shape
carat
color
clarity

Modest(ish) Rubies

Avondale

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 31, 2021
Messages
994
You have nothing to lose. With a budget of 5-6k you have plenty of opportunities, I think. You can always see what Inken has available to offer and take it from there.

Re: the stones you're currently looking at.

I cannot justify a 5k pricetag for a ruby with minor residues. For that kind of money you get untreated stones. Or a treated one that's a fair bit bigger.

I find it hard to believe that the octagon cut one would never be pink. It's pink literally in all photos. Now I'm the last person who would complain about a ruby having pink, but it does raise some questions about disparity between descriptions and reality.

The smaller oval looks lovely in pictures but I wonder if it will be a fair bit darker in real life. The octagon is graded as 65 on the scale while this one is 75. In any case this is easy to gauge by asking for more photos.

The larger oval is right up my alley, but I do prefer some pink in the red. They don't mention anything about fluorescence, but it looks to have some. Again, easily gauged with additional photos.

In terms of pricing, I know rubies are going crazy right now, but still, a couple of examples from my recent search...

@VividRed suggested a lovely 1ct cushion priced at less than 3k. Untreated. More than I was looking to spend, but a wonderful stone nonetheless. It's already gone, be it simply because it was very pretty or because someone was lurking, but still... 3k. Not 6.

@PinkAndBlueBling mentioned that at the Tuscon show unheated rubies with good colour were in the 3-4k/ct. range which is a significant increase compared to recent years. Yet still not 6k.

I can't help but think that for the money you have to spend you can get something nicer and/or bigger.
 
M

maru8888777

Guest
@Avondale Thank you! I think having the luxury of time (and the advice of you all) is really important, and I think your post is a good reminder that I need to do more research. I've also been looking at Yvonne's offerings, which are closer to 3k and pinker, but untreated/unheated and around 1ct. I'm so glad you found a beautiful stone!
 
M

maru8888777

Guest
Hi friends! I reached out to Inken for a ruby under 5K, and here's what she found. I think it's gorgeous!
It's a tiny, 0.76 unheated ruby that Inken guarantees is Burmese (lab cert pending). It's cut pretty deep, which deepens the color of course, but doesn't help with the face up. Here are her videos:
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="
" title="0.76 ct Unheated Burma Ruby (1/3)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="
" title="0.76 ct Unheated Burma Ruby (2/3)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="
" title="0.76 ct Unheated Burma Ruby (3/3)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
She says the color is very fine, very red, less neon in person but deeper, and that it fluoresces strongly (important to me!) I was expecting her to take a little longer, but she came back very quickly with everything. It's a big expense, so I asked for a little time to think about it. Thoughts?
 

Avondale

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 31, 2021
Messages
994
It’s a beautiful red. It’s just tiny face up and only you can be the judge of whether that’s okay. You haven’t posted dimensions but it almost seems it’s more deep than it is wide.
 
M

maru8888777

Guest
It’s a beautiful red. It’s just tiny face up and only you can be the judge of whether that’s okay. You haven’t posted dimensions but it almost seems it’s more deep than it is wide.

Thank you! I forgot to post dimensions. It's approximately 4.90 x 4.50 x 3.80 mm. I asked for some additional videos that are giving me a little pause, even though Inken said they weren't representative and reflected the phone's tendency to correct for less than ideal light conditions.
However, if it's a tiny little stone, I want it to fluoresce and glow, and these videos (in both sunlight and incandescent) almost make it look darker? Is it just me?
<iframe width="320" height="560" src="
" title="0.76 ct unheated Burma ruby (sunlight)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="320" height="560" src="
" title="0.76 ct unheated Burma ruby (incandescent)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Avondale

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 31, 2021
Messages
994
the phone's tendency to correct for less than ideal light conditions.

Not impossible. Allow me to introduce you to my phone’s shenanigans:

C518CE9F-D994-4904-A00A-0AD44D14BA30.jpeg
Both photos are in direct sunlight btw. Just different days. Neither of them is accurate. :lol-2:

Do you have the option to see it and then make a decision whether to keep it? Inken is very well respected here, I think most people would tell you you can trust her eye, but if you’re still not sure about it, seeing it in person might be what you need in order to decide.
 
M

maru8888777

Guest
Wow, this is super helpful as a reference. Inken does allow a window of return if I don't like the stone (so I could see it), but I'm terrified of it being lost in the mail or under my care, etc. She has been super patient, though, and I know I can trust her eye and taste if I accurately convey what I'm looking for (which is my challenge to solve!)
 

VividRed

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 25, 2018
Messages
752
Hello!

Inken’s ruby seems to have very nice color in the first videos (brown background with bright diffused light, ideal for ruby) but looses it all in the other ones. It is absolutely true that different cameras will show different colors, but the shift here is rather extreme. If you can afford to return it, why not, give it a try, else I would not take the risk for a 0.76ct stone at that price.
 

VividRed

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 25, 2018
Messages
752
Thank you @VividRed! I've never seen his discounts. I really like the oval of his I posted, but like @voce said, the pic on the report seems super different. At that price point, I do wonder if I shouldn't just contact Inken....

Pictures on reports are never, ever representative of what you will get. You can safely ignore them. The discount is given to people who sign up to his monthly newsletter
 
M

maru8888777

Guest
Hello!

Inken’s ruby seems to have very nice color in the first videos (brown background with bright diffused light, ideal for ruby) but looses it all in the other ones. It is absolutely true that different cameras will show different colors, but the shift here is rather extreme. If you can afford to return it, why not, give it a try, else I would not take the risk for a 0.76ct stone at that price.

I trust her eye, but I agree with you that the discrepancy is scary, since the ruby will hardly ever be in "ideal" light conditions. I need it to look good all the time!
I might try to see it, but I've emailed Inken to discuss my concerns with the stone. She's been very patient, especially considering that this is a smaller transaction than she's usually used to making. Based on our interactions so far, I very highly recommend her and I'm tempted to just trust her eye, but we'll see what she says.

I do like the ruby (at least as represented in the first pictures) a lot, and she says it's very similar to two others that she sold last year that were subcarat that I think have threads here (which I loved!) so we'll see.
 

CircularBrilliant

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
313
I trust her eye, but I agree with you that the discrepancy is scary, since the ruby will hardly ever be in "ideal" light conditions. I need it to look good all the time!
I might try to see it, but I've emailed Inken to discuss my concerns with the stone. She's been very patient, especially considering that this is a smaller transaction than she's usually used to making. Based on our interactions so far, I very highly recommend her and I'm tempted to just trust her eye, but we'll see what she says.

I do like the ruby (at least as represented in the first pictures) a lot, and she says it's very similar to two others that she sold last year that were subcarat that I think have threads here (which I loved!) so we'll see.

I think it's worth keeping in mind that she (1) found this for you, so obviously isn't trying to get rid of stock that hasn't sold, (2) has listened to what you want and is offering you a return if you don't like it. I doubt she would risk losing the time and effort she put in, and the potential loss of shipping costs, especially for a stone that is below her ordinary cost threshold. It would at least be worth seeing it in person to me. (Note: I have worked with Inken twice now, and have been very happy, so I do acknowledge some bias here.)
 
M

maru8888777

Guest
I think it's worth keeping in mind that she (1) found this for you, so obviously isn't trying to get rid of stock that hasn't sold, (2) has listened to what you want and is offering you a return if you don't like it. I doubt she would risk losing the time and effort she put in, and the potential loss of shipping costs, especially for a stone that is below her ordinary cost threshold. It would at least be worth seeing it in person to me. (Note: I have worked with Inken twice now, and have been very happy, so I do acknowledge some bias here.)

All great points, thank you. And I only see good things from people who've worked with her, which is both consistent with my experience of her and reassuring. I'll see what she says, but you all may have convinced me to see the stone in person. I've just had some scary mail experiences and don't want to risk anything.
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top