Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Need help finding Round Ruby for E-Ring

D

danskow

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 17, 2015
Messages
23
Hello all,
First off I want to say thank you for taking the time to look and try helping me on my endeavor to find the perfect stone for the engagement ring I am currently seeking.

I have it narrowed down to what I would think is pretty particular parameters and here they are.


-Looking for a single ruby
-Round Cut
-.75-1.5 in weight
-I would like something eye clean with no visible inclusions, clouding, or zoning
-A nice symmetrical cut is greatly appreciated.
And as far as the hue I really like the bright red; almost the color of blood. Not so much the pinks/purples, or extremely dark hues.

I have a budget of around 7500 for the stone but prefer to stay closer to 4 or 5


I have done quite a bit of searching and found sites like ajsgem, gemfix, gemsny.... but have yet to find that perfect ruby.
I have also gone into custom jewelers and had them pull stones from wherever they get them and have only found one or two that did not have very visible flaws but those one or two were stunningly beautiful... one is actually being held on reserve at the moment but it is right where my budget is at 7K.


IMO Gemsny had the best selection (from a website standpoint) however the cuts looked, well, in my opinion not symmetrical or cut very cleanly (like to the point where if i bought one it might need to be recut).... which is too bad because they have so many round untreated rubies that look beautiful yet when you see the profile view it almost makes my jaw drop.

Either way any help in terms or how i should be looking, sites i should visit, people i should talk to or any information that you think would help me find the perfect stone for my fantastic girlfriend would be much appreciated. I will be sure to keep my eye on this post and respond to any questions or concerns.

Thanks so much again and like i said i appreciate any and all input from you all!!
 
It is very hard to find a perfectly cut round ruby since the material is expensive. I have a friend in Thailand right now and I will ask him what is available I asked him a few months ago to find one for a friend and he told me there were none well cut. The size you are looking for is easier to find. Anything above 2 carats is untouchable.
 
Thank you both for the replies. To answer your questions.
MJO-
When you say it is hard to find a perfectly cut round ruby, is that common then just based on saving carat weight? Is the top the only part that matters to be cut perfect and symmetrical? Thank you very much for asking your friend I would be interested to see what they have overseas. Also yes to be honest I am happy staying in the 1 carat range. as long as it is close to 5.9-6.4 across.

Chrono-
I would be okay with heat treated yes, but not with any other type of treatment such as fills.
Question: What is the pro's/cons of having a heat treated ruby, does it damage it in any way or weaken its durability.
And no I do not know what flux is would you care to elaborate? I am new to the whole gem world so I am sure there is a lot I don't know.

Thanks again and like I said all and any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Many people think Heat means Heat only and nothing else but there are a myriad of treatments that fall under "Heat' which includes flux healing and diffusion. It is a very long and complex discussion which it is best that you read directly from a world renown expert on coloured stones, in particular sapphires and rubies, and decide where your tolerance lies.

http://www.palagems.com/flux_healing.htm

Quote

Flux healing involves heating corundums with borax or other fluxes. These fluxes actually dissolve the surfaces, including the internal surfaces of cracks. The corundum within this molten material then re-deposits on the fracture surfaces, filling and healing the fractures shut. Undigested material cools into pockets of flux glass. Essentially this amounts to a microscopic deposition of synthetic ruby to heal the cracks closed.

In the broadest sense, this is akin to the oiling of emerald—both treatments involve reduction of reflections from included cracks/fissures. Similar to placing an ice cube in water, a filled fracture is much less visible because the filler replaces air (RI = 1.00) with a substance that has an RI that more closely matches the gem itself (1.76–1.77). However, the flux healing of Mong Hsu rubies differs in three important respects:

The Mong Hsu ruby treatment is not a fracture filling, but a permanent healing of the fractures and fissures, with any filling merely a remnant of the process. In many respects, it is a welding of fractures, similar to the joining of two pieces of metal with heat and a flux to lower their melting point.

The Mong Hsu ruby treatment is permanent and irreversible. Unlike the oil in an oiled emerald, flux remnants will not drain out in the future, nor can they be removed. There is no way to have a stone revert back to the untreated state.

The Mong Hsu ruby treatment actually improves a stone’s durability, since the fractures are permanently healed shut.

End Quote

Note that:
1. Mong Hsu is a location in Burma, so it is considered a Burmese ruby.
2. It is very rare to find a ruby that has no traces of flux, so many are willing to accept minor traces of flux.
3. Flux healing is very rarely discussed, and most are not even aware of it.
 
Thank you for the quick reply and cliff note, I will go ahead and read that article now and educate my self a bit further and reply back once I feel comfortable that I understand what is incorporated.
 
That was a great article and went very in depth as to how, why, and the effects of flux/filling.
I especially liked the "dealing with it" section as that will be helpful when meeting with my local jewelers and discussing the rubies they have brought in.

Now to answer your question with more clarity -

I would accept an amount of flux as long as it did not compromise the integrity of the stone, would I want one that is considered unstable, no. Nor would I want one that is considered to have a "significant" amount of fluxes healed. Also I don't think I would consider anything glass filled. From what I understand there is a difference between glass filled and true heat fluxing, in that they fill it with a ruby substitute and not just a glass filler. However I could be misreading that. Hope that answers your question sufficiently.

Out of curiosity what was your opinions on the round rubies that gemsny.com carries? they have many that are said to be untreated, nor heated with GIA certificate. Also based on the profiles is that common for the bottom cut? Here is a link for visual reference on a stone I was looking at.

http://www.gemsny.com/loose-ruby/1.28-Carat-Round-Ruby-RU17167RD/
 
It is slightly off round but more importantly, they are hiding a window using selective photography.
 
The off cutting is to save valuable material. I assumed you were talking about unheated or just heated and no flux. You can find all the flux filled ruby you want cheap under 1 ct.

Neil that round looks very nice.
 
Not sure about this, but since it hits several of your stone prereqs... it is a 1.84ct GIA no-heat Thai round Ruby set in a ring, priced at $4,900 - https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/rings/more-rings/ruby-diamond-ring/id-j_1147492/ - you could remove and re-set the Ruby.

Another Ruby ring I came across which is GIA no-heat 6mm cushion - https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/rings/cluster-rings/stunning-131-carat-natural-no-heat-ruby-diamond-ballerina-ring/id-j_1160592/ - but it is overbudget ta $7950 and the wrong shape...
 
I skyped with my friend in Thailand tonight. He is in Chanthaburi not Bangkok so he said it ruby is not as easy to find but he will look next Friday when he goes back to the market He wanted to know if you care if there are naturals on the back. These are small nicks that are not faceted out so as not to lose weight.
 
Sorry for the late replies to you guys... I don't use a computer over the weekend at all....

Neil, thanks for the site and recommendation I will inquire with them today. its much appreciated and that is the color im looking for.

MJO I would prefer nothing filled, from what I understood there is heating, fluxing, glass filling etc.... I suppose flux would be okay if it was only a little.

Appreciate the link Marymm but I don't think I want to spend the extra $ on everything else when I still need to have the ruby I get set and the ring custom made. They are very nice rings though and appreciate you sending over some options I will keep them in mind.

MJO let me know what you find maybe he will be lucky. It would depend on the size of the nicks on the bottom though and how obvious they would be!

Best,
Dan
 
I have inquired with pearlmans and will see what they get back to me and let you guys know. Good news is he is located in Michigan which is just 4 hours from Chicago... so I could even go look at the ruby myself if it checks out after he gets back to me! Thanks again all!
 
danskow|1450724771|3964373 said:
I have inquired with pearlmans and will see what they get back to me and let you guys know. Good news is he is located in Michigan which is just 4 hours from Chicago... so I could even go look at the ruby myself if it checks out after he gets back to me! Thanks again all!
Click to expand...
Fabulous news! They are great to work with I think you'll be happy, even it it turns out that not the one for you
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP

Featured Topics

Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top