Advice please: Interested in this spinel

[lumpsy]

Hello - I'm interested in this spinel which is listed at $400 for 1.86 ct. It is a color change. I have only recently learned about the wide spectrum of colored stones available, thanks to many on this forum, so I'm not sure if it's a fair price and a decent buy.



I haven't figured out how to link to the post on fb, it's being sold in this group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/504325186326668/#..

Thank you!

 

[hippi_pixi]

it has a strange shaped window in all the pics and you can see it in the video. that would bug me

 

[movie zombie]

window would bother me as well.

 

[JewelFreak]

I'm not on FB so can't see the video, but the window is probably why it's priced as it is. I wouldn't be able to live with that.

--- Laurie

 

[chrono]

The vendor claims that it is only very slightly grayish with no window. In viewing the video, it is possible that the stone has no window but the cutting is such that the tilt window is very easily seen for a spinel. I disagree with the very slightly grayish saturation though; it looks very gray and perhaps that is why the price is low.

 

[kama_s]

I definitely see a window, and it's not just a tilt window.

 

[movie zombie]

there is a good return policy.
you won't know until you see it if the stone pleases you.
have it sent and return it if there is a tilt window that bothers you and/or you end up not liking the color.
I like it more now that I've seen the videos.
yes, I think it is a fair price.....I've seen worse for more per carat.

 

[LoversKites]

Thanks Elvis for commenting It's always nice to see vendors here!

 

[RedSpinel]

Its all about what you like. But....... I think you can find a gray-blue spinel that is cut better than this for $400. When watching ebay gemstone auctions over the years from 2003-2012, I would occasionally see these gray blue spinels being sold for less than that most of the time, and many were cut better. I think for $400 you should be able to get a nicer colored blue spinel that is cut a little better if you look around. Obviously you wont find an 8 carat cobalt blue spinel in a wonderful Portuguese round for $400, but you should be able to find a nicer one than this.

But again, if you like the stone, thats all that matters in the long run. However, you should get your money's worth....

 

[movie zombie]

often times newbies pass up a decent stone at a decent price because they've been told they can do better....and then find out they can't and regret "the one that got away". and there was a recent poster that took a chance despite the negative comments in this forum and found that yes some of the comments were dead on but she loves the stone anyway and is going to keep it. also, there are the cases of the stone being sold by the time the person decides to chance it......I'm still regretting an amethyst that I ogled and considered for over a year only to find that when I said "hey, I want to buy that" it had been sold recently [a very hard learning lesson, indeed].

it is always a crapshoot when it comes to buying online. the bottom line is that it is the OP's $, she knows what will make her heart sing, and whether she wants to take a chance on having it sent. a return policy is exactly meant for this type of situation. she has to please her own eye. and I hate to say it but sometimes it takes a lot of buying and returning of stones to develop that eye and find a stone one can live with.....

to the OP: it seems you are not looking for the classic blue sapphire. what attracted you to this stone? what do you think of the videos? is it resonating with you in some way?

 

[OTL]

This stone looks to be medium dark to me. To me, that's not medium tone. Well, medium dark is not necessarily a bad thing though.

 

[katharath]

I'm a little obsessed with blue spinels...I tend to keep an eye out for them as much as possible, at any rate. What I've been seeing of late for this general color of blue spinel, over the one carat mark but less than say 3 cts, is pricing in the range of $200-250 per carat. I think this gem is priced in line with what I would expect to pay.

And may I say that Jim is very nice to deal with . Excellent customer service.

 

[endless_summer]

often times newbies pass up a decent stone at a decent price because they've been told they can do better....and then find out they can't and regret "the one that got away". and there was a recent poster that took a chance despite the negative comments in this forum and found that yes some of the comments were dead on but she loves the stone anyway and is going to keep it. also, there are the cases of the stone being sold by the time the person decides to chance it......I'm still regretting an amethyst that I ogled and considered for over a year only to find that when I said "hey, I want to buy that" it had been sold recently [a very hard learning lesson, indeed].

it is always a crapshoot when it comes to buying online. the bottom line is that it is the OP's $, she knows what will make her heart sing, and whether she wants to take a chance on having it sent. a return policy is exactly meant for this type of situation. she has to please her own eye. and I hate to say it but sometimes it takes a lot of buying and returning of stones to develop that eye and find a stone one can live with.....

to the OP: it seems you are not looking for the classic blue sapphire. what attracted you to this stone? what do you think of the videos? is it resonating with you in some way?

I second everything here - I feel like I can see some gray and that there may be at least a tilt window in the photo, but…it's one photo, and who knows, it may be very pleasing to OP in hand. And, as MZ also pointed out…return policy - if it's good, and especially at $400, there's nothing to lose, except for maybe shipping costs. If it's something that you may wonder about, then I wouldn't chance it disappearing, only to regret not having had the chance to see it in person. That said, if you do opt out and decide wait, there is almost always another stone to come along that will make you equally, if not more, happy if you have patience.

 

[digdeep]

Points to consider:

-I've never seen a stone present itself exactly like the pictures. Luckily for me, I've been pleasantly surprised and liked many of the stones I've decided to order...and I've returned the one's that have fallen short.

-The decision to order came after asking questions and getting answers. I see more information published about this gem than most on Ebay, and that's a risk in looking for a new stone as some vendor's are not forthcoming with information.

-I take other's opinions with a grain of salt unless there is something indisputable--the gem is not going to belong to a group of people-it will belong to me. In the case of the "window" and the "color", you have the vendor's assurance that the window does not exist and the color is GIA defined; unless someone else has seen the stone in front of them, the rest is opinions based on what they see on their PC/phone/laptop, etc.

-Gems have been known to disappear after so much information has been publicly presented.

-If you still like it or think you like it.......... order it and see it in person. Check the return policy and if the policy is workable then order it! That is the only way you will KNOW for sure about this stone.

-If you are not interested anymore, that's fine.

-These are my unsolicited, but hard earned opinions in the competitive world of buying/finding gems. Good Luck. as this is not a restful and relaxing endeavor!!

 

[VapidLapid]

the stone looks medium light to me, but rather extinct which makes it seem dark. Also wonky in the pavilion which makes for the window

 

[FrekeChild]

Well, I haven't ever seen a blue spinel that hasn't had a color shift to purple. I feel like it's expensive for what it is, but I haven't been buying a lot of blue spinels lately.

I took a minute to look up a few for potential comparison:

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-554795344

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?1646205324

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?447792165

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?185302018

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-198685958

Pretty sure this place's stones are always "on sale":
http://www.forevergemstones.com/proddetail.php?ProdID=2918

Precision cut:
http://www.gemrite.com/products/blue-cc-spinel-2-35-carats

Larger trillion:
http://www.gemrite.com/products/blue-cc-spinel-2-22-cts

 

[T L]

I didn't read all the comments, so I apologize if someone else said this, but it really doesn't have a window in the video, and even if there is a minute one, it should "close up" in a setting. I would request hand shots between fingers. The photo at the top shows a tilt window since the stone's table was on a slight angle at the camera lense.

The nice thing about it is that it's more of a medium toned spinel so it's not a black hole, but the fact that it's cut very deep will also make it more extinct than similar material cut to more optimal proportions. It is greyish blue, but not so grey that it would be considered a "grey spinel." I wonder what the color shift is in artificial light. These blue spinels sometimes go more violet or more grey in artificial lighting, so I would ask about that, and hopefully the color shift is something you prefer. I assume the spinel is being photographed in natural light.

I don't think the price is crazy since violet and blue spinels have been going through the roof lately. It seems like a fair price. If you really like it, maybe you can bargain the price down since the face up for the carat weight is small, as it is cut rather deep.

 

[RedSpinel]

It seemed that the thread was basically asking whether this is a good price, and I gave you my opinion, which was based solely on my own experiences having bought a larger blue spinel that was slightly darker in color saturation and cut better for a little less money($300). However, I did point out that its up to the buyer in the end, as we buy gems for ourselves, not for someone else's taste. But the thread DID basically ask for opinions.

I have bought stones that I like that maybe arent everyone else's cup of tea.

 

[RedSpinel]

I agree. The depth of color isnt bad at all. The seller is correct in that many/most blue spinels are often as dark as red garnets, and have black facets when you look at them. This doesnt appear to be too dark and looks 100% transparent with no black facets. Realistically its not really a bad deal at $400. But as with most colored gems, there are no hard, objective price guidelines.

 

[carmen1]

often times newbies pass up a decent stone at a decent price because they've been told they can do better....and then find out they can't and regret "the one that got away". 

This is the truth.  There is rarely a perfect stone, especially when one does not have an unlimited budget. .

I also don't think that is a window - I don't really see it in the other head-on vendor photo nor the video, and the posted photo looks to me to be at an awkward angle so it may be a tilt window.

I also haven't seen too many nice blue spinels out there at any price, and I've bought and returned blue spinels that were overly dark inkspots and no where near as nice as the vendor's "glamour shots". The price of spinels in general appear to have gone up quite a bit even over the last year, so comparing this to prices from 2003-2012 is not really a fair comp in my opinion. I have purchased 3 gemstones from Jim and each has been much nicer in real life than in his photos.  I appreciate that his photos underpromise and his stones overdeliver, so I've come to assume that his stones are going to be nicer than his photos and generally rely heavily on his descriptions.  If you are interested in this spinel, there is little to lose by purchasing it knowing that you can return it if it doesn't wow you.

 

[T L]

Gemsets are highly speculative based on the vendor. Unless you have the actual gemset in front of you, which GIA no longer makes, some vendors are more conservative with their gemset color than others. I'm not saying that you nor David Weinberg of MC.com are not accurate with gemsets, but depending on how you see color, one person's vision of a particular gemset value may not be identical to another's.

 

[minousbijoux]

Could someone please point out to me where on the Multicolour blue spinel listings is refers to the GIA Gemsets? I looked at one or two but couldn't see it? TIA

 

[T L]

Could someone please point out to me where on the Multicolour blue spinel listings is refers to the GIA Gemsets? I looked at one or two but couldn't see it? TIA

When you click on the color description for a stone, a pop up box will come up stating the GIA gemset. If pop up boxes are disabled on your browser, it will not show up.

 

[minousbijoux]

Could someone please point out to me where on the Multicolour blue spinel listings is refers to the GIA Gemsets? I looked at one or two but couldn't see it? TIA

When you click on the color description for a stone, a pop up box will come up stating the GIA gemset. If pop up boxes are disabled on your browser, it will not show up.

Thank you.

 

[lumpsy]

Thank you all. I learned a lot from all the comments. I appreciated the vendor jumping in an providing more photos and video. I’m just getting into colored stones. It started with wanting to find my mom a ruby or sapphire ring and has now turned into a bit of an obsession. Thus far, I’ve only looked at the pricier stones, dipped my toes in the water by purchasing some inexpensive "learner" stones, and tried to learn as much as I can. I haven’t paid too much attention to pricing though and so appreciate everyone jumping in to provide input.

I’m still hemming and hawing. I think the stone will satisfy when it comes to color and such. However I’m worried that the size isn’t what I’m looking for. (I didn't realize the size would be smaller than I'd want until I'd actually received some "learner" stones from eBay yesterday night). Thanks everyone for helping a newbie out!

 

[deskjockey]

It started with wanting to find my mom a ruby or sapphire ring and has now turned into a bit of an obsession.

Yeah, it does that.

 

[Ella]

A gentle reminder that trade members are allowed to correct misinformation about one of their items, but we do not allow selling/promoting on the forum. One post has been removed for violating these policies and there are others that are very close. Please keep that in mind so we can avoid issues like there were in the past on PS. If a vendor is trying to convince someone that what they are selling is better than something else, that's promotion.