A ruby ring may be a real treasure: how much is your ruby ring worth?
Hi Maria, my name is Samuel. I would like to sell a ruby ring but my problem is that I have no clue how much is a ruby ring worth. Please help me to find out the value of my ruby ring, I would then decide to sell it or not. Thank you!
Samuel from Colorado Springs in Colorado
Hello Samuel! Thank you very much for contacting me. It’s my pleasure to help you with your concern. Ruby rings are really nice pieces of jewelry. I’m excited to determine the value of your ruby ring for you. Please be so kind and send me a photo of your ring so that I can get a better impression about your piece of jewelry.
reDollar appraiser, Maria Tait
Samuel wants to know, how much is a ruby ring worth.
Samuel: Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I have sent you some photos of my ruby ring and I hope the quality is fine for you. I tried my best but my camera has been getting on in years. If you need photos from a better quality, please let me know.
Maria: Good morning Samuel, thank you very much for providing me with photos of your nice ruby ring. The quality of your photos is absolutely sufficient, thanks for asking. It seems that your ruby ring is made of white gold or platinum. Because the quality of the stones and the manufacturing seems to be very good, I exclude that this ring is made of silver. Please try to find markings on the ring.
Samuel: What do you mean with markings?
Maria: With markings I mean stamps that indicate the purity of the precious metal. The so called hallmarks tell us more about the precious metal(s) of which your ruby ring is made of and also about the purity. On basis of this information we can better determine the value of your ruby ring.
Samuel: Oh I understand! That makes absolutely sense! Let me see what I can find.
Maria: Thank you!
Samuel: I just found a marking that shows the number “950”. What does that mean?
Maria: That shows us that in all likelihood your ruby ring is made of 950 platinum. That’s good. 950 platinum is a platinum alloy of rich purity. Do you have a certificate to your ruby ring? Or do you know how old it is? I have the feeling that this piece could be older than I thought before.
Samuel: I don’t know the exact age of my ruby ring but I know that it must be at least 80 years old. My grandfather gave this ring to my grandmother as present and I inherited this piece many years before. I never paid attention to the ring but when I moved from New York to Houston last year, the ring suddenly appeared. I’m afraid I have no certificates relating to the ring. I’m sorry. I have just double-checked the ring and found a further marking that says something like “van clef” but I’m not sure. My magnifier is not very good.
Maria: Wow that’s interesting! What you describe as “van clef” could be Van Cleef & Arpels. Van Cleef & Arpels is a well-known French jewelry, watch and Perfume Company, founded 1896 in Paris by Alfred van Cleef and his uncle Salomon Arpels. This brand stands for finest luxury jewelry. If you should be so lucky to own a piece of Van Cleef & Arpels then you can expect a really high price for your ruby ring that exceeds by far the material value of the platinum.
Samuel: That sounds amazing! How much is my ruby worth, what do you think Maria.
Maria: Well, that’s hard to say at the moment. Please let me know the weight of your ring and please tell me the diameter of the ruby which is the centerpiece of your ring. With the diameter we can determine the carats which specify the weight of your ruby.
Samuel: The big ruby, the centerpiece of my ring has a diameter of circa 5.5 mm. It’s more than 5 mm but less than 6 mm so I think 5.5mm should be correct. Please bear in mind that the ruler I have used is actually thought for my son’s math homework. The ring has a weight of around 8.5 grams. I hope this specifications help you.
Maria: Yes thank you very much for your brilliant assistance. Your assistance helps a lot to determine the value of your wonderful ruby ring. It seems that your ruby has exactly one carat. That’s really nice. Also the platinum alone has a current material value of $245.41. But in case that your ruby ring is from the famous jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels the price is a lot higher than the material value only. For this piece I estimate a value of circa $5,000-$7,000. But to be 100% sure if this ring is an authentic Van Cleef & Arpels piece, I need to check the ring by myself, but I’m very sure it is.
Samuel: Oh my god!!!! That’s awesome! I’m speechless and to be honest, very proud because I own such a gorgeous ring. This ring is a piece of history isn’t it? And the price is by far higher than I have expected! To be honest with you. I have already shown this ring to a local gold buyer in Houston and this guy wanted to give me 250 dollars for this ring. Can you believe it? He said it’s nothing very special and the silver is not from best quality! What silver? This is a platinum ring! Thank god that I contacted you guys. You are true experts!
Maria: Oh what a story! I can’t believe it! Be aware of so called gold buyers out there. As you have experienced by yourself. So many of these guys don’t have the needed consolidated knowledge to perform this business accurate. I’m so sorry for your bad experience but I’m very happy that you did not sell your precious piece of jewelry for only 250 Dollars, what a nightmare! With reDollar you and your jewelry is in good hands. We treat our clients very fair and with the most respect. With us, only true experts assist you.
Samuel: Yes, that’s true. Thank you so much for your help. I will reflect overnight what to do with this ring, to keep it or sell it. But selling seems to be very, very attractive. Thank you for your help Maria, I appreciate it.
Maria: My pleasure Samuel. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me or my colleagues. We are always available for your needs.
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