Rubellite...thoughts on these stones?

[Jereni]

So a few months ago I saw this ring on Ebay and fell in LOVE. In love love love. The gorgeous deep, purply-pink color, yum! I'd not heard of rubellite tourmaline before but I liked the vivid tone.



The problem with this ring is that it is a 15ct stone and $7k. Both of which are completely overkill for my needs. I did some searching on PS and I think I'm reading that this isn't actually 'top' color for a rubellite? That rubellite ideally is a little more red? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

On to my hunt, though. In a perfect world, I'd find a stone with the tone of the one above. If this is not 'top' color, that's fine, I just want to make sure I'm aware of what should and shouldn't command higher prices.

Here's a stone I found that appealed to me for example. 2.68cts, ~8mm, no treatment, asking price $870



Here is a finished ring with 2.3ct center, 6.8x8.7mm, asking $1300. I need to email and get info about treatments.


I'm curious for thoughts on these stones, whether either of them is a good example of a rubellite, or if not, any good examples that can be shared. Just trying to learn as much as I can about this type of stone, thanks for taking a look!

 

[Jereni]

Another pic of the second one. My limited PS knowledge is telling me there's a dead area in the middle....

 

[chrono]

None of the stones shown have vivid saturation. In fact, on most of them, they are quite grayish, especially the first one. Hue and tone-wise, they are similar in that they are purplish pink and medium dark. From the name rubellite, it is obvious that the name means ruby-like, so the primary hue should be red, with a touch of purple.

Rubellite is often sold without treatment disclosure because the labs are currently unable to detect irradiation. They know it is being done though. This is the risk you have to accept. The second caution is that most rubellite will colour shift. Some are red to purple but some are red to orange (or some other muddy brownish colour).

ETA
No straight down view on the one in the ring? It is tilted but I doubt it has a dead area in the middle. It looks to be well cut.

 

[LD]

Assessing rubellite from a photo can be challenging because one of the main issues with this material is that it has a tendency to go brown in incandescent lighting which seriously affects the look. Only good ones retain their purplish red indoors. You may have to get a few for a look but please make sure about a returns policy before pulling the trigger.

 

[Jereni]

Thanks very much for the feedback!

None of the stones shown have vivid saturation. In fact, on most of them, they are quite grayish, especially the first one. Hue and tone-wise, they are similar in that they are purplish pink and medium dark. From the name rubellite, it is obvious that the name means ruby-like, so the primary hue should be red, with a touch of purple.

Ok, this is really interesting to me, in terms of them being grayish. Often when reading CS, when stones are described as grayish, I feel like I can sort of see it, but maybe I'm looking at it wrong. Usually what I think I see is that certain areas of a stone, certain facets just have a more dead color than other parts. But I didn't notice that here...can I ask what about them makes them gray? Is it that the overall hue is just more muted than it should be?

I thought the third one looked like it had dark areas that would mean I wouldn't consistently see color throughout the stone. But I didn't think any of them seemed muted overall. Well maybe the second one

I'd honestly love to eventually be able to detect saturation better, I keep thinking I'm getting the hang of it but maybe not, haha

 

[Jereni]

Assessing rubellite from a photo can be challenging because one of the main issues with this material is that it has a tendency to go brown in incandescent lighting which seriously affects the look. Only good ones retain their purplish red indoors. You may have to get a few for a look but please make sure about a returns policy before pulling the trigger.

Thanks LD. I didnt' realize it could go brown, grrrr. I was working on malaya garnets for a little while but that's definitely a problem with them too. Why do all my favorite stones go brown? Sigh.

I will take the plunge and order a stone or two to take a look. The thing is, with the second stone - we all know who the vendor is - they have such a short return policy that it makes me nervous. I know I'd just have to be on top of it but I wish there was a little more flexibility there.

 

[pregcurious]

You must like warm colors. Warm colors tend to go brown, cold colors tend to go gray.

 

[LD]

Sorry meant to add that you've also asked about treatments. More and more rubellite Is being irradiated. This is a non detectable treatment some vendor's will not even know that the stone has been treated. This is an oddity with this gemstone because purists believe that rubellite should be totally untreated and not irradiated and that it should affect price, but in reality it doesn't seem to. In terms of it going brown in incandescent lighting situations it is very similar to Malaya garnet and one of the main reasons that I find them so difficult to buy. Both have a habit of browning out badly more so than any other gemstone. I have only kept a few rubellite pieces but bought and returned loads.

 

[erinl]

Looking at the other rubellites offered by that vendor, I think the round has a bit better color than the one you posted.

 

[Jereni]

Sorry meant to add that you've also asked about treatments. More and more rubellite Is being irradiated. This is a non detectable treatment some vendor's will not even know that the stone has been treated.

Aaah, ok. Good to know...I will take any 'untreated' comments with a grain of salt then. Thanks for the info!

I have only kept a few rubellite pieces but bought and returned loads.

Do you have any pics of your pieces you'd be willing to share? I'd love to see some better examples.

 

[Jereni]

Looking at the other rubellites offered by that vendor, I think the round has a bit better color than the one you posted.

You are right, I found the stone's 'solo' shot to be very appealing:



For some reason I didn't like the look of the cut in the hand shot



However, it's probably a good candidate to actually get it in person and check it out. I think I'll do that and then come back with my hand shots.

 

[chrono]

Rubellite belongs to the tourmaline family which has lower RI so don't be surprised to see a tilt window fairly easily even in a precision cut stone. A warm coloured stone that isn't well saturated is brownish and a cool unsaturated stone will appear grayish. When looking at saturation, it is the strength of colour, either muted (low) or screamingly in your face (vivid or neon). Brilliance contrast is where you'll see a combination of both lighter and darker flash together, which is what gives a stone "life". When the overall is tone too dark, then you'll only get mostly small and fewer flashes of colour.

 

[erinl]

Jereni--

This one looks a bit promising too:

http://www.moregems.com/tourmaline-5-68-carat.html