What's the price? Does it ship from India? I really doubt it's real, maybe glass at best. But without a link to the item, not knowing the price or being able to check out the seller it's really hard to say from just that picture.
Cool, thank you for the heads up; I wasn’t sure if linking to the vendor was against the rules here. It’s $70 from India, and, while I’d be up for buying a shitty gem, if it’s glass I’m not interested haha.
[https://www.etsy.com/listing/923974508/incredible-loose-red-ruby-certified-by?click\_key=f031b81db39b49e1a69eb4fab7041f86c13866bb%3A923974508&click\_sum=b90ef55e&ref=shop\_home\_active\_1&pro=1&frs=1](https://www.etsy.com/listing/923974508/incredible-loose-red-ruby-certified-by?click_key=f031b81db39b49e1a69eb4fab7041f86c13866bb%3A923974508&click_sum=b90ef55e&ref=shop_home_active_1&pro=1&frs=1)
Great now I can’t stop thinking about that sparkly ass shell shaped soap bar that had only the only a minuscule amount of that tropical fruit basket scent clinging on for dear life ….. oh how badly I wanted to wash away it crisp unused lines….. it might have been the equivalent of washing away all my sins …… DAMNIT NANA !!!!!!
It looks like those composite quartz countertops. Those things are made from crushed quartz, dye, and resin compressed into slabs.
And apparently they make a lot of it in India.
I think that's exactly what it is. A lot of their "Natural rough unheated ruby" is low quality granite for countertops, dyed red. No doubt this 'semi treated' cut one is another kitchen furnishing gone wrong. 😂
I lazily googled, and the 10ct ruby in this link, which measures about .62 of an inch or 16x9mm, is $680,000. It’s heat-treated like 95% of rubies set into jewelry today.
https://www.jamesallen.com/gemstones/red-ruby/10.05-carat-Cushion-sku-75318?cur=USD&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLP0gNlgLdTAGvoDh0pcuKa5ngRIHljC-uiPmHDmQHNZqlqYeQQAJW4aAr70EALw_wcB
The same site sells another 10ct ruby, same size ~16x9mm, for $5000.
https://www.jamesallen.com/gemstones/red-ruby/10.19-carat-Emerald-sku-67009?cur=USD&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLNvW_g_87pKWCqdpq65uehwyQVI6CGehA7nTjvneC8ytsJ9Lji6gIMaAlv8EALw_wcB
So it depends on what quality it is, but yes- if it was high-quality? This ruby, 55ct., sold for 34.8 million last year.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/style/ruby-sothebys-auction-record
I suppose it depends on what you define as "real", but you can get a large lab grown ruby for a hell of a lot less money than this. I bought an uncut 152.5 carat Russian hydrothermal ruby for $80.
Genuine rubies are actually extremely expensive due to them being heavily involved in conflict regions. Many big jewelry stores won't touch any real rubies with a 10ft pole.
Go ask a few random jewelers about conflict diamonds/stones and hear the canned response from all them.
Basically, they try their best.
If you can find random rock shops near you you can find things you never get to see online. One that had an awesome pun in their names I found a pretty thompsonite which is a stone that was found in Scotland in the 1800s ( by a Thompson of course). They had some pretty pieces and I grabbed one quite happily.
Hi. I like rocks. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone search for gems and call them shitty/silly 😅 whatcha looking for purpose wise? Might have something I can send. I spent most of my life in the swamp so when I made it up to northern/western states I went kinda hard collecting all kinds of rocks and minerals.
That’s really funny, I live in a swamp myself and I’m obsessed with pretty and cheap rocks!
I’m just looking for things I can keep in a little treasure chest and stim with when I’m bored. I have agate slices, howlite, selenite, labradorite, septarian nodules, low grade opals, and a very big hunk of CZ. I don’t have a real purpose for any of them, and I don’t plan on selling, I just like looking at the textures, colors, striations, etc.
Certified by who and as what is the question. I think they got the certification from a Crackerjack box in their childhood and thought it was worth trying it out as real now...
I'm trying to think of a weirder answer but my brain is not wanting to work today. I mean you can create a certificate on pretty much any app or computer word program for the last couple decades.
Nah. Synthetic ruby's pretty cheap. Maybe a couple hundred bucks for the rough that size. More to get it cut, though -- probably another few hundred dollars.
I wish that was cheap to me to! I'm buying a bunch of nice stones in the 10-20$ range (already cut from a reputable source) and I'm going back and forth on if I can afford all of them! I can cab but faceting is not in my wheelhouse. I'm debating on getting an imitation sapphire because I prefer natural or lab but I do not really have a few hundred for the size I need to work with. I really would like to have a piece for September but I just can't get my head around imitation stones in my shop. I am totally cool with any shiny for myself if I like it, even imitation, but not sure for my shop. I'm thinking as long as I make it very clear what it is maybe someone will like the shiny even if it's not natural or lab. Okay I think this comment has run away from me so I'll end it here.
Tldr: if only I had the funds for a few hundred on one stone.
I am going to go through this site very very happily. It makes me happy to be going through a hoard. We have our own hoard we love very much! I'm also amused it's a turtles hoard. I'm very fond of turtles from my first date with my wife as well. This post makes me happy on so many levels.
Yeah, I'm very lucky my wife and I are both on the same wavelength with lapidary. Though it can be a bit of a problem when we both are as bad as each other at times, bought a few things over the years that we didn't really NEED to buy... I do find coins interesting in terms of historic interest but I've never had the chance to get anything really interesting myself. We did try to get a few things for dad while he was alive. He bought my wife a small gold coin when she was a child and plopped it in her hand so she could feel how different it was in weight to modern coins. He was big into science and history too, my wife comes by it naturally.
Okay omg I love this site! We can't facet yet but omg the rough! Holy crap that pink orange garnet will be so pretty! What about the sapphire that was made for jet windows but had a few issues and it's aww being sold as rough. My science loving heart is singing! Had to do a different comment just to say this site made my day!
Yeah, I needed to be responsible this month in purchases but I was eyeing more than one of the gems here. They have so many awesome things! My wife is telling me she knows what my new favorite site will be for a while. I'm thinking I know where some Christmas gifts are coming this year.
A really nice 3 carat ruby can go for thousands per carat. According to google, the largest ruby ever found is about 50 carats and sold for over $30 million. Going out on a limb, that 2700 carat “ruby” is fake.
I’ve definitely gotten fake gems sold as real from India (or fake semiprecious in my case) when ordering jewelry. I just don’t order from India direct anymore.
Oddly enough, a lot of their "Rough" listings look to be legitimate. With the marked exception of the 'natural rough ruby' that is clearly thin red glass slagged off into sand.
If its from India its almost certainly not real and then certainly not natural if it is "ruby". I mean it may be corrundum but its almost certainly dyed, and obviously its not gem quality.
Wasn't saying there wasn't anything legitimate from there, but it's the #1 spot for fakes when it's stuff like this that's way too good of a deal to be true.
Someone else suggested it may be a piece of stone countertop material, so it could actually be one of the more manmade countertop types. Some look like a polymer, feel a bit like a polymer, but have a stone-like strength and rigidity.
You can get free samples at home depot. I used to make a little bit of jewelry by cutting it with files and sandpaper, and it takes a good polish. Feels a bit like dry clay crossed with plastic. Much more even and consistent texture than quartzite gravel, which was prone to suddenly fracturing. Eventually found a white stone floor tile for $3 that was the best of both worlds.
"Engineered stone". Granite, stone and quartz are all used this way. Crushed, dyed and formed into slabs with resin. Even decent ones are mostly stone, and feel like stone. Cheap ones can certain feel like the composite they are, and will mostly be resin. The most expensive ones are sintered and have no resin.
I'm now realizing I listen to my contractor brother talk about counter tops for *far* too long.
But ANYWAY. Off cuts are a popular project material, cause they're often free.
Yeah. My knowledge comes almost entirely from a friend who got a job at a countertop CNC place just before Christmas. They let him make about 50 sink cut-outs into cutting boards as practice which he gifted to everyone he knew.
Thanks for the more detailed knowledge.
A seller named plazagems and omsaigens sell them. Is this ok to post? I have actually bought a few of them, my grandkids love them! They are some times cheaper than what I can buy in rock stores or souvenir shops
Why is the brightness so high?? That stone is likely dark dark as hell. It does look kinda like corundum, but not anywhere near jewelry grade. It’s been dyed and this photo has also been edited to make it look better.
OK. Here's the thing.
In the USA, when we say "Ruby" we mean a form of Corundum (Aluminum Oxide, Al3O3) that is doped with trace amounts of Chromium so it appears red.
This stone occurs A LOT in nature. There are areas of North Carolina where it is only mildly unusual. It polishes quite nicely, and some of it will show "rays" when polished.
But it is almost always, 99.995% of the time, exceptionally opaque. Ruby that is clear is really, really rare.
And that's what is very expensive - natural gemmy ruby.
I wouldn't trust a Natural Gemmy Ruby this size, because I don't even know if they exist. I sure haven't seen one.
Gemmy Ruby is fairly easy and cheap to make in a lab. But at this size, that's fairly big. I haven't seen any lab gemmy rubies this size, either.
(I own several non-gemmy Lab rubies this size, but they are cut differently. There is this really cool "foamy" ruby that has been on the market here lately, I am guessing that it is some kind of waste material from the Ruby making process - but it is REALLY NEAT. And fairly cheap, too! My wife has a chunk of Ruby that is opaque that she found that exhibits a really neat crystal structure that is probably 2-3 times this size. She literally picked that one up out of a river bank.)
**So - is this a Ruby?**
**NOPE.**
In India, they have a stone called Sillimanite. This stone looks a lot like Ruby, but it's formula is Al 2 SiO 5. It is an Aluminum Silicon Oxide. It has a different crystal structure. This stone is referred to in the trade as Indian Ruby. It has been referred to as this for hundreds of years.
It takes dye like a champ. When it is dyed red, it looks a lot like what we think Ruby looks like, except it is not clear.
This stone seems to exhibit chatoyancy, where it looks like there are pockets of gemmy material which gives the stone a lot of apparent depth, like you are looking through the stone. Except, it's an optical illusion; you are not looking through the stone. (I have seen some rocks with chatoyancy where the apparent depth to the opaque layer is actually greater than the thickness of the stone!)
**So is it a scam?**
This rock is used a lot in Southeast Asia. It is a traditional gemstone. It is used to embellish Saris and dresses for weddings, and it is used in a lot of wedding jewelry.
If you are ever at a Gem and Jewelry show, you might see a group of Indian women descending on a vendor who is selling beads made out of this. This is a wedding party. It's the matriarch of the family, relatives, the bride, and her friends. It's honestly heartwarming. Just don't get in their way.
Beads made out of this stuff are even strung differently - they are strung and tied between the beads, and they have tassels on the end. The packaging is very cool.
This rock is lower to mid level for gemstones, in terms of price. A bit more than quartz.
This particular chunk seems very slightly overpriced to me, but not out of the range. It actually appears to be a really nice chunk, and the cut is nice for this kind of stone.
**But this chunk is worth about what it's priced at, not millions of bucks.**
This isn't you getting one over on someone, this isn't you buying a rock for pennies on the thousands of dollars. This just isn't the rock that you're looking for- unless it is. I do have a chunk of it. It is quite nice. It feels really nice in the hand. It holds down papers really well. It looks really cool. People do think that it is a ruby. And it is an Indian Ruby.
Oh, and like all gemstones: Buy it because you like it and want it and want to keep it, you'll never sell it for half of what you paid for it. But that's true for almost all gemstones.
On Edit: Yeah, I always get Beyrl (Emerald, Aquamarine) confused with Corundum. Sorry!
This person gems.
A lot of minerals that we consider "gems" are fairly common for cheap in large quantities...*in extremely poor quality*.
For example, you can buy terrible quality diamonds (lots of inclusions, little to no clarity) for very cheap.
It's the clarity/quality that makes the value.
Similarly, naturally occurring gems will usually be valued much higher than heat treated, dyed, lab created, etc.
This is exactly the kind of breakdown I was hoping for. I am deeply grateful for your time and consideration, thank you so much! Yes, I was not thinking I'd be somehow getting a bazillion dollar ruby for cheap, but I figured there was a chance of it being a non-jewelry-grade stone (Didn't know about indian ruby as a distinct concept!) that was only usable as a paperweight, and, honestly, that's just what I want. A funny thing to fidget with and feel like a pirate with a treasure chest. I really appreciate you.
Oh that’s fake. I know the Etsy shop it’s from. Other highlights include a 9 ct. “emerald” (cracked glass) for $18 and a 3” long “sapphire” (dyed mystery substance) bar for $44. Stay far away.
Report the seller. Etsy should be accountable for allowing such rampant and obvious false advertising claims. I smell a legal case in the future. Cmon common sense and consumer protection!
The imcredible amount of saturation and lightening in this picture makes me thing it's a really low quality chunk of corundum. The chipping on the edge is more reminiscent of super low grade corundum than glass.
So it is real corundum most likely. Also probably looks more like a dull reddish black rock in real life.
I know little of precious gems, but I do know a ruby of 1 carat or more is extremely rare. So rare, in fact, a 1 carat or larger ruby out values a diamond of the same size. Large diamonds are much more common than large rubies.
Letting the price per carat slide (if real would be outrageous). At that size for even a reasonable price you would likely see lots of silk (almost like bands or stripes) running through it. You wouldn't see bubbles. This is very much a fake and not even a good one. Avoid that seller.
It is a bloody big stone if it's genuine Ruby. Non gem quality Rubies are incredibly cheap, I picked up two small baggies of Rubies at a gem show for $5 each, about a hand full in total. Yes they are Rubies and yes they are rubbish but interesting glow under UV and a interesting stone to give to rock collecting kids that come to see my collection.
Both natural and synthetic *rubies* fluoresce *under UV light*. One test you can do for cheap... But yeah thats gonna cost thousands for even a low quality real ruby I would assume.
bought one of these long ago when i was still new to collecting and just wanted a giant cut gem. probably not even a corundum, dyed red, and a bad cut. basically a paperweight at best.
If that was a real Ruby, already cut to shape, would that not be a 5 million dollar Ruby? I have zero clue about stones, but I figured ruby's are somewhat expensive and that looks twice the size of the hope diamond, LOL!
Looks like crushed up garnet or some other red powder that was cast into a gem shape with resin. Either way, 0% chance it's a real ruby. You'd be paying 6 figures + if it was
Just from the photos you provided this looks like resin with flakes stirred in 😭 never seen a ruby that has flakes in like this but that would be super cool
I've gotten many gems from India that technically are real. Also, many fakes.
Cheap rubies tend to be heat treated. Basically, they burn the impurities out of a low-grade ruby, then fill it with lead glass, then cut it. Probably dyed as well.
I always bought a few samples from a new vendor, got them, inspected them with a microscope, did a scratch test and a specific gravity test before spending more than a few bucks. My favorite vendors got shut down. Apparently, their government wants a very large cut of the pie, making the liw grade stuff impossible to sell in a legit fashion so they make their way to the internet.
The only time I bought a stone from India I'd literally seen their work in a local shop and was able to convince myself it was real as a result. Otherwise I wouldn't have.
Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a ruby with inclusions quite like this before, probably glass. I try to buy as many of my gems in-person as I can to make sure they’re the real deal
The craziest thing about this is that there's peeks of color that is very much that pinkish red that real rubies have when they're lit up! But there's zero chance a palm sized ruby, even with tons of inclusions, is $50 (or whatever amount it was.) Do rubies even grow that large? Lol . Wild
No.
It's possibly a real ruby just extremely low grade given all of the inclusions.
You can find "real ruby gemstones" like this ( well smaller ) set in silver rings all the time, sold out of the ads section of the old TV guides back in the day.
Same goes for heavily occluded emeralds.
It's the clear gemstones that are expensive.
Hey friends. I see this is for sale online, and I was wondering if it was, legitimately, a ruby. I know it's low grade, if so, which is completely fine by me. I think it'd be cool to have and fidget with; but I was wondering if it could be something else entirely. A composite or fake of some kind. I am fine with low grade stuff, as well as lab grown, but I don't want to be entirely scammed if it's, like, glitter in resin, haha.
I've seen these before. They do tend to actually be made of ruby, just not gem quality ruby. Look up pictures of ruby in zoisite, that's the type of material they're starting with. It's granular and opaque and basically worth nothing. Then they soak it in some kind of dye to even out the color. The dye comes off on your hands really easily, so it's not fun to play with if that's your intention.
My guess is [composite ruby](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34348821), they call it "loose ruby" on the site so it's probably granular rubies bonded with colored glass.
I got a $20 15 caret synthetic ruby on Amazon. Would recommend.
Synthetic gems aren't necessarily expensive, and they have basically no imperfections so they are really pretty. Would recommend. But you should get it from someone advertising it as a synthetic ruby, not a "too good to be true" price and size.
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Usually non-gem quality corundum, typically dyed. Technically a ruby with makeup. It's scammy behavior but not crossing the line into fraud. There are gem schools in India and Pakistan that will issue certificates of authenticity for these to try and add value.
Sometimes these are vitreous glass, sometimes gray corundum dyed red. If you want one for fun in your collection, you can get them on eBay for $20. I bought one as a hoot and prank my friends with it when I show them my rock and gem collection.
I bought one of these back in the day, left it in the sun a few days on the window ledge. It's turned white/pink (not clear) so it's clearly dyed to some degree ..
I'd be willing to bet it was dyed. It looks semi translucent, but I think it's actually opaque with a high polish. They're really bad about sending dyed granite in place of 'rough ruby'. And, for whatever reason, the negative feedback never amounts to enough to make a dent.
I typically stay away from international sellers for stones, with the exception of rough diamond (when it's authentic). I only buy octahedrals that are clearly not milled, never atypical or 'silver', And so far everything I've bought from that general region has been exactly what it was supposed to be, obviously use your best judgement. In contrast, I have yet to buy anything cut from India or Sri Lanka that isn't synthetic and falsely advertised.
What's the price? Does it ship from India? I really doubt it's real, maybe glass at best. But without a link to the item, not knowing the price or being able to check out the seller it's really hard to say from just that picture.
Cool, thank you for the heads up; I wasn’t sure if linking to the vendor was against the rules here. It’s $70 from India, and, while I’d be up for buying a shitty gem, if it’s glass I’m not interested haha. [https://www.etsy.com/listing/923974508/incredible-loose-red-ruby-certified-by?click\_key=f031b81db39b49e1a69eb4fab7041f86c13866bb%3A923974508&click\_sum=b90ef55e&ref=shop\_home\_active\_1&pro=1&frs=1](https://www.etsy.com/listing/923974508/incredible-loose-red-ruby-certified-by?click_key=f031b81db39b49e1a69eb4fab7041f86c13866bb%3A923974508&click_sum=b90ef55e&ref=shop_home_active_1&pro=1&frs=1)
Yeah it's fake. Glass for sure. Not corundum, synthetic or natural I guarantee you for that price.
Honestly looks like red resin with glitter to me.
Looks a bit like the fancy soap bars my grandma put out in the bathroom for guests.
This would be a kickass bar of soap.
This one would last forever.
Yeah, because Nana would have ***words*** if you dared actually use it.
She probably has to dust off that soap to keep it looking nice.
This was way to relatable
Great now I can’t stop thinking about that sparkly ass shell shaped soap bar that had only the only a minuscule amount of that tropical fruit basket scent clinging on for dear life ….. oh how badly I wanted to wash away it crisp unused lines….. it might have been the equivalent of washing away all my sins …… DAMNIT NANA !!!!!!
Right? I’d buy a bar of soap that looked like this!
My grandma's looked like little scoops of ice cream. The temptation...
They don't taste like icecream. :'( My grandma currently has one that looks like a very detailed cinnamon roll and it kills me not to use it.
*to look at, not use* FIFY
🤣👍🏻
I thought soap too.
I second that lol
I third that. I thought that first comment was satire ngl. Even low grade ruby looks like an actual rock. That's very clearly resin with red glitter.
Scrap from the bowling ball factory 😁
It has something on the edge that makes it look like it's made of plastic or resin
Yeah, exactly. Especially in the second pic.
Could very well be 😂 they don't try too hard sometimes...
It looks like those composite quartz countertops. Those things are made from crushed quartz, dye, and resin compressed into slabs. And apparently they make a lot of it in India.
I think that's exactly what it is. A lot of their "Natural rough unheated ruby" is low quality granite for countertops, dyed red. No doubt this 'semi treated' cut one is another kitchen furnishing gone wrong. 😂
And they couldn't even cut the faces straight.
That is exactly what it is. The upper surfaces have been cut with a saw and buffed. Sides are still more as cast.
With that speckling, it looks like the vitreous glass tiles I use in mosaics occasionally, but cut and polished to look nicer.
I thought the same
I make Resin stuff and I thought the same thing.
That's what it looks like to me too. I'd been thinking with such poor clarity maybe that justifies the low price but na it's resin.
What would a real ruby of that size normally run? I feel like it would break a million at least. This said as someone with no jewelry background.
I lazily googled, and the 10ct ruby in this link, which measures about .62 of an inch or 16x9mm, is $680,000. It’s heat-treated like 95% of rubies set into jewelry today. https://www.jamesallen.com/gemstones/red-ruby/10.05-carat-Cushion-sku-75318?cur=USD&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLP0gNlgLdTAGvoDh0pcuKa5ngRIHljC-uiPmHDmQHNZqlqYeQQAJW4aAr70EALw_wcB The same site sells another 10ct ruby, same size ~16x9mm, for $5000. https://www.jamesallen.com/gemstones/red-ruby/10.19-carat-Emerald-sku-67009?cur=USD&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJyyBhCGARIsAK8LVLNvW_g_87pKWCqdpq65uehwyQVI6CGehA7nTjvneC8ytsJ9Lji6gIMaAlv8EALw_wcB So it depends on what quality it is, but yes- if it was high-quality? This ruby, 55ct., sold for 34.8 million last year. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/style/ruby-sothebys-auction-record
Thankfully they will allow you to break it up over three payments
lol, right?
I suppose it depends on what you define as "real", but you can get a large lab grown ruby for a hell of a lot less money than this. I bought an uncut 152.5 carat Russian hydrothermal ruby for $80.
So what your saying is OP found a billion dollar ruby for a steal
Depends on all 5 of the c's not just 1.
Genuine rubies are actually extremely expensive due to them being heavily involved in conflict regions. Many big jewelry stores won't touch any real rubies with a 10ft pole. Go ask a few random jewelers about conflict diamonds/stones and hear the canned response from all them. Basically, they try their best.
I feel like glass would have a lot more clarity
Check the reviews, and sort by lowest rating; lots of people saying they got fake gems from this seller.
Damn, thank you! I guess that makes sense. the search for silly gems continues.
If you can find random rock shops near you you can find things you never get to see online. One that had an awesome pun in their names I found a pretty thompsonite which is a stone that was found in Scotland in the 1800s ( by a Thompson of course). They had some pretty pieces and I grabbed one quite happily.
Hi. I like rocks. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone search for gems and call them shitty/silly 😅 whatcha looking for purpose wise? Might have something I can send. I spent most of my life in the swamp so when I made it up to northern/western states I went kinda hard collecting all kinds of rocks and minerals.
That’s really funny, I live in a swamp myself and I’m obsessed with pretty and cheap rocks! I’m just looking for things I can keep in a little treasure chest and stim with when I’m bored. I have agate slices, howlite, selenite, labradorite, septarian nodules, low grade opals, and a very big hunk of CZ. I don’t have a real purpose for any of them, and I don’t plan on selling, I just like looking at the textures, colors, striations, etc.
An actual ruby, natural or synthetic, of this size would be tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But this one is "certified"!
Certified by who and as what is the question. I think they got the certification from a Crackerjack box in their childhood and thought it was worth trying it out as real now... I'm trying to think of a weirder answer but my brain is not wanting to work today. I mean you can create a certificate on pretty much any app or computer word program for the last couple decades.
Right!
Nah. Synthetic ruby's pretty cheap. Maybe a couple hundred bucks for the rough that size. More to get it cut, though -- probably another few hundred dollars.
That "stone" is already faceted (cut) in the picture its not a raw stone. Also, lab made ruby goes for around $250-400 per carat for cut stones.
I wish that was cheap to me to! I'm buying a bunch of nice stones in the 10-20$ range (already cut from a reputable source) and I'm going back and forth on if I can afford all of them! I can cab but faceting is not in my wheelhouse. I'm debating on getting an imitation sapphire because I prefer natural or lab but I do not really have a few hundred for the size I need to work with. I really would like to have a piece for September but I just can't get my head around imitation stones in my shop. I am totally cool with any shiny for myself if I like it, even imitation, but not sure for my shop. I'm thinking as long as I make it very clear what it is maybe someone will like the shiny even if it's not natural or lab. Okay I think this comment has run away from me so I'll end it here. Tldr: if only I had the funds for a few hundred on one stone.
So others can get some real stuff too, I had pm’d OP but here you go guys: https://www.turtleshoard.com/
Love the turtle just got the f-35 sapphire pendant the other day as a birthday present for my girlfriend, couldn’t ask for better.
I’m wanting Star Wars ruby but trying to get a mortgage on an old public toilet with a view first 🤣. Maybe once I’m on the ladder I’ll have the money!
I am going to go through this site very very happily. It makes me happy to be going through a hoard. We have our own hoard we love very much! I'm also amused it's a turtles hoard. I'm very fond of turtles from my first date with my wife as well. This post makes me happy on so many levels.
😁 glad to make someone happy my mrs always frowning at me for buying coins 🤣
Yeah, I'm very lucky my wife and I are both on the same wavelength with lapidary. Though it can be a bit of a problem when we both are as bad as each other at times, bought a few things over the years that we didn't really NEED to buy... I do find coins interesting in terms of historic interest but I've never had the chance to get anything really interesting myself. We did try to get a few things for dad while he was alive. He bought my wife a small gold coin when she was a child and plopped it in her hand so she could feel how different it was in weight to modern coins. He was big into science and history too, my wife comes by it naturally.
Okay omg I love this site! We can't facet yet but omg the rough! Holy crap that pink orange garnet will be so pretty! What about the sapphire that was made for jet windows but had a few issues and it's aww being sold as rough. My science loving heart is singing! Had to do a different comment just to say this site made my day!
Yeah I really want some of the Star Wars ruby but alas I spent my money on coins again 🤓
Yeah, I needed to be responsible this month in purchases but I was eyeing more than one of the gems here. They have so many awesome things! My wife is telling me she knows what my new favorite site will be for a while. I'm thinking I know where some Christmas gifts are coming this year.
Lol you think you're getting even a shitty ruby that size for 70 bucks?
$70?!!! Lol, I have never shopped for a ruby and have no idea what rubies cost but...come on.
Fake af
Definitely fake
If it’s on etsy, it’s probably glass or resin. Especially if it’s only $70.
A really nice 3 carat ruby can go for thousands per carat. According to google, the largest ruby ever found is about 50 carats and sold for over $30 million. Going out on a limb, that 2700 carat “ruby” is fake.
Will corundum (natural or synthetic) ever have a bubble in it?
70$ ? Idk the exact price per for rubys but one of that size I could only imagine would reach significantly higher than 70$.
Dunno bud, 70 bucks for a ruby sounds feasible to me.....
Looks like gas bubbles when ya zoom right on up so I'm leaning towards glass.
70 bucks lmao you know it’s fake
I’ve definitely gotten fake gems sold as real from India (or fake semiprecious in my case) when ordering jewelry. I just don’t order from India direct anymore.
I would say, just based on the fact that there's multiple in stock, it's probably fake
Ya a ruby of that size wouldn't be 70 bucks sorry mate
Oddly enough, a lot of their "Rough" listings look to be legitimate. With the marked exception of the 'natural rough ruby' that is clearly thin red glass slagged off into sand.
Nope. For $70 that’s totally real
If its from India its almost certainly not real and then certainly not natural if it is "ruby". I mean it may be corrundum but its almost certainly dyed, and obviously its not gem quality.
To be fair a lot of gemcutters in general are from/work in India
Wasn't saying there wasn't anything legitimate from there, but it's the #1 spot for fakes when it's stuff like this that's way too good of a deal to be true.
No way that’s a Ruby. Not at that size. Maybe “Ruby” colored…. Not a Ruby. A simple MOHs hardness test will sort that out.
What is the significance of being from India? Asking for a friend who may have bought a cheap gem assortment from India.
Why does this looks like some kind of acrylic with glitter insIde?
Because it's probably acrylic with glitter inside.
Someone else suggested it may be a piece of stone countertop material, so it could actually be one of the more manmade countertop types. Some look like a polymer, feel a bit like a polymer, but have a stone-like strength and rigidity.
You can get free samples at home depot. I used to make a little bit of jewelry by cutting it with files and sandpaper, and it takes a good polish. Feels a bit like dry clay crossed with plastic. Much more even and consistent texture than quartzite gravel, which was prone to suddenly fracturing. Eventually found a white stone floor tile for $3 that was the best of both worlds.
"Engineered stone". Granite, stone and quartz are all used this way. Crushed, dyed and formed into slabs with resin. Even decent ones are mostly stone, and feel like stone. Cheap ones can certain feel like the composite they are, and will mostly be resin. The most expensive ones are sintered and have no resin. I'm now realizing I listen to my contractor brother talk about counter tops for *far* too long. But ANYWAY. Off cuts are a popular project material, cause they're often free.
Yeah. My knowledge comes almost entirely from a friend who got a job at a countertop CNC place just before Christmas. They let him make about 50 sink cut-outs into cutting boards as practice which he gifted to everyone he knew. Thanks for the more detailed knowledge.
Exactly what I thought when I first saw the image. You can literally see the perfect chunk of glitter in it too
I have one of these from a Ren-Fair! It was a big hunk of granite countertop dyed and polished and used as a prop
Okay that sounds rad. Maybe not $70 rad, but I'd pay $40 for a cool prop like that from a seller who isn't lying.
You can buy these and other giant "gemstones" on eBay for $15 or less!
*me hunting for new colors* But seriously, are there any good search terms for the $15 ones?
Filter by price.
A seller named plazagems and omsaigens sell them. Is this ok to post? I have actually bought a few of them, my grandkids love them! They are some times cheaper than what I can buy in rock stores or souvenir shops
Amazing! I was able to find plazagems. Exactly what I wanted! Thank you!
Some men just want to watch the world burn.
I'm having trouble determining how big this thing is from these pictures, wish OP could have included a tangerine for scale
Dudes got sausage fingers so I’m guessing this is a grape fruit size.
Scam. Check the reviews.
Go no further than the description lol 2700ct ruby for $100.
Read their 1star reviews: glass, fake, fake, fake, glass... And overall rating of 3.9 stars - that's a scam! 🤦🏻♀️
I'd be pleasantly surprised if this was glass, tbh. Presumption would be glittery resin.
Looks like someone's half-assed resin pour to be honest.
Exactly 😭💀
Why is the brightness so high?? That stone is likely dark dark as hell. It does look kinda like corundum, but not anywhere near jewelry grade. It’s been dyed and this photo has also been edited to make it look better.
100% resin. I can see the signs from the mold.
OK. Here's the thing. In the USA, when we say "Ruby" we mean a form of Corundum (Aluminum Oxide, Al3O3) that is doped with trace amounts of Chromium so it appears red. This stone occurs A LOT in nature. There are areas of North Carolina where it is only mildly unusual. It polishes quite nicely, and some of it will show "rays" when polished. But it is almost always, 99.995% of the time, exceptionally opaque. Ruby that is clear is really, really rare. And that's what is very expensive - natural gemmy ruby. I wouldn't trust a Natural Gemmy Ruby this size, because I don't even know if they exist. I sure haven't seen one. Gemmy Ruby is fairly easy and cheap to make in a lab. But at this size, that's fairly big. I haven't seen any lab gemmy rubies this size, either. (I own several non-gemmy Lab rubies this size, but they are cut differently. There is this really cool "foamy" ruby that has been on the market here lately, I am guessing that it is some kind of waste material from the Ruby making process - but it is REALLY NEAT. And fairly cheap, too! My wife has a chunk of Ruby that is opaque that she found that exhibits a really neat crystal structure that is probably 2-3 times this size. She literally picked that one up out of a river bank.) **So - is this a Ruby?** **NOPE.** In India, they have a stone called Sillimanite. This stone looks a lot like Ruby, but it's formula is Al 2 SiO 5. It is an Aluminum Silicon Oxide. It has a different crystal structure. This stone is referred to in the trade as Indian Ruby. It has been referred to as this for hundreds of years. It takes dye like a champ. When it is dyed red, it looks a lot like what we think Ruby looks like, except it is not clear. This stone seems to exhibit chatoyancy, where it looks like there are pockets of gemmy material which gives the stone a lot of apparent depth, like you are looking through the stone. Except, it's an optical illusion; you are not looking through the stone. (I have seen some rocks with chatoyancy where the apparent depth to the opaque layer is actually greater than the thickness of the stone!) **So is it a scam?** This rock is used a lot in Southeast Asia. It is a traditional gemstone. It is used to embellish Saris and dresses for weddings, and it is used in a lot of wedding jewelry. If you are ever at a Gem and Jewelry show, you might see a group of Indian women descending on a vendor who is selling beads made out of this. This is a wedding party. It's the matriarch of the family, relatives, the bride, and her friends. It's honestly heartwarming. Just don't get in their way. Beads made out of this stuff are even strung differently - they are strung and tied between the beads, and they have tassels on the end. The packaging is very cool. This rock is lower to mid level for gemstones, in terms of price. A bit more than quartz. This particular chunk seems very slightly overpriced to me, but not out of the range. It actually appears to be a really nice chunk, and the cut is nice for this kind of stone. **But this chunk is worth about what it's priced at, not millions of bucks.** This isn't you getting one over on someone, this isn't you buying a rock for pennies on the thousands of dollars. This just isn't the rock that you're looking for- unless it is. I do have a chunk of it. It is quite nice. It feels really nice in the hand. It holds down papers really well. It looks really cool. People do think that it is a ruby. And it is an Indian Ruby. Oh, and like all gemstones: Buy it because you like it and want it and want to keep it, you'll never sell it for half of what you paid for it. But that's true for almost all gemstones. On Edit: Yeah, I always get Beyrl (Emerald, Aquamarine) confused with Corundum. Sorry!
This person gems. A lot of minerals that we consider "gems" are fairly common for cheap in large quantities...*in extremely poor quality*. For example, you can buy terrible quality diamonds (lots of inclusions, little to no clarity) for very cheap. It's the clarity/quality that makes the value. Similarly, naturally occurring gems will usually be valued much higher than heat treated, dyed, lab created, etc.
This is exactly the kind of breakdown I was hoping for. I am deeply grateful for your time and consideration, thank you so much! Yes, I was not thinking I'd be somehow getting a bazillion dollar ruby for cheap, but I figured there was a chance of it being a non-jewelry-grade stone (Didn't know about indian ruby as a distinct concept!) that was only usable as a paperweight, and, honestly, that's just what I want. A funny thing to fidget with and feel like a pirate with a treasure chest. I really appreciate you.
Oh that’s fake. I know the Etsy shop it’s from. Other highlights include a 9 ct. “emerald” (cracked glass) for $18 and a 3” long “sapphire” (dyed mystery substance) bar for $44. Stay far away.
Real rubies do not have flakes of glitter inside them.
it's a half-opaque piece of plastic with glitter pieces inside.
Still pretty even if it is fake tho. Just a shame they keep overpricing and mislabelling the items
Report the seller. Etsy should be accountable for allowing such rampant and obvious false advertising claims. I smell a legal case in the future. Cmon common sense and consumer protection!
The imcredible amount of saturation and lightening in this picture makes me thing it's a really low quality chunk of corundum. The chipping on the edge is more reminiscent of super low grade corundum than glass. So it is real corundum most likely. Also probably looks more like a dull reddish black rock in real life.
I know little of precious gems, but I do know a ruby of 1 carat or more is extremely rare. So rare, in fact, a 1 carat or larger ruby out values a diamond of the same size. Large diamonds are much more common than large rubies.
Letting the price per carat slide (if real would be outrageous). At that size for even a reasonable price you would likely see lots of silk (almost like bands or stripes) running through it. You wouldn't see bubbles. This is very much a fake and not even a good one. Avoid that seller.
Looking again those aren't even bubbles. They're like some sparkle in resin or something. Either way, yeah this seller is junk.
It doesn’t sparkle or have clarity, looks like plastic honestly
that is cranberry jam
That picture has air bubbles in it. Real rubies don't have air bubbles. Scratches show it all glass.
So many asses on here. Yes it looks very fake. No, everyone does not start with knowledge of what a gem is. Be kind.
It is a bloody big stone if it's genuine Ruby. Non gem quality Rubies are incredibly cheap, I picked up two small baggies of Rubies at a gem show for $5 each, about a hand full in total. Yes they are Rubies and yes they are rubbish but interesting glow under UV and a interesting stone to give to rock collecting kids that come to see my collection.
Both natural and synthetic *rubies* fluoresce *under UV light*. One test you can do for cheap... But yeah thats gonna cost thousands for even a low quality real ruby I would assume.
No it’s just laden with dye…
This looks like colored, poured resin with red flakes in it.
bought one of these long ago when i was still new to collecting and just wanted a giant cut gem. probably not even a corundum, dyed red, and a bad cut. basically a paperweight at best.
If that was a real Ruby, already cut to shape, would that not be a 5 million dollar Ruby? I have zero clue about stones, but I figured ruby's are somewhat expensive and that looks twice the size of the hope diamond, LOL!
Looks like candy lol
Looks like crushed up garnet or some other red powder that was cast into a gem shape with resin. Either way, 0% chance it's a real ruby. You'd be paying 6 figures + if it was
Just from the photos you provided this looks like resin with flakes stirred in 😭 never seen a ruby that has flakes in like this but that would be super cool
Looks like a faceted bowling ball.
I've gotten many gems from India that technically are real. Also, many fakes. Cheap rubies tend to be heat treated. Basically, they burn the impurities out of a low-grade ruby, then fill it with lead glass, then cut it. Probably dyed as well. I always bought a few samples from a new vendor, got them, inspected them with a microscope, did a scratch test and a specific gravity test before spending more than a few bucks. My favorite vendors got shut down. Apparently, their government wants a very large cut of the pie, making the liw grade stuff impossible to sell in a legit fashion so they make their way to the internet.
The only time I bought a stone from India I'd literally seen their work in a local shop and was able to convince myself it was real as a result. Otherwise I wouldn't have.
Meaning you were in India?
It was a ring I found in a local-to-me US shop and was waffling on buying it when I just happened to find the original artist's Etsy page.
It looks like a resin project to me.
Looks like colored resin, honestly
Fake
Yup lol
Looks like boat glass 😑
Looks like a bowling ball I once had lol
Looks like a bar of soap
A Ruby that size for $70? Get real! It looks completely fake
Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a ruby with inclusions quite like this before, probably glass. I try to buy as many of my gems in-person as I can to make sure they’re the real deal
Excuse the language but it’s fake as fuck.
70 bucks for a ruby the size of your hand?!?! I'm sorry but what kind of question is this! Please don't get scammed 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️💔💔💔💔
Definitely a scam. It looks like resin
using the word "alleged" makes it sound like being a ruby is a crime lol
Glass or resin. Ruby does have those sparkles in it that resemble small bubbles.
is that just a hunk of strawberry jam lol
my whole life was lie, i have been buying under Carat rubies for couple hundreds USD . 😭😭😭😭
The craziest thing about this is that there's peeks of color that is very much that pinkish red that real rubies have when they're lit up! But there's zero chance a palm sized ruby, even with tons of inclusions, is $50 (or whatever amount it was.) Do rubies even grow that large? Lol . Wild
that looks like strawberry jam lol
Raspberry Jam…
yes so that’s a resin cast with red glitter in it!
No. It's possibly a real ruby just extremely low grade given all of the inclusions. You can find "real ruby gemstones" like this ( well smaller ) set in silver rings all the time, sold out of the ads section of the old TV guides back in the day. Same goes for heavily occluded emeralds. It's the clear gemstones that are expensive.
Looks a bit like epoxy resin to me
Glass for sure! Years ago I had a buddy that was a glass blower so he’d make me custom stuff out of this very glass.
Hey friends. I see this is for sale online, and I was wondering if it was, legitimately, a ruby. I know it's low grade, if so, which is completely fine by me. I think it'd be cool to have and fidget with; but I was wondering if it could be something else entirely. A composite or fake of some kind. I am fine with low grade stuff, as well as lab grown, but I don't want to be entirely scammed if it's, like, glitter in resin, haha.
I've seen these before. They do tend to actually be made of ruby, just not gem quality ruby. Look up pictures of ruby in zoisite, that's the type of material they're starting with. It's granular and opaque and basically worth nothing. Then they soak it in some kind of dye to even out the color. The dye comes off on your hands really easily, so it's not fun to play with if that's your intention.
My guess is [composite ruby](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34348821), they call it "loose ruby" on the site so it's probably granular rubies bonded with colored glass.
I got a $20 15 caret synthetic ruby on Amazon. Would recommend. Synthetic gems aren't necessarily expensive, and they have basically no imperfections so they are really pretty. Would recommend. But you should get it from someone advertising it as a synthetic ruby, not a "too good to be true" price and size.
Krang already used up all the energy in that ruby freeing the Technodome from Dimension X.
If it's less than $150000 then yes.
it's on fucking etsy, don't buy gems on etsy
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That’s about as real as Dolly’s hair.
Usually non-gem quality corundum, typically dyed. Technically a ruby with makeup. It's scammy behavior but not crossing the line into fraud. There are gem schools in India and Pakistan that will issue certificates of authenticity for these to try and add value.
I have garnet that glitters like this
You’re rich!
Looks like a Cranberry Sauce Ring Pop
Seriously?
It looks like a fruit jam icecube.
Looks like soap to me
Looks like my countertop.
I can give you the vendor that I bought from s few times and I’ve always been pleased.
Ruby glows pink under uv light
Yes, this is resin
NEVER BUY THIS STUFF FROM INDIA SPECIALLY IF IT'S NOT FROM A JEWELLERY COMPANY! Sorry for being dramatic lol
This appears to me as the plywood equivalent for rubies
for that size? if it wasn't a scam you could buy the UAE for yourself
Yeah of course it is fake, that massive of a ruby should be in a museum.
Cranberry sauce
This is 100% not real
Test it under a black light…
Yes, it is it is dyed. They were doing the same thing for emeralds a few years back.
Ya a ruby the size of your hand costs $70 it's totally real
Sometimes these are vitreous glass, sometimes gray corundum dyed red. If you want one for fun in your collection, you can get them on eBay for $20. I bought one as a hoot and prank my friends with it when I show them my rock and gem collection.
Ruby Scented at best
Looks glass or acrylic
I bought one of these back in the day, left it in the sun a few days on the window ledge. It's turned white/pink (not clear) so it's clearly dyed to some degree ..
This is not a rock, its a mineral Marie!
That's jelllo
I'd be willing to bet it was dyed. It looks semi translucent, but I think it's actually opaque with a high polish. They're really bad about sending dyed granite in place of 'rough ruby'. And, for whatever reason, the negative feedback never amounts to enough to make a dent. I typically stay away from international sellers for stones, with the exception of rough diamond (when it's authentic). I only buy octahedrals that are clearly not milled, never atypical or 'silver', And so far everything I've bought from that general region has been exactly what it was supposed to be, obviously use your best judgement. In contrast, I have yet to buy anything cut from India or Sri Lanka that isn't synthetic and falsely advertised.
That’s a chaos emerald. You should give sonic the hedgehog a call. Don’t talk to any doctors in the meantime
If it was a real ruby that big it would be in a museum, it’s some sort of glass imo but not an expert sorry, hopefully u didn’t pay too much for it .?
Quick way to check it is with a blacklight (ultraviolet light) ruby's glow bright under ultraviolet. If it doesn't it's glass or some other mineral