Help with a red spinel

[Atwater]

That looks like a Mahenge spinel. For those, the standard prices I've seen for up to a 2 ct Mahenge spinel were around $2k/ct, slightly less during sales. I don't know if the $2.8k is for a size premium, since spinels are supposed to get exponentially rarer at the 1 ct and 2 ct marks. The sky's the limit on how people price a large Burmese red spinel, though.

If you like the Mahenge spinel, my recommendation is to restrict your search to around 2 ct for something more affordable.

Thanks, I now have a better idea of the price. I like this intense pinkish red as well, so I do not have to have a pure red spinel.

Yes, the price seems appropriate these days. It’s pinkish red. I would get an incandescent lighting shot, since outdoor shots tend to make them more reddish. Hopefully it’s a reputable vendor who will provide a reputable lab report and has a decent return policy. Make sure the stone has strong red fluorescence.

Thanks for the advice; I will take notes of them. I won't be able to spent that much on the red spinel . My current budget is $10k for a red gem (a red or really nice pinkish red spinel) and a green gem. Green and blue-green are my favorite colors, so I would rather allocate more for the green gem. I started with the spinel because I thought it would be easier.

 

[Atwater]

I've bought red spinel from this seller before (~4ct cushion cut). You can get an ok stone for a decent price but you need to be aware of a few things and ask a lot of questions.

I had him keep the stone until he went to Bangkok/Lotus next (many months later) so I could get a report. The report showed that some colourless oil was used on the stone but, as it was extremely minor, I kept the stone. I would have preferred if he had removed the oil and sent to Lotus afterwards.

I would also recommend:
-Asking if there are any cracks on the stone surface
-Ask the vendor to put the spinel in alcohol/acetone for a day to remove any oiling (especially prior to having any lab report prepared)
-Getting some photos/videos of the stone with light coming from the side to help ID the inclusions

The stone was also never quite as bright as in his photos/videos. I think he used some powerful lighting.

WOW, @budmanbudman, thank you so much! I will surely ask vendors these questions if I am interested in their spinels. I suppose this vendor is not the only one who put oil on spinels or using strong lighting. It is discouraging to know that his/her stones are not as bright as he/she presented. The vendor did ask me my budget, but I have not given him/her yet. I will just keep looking.

 

[arkieb1]

My funny story of the day......Some of the people that mine spinels soak them and keep them in jars of cooking oil. I kid you not. Because they believe this makes the "cracks" ie what we call inclusions in them disappear - which actually it kind of does.

You can send a lovely red spinel to a lab and have it come back minor traces of oiling and seriously it's the same oil they use to eat with. They are starting to realise Westerners don't want treated stones and will pay more money for non treated so they have been trying to wash it out using lemon juice. They tell me acid in lemons gets rid of oil. Which it does and it doesn't.

Anyway some spinels are treated commercially with oil, they can be filled with fillers just like emerald. Some of the really decent stuff like from Namya I find probably less horrifying and ironically funny because it can be cooking oil. Not so cool when it goes to the lab but interesting none the less.

 

[budmanbudman10]

WOW, @budmanbudman, thank you so much! I will surely ask vendors these questions if I am interested in their spinels. I suppose this vendor is not the only one who put oil on spinels or using strong lighting. It is discouraging to know that his/her stones are not as bright as he/she presented. The vendor did ask me my budget, but I have not given him/her yet. I will just keep looking.

As so many of the spinels are now oiled upstream, it could easily have not been this vendor that oiled the stone. He knew it was going to the lab anyways but didn't suspect oiling. And as it was extremely minor, it could have been the first cutter adding some cooking oil as askieb1 mentioned.

I also got a great deal on a large vivid red spinel (medium-deep tone) as this vendor purposefully undercuts the larger Burmese spinel vendors.

I just prefer when vendors remove the oil and resubmit so I can get a Lotus Gold report rather than a Lotus Silver report.

So I wouldn't necessarily recommend against this vendor but would make sure anyone working with this or another vendor makes sure to ask all the right questions

 

[VividRed]

So I have moved on in my search for a red spinel and found this one:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsBZ4CfnLQN/

I think it is more a pinkish red? But it sure looks gorgeous and I love a trillian cut. I anticipated the price would be high but I summoned courage to ask. So it is 2.77ct, 8.88mm, and the price is $2800/ct. It does not have a certification and he/she could do it for free and asked my preference of the lab. At $7756, it is really out of my price range. But I realize I do not have knowledge about what kind of price should be expect for such a gem at different sizes. Will you please comment on this spinel as well its price? Also what would be a general ballpark price for different sizes? Thanks a lot!

@Atwater how did you contact this vendor? I wrote them on Insta but haven’t gotten any reply yet. Does he/do they also have a website? Thank you!

 

[Atwater]

@Atwater how did you contact this vendor? I wrote them on Insta but haven’t gotten any reply yet. Does he/do they also have a website? Thank you!

I used instagram DM and got replies within 12hr. I do not know if he/she has a website. I saw the vendor was active 40min ago on instagram; you may want to try again. Good luck!

 

[VividRed]

I used instagram DM and got replies within 12hr. I do not know if he/she has a website. I saw the vendor was active 40min ago on instagram; you may want to try again. Good luck!

Thank you Atwater, I will try again

 

[VividRed]

I used instagram DM and got replies within 12hr. I do not know if he/she has a website. I saw the vendor was active 40min ago on instagram; you may want to try again. Good luck!

I wrote on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They do not reply. Is it a legit business or a garage-sale type of activity?

 

[voce]

Are you still looking for a red spinel, @Atwater? I've gotten this red spinel from Africagems at a good price.

 

[pwsg07]

I wrote on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They do not reply. Is it a legit business or a garage-sale type of activity?

I messaged them before. They don't sell online.

 

[Atwater]

I messaged them before. They don't sell online.

That is strange?! They replied me quickly and answered all my questions. Weird?!

 

[Atwater]

Are you still looking for a red spinel, @Atwater? I've gotten this red spinel from Africagems at a good price.

This is beautiful! I am indeed putting my search for red spinel on hold. I will meet George at MuzoEmerald this month and I anticipate I will buy an emerald. So I better save up

 

[dmasha]

As so many of the spinels are now oiled upstream, it could easily have not been this vendor that oiled the stone. He knew it was going to the lab anyways but didn't suspect oiling. And as it was extremely minor, it could have been the first cutter adding some cooking oil as askieb1 mentioned.

I also got a great deal on a large vivid red spinel (medium-deep tone) as this vendor purposefully undercuts the larger Burmese spinel vendors.

I just prefer when vendors remove the oil and resubmit so I can get a Lotus Gold report rather than a Lotus Silver report.

So I wouldn't necessarily recommend against this vendor but would make sure anyone working with this or another vendor makes sure to ask all the right questions

Hello,

How can i contact you to ask about one of your stones?