Help identifying this ring

[Kitten35]

Hello,
I had posted this over in antique jewelry but thought it might get more traffic here—and I have no idea if it is truly antique.

Can anyone help me identify what type of ring/stone this is? It was given to me after my grandma passed; however neither my mom or my aunt had seen her wear it and no one knows where it came from. They thought it might have been her mother’s but no one knows. I was told it was an amethyst; however I have no idea if it is natural or synthetic. It looks quite costume jewelry-ish to my somewhat novice eye, but, my grandma bought very little costume jewelry. They did also say she tended to buy a lot of stones on cruise ships and would then bring them back to have set later. Is this a temp setting from something like that? I never saw her wear it either. The cut is nice but almost looks too good to be true especially given the quality of the setting which seems to be some kind of strange wire setting—I am not sure if it is gold, gold fill etc, no identifying markers on the ring. Anyone seen any settings like this? The ring is super super light which also makes me wonder about what kimd of gem it is as it comes in at almost 9 mm, if I guess, but the whole ring feels like the weight of air.

Anyone have any thoughts or seen rings like this? I was thinking of resetting into a large ring or necklace but not sure it is worth setting in an expensive setting and may stick with something pretty basic.

Can I take this to a pawn shop or jeweler to get help identifying? Thoughts on what this could be both stone and setting?


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[voce]

Hello,
I had posted this over in antique jewelry but thought it might get more traffic here—and I have no idea if it is truly antique.

Can anyone help me identify what type of ring/stone this is? It was given to me after my grandma passed; however neither my mom or my aunt had seen her wear it and no one knows where it came from. They thought it might have been her mother’s but no one knows. I was told it was an amethyst; however I have no idea if it is natural or synthetic. It looks quite costume jewelry-ish to my somewhat novice eye, but, my grandma bought very little costume jewelry. They did also say she tended to buy a lot of stones on cruise ships and would then bring them back to have set later. Is this a temp setting from something like that? I never saw her wear it either. The cut is nice but almost looks too good to be true especially given the quality of the setting which seems to be some kind of strange wire setting—I am not sure if it is gold, gold fill etc, no identifying markers on the ring. Anyone seen any settings like this? The ring is super super light which also makes me wonder about what kimd of gem it is as it comes in at almost 9 mm, if I guess, but the whole ring feels like the weight of air.

Anyone have any thoughts or seen rings like this? I was thinking of resetting into a large ring or necklace but not sure it is worth setting in an expensive setting and may stick with something pretty basic.

Can I take this to a pawn shop or jeweler to get help identifying? Thoughts on what this could be both stone and setting?


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A pawn shop to accurately determine value? Definitely not a good idea. Most jewellers wouldn't be able to help you, either, as 99% brick and mortar shops specialize in diamonds and know nothing about colored stones.

The metal looks brassy to me. How sparkly is the purple gem? If it's sparkly, it's very likely spinel. If not sparkly, then amethyst is possible. My bet would be spinel based on your pictures.

I can't tell you whether it's natural or synthetic, but judging by the setting (does not look gold or silver) I would guess synthetic. Temporary gem holder settings do not look like that. It may be that although your grandma mostly bought natural gems and set them in gold, this one was so gorgeous she decided to get it.

To know for certain, certain, you'll have to send it to GIA or AGL gem labs, and at that size, be prepared to pay at least $100. Brick and mortar jewellers might assess it for free, but even if they're confident and will swear on their life it's X, 99% of the time that's BS, since they don't have the equipment to identify between natural and synthetic.

 

[Kitten35]

A pawn shop to accurately determine value? Definitely not a good idea. Most jewellers wouldn't be able to help you, either, as 99% brick and mortar shops specialize in diamonds and know nothing about colored stones.

The metal looks brassy to me. How sparkly is the purple gem? If it's sparkly, it's very likely spinel. If not sparkly, then amethyst is possible. My bet would be spinel based on your pictures.

I can't tell you whether it's natural or synthetic, but judging by the setting (does not look gold or silver) I would guess synthetic. Temporary gem holder settings do not look like that. It may be that although your grandma mostly bought natural gems and set them in gold, this one was so gorgeous she decided to get it.

To know for certain, certain, you'll have to send it to GIA or AGL gem labs, and at that size, be prepared to pay at least $100. Brick and mortar jewellers might assess it for free, but even if they're confident and will swear on their life it's X, 99% of the time that's BS, since they don't have the equipment to identify between natural and synthetic.

Thank you voce!!

It is fairly sparkly. I will take a video when I get home. Even when my mom told me an amethyst, I did not think so. So I think your guess of purple spinel (synthetic???) is likely.

I agree it does not look like gold. Brass is a good guess.

If not a temp setting—it does not look like something she would have purchased, nor does it look like something my grandfather would have bought for her. She had almost nothing that large, even her wedding jewelry which was quite noce. They had means and even though he didn’t know abiut “pricescope” they both tended to buy good quality. So—I am womdering—could it have been her mother’s or mother in law’s? That would have been around 1910/1920. Would a synthetic spinel set in that kind of brassy setting have been common then?

If a synthetic spinel (I see no inclusions with naked eye but will loupe when I get home)—is it worth setting in anything beyond a bezel for perhaps a pendant?
Would it make a nice ring or look too fakey?

 

[T L]

It could be synthetic corundum too.

 

[Kitten35]

It could be synthetic corundum too.

Would that have been common at that time? Could this piece be old enough to be something like from 1910/1920 or just some random thing she picked up somewhere? I can’t imagine it would have been something she would have bought unless she just got it for the stone, but, especially if it is synthetic, I just can’t see her liking it and choosimg it on her own.

 

[voce]

You never know, unless you're able to ask her directly. She may have received it from a coworker or friend, for example, and not have purchased it herself. Kept it on account of the friend even though it's not her style. It looks precision cut and extremely unlikely to be as old as 1910 or 1920. Synthetic gems were very common by mid-century, though I don't know my vintage and can't estimate the age. The purple ring doesn't have much if any facet wear, so if I had to guess I would say 1990s or later.

 

[Kitten35]

You never know, unless you're able to ask her directly. She may have received it from a coworker or friend, for example, and not have purchased it herself. Kept it on account of the friend even though it's not her style. It looks precision cut and extremely unlikely to be as old as 1910 or 1920. Synthetic gems were very common by mid-century, though I don't know my vintage and can't estimate the age. The purple ring doesn't have much if any facet wear, so if I had to guess I would say 1990s or later.

My same thoughts. It just doesn’t have as much wear as I would expect if it were old.

The cut is nice, no window and even color. No zoning or inclusions without loupe which I think probably means a synthetic gem, though, it could have been something she liked from a cruise and meant to re-set. They havent traveled in about 20 years though. Maybe it came with that setting? No real idea.

She passed which is how I ended up with the ring so I can not ask her. She was not remembering well at the time so probably would not have remembered anyway.

So the next question. Reset it? Worth doing as a memento/sentimental? Or, pass ok it for awhile? Not sure if it would look nice enough for a nice setting (silver, perhaps a HOW lotus with small green sidestones—green was her favorite color?), a bezel necklace, or, just keep as a memento and leave it alone? What would you all do? I do want to do something with the blue stone though may not reset—so may just tuck this away.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I quite like it as it is
I like that setting
But do what you to do so you like it and will wear it
It's too bad you don't know the story behind it but it still came out of her jewlery box
I hope you enjoy it - it's very pretty

 

[Kitten35]

Thank you! I dont know it behind the blue ring (other thread) either, and I so wish I did.

It may be real—I believe it has inclusions, but doesnt explain the strange setting. However it at least cleaned up nicely. More pics to follow tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your assistance so far!

 

[Kitten35]

Few things—first it seems as if these two threads about these rings have sort of ended up both being about the purple one so if there is a way to combine them, great, and I apologize if too many threads. I will use this one from now on for both stones. Thank you all for your help so far!

Second—here is a photos of the cleaned up purple stone. Working on a vid. Can’t figure out how to upload it. Are we thinking amethyst or spinel? I actually am thinking spinel, but if course could be totally wrong. This was taken in the early morning sunlight coming through the patio door and then away from direct sunlight.

Third—I cleaned it up. The setting looks more like gold, but is not marked. I think it could be gold fill or plate wire. Either way not gold but it does look brighter.

Fourth—it appears that there are some tiny bubble inclusions along the pavillon. There is also some kind of obstruction that looks like acloud or feather. I researched amethyst inclusions and it could be a fingerprint inclusion though you have to search carefully and I dont know my inclusions well enough to know what else it could be. At first I thought it was a water droplet so i cleaned it again but it appears to still be there.

Last—the blue stone cleaned up. I am thinking perhaps the blue tourmaline voce suggested? Topaz? It is set in 10k white gold so my huess is she bought that one overseas on a trip as 10k seems to be more common than in the US. That stone has an abrasion on the table and inclusions which might be making it glowyish.

 

[Kitten35]

And a link to videos on vimeo. You have to ise the p a s s w o r d “Whatisit” to view the videos. I will take them down in a day or two.

Thank you so much!

Someonesomewhere’s Videos on Vimeo

Join the web’s most supportive community of creators and get high-quality tools for hosting, sharing, and streaming videos in gorgeous HD with no ads.

vimeo.com

 

[pwsg07]

The purple stone looks well cut to me. The blue one I am guess blue topaz.
You can go to a local gem show maybe there is free gem ID or expert that can help

 

[Kitten35]

Thanks! With the sparkliness—are we thinking amethyst sparkles or spinel sparkles? I louped it in sunlight and see some bubbles similar to my red spinel, but nothing huge. Still on the fence as to whether or not it is natural. I will try to show a blown up pic of the gem.

 

[voce]

Bubbles make me more suspicious that it's synthetic. Is your red spinel synthetic? If it's bubbles amid a bunch of other inclusions, I'm more inclined to believe it's natural, but if the only type of inclusion you see is bubbles, then IMHO the odds are, it's synthetic.

 

[Kitten35]

Bubbles make me more suspicious that it's synthetic. Is your red spinel synthetic? If it's bubbles amid a bunch of other inclusions, I'm more inclined to believe it's natural, but if the only type of inclusion you see is bubbles, then IMHO the odds are, it's synthetic.

Hi voce,

No the red spinel is untreated from WildFish.

I have figured out where I see the other inclusion. I can’t tell what it “looks like” exactly but it is larger. I will try to take a picture later and blow it up and see what thoughts are. It looks kind of like a splotch in the stone. It os not as big as the one i have but there is something there, but not a bunch of them. Like two smaller onesnear a facet.

 

[Kitten35]

Okay, here is what the inside looks like. To the best of my cell phone’s ability anyway. It was taken in natiral sumlight but indoors (no indoor light).

I circled what I believe to be the larger inclusions. In addition there are tiny bubbles, throughout the stone.

Any thoughts on it’s species or nat vs synthetic? Can those inclusions be in synthetic as well?

What about a reset—ideas? I am still debating sending this off to a lab to comfirm. My very novice guess is spinel, either natural or synthetic, rather than amethyst, though I am not sure. However either way I want to reset it in either a ring or pendant. Is it “too big” for a ring? It is a HUGE gem especially compared to what I normally wear on my fingers, but, I do like how it sparkles. Apendant might be nice too but...I can’t see it. Haha.

 

[pwsg07]

Inclusions look natural to be based on the photo

 

[Kitten35]

Thanks pwsg07.

Lab question: If I want to send this out to discover what it is—is something like the AGL “gem brief” enough to tell me these three things:

—type of stone
—natural vs synthetic?
—carat weight (according to gemsize my estimate is about 9.5-10mm round, so, perhaps 2-2.5 carats?)

It looks like that is a pared down version of their regular report. Is that going to tell me these three things? If so, are there other companies that could do the same thing reliably or should I stick with AGL? I am not sure I care too much about treatment or origin since this stone was given to me and I am not specifically sourcing it for anything specific but I am curious what it is. Natural vs synthetic might change what metal I set it in. If it turns out to be natural I may go with gold vs silver.

I am thinking of setting it in the Daniel m trellis setting with the moissanite sidestones in silver but swapping out the moissys for two emeralds which was my grandma’s birthstone but I am curious to know if this is really an amethyst (compared to my other amethyst, it is sparklier) or a spinel, and I do want to know if it is real or not. My other thought is a bezel slider pendant. I do think I would prefer a ring though, and like the idea of the purple and green. In addition—if it is an amethyst after all, that was my late grandfather’s birthston, so the ring would represent both of them which is kind of cool to me.

 

[voce]

It still looks like spinel to me. Yes, a gem brief would tell you natural vs synthetic and spinel vs amethyst. I like the idea of setting it with green.

 

[Kitten35]

I agree with you, voce, I think it is spinel. It is much sparklier than my other amethyst and also just has a different optical appearance.

I am thinking definitely contrasting sidestones. Emerald would be my first choice, i think, but I could do another green stone such as peridot, or have also considered opals which are one of my favorites. Or, perhaps small rubies or yellow sapphires or carnellians. Something contrasty.

I am having a hard time choosimg a setting. The other setting I love and have loved for yeara is the Lotus by Sally but that is an entirely different look than the other so I am not sure yet which i will go with.

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

It's a gorgeous stone and setting! If you are curious, I would encourage sending it to a lab to be graded. My thought is even if the monetary value of the stone is lower, there is a lot of sentimental value given it once belonged to your grandmother. It's a beautiful stone to honor and remember her with! So if you interested in resetting it, then go for it! The original setting is also beautiful too! Maybe you could have it gold plated?

 

[Kitten35]

Thank you! I do think I might go for the pared down report just for curiosity’s sake. It doesn’t change the fact that I do think it is so well cut and pretty, especially in sunlight. I love when it gets hit by the sun. I do wish I knew the story behind it, as none of us ever saw her wear it and it is not her style. She apparently had a list of many of her pieces and where they were from/what they were (but not all) and this was one that was not not on it. My guess is she purchased it traveling on one of their trips—they were very well-traveled and much of her jewelry was bought abroad, for the stone, meant to reset it herself, and never got around to it.

I didnt think of gold-plating the setting. That is a good idea! I have been wearing it trying to figure out if I want to keep it as is or if I want to do a ring or a necklace; however I will probably update it and put it in something a bit more modern. Probably a ring so I can see it when it is on even though it is big and I don’t normally wear such large pieces. I love those vintage looks on others but for some reason on me I don’t like them as much so I will likely go with one of the two settings I have been considering here.

Thanks all for your help with this!

 

[Kitten35]

Question. I got one of those cheap 60x loupes with a black light on amazon. This stone flouresces a bright red like crazy! My red spinel (certificate/natural/from wildfish) also flouresces a bright red like crazy. Does purple spinel flouresce? It is just a little blue light at the bottom of the microscope — no idea if that is “short length” or “long wave.” What does that indicate as far as real vs fake?

 

[Kitten35]

Heres a pic

 

[voce]

No. Purple spinel that is natural does not fluoresce. This indicates your spinel is synthetic.

 

[lovedogs]

No. Purple spinel that is natural does not fluoresce. This indicates your spinel is synthetic.

This

 

[Kitten35]

Okay thanks. I am not actually sure it is a spinel but now I know it is not an amethyst. What else would flour like this, that is purple, either natural or synthetic?

Also where can i find reliable info on this? This is a fun little toy. I am trying to see wat happens with my pearls too. Google gives a lot of conflicting info.

 

[Kitten35]

Also—if it were synthetic sapphire, would that flouresce? How cool. Found out some of the pave diamonds on my e ring flouresce super blue! And my red spinel glows too.

 

[voce]

I don't know of any synthetic purple gems that fluoresce, apart from spinel. Since natural lavender (not dark purple) sapphires fluoresce, I would speculate that certain shades of synthetic sapphire might fluoresce, if purple.

Purple in sapphire can be had as a combination of chromium (red in normal light, fluoresces red) and iron (makes blue, quenches fluorescence). So with less blue (i.e. a lighter shade of purple), you can still see some fluorescence, though it's not going to be as intense as red corundum (ruby) or a red spinel. I wouldn't expect a natural sapphire to fluoresce with a shade of purple as dark as your gem shows.

I always feel a little unsettled mentioning synthetics, since forum rules are that synthetics are to be featured in the Fun Fashion Jewelry section.

 

[Musia]

My daughter has this big antique pendant with 20+ carats of purple something and we are following your thread with a great interest.