Looking for a ruby ring

[elizat]

Can anyone help? It is part of my dad's Christmas present to my mom and I do all his shopping. Looking for a simple band ring, in yellow gold, not over $150. I've tried Overstock, HSN, QVC, Blue Nile, My Jewelry Box, Ultra Diamonds, Zales, Kay, International Diamond Center... She had one and wore the band through and apparently, the prongs are screwed up. I am going to look at it this weekend to see about having it re-set at a local jeweler. Any idea on cost of that?

They have one at QVC that looks to fit the bill- posted below- but it is on waitlist only, so no guarantee if I can get one. Problem also is that she hates the pink tinged rubies- and the QVC ring had reviews stating the rubies were dark red, which is want I am looking for. Any ideas on other places to look? Thanks.

[elizat]

Okay, as a follow up, do you think finding something on Ebay would be tacky/bad idea?

I found this- http://cgi.ebay.com/Classic1-75-ctw-...QQcmdZViewItem

and could do a best offer price... any thoughts from jewelry gurus?

Also found this, but I don't like his return policies- 15% restocking!
http://cgi.ebay.com/14K-BRILLIANT-RU...QQcmdZViewItem

I've also looked now at ShopNBC (came up on a google search), amazon, and Ross Simons and nothing.

[vanojr9]

http://www1.macys.com/catalog/produc...CategoryID=551

This one is a little bit different, but so pretty!

Also, you might try Macy's in store, I'm sure I've seen rings like this there. I have a friend who works at the Macy's jewelry counter, so I spend a lot of time there, lol!

[CastoCreations]

It is VERY hard to find dark red, natural undyed / untreated rubies and when you do they are crazy expensive. Most rubies lean to the pink side.

I would think that resetting wouldn't be *too* expensive (under $100) but some places do overcharge for those services.

If you aren't concerned with "natural" you may be able to find a good colored deep red man made ruby ring in your budget.

I found a couple on Overstock that are pretty...though different than the one you show.

http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Wat...4/product.html

http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Wat...4/product.html

This garnet ring is lovely...and in budget and more red.
http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Wat...4/product.html

Good luck!

[elizat]

Thanks for the input ladies. I appreciate the suggestions! I'll have to look at the Macy's counter also.

She'll be wearing it on the middle finger, next to her wedding set. She told me she lost a ruby from her prior band and she did get a quote of about $150 to have it channel set w/o adding a new stone, but she does not like channel sets. Must be natural as well- I know it is a tough task w/ the budget..

Does anyone know anything about Red Spinel? I found this ring and it is $200, at ice.com. Seems like a nice red...

[CastoCreations]

I LOVE Spinel. Much easier to get natural spinel (IMO) but I've only ever seen it on the pink end of the spectrum. But not bright pink...more red pink. If that makes any sense at all.

[elizat]

^^ Thanks very much.

I think I am going go out of the box and order the ring from ice.com. I have searched (and wasted tons of time at work I should not have, but anyway!) and found very few spinel rings- it does not seem to be a commonly used stone...

It is a bit different in terms of style (she is very simple and had just a row of 5 small rubies, prong set), but i think the overall look is something she'll like. They have a really good return policy and overnight shipping too, so if it is a no-go, I have time to look for something else.

[CastoCreations]

Good luck! I hope she loves it. :)