FREE: ♡♥♡ Yummy Blue Spinel 4.5ct. ♡♥♡

She was pretty quiet until a couple days ago and even then she seemed hesitant. Kinda figured she would give me a hard time over it.

Color change stones are very easy to tell if you look at the stone inside your house under incandescent light, then go outside it will be one color inside and totally different outside. Alexandrite is emerald (green) by day and ruby (red) by night. I have 2 6mm rounds and I have a marqui also. The are vvs and very strong color change. I have 2 color change sapphires. I had a ring I made with a 9x7 color change sapphire. Inside it was royal blue, the perfect color. Outside it turned purple. My older brother's wife really loved it so I gave it to her. I enjoyed wearing it for a couple years. They were moving to Florida and I wore it over to their house in North Carolina. She was looking at it on my hand. I took it off and put it on her finger and said, "now it is yours". It was my plan that morning. I knew how much she loved it. It is my way in life. I have nevere been able to do anything dishonest. A company accidentally sent me a AAA Tanzanite with a $25,000 appraisal. I called them right away and they sent the UPS guy back for it the next day. I have always been that way and it has never hurt me. That was Gem Shopping Network on Direct TV. You can never go wrong doing a right thing.

I would love to take pictures of some of my larger sparlies and see if Elaine could give me more information on them and educate me. Thank you Elaine for the info and updates. Thank you Mamabeebs for a fantastic educational auction

I am probably finished for today. Will talk more tomorro. Have to cook supper.

The shame of it is that spinel does not sell at the high prices of sapphire and ruby, with the exception of the more recent find of candy apple red in Tanzania. There are a few others that sell at a higher price than other spinels, like green. Spinels usually have better clarity than rubies and sapphires. Spinels have been documented since the 1600's but it is believed they were actually mined earlier, Marco Polo wrote of the spinel mines 1254-1324 AD. He wrote about Badashan where the Balas Rubies were dug strictly for the king on threat of death. The King would give them to other kings as tribute, or friendship, or the king would sell them, keeping the value high. As I said earlier the refractive index is close to sapphire and ruby. Spinel 1.712 to 1.720 Ruby 1.762 - 1.778 It is always good to have as much knowledge as you can when bidding on gemstones.

Pictures don't always show everything. Is there any zoning?

F&W very nice spinel. spinel and sapphires are 2 different stones as you said.

As per usual, it is the last hour when the auction really heats up. It is usually the one flying quietly under the radar that becomes the main player. Well, there are a few minutes left, so we shall see who comes out on top. Care to wager?

Better be a really nice surprise coming with this if I win. If daynaearle3 wins, just do whatever you usually do. Just teasing and you know that is the truth. I was up until after 9 last night earning extra credits. A fellow fan outbid me on another auction last night. She wanted it for her mother on Mother's Day, so I kept watch over it while she went to work. She won, but it wads touch and go for a while. So now I have the bidding power I did not have last night.

Cool. But you didn't state in the description if this is a genuine stone or lab, do you know for sure? I just want to be clear is all. Thank you.

Gemstones come from all over the planet. Burma, (Myanmar) is famous for its Rubies. Not all rubies from there are the best anymore and there is a ban on buying any rubies from them, even through another country. Only allowed to purchase ""grandfathered", (already in the USA) rubies. Sapphires from Ceylon are very nice. It may interest everyone to know we have many gemstone mines here in the USA. We have diamonds, sapphire, ruby, emerald, bixbite and a wealth of rare and exotic stones, not to mention Sleeping Beauty turquoise is the finest in the world. As far as gemstones years ago versus gemstones today, we have learned so much more today about correct identification, inclusions and our cutting has improved. All kinds of cuts have popped up that better enhance the stones. Even diamonds are cut in the USA to best reflect the light. The European and "Old Mine" cuts were designed to save the rough, but they did not make the diamond shine and show off its true beauty. Just type in diamonds Old Mine cut in your search engine and you will understand better what I am saying. We have come a long way. My husband and I both know how to grade diamonds. All of our good gemstones and diamonds are locked in multiple safety deposit boxes in the bank vault. Even so I am always looking for more potential stones.

Thank you Elaine and Mama Beebs. You are ABSOLUTELY correct about honesty. F & W. Pls. F bk.

Would you add another picture? I would be very pleased, if you could do a very close picture. You might try a magnifying glass with your camera, if it does not have a telephoto lens.

Things are starting to heat up and usually the truly serious bidding starts the last day. Looks like there will be some fun bidding that last day. The spinel you have certainly warrants it. I am on your side and if the bids are going to go where they should, I think you will enjoy this auction. Still holding my horses.

Right now you are at about $40 on a gemstone worth a lot more. No matter where it goes from here, those credits are often more useful than money. My husband loves a stone with some size to it, Well, size it has! Wow! I guess everyone is getting anxious by now. I am having a hard time waiting.

I know it is getting late in the auction, but could you turn the spinel onto it's table and take a couple picture.

Back on top again. Afraid with a little over 2 days left this auction will go beyond my bidding power. I already know the retail on that spinel even if it is not the rarest or highest grade. From your pictures I cannot be sure. Would have to be in physical possession to tell that. I know the dollar value of current bid would not touch it, even if it is not AAA grade. I believe this is around $70 more or less in credits right now. Back to the surveys for me. You wouldn't want to follow me around the Listia auctions. I am involved in antiques, rare and exotic, collectibles, electronics and I have only just begun. My husband also took a look at this auction. He is every bit if not more knowledgeable than me. He was very impressed. He said "pretty" and he is very critical of gemstones and has a good eye. So with his approval, I have at least made it this far. We shall see, like I said it easily warrants 100,000 credits. I have been very active buying through Listia and am currently going to have to work hard to gain more credits. That being said, back to work on building credits. I know you can buy them but that is pretty much out of the question right now.

Someone sent me a rainbow moonstone pendant. I had bid on one earlier but did not win. One came in the mail yesterday. Now I have to contact Listia to find out how I ended up with it. It is gorgeous, just glows. That is not the first time, but it is the first time I don't know who sent it. I have met so many wonderful people on Listia. Unbelievable!

Hi, great auction. without having to read the novel of comments, I noticed this is an ebay purchase. do you know if this is a genuine stone? I am a gemologist and almost an appraiser and like to get stones for color comparison. But they have to be real.I have dealt with Thai dealers. They are crafty, gotta watch em. They prey on the unsuspecting. Homeland security doesnt monitor them, but if we sell what they sell to us that is a knock off, we could get the shaft.

Good Morning to All,

This auction has been one wild ride! I am honored to have had you all here to share it with me. I hope you all learned as much as I have and enjoyed the grand anticipation of what would happen next!! Thank you all for watching, commenting and bidding. I wish you all a great holiday and a bright Spring!!

MAMABEEBS

The spinel is not difficult to tell if it is lab grown or real like the Russian Lab grown Alexandrite. Any GG can tell. You did however clarify in the comments that it is real. Maybe you should just add a note that it is Mother Earth grown. If I end up winning, I'll know within seconds. Naturally I cannot prepare my own appraisals, but I have multiple contacts that can, if I so desire. Okay, looking at the last 2 pictures tells me a lot. From these it looks like it is pretty decent in saturation. You did a better job on the table this time. Looking good. Thank you. It is worth what I thought in the first place if the stone looks like the last 2 pictures. You have free shipping. If the stone is lab grown or synthetic (synthetics are super easy to spot.) the winner can always send it back and get their credits returned. All of my credits are on the table. The blue numbers read 45002 is the next bid to beat mine, I think. I can grade diamonds, identify gemstones. Tell the difference between real and man made diamonds and colored gemstones.. If I ever catch on to the blue numbers in the bidding boxes, I'll be doing just fine. Right now for about $70 worth of credits, I feel like a thief in the night. LOL (that isn't funny - stealing your gemstone from you. Makes me sick in a way. I don't like taking advantage of people. I know this is Listia and the rules being what they are, but I feel really bad if I take unfair advantage of my friends on Listia.

michelaghosn asked midway down the first page of comments if the stone was real. Your reply was "Yes, it has had no treatments as far as I am aware." If daynaearle3 had read the comments they would already know the answer to whether it is a genuine gemstone or lab. To the best of your knowledge it is real and untreated. one more day and a half. It is all mute anyway. the person who gets this, no one will see coming The smart ones read the description and comments, never uttering a word. You never even see their name on any comments. They sneak in close to the end and outbid everyone. I have seen it happen many times and on something I am after, of course. Good night to all.

Like I said above, I didn't have much time to read through the novel of comments, that is why I asked again Elaine.

Thank you for answering mamabeebs.

And Elaine, you shouldn't reveal your poker hand.

But did I really? Am I bluffing? Things can change over night. Not playing poker today. I have been out bid lots of times in this auction and other auctions. I'll be watching closely. I have every reason to believe this is a real spinel and the size and weight are perfect for the art of wire wrapping or the focal piece in a high end designer necklace. I have enough stones in the vault already. Vendors in the trade shows know the laws on selling fake stones can land them in prison. It is not worth the risk to them to go to prison or be put on probation over selling a stone for a few hundred dollars or even a few thousand dollars. I have close relationships with quite a few Trade Show vendors. The last show I attended I bought a candy apple red Tanzanian Spinel, which I set as a pendant in 14kt. gold. I did not get it for a few thousand credits and I always get the price I want or I walk away.

Gorgeous! :)

There is a Gem and Mineral show in Virginia Beach, Virginia April 25 through April 27 at the Pavilion. They have really expanded over the last few years. They have brought in some very high end dealers as of the last three years. That is where I bought the Tanzanian spinel, absolutely breath taking. Anyone in the area should try to go. They charge $5 per adult and if you go on the net you can find $1 off coupons. If you deal with certain vendors, they send you either $1 off post cards or get in free coupons, depending on the vendor.

May not bid anymore until final hour. I should have enough credits to make a good show by then.

Gorgeous color and watching, please fan me and check out mine, thank You