reputable gem labs in Australia?

[lawnmower79]

Hi,

I went to Myanmar recently and bought a small Mogok ruby (0.67 carats). I checked it under the loupe and it seems to have features of a Burmese ruby. My holiday has not ended yet but I was wondering, for anyone living in Australia, are there any reputable gem labs that you can recommend in Australia? I googled around and the closest one to my home I could find are these guys (I live in Brisbane):

http://spectra.net.au/

Are they any good? On their website they seem to use some high tech equipment and seem to be able to detect various treatments, since this is the one thing I'm afraid of. The shop lady, of course, swears black and blue that it's untreated but I don't trust a single word. I got it quite cheap so I'm prepared for the worst.

 

[treasurehunter]

how cheap ?

 

[lawnmower79]

how cheap ?

I don't want to say the price yet until I've got some sort of lab work done on it, since without it I can't say for sure what I'm looking at. I did, however, negotiate the retail price down 15%, don't know if that's enough or not.

 

[laurenk]

I'd avoid most labs here but I did find dcla very good and professional. They're in Melbourne and I'm not sure whether they do just diamonds or all stones....

Good luck!

I'm in Brisbane too and wished we had GIA here in oz!

 

[Starzin]

I'd be interested in this as well. I found the Spectra site a couple of months ago following links. I did find two labs in Canberra a couple of years ago but emails to both to ask if they undertook reports for individuals was met with no response from either.

I'll post a callout to Gary (Holloway) in RT and see if he can shed some light.

 

[treasurehunter]

If signs of unheated further testing is not needed as chemical treatments use high heat , so if theres evidence of high heat then further testing is required.
So only a microscope is needed , look for unaltered Crystals

 

[chrono]

When you wrote "I got it quite cheap", my biggest concern is:
1. Synthetic (many have inclusions that mimic a genuine ruby)
2. Lead glass filled
3. Diffused
4. A combination of #2 and #3.

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with labs in Australia. Ruby is quite possibly THE most commonly and highly treated gem out in the market.

 

[lawnmower79]

When you wrote "I got it quite cheap", my biggest concern is:
1. Synthetic (many have inclusions that mimic a genuine ruby)
2. Lead glass filled
3. Diffused
4. A combination of #2 and #3.

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with labs in Australia. Ruby is quite possibly THE most commonly and highly treated gem out in the market.

This may be true, but I think the low price comes from the large area of extinction, which is about just a bit more than half of the gem itself. I know the quality ain't great but I just bought it for the mogok ruby colour, hopefully i didn't get ripped off too much. The price was $1375 USD before negotiation

 

[indigoblue]

I wonder what he learned about the stone.

 

[Marlow]

1375 $ for a 0,67 ct - a very high price only for an unheated / untreated ruby or a top quality heated stone o.k.!!

Do you have a picture?

 

[indigoblue]

1375 $ for a 0,67 ct - a very high price only for an unheated / untreated ruby or a top quality heated stone o.k.!!

Do you have a picture?

There was another thread about the trip:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/buying-rubies-in-myanmar-need-help.203490/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/buying-rubies-in-myanmar-need-help.203490/[/URL]