Unheated Burmese Ruby - 1 carat with FAG report

[Ritahk]

Hi there! I am new to this, recently bought this natural ruby, 1 carat at Yangon, Myanmar. It was certified by a local lab called FAG. The report said red but actually more purple to my lay person eyes. Also I used the 30x microscope to check. Looks like it has a tiny crack on the side. But the seller said it is inclusion. The report also didn't mention about crack. Because it is not so expensive and it is small, not planning to send to GRS or Gubelin for a real certificate. I have paid USD1600. What do you think? Overpriced?? This cert only cost USD13. Is this report useless and unreliable? I met the gemmologists in person. Hope it is worth more than 2 dollars.

 

[chrono]

Are there any other inclusions, other than the crack? I am not familiar with FGA and just based on that alone, I would send it off to Gubelin or SSEF. $1600 is not inexpensive and with the potential of all sorts of treatment, I need the peace of mind.

 

[Ritahk]

Thanks Chrono, the report said it has "Thick silk, very fine liquid feather like inclusion"

 

[cm366]

If you bought the stone in Yangon, I'm presuming it's not returnable? A Gubelin report will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $250, not a small portion of the total cost.

'Feather' is a fancy gem word for a crack, so it's possible that you're seeing exactly what the report describes. Especially if you can only see it under the 30x microscope - lots of appraisers will only view up to a certain magnification, say 10x, so what looks like a very fine feather under a 3x or 10x lens might look like a gaping chasm at 30x!

The report notes 'dim' red long wave and no short wave fluorescence, which fits with rubies in general but not with a particularly fine Mogok stone - they're ideally described as strongly fluorescent.

I guess it depends on what you want to know - if you want to know whether you got a good buy, forget the labs, go to an appraiser who knows coloured stones and will give you a straightforward value (not an insurance appraisal). Alternatively, go ask your local jeweler what he'd pay for it! If you're principally concerned with making sure it hasn't been treated in some insidious fashion, AGL, GRS, Gubelin or SSEF are all great choices. AIGS is also well known and widely accepted, if that's closer to your present location.

Edited to add: there's a cool chart of classic features ascribed to different mining regions in Burma toward the end of this informative little article....

http://www.amnh.org/our-research/physical-sciences/earth-and-planetary-sciences/research/research-projects/identifying-sources-among-burmese-rubies

 

[Ritahk]

Thank you cm366. Good to learn that feather means crack, this is very tricky. I should have learnt more before I go to Yangon. The seller in Yangon said I can return if I am not happy with it. But it's so difficult to find an unheated ruby in the gems market, ruby hunting in Yangon is tiring and not fancy at all. I am going to use the lab money to set this as a ring with tiny diamonds, and if I go Yangon again and find antoher bigger unheated stone than I will do the refund. I will ask a local jeweller to assess its value. Thanks again and the link is very informative.

 

[minousbijoux]

[quote="cm366|1398314041|3658959"
Edited to add: there's a cool chart of classic features ascribed to different mining regions in Burma toward the end of this informative little article....

http://www.amnh.org/our-research/physical-sciences/earth-and-planetary-sciences/research/research-projects/identifying-sources-among-burmese-rubies[/quote]

Thank you, cm366, this is interesting - I'm still learning my way around the world of inclusions.