Need help finding square or vintage cushion cut spinel

[mochiko42]

I am looking for a cushion cut spinel to make into a diamond halo ring. I've looked at various vendors (Tan, Barry, Jeff Davies, Litnon, Mastercut, Julia B) but haven't really found THE one yet. I'm sure you know what I mean!! I was wondering if any of you wonderful PS folks could help give me some suggestions on stones or vendors to look at?

Here's what I'm looking for:

Type: spinel
Size: 6.5 yo 8 mm
Clarity: eye-clean or near eye-clean
Cut: Square cushion or nearly square; or even vintage cushion (perhaps in my dreams!!). No rectangles or ovals (no elongated shapes)
Color: Light to medium (no dark) grey/white, pink or blue (no purple); I tend to prefer warmer colors but wouldn't want to rule out cooler colored stones entirely.
Budget: preferably under $500 but there could be a bit of wiggle room depending on the stone (willing to pay a reasonable/sane price if the right stone comes along)


Any help or advice would be great! (I know that this could take time to look for; it's for a future project so I am willing to take the time to search) Thanks in advance.

 

[FrekeChild]

Spinels are going up so much in price, I'm guessing that you might need to up your budget.

Edit: Pink and blue spinels will likely shift to purple. Are you going to be ok with that?

 

[mochiko42]

Spinels are going up so much in price, I'm guessing that you might need to up your budget.

Edit: Pink and blue spinels will likely shift to purple. Are you going to be ok with that?

Yeah, I figured I might have to up the budget to closer to $700-1000 but wanted to start on the lower end of my budget (being optimistic that I can find a bargain!). I might be able to accept some small inclusions if the color and price make up for it. Gosh, everything has really gone up in price these days.

I am ok with a purple shift. Actually I like purple-pink stones, but I am currently working on setting a medium-toned purple OEC round spinel so I don't want another spinel that's too similar in color/hue.

 

[FrekeChild]

So, this one is a no?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/160804...to=ZZ&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

 

[mochiko42]

So, this one is a no?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/160804...to=ZZ&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

Mmm...I've been looking at that exact spinel for several weeks now, it is very nice but I've been dithering about it for a while (should I or shouldn't I, etc.) - it hasn't been one of the stones which made me sit up and whip out my credit card right away. I'm already using Julia for my purple spinel, so I wanted to do a little more research to see if there were any other cushions out there before I make a decision on this one. Gah.. the trouble with having an indecisive personality! I bet by the time I make up my mind this one will be gone too..

 

[FrekeChild]

I don't know if this one is too dark for you, but it looks pretty. It's on sale and under budget! 1.54cts

http://www.stevorocks.com/

 

[mochiko42]

Here's one that I liked (though the photo looked like it had some brown in it). This one is already sold (and also I can't order from this vendor as he doesn't ship outside the US)



From another vendor: this one also look nice but somehow both the picture and video are very blurry on my computer screen, so I can't really tell much about it.
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-436160003

 

[FrekeChild]

I was just looking at GF. I don't much like them anyway, so maybe it's not such a bad thing that you can't buy from them.

 

[FrekeChild]

The MC stone seems to have some silk.

This could be interesting, and it's larger than you wanted. Black bits are camera reflections, but it's hard to tell what the body color is. Slightly off square, but only by .6mm.

http://gemcal.com/fancy-spinel-5-05-cts-2250

 

[FrekeChild]

Small window, tinge of orange, probably deep, but I think the color has some nice pop.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-2037917271

Again, slightly off square, small window, more lavender pink.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?914784637

 

[OreoRosies86]

Pinkish orange spinel from Finewater, 6.6x5.6mm. Per his email Gary says there is no brown, gray, or purple in the stone. $595.00

 

[JewelFreak]

Jeff Davies has a couple of decent blue cushions within your budget: http://www.pinterest.com/jeffdaviesgems/spinel/

This one from GemRite looks more pinkish-purple in his video, may be too purple for you, but it's very nice & $410. He also has a ton of blue spinels worth looking at.

 

[mochiko42]

I've been looking through all 54 (!) pages of spinels on Multicolour's website. I haven't bought from them before and haven't really looked at their site regularly in the past, so I'm not that familiar with their photography style. Are a majority of their stones really THAT windowed? Or is it just the table glare / poor photography?

E.g. is this a huge window on this gem, or just poor photography?
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?524595116



What do you think of this sapphire? (not Multicolour), looks like some zoning but the price is cheap? not sure, I've had difficulty reading this vendor's photos/videos in the past so I don't feel that confident!
1.73ct Sapphire - Ceylon 6.77 x 6.28 x 4.52 mm eye clean, nice cut ,heat only, no beryllium $425

 

[LoversKites]

Many of Multicolour's stones are not very well cut. And yes, the stone you linked has a window. They have some gorgeous stuff though as well.

 

[chrono]

E.g. is this a huge window on this gem, or just poor photography?
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?524595116

Most likely a giant window. If it's not huge, then the tilt window will be huge and very easily seen at the slightest tilt.

 

[chrono]

Price sure is cheap and I don't detect any issues in the photograph. However, when I viewed the video, there is a strange swath of different blue in the lower half of the sapphire, quite similar to zoning. It also looks much grayer in the video too. I would ask the vendor these questions.

 

[FrekeChild]

Price sure is cheap and I don't detect any issues in the photograph. However, when I viewed the video, there is a strange swath of different blue in the lower half of the sapphire, quite similar to zoning. It also looks much grayer in the video too. I would ask the vendor these questions.

Yeah, if that's JD's, I'd expect it to be grayer and darker in person.

 

[T L]

Color: Light to medium (no dark) grey/white, pink or blue (no purple); I tend to prefer warmer colors but wouldn't want to rule out cooler colored stones entirely.

Just note that if you do see a blue spinel you like, most blue spinels shift to a more purple or violet color, so I highly doubt you'll be able to find a pure blue spinel. Some cobalt spinels retain their blue color in all lighting, but they're very rare and expensive. You may want to stick to pinks in that case.

 

[mochiko42]

Jeff Davies has a couple of decent blue cushions within your budget: http://www.pinterest.com/jeffdaviesgems/spinel/

This one from GemRite looks more pinkish-purple in his video, may be too purple for you, but it's very nice & $410. He also has a ton of blue spinels worth looking at.

Thanks for the suggestions!

That GemRite one looks nice, I wonder if it would be darker in person than in the photo (e.g. for JD, his stones tend to be be darker in person so I am a little wary of ordering any medium-dark stones from him, since they may be darker than what I want/expect).

 

[mochiko42]

This spinel has already been sold, but I really like the light violet / silvery color. I'm curious though, about the dark border (zoning??) that runs along the edges. In my (admittedly limited) experience, this is the first time I've seen a gemstone photograph like this. You don't see the dark border in the video. Could someone advise me on what this dark border is? (Just a reflection in the photo? Is it common?)
Thanks




http://www.gemrite.com/collections/gems/products/violet-spinel-1-99cts

 

[T L]

This spinel has already been sold, but I really like the light violet / silvery color. I'm curious though, about the dark border (zoning??) that runs along the edges. In my (admittedly limited) experience, this is the first time I've seen a gemstone photograph like this. You don't see the dark border in the video. Could someone advise me on what this dark border is? (Just a reflection in the photo? Is it common?)
Thanks




http://www.gemrite.com/collections/gems/products/violet-spinel-1-99cts

Very strange photo. It's almost like there's pure glare on the stone, and only the edges don't have glare. Therefore, I don't think you're seeing the true color in that photo.

 

[chrono]

Very interesting picture and I wish I had a clue why the edge is so dark. Yes, it isn't seen in the video and I trust the video more than the single photograph.

 

[T L]

Didn't know there was a video, and yes, I would go by the video for a more accurate representation of the color. Now that I see the video, I think it's just glare because the table and the crown angles are on the flatter side.