Opinion on these two rubies/vendors.

[kdvln]

I’m interested in purchasing a ruby. I prefer a burgundy-ish color over bright red. I am currently looking at these two stones and would like some opinions on both. Also, interested in hearing the difference in quality between these two vendors. Thank you!!

1.64 Carat Oval Ruby

This 1.64 Oval Ruby is sold exclusively by James Allen

www.jamesallen.com

Loose Ruby - Cushion 2.2 Ct. - #R9927 | The Natural Ruby Company

One beautiful transparent 2.20 carat cushion shape pinkish red ruby with dimensions of 8.90 x 6.31 x 3.74 mm. It has a mixed brilliant cut, and a clarity grade of very slightly included (evaluated at eye level), intense color intensity, and an excellent polish. The origin of this ruby is Mozambique.

thenaturalrubycompany.com

 

[kdvln]

I’m interested in purchasing a ruby. I prefer a burgundy-ish color over bright red. I am currently looking at these two stones and would like some opinions on both. Also, interested in hearing the difference in quality between these two vendors. Thank you!!

1.64 Carat Oval Ruby

This 1.64 Oval Ruby is sold exclusively by James Allen

www.jamesallen.com

Loose Ruby - Cushion 2.2 Ct. - #R9927 | The Natural Ruby Company

One beautiful transparent 2.20 carat cushion shape pinkish red ruby with dimensions of 8.90 x 6.31 x 3.74 mm. It has a mixed brilliant cut, and a clarity grade of very slightly included (evaluated at eye level), intense color intensity, and an excellent polish. The origin of this ruby is Mozambique.

thenaturalrubycompany.com

Sorry. This is the wrong ruby from JA. This is the correct one.

1.64 Carat Cushion Ruby

This 1.64 Cushion Ruby is sold exclusively by James Allen

www.jamesallen.com

 

[T L]

If you like burgundy, then get a garnet. $6k for a burgundy ruby without even a major lab report is definitely a no go for me.

Rubies are treasured for being bright red, not burgundy. There’s nothing wrong with liking burgundy, but you can find more affordable burgundy stones, such as spinel and garnet, and they are often untreated.

 

[Rfisher]

I think it’s incredibly hard to compare one that has an independent lab report to one that doesn’t.

But with that said.
Both don’t seem to have much scintillation under the table. The nsc one looks like it also might have some cloudy area right under the table that the perimeter doesn’t have - but that might just be the way the video looks - hard to tell. The nsc one seems to be lighter in tone and more crystal. Which will make that window more noticeable over what looks to be the darker tone of the JA one. My ruby has a window like that - I live with it as it was (one of ) my concessions to my budget.
My concern is just how dark and translucent vs transparent they might look once on hand, in person. Especially the JA one. That concern may not be yours though.

The JA one also has some surface pits/fissures that look pretty noticeable. I’m not saying, becayse I don’t know, that’s a safety issue. Just pointing it out.

It all depends on your budget what you are willing to sacrifice parameters for, what parameters you deem as important to you, and ultimate what look you are going for /what your eye enjoys.


Finding a spinel or a ruby in this color will come with other pitfalls and issues.
Going brown/orange or blacking out would be one of them and specifically durability for daily wear in the garnet.
Ones that don’t have those color issues will still have a high price tag.
Maybe someone here will do a little search to find some reliable available good performing examples of those for us.

Have fun in your project search OP!

 

[Rfisher]

As for the vendors themselves
I’ve never dealt with JA, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable spending 6k minus their 30% sale on a Ruby they in-house claim is heated. Heated only?or Heated plus residues/filling?
No. Who knows what it actually is.


I haven’t bought from NSC, but have inquired about a stone or two. I think they were nice and helpful. I haven’t bought from them. They run regular sales and I do believe they will negotiate on their listed pricings.

Both have good return policies if you want to see them in person.
If you do- would love to hear back from you what you think of them vs what you saw in your monitor.

Edit to add: window
Mine is sleepy so it camouflages the window a bit compared to a clearer ruby like the nsc one is.

 

[voce]

I would just avoid JA for colored gems because they don't really disclose treatment and allow you to sort their inventory for treatment. Neither of the rubies you selected look better than a garnet, they are poorly cut with a large window. I think you'd get much more bang for the buck to get a precision cut garnet.

 

[Avondale]

The 2.2ct one has a massive window. Like, humongous. The problem with that is that while on white background and under strong studio lights you see the beautiful burgundy colour you like, the moment you put it on your finger, considering the overall dark tone of the stone, the whole windowed portion will most probably darken by a lot. I guess you could always ask for additional video with the stone held in hand, as in on bare skin. I could be wrong.

The 1.64ct one has a bunch of clarity issues. There's a noticeable indentation on the girdle that's visible from top view, don't know if a prong could be situated to hide it. There's a second indentation right on the table. There's a black natural inclusion on the crown and what appears to be a surface reaching fracture.

Now, I'm the last person to tell anyone to not compromise on what they can compromise on for the sake of getting what they want in their budget, but in your case you'd be overpaying with both of those stones, I think. And that's even before we start considering treatments. I'll leave the recommendations to the more knowledgeable people here, but I definitely believe that with your budget you can get a really nice stone, much better than these two.

 

[Rfisher]

OP

If you do want to do a little precision cut burgundy garnet research here on PS on members who have bought them….
Google ‘Pricescope finewater garnet’
Then
‘Pricescope precisiongem garnet’
Then
‘Pricescope Jeff Davies garnet’
You’ll find other colors, but I think the color you are looking for will be there too.

Here’s my contribution but it’s not precision cut - no window tho.
Just blacked out under most lighting and browned/oranged out.

You can do the same searches above but replace ‘garnet’ with ‘red spinel’ and find info on those.

I don’t get the may as well get a garnet/spinel thought when one wants a ruby. But I do see where it’s coming from if one only wants parameters very close to if not trade ideal.

 

[T L]

Garnets are pretty durable gems, and even rubies/sapphires get facet abrasion if you’re not too careful.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Spinel is harder than garnet and there are some very nice shades of burgundy that sparkle a lot more than a ruby will, especially at that price point. I would definitely consider a spinel over a ruby. I’m a spinel lover and don’t even care to have a ruby at this point.

I think we just don’t want you to spend a fortune on a ruby that isn’t worth the money when there are a lot of other options.

 

[dk168]

No to both for the reasons already mentioned by the others.

The main issue for me is the colour as I don't like burgundy.

DK

 

[kdvln]

Thank you for the input!! I’ll look into the other gems you mentioned

 

[chrono]

Burgendy ruby is fine if that is what you love. The issue with the stones posted is that the cut is so bad the stones look dead and liveless.