Burmese ruby, antique ring or certified stone: we appraise and buy your rubies in Paris, at international market prices.
The ruby is the most precious of coloured stones: an unheated Burmese “pigeon's blood” ruby ranks among the most expensive gems in the world. Origin, colour and treatment guide our appraisal.
Maison Altmann, jewellery and diamond dealer at 22 rue Drouot, is a member of the Syndicat des Négociants en Art (SNA), the French art dealers' association. The house buys rubies of every size and every provenance — from Mogok to Mozambique — mounted or loose, with or without an LFG, SSEF, Gübelin or GRS certificate. The stone is examined in front of you by Ariel Altmann, a trained gemmologist, and does not leave your sight; a small ruby of a rare red can be worth more than a large, dull stone.
Complimentary appraisal, immediate offer and immediate payment.
Mogok — the benchmark origin.
The most sought-after colour.
Certified natural stones.
Period mountings set with rubies.
LFG, SSEF, Gübelin, GRS.
Loose, singly or in lots.
A vivid red Mogok ruby of one carat or less: its colour makes its price, far more than its weight.
5, 10 carats and over, with or without a certificate: by appointment, in complete discretion.
Mozambique, Thailand, East Africa, Madagascar… Each origin has its own market.
Have you already photographed your piece? Send us that same image: we tell you what it is, then we arrange an appointment.
The stone or the whole ring, in daylight and without flash, then the certificate if there is one.
By WhatsApp on +33 7 81 11 49 29. A first opinion reaches you within 24 hours, complimentary and without obligation.
To 22 rue Drouot, by appointment. The piece is examined in front of you; the firm offer is made on the piece itself, and payment follows agreement, the same day.
Your photographs are neither published nor passed on. Remote appraisal, in detail · All precious stones
We assess these six points in front of you, then make a firm offer.
A pure, vivid red, neither too dark nor too pink: colour comes first, whatever the provenance.
For the same colour, an unheated ruby is worth considerably more. Heating is long-established and accepted; glass filling, much less so.
Inclusions are the rule in a ruby; they weigh on its value when they dull the stone or weaken its surface.
Beyond a few carats, a fine ruby becomes rare; for the same weight, cut and brilliance decide between two stones.
Mogok and Burma, Mozambique, Thailand, East Africa… Origin adds to a stone's value, but does not decide everything.
An LFG, SSEF, Gübelin or GRS certificate adds to the piece's value, as does an antique or signed mounting. Without papers, we examine it all the same: the stone speaks first.
See also: selling a ruby ring (in French) · the origin of rubies (in French) · selling a family stone (in French) · stones of rare provenance (in French)
Many rubies come with their certificate: we read it with you, then we look at the stone.
The certificates most often brought to us, from the Laboratoire Français de Gemmologie in Paris to the major Swiss and American names: we read them all, with you.
The nature of the stone — natural or synthetic ruby — its weight, dimensions, shape and colour.
The statement that the stone is unheated carries the most weight; any heating, or glass filling, is noted on the certificate.
Burma, Mozambique, Thailand… The certificate's opinion of origin counts in the price, but does not decide everything.
Some certificates add this colour designation to the finest rubies, according to their own criteria.
We check that the certificate really does match your ruby — weight, dimensions. An older certificate keeps its value; we will tell you whether an update would be useful.
See also: precious stone certificates (in French) · the origin of rubies (in French)
Origin (Burma foremost), colour (“pigeon's blood” is the benchmark), the absence of heating, and weight. A certified, unheated Burmese ruby commands very high prices.
Only a certificate (LFG, SSEF, Gübelin, GRS) can attest to its origin. During the complimentary appraisal, we advise you on whether a certificate is worthwhile.
Yes. Heating is a common treatment; it affects the price but does not prevent the sale.
To a dealer who buys these stones directly and can make you a firm offer. On rue Drouot, Maison Altmann examines your ruby in front of you, tells you what it is and what it is worth on the market, and then you decide. Compare if you wish: we encourage you to.
Yes. A vivid red, unheated Mogok ruby of one carat or less can be worth far more than a large, lacklustre stone. It is colour that makes the price.
It depends on colour, clarity, cut and provenance: beyond a few carats, a fine unheated stone becomes very rare. We do not quote a figure without having seen the piece: a photograph is enough for a first opinion, within 24 hours, then the firm offer is made across the table.
Yes, with or without a certificate. These stones are shown by appointment, in complete discretion; the ruby does not leave your sight, the offer is firm and payment follows agreement, the same day, whatever the amount.
The stone and its certificate, with the box or the invoice if you have them. We check that the certificate really does match the ruby — weight, dimensions — then we look at the stone itself: the offer is made in front of you.
Yes. We examine it as it is. For a stone of several carats, we will tell you whether a certificate could add to its value before the sale.
Very little. These stones, treated with lead glass, have been circulating in large numbers since the mid-2000s. We will tell you so frankly, from a photograph and then with the stone in front of us.
It is possible in a 20th-century piece of jewellery: flame fusion, made public in 1902, has produced synthetic rubies widely used ever since. In that case the mounting keeps its value, and we tell you so frankly.
For the gold, yes. For the ruby, no: a stone is paid for in its own right. Before accepting an offer by weight, show us the ring.
At 22 rue Drouot, by appointment: the piece is examined in front of you, the offer is firm and payment follows agreement, the same day. You can begin with a photograph on WhatsApp.
Yes. Once agreement is reached, payment is made the same day, by bank transfer or by cheque, whatever the amount — with no fees or commission.
Verifiable facts, reviewed in October 2026. For a specific case, the appointment settles it.
Auguste Verneuil makes public the flame-fusion process, which produces synthetic rubies: a 20th-century piece of jewellery may be set with one.
Lead-glass filled rubies arrive on the market in large numbers; their value remains very low.
Discovery of the Montepuez deposits in Mozambique, which has since become a major source of fine rubies.
We tell you what you own, then what we offer you for it: a firm offer, paid the same day. The decision remains yours.
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