Thought i will share my e-ring experience with you, now on to a gemstone band search =)

[haagen_dazs]

HI coloured stone folks!
I was out for about 3 weeks on vacation.
I proposed to my girlfriend by the beautiful beaches and resort in Bali Indonesia!
Whoo hoo.
I wrote about my E-Ring hunt here

I am now back to my coloured gemstone search...

You guys have been wonderful!

I saw this 10mm wide ring that had a 80point diamond in it. I asked the jewelery to stick a ruby ontop of it. The ruby was of a very nice deep red colour. In fact, it had a GRS grading it "pigeon blood". It was just slightly under 1 carat. Round brilliant cut. Ruby is from Burma. The jeweler was asking for about ~ USD $ 3570 if the setting was bought from them. I took the loose ruby stone and placed it over some text and there was some windowing seen. What do you of the price for a graded ruby? Anyways, I probably will not buy something so big. A 8mm wide ring would probably be wide enough perhaps (?)....

hmmm

 

[haagen_dazs]

ruby stuck on ring

 

[haagen_dazs]

original image is this

 

[haagen_dazs]

another view

 

[chrono]

HD,
Congratulations and welcome back. I hope you had a great time. My home is very close to Bali so your mentioning it brings back pangs of homesickness.

But on to bling talk. Holy smokes! Almost the entire ruby is windowed to the point that only the edges of the ruby show life. The colour might be blood red but what treatment has the stone undergone? Heating? Fracture filling? Not only that, the stone in not “crystal” at all; it is translucent but at least not opaque. A good nice ruby should be transparent.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Ditto to Chrono.
When I think a good, pigeon''s blood ruby, I think this:
http://www.rwwise.com/products/id|734

Granted, that''s probably sky-high expensive and probably only attainable to a few. But I always like to have in mind what the "ideal" is.

Gene had some lovely rubies on his site, I really like the pointed oval with the checkered crown.
http://precisiongem.com/html/html/Ruby.html

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 12/17/2009 8:35:09 AM
Author: Chrono
HD,

Congratulations and welcome back. I hope you had a great time. My home is very close to Bali so your mentioning it brings back pangs of homesickness.

But on to bling talk. Holy smokes! Almost the entire ruby is windowed to the point that only the edges of the ruby show life. The colour might be blood red but what treatment has the stone undergone? Heating? Fracture filling? Not only that, the stone in not “crystal” at all; it is translucent but at least not opaque. A good nice ruby should be transparent.

HI Chrono !
Nice avatar... very jealous of that stone =p
Where are you from? Indonesia, Australia, Singapore (thats where I am from)
I dont know if it has undergone those heating/fracture filling but I dont think so since its being sold by a reputable shop. Maybe it looks translucent because its stuck to a sticky gum. I thought its pretty hard to find Burma (Mongok same thing right?) rubies that are crystal clear. I thought most of them have some silk like inclusions?

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 12/17/2009 9:19:41 AM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Ditto to Chrono.
When I think a good, pigeon''s blood ruby, I think this:
http://www.rwwise.com/products/id|734
Granted, that''s probably sky-high expensive and probably only attainable to a few. But I always like to have in mind what the ''ideal'' is.
Gene had some lovely rubies on his site, I really like the pointed oval with the checkered crown.

http://precisiongem.com/html/html/Ruby.html

i saw that round ruby from rwise before and i submitted a request for a price check but turns out they dont give prices over email. its probably out of my budget anyways.

how does one set that pointed oval checkered crown ruby?

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Michael has a "fire engine red" ruby for sale, .56ct roval. By his description, it sounds lovely.

 

[T L]

Date: 12/17/2009 8:35:09 AM
Author: Chrono
HD,
Congratulations and welcome back. I hope you had a great time. My home is very close to Bali so your mentioning it brings back pangs of homesickness.

But on to bling talk. Holy smokes! Almost the entire ruby is windowed to the point that only the edges of the ruby show life. The colour might be blood red but what treatment has the stone undergone? Heating? Fracture filling? Not only that, the stone in not “crystal” at all; it is translucent but at least not opaque. A good nice ruby should be transparent.

Chrono the Disabler to the rescue!!! Yay!!!

Ditto everything you said!!

 

[chrono]

Mark,
I’m just a hop, skip and a stone’s throw away from Singapore. I think that should be sufficient to clue you as to exactly where I’m from. Sadly, fracture filling might be more common than you think. Reputable places do sell such types but they are disclosed. Even the side view doesn’t appear very transparent, which is why I questioned it’s translucency. Mogok is a particular area within Burma/Myanmar. Some are clear, some are a little silky and some are overly so.

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 12/17/2009 11:50:58 AM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Michael has a ''fire engine red'' ruby for sale, .56ct roval. By his description, it sounds lovely.

HI MTG
I did see that and it has a great red!

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 12/17/2009 9:19:41 AM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Gene had some lovely rubies on his site, I really like the pointed oval with the checkered crown.

http://precisiongem.com/html/html/Ruby.html

MTG
I like that too. I received the AGL brief and it says that its flux-filled
(Additional Enhancement : Clarity (flux-type) )

Interesting....

 

[chrono]

Date: 12/17/2009 7:32:53 PM
Author: haagen_dazs

Date: 12/17/2009 9:19:41 AM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Gene had some lovely rubies on his site, I really like the pointed oval with the checkered crown.

http://precisiongem.com/html/html/Ruby.html

MTG
I like that too. I received the AGL brief and it says that its flux-filled
(Additional Enhancement : Clarity (flux-type) )

Interesting....

Which one are you referring to? Is the ruby you looked at flux filled?

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 12/17/2009 9:42:19 PM

Which one are you referring to? Is the ruby you looked at flux filled?

i was looking at the " pointed oval with the checkered crown. " which is in the description of GEM 85
Anyways., Gene said the link to the AGL cert is broken due to website migration.
Gem 85 is flux filled.

guess lots of those burma rubies are flux filled from what i have read.
nothing bad apparently as long as one accepts and knows that fact.

cool

 

[chrono]

Lots of rubies are flux filled, period. Doesn’t matter if they are from Burma (MongHsu or Mogok), Vietnam or any other location. The important thing is whether that treatment is disclosed prior to purchase or not. Some people aren’t fussed about it but collectors definitely do not want such stones.

 

[Nacre]

I agree with Chrono.

Rubies which are flux or glass filled are a no go. Especially glass filled.

Rubies are one of the hardest gemstones to buy as they are one of the most synthesised and treated and I would not simply trust a jeweller UNLESS the stone has been lab tested and you buy it with the cert.

Some rubies are so filled that they should really be classified as composite stones ie. glass with a tiny bit of ruby in it.

I also don''t truest certs form labs I don''t know or that do not come recommended. Some ''labs'' overseas are not internationally recognised and produce bogus certs. Be very careful.

Alarm bells are ringing with that stone for me. It is very included. It is not a gem colour. The cut appears very thin.
Blood red rubies are the colour of blood. Very dark red. Also, corrundum is very hard and has a very high lustre on the facets. The pic of the diamond shows this on the facets but the facets on the ruby are not showing that reflection. This is probably due to the high level of surface fracture filling.

Rubies come in all sorts of colours from red to pink. The best colour is the one you like the best. If you like a lighter pink, why not go for a pink sapphire?

 

[LD]

Ditto what everybody has said I''m afraid.

In addition, I was really surprised the other day when reading a thread on here that had a number of certificates posted up that ALL had Pigeon Blood Red as a descriptor (from memory I believe it was the same lab as the one in your Cert). Now, to me, that description is misleading because one pigeon''s blood is not the same as another but also that a Lab should be using it horrified me.

Unfortunately, even high end jewellery retailers will sell filled rubies - some will disclose, others just won''t know. I guess it comes down to price point. If the gem looks good and filling isn''t an issue for you AND the price reflects that it''s filled then it''s only gem anoraks like us that might suspect differently!

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 12/17/2009 8:35:09 AM
Author: Chrono
Not only that, the stone in not “crystal” at all; it is translucent but at least not opaque.

You folks sure do have a tendency to judge a stone by a picture. How can you tell anything about a stone which is stuck to some gooey stuff ? I''ve been at this for over 30 years and I can''t tell much about that stone except that the color looks pretty good.

A good nice ruby should be transparent.

I don''t think so. Obviously a clear stone is nice, but in ruby color trumps clarity. Windows don''t even count against a stone too badly. The attached picture from Pala gems is indicative of nice stones in the same price range. This one''s a little over a carat and has what looks like similar clarity and color, but it has a window...no big deal IMO.

 

[chrono]

Date: 12/21/2009 9:08:41 PM
Author: Michael_E

Date: 12/17/2009 8:35:09 AM
Author: Chrono
Not only that, the stone in not “crystal” at all; it is translucent but at least not opaque.

You folks sure do have a tendency to judge a stone by a picture. How can you tell anything about a stone which is stuck to some gooey stuff ? I''ve been at this for over 30 years and I can''t tell much about that stone except that the color looks pretty good.

My reply was posted prior to his informing everyone there is gum stuck under the stone. Knowing that now, I agree that I cannot tell anything about the stone due to the gum affecting how the light is reflected back to the eye/camera. Mark, if interested, please take another picture of the ruby WITHOUT any hindrances.

A good nice ruby should be transparent.

I don''t think so. Obviously a clear stone is nice, but in ruby color trumps clarity. Windows don''t even count against a stone too badly. The attached picture from Pala gems is indicative of nice stones in the same price range. This one''s a little over a carat and has what looks like similar clarity and color, but it has a window...no big deal IMO.

Perhaps it is no big deal to you, but it is to me. I am a very fussy and particular buyer.

 

[Michael_E]

te:[/b] 12/21/2009 10:24:41 PM
Author: Chrono

Perhaps it is no big deal to you, but it is to me. I am a very fussy and particular buyer.

[/quote]

That''s a good thing I suppose, but different gems have different criteria for what constitutes "excellence" and in the case of rubies and other VERY rare stones the requirement for being a fine stone does not generally include high clarity or the very best of cutting. With rare rough and finished gems costing in the thousands of dollars per carat a cutter would be throwing money away cutting to get the absolute best looking stone possible. In the case of the ruby from Pala, the choice of how it was cut was obviously to get the best face up size and weight retention. Cutting it to get the best looking stone could have produced a stone weighing 1/2 of what the final product weighed. I feel that the "native" cutters who cut this chose the right path, since the objective is to have a natural stone which is as large and red as possible. All the other fluffy stuff doesn''t count when it comes to rubies.

As for my comment about the general trend towards very critical comments about gems based on their pictures...well it wasn''t meant as a nasty comment. It''s more that I find it humorous that so many people see so much stuff going on that I either can''t see at all or that I see in a different way. Things like windows which aren''t windows and gray colors which look to me more like reflections of background colors or even extremely critical comments regarding colors, when colors are so variable and easy to manipulate, just leave me shaking my head and wondering how anyone can know so much from a few pictures. I actually appreciate most of the comments since it''s kind of like playing a game, trying to figure out what someone is seeing. I sure hope that your red response doesn''t mean that you''re

Chrono.

 

[chrono]

Michael,
I’m sorry for the red colour; I should have picked blue or green instead to differentiate my reply. No, I’m not mad or upset at all. It’s just me not considering that red usually means one is upset and I wasn’t feeling either at the time I replied. I don’t require the very best cutting but I stand my ground at decent cutting, meaning no windows the size of a patio door, obvious off symmetry and the like for very rare material. Again, it does not need high clarity either but I refuse to accept flux filling and glass filling. While the Pala ruby has nice colour, the window is still too large for my preference which causes a loss of colour and “deadness” in the center, only leaving the outer half a lush and lively stone. I understand it is extremely difficult to have it all and requires $$$ with a lot of patience, but this is part of the fun for me. Now, if the window is about half that size...