Is this ruby worthless?

[RRfromR]

My regular appraiser was in vacation so I took this one to a new person, who told me that it is pretty much useless because it's included. I thought most rubies and sapphires are included. It's burma, unheated/untreated, pulled from a Victorian gypsy ring, 4.5 mm by 6.5 mm. I know it's not a 5k stone but I don't think it's really this bad. What do you think? How big do you think it is in ct? Tia!

 

[Autumn in New England]

Some of these appraisers are such downers. We've all been there... I'm sorry for the poor experience. Of course it's not worthless. If it were a raw, heavily included, uncut crystal specimen, it would still have worth. If it's natural, Burmese, and untreated, that's great pedigree. And I don't think the clarity is bad at all! In fact, it looks quite clean to me. Now, obviously the gem is not in great shape. It has a wonky cut and is abraded and chipped, so you have to consider that. It also looks quite pink in your photos (which Burmese material often is), so I'm not sure if we're looking at a ruby or pink sapphire. But that is also somewhat subjective. I also see some pretty good color zoning in there. If I had to ballpark a weight for a 6.5x4.5mm oval corundum, I would normally say maybe 70 points? But this guy looks quite shallow, so it may be more around .60ct. or less. Still... to call it worthless was quite a negative spin!

 

[RRfromR]

@Autumn in New England thank you. It was hand cut in the middle 1800s and in a man's pinky ring, so it had quite of a life so far and I bet some kicks too. I'm thinking of doing a bezel like this or get 2 old cuts for a trilogy.

Ruby Emerald Cut East West Bezel Set Solitaire Modern Engagement Ring

Gorgeous Ruby bezel set east-west solitaire, with taper chunky gold band—bold, beautiful, and alternative. ♥ Center stone: natural emerald cut Ruby 7X6mm ♥ Gold: 14K solid gold, white gold, rose gold, or yellow gold. ♥ Ring size: 4-11 Xo! Silly Shiny Diamonds

sillyshiny.com

 

[Autumn in New England]

@Autumn in New England thank you. It was hand cut in the middle 1800s and in a man's pinky ring, so it had quite of a life so far and I bet some kicks too. I'm thinking of doing a bezel like this or get 2 old cuts for a trilogy.

Ruby Emerald Cut East West Bezel Set Solitaire Modern Engagement Ring

Gorgeous Ruby bezel set east-west solitaire, with taper chunky gold band—bold, beautiful, and alternative. ♥ Center stone: natural emerald cut Ruby 7X6mm ♥ Gold: 14K solid gold, white gold, rose gold, or yellow gold. ♥ Ring size: 4-11 Xo! Silly Shiny Diamonds

sillyshiny.com

Nice choice! I love all things antiquity, so a gem or piece with a long and storied history always excites me. You can tell it was hand-cut!! Some folks pay a premium for that. I think you should happily set it and forget all about mr. debbie downer.

 

[fredflintstone]

No, it is not worthless, but it has a strong purple modifier that will make it worth much less than a Ruby without one.

 

[Avondale]

Worthless? No.
No, no, no.
Affordable.
It's affordable! And it's pretty!

I have a couple of sapphires in that size range and one is 1ct, the other 0.9. However, yours is pretty shallow, so I imagine @Autumn in New England's assessment of 0.6-0.75 is closer to the truth.

 

[LilAlex]

No way is that worthless! I think it's lovely -- in part because it looks so familiar (see below). The biggest issue for me is the window -- which is only visible in some views.

Spouse has a pair of shallow-cut, vivid, included, unheated Mogok cushions (most modifiers ever!) of this vintage and hue (maybe straddling the sapphire/ruby divide) that are - 1.5 ct each. They are perimeter-mounted like a tambourine on the skinniest platinum wires and dangled from shepherd's crooks. She wears them all the time and they glow like stained glass. And: they kinda look like they could be Claire's earrings until the sun hits them so they really are go-anywhere for her.

Not sure how this helps you with just one...

 

[RRfromR]

@LilAlex , pictures please!!!

 

[Autumn in New England]

@LilAlex , pictures please!!!

Same!

 

[glitterata]

It's charming! It's genuine, unheated, antique! It has pretty zoning! Ok, so it's not the crown jewels--but if it were, you wouldn't have it.

I bought a gem scale a few years ago so I could answer my "how big is it?" questions (for unset stones). It comes in surprisingly handy for my gems-n-jewels hobby. (Reading the reviews was interesting--turns out weighing gems is not what most buyers use milligram scales for!) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ESHDGOI/

 

[LilAlex]

@RRfromR and @Autumn in New England, no pictures -- sorry! Hence the overly elaborate description. She just wears them so much that I'd feel funny. Plus, they look kind of like nothing so I don't have a picture that would even remotely do them justice. When we are traveling and I see them on the nightstand in some hotel room, I always think they will get swept onto the floor or something. They are not her "signature" pieces -- although she seems to mostly alternate between them and a $12 pair of sterling and amethyst ones we picked up at a workshop overseas.

Origin story: We had a somewhat costly miscommunication with the owner of our now-closed but wonderful local B&M place. We took the hit and didn't make a fuss but I knew he felt bad. He called me back and asked me to come in. He brought out these earrings with a pair of nice GIA reports and aggressive pricing. They looked meh just sitting there on the counter but then I had one of their SAs try them on and I said "Oh she will love these!" I think she inferred I was a creepy and controlling man but my wife will not buy jewelry -- or even go with me -- even though she loves everything I get her. (They're never surprises -- I always describe and take a photo and, if it's online, ask her opinion first. She trusts my taste in jewelry and little else. And, let's face it, it's not like a need to say, "Trust me, knowledgeable people consider this pretty!")

There, I think that's 1000 words which should equal one picture.

 

[Autumn in New England]

@LilAlex I love hearing all about your shopping escapades. You would have been the village storyteller in "olden" times.

P.S. I feel like: A. You're lucky because your wife isn't obsessed with costly jewels; and B. Your wife is lucky because you buy them for her anyway.

 

[LilAlex]

P.S. I feel like: A. You're lucky because your wife isn't obsessed with costly jewels; and B. Your wife is lucky because you buy them for her anyway.

It's like an O Henry story: my creative outlet is shopping for jewelry that I can't wear and hers is cooking meals that she won't eat. No, that second half is only half-true -- she cooks as much for herself as for me and I'll gratefully eat anything she makes. She retired a little prematurely from a grueling career and, while I'm still working, it seems like I am off the hook for meal prep. (It was a little tenser when we were both working and kids were in the mix but I still did way less than half.) Just to appropriately lower your opinion of me.

 

[stracci2000]

It's charming! It's genuine, unheated, antique! It has pretty zoning! Ok, so it's not the crown jewels--but if it were, you wouldn't have it.

I bought a gem scale a few years ago so I could answer my "how big is it?" questions (for unset stones). It comes in surprisingly handy for my gems-n-jewels hobby. (Reading the reviews was interesting--turns out weighing gems is not what most buyers use milligram scales for!) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ESHDGOI/

I have a similar scale. I love it!
It weighs carats, grams, grains and ounces.
It's so handy.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Just to appropriately lower your opinion of me.

Never!! I love it.