Quality Rubies

[Djarum]

So..I am still in the hunt for a center stone of some sorts for an engagement ring.

Long story short, my gf needed her watch battery replaced so we went into a jewelry store that had a pretty good selection of stuff. She seems to be veering more towards rubies than sapphires. I think she doesn''t like how "dark'' they are in incandecent light. The jeweler showed her a really nice(2k) sapphire ring in the sunlight, and it was gorgeous, but it was rather bland in incandecent lighting. She did however, like the rubies. So any suggestions on who''s a good website?

Dj

 

[Pandora II]

Welcome!

Do you have a rough budget in mind?

Fine rubies are THE most expensive of all gemstones (much more than colourless diamonds) and are very hard to find.

If you are looking for a stone that is bright red, sparkles a bit and won't break the bank for great quality, why don't you have a look at red spinels?

I'd take one of them over a so-so ruby any day. There's also fewer problems regarding heat treatment, fracture filling etc

Websites to look at for the kind of rocks around are:

www.cherrypicked.com
www.palagems.com (this one is trade only but have some fantastic examples of stones)

www.naturalsapphirecompany.com is a good website for sapphires of all colours. You will never get sparkle or fire like a diamond from a sapphire, but the right colour and a good cut can get you a long way towards it.

Lots of us here have coloured e-rings of various types. Mine is a tsavorite garnet.

Finally, do be aware that a gemstone e-ring will need a bit more care than a diamond one. It's a good idea not to wear it 24/7 and to take it off at night, when bathing/showering, taking part in sports, cooking - basically anything where the ring could get clonked!

 

[Fly Girl]

How about this amazing Richard Homer red spinel? Truly worthy of a fine e-ring!

 

[Djarum]

I really can''t spend more than 1000 - 1200 for the stone. I realize this might be a small budget for a good ruby, considering quality sapphires can easily be had at this price. The other option I am leaning toward is a violet sapphire. I think my gf is just turned off at the darkness of blue sapphires under incandecent/low light.

As far as red spinels, it seems that these are hard to find, at least in looking on most of the websites.

Any help would be appreciated.

Dj

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

How about this one? It''s a leeetle out of your range at 1290, and it''s a little more pinkish than purple, but quite lovely

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

This one is almost 1400 so probably not, but maybe you could use the pictures to give us a better sense of what shade, and whether you would be open to other types of stones besides sapphires? I guess 1) which color and shade of particular color do you prefer; and 2) is color more important than type of stone?

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

This one is under 1000, but also a little under 1 ct. But a nice cross of color between the first two I posted and definitely within budget

 

[Pandora II]

Here''s a gorgeous spinel - burmese, cushion cut and 1.45ct

It''s a bit over budget at $1,395, but I wanted to see if its the right kind of colour.

Personally I don''t care for concave cuts, so I will only be posting up stones with normal cuts

 

[Pandora II]

How odd... here it is re-attached

 

[Pandora II]

Do you have a particular size, shape in mind?

Ovals and cushions are the easiest to find in coloured stones.

 

[Djarum]

To me ,the concave cuts almost give the stone a "fake" feel.

As far as color, red is fine, but not orange red. Looking more for either a round or square cushon cut. There is a lavender cushion cut sapphire here:

http://www.planetarygems.com/rare_gems.htm

6th down on the left.

Just not sure about the cut nor quality of this stone.

What I''d like to do is get a lavender(tantanite colored maybe?) round or square center stone and maybe accent with pink sapphires.

My gf doesn''t care for diamonds at all. She likes color.

Dj

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Pandora, that red is lovely. DJ, you''re right, concaves aren''t for everyone, and I can totally see if you want a more "traditional" type of non-traditional lovely colored stone.

If all else fails, send Jeff White an e-mail and ask if he has any red stones of a particular color, that he has cut or can cut, for $1200 or less. And do you know if your GF will be wearing this everyday since it''s her e-ring? If so, stick to the harder stones that can stand up to wear and tear. Good luck!

 

[FrekeChild]

I''m just curious, was your GF looking at darker blue stones to begin with or a lighter to medium blue? I''m wondering if it''s the color that''s the problem or the lack of brilliance?

From what I''ve seen most jewelry stores don''t carry the vivid blue stones (which are the most desirable) or the lighter blue stones. They have the blue/black stones which are not only dark, but also almost opaque looking because they are so dark.

If you''re still interested at all in blue sapphires, I''d suggest checking out this webpage.

I''m with you, I don''t like concave cut stones. I love chunky facets.

I''d also contact Dan Stair at customgemstones.com to see what kind of rough he''s got. He might have some red spinel sitting around, or can get some easily.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[Pandora II]

Try Richard at ArtCutGems as well - the spinel I posted was one of his.

There''s a gorgeous square cushion one on his site, but it''s under a carat and you''re probably after something a tad bigger. Colour was great though.

He''s also got some nice sapphires. I''ve had some lovely pieces from him - including my amazing new mali garnet - none of which were ever on the website.

I had a look at multicolour.com, but couldn''t see anything that would fit the bill.

The tanzi coloured sapphires are my favourites.

I''m with you Freke, I''m thinking she''s only seen maul store sapphires and not one that performs properly and is a lighter tone.
Makes a HUGE difference.

Where are you based Djarum?

 

[Djarum]

Huntsville, AL.

In response to the other poster, we''ve gone to a few jewelers who''ve had some selection of gemstone rings that had 1k blue sapphires in them...

In the sunlight they had a ton of brilliance. But in everyday lighting they appeared dark. Not necessarily dull and opaque like the cheap ones...

Dj

 

[FrekeChild]

I really think you should ask Dan Stair, Richard Homer and Jeff White what they can do for you. I''m thinking that you''ve only seen native cut sapphires and that''s probably why they aren''t returning much light. A really good cut can make all the difference. (I''m a colored stone *cut* snob!)

I have a black blue sapphire that only performs under strong direct light so I''m imagining that you both are probably disappointed with the sapphires if thats all you''ve seen. I''m not talking about dull and opaque-that will have more to do with clarity than color-but a very dark sapphire just won''t do as much as a lighter one.

I would check out cushioncutnut''s most recent sapphire journey. She went through 3 sapphires before she found something she liked-the first stone didn''t perform at all, the second performed a bit, but was a roval and she wanted a cushion, and the third stone was finally exactly what she was looking for-and even better performing than the roval.

Having said all of that, I think that lavender sapphire you''ve been looking at for a while (months now?) is very pretty.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 8/12/2008 12:27:21 PM
Author: FrekeChild
I really think you should ask Dan Stair, Richard Homer and Jeff White what they can do for you. I''m thinking that you''ve only seen native cut sapphires and that''s probably why they aren''t returning much light. A really good cut can make all the difference. (I''m a colored stone *cut* snob!)

I have a black blue sapphire that only performs under strong direct light so I''m imagining that you both are probably disappointed with the sapphires if thats all you''ve seen. I''m not talking about dull and opaque-that will have more to do with clarity than color-but a very dark sapphire just won''t do as much as a lighter one.

I would check out cushioncutnut''s most recent sapphire journey. She went through 3 sapphires before she found something she liked-the first stone didn''t perform at all, the second performed a bit, but was a roval and she wanted a cushion, and the third stone was finally exactly what she was looking for-and even better performing than the roval.

Having said all of that, I think that lavender sapphire you''ve been looking at for a while (months now?) is very pretty.

Some ''native'' cuts are spectacular. Probably better just to call them ''poor'' cuts.

Sorry, pedant in me, but seems a bit unfair to brand all stones cut at source that way. Sri Lankan gems for example can''t be exported in the rough and you can get extremely well cut stones.

It''s also a taste thing. In the same way as I''m not into concave, I don''t always like precision cuts either - it''s a bit like prefering OECs to H&As. Horses for courses and all that.

I really would advise looking at as many stones as possible online - save photos of those in the colour or shape or whatever that you like - and then contact some vendors. Send them the pics so they have a good understanding of what you are after and then see what turns up.

Have you had any thoughts about the setting?

How exciting, I love a good e-ring stone hunt. Congratulations to you and your future fiancee on choosing colour, I never get bored of looking at my ring!

 

[Love in Bloom]

I have a native cut ruby and am very happy with it. The stone happens to be diamond-cut and is quite fiery for a gem. My jeweler sourced it for me. My ruby is small, but lively and clear, with a few natural inclusions. Is it perfect? No. Do I love it? Of course! And only cost about half of your stone budget.

I totally feel a ruby engagment ring would be beautiful, and if your girlfriend really wants a ruby, I would go with a ruby. My suggestion for you is to figure out what kind of setting you want and find a vendor for that setting. Then your jeweler/vendor should be able to source a selection of rubies for you to see. Even if you decide to go for a sapphire or another stone for her engagement ring, I would still see what a jeweler could source for you while you continue searching for a stone as well.

ETA-

Here are links to the ring

 

[Djarum]

Thanks for all the advice.

When I spoke with the jeweler, he said he could get whatever kind of stones I wanted. I just have a feeling that it could be a long process doing that with the jeweler. The guy seems really nice.

On a different topic..anyone know where I could find a setting similar to this :

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Right-Engraved-Milgrain-White/dp/B001E0K5LE/ref=sr_1_148?ie=UTF8&s=jewelry&qid=1218565734&sr=1-148

I really like this.

Dj

 

[FrekeChild]

Bah Pandora! You''re such a stickler.

Seriously though, I heart my Barry more than my Dan because the amethyst is just too perfect looking, but this may have something to do with the facets being chunkier, and the stone being larger-which gives the stone a less precise look. But they are very very different stones the Barry is a silver topaz oval at 7.41cts and the amethyst is a Barion at 3.95cts, and they have very very different looks. I want to echo Pandoras suggestion of collecting pics of what you like and showing them to your vendor. Always a good idea.

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 8/12/2008 2:26:29 PM
Author: Love in Bloom

I have a native cut ruby and am very happy with it. The stone happens to be diamond-cut and is quite fiery for a gem. My jeweler sourced it for me. My ruby is small, but lively and clear, with a few natural inclusions. Is it perfect? No. Do I love it? Of course! And only cost about half of your stone budget.

I totally feel a ruby engagment ring would be beautiful, and if your girlfriend really wants a ruby, I would go with a ruby. My suggestion for you is to figure out what kind of setting you want and find a vendor for that setting. Then your jeweler/vendor should be able to source a selection of rubies for you to see. Even if you decide to go for a sapphire or another stone for her engagement ring, I would still see what a jeweler could source for you while you continue searching for a stone as well.

ETA-

Here are links to the ring

I gotta say, LIB, your beautiful ruby ring was my inspiration ring when I got my 0.67ct Burmese ruby set recently. My ruby is native cut as well, sourced from Gary Dutton, and since my setting is much simpler, the whole thing is well within the OP''s budget. Link

 

[Love in Bloom]

Date: 8/12/2008 3:41:13 PM
Author: Fly Girl
I gotta say, LIB, your beautiful ruby ring was my inspiration ring when I got my 0.67ct Burmese ruby set recently. My ruby is native cut as well, sourced from Gary Dutton, and since my setting is much simpler, the whole thing is well within the OP''s budget. Link

Aww, well thank you very much Fly Girl! I''m honored to have inspired your new Burmese beauty!



Please keep us updated on your search Djarum

 

[Djarum]

There are a few rubies that I actually like over at gemwow. They are a little outside my budget, but I might be able to squeeze it.

Dj

 

[partgypsy]

This was a few years ago, but Wink sourced me a 4 mm ruby for $200. If I had to do it again, I''d get in contact with Wink.
Basically you can get a nice looking ruby in that price range, but it won''t be large.


ps- Those two ruby rings are so pretty

!