The Gem Trader drop - what'd you get?

[VapidLapid]

It is not uncommon for Brad's stones to actually present better in person than in his very good photos. I agree with the others that this fine a burma red is hard to come by even in this size, and dramatically more expensive above 1 carat, if you can find one. After the drop Brad wrote me saying he had a few others equally fine in clarity and color and cut from the same small find. I did not hesitate this time and chose a .60 cushion. He had another oval a little larger than yours, but it was more enlongated, and I prefer ovals to be more roval; I don't like it when an oval looks like a long rectangle with rounded ends. The cushion will work super great for me as I bought an equally fine pair of red red burmese cushions, .56 total about 2 years ago. I guess my point is, holding onto such a nice stone while you ponder a special custom design can't hurt, and in that time you might even find a special complement for it.

 

[Marlow]

Gorgous cushion!!!!

 

[T L]

Another thing is that vivid color is very hard to come by, no matter the size. I just set a half carat tsavorite of vivid color, and honestly, that stone enthralls me much much more than many other larger stones, even 30x the size. For example, I have an 8 carat stone I would trade in a heart beat for another half carat tsavorite like this. I would also say that if size is an issue, what I've done is I collected smaller stones and put them together in multi-stone rings. That's a great way to get a lovely custom setting, and yet you will save money because you're not getting single settings for each stone.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Oh, VL. I wish I had known he had more. Please, please let me know if you ever change your mind. I'd love to be first in line!

 

[LoversKites]

Oh, VL. I wish I had known he had more. Please, please let me know if you ever change your mind. I'd love to be first in line!

VL said Brad said he had a few others. You should definitely contact Brad if you want one.

 

[Niel]

Just to update, I received the red spinel yesterday & the color is exactly as pictured on Brads site, maybe a bit more magnificent if that's possible I am having an internal struggle though with this purchase. $600 is a good chunk of money to spend on a gemstone & by the time I set this (I have two different concepts I'm trying to decide between) I will spend another $2k on the low end. Due to the size of the stone I know I won't be happy with it in a simple setting, so that's not an option.

So do I return it and use this budget of $3k to buy a larger red spinel? If I did that I would go for the biggest, best color I could get and put it in a simple solitaire initially. Thoughts? I don't have time to take and add pictures right now, have to work all day. I hope to revisit this evening and can maybe add a picture then.

Well I can let others comment about how easy it would be to find a stone that color but larger.

What I will say is the color looks amazing, and I always find to my eye spinels hardly ever look red. They look pink. So I do think the stone is special.

Also, you know how I feel about your setting ideas. I think a smaller stone when done the right way can absolutely have enough impact to make up for the smaller size.

 

[Marlow]

Here you find burmese spinel - Gemwow are several Thai gemtrader. I purchased a Chrysoberyl so far and describtion, color, everything was fine. I got an email from Gemwow whether I am happy with the stone and whether was o.k. - liked it very much.

Most here have ( an this is o.k. - it is difficult to find larger rough) naturals or inclusion or windows - compare the prices and you see what you could get for 3K.

http://www.gemwow.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?gemcode=OG0029

 

[woofmama]

Just to update, I received the red spinel yesterday & the color is exactly as pictured on Brads site, maybe a bit more magnificent if that's possible I am having an internal struggle though with this purchase. $600 is a good chunk of money to spend on a gemstone & by the time I set this (I have two different concepts I'm trying to decide between) I will spend another $2k on the low end. Due to the size of the stone I know I won't be happy with it in a simple setting, so that's not an option.

So do I return it and use this budget of $3k to buy a larger red spinel? If I did that I would go for the biggest, best color I could get and put it in a simple solitaire initially. Thoughts? I don't have time to take and add pictures right now, have to work all day. I hope to revisit this evening and can maybe add a picture then.

If you did have more money to spend, where would you get a bigger red spinel with at least just as good color, and it could cost way more than $3K. There are many people here that find getting a good red spinel to be quite a challenge. Now, you should return it if you're not enthralled with it, but that doesn't seem to be the case (is it?). As for the right setting, that can always wait. FInding the perfect stone is 90% of the difficulty. As for Mahenge spinels, I would rule them out, as most of the material is pink/orange these days, so you would have to look at Burma, or other locales. Even Mahenge spinels are running $2K/ct for stones around 2 carats, and $5K/ct for stones above 3 carats.

I actually don't think $600 is a lot to spend on a fine red spinel either.

JMO, good luck with whatever you decide, but please post pics.

Hi TL- Thanks for your response.I would like to clarify that I'm a novice in the gemstone world but read and study on here as much as possible in the hope of avoiding bad decisions and bypassing the learner stone phase if possible. I looked on a few sites at red spinel, read quite a bit about mahenge versus burma and saw the prices/going rate for burma stones. I love this stone, it's so beautiful, but wanted to be sure I made a good choice merely due to the size. Having bought a couple of stones over the last year, all of which were between 7.4mm and 8mm I was a bit taken aback by the size even though I saw the dimensions prior to the purchase. Having clarified that this stone is worth what I paid & seeing how nice it is in different lighting I've had it in today sealed the deal for me. I'll be keeping it I would love to purchase a larger burma spinel eventually and wondered how big of a stone I could get in the 3k range. Perhaps I'll start that hunt next year. Yesterday right after I opened the package from TGT one of my very wealthy clients stopped into my business wearing her huge ruby ring. That stone is perhaps 8mm & just beautiful, so that had an influence over my perception of my new little gem. I also can wait to set this, so I'll take my time considering the options, one of which is a Toi et Moi ring. I've saved loads of ideas and have had some fun off PS discussing the options. So I'm very into the multi stone idea.

Thanks again!

 

[woofmama]

Just to update, I received the red spinel yesterday & the color is exactly as pictured on Brads site, maybe a bit more magnificent if that's possible I am having an internal struggle though with this purchase. $600 is a good chunk of money to spend on a gemstone & by the time I set this (I have two different concepts I'm trying to decide between) I will spend another $2k on the low end. Due to the size of the stone I know I won't be happy with it in a simple setting, so that's not an option.

So do I return it and use this budget of $3k to buy a larger red spinel? If I did that I would go for the biggest, best color I could get and put it in a simple solitaire initially. Thoughts? I don't have time to take and add pictures right now, have to work all day. I hope to revisit this evening and can maybe add a picture then.

Well I can let others comment about how easy it would be to find a stone that color but larger.

What I will say is the color looks amazing, and I always find to my eye spinels hardly ever look red. They look pink. So I do think the stone is special.

Also, you know how I feel about your setting ideas. I think a smaller stone when done the right way can absolutely have enough impact to make up for the smaller size.

Hi Niel, You're right the stone is special & the color is quite stunning I'm far from an expert but it does look to be the perfect red to me. My only issue is the size of the stone in relation to my size 7.25 finger, but I do agree that the setting can have a lot of impact. I'm considering a couple of options there so I think I'm going to take my time on this. Still open to ideas!

 

[woofmama]

Here you find burmese spinel - Gemwow are several Thai gemtrader. I purchased a Chrysoberyl so far and describtion, color, everything was fine. I got an email from Gemwow whether I am happy with the stone and whether was o.k. - liked it very much.

Most here have ( an this is o.k. - it is difficult to find larger rough) naturals or inclusion or windows - compare the prices and you see what you could get for 3K.

http://www.gemwow.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?gemcode=OG0029

Thanks for your input Marlow. I'm a novice at buying so need to know I made a good decision on purchasing this stone. I enjoyed looking at the site you linked and do realize what a fantastic stone I was lucky enough to buy I do wish it were larger but love it none the less

 

[woofmama]

It is not uncommon for Brad's stones to actually present better in person than in his very good photos. I agree with the others that this fine a burma red is hard to come by even in this size, and dramatically more expensive above 1 carat, if you can find one. After the drop Brad wrote me saying he had a few others equally fine in clarity and color and cut from the same small find. I did not hesitate this time and chose a .60 cushion. He had another oval a little larger than yours, but it was more enlongated, and I prefer ovals to be more roval; I don't like it when an oval looks like a long rectangle with rounded ends. The cushion will work super great for me as I bought an equally fine pair of red red burmese cushions, .56 total about 2 years ago. I guess my point is, holding onto such a nice stone while you ponder a special custom design can't hurt, and in that time you might even find a special complement for it.

Thank VL! The cushion you're purchasing is spectacular I would love to see what you do with it, especially if it's going to be a three stone piece, please indulge all of us with pics of the three stones together, major eye candy!

I would have gladly taken that one had I known it was available. But am truly happy with mine & will take my time pondering a worthy setting

 

[Marlow]

I am glad I could help a bit.

This material is soo precious. You will find a perfect setting and we will love to see pictures here.

 

[pregcurious]

VL that's a beautiful stone.

 

[chrono]

Those spinels look very special and well priced; such colouration will cost $$$$$ if you want something larger, even if you can find them. Congrats to both WM and VL.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I figured I'd post this here...

Did anyone ever get this one? I know it was suggested many times. Just wondering if anyone ever saw it IRL and if so what they thought.

http://www.thegemtrader.com/Jul14BSpinelPage.htm