Man Made Ruby Value

[KeepTicking]

Hi guys,

My very good friend is looking to have a ruby engagement ring made. We have found several people that can make the ring design that he wants, but we're having trouble sourcing a good ruby. His budget is around $5k, and a jeweler we know wants him to buy a man made ruby.

The jeweler says that man made rubies range in price from pennies to tens of thousands of dollars, but I can't find much information on them and anything I can find online has them priced very low, around $30/ct. My concern is that he may be getting taken for a ride by spending $5k on the ring with a synthetic ruby (the ring will cost under $2k to make, so the jeweler is selling the synthetic ruby for $3k+).

Just FYI, he is looking for around a 1ct, blood red, eye clean, cushion cut ruby. Any information you guys can provide is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!!!!