Is this ruby too dark?

[Corbes55]

Hey guys, I'm looking at buying an unheated ruby. I found one I liked based on videos, but I requested a photo in room lighting and it's a little concerning, the stone has high saturation but im worried its too dark. The ruby is 1.58ct/unheated/GIA. The asking price is 8500. Here is the photo in room lighting. Tell me what you think please!

 

[kenny]

WAY too dark for me, especially at that price!
Dull, drab and lifeless.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

The experts will be in to give you more information but that looks dark and very brown to me.

 

[Stone Hunter]

For me that is too dark. The first thing I look for in colored stones is a COLOR that appeals to me.

 

[shinyrocks]

Hmmm. It does look pretty dark in those photos, and a little brownish. Has the vendor commented on the color vs. what you were expecting? Some stones can be very difficult to photograph. If the photos are accurate though, I'd have to agree with the others. This seems too high for the color/tone.

 

[Corbes55]

Yeah I already backed out of the deal based on the general reaction from everybody who responded. Thanks for the advice. I put a non refundable $500USD deposit down, which is get to keep as credit so I am letting my girlfriend buy something with the credit instead

 

[kenny]

Yeah I already backed out of the deal based on the general reaction from everybody who responded. Thanks for the advice. I put a non refundable $500USD deposit down, which is get to keep as credit so I am letting my girlfriend buy something with the credit instead

Might be smarter, and cheaper, to just forfeit that $500 and buy from a reputable vendor.

Posters here can recommend reputable ones that sell rubies.

 

[Corbes55]

Well I'm not going to throw away 500 dollars when my girlfriend could use it to buy a low end pink sapphire or something, but yes I agree. I found Pricescooe after I made the deposit and now I am wiser thanks to the experience and forums here. I have been looking on africagems, gemfix, and ajs. I wanted to check swala but I haven't been able to successfully navigate their site yet. Also i have seen what wildfish has to offer but have noticed the prices lean more towards retail

 

[kenny]

You'd have to spend time and work doing the research, which wouldn't be easy ... but perhaps buying again from this vendor will be "throwing away" (as you put it) way more than $500.
Others here are way more knowledgeable than I on rubies, but $8,500 for that seemed thousands over priced not just $500.
Perhaps anything that vendor sells is way overpriced too.

I'm certainly not telling you what to do, just what to look into.

 

[Corbes55]

Oh no I understand and I am not planning on buying from the same vendor, that's why I'm saying I will be giving the 500 credit to my girlfriend instead of purchasing a different stone from the same vendor. I will look somewhere reputable, I actually made a new contact locally today who may be the connection I have been looking for to get wholesale prices, and at the very least make up close comparisons in person. If I do make a purchase I will be sure to share on the forum thankyou everyone for your insight. You helped me dodge a bullet for sure.

 

[kenny]

Oh no I understand and I am not planning on buying from the same vendor, that's why I'm saying I will be giving the 500 credit to my girlfriend instead of purchasing a different stone from the same vendor. I will look somewhere reputable, I actually made a new contact locally today who may be the connection I have been looking for to get wholesale prices, and at the very least make up close comparisons in person. If I do make a purchase I will be sure to share on the forum thankyou everyone for your insight. You helped me dodge a bullet for sure.

... "I actually made a new contact locally today who may be the connection I have been looking for to get wholesale prices" ...

Whoa! Huge red flag!

Anyone who says they sell at wholesale prices to someone who is not a retailer is lying.
What else might they be lying about?

Please slow down, my friend.
It's a jungle out there.
Please read PS for a few weeks.
You are not ready to buy.

Can anyone here recommend the good vendors for rubies?
(I'm not a colored-stone guy, unless they are fancy colored diamonds. )

 

[Corbes55]

Yeah I am no longer in a hurry. The contact I gained is my sponsor's uncle and he can be trusted. He is semi retired and appreciates a young enthusiast. But at the same time, I am using preferred vendors found on PS to reference his findings. Also, is there anybody around who can help me browse Swala?

 

[kenny]

Some of the saddest posts I've read in my 13 years on PS are reports from people who bought from a trusted friend/relative.
They later learn how badly they were ripped off once they learn more about what they bought.

Just saying.

Your best defense is to learn learn learn.

 

[Bron357]

Yes, my advice is to keep business and family and friends separate. Especially where money is involved, it can be really awful when it goes sour.

 

[Nosean]

8500 is overpriced - the stone is not pretty - like a garnet I would never buy to...

 

[Seaglow]

Many rubies tend to bleed in lower lighting conditions. I think the pictured ruby may have a nice color in strong light. Some bleed in sunlight but some dark ones will have a fantastic color. In some Asian cultures, the preference is a darker tone because they can go a nice, blood red in sunlight. The medium reds usually would turn orangy or pinkish in direct sunlight. But these are at gem countries where I think historically in olden times, you get to display gems usually in sunlight...but now in modern times, people are mostly indoors. However, at 8500, you can get a ruby that can hold its color or have a good color on all lighting conditions, and that would most likely be the medium reds.

 

[Frost]

Much too dark, too brown and overpriced by thousands upon thousands. Seriously, within the trade a top quality ruby in 1 carat with no heat goes for less than that (and this is really very far from it).
Although to be fair, 'room light' is not how anyone should judge a gem's base color accurately - you'd accurately judge it either in diffused daylight or in daylight-calibrated lamplight. And this one looks like it'd lighten up in daylight, but still.

Search around a bit more... I'm sure you'll come across many better stones at the same price or less.

 

[theredspinel]

Never ever would have guessed that was a ruby. To me it doesn't even qualify as a garnet!!

Much prettier garnets out there.

 

[Cockatiel]

I wouldn't attempt to buy any gems from a dealer that wanted $8500 for that stone. Can you use the $500 credit to buy a 10 gram bar of gold or something instead? Or anything in high karat gold without gemstones. You can at least get something you can resell that way.

 

[LD]

I'm so glad you found this forum because I think you've probably saved money and heartache. Buying coloured gemstones is not as easy as buying diamonds because specialist advice isn't as freely available. May I suggest if you want a ruby, you put that in the search bar of this forum and look at the ruby threads. You'll learn so much just from reading the threads you find. Good luck!

 

[T L]

If you want that color, you can save a ton of money buying a very low grade pyrope garnet. That "ruby" looks identical to a $5 garnet. In fact, I've seen pyrope garnets that look way better than that ruby.

 

[Arkteia]

I am surprised by the price. I bought a certified unheated vivid ruby twice the size for a comparable price. At a show. I think if you have this amount to spend, you can surely look around and find something larger, and better, or at least better. Also, rubies, like any stones, tend to get darker in the setting, so what you are seeing now will perform even worse when it is set.

 

[Corbes55]

I am surprised by the price. I bought a certified unheated vivid ruby twice the size for a comparable price. At a show. I think if you have this amount to spend, you can surely look around and find something larger, and better, or at least better. Also, rubies, like any stones, tend to get darker in the setting, so what you are seeing now will perform even worse when it is set.

un heated

Yeah. i cancelled, and i have been looking alot. ideally i would like a 2CT un heated vivid ruby, but i havent seen any at a responable price. i am willing to spend alot for the right stone but i dont know where to look. Size isnt the most imortant though, i would choose quality first. i want a top quality unheated stone of 1.5 at least. what price range would you say it would require?

 

[Arkteia]

Corbes, I looked up Africagems' rubies.
Here are unheated ones. He also has heated ones, cheaper. Not all are perfectly cut, but I like the colors.
https://www.africagems.com/unheatedruby.html

 

[Seaglow]

Unheated rubies are trickier to buy because they are more shifty in color. However, in many cases, heating rubies can make the color nicer and more stable in most cases (less shifty) but the trasparency less. Ruby I think, you have to see in person before buying to be safe if you are paying big bucks. You don't know what you'll get in different lighting conditions.

Here are examples of rubies reacting to different lighting conditions.

These are unheated Mozambique rubies (except for the modified cushion which is an AIGS orangy pink sapphire but too dark to be a pad). Note that the numerous rubies in the box are commercial quality (not fine quality) and I'm going to compare it with a fine unheated GRS pigeon's blood ruby (not the purplish red but more on the purer red side) on how they color shift in different lights.

I personally define a fine ruby to have great transparency and to hold a nice color in all lighting conditions even if it shifts from red to purplish red, to orangy red - as long as the color remains nice and doesn't bleed out.

The pigeon's blood I didn't mind the window (most rubies are flattish and I think a deeper pavilion would have darkened the stone) as I like the color, big face up size (stone is only 1.05 carats) and the crisp transparency.

Rubies are hard to photograph so I can't capture the pure red hue of the pigeon's blood. Also, in strong artificial light, the commercial quality rubies are mostly a purer red but as you will see, will darken in low light.

So when buying a ruby especially unheated ones, it is safe to assume that internet photos are the best color of the ruby because they are in strong, controlled light.

All photos taken with an iPad. No color adjustments.

Here are the stones in incandescent light.


Under a fluorescent lamp. Also in the photo is an unheated pinkish red heart Mozambique ruby though it appears more pink in the photos than IRL (very bright stone!).



Here are the stones in low diffused light.


The stones in outdoor daylight.



The pigeon's blood in direct sunlight.

 

[Corbes55]

Thankyou so much for taking the time to show me these photos and explain different lighting. It helps alot and I will reference this often as I continue my search!

 

[whitewave]

I saw a nice one the other day, let me try to find it...
https://www.finewatergems.com/store/p367/1.54_ct_Unheated_Ruby.html

May be a little too pink for you....

 

[Corbes55]

That is perfect! I only wish it was 2ct. What kind of price difference can I expect for a gem like that except 2ct?

 

[kenny]

That is perfect! I only wish it was 2ct. What kind of price difference can I expect for a gem like that except 2ct?

FYI, there are always large price/per/carat hikes at milestone carat weights like 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 etc.
Also, often if they can poorly cut a 2.01 ct from a given piece of rough, or cut a well-cut 1.71 ct from the same piece of rough they'll opt for the poorly cut 2.01.

So many shoppers are obsessed with magic carat weight milestones that it takes its toll on the value and quality you get for stones that just reach those milestones.

For these reasons many experienced and better-informed gem shoppers avoid stones just over these carat weight milestones.

 

[Arkteia]

Agree. Also, the shape makes a huge difference. Some stones simply have a good "spread".