Advice please! Large ruby conflicting results!

[randimckinney1127]

Ruby with conflicting outcomes... should I have it tested by a gemologist? I have a quite large ruby.... weighs 1.9g... that has tested ruby two times, by two jewelers in different states, it has a quite large inclusion (no air bubbles) BUT IT has a few light scratches on the surface and slight abrasions or tiny knicks/scratches to the facets (I think that's what they are called). The gentleman who tested it yesterday said he's stumped. When I asked him if that was a normal conclusion he said no.... never. It's usually synthetic or not. Easy peasy. He said everything is pointing to a natural ruby except the scratches and something else he just can't pinpoint. It has been stored with other loose gems for the last two years but they are all tiny in comparison and I don't see how being in a ziplock bag could make one scratch another. Originally the gem was in a vintage 10k ring. The gem was held in place by 6 thick prongs that came up over the stone so it didn't have much of it exposed. When we decided to melt down the setting we just pried the gem out... never dawned on us it could possibly be a ruby. Ugh! Please advise. I've researched all I can research!

 

[Bron357]

Hi, synthetic rubies are the exact same material as rubies mined from the earth and sometimes it takes a proper gemmological investigation to differentiate between one mined from the ground vs one grown in a laboratory.
Most jewellers aren’t also a gemologist with the specialised testing equipment. Yes, jewellers know a lot about various gemstones but they are necessarily a trained and accredited gemologist.
You can easily send your ruby to the American Gem laboratory (AGS) and ask for Gem Brief report (if ruby is under 3 carats) for $70 US. A bigger ruby needs a Prestige ID report and they cost $160 US.
That said, if the ruby came from a 10kt gold ring it is more likely to be a synthetic ruby. A large natural ruby is worth a lot of money and are much more likely found in expensive 18kt gold or Platinium settings.
You won’t know for sure unless you get it properly assessed so fingers crossed!
Oh, and even though Rubies are 9 on the Mohos scale they can still be scratched and chipped - especially if stored or worn with /next to another ruby, sapphire or a diamond.

 

[randimckinney1127]

Ruby with conflicting outcomes... should I have it tested by a gemologist? I have a quite large ruby.... weighs 1.9g... that has tested ruby two times, by two jewelers in different states, it has a quite large inclusion (no air bubbles) BUT IT has a few light scratches on the surface and slight abrasions or tiny knicks/scratches to the facets (I think that's what they are called). The gentleman who tested it yesterday said he's stumped. When I asked him if that was a normal conclusion he said no.... never. It's usually synthetic or not. Easy peasy. He said everything is pointing to a natural ruby except the scratches and something else he just can't pinpoint. It has been stored with other loose gems for the last two years but they are all tiny in comparison and I don't see how being in a ziplock bag could make one scratch another. Originally the gem was in a vintage 10k ring. The gem was held in place by 6 thick prongs that came up over the stone so it didn't have much of it exposed. When we decided to melt down the setting we just pried the gem out... never dawned on us it could possibly be a ruby. Ugh! Please advise. I've researched all I can research!

[QUO

 

[Bron357]

Wow, it’s huge. That would have to be the $160 report from AGS. Send it off to them and let us know what they say. If it’s a natural ruby you’ve hit the jackpot!

 

[randimckinney1127]

Im so confused about synthetic and natural.... they both will test positive for Ruby?

 

[Bron357]

Im so confused about synthetic and natural.... they both will test positive for Ruby?

Yes, they will for almost every type of test because they are the exact same composition.
So for thermal conductivity ie using the Presidum gem tester (what lots of jewellers have) synthetic ruby is the exact same as natural ruby. They will both fluorescence under UV, they will both have the same Specific gravity, both be diachoric (show the two different colours that occur depending on the light ray angle) both be doubly refractive and both have a very similiar refractive indexes. So that’s why it isn’t easy to tell them apart.
What a gemologist has to do is look under a microscope.
A natural ruby always has certain types of inclusions that one grown in a lab doesn’t have. Ones grown in labs also usually have what’s callled curved striae which happens as the lab ruby ruby is formed and often small gas bubbles and undissilved nutrients. These look completely different under a microscope to what a ruby from the earth has under magnification.
They can also do very specialised spectrometer testing for the minute trace elements which can indicate an origin ie Burma but again a man made ruby will be missing vital minute elements that happen in naturally occurring ruby.
Because natural rubies are so valueable, rare and expensive people have been trying to make “look a like ones” for centuries. Today the quality of some synthetic rubies is so very high and you need a very experienced gemologist with sophisticated tools to tell them apart.

 

[partgypsy]

Thank you Bron. and as a 1.9 gram stone is =9.5 carats, if you suspect natural ruby the cost would be astronomical and well worth the $160 to ID it. Please return if you get this done.

My two cents, is that it is synthetic. Why? Because most natural stones, in particular large expensive stones, would be cut to preserve as much carat weight as possible, including having a large belly or slightly assymmetric cut. When you have a synthetic stone it is cheap per carat so no need to preserve carat weight in that fashion. Still worth checking out though.

 

[Bron357]

At 1.9 grams that’s about 9.5 carats.
If it is a natural, from the earth ruby it is worth in the hundreds of thousands of dollars - seriously, even more if it were Burmese and unheated.
But if it’s a synthetic it’s worth like $10.
So if you think it might be real, definitely send it to the AGS and get a proper report.
Then if natural, you’d probably need to consider sending it to GRS Swiss lab. They are probably the highest regarded lab in the world for rubies. A substantial size unheated Burmese ruby might warrant them giving it a Platinium rarity award (only for the best of the best) which is all those millionaires / billionaires in Asia need to see to start going completely crazy trying to buy it!

 

[T L]

It could be a stimulant too. Only diamond and other corundum can scratch ruby, natural or synthetic. It’s also way too clean and crystal, which is exceedingly rare in natural ruby of large sizes.

Synthetic: man made ruby, same chemical composition as natural ruby.

Stimulant: made to look like a particular gemstone.(example: cz is simulated diamond).

 

[Bron357]

It could be a stimulant too. Only diamond and other corundum can scratch ruby, natural or synthetic. It’s also way too clean and crystal, which is exceedingly rare in natural ruby of large sizes.

Synthetic: man made ruby, same chemical composition as natural ruby.

Stimulant: made to look like a particular gemstone.(example: cz is simulated diamond).

I think the OP has taken it into a jeweller who has used a Presidum Gem tester which will read “ruby” whether natural or synthetic.
Similar “red” gemstones ie Garnet or Rubelite Tourmaline have a lower thermal signal so will read as “garnet/ tourmaline” and CZ will read as glass (having the lowest thermal transmission of all).
The mistake sometimes made with the Presidum tester is that they forget that any lab grown / man made ruby, sapphire or Spinel will “test” the same as natural material.

 

[amoline]

Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens either way, but for your sake, I sure hope it could be natural!

 

[VividRed]

It it turns out to be real (unlikely), I would love to meet the cutter and ask him/her a few questions

 

[Anne111]

It it turns out to be real (unlikely), I would love to meet the cutter and ask him/her a few questions

yes, that would be nice.
As for the gem, it looks 'unreal' but who knows. Get it tested by somebody who would also detect a ultra-high-heated synthetic as a synthetic and not as a 'heated natural', just to make it a bit more complicated...