shape
carat
color
clarity

Help me pick a ruby!

sfilly

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
21
My parents want to make a ruby pendant for my mom for their 40th wedding anniversary. The price range is 4,000 - 6,500 and my mom said she likes the way these two stones look but can't tell if one would be better than the other. What do the gem-stone lovers of Pricescope think? Also open to suggestions if you've seen something beautiful in that price range recently. Thank you!

https://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/unheated_ceylon_ruby_1_14/10533

https://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/tanzanian_ruby_1_19_carat/19309
 

Bron357

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
6,527
To be honest, neither really appeals.
The first one is definitely more pink toned than red, which might be fine by your mum, but I wouldn’t call that a ruby, more a pink sapphire. So the price is way too high for a “pink sapphire”. It is also likely lower on fluorescence. That’s the ability to “glow” in lower lighting conditions. Again a trademark of ruby.
The second one is nicer EXCEPT for the blue zoning. This is natural of course but it would drive me batty as it looks like a dirty smudge at the edge.
Good rubies are very expensive. In my opinion I’d go smaller for better quality.
 

Cerulean

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 13, 2019
Messages
5,077
Niether of them are my personal color preference but it depends on what your mom likes. They both are very pink, almost more pink than red and the first one is really quite violet (the second one was purple too but not as strong to me). They look like sapphires more than rubies esp the first

The first looks like it has a lot of dark areas. I’d nix it personally for sure. The second is sleepy - I like that look (that glow) but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s “ok” but not one I’d pick

does your mom desire a true red? If she does, she may not be happy with either of these.

I’d reach to : https://www.enhoerning-jewelry.com/loosegemstones
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
The top one is purplish, and the bottom one is pinkish. I think Wildish uses an iPhone those camera, in which gems appear pink instead of red. I would go by the color the gem lab describes it. Also second reaching out to Enhoerning too source a tiny within that budget.
 

dk168

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
12,473

Beautiful-disaster

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 14, 2020
Messages
373
So I have been looking at rubies lately to work out exactly what hue and saturation I prefer (within the $5000-$8000 range) - these may help you (?)
Worth noting the pricing is in Australian Dollars so the cushion cut that says $7600 is actually $5900 US. So these are cheaper (for you) then they appear.

The first one is very dark but very lush - I really love it but worry it would black out once set.
Second one is lighter but doesn’t have the same charm.
Cushion cut is gorgeous but have imperfections that can be seen with the eye. (This doesn’t bother me too much as I have a sapphire with large imperfections that I think adds character).
You will want to decide if heat treated (how much) matters to you as it will majorly effect price. Also origin of the stone can effect prices as well.

https://thenaturalrubycompany.com/rubies/1.12ct-mozambique-oval-ruby-r7123/

https://thenaturalrubycompany.com/rubies/1.32ct-mozambique-round-ruby-r10185/

https://thenaturalrubycompany.com/rubies/1.10ct-mozambique-cushion-ruby-r10088/
 

Rfisher

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Messages
5,478
My parents want to make a ruby pendant for my mom for their 40th wedding anniversary. The price range is 4,000 - 6,500 and my mom said she likes the way these two stones look but can't tell if one would be better than the other. What do the gem-stone lovers of Pricescope think? Also open to suggestions if you've seen something beautiful in that price range recently. Thank you!

https://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/unheated_ceylon_ruby_1_14/10533

https://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/tanzanian_ruby_1_19_carat/19309

This vendor is easy to deal with, or was so for me, in purchase and return policy.

They offer substantial discounts, some at all times - and others supposedly on a limited basis regularly and up to 40%.
I hope you’ve looked into this.

One thing to think about in choosing a Ruby- how much sparkle-scintillation is important to your mom. They can differ greatly. It just depends on what look you are going after- no right or wrong. I think the two you linked have noticeably different sparkle-scintillation between each other just by looking at the pics.
 

vintageinjune

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
1,088
I haven't spent a ton of time on colored gems, but I don't really like either option listed for ruby, pink sapphire is indeed more what I'd condsider those.

The GemFix one is beautiful, but I figured I'd throw these option out there from AfricaGem :

Oval: https://www.africagems.com/ruby-oval-1-12-20188105.html

Slightly enlongated/rounded cushion: https://www.africagems.com/ruby-cushion-1-13-201813044.html

Cushion : https://www.africagems.com/ruby-cushion-1-41-201813043.html

You'll need to ask for a video and/or a few "in real life" photos to get a better idea of the color, but the price points are right and I've heard good things about their customer service.

Here is one from The Natural Sapphire/Ruby Company that looks pretty to me (a bit pink, but for the size and price to be expected), and I like that they included an office lighting video!


I like the glow on this one:
 

Rfisher

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Messages
5,478
@sfilly
If that’s the color your mom picked out in the OP, I hope you don’t try and change it.
You can expand your search to pink sapphires, too. They can be just as pricey when saturated in color.
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
The top one is purplish, and the bottom one is pinkish. I think Wildish uses an iPhone those camera, in which gems appear pink instead of red. I would go by the color the gem lab describes it. Also second reaching out to Enhoerning too source a tiny within that budget.

Correcting phone auto-correct
Wildish = Wildfish
tiny = ruby

I think, it's crucial that you make a decision about heat-only vs unheated rubies. Otherwise, it's really not comparable price-wise. Unheated rubies are considered untreated gems and are about twice per carat price what heat-only rubies go for. In your price range you're able to get around 1 ct of unheated ruby or 2 cts of heat-only ruby. Assuming oval shape, which is common for corundum, that's 7x5 mm size for unheated approximately, vs 8x6 mm size for a heat-only.
 

budmanbudman10

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 15, 2019
Messages
81
I like this one:


| K116/020 | Unheated Moz. Ruby | 1.16cts | – For Sale​

7.4 x 6 | Oval | 1.16cts | MSRP: $6000/ct | USZS | N | Mozambique | K116/020
 

MollyMalone

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
3,413
fyi: About 1/2 of the suggested rubies from the Natural Ruby Co. do not have independent lab reports -- just an in-house report. Please do not consider a ruby for your mother's pendant that does not have a report from a reputable, independent lab. And don't feel shy about asking us about a lab. E.g., you may not have heard of Lotus, but we would have no qualms about giving that lab a thumbs-up :))

FWIW I just took a quick run through eBay, and am pleasantly surprised to see that there are more loose rubies that have not been moderately/heavily treated -- priced at less than $6000, with reports from well-regarded labs -- than when I last looked at eBay's ruby listings a year ago.
 

Sydneyphoenix

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 4, 2021
Messages
252
fyi: About 1/2 of the suggested rubies from the Natural Ruby Co. do not have independent lab reports -- just an in-house report. Please do not consider a ruby for your mother's pendant that does not have a report from a reputable, independent lab. And don't feel shy about asking us about a lab. E.g., you may not have heard of Lotus, but we would have no qualms about giving that lab a thumbs-up :))

FWIW I just took a quick run through eBay, and am pleasantly surprised to see that there are more loose rubies that have not been moderately/heavily treated -- priced at less than $6000, with reports from well-regarded labs -- than when I last looked at eBay's ruby listings a year ago.

I was intrigued by what you said so took a look at Burmese rubies; a few AIGS certified “pigeon blood” ruby that looked quite purple, with shallow depth and surface-reaching fissures and inclusions. None of them looking pretty enough to be worth their price, what do you all think?

(Sort of my favourite colour in this range except for fissures over Pavilion which is way shallow)

(Best proportions of the lot...)

(Not very appealing on the whole...)

(Probably worth the most given the size and okay colour on table, but again shallow depth and fissures on the pavilion...)

If you look at serious money >$15K, there are these stuff:
(Got GIA “pigeon blood” designation but somehow doesn’t look that appealing colour to me, nevertheless probably good value if you do have money to given >3ct weight, shame way beyond my budget...)

(Excellent quality all around, except on expensive side given it’s relatively small being <1.5ct, you can get similar stones for less...)

Have I got observations/impressions right?! :p
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
The AIGS ones are not impressive. The GIA one is a tad purplish and not transparent. The last one with a GRS lab report is not that transparent either, but is a fair price given it's Mogok, not Mong Hsu.
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top