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Cost and rarity of Pad, Red and pink Jedi Spinel, and cobalt blue spinel

Double E

Brilliant_Rock
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Love to know more about the captioned.

How to rate the price if these three, provided we are talking about the top quality stone of this three categories? Under and over 1ct?

And who comes the rarest and who the least?
 

femmemannequin

Rough_Rock
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Apr 9, 2021
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hard to compare as the prices are all different between the colors.
i believe cobalt spinel sells for more than red and jedi. because cobalt comes in small sizes in rough. so a gem of equal size to a red/jedi will probably be more rare if it came in cobalt blue.

i wouldn't compare to pad because its a different gem on the whole. but due to popularity of sapphires and the rarity of pad colors [again a whole world on its own ]. hard to compare to spinel.

Spinel i felt has always been under valued so prices will be lower than sapphire typically. [simply due to sapphire being more popular]
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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It depends on the quality, but just because a spinel contains cobalt, does not mean it’s fine color. Also, cobalts tend to be small, so a fine top color cobalt spinel in sizes over 2 carats can be very pricey. That being said, I saw a one carat Jedi spinel priced at 50,000 USD. I think the most important thing is that you know you’re paying a fair price and you shouldn’t buy any gem just because the vendor states it’s cobalt or Jedi. The terms can be used a bit loosely.
 

distracts

Ideal_Rock
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It depends on the quality, but just because a spinel contains cobalt, does not mean it’s fine color. Also, cobalts tend to be small, so a fine top color cobalt spinel in sizes over 2 carats can be very pricey. That being said, I saw a one carat Jedi spinel priced at 50,000 USD. I think the most important thing is that you know you’re paying a fair price and you shouldn’t buy any gem just because the vendor states it’s cobalt or Jedi. The terms can be used a bit loosely.

Yes, and a LOT of "jedi spinels" I have seen are not what I personally would term jedi spinel. Not every hot pink or red spinel is a jedi!
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
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You’re also not supposed to call a stone “cobalt spinel” without the proof it actually contains that element. The term “cobalt BLUE spinel” skirts this requirement, but many are duped into thinking the stone actually contains cobalt when they hear that description.
 

Double E

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hard to compare as the prices are all different between the colors.
i believe cobalt spinel sells for more than red and jedi. because cobalt comes in small sizes in rough. so a gem of equal size to a red/jedi will probably be more rare if it came in cobalt blue.

i wouldn't compare to pad because its a different gem on the whole. but due to popularity of sapphires and the rarity of pad colors [again a whole world on its own ]. hard to compare to spinel.

Spinel i felt has always been under valued so prices will be lower than sapphire typically. [simply due to sapphire being more popular]

Thanks. Understood colour, the most important quality of a CS determines its value, and colours are of a large variety for different gems.

As for the size of spinels, thank you for being my attention to the fact that cobalt are rarer in relatively larger size than Jedi and red. I didn’t know. Putting the price tag aside, this already made having a piece with cobalt blue spinel as centre or main stone more difficult.

It sounds like pads are extremely sought after. However I feel that the term of “pad” tends to be used quite loosely, or the real top pads are just so rare. Most of the “pad” I found on line, just my own opinion, is not that attractive actually. It’s either too orange, too light, too peachy or too... so and so, to the extent that I can simply found them in other sapphire categories. I’ve yet to see a top pad and accurately it’s colour should be.

Btw, do pads come with fluorescence?
 

Double E

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 23, 2018
Messages
956
It depends on the quality, but just because a spinel contains cobalt, does not mean it’s fine color. Also, cobalts tend to be small, so a fine top color cobalt spinel in sizes over 2 carats can be very pricey. That being said, I saw a one carat Jedi spinel priced at 50,000 USD. I think the most important thing is that you know you’re paying a fair price and you shouldn’t buy any gem just because the vendor states it’s cobalt or Jedi. The terms can be used a bit loosely.

A real fine CS with top colour (which I personally like that colour) is my long term goal. I would like to learn as much as I can before that purchase comes, so don’t worry about me, I will definitely make sure that’s what I pay for when I buy^^

That said, these three are most attractive to me, beauful and durable.

Spinel with electric blue is just stunning, is it with fluorescence generally which contributing to that glow? Just like the case in Jedi? I am not sure if a 7mm round / similar to round cut exceeding two ct, hope it’s not~ However, with example of 50K 1ct Jedi, this looks like a hopeless goal...
 

Double E

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Yes, and a LOT of "jedi spinels" I have seen are not what I personally would term jedi spinel. Not every hot pink or red spinel is a jedi!

Thanks. Any idea on the price difference of Jedi vs just hot pink or red? It’s still beautiful.
 

Double E

Brilliant_Rock
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Yes, and a LOT of "jedi spinels" I have seen are not what I personally would term jedi spinel. Not every hot pink or red spinel is a jedi!

Thanks. To be accurate, apart from the fluorescence that give that amazing glow, what else are needed to qualify a spinel as a Jedi? Are there any commonly agreed requirements in the industry?
 

distracts

Ideal_Rock
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Thanks. To be accurate, apart from the fluorescence that give that amazing glow, what else are needed to qualify a spinel as a Jedi? Are there any commonly agreed requirements in the industry?

Every hot pink or red spinel I own has fluorescence and an amazing glow in sunlight. I think what sets Jedi spinel apart is a neon glow in ALL lighting.

There are no commonly agreed requirements. As far as I know there is no lab that will designate something a Jedi spinel so there’s no standard and it’s just a marketing term.
 

distracts

Ideal_Rock
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See the pink and red in sunlight vs regular light vs shade. At the time these were sold, they were just sold as regular spinels and Jedi spinels were something else. Now there has been usage creep and some people would call these Jedi spinel, imo wrongly. At the time I bought the pink, there were definitely others the vendor had that were glowing insanely even indoors with no sunlight (but that I couldn’t afford).

IMG_6050.JPG IMG_6049.JPG

IMG_6051.JPG
IMG_4400 (1).jpg

Cant find a pic of the pink in sunlight alone that’s good but here it is under UV light


IMG_4715.jpg
 

LD

Super_Ideal_Rock
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I am struggling to answer your question because there are so many variables, colour, cut, clarity, size, rarity and in some cases locality. It's honestly best to pick one gemstone and then look at as much as you can that's available. That will give you a range for pricing purposes and you'll also be able to see the different qualities available. At that point you can narrow it down. I'm afraid ball park answers never really give a full picture - I'm sure that doesn't help but pricing charts I find are never really that accurate.
 

femmemannequin

Rough_Rock
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See the pink and red in sunlight vs regular light vs shade. At the time these were sold, they were just sold as regular spinels and Jedi spinels were something else. Now there has been usage creep and some people would call these Jedi spinel, imo wrongly. At the time I bought the pink, there were definitely others the vendor had that were glowing insanely even indoors with no sunlight (but that I couldn’t afford).

IMG_6050.JPG IMG_6049.JPG

IMG_6051.JPG
IMG_4400 (1).jpg

Cant find a pic of the pink in sunlight alone that’s good but here it is under UV light


IMG_4715.jpg

Oh my!! what beauties! i especially like ur pear shape spinel setting! super cool
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
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Spinel with electric blue is just stunning, is it with fluorescence generally which contributing to that glow?

NO NO NO!

If you find a cobalt spinel that fluoresces, run away because it's likely lab-created. Lab spinels have a tell-tale even fluorescence. This is why I'm wary of buying expensive spinels unless the lab says they're natural. The "glow" you see with a blue color is most likely some particular wavelength that our eyes are naturally sensitive to.

I find the color of a fine cobalt spinel most like that of Kashmiri sapphire. Maybe it's a tad less sleepy than that of Kashmir origin sapphire. Spinels tend to look livelier than sapphire despite a slightly lower refractive index.
 

Double E

Brilliant_Rock
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See the pink and red in sunlight vs regular light vs shade. At the time these were sold, they were just sold as regular spinels and Jedi spinels were something else. Now there has been usage creep and some people would call these Jedi spinel, imo wrongly. At the time I bought the pink, there were definitely others the vendor had that were glowing insanely even indoors with no sunlight (but that I couldn’t afford).

IMG_6050.JPG IMG_6049.JPG

IMG_6051.JPG
IMG_4400 (1).jpg

Cant find a pic of the pink in sunlight alone that’s good but here it is under UV light


IMG_4715.jpg

Thanks so much! You’ve got a seriously stunning collection of rings!

That leaves me a big question what is the substance or elements making a spinel glow even in low night.
 

Double E

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 23, 2018
Messages
956
I am struggling to answer your question because there are so many variables, colour, cut, clarity, size, rarity and in some cases locality. It's honestly best to pick one gemstone and then look at as much as you can that's available. That will give you a range for pricing purposes and you'll also be able to see the different qualities available. At that point you can narrow it down. I'm afraid ball park answers never really give a full picture - I'm sure that doesn't help but pricing charts I find are never really that accurate.
Thanks for your honest advice^^ I am not really expecting a particular amount being advised, and understand it could even be tens of thousands of dollars spent for top top ones.

I am glad to open up a discussion which allow me to learn, really learn something about these three gems before I mistakenly break my bank ( not planning to spend that big money at the moment though)~

I do wanna know what mean by locality? Origin of the stone?
 

LD

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Thanks for your honest advice^^ I am not really expecting a particular amount being advised, and understand it could even be tens of thousands of dollars spent for top top ones.

I am glad to open up a discussion which allow me to learn, really learn something about these three gems before I mistakenly break my bank ( not planning to spend that big money at the moment though)~

I do wanna know what mean by locality? Origin of the stone?

Where the gemstone was mined. For some top quality gemstones it can make a difference to the buying price as it holds a "premium". HOWEVER, all mines have good, bad and ugly gemstones so just because a gemstone is from a certain location it doesn't mean it's top quality or even good quality.
 

Double E

Brilliant_Rock
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Hi all, wanna take this pink sapphire as a example, it’s been sold, so I am not buying it, just for discussion and insight.
2759FD15-C42D-4414-BCE0-38A431BD9008.jpeg FECBE96B-B369-4056-888B-7D24E6E961D9.jpeg
This is costing $590, while I understand that a still photo can’t tell much, however, together with the cert, may I have your thought on the quality and the pricing n it?

e.g. is this considered top hot pink colour? Is the price fair or normal for its standard?
 

Double E

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 23, 2018
Messages
956
Hi all, wanna take this pink sapphire as a example, it’s been sold, so I am not buying it, just for discussion and insight.
2759FD15-C42D-4414-BCE0-38A431BD9008.jpeg FECBE96B-B369-4056-888B-7D24E6E961D9.jpeg
This is costing $590, while I understand that a still photo can’t tell much, however, together with the cert, may I have your thought on the quality and the pricing n it?

e.g. is this considered top hot pink colour? Is the price fair or normal for its standard?

I realise my last post is not exactly matching the title of thread, I have therefore started a new thread then:

 

fredflintstone

Brilliant_Rock
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Double E

Brilliant_Rock
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Those are full blown retail prices as in Brick & Mortar.

You can get top one carat red Burma Spinels for $1500.00 to $3000.00 a carat from source sellers.

Love National Gemstone newsletter and website but his price list is at the top of the consumer spectrum.

Thanks, and that provided me some insight~

I also got some idea for jedi pink spinels from a local vendor (Hong Kong), that they mainly source spinels. And it's around US$3700 ~ 5000 per ct. for clean neon jedi pink, and US$ 2500 for the ones not that clean. these pricing are for stones under 2 ct., fair price?
 

Double E

Brilliant_Rock
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Messages
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Thanks, and that provided me some insight~

I also got some idea for jedi pink spinels from a local vendor (Hong Kong), that they mainly source spinels. And it's around US$3700 ~ 5000 per ct. for clean neon jedi pink, and US$ 2500 for the ones not that clean. these pricing are for stones under 2 ct., fair price?

I clarified with the said vendor, the mentioned amounts are their whole sale price. You gonna pay more as an individual consumer.
 

fredflintstone

Brilliant_Rock
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Thanks, and that provided me some insight~

I also got some idea for jedi pink spinels from a local vendor (Hong Kong), that they mainly source spinels. And it's around US$3700 ~ 5000 per ct. for clean neon jedi pink, and US$ 2500 for the ones not that clean. these pricing are for stones under 2 ct., fair price?

Every market in a different country or city will bear a different price. I do not live in Hong Kong. I would not pay that much. With that said there are literally hundreds and hundreds of vendors on FB, IG, Esty and e bay. You can beat those prices.
 

qubitasaurus

Brilliant_Rock
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Those are full blown retail prices as in Brick & Mortar.

You can get top one carat red Burma Spinels for $1500.00 to $3000.00 a carat from source sellers.

Love National Gemstone newsletter and website but his price list is at the top of the consumer spectrum.

Yes in most cases they should be knocked down by a factor of 5, and I see a few which should probably be knocked down by a factor of 10. It's just not that hard/rare to find a 1 ct stone. I think they're supposed to be based on some statistics, but honestly I don't know. They look about right comparatively (just not in absolute magnitude).


Hong Kong can be very expensive, people have a lot of money, rent on a shop front is obnoxiously expensive, people come from other parts of China explicitly to shop in Hong Kong due to high luxury good taxes on the mainland. I have noticed there are Weechat sellers, if you know what you're doing. And some good gem fairs there. Otherwise I have more or less given up looking when I go there.
 
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