Category: precious gems

RARE Rubellite Tourmaline Ring

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The Rubellite Tourmaline is a special kind of Tourmaline that has that characteristic raspberry hue. It is uncommon for a Rubellite Tourmaline to be eye-clean. Similar to Emeralds, Rubellite Tourmaline is classified by GIA as a Type III gemstone – meaning that it is generally accepted that these gemstones have many natural inclusions. Hence, if a Type III gemstone is eye-clean, it is a fine quality material which would naturally be accompanied by a larger price tag.

 

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Photo taken in natural daylight

This featured Rubellite cocktail ring is a stunning 8.31ct, 100% eye-clean Rubellite, which is absolutely RARE. Surrounded by 2 cts natural untreated accent diamonds, set in solid 18K white gold, it makes for a stunning piece to wear for that special occasion. This is a statement piece that will definitely get you compliments.

Price: SGD9,800 only

Pick up that special X’mas gift now

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When colourless is boring

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***Pls note that the jewellery featured in this particular post is not by Heritage Gems. 

Coloured gemstone engagement rings have long been used among royalty and Old Money as a profession of their love for each other.

Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor with a stunning 19.77ct emerald engagement ring. Truly a gem piece:

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Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon with her Ruby engagement ring surrounded by diamonds

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In more current times, royalty engagement such as Princess Diana’s 18ct stunning blue sapphire ring to which Kate Middleton was subsequently proposed to by Prince William are definitely redefining engagement ring traditions.

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Stunning blue sapphire engagement ring – If it’s good enough for Prince William and Kate Middleton, I’m sure it would be good enough for any of us.

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Princess Mathilde of Belgium’s beautiful oval ruby engagement ring

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Marie-Chantal of Greece’s Cabochon Sapphire engagement ring

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Fergie’s Oval Ruby engagement ring

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Jacqueline Onassis’s emerald engagement ring

And in even more recent times, amongst Hollywood celebs, coloured gemstones engagement rings have become popular

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Halle Berry’s 4ct emerald engagement ring. Beautiful and unique – estimated to be worth USD200,000.

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Elizabeth Hurley elegant and classic emerald shape blue sapphire stunner. As mentioned in a previous post, fancy cut side diamonds (regardless of shape) always command a premium than round brilliant side diamonds/setting size diamonds.

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Jessica’s ruby engagement ring, again, with fancy cut side diamonds.

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Nicole Richie’s Pink Sapphire engagement ring – a colour for the little girls inside every one of us.

Contrary to mainstream opinion, coloured gem engagement rings is only for the privileged few. Fine quality precious gemstones are rare and not easily available. If one has a specific colour/shade/hue in mind, the waitlist to lay your hands on an ideal gem could be several months, sometimes close to a year. If your jeweller is actively searching the market for you, it may take a slightly shorter timeframe.

Nonetheless, buying that ideal precious gem is not something that you can pick off a chart with the corresponding colour grading, clarity grading as you would a diamond.

Dainty Ruby Ring

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The daintiest ring just newly crafted with a pretty little ruby sitting atop. This ring is most fitting of its owner, a young lady with a good eye for colour. She knows a good gem when she sees one. Not wanting something too ostentatious, suitable for daily and semi-formal occasions yet a fine quality gemstone, the final outcome of this is a pretty piece of art.

An eye-clean ruby, unheated with such lustre and brilliance is a rare sight – even more rare than sourcing for an unheat fine quality sapphire. More often than not, unheated rubies coming out of current mines either lack clarity (not eye-clean) or lacks lustre or both. Further, less than 5% of rubies available in the market are unheated rubies.

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1.8ct Ruby ring in a hot pink-red colour

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Unheated Blue Sapphires

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In a follow-up post to the beauty of unheated yet beautiful gemstones, though they are difficult to find, at Heritage Gems, it is possible.

Below are just some examples of fine quality unheated blue sapphires

4.68ctBS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.68ct unheated medium blue sapphire

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2.34ct unheated vivid blue sapphire

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4.06ct unheated medium-deep blue unheated sapphire

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5.92ct unheated medium-deep blue unheated sapphire

For fine quality sapphires under 3cts, prices can range anywhere from SGD4,000 – SGD5,900 per carat. 3-5cts, prices range from SGD6,000 – SGD7,900 per carat. For sizes above 5cts, prices start from SGD8,000 per carat. These are current prices as of September 2013.

In-house criteria for fine quality blue sapphires:

  • eye-clean/clarity
  • consistent colour throughout gemstone (no colour zoning, colour shades)
  • well-cut (no window and no extinction areas)
  • with lustre and brilliance
  • unheated

Due to tight supply of fine quality sapphires, prices will unlikely come off anytime soon.

Heat or Unheat

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In recent years, supply of medium to fine quality rubies have dwindled to almost a standstill. When we say medium quality, the bare minimum standards that the gemstone must meet are at least:

  • Eye-clean
  • Good Lustre
  • even colour, especially when viewed top-down (looking down at the table/face of the gem)

Last but not least, the all-important factor, and deal-breaker: whether the gem is heated or not. Please note that some jewellers may tell you that a gem is natural. This does not mean that the gem is unheated. To them, “natural” means that there is no external material being introduced into the gemstone. However, the fact remains that heating of gemstones is a process carried out to enhance the colour of the gem, without which, the original colour of the stone will look lacklustre or less vivid or less intense.

A good example as below:

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2.1ct unheat ruby                       

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2.35ct heated ruby

Heat treatment is typically used to enhance colours of a gem and may also be used to improve clarity of the gem. As such, most aesthetically beautiful gemstones commonly seen in jewellery shops are have been heated.

Why we disclose to clients if a gem has been heated or not heated: simply because heated gemstones command a different price to unheated gemstones. Also, unheated and beautiful gemstones appreciate in value the quickest and hold their value the longest. Without a doubt, if money is no issue, beautiful unheated gems are the way to go.

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2.03ct unheat blue sapphire

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3.5ct heated blue sapphire

In this case then, does this mean that all unheated gemstones are not as gorgeous and beautiful as heated gemstones? No, this is where our specialty lies. Our clients come to us to source for unheated, yet beautiful gemstones.

Approximately 85% of all gemstones available in the market are heated. Of the remaining 15% that is unheated, possibly only 35% – 40% of these are aesthetically beautiful. Naturally, a premium is paid for unheated, yet gorgeous gemstones.

In The Press – Indonesia Tatler August 2013

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Grab your copy of the August 2013 issue of Indonesia Tatler now. Look out for Heritage Gems in the Jewellery Section.

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The Vibrant Beauty – Pink Spinel

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For the true gem connoisseur, beholding a Spinel brings them many a great delight. For centuries, the Red Spinel has been commonly mistaken by many as the Ruby. Similarly, the Pink Spinel is commonly mistaken for the Pink Sapphire. This is mainly due to its lustre and brilliancy that rivals that of the Rubies and Sapphires. True gem-quality Spinels are rare and extremely hard to locate.

Tip of the day: The Spinel has a Refractivity Index that ranks dangerously close to that of Sapphires, resulting in brilliancy that rivals that of the Sapphire.

Several royal artefacts such as the Crown Jewels of Iran and the Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom feature Spinels amongst Sapphires and Emeralds.

Below is a newly completed commissioned-work featuring 4.78ct Pink Spinel accented by 1.3cts diamonds in 18K white gold. A timeless piece of jewellery with an understated elegance.

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Vintage Tsavorite Earrings – Green Splendour

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A recently completed piece of art for our client whose favourite colour is green. And not just simply any green, as gemstones come in many various shades of green, from light mint green to olive green to blue-green to a moody sea green.

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Individual pieces of Tsavorites in sizes 3cts and above are rare and difficult to come by. So when we were able to source for a pair totalling 7.9cts, our client could not believe her luck.  After all, she wanted a pair of dress earrings that she could wear to her dinner events, and galas. So a decent sized pair of earrings was a must.

Needless to say, we were delighted in helping her create her ideal pair of Tsavorite Vintage earrings. The design she was after was something relatively simple, elegant, vintage yet not boring. Her other requirement: the gemstone itself must be of good – top quality. Intense rich green with good lustre and brilliancy. This is definitely a stunning pair of gemstones that seem to radiate beauty & brilliancy from within.

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