This seller recently sold a Cobalto (blue) set for $425. My guess with this set is that somebody popped out the original blue ones and replaced them with red. Russians? Maybe, maybe not. The red whatever it is in the first photo looks like it's slightly melted. That suggests something other than crystal. Maybe even resin. Something like the stuff they used to sell to repair broken automobile tail lights. Back when automobile tail lights were red. In the fourth photo, the one with the chipped "ruby", the bolt setting seems slightly flattened. Could be that slight damage popped the original blue "gem" and inspired the red replacement and the accompanying story. BTW, it would be really easy to mix up a batch of red resin to fill the holes in the levers. In any case, I'd say this set is already over priced.
Mark Fulton Riding out the first big storm by not riding in Redwood City California USA