Teal Blue Spinel?

[DistinctionJewelry]

I realize that this thread is going to be a bit useless until I add pics, but I couldn''t get any decent photos of the stones at this hour of the night - I''ll take and post them tomorrow. I just purchased (from a gem dealer''s trunk show) two 6mm ~ round teal blue spinel, about 1ct. each. We refraction tested them and they are indeed spinel.

I was wondering what sort of a deal I got on them (keeping one for me, making the other into a ring to sell) and started searching all the gem sites for similar stones. I can''t find ANY spinel this color! It''s a saturated blue similar to what one might see in swiss to london blue topaz, but with a very distinct and definate teal blue-green cast. They are gorgeous and caught my eye through multiple layers of plastic bags due to the wonderful color. They are native cut but the cutting is really good for native cut and the olish is nice. I made him did them out for me, they were from an old stash of his and he sort of made up a price for me as he could not remember what he paid for them. I have a sneaking feeling I snagged a deal, but also this little nagging worry because I can''t find anything similar online.

Sooooo.....any of you lovely collectors have any idea of what the value of a 1ct teal blue spinel is? I will post pics tomorrow.

 

[FrekeChild]

Need pics. But I''ve been purchasing grayish blue spinel (cheaper than a pure blue, or teal I''m thinking) for over $100 a carat. My last one was a medium *bright* blue at 1.24 ct for around $170. Granted, I still haven''t seen it.

About how much did you get them for?

I''m wishing I could find a teal spinel.

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

*bites nails*

Mind if I hold off on telling what I paid until I get some opinions? I - um - am not sure I want to admit it if I overpaid :blush:

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Pics! Boy are gemstones hard to photograph - I have no problems taking pictures of finished jewelry, but I had to take a bunch of shots and do some photo editing to make the color true. My camera did a better job picking up the teal when there were stones of other colors in the picture, hence the group shots. Here is pic #1.

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Pic #2

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

This is a bad shot but it shows the cut:

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

And one final pic:

 

[FrekeChild]

What gorgeous colors...I''m curious as to the price you paid, but I''ve never seen spinel that color (besides man-made) so I have absolutely no idea. Does it have a color shift?

 

[neatfreak]

That is a great color, I haven''t seen it before in natural spinel either! Looks like a peacock!

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

No color shift, although one stone is slightly lighter with a more teal tone and the other stone is slightly darker and more blue. I looked all over my usual internet sites and couldn't find any color like it, which is what has me excited and worried. There is a synthetic blue zircon with this sort of color, but from my understanding even synthetic spinel refraction tests different from natural....and these guys were bang on for spinel.

Okay, I'll give. I paid $95 a carat - wholesale, not retail pricing. That'd be the equivelent to $200-300 a carat on most websites.

 

[marcy]

Very pretty colors.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Hi!

You tested the refractive index for these spinels? What was the RI?

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Ohh, now you''re testing me! The shop that was hosting the dealer had a RI tester that indicated not only the RI but what stones fell in that range - I paid more attention to the fact that it was bang on spinel than the actual number. I want to say it was 1.716 but I couldn''t swear to it.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 10/28/2008 10:15:28 PM
Author: DistinctionJewelry
Ohh, now you're testing me! The shop that was hosting the dealer had a RI tester that indicated not only the RI but what stones fell in that range - I paid more attention to the fact that it was bang on spinel than the actual number. I want to say it was 1.716 but I couldn't swear to it.

haHA! I can't help it--I'm a gemology student.

--just want to make sure that you got what you paid for.

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

What has me worried a bit is the fact that lab created blue zircon is synthetic spinel and it has a similar color, although maybe a bit more blue???

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/28/2008 10:22:35 PM
Author: DistinctionJewelry
What has me worried a bit is the fact that lab created blue zircon is synthetic spinel and it has a similar color, although maybe a bit more blue???

What would worry me more is #1 the price. And #2 the fact that I''ve never seen spinel anywhere close to that color personally...

 

[coatimundi_org]

The teal blue spinels I've seen are pretty desaturated. There is a very easy way to determine if this is natural spinel. You need to view it under shortwave UV. If it fluoresces chalky blue, it's synthetic.

I know of somewhat that got a "great deal" on tanzanite--turned out to be glass.

I'm very wary of that color...sorry.

eta: also, who told you what the RI was--the dealer or someone at the store?

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Date: 10/28/2008 10:17:51 PM
Author: coatimundi

Date: 10/28/2008 10:15:28 PM
Author: DistinctionJewelry
Ohh, now you''re testing me! The shop that was hosting the dealer had a RI tester that indicated not only the RI but what stones fell in that range - I paid more attention to the fact that it was bang on spinel than the actual number. I want to say it was 1.716 but I couldn''t swear to it.

haHA! I can''t help it--I''m a gemology student.

--just want to make sure that you got what you paid for.

*wants to be a gemology student*

I want to make sure I got what I paid for too....my concern exactly! Also, as I''m keeping one stone and plan to sell the other in a ring (amateur metalsmith here) I want to make darn sure I don''t go telling a customer that I''m selling them this rare spinel when really it''s just something - not.

*wants to be a gemology student some more*

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

What sort of a place would have a shortwave UV?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 10/28/2008 10:27:22 PM
Author: DistinctionJewelry

Date: 10/28/2008 10:17:51 PM

Author: coatimundi

Date: 10/28/2008 10:15:28 PM

Author: DistinctionJewelry

Ohh, now you''re testing me! The shop that was hosting the dealer had a RI tester that indicated not only the RI but what stones fell in that range - I paid more attention to the fact that it was bang on spinel than the actual number. I want to say it was 1.716 but I couldn''t swear to it.

haHA! I can''t help it--I''m a gemology student.

--just want to make sure that you got what you paid for.

*wants to be a gemology student*


I want to make sure I got what I paid for too....my concern exactly! Also, as I''m keeping one stone and plan to sell the other in a ring (amateur metalsmith here) I want to make darn sure I don''t go telling a customer that I''m selling them this rare spinel when really it''s just something - not.


*wants to be a gemology student some more*

Did you buy these stones in the US? Or abroad?

 

[coatimundi_org]

Yeah, if you are going to sell it, and it''s synthetic, you need to disclose that to the customer.

What city are you near?

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Date: 10/28/2008 10:29:26 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 10/28/2008 10:27:22 PM
Author: DistinctionJewelry

Date: 10/28/2008 10:17:51 PM

Author: coatimundi

Date: 10/28/2008 10:15:28 PM

Author: DistinctionJewelry

Ohh, now you're testing me! The shop that was hosting the dealer had a RI tester that indicated not only the RI but what stones fell in that range - I paid more attention to the fact that it was bang on spinel than the actual number. I want to say it was 1.716 but I couldn't swear to it.

haHA! I can't help it--I'm a gemology student.

--just want to make sure that you got what you paid for.

*wants to be a gemology student*


I want to make sure I got what I paid for too....my concern exactly! Also, as I'm keeping one stone and plan to sell the other in a ring (amateur metalsmith here) I want to make darn sure I don't go telling a customer that I'm selling them this rare spinel when really it's just something - not.


*wants to be a gemology student some more*

Did you buy these stones in the US? Or abroad?

In the US from a dealer who does almost all of his buying in Brazil. This is the first time I've had occasion to wonder about anything he's sold me.

I'm thinking either I got the deal of a lifetime, or some of the most expensive glass *ever*

 

[coatimundi_org]

The lady who bought the "tanzanite" paid much more.

This sort of thing happens a lot.

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

I''m near Eugene, Oregon.

 

[coatimundi_org]

I'll ask my instructor tomorrow where you could take it for shortwave UV testing. If you are interested. It's an instant test. I do it every day in my gem identification course.

HTH!

eta: one of my best friends is an organic farmer near Eugene!

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Date: 10/28/2008 10:33:06 PM
Author: coatimundi
The lady who bought the ''tanzanite'' paid much more.

This sort of thing happens a lot.

Poor tanzanite buyer

I won''t be tearing my hair out if these turn out to be something else as I didn''t break the bank on them. It sounds like more testing is certainly in order. I think it''s interesting that you guys have never seen a spinel this color, because I spent hours online searching last night and couldn''t even find one close to the color....one of the reasons I posted here, because from what I''ve read lurking here you''ve collectively hunted down some pretty unique stones.

 

[chrono]

I purchased a pair of colour shifting spinels earlier this year; teal to blue. The spinels were well saturated, much like the one you have but darker in tone, so it is possible to have such a lovely spinel, but again, the price could make one wonder if it''s real or not. I''d go ahead with the testing. My fingers are crossed for you.

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Date: 10/28/2008 10:35:46 PM
Author: coatimundi
I''ll ask my instructor tomorrow where you could take it for shortwave UV testing. If you are interested. It''s an instant test. I do it every day in my gem identification course.

HTH!

eta: one of my best friends is an organic farmer near Eugene!

Very cool! I''m most interested - sounds like I need to get that done before going any further with these stones.

I just noticed someone asked who did the test - the RI unit belonged to the store, and the dealer did the actual test while I watched.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Great! I''ll ask my instructor for ya tomorrow.

I hope it all works out--and glad you didn''t break the bank!

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Date: 10/28/2008 10:40:20 PM
Author: Chrono
I purchased a pair of colour shifting spinels earlier this year; teal to blue. The spinels were well saturated, much like the one you have but darker in tone, so it is possible to have such a lovely spinel, but again, the price could make one wonder if it''s real or not. I''d go ahead with the testing. My fingers are crossed for you.

A ray of hope

Very, very curious: if these are/were real, what should they have cost?

The dealer had two others just like this that I didn''t buy because the cut was way, way too deep. IF, IF, IF these turn out to be real, and if he hasn''t by now realized that he let me have them for too little money, are the stones worth enough in this size (6mm round) to justify buying the other two for recutting?