Help ME find a red spinel, too, please

[kindred]

As the title says, I'm looking for a red spinel. I would like a really true red, not orangish or pinkish, and not too dark. I'm thinking maybe a 1.5 to 2 carat stone. I'm not too picky about shape. Round, oval, cushion or something else. I just really don't know where to start. Should I be looking for some sort of certification? How much should I expect to pay? I could probably budget up to $4,000. Does that seem like a large enough budget?

I would not be opposed to ruby, either, but I think that a ruby would be more expensive with all other things being equal. Am I right about that?

I saw a beautiful 1.5 carat spinel tonight at a jewelry store. I think it is the first time I ever saw a spinel in person. The color and clarity seemed nice, but I wasn't sure what to look for. It was already set in a ring.

 

[momofive]

This one looks nice to me, and the price is right. http://www.ajsgem.com/gemstones/spinel/spinel-2.01-carats.html

AJS seems to have a lot to choose from and I've seen their names mentioned here. I'm also thinking it would be a good idea to have someone there look at the stone for you as far as color goes. They tend to appear lighter online and may be darker irl.

 

[AGBF]

Hi, kindred-

My opinion is that the buyer should first find/decide on the red that he likes. At least that is how I approached my search for a red spinel. I decided what hue of red I wanted first, then looked for it. If you know that a general range of hue will be acceptable to you-anything that is not too purple or too orange-you can just commence looking and rule out anything that seems off to you. I am sure that people on Pricescope will propose stones to you; they certainly did to me! In addition, you can search all the websites that sell colored stones. Websites that are known to Pricescope members are listed on this forum.

Good luck!

Deb/AGBF

 

[chrono]

For a true red, look for a "regular" red spinel as opposed to a Mahenge spinel since those tend towards being pink. The trouble is that almost all red spinels have some degree of orange undertone be it very slight to quite strong. This is going to be a long and difficult search. Also, many tend to be towards the darkish tone. Red spinels tend to be a bit more brick red, rather than a rich intense red like a red traffic signal (which sounds a whole lot better than a dead bird's blood ), but when you do find that elusive one, it is super rare and very pricey.