Buying a spinel, how's this one?

[YadaYadaYada]

Seriously thinking of buying this violet spinel, I know the seasoned CS folk will know the vendor.

Thoughts on this? I just worry that it will be go dark in low like a sapphire I once bought. I'm having a hard time finding a good violet color in a spinel so thought to run it past you guys first. First pic is the vendors and the others are screenshots from a video Gary was nice enough to send.

TIA!

Stats:
1.49 carat 6.3mm, IF clarity from Tanzania

 

[voce]

If you want that color, then it will go dark in low light. Lavender and blue spinels have no fluorescence (unless synthetic); only red and pink spinels could naturally fluoresce. Just because they can, doesn't guarantee they will.

 

[T L]

The cutting is nice but the color is grayish/brownish.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@voce and @T L thank you for weighing in, I'm terrible at evaluating gemstones so glad I posted.

Should I perhaps look for a gray spinel that leans towards lavender or how do I get around this browning out tendency?

 

[arkieb1]

You probably need to see it in person, I take each spinel as it comes, ones with more pink rather than grey would be less dark.

 

[voce]

Should I perhaps look for a gray spinel that leans towards lavender or how do I get around this browning out tendency?

Not sure why you would expect a gray spinel to not go dark in low light settings. A gray spinel to me is by definition dark.

You could go for a pinker version of lavender, as @arkieb1 has suggested. Or, if the hue is important to you as it was to me, get a very light toned lavender (lower saturation).

Gray is the reason I have rejected at least 5 lavender spinels. I've only kept 3. And I've probably looked at 50.

 

[lovedogs]

I like the color, but it will be dark in low light. Spinels are super shifty. Even my "Jedi" goes darkish when the light is really low. But this does have grey/brown tones for sure, and if that bugs you then I'd pass on it.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@voce, I was thinking a light toned gray that leans towards lavender would be nice, of course gray is expected to go darker in low light and I understand that but that is more acceptable to me than a lavender that goes brown. The fact that you have had to look at so many to find acceptable ones is not encouraging.

@lovedogs, thanks for your input, I think I need to keep looking!

 

[voce]

Please note: what I find acceptable is subjective, and highly dependent on price. Many gemstones I have bought were not must-have purchases, and above a certain price/ct I demand "top" (best available) quality. For example, there's many tourmalines and sapphires and emeralds and garnets a lot of other people like that I don't comment on because I am not impressed by the tone or the brilliance or the ring style.

I think from what you've been describing, you would find more acceptable spinels than me, because what I look for is no noticeable gray at all, and absolutely no brown.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I get what you're saying @voce, different tolerances for different people and this is also not a high priced stone.

I know some folks enjoy hunting for the perfect stone but I find it maddening

 

[voce]

Oh, I don't hunt. The only one I have hunted was a ruby. I just look at everything and buy opportunistically if I can get a good price, if it's something that I like enough.

 

[T L]

It’s hard to find a vivid or strongly saturated spinel, and if you do, , but if I had to choose, I would rather see gray than brown. Oddly, I see both gray and brown in that stone.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@T L do you think I might have better luck in sapphires if I search for a blue that leans toward lavender? I've been limiting the search to spinel and sapphire for the hardness but if there is another possible gem with a lavender color to look into I'm all ears.

 

[voce]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/706046...earch_query=Lavender&ref=shop_items_search_14

https://www.etsy.com/listing/687725...earch_query=Lavender&ref=shop_items_search_15

https://www.etsy.com/listing/687728...earch_query=Lavender&ref=shop_items_search_17

Don't know your budget, but it appears to me that lavender sapphire from Ceylon is less rare and a much better bang for buck. Little to no gray among Yvonne's finds, and lavender sapphire from Ceylon, not Montana, is never heated.

 

[T L]

@T L do you think I might have better luck in sapphires if I search for a blue that leans toward lavender? I've been limiting the search to spinel and sapphire for the hardness but if there is another possible gem with a lavender color to look into I'm all ears.

It depends on your budget, they can be pricey these days. Here’s an example of what I consider a nice lavender/blue spinel. It is grayish, but I really like it. It’s very difficult to fine strongly saturated lavender/blues in spinels. You may find a sapphire that color, but it will still be pricey.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxw7mKQlOeF/?igshid=11l23wlc93e2m

 

[YadaYadaYada]

That's great @voce I'm going to expand my search and keep an eye on Yvonne's shop for a round lavender sapphire. Thank you for those links!

 

[pwsg07]

I think the spinel will probably look like pic 2 at the worst scenario. If you are looking for a gray spinel, there are dark gray and light gray. I have seen $50/ carat for a one carat stone

 

[qubitasaurus]

I didnt realize you didnt want it to shift, if that is the case then maybe sapphire would be a better bet -- it could be less variable in different lighting.

How about this one

https://loupetroop.com/listings/loo...2-dot-14ct-precision-gem-violet-umba-sapphire

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@T L that is a gorgeous stone!

@pwsg07 that second pic is a little too brown for me, I have seen some nice grays but none that lean towards lavender that aren't super expensive, they also seem to be a hot gem right now so that probably isn't helping.

@qubitasaurus I started looking at spinel because I had a pink sapphire that went murky in low light but it was also slightly grayish so maybe that contributed to that effect. That's a really pretty sapphire that Elle has for sure, I'm also still talking to Gary to see about an upcoming stones or material he might have in the color I'm looking for. It might just be a matter of keeping an eye out for the one to come along.

 

[PinkAndBlueBling]

I've learned that with purples and pinks, different vendors see different colors than I do. A lot of pink sapphires look very purple to me and some purples are really what I would call gray. It drives me nuts! I had a vendor re-do a ring for me because what she called pink, I called purple.

Gary is fabulous and I would recommend showing him a picture of your ideal color and asking him if he has anything like it, be it spinel or sapphire. You could do the same with Jeff White and Yvonne.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[qubitasaurus]

@T L that is a gorgeous stone!

@pwsg07 that second pic is a little too brown for me, I have seen some nice grays but none that lean towards lavender that aren't super expensive, they also seem to be a hot gem right now so that probably isn't helping.

@qubitasaurus I started looking at spinel because I had a pink sapphire that went murky in low light but it was also slightly grayish so maybe that contributed to that effect. That's a really pretty sapphire that Elle has for sure, I'm also still talking to Gary to see about an upcoming stones or material he might have in the color I'm looking for. It might just be a matter of keeping an eye out for the one to come along.

Maybe you could pass this along to the vendors who are looking for you. Spinels are at least as shifty as sapphires -- so they need to know that you don't want it to shift accross different lighting.

Maybe this one from the post above has a chance of shifting towards blue, you could always ask

https://www.etsy.com/listing/687728...earch_query=Lavender&ref=shop_items_search_17

Katharath used to have a gorgeous collection of luc yen lavender coloured stones but you can see even those shifted (sorry stupidly busy as I am supposed to go to the UK tonight and nothing is packed and some work is still not resolved, so this is the only link I can find. There are others if you dig for a little bit theyll definitely pop up.)

https://loupetroop.com/listings/loo...pinel-85-cts-violet-slash-lavender-slash-blue

 

[T L]

Well with the exception of some fine cobalt spinels. blue and lavender family spinels almost always color shift, I have yet to see one that doesn’t. You just don’t want them color shifting to a very grayish color, unless gray doesn’t bother you. Some very pleasant ones color shift from a more blue to pink lavender color, without going super gray.

 

[Hivona]

http://www.westviewgems.com/Home/Detail/8837382

 

[T L]

That looks like a gray spinel.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Thanks for all your help and links everyone. So I have been in communication with Gary at Finewater is helping me find something that checks all the boxes. He is a gem, super nice guy and really helpful.

 

[chrono]

Let's start with what you are looking for, then we can answer with what you want in mind. Are you looking for primarily light gray with a secondary lavender?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@chrono, what I'm looking for is a lavender gem, I started considering gray spinels because I had little luck and had to branch out my search. I have found some promising gray spinels but still want to look and make sure I didn't miss anything.

Maybe my expectations where a bit high to begin with, just don't want a stone that goes totally dark or murky. A cornflower to lavender shift would be fine too.

 

[chrono]

Do you have pictures of lavender spinels like (example pics)? Cornflower to lavender is VERY difficult to find.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

The one on the top is more vivid than I like but the bottom one is perfect @chrono

 

[chrono]

All right, that helps a lot. Thanks for the pics. Barry Bridgestock used to have lots of these a couple years ago.