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Super Contributor
Posts: 475
Registered: ‎03-20-2013

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!

[ Edited ]

I've ordered two ruby items from evine. The first time, small studs with rubies, the stones were perfect, the setting was all dented, it went back. It took me several calls, to make them pay for return shipping.

Evine charge 8 dollars shipping per item, and if you order 2-3 items, they put them all in the same envelope, and sent first class.

Second time, the stones quality were pretty good. But the stones were set on top of each other, and/or had spaces between them. I generally never had any luck with evine, or shopnbc purchases. I would get 2 bad and 1 OK quality item. I have no idea how they keep selling, it the quality is that bad. 

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,069
Registered: ‎05-27-2016

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!


@Carolm wrote:

@itiswhatitis Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you were not knowledgeable.  I wish you the best of luck in finding the perfect stone or stones.


@Carolm, oh no don't worry about that.  Heart

*Call Tyrone*
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,069
Registered: ‎05-27-2016

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!

@SilleeMee PRELIMINARY GEMOLOGY

Rubies from Montepuez are very important to the trade because of the large quantities and the wide range of qualities and sizes produced.

Their colors bridge the gap between those from the classic sources of Burma (highly fluorescent, with low iron content) and Thailand/Cambodia (weakly fluorescent, with high iron content). While rubies owe their red color to chromium, their color is modified by the presence of iron, which reduces the chromium-caused fluorescence. An interesting aspect of rubies from the amphibole-related deposit near Montepuez is their range of iron content, from nearly as low as Burmese marble-type rubies to as high as rubies found in basalt-related deposits along the Thai-Cambodian border. This means they can potentially suit the tastes of a range of different markets.

Regarding quality, a small but significant percentage of the material has a combination of color and clarity that requires no heat treatment. But most of the rubies lack transparency due to fissures or the presence of inclusions. Heat treatment transforms this lower-quality material so it can find a market within the jewelry industry. Lead-glass filling is used for heavily fractured stones, while more traditional heat treatment (with or without borax-like additives) is performed on less-fractured stones with a milky or silky appearance. Overall, treated products are much more readily available than unheated.

 

https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research-mozambique-expedition-ruby-discovery-new-millennium

*Call Tyrone*
Contributor
Posts: 53
Registered: ‎01-26-2017

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!


@alice87 wrote:

I've ordered two ruby items from evine. The first time, small studs with rubies, the stones were perfect, the setting was all dented, it went back. It took me several calls, to make them pay for return shipping.

Evine charge 8 dollars shipping per item, and if you order 2-3 items, they put them all in the same envelope, and sent first class.

Second time, the stones quality were pretty good. But the stones were set on top of each other, and/or had spaces between them. I generally never had any luck with evine, or shopnbc purchases. I would get 2 bad and 1 OK quality item. I have no idea how they keep selling, it the quality is that bad. 


 

How was the clarity of the rubies you bought from Evine? I haven't been able to tell from the product shots or videos. Thanks!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,775
Registered: ‎07-09-2011

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!

I've been on the lookout (carefully) since the ban was lifted.  I do have a few Burmese spinels from buyers who were holding on post ban.  Will NOT miss out on a ruby, I hopeI

"Animals are not my whole world, but they have made my world whole" ~ Roger Caras
Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,600
Registered: ‎03-21-2010

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!

[ Edited ]

@maximillian wrote:

Interesting.  I am NOT knowledgeable about gems and just a few days ago I overheard a customer in a beauty salon talking about Burmese rubies.  Why are they so special?  Furthermore, why were they not available for a while?  Just want to be educated!


For political reasons, there was an embargo on them.  You could not travel there and purchase any of the rubies.  The Myanmar government was basically a military junta.  It's the same government, but liberties are slowly being allowed. So the embargo was lifted.  Boom! Burma rubies exploded overnight.

 

Burma Ruby are the BEST.  The soil there (and only there) that is super rich in chromium.  That makes corundum (rubies) red and yes stunts it's growth.  That's why rubies are small.  Over 2 carets, you're talking major cost in buying them.  They run about $1,000.00 a caret.  Add more for diamonds and metal they are set. The redder and the more transparent they are...the better.  They need to be transparent so light just sets it on fire to look at. The so called pigeon blood red is a brilliant red with murky deeper red added.  It glows when you put a flash light on them or in daylight. Only Burma rubies do that.  The rest do not. Other rubies are lovely (from other countries) but not as valuable as the Burma.  There are some no heat Burma rubies....and they cost a fortune.  Bear in mind too that just because it's a Burma, it's the best.  There are inferior ones too, but a good one (& you will know it when you see it) has intrinsic value.  QVC offered a very pretty ruby (from Madagascar)  Because it was not a Burma, it was cheaper.  But a lovely ruby.  I have 4 Burma rubies.  Only has the wanted transparency.  And I paid extra for that.  Burma rubies are the few rubies that are usually set in 18K and Platinum.  Gem Shopping Network and TVON have many of them.  But prepare to pay over $1,000.00 (at least) for them.  All of my rubies have GIA certificates with them.  It states that they are from Burma and grades them along with diamonds that come with them.  Rubies are like diamonds....they only go up in price (Sapphires too)

 

A Burma ruby

 

Image result for burma ruby

Super Contributor
Posts: 293
Registered: ‎02-06-2013

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!

@SilleeMee: I love rubies. I have a gold necklace with a small ruby that my mom gave me for my 15th birthday. She probably had to pay a lot. I wish I could buy rubies, but it's so expensive and most of the rubies are filled with glasses. I would never buy rubies like that because they are not ruby at all but a composite and not durable at all.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 35,603
Registered: ‎05-22-2016

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!

@Margui,

Ruby is my birthstone. When my mom passed away she left me two loose certified gems...Colombian emerald and a Burmese ruby. They are loose, in a safe and I'm afraid to get them set in jewelry because of the fear of losing them. The ruby stone glows with fluorescence. The emerald glows like it has a light inside of it. My fave is that Burmese ruby. The color is unbelievable and it's clear. My dad bought it for her back in the 1950s when he was in the military and spent time in SE Asia. 

 

I won't buy treated rubies. Like you said, they are not durable. Pretty to look at though.Woman Happy

Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!

During WW11 my Dad was walking along a street in a little village in Germany and he saw a ring so he picked it up. It was a remarkable oval ruby. The most beautiful ruby! Great sparkle & gorgeous red color! It was surrounded by seed pearls , all in a white gold setting. He brought it home to my Mom and as a child I often admired it. It was lost somehow as years went by and my Mom was broken hearted over losing it. My Dad had a more - easy come , easy go attitude toward it.He said it was placed for him to find it and then it left him for someone else to find it.

Super Contributor
Posts: 293
Registered: ‎02-06-2013

Re: Burmese Rubies are Back!!!!!

@SilleeMee: First of all, I'm sorry about your mom.

 

Find a trustable jeweler so she or he can set your Burmese ruby and your Colombian emerald. What shape are they?

 

Colombian Emeralds are so expensive. I can accept heat treated rubies only ( to enhance clarity) A Macy store had a huge scandal for selling composite rubies (fissure filled) for a huge price. The composite ruby cannot not held being clean up as a natural ruby. The buyer tested to ruby rings: One was the fissure filled ruby and the other one a ruby without any glass on it. The result: The fissure filled ruby was damaged whereas the ruby with no glass came out perfect from the ultrasonic machine.

 

I know Burmese rubies are the best in world. Probably I would never have one, unless I won the lottery. Rubies from other areas are also beautiful. It is sad, to see people spending their hard earn money for a composite ruby.