A few weeks ago I was burning cardboard boxes and somehow the ring slipped off my finger and ended up in the burn barrel. I found it the next day in the ashes. The gold polished up OK after a 30 minute acid bath, but the stone was ruined, it looked like the color of a well-smashed fingernail.
So I went on eBay and bought a 150 karat synthetic ruby for $20, postage included. Via a recommendation from the president of the local rock hound club, I took the large ruby boule to a older, experienced gentleman member of the club, with lots of gem cutting experience.
He did a great job of cutting an oval faceted ruby to fit the ring. He use about a quarter of the synthetic ruby to make it.
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His gold smithing skills are marginal. He set it in the ring by modifying the opening for the stone and making some prongs to hold it secure. The gold rim of the mount is very uneven and amateur looking, its a hack.
I weighed the 17K gold ring with no stone before I gave it to him,it was 17.17 grams. Today I weighed it and the entire ring, with the ruby, weighs 17.10 grams. He ground out and hollowed the inside, under the stone, and removed 2-3 grams of gold, maybe more. I'd have to remove the ruby and weigh it separately to see just how much gold he got. Needless to say I am strongly pi$$ed off at this guy for hollowing out my ring.
