Pls Help with a spinel

[angel_of_light]

Hello,

First o all I am glad I found this site, I am new to "colored stones" and here I found a lot of nice info.

I have a stone, which a jeweler told me is a spinel , you can see below photos of it. It has 8.6 Ct. I need some opinions from those more experienced, how much is worth, I tried yesterday all day long to find information and some details on the internet but I didn't find a stone closer to mine. From I can see it is dark grey blue...

Sorry for the quality of pics Please help:


Thank you

 

[chrono]

It looks sort of dark gray green on my monitor. I am sorry to say that the colour isn't a popular one, hence it isn't easy to find comps. I would guess it to be in the $50 range.

 

[angel_of_light]

Ok I will try to make some more pictures but to have a white environment, the green leaves I think gave the green effect.

 

[angel_of_light]

So my 8.8 CT spinel is a dark grey blue stone.... is it makes a difference if is a blue or a green dark spinel? What would be the value? Thank you

 

[FrekeChild]

Where did you get it? What does the clarity look like? And how much did you pay?

 

[JewelFreak]

From your photos it looks pretty opaque. Is it in person? It's not a color most people look for -- on my monitor I don't see any blue, just a bit of green modifier. How did your jeweler determine it's spinel?

 

[angel_of_light]

I took it with a lot of other stones, rubies (from 1.1 ct to 35 ct), some aquamarines, Topazes. Because of it was bulk I have no idea how much is worth, thus I need some ideas.

The jeweler test it with some of his equipment (did the same with all of the stones) and he said it is a spinel.He gave me the same result for the following 1.6 ct stone - maybe this is more interesting for you

 

[PrecisionGem]

Take the price you paid for the parcel and divide it by the number of stones. That will be roughly what each stone is worth on the retail market.

 

[angel_of_light]

Not exactly, the stones weren't properly identified, the parcel was just a bulk of stones, 30-40 pieces. I asked about the spinels because until 2 weeks ago I didn't even know they existed, now I am just curios to see if they are worth anything. The blurred one I guess is not worth anything above 50 $, the second one... still waiting some ideas. If you want to see some examples of what stones i got,

http://s209.photobucket.com/user/motanelu20/slideshow/stones

 

[chrono]

Look out for synthetic spinels too. I am sorry to say the large spinel is too clarity challenged combined with an overly dark tone.

 

[angel_of_light]

Thank you, well it is, what it is, better then a zirconia

What do you think about the rubies?

 

[chrono]

I am sorry to say I cannot make the determination from your picture(s) whether the rubies are natural or synthetic, treated or untreated, which has a huge bearing on price. I concur with Gene that it is unlikely for any stone to be worth more than what you paid for the parcel.

 

[LD]

Stones are valued by:-

1. Colour
2. Cut
3. Clarity
4. Rarity
5. Location (for some gemstones)
6. Size
7. Treatment (preferably lack of)

Unfortunately parcels of "genuine gemstones" are often sold as natural and turn out to be synthetic or highly treated. This is common. So, if you look at your spinel, it isn't a stone that would probably be set into jewellery because (a) it's not a great colour (b) it is really challenged by the clarity and (c) the cutting doesn't enhance the stone. If you look at the list above, in order to get top dollar in anything it needs to be top in most of those categories.

I don't know how much you paid for your parcel but the red stones look a bit suspicious to me and for them to be sold to somebody who doesn't know about gemstones is always a red flag I'm afraid.

In terms of testing - if you would like a definitive diagnosis I would send the stones that you think may be worth something i.e. top colour/cut/clarity to a reputable lab who will have the necessary testing equipment to give you an informed answer. Unfortunately the equipment most jewellers have is very limited in terms of tests they can perform and (in some cases) their experience of coloured gemstones.

As Gene has advised, at the moment, the parcel of stones you have in terms of value is exactly what you paid for it.

 

[LD]

I've just looked at your photobucket photos. One big red flag with all the stones is the size -v- lack of inclusions. IF they were natural rubies you would expect to see some inclusions. In yours there are virtually none.

 

[angel_of_light]

Well I will try to visit another jewer.... the stones are from actual jewelery which were collected over the years in a pawn shop, the gold was sent to be melted and the nicest stones kept. I saw them and bought them, these weren't for sale but I liked them too much and the owner is a friend. Indeed from some pictures is hard to know what is worth and indeed a 60 year old jewer may be wrong in some cases, still he pointed out to the spinels and to some stones which I would have said there were something else:

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb265/motanelu20/stones/20140727_130446_zpscdeaf92a.jpg

I would have never said this is a ruby and not an amethyst...

Thank you all for your help, have a great day