Is 1k usd per carat a good price for this ruby?

[Hitman33]

Hello guys.

Im new here, but im an gemology enthusiast since my middle teens. Im now studying mineralogy at university in Slovakia(small middle-eastern Europian country, which you probably havent heard much about ).

Im collecting a gemstones(and selling here and there) for a few years already - but it was always only a few bucks for a stone more or less. And im about to do my first bigger purchase(possible investment if the price is good).

I do have opportunity to buy this for around 3230 usd. What you guys think?

+ PLUSES
Beautiful red blood colour(perfect ruby colour imo, not too dark). Small pink flashes but i would say like 2-5% max.
3,23cts
Unheated, untreated
mozambique
certified by aigllabs.com they are pretty unknown in the west(EU + USA) but in Bangkok they should be pretty known(my foreign exchange classmate from Thailand told me that he knows them) - so i would say 98% reputable....

- MINUSES
included(but not horrible, color is winning here hard imo)
semi transparent to translucent

Here is the video of the specimen.
https://files.fm/u/j24quanzq#/view/3d83daafm

Thank you guys for all the feedback!!

 

[LilAlex]

Not gonna click that link. Maybe post the actual photos.

Are you doing this as an investment? (Don't.) Or for fun and just to have it?

Ruby prices can vary over many logs so the most important thing is that you love it and you an afford to lose the money (i.e., never recover most of it).

 

[Avondale]

Not gonna click that link.

Files.fm is a known file hosting website. That link leads to the video (no download required) and nothing else.

Here's a picture for everyone worried:

possible investment if the price is good

Beware of buying gems for investment purposes, especially gems with major flaws. In this case you have a highly included stone that also has some surface inclusions. This one on the table is very obvious in the video and there might be more:


With a gem that's so highly included there might also be the concern about durability, if there's an unstable internal fracture, especially a surface-reaching one.

In general, 1k per carat would be considered low for this stone and I bet that's because of the clarity. Clarity can have a huge impact on price, to the point where a highly included untreated or heat only gem can cost about as much as a highly treated one that's eye clean.

Also, you can't say based on this video whether the stone has good fluorescence. If it doesn't that's another minus.

I'd say, buy it if you love the look of it and intend to enjoy wearing it, and also if size is important enough for you to sacrifice clarity for it.

Otherwise you can get a smaller but better stone with that budget. Won't be perfect, but it can be a lot nicer.

 

[icy_jade]

Skip as the stone is so included. Will be very hard to sell next time due to the clarity and wearing may also be a concern due to clarity.

 

[chrono]

If you love it, sure.

Investment, absolutely not. Too inclusion heavy, not just internal but external. Stone looks very shallow/pancake but you can't see the window due to too many inclusions. You will be pressed to find a buyer. Nobody who knows gems is going to accept the lab report either.

 

[Rfisher]

Can you buy it and return it if you don’t like it in person? You seem to run in a circle that trusts the lab and their reports.

Return fee are great learning dues to find what you like. And what to expect with vendors/photos.

Investment - nope. Hobby - yep.

Hobbiest - Specimen in a box is different considerations than a gem to be mounted and worn.


Edited to add
Prices are so hard to comment on right now comparing from when I got mine in ‘18-‘19, to what’s available on the market and their prices.
Would this stone be something I would consider? Depends on how much fun money I had at my disposal and how it fit in with my hypothetical hobby collection.

 

[Hitman33]

Thank you for all the feedback!
I love the color - very nice light vivid red, also i like these inclusions too, they are reflecting light pretty nice(white dots/lines) giving the stone a little bit of character....
But i dont like it too much if there is a possibility it may crack or chip when its worn daily.
I think even the price is very good considering color, size and no treatments...
Yeah i can return if back and ask for a refund if i dont like it - 14 days return period....
I can even check under microscope at the uni if it is really true what the gem report is stating, or even loupe.
100% it is not a composite, i would not be this included. I can see that even from video.
It can be flux healed or heated - i can check that even under loupe + flashlight - i have one with 10+ and 30+ magnification in it, which is suprisingly performing pretty good for the price it did cost lol
I think i will go for it, if i dont like a will return it.....

 

[Hitman33]

But i really dont understand rubies from my self-educating so far(we did not learned much about them at the Uni yet).....
Let me explain.....i will link a few examples
1. https://www.gfwilliams.co.uk/catalo...e=19&search=1&view=1&pid=112999&supersearch=0
15,5 thousand pounds....Like where is the clarity?
I know, from pics its look like there are almost no inclusions.....but where is the clarity? It is semi-transparent, no shine from the inside and pinkish - look at the GRS report picture, i dont understand the price....
This one is pretty good compared to the next ones.

2. https://www.gfwilliams.co.uk/catalo...e=19&search=1&view=1&pid=102208&supersearch=0
6,8 thousand pounds......this one have a ozone hole in it for a change, super shallow. I bet it is going to look more like a pink sapphire than ruby in person.
No report, but there is no need for it be with that ozone hole in it .....same thing, i dont see the quality for the price.

3. https://wardgemstones.com/ruby-9-6x7-5-faceted-oval-3-58ct.html
11,5 thousand pounds.....Milky, cloudy, not transparent, no report about any disclosed treatmens.....
The one i want to buy looks much nicer i think- nicer color and more transparent even tho it is much more included....no report, but i see cracks so it is probably flux heated(which is not as horrible as glass composite - but thats not a ruby at all)

4. https://www.77diamonds.com/diamonds/all?item=-4&subcategory=48&stone=2&diamond=OVEM84FSRTJQ
And this last one is real cherry on top .
10,9 thousand pounds with VAT. Translucent, cloudy, heavy treated with heat and healing flux(F3) - with literal HOLE!!! in the side of pavilon - look at the moving picture guys with ICL gemlab cert(never heard about it).....at least the seller is transparent about it.....but for a 10,9 GBP....

I dont understand it, the rubies.....
Im missing something? or im right and these sellers are just a bunch of thieves and their prices are super inflated?
First one is quite good, report from good lab, but still i would not call it transparent, it does not have big visible inclusions, but it must have a lot of smaller ones in the whole gemstone thats why it is milky.....i would buy the first one, but not for that price.

I feel like they mixing up transparency and clarity(inclusion vise) together for a one thing.....I know that ruby for the same price will never be as transparent and free of inclusions like sapphires are, but still ruby should not be cloudy or milky....there is no sparkle and shine from inside then,
I would rather have a pretty included(noticable with naked eye) but transparent and sparkling ruby than a ruby which is eye clean but cloudy...
But i understand, nice vivid red ruby cant shine and be as lively as light coloured sapphires.
I recently bought a pretty nice 4,1ct greenish medium yellow sapphire(unheated) which have a pretty big brownish feather in it(among other inclusions and bowtie effect) but it is so vibrant and alive looking that it can easily be usable for somebody on budget for an engagement ring who dont have money for a eye clean one - cant expect that from rubies i guess....
And also i know, it is getting more rarer and rarer as deposits are being exhausted and population is growing = more demand, so it is understandable that prices are rising even for the worse quality material.....

But if i imagine a high quality ruby around 3ct a do imagine something like this:
https://thenaturalrubycompany.com/rubies/3.07ct-mozambique-cushion-ruby-r13169/ Gorgeous color, transparency - like you can see the faces of pavillon from the top, gorgeous......But the price corresponds to it also idk if it is too much, you tell me

Btw sorry for my english, if i do a grammar mistakes here and there, ENG is not my first language
thanks once again

 

[LilAlex]

There really is no such things as finding "comparables" on line for rubies. It's like buying used cars by the photo in the ad. If something is a "bargain," it's no bargain. The seller always knows more than you about this particular item. Yes, maybe some dummy someday will give away an heirloom at a yard sale -- but this does not happen on gem forums.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Welcome to the forum, OP! Some good advice here. The stone looks on par for $1k. As others pointed out, the color is lovely. But I don't think you'll be satisfied with that clarity in person. I also worry about treatments, despite the accompanying lab report. I'm always leery of these lesser known labs with names very close to the more reputable labs (in this case, AIGS). I say save up for something you'll truly love!

 

[Bron357]

Buy what you love at the best price and hope that in 5, 10 years if you need to sell you don’t lose too much.
Unless you are buying direct from the mine you will be buying at retail price.
Unless you have solid contacts and reputation in the gemstone market you will have difficulty reselling.
Gemstones are not good “investments”.
Rubies are difficult.
Top Colour Burmese unheated with reputable lab carts are around $10,000 a carat. For such rubies over 3 carats, the price can be $50,000 a carat. The top rubies are considered Mogok, ie old Burmese stock. Burmese rubies from current mining activities are not considered as good.
Other origin sources don’t have the same fluorescence and rarity and “legend” factor isn’t there.
A retail store can advertise their goods for sale at whatever price they believe they can achieve. A retail store also doesn’t care about the naivety of a buyer. If the buyer doesn’t know about origins or treatments or the importance of good lab reports, let alone the nuances of tone and hue grading, it’s buyer beware.
Just confirm the return process before purchase. Some countries allow gemstone “out” but getting them back “in” can be extremely difficult. Also factor in your shipping costs, both ways will be at your cost. It can be expensive to “not have a gemstone”.