shape
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color
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Help ME find a red spinel, too, please

kindred

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 3, 2008
Messages
958
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.
 

AGBF

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 26, 2003
Messages
22,129
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
:read:
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,352
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 :bigsmile: ), but when you do find that elusive one, it is super rare and very pricey.
 
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