-1.22-carats.html-0 and

http://www.africagems.com/round-ruby-gemstone-37513146.html

Any help would so hugely appreciated.

Regards,
Glenn

 

[Cognition]

they are all being photographed under different lightning using different camera. Personally, I will eliminate all stones from starruby. both ruby from ajs and ag look promising (and usually pricey), but their pictures are not natural. you should ask for video and pictures under fluorescent light and incandescent light. imo, both of them are pinkish red ruby.

I am not sure where do you live, but why don't you contact these vendors, but I am not sure if they want to do business online (beside seenu):
http://www.bluegemsonline.com/home.html

or

Seenu from Wild's Thai branch (as pricey as ajs, but they always get their hand on some beautiful gems)
http://stores.ebay.com/wildsglobalminerals/

or

Ms. Yuen / Evelyn from Wild's HK branch
852-3101 1900

or

S.V.D. Gems Co., Ltd. - Bangkok, Thailand

becareful with svd, you should dig throughout their inventory before you finally can find a descent ruby.

and always asked for cert when buying stones. ppl in this forum prefer AGL, but I think gubelin and GRS are okay as well. However, you MUST ignore the GRS "pigeon blood" tag if the report have one. I tried to do some research on the range of which GRS gave pigeon blood tag, and the range is humongous! from the mighty classic burmese / burmese type pigeon blood to the iron rich thai ruby

 

[chrono]

they are all being photographed under different lightning using different camera. Personally, I will eliminate all stones from starruby. both ruby from ajs and ag look promising (and usually pricey), but their pictures are not natural. you should ask for video and pictures under fluorescent light and incandescent light. imo, both of them are pinkish red ruby.

I am not sure where do you live, but why don't you contact these vendors, but I am not sure if they want to do business online (beside seenu):
http://www.bluegemsonline.com/home.html

or

Seenu from Wild's Thai branch (as pricey as ajs, but they always get their hand on some beautiful gems)
http://stores.ebay.com/wildsglobalminerals/

or

Ms. Yuen / Evelyn from Wild's HK branch
852-3101 1900

or

S.V.D. Gems Co., Ltd. - Bangkok, Thailand

becareful with svd, you should dig throughout their inventory before you finally can find a descent ruby.

and always asked for cert when buying stones. ppl in this forum prefer AGL, but I think gubelin and GRS are okay as well. However, you MUST ignore the GRS "pigeon blood" tag if the report have one. I tried to do some research on the range of which GRS gave pigeon blood tag, and the range is humongous! from the mighty classic burmese / burmese type pigeon blood to the iron rich thai ruby

Ditto the above advice. And if the stone is heated, you might want to find out whether it is diffused and how much flux healing it underwent.

 

[snootyfox]

Thanks guys. I'll do some more digging and if I find something, ahh, engaging, I'll come back to try and grab some advice.

 

[Cognition]

thanks chrono, I forgot to mention about treatment. However, at 2-3k budget, I think you should go with a ruby with healing flux (GRS often classified them as h(a) or h(b)). that way you can get ruby with better color and bigger size.

Additionally, try to get a NON burmese ruby. Burmese ruby, especially the one from mogok, carry premium in the market even if they are heated. mong shu and namya ruby also carry some premium, but not as high as the mogok counterpart. I advice you to find a beautiful ruby from other localities like Mozambique, afgan, and vietnam. That way, you can get bigger and better stone rather than pay some premium over burmese ruby.

One more advice, always bring a fluorescent light, incandescent light, LWUV, and SWUV while you hunting for ruby. Ruby are known to contain high amount of Cr that make the ruby fluorescence under direct sunlight. A fine ruby (by trade standard) should look great under fluorescent light and incandescent light. A fine ruby also should glow (fluorescence) under LWUV and SWUV. Usually, I also bring something to shade the stone from the dealer's lighting. Most dealers shower their stones with excessive light. In most cases, they tried to make their stone ridiculously beautiful.

These being said, you should judge the stone by your own eyes. Several people that I know, prefer the iron rich ruby over the fine ruby I described above. You might be one of them The iron rich ruby usually looks "more" red under incandescent light.

I just read that you are in Australia. Unfortunately, I do not know any dealer up there

 

[snootyfox]

Thank you for all of the fabulous advice.

I am currently shifting my focus to a black or grey diamond due to difficulty in finding a quality ruby either locally or one I can import.

 

[Niel]

Thank you for all of the fabulous advice.

I am currently shifting my focus to a black or grey diamond due to difficulty in finding a quality ruby either locally or one I can import.

I love grey diamonds! Had you possibly considered grey spinel too?

 

[aussiejamie]

I must say that I have become a fan of grey spinel from the other threads here on PS. Seriously beautiful gem!!
AJ

 

[Niel]

I must say that I have become a fan of grey spinel from the other threads here on PS. Seriously beautiful gem!!
AJ

Right. I had always liked the photos people post here on PS and I got a light colored one finally and it throws so much color and has so much presence, and is very affordable.

A nice option for you

 

[snootyfox]

Here are a few of the stones that the ring designer can get from their supplier currently. I am not sure of prices yet, but the designer knows the budget so safe to assume affordable. They get new stock perhaps every two weeks.


1.50ct rectangular/cushion/rose cut, 7.82x6.03x2.94 mm in size. 100% untreated semi-transparent black/grey/clear.



1.40ct solid black oval cut, 6.00x8.00x3.20 mm in size, treated/enhanced for a rich all-over blackness.



2.08ct, 8.71 x 7.44 x 2.70 mm in size, black/grey/semi-transparent, 100% untreated.

 

[Niel]

Here are a few of the stones that the ring designer can get from their supplier currently. I am not sure of prices yet, but the designer knows the budget so safe to assume affordable. They get new stock perhaps every two weeks.


1.50ct rectangular/cushion/rose cut, 7.82x6.03x2.94 mm in size. 100% untreated semi-transparent black/grey/clear.



1.40ct solid black oval cut, 6.00x8.00x3.20 mm in size, treated/enhanced for a rich all-over blackness.



2.08ct, 8.71 x 7.44 x 2.70 mm in size, black/grey/semi-transparent, 100% untreated.

So that's a no on black or grey spinel?

Also there are grey diamonds that are faceted and clear, not just the more organic rustic diamonds. Would she by chance be interested in those?

What style of ring will this end up being?

 

[chrono]

I'm sorry but those look like gravel. I'd look for gray spinels because those are eye clean and actually sparkle.

 

[drruby]

Swing on over to Bangkok

You'll get more stone for your budget

But it's a small budget for a Ruby

You might want to focus on the mount, get as much carbon as you can in 18K and for the time being maybe put a quality LGF in the mount.

Down the road when you have a nice budget for a nicer Ruby, then you drop the 100% ruby in at a later date

GIA is bashing durability of LGF but in 2006 their report said they are DURABLE and can be worked on a jewelers bench.

So for your budget get a nice mount with maybe a 12MM oval setting and put the bling on the mount and a high end 12MM LGF should be found for well under 500 USD

So 2500 in BLING mount and a ruby that can pass 99% of jewelers loops with LGF

Knowing in the future you can upgrade to a 100% 12MM down the road.

My 2 cents

 

[snootyfox]

The chosen stone will eventually be set on to 18ct yellow gold ring of geometric design, similar to the right side of the ring below. Ideally a round stone. I am certainly taking a non-traditional approach to the ring/setting as the rings she typically likes to wear (second picture) are of similar design and hopefully I can make up for my lack of budget with a nice personal ring that shoes I know her.





A spinel is certainly a possibility and I am open to it. From the spinel's i have seen most of them tend to skew lighter than the darker grey or black diamonds but I still have a lot of searching to do.

 

[Niel]

This sounds awesome! Would it be a half bezel or a full bezel around the stone?

This one is a bit expensive but you're paying for his precision cutting. It's grey, but had a color change aspect which I think she might appreciate based on her style.

http://www.torraca.net/projects/spin1060/

 

[lovedogs]

This sounds like an awesome project, and you are a great future fiance for taking her tastes into account instead of buying something generic

I love the idea of grey spinel, and the one that Neil posted might be a great potential stone. Keep us updated!!!

 

[MollyMalone]

This sounds awesome! Would it be a half bezel or a full bezel around the stone?

This one is a bit expensive but you're paying for his precision cutting. It's grey, but had a color change aspect which I think she might appreciate based on her style.

http://www.torraca.net/projects/spin1060/

Ooh, what a great suggestion! Does it appeal to you, snooty? (Love your user name btw -- and your attentiveness to her tastes)

 

[snootyfox]

This sounds awesome! Would it be a half bezel or a full bezel around the stone?

This one is a bit expensive but you're paying for his precision cutting. It's grey, but had a color change aspect which I think she might appreciate based on her style.

http://www.torraca.net/projects/spin1060/

Thanks! It will go around the entire stone. I am trying to decide what is the best shape stone to sit in a geometric (maybe 8 sides) setting. I am drawn mostly to round as I think the contrast between circular and straight edges would look great, but perhaps an emerald cut would be better?

I do love the spinel Niel, thank you. It's size and cut is beautiful but I am hesitant about the blue tint as I'm not sure she will take to it.

I have been waiting for this day a long time so I know when I see the right stone there will be no doubt. I never imagined it would be this difficult though to find 'the one'. It's almost easier finding the girl than it is the ring!

 

[chrono]

Snooty,
I reread your posts and didn't see you mention that she wants an organic looking black diamond. Just double checking to be sure because it seems such a huge departure from a ruby. There are also black spinels if you are open to that.

 

[snootyfox]

Cheers Chrono.

She loves classical beauty in general, not just in jewelry, so knew the ruby would go over well. It was my home run attempt. I had hoped I might be able to get something fantastic for my budget but quickly realised I was running up hill so returned to my original idea to explore the black diamond/dark grey diamond.

It was a few years ago that she mentioned loving black diamonds so I was a little apprehensive from the outset, but luckily she reaffirmed her love for black diamonds just the other night in a random conversation. I know she loves all of the jewelry here http://www.aliciahannahnaomi.com/product-category/hand/ and this is the designer who will be creating the setting for me.

I think the spinel will be a last resort, if only because I think (even foolishly so) there is some satisfaction in saying it is a 'diamond' or 'ruby'.

I found these 3 but they all seem a bit beat up.

https://denirdiamonds.com/black-diamonds/628-natural-fancy-black.html
https://denirdiamonds.com/black-diamonds/629-natural-fancy-black.html
https://denirdiamonds.com/black-diamonds/1296-natural-fancy-black.html

 

[Niel]

Ok, so diamond it is I suppose.

Do you want solid black or a with some transparent bits. Do you want a natural black or a black that's been treated?

 

[snootyfox]

I'm torn between solid black and a dark grey that has some see through. In a perfect world, I would be able to buy this colour but just in a shape I want.

http://cdn.leibish.com/media/diamonds/thumb_w470/1.22ct-FDKGRG-145436-pic1_.jpg

I am still a little torn on the best shape of the stone so I drew up some really crude mockups. I think that round stone with the geometric setting works the best. Maybe even the oval. At the end of the day the shape will probably be decided by what is the best stone I can get.

 

[Niel]

I'm torn between solid black and a dark grey that has some see through. In a perfect world, I would be able to buy this colour but just in a shape I want.

http://cdn.leibish.com/media/diamonds/thumb_w470/1.22ct-FDKGRG-145436-pic1_.jpg

I am still a little torn on the best shape of the stone so I drew up some really crude mockups. I think that round stone with the geometric setting works the best. Maybe even the oval. At the end of the day the shape will probably be decided by what is the best stone I can get.

Oh I love that marquise is that in your budget?

You might consider mocking up that marquise set e/w with a similar bezel to the middle right, I think you might find it promising in that orientation

 

[lovedogs]

I'm torn between solid black and a dark grey that has some see through. In a perfect world, I would be able to buy this colour but just in a shape I want.

http://cdn.leibish.com/media/diamonds/thumb_w470/1.22ct-FDKGRG-145436-pic1_.jpg

I am still a little torn on the best shape of the stone so I drew up some really crude mockups. I think that round stone with the geometric setting works the best. Maybe even the oval. At the end of the day the shape will probably be decided by what is the best stone I can get.

Oh I love that marquise is that in your budget?

You might consider mocking up that marquise set e/w with a similar bezel to the middle right, I think you might find it promising in that orientation

Agreed on the E/W setting for the Marquis. I think that could be gorgeous!!

 

[MollyMalone]

snooty, my late father-in-law was "in the trade" here in NYC; here are 2 more, colored diamond dealers he favored (Ishay Ben-David -- the 2nd link below -- was, until fairly recently, Leibish's US affiliate, still are on good terms with each other). Both will sell to consumers, altho' your jeweler might be given a better price:
http://www.amgad.com
http://www.fancycolordiamond.net

Perhaps your jeweler could suss out some Australian, natural grey diamonds; a natural diamond from your own country could add a special dimension of meaningfulness?

 

[carmen1]

Have you seen this one? http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-diamond/1-dot-13ct-gia-fancy-gray-diamond

 

[snootyfox]

Oh I love that marquise is that in your budget?

You might consider mocking up that marquise set e/w with a similar bezel to the middle right, I think you might find it promising in that orientation

Sadly with the current exchange rate it is a bit of a stretch for me.

snooty, my late father-in-law was "in the trade" here in NYC; here are 2 more, colored diamond dealers he favored (Ishay Ben-David -- the 2nd link below -- was, until fairly recently, Leibish's US affiliate, still are on good terms with each other). Both will sell to consumers, altho' your jeweler might be given a better price:
http://www.amgad.com
http://www.fancycolordiamond.net

Perhaps your jeweler could suss out some Australian, natural grey diamonds; a natural diamond from your own country could add a special dimension of meaningfulness?

Thank you! I just found this on their site which looks, to me, quite lovely - http://www.amgad.com/Products.html?pid=1778 - which I have contacted them to get a price on.

Have you seen this one? http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-diamond/1-dot-13ct-gia-fancy-gray-diamond

Lovely! I am in touch with the seller now to try and see some better photos.

 

[snootyfox]

Have you seen this one? http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-diamond/1-dot-13ct-gia-fancy-gray-diamond

The seller has just posted a few more photos - what do you think? I find it a beautiful colour.

http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-diamond/1-dot-13ct-gia-fancy-gray-diamond

 

[lovedogs]

Have you seen this one? http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-diamond/1-dot-13ct-gia-fancy-gray-diamond

The seller has just posted a few more photos - what do you think? I find it a beautiful colour.

http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-diamond/1-dot-13ct-gia-fancy-gray-diamond

I know that most people don't like I1 stones in general, but I find this one beautiful. I have to admit to my eyes it looks a bit more yellow vs. grey, but I dont find that problematic--I like that it isn't "canary" yellow, it's a subtle yellowish/grey hue. So I think it matters whether it speaks to YOU, and whether you think she'll love it. I think it does have a "classic" look, and would work well in the styles that you've mentioned before. So my opinion is that it's a great stone for a great price that seems to fit your requirements, but I always think you should listen to you gut (and the experts on here as well, of which I definitely am not one--just someone who <3s CS/jewelry haha)

 

[Niel]

It's going to look a little cloudy sometimes, grey diamonds like that do that.

I would also as her if its eye clean, as I don't think it is.