Gemstones

Photo Credit: MyDiamondZone

Hand-Faceted 19th Century Old Mine Cut Diamond

Buy It Now Price: $795 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-Sparkling chic is on full display with this hand-faceted, 19th century old mine cut diamond that weighs in at a robust 0.68 carats.

-The face of this old mine cut diamond measures 5.11 mm x 4.69 mm across – a nice size for mounting in either a modern engagement ring or a period setting.

-The old mine cut dominated the diamond trade from the early 18th century until the late 19th century.  Old world diamond cutters followed the octahedral form of the rough in order to minimize waste.  This produced a cushion-shaped stone with a distinctively small table, high crown, large culet and tremendous fire.

-This 19th century old mine cut diamond has an estimated (by the seller) clarity grade of VS1, which is excellent for an antique stone.  Most surviving old cut diamonds have clarities ranging from SI1 to I3, the cleaner examples having been recut long ago.  A VS1 diamond, in contrast to lower clarity stones, will appear absolutely flawless to the naked eye.  It is only under magnification that any inclusions will become apparent.

-The old mine cut was eventually superseded in the 1890s by the old European cut, a more rounded form that was the precursor of today’s modern round brilliant cut.

-This wonderfully charming antique gem is selling at a price of only $1,169 per carat, which is a great deal for a 120+ year old diamond.  And if you’re willing to wait for an eBay Bucks promotion, the effective price could be as much as 10% lower!

-Because of the growing popularity of old mine and old European cut diamonds, modern versions of these stones are being cut today.  However, these computer-assisted imitations will lack the subtle asymmetry and classic charm of the handmade originals.  Happily, this gorgeous specimen is undoubtedly a bona fide 19th century old mine cut diamond that was faceted by hand.

-It boggles the mind that you can own this lovely Victorian era diamond for just $795 – well under a thousand dollars.  But you had better hurry.  This gem currently has 36 watchers on eBay, so I don’t think it will be available for long.

Cons:

-This 19th century old mine cut diamond has an estimated (by the seller) color grade of either K or L.  I would personally go with the lower “L” designation.  Although an L-color diamond would be considered undesirable for a freshly-cut stone, it is pretty typical for old cut diamonds.  As a result the gemstone remains desirable, but has a lower value than it would if it had better color.

Read more fascinating Antique Sage gemstone spotlight posts here.

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Photo Credit: Paul’s Rok Shop

Guatemalan Manzana Jade Slab

Buy It Now Price: $120 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This light-green Manzana jade slab comes from the Motagua River valley in Guatemala, which was the source of the jades so prized by the Mayan civilization.

-It measures approximately 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) tall by 4 inches (10.2 cm) wide by 0.5 inches (1.2 cm) thick and weighs a substantial 501 grams (1.1 pounds).

-Manzana, the Spanish word for “apple”, is a moniker sometimes applied to pleasingly light-green varieties of jadeite jade from Central America.  Manzana jade was one of the Mayan civilization’s most treasured materials.

-A quick density calculation verifies that this piece is indeed genuine jadeite jade.  To do this we take the weight of the stone (501 grams) and divide it by the slab’s volume (11.4 cm x 10.2 cm x 1.2 cm = 139.5 cm³).  This gives us a density of 3.59 gm/cm³, which is close enough (given the specimen’s slightly irregular outline) to jadeite’s range of 3.25 to 3.45 gm/cm³.

-One of the great attributes of this Manzana jade slab is its shape; it is the perfect size for turning into a bangle bracelet.  Not only that, but the slab’s quality is particularly high, with a fine, even color and some evidence of translucence.  This is especially important because only the best quality jades are fit to be carved into bangle bracelets.

-This Manzana jade slab, like all high quality Guatemalan jadeite jades, is an incredibly underappreciated tangible asset right now.  In addition, they are rarely treated via bleaching or dyeing, meaning that you get a perfectly natural gemstone in a world overrun by synthetics and fakes.

-With a buy-it-now price of $120, this Manzana jade slab is selling for only $239 a kilo.  I find this price to be absurdly low given jadeite jade’s rarity and the excellent quality of the piece.

Cons:

-The eBay seller who is offering this jade slab, Paul’s Rok Shop, will stop selling rough jades by the end of June 2019 due to the low profit margin involved.  So if you are reading this article anytime after that date, it is likely that this specific piece of jade is no longer available.  For any who are interested, I recently wrote an article on the tragedy of losing this fine jade dealer.

Read more fascinating Antique Sage gemstone spotlight posts here.

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Photo Credit: captej2012

Burmese Natural Purple Spinel

Buy It Now Price: $498 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)

Pros:

-This stunning cushion-cut natural purple spinel gemstone from the legendary gem-fields of Mogok, Burma exhibits a tantalizing, grape Kool-Aid color.

-The gem measures 7.7 mm long by 7.1 mm wide by 5.8 mm deep and tips the scales at a healthy 2.49 carats.  This gives the stone a depth to width ratio of 78%, right in the 60% to 80% sweet spot that gives many faceted colored gemstones their optimum brilliance.

-Spinel, a magnesium-aluminum oxide (MgAl₂O₄), is very similar in chemical composition to ruby and sapphire (Al₂O₃).  Because of this, spinel was often mistaken for its more famous siblings throughout ancient and medieval times.

-While most spinel have gray overtones (due to high iron content) which kill their brilliance, this natural purple spinel is exceptionally lively.

–Spinel is a tremendously underrated gemstone, with exceptional hardness (8.0 on Moh’s hardness scale), density (3.6 gm/cm³) and toughness.  It also comes in a shocking variety of dazzling colors, including cherry red, neon blue, bubble-gum pink and, of course, grape-jelly purple.

-This natural purple spinel has been tested by the seller with a rare earth magnet to ensure it isn’t synthetic.  Natural spinel will be weakly attracted to a neodymium magnet because of their trace iron content.  Synthetic spinel lack iron impurities and will not be attracted to a magnet, no matter how powerful it is.

-One of the best things about spinel is that they are rarely treated, resulting in stones that possess a pure, natural beauty.  This is in stark contrast to many other well-known gems, such as emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds.  These stones are often subjected to harsh commercial treatments that artificially improve their appearance, including fracture-filling, dying, laser-drilling and high-temperature heat.

-I can understand why some people are reluctant to invest in gemstones; it can be intimidating for beginners.  But spinel is one of the easiest entry points into the world of gem investing you’ll ever find.  If a spinel looks good and isn’t synthetic, then you are pretty much golden!

-I find purple spinel to be the most undervalued color in the entire spinel family.  The delicate lilac and violet hues can be nothing short of jaw-dropping, as in this superb specimen.  And yet it is available for a buy-it-now price of only $498 – a laughably cheap $200 per carat.  If that price still unsettles you, the seller is open to lower offers!

Cons:

-I could quibble over the fact that the stone is only VVS clarity (very, very small inclusions) instead of being internally flawless, but that is really grasping at straws.  Realistically, I have nothing bad to say about this exceptionally beautiful natural purple spinel.

Read more fascinating Antique Sage gemstone spotlight posts here.

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Read in-depth Antique Sage investment guides here.