Help! Does anyone out there know where I could send a star ruby to get it matched.
This is an exercise in deductive reasoning: you don’t provide vital
such as size, shape, color and estimated quality. First,
all star rubies are not created equal. They range from very high
quality (expensive and not likely to come in matched sets) to
“technically ruby corundum but of considerably lesser quality.” If
the 5 matched star rubies were purchased at a rock show instead of a
fine jewelry store my first guess is they are fairly inexpensive
stones from India. Color is a clue. While some of the Indian stones
can have sharp stars and be a rather attractive shade of
reddish-pink, most have a distinct purplish cast and some have a
rather “steely” luster. If they are opaque instead of translucent,
and have visible crystal growth lines along with the colors
mentioned, I would guess they are Indian and I can suggest someone
who may be able to match them. Just drop me a note off-line: I’ll
have to dig through my business card file to find the dealer’s name.
If they are high-end stones I suspect Joseph Stachura would have been
able to match them or suggest someone who could.
Rick Martin
MARTIN DESIGNS