Bought Colour Change Sapphire From Jeff Davies

[ilovegemstones]

Last one! Trying to capture pink flashes in mixed lighting. Looks quite gray in real life.

Endless summer, I totally get you. I am on the fence because it was $700. It really reminds me of a sparkly spinel with a grey cast. One nice thing is that it has nice fluorescence but I would expect that with the red in it.

Freke, I noticed the half and half too and the bowtie too. Sigh. I think this is goodbye. I really wanted the look of the stone in the picture.

 

[minousbijoux]

Yeah....it seems to show some pretty gnarly "half and half" extinction, and the color doesn't look nearly as nice as in his photos. If it didn't wow you, I'd send it back.

Unfortunately, I agree. I'm disappointed, as it seems somewhere along the line, the photos have begun to considerably intensify the color and lighten the tone. I would love to buy from him, but am not sure I know how to read his photos any more.

 

[minousbijoux]

ILG: if its not too much trouble, would you mind posting this to the pinned thread on owner's photos vs. vendor's photos please? It would be very helpful to others interested in buying his stones. TIA.

 

[GregS]

Yeah....it seems to show some pretty gnarly "half and half" extinction, and the color doesn't look nearly as nice as in his photos. If it didn't wow you, I'd send it back.

Unfortunately, I agree. I'm disappointed, as it seems somewhere along the line, the photos have begun to considerably intensify the color and lighten the tone. I would love to buy from him, but am not sure I know how to read his photos any more.

I agree, I'm not looking to bad mouth Jeff as he's always been cordial in our dealings, but I've been sorely dissappointed with several of my purchases from him. It's certainly left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[iluvshinythings]

I thought you had a winner there. It looked so promising. If it doesn't knock your socks off though, send it back. You'll find "the one" eventually.

 

[LoversKites]

What a disappointment

In my experience Jeff's stones are a hit or miss. Ive only purchased cheaper stones from him, though.

 

[ilovegemstones]

Thanks all. I will return it and post pics in the vendour/real life pics thread. He has been really nice in all of our interactions and he has a great return policy so I will just return it. I am expecting a demantoid from him so I will update after receiving that.

 

[chrono]

The sapphire looks silky in your pictures; does it look like that in person or it's just the photograph? I'm sorry it didn't look as pictured and that you are disappointed. I hope Jeff will correct his photography technique so that his stones do not look significantly prettier than in real life.

 

[ilovegemstones]

'It is crystal clear and not silky at all. My smartphone lens was fogging up with the first few pictures taken outside. The hardest thing for me to capture was the colour. It appears more violet in real life than in the pictures I posted, overall.

 

[pregcurious]

This is disappointing .

 

[treasurehunter]

Also try cleaning the stone to get rid of the grease or finger marks before taking the photo and change the ISO settings on the camera until you get an accurate colour.

 

[mochiko42]

Oh, I'm so sorry ILG.. I know you were so excited about it, too! I also recently bought a blue-purple spinel from Jeff Davies and unfortunately it was not as expected either, so I am returning it. Jeff has been very nice about the whole process though, that has to be said. I read through previous posts on PS and while I didn't expect the gem to look like the photo, I had expected the video to be more accurate... It's really too bad.

I hope you find the right CC sapphire for you soon! Just a thought, why not ask Sally if she has any in stock. She helped me find mine and I guess it never hurts to ask.

 

[mochiko42]

More pics

Heh, maybe a little OT but where did you get that other blue sapphire in your photo? The color saturation looks soooooooooooo amazing.

 

[ilovegemstones]

Mochiko, That sapphire in the pendant is from Tan and it is also unheated. I will ask Sally if she has come across any sapphires like yours.

Since my camera was fogging up when I took the pictures I am going to try to take better pictures of this stone outside tomorrow.

 

[BlingObsession]

I'm sorry that the colour may not have been what you were expecting or wanted, but I do question how fair it is to the vendor to post such poor quality photos. If Jeff's are not a true reflection of the stone, then neither are yours which is equally misleading.

For what it's worth, I have personally bought a couple of very expensive stones from Jeff Davies including a stunning vivid blue sapphire and an amazing 3ct Merelani Mint garnet. In the hand, the sapphire is as good as Jeff's pics/video but I couldn't capture it with my camera ... https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/jeff-davies-1-77-carat-sapphire.195408/

I haven't posted pics of the garnet because my photos made it look awful but here's Jeff's video - in the hand, it is mind blowingly gorgeous and actually much, much nicer than the video ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfOT-RFpuvI&feature=youtu.be

Capturing the true personality of stones via camera and video is very difficult so on the occasions that I have bought a stone for a "look see" I have been able to return it without any problems - Jeff has a fantastic "no questions asked" return policy.

So, send it back and keep looking...

 

[ilovegemstones]

I actually picked out the best photos that I had given that it was an overcast day. I did write in the last post that I would try to get better ones today, so hang on!

 

[ilovegemstones]

These are the best I can do on an overcast morning 9 am. Freshly cleaned lens and gem and lens is not foggy. Did not alter camera settings.

 

[innerkitten]

That's too bad. It color is so pretty in some of the photos. Like a deep periwinkle. But under incandescent lighting it doesn't look that great.

 

[pregcurious]

Can you alter the photos on a program like Photoshop to show us what you see in real life? Sometimes it is necessary to do this. You can alter the time of day that you take the pictures. I find that my stones look very different in morning, midday, and evening light. My avatar was taken when my stone looks the pinkest, but normally it appears to be more neutral red. Even my finger looks pink.

You can read about it here under "Time of day":
http://www.palagems.com/quality_4cs.htm

"Time of day. Even skylight changes throughout the day. Generally speaking, rubies (and other red stones) look best during the midday hours. Sapphires, in contrast, look best in the early morning or late afternoon. If you are buying, this means that rubies should be purchased early or late in the day, while sapphires are best bought near midday, thereby preventing a surprise when the stone is examined under another lighting condition.

The above is in contrast to what is often reported. While direct sunlight is far more red at sunrise and sunset, the skylight is actually more blue. Since we use skylight, not direct sunlight, to illuminate gems, blue color will be enhanced early and late in the day. Similarly, the skylight at noon is less blue, thus enhancing the color of rubies in the middle of the day."

 

[ilovegemstones]

The last set of pictures was how the stone looked to me. It is very clear and sparkly so I can't capture that on an overcast day. I have returned it so no more pictures.

 

[chrono]

If those pictures are representative of what you saw versus the vendor's pictures, I agree with you that it should be returned. There are too many "issues" to keep it: (extinction, gray and darker than shown). I'm sorry.

 

[ilovegemstones]

That is what I saw although the stone is more purple (but not brighter) in real life than my phone captured. Still, it is greyer and darker than in Jeff's pics. I have taken and posted lots of pictures on PS the same smartphone and I think it does a pretty good job!

ETA Hopefully my last set of pictures captured that it is a still a beautiful stone but it is just not what I wanted.

 

[katharath]

That is what I saw although the stone is more purple (but not brighter) in real life than my phone captured. Still, it is greyer and darker than in Jeff's pics. I have taken and posted lots of pictures on PS the same smartphone and I think it does a pretty good job!

ETA Hopefully my last set of pictures captured that it is a still a beautiful stone but it is just not what I wanted.

Then you were absolutely right to return it!! $700 is a large budget for me personally (although I realize it is small for some); but if I'm spending that much on any gem, I expect to love it. You made the right choice in returning it.

FWIW, I have had nice dealings with Jeff also, and believe he is great to deal with. My personal opinion is that his photos seem to highlight the cut and clarity of his gems rather than always showing the most accurate color. I don't at all believe that he is trying to be misleading. I just think that in trying to show the cut and clarity to his utmost ability, the accuracy of the color may suffer a bit in consequence (at times - not necessarily always). I may not have explained that very well, and of course I could be completely wrong as well, lol ...just my two cents

 

[ilovegemstones]

I agree 100% Katharath! $700 is a lot for me. I really don't think he is trying to be misleading either, but that he has a really good and bright set up for taking pictures. I am still very much looking forward to the demantoid from him.