Featured Gem experts please - is this a ruby, a garnet or something else?

Omg! These are all nice rings whatever the stone is. If you really want to know, I would advise to befriend a gemologist.
There are also some FB groups with gemologists where they try to have a guess at people s questions
But saying what stone it is still isn't really possible if you don't have it in your hand.
Anyhow...omg! 3000€ for a ring! I guess its a good price no matter the stone...but still...
I dont think I will ever feel secure enough to put that down on anything jewel-related.

 

Ok, and I forgot to mention, looking at it from the pictures it does indeed look like a garnet.
No idea about the other stone
They are amazing pieces of jewelry no matter what stone they are.
Bless your heart!

 

Yes I mean I would have bought it anyway even the seller advertized it as garnet. And I wouldn't think it's anything but garnet if seller didn't stated ruby. It just a bit upsetting to find a well-known dealer in the field of antiquities has made such a mistake and the insecurity about whom to trust is bitter...

 

What stones do there look like?

 

Hollyblue, I m by no means a gemologist.
Just have been collecting gems from when I was a tiny child.
To me these look like they could be fluorite or amethyst if they are gems.

 

I think the more important question is, which stones were used at the time in England, and more specifically in a ring like this.
Accessibility aside, there were social (class) customs and even restrictions.
Looking at what was available in England at the time, and what would have been used in a ring of this status, garnet is the most logical assumption, although rubies do occur.

 

A difference in the weight of one's bank account and income prospects I would imagine. 3k doesn't seem as much if you have extra 0s! And with those type purchases come insurance riders as well.

 

They are rhodolite garnets from the Cowee Valley North Carolina area.

 

Miranda, you cant tell the weight of ones bank account by looking at what car he drives/clothes/jewels/purses he owns.
What one is prepared to pay for something is very individual and it has not necessary much to do with what one is worth.
Some of the nouveau riches have more debts on their accounts than I would be ever willing to live with.
Some of the old rich drive small secondhand cars and wear their department store clothes till they turn to rags.
To each his own.

 

Agreed.

I worked in the deli of a gourmet shop when I was in my 20s. Every Tuesday an older couple came in the afternoon and got sandwiches. They wore casual, normal clothes and the wife always wore earrings that I assumed came from Woolworths, they were an orange plastic ball hanging from a brass chain.

One day I was in the front of the store when they were leaving, they got in their Roles-Royce and drove away. I asked my boss about them, he said Tuesday is their cook's night off. The come in for sandwiches and go back home to watch a baseball game and have their sandwiches.

You never know about people

 

It's Mirana.

I don't see anything in my comment about judging by people's looks?

I was speaking as to what may make one more comfortable buying and wearing expensive jewelry. You can count line of credit in that if you like.

Again, I wasn't taking about how people look. I said having more money makes you more comfortable to spend it on larger purchases, and to have insurance to cover it. Which in your example, was certainly true for those people who have an expensive car and personal chef.

 

a guy came into my Gallery once....
poorly dressed....on his ten speed bike....clips on his pants.... with a $10,000 book in his backpack........

 

Sorry Mirana, for maybe being a bit harsh (and misspelling your name)
I m a bit sensitive about judgement from people, because I got misjudged by people on several occasions and it really hurt. (being told: 'ohhh this house will be too expensive for you' by the owner, when I incidentally visited a house for sale, in the exact same neighborhood we already live in and own our house mortgage free...).
My love for secondhand clothing might have something to do with it.
Or maybe I just looked too young to be able to afford a house

 

It's fine. You're talking to someone that regularly attends high class events, dressed well, while stepping out of a decades old car lol. I often dress the opposite of what's expected just to get a good clue into the personalities of certain people in the industries I'm in. I enjoy being underestimated because people judge on looks, and then I surprise them. I am STILL judged as way younger (and thus inexperienced) than i am. I get confused for being an intern when I'm actually the head of a department. I get it.