25K Natural Blue Spinel Ring

[Gud4ewe]

My grandmother passed away a few weeks ago, and left me her favorite ring. She has had the ring longer then anyone, even her, can remember. It is a huge blue emerald cut solitare, in a very intricate gold setting. We all thought the ring could be a saphire. The stone was dangerously loose, so I took it to a jeweler to be fixed and appraised. It came back repaired, but the stone was unidentified. I took it to a local gemologist, who identified the stone as a natural blue spinel. Without taking exact measurements of the stone, it is an estimated 25K in size, and quite beautiful. I am planning on having the ring insured, but I don''t know what the value of the ring is. The local jewelers want to take the ring for several weeks, some want to remove the stone to study it closer, a few even asked if they could take a small sliver of the stone for microscopic analysis. Geologists....sheesh! I gave a resounding no to all of them. The ring has far more value to me as it has great sentamintal value. Can anyone tell me what a ring like this should be insured for?

 

[MINE!!]

I have no idea.. but it certainly is amazing!

 

[DiamondExpert]

Two things come to mind...get verification (reputable lab cert) that the stone is in fact natural spinel because synthetic spinel has been produced by the Verneuil process since about 1909...second, it looks from the pic that the stone might benefit from repolishing.

Good luck!

 

[valeria101]

Hm... is there a jewelry appraiser anywhere near you ? It can''t be hard to put the right label on the item.

Natural spinel that large and that blue would be quite a find. There are loads and loads of syntetic spinel pieces like that, so the odds seem in favor of lab made material from this side of the screen.

 

[Gud4ewe]

The ring was around when my grandma was a young girl, and she was born in 1902. It''s a close call at so when it came to be a ring. The guy that looked at the ring could see no signs of lab creation, but he had never seen a natural blue spinel before.

 

[Nicrez]

Then the easiest way to tell is to check for fluorescence in short and long wave. Synth Spinel has a stronger reaction than natural.

Another test would be with a polariscope there is usually a different reaction called an ADR reaction. This would be something like snake bands that move when the stone is moved. Any gemologist would be able to tell you. Those are the two most obvious signs, besides inclusions or lack thereof.

Something of that size really would be rare in a color like that. Also consider that the color distribution is so even, and there is no color zoning. Another worry factor is a stone of that size should have natural inclusions, which from the picture seems very clean. Try to look for any type of natural inclusion. Sometime it is difficul, because some processes of synthesis can cause inclusions, so without a trained eye, you can confuse it for natural.

It is a lovely ring either way, and I do hope it is natural, as that would be a great find indeed... Good luck!!!

 

[TKC]

How clean is the stone internally? If it is flawless, it can be a synthetic looking at the size. You''d better send it to the AGTA lab. for identification. It will cost you about $150. Here is the website: http://www.agta.org/ I hope it will help you to solve the confusion.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Good chance it''s a synthetic. It''s an easy ID, which any competent gemologist could perform. I would get a second opinion.

 

[Nicrez]

I just fully read your post, and I can''t understand for the life of me why anyone would want a SLIVER of a stone?! If it has a polished surface already (the crown), you can slap that puppy on a hemicylinder and get the Refractive Index in a second. That will tell you what stone it could be. Then a good steaming and a decent microscope with at least 40x will let you know right away if it''s real or fake.

To measure it would be simple. There is a device you can use to measure a stone in it''s setting and from the measurements you estimate the weight to a few decimal points with a formula... why didn''t this gemologist do that? Or even test the florescence to determine real or fake? Odd...

Get your money back if you paid, and find a reputable Gemologist. You need an appraisal from a gemologist to even insure it, so it helps to identify it and then get it insured. An appraiser can also estimate the worth of the piece by the setting and gold weight as well...

 

[Richard M.]

Nicrez has great advice if you have access to a trained gemologist. But your posts indicate otherwise if people want to remove chunks of your stone to test! Outrageous!

Here''s a simple "eyeball" test that may give you a good hint. In a strong light turn the stone back and forth so you can see reflections, first from the front and then from the back. If you see flashes of red chances are very good you have a synthetic, due to unusual amounts of cobalt almost never present in natural spinels. Another way to test is by flashing a penlight through the top of the stone and observing the bottom for telltale red flashes, usually at the facet junctions.

If red flashes aren''t apparent that way, most jewelers have a Chelsea Filter if they deal in emeralds at all. Flame-fusion synthetic blue spinel will appear strongly red when viewed through a Chelsea while nearly all natural blue spinels will be faint pink or show no change in color. Natural Sri Lankan stones with as much cobalt as synthetics were very rare or maybe even unknown at the time your Grandmother acquired this ring but are now sometimes seen. Good luck.

Do NOT spend a lot of money on tests. Any gemologist with a polariscope -- a basic gem testing instrument -- can nail the ID in moments by testing for Anomalous Double Refraction. ADR is hard to photograph in spinel though it''s very obvious to the eye. The image shows very strong ADR in a piece of Mt. St. Helen''s glass.

Richard M.

 

[TKC]

Sometimes the best way is just not to know it

If you like it, wear it with pride since it is a inheritance

Assume that your grandma is right about the stone. She had been wearing it with pride also