help! I dropped my sapphire on wooden floor and chipped it!

[RockHugger]

Date: 12/11/2009 3:18:18 AM
Author: ma re

Date: 12/10/2009 8:36:33 PM
Author: Tropicgal10
Ditto. When I showed the owner of the jewelry store I worked at my new ebay tanzanites he said they were glass and pulled out his tanzanites (pale light blue) and told me I should buy them from him from now on at $200/ct. He also said the pale blue is the ''ideal'' color, and my deep blue/purple tanzanites were undesirable.

In that case I''d request of him to source me some undesirable ones in around 10 ct sizes and I''ll gladly pay him 30$/ct for them - since they''re undesirable

LOL I didnt think of that! I TOTALLY should have asked him to! I wonder what he would have said . I havnt been there sence I quite, so ite too late now LOL.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Date: 12/10/2009 8:36:33 PM
Author: Tropicgal10
Ditto. When I showed the owner of the jewelry store I worked at my new ebay tanzanites he said they were glass and pulled out his tanzanites (pale light blue) and told me I should buy them from him from now on at $200/ct. He also said the pale blue is the ''ideal'' color, and my deep blue/purple tanzanites were undesirable. Well, they arnt glass, and last I checked the deep blue/purple ones are the most expensive....and I get them for 1/4 of what he was selling the junk tanzanites for.


Same thing happened at another store I was looking at setting a stone. Deep blue tanzanite, and I was told it was glass and it wasnt the ''much sought after'' light lavander color.


Either I missed something and I have these crappy blue RI 1.69 glass stones, or I am being schambloozled by jewelry stores. I go with the latter.

If you are buying good color tanzanite for $50 per ct. please let me know where. I can''t buy good rough tanzanite for $50 per ct in Arusha just a few miles from the mine, unless they are small stones. I''d buy cut stones in a second for $50 per and recut them. Something is wrong at $50 per ct.

 

[mousey]

I also had a bad experience with a jeweler in Hatton Garden (London). He stated in no uncertain terms that a sapphire I had paid $1500 for was worth $600 tops, tried to tell me there was no difference between a certified unheated stone and a heated stone, and tried to get me to send back my sapp, and instead buy the most horrid navyblack sapphire from him (but of course he couldn''t do it for $600 as this navy thing was worth FAR more). I recently had the stone appraised for a little more than we paid for it. I have also heard similar stories from friends. I compare this to the excellent service I encountered with both Ed Bristol and Gary Dutton, and I know where I will be buying stones from in future...

 

[Gailey]

Date: 12/8/2009 7:46:47 PM
Author: lelser

Date: 12/8/2009 7:31:45 PM
Author: Icy Melona
Hi Freke, thank you for replying. I really appreciate pricescope for all the sensible advise and experience. Can I ask what you mean by at customer''s cost? From your experience is it usually the full cost of the stone or partial cost of the stone that the customer has to pay for if the stone is damaged during recutting?


Does the fact that the stone chipped/scratched from a fall mean that the stone is less ideal for recutting and might break more easily? And is there such thing as low and high heat treatment? And does heat treatment make sapphires more brittle?

Did the jeweller who said it might be a doublet actually see the stone? It''s not all that hard to tell if you know how to look and have a microscope, especially on a loose stone.

How much weight you lose and how much brilliance you gain are usually directly proportional. If the pavillion is poorly cut and diminishing brilliance, you are likely to lose weight but gain sparkle. You may also lose colour since the native cutters are fantastic at getting the best possible colour from a sapphire. If the pavillion is already well cut you won''t lose much weight on a recut but unless there''s a tiny window you won''t gain much sparkle.

Others can answer the low heat/high heat question better than I can, but it''s nothing I''ve ever come across. It may be code for ''we didn''t melt flux right into your stone'' since some heat treatment takes sapphire to near melting.

As for recutting and stone replacement. You should expect to pay for the recut. If you don''t like the results, you should expect to buy a new stone. Repair cutters do an amazing job, but sometimes they simply cannot fix a problem or a stone cracks while cutting. Generally they won''t charge for disasters, but all risk is assumed by the stone''s owner.

If it''s just a repolish, the only danger is if the stone is diffused, which means the colour is not very deep onto the stone. Repolishing can remove the added colour and leave you with a washed out stone.

Now ask me why I don''t cut repairs

Cheers,
Lisa

But I know that you know a man who does - right?

Wouldn''t it be a good idea for Icy to post a picture (not easy I know) if she can of the damage.

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 12/11/2009 8:50:09 PM
Author: PrecisionGem

Date: 12/10/2009 8:36:33 PM
Author: Tropicgal10
Ditto. When I showed the owner of the jewelry store I worked at my new ebay tanzanites he said they were glass and pulled out his tanzanites (pale light blue) and told me I should buy them from him from now on at $200/ct. He also said the pale blue is the ''ideal'' color, and my deep blue/purple tanzanites were undesirable. Well, they arnt glass, and last I checked the deep blue/purple ones are the most expensive....and I get them for 1/4 of what he was selling the junk tanzanites for.


Same thing happened at another store I was looking at setting a stone. Deep blue tanzanite, and I was told it was glass and it wasnt the ''much sought after'' light lavander color.


Either I missed something and I have these crappy blue RI 1.69 glass stones, or I am being schambloozled by jewelry stores. I go with the latter.

If you are buying good color tanzanite for $50 per ct. please let me know where. I can''t buy good rough tanzanite for $50 per ct in Arusha just a few miles from the mine, unless they are small stones. I''d buy cut stones in a second for $50 per and recut them. Something is wrong at $50 per ct.

80% of my tanzanite is medium saturation/color or better, and about 10 of them top color. I just bought a 1.35 deep blue/purple tanzie from a guy I know in Baltimore (hubbys from there) for 42$. I have been getting quite a few of my stones from him lately.
I just have a good eye for finding people who sell cheap stones. SOME of them I admit are from ebay, but alot of them are from random people I come into contact with. For example, I was at a show a few months ago and bought a large gem box full of them for 50$. The woman was selling off her late husbands stone collection and didnt want to sort through them. I got over 9cts of tanzies that were chip/scratch free. Nothing is wrong with them. I RI them and scope them under 60-80x looking for cobalt diffusion and they come up clean. Hubby says I can smell them from across the room .

 

[Icy Melona]

Follow up to the story- went to the Australian Gemmological Association (GSL) and had my stone identified and damaged reviewed. Yes, it is confirmed as a natural sapphire Hurrah!

) So take that to all the naysayers! (nobody on pricescope). The damage is more of a scuff. The gemmologist didn''t really think I should recut or even polish it as it would take the weight down and the damage is not visible face up or even that severe. He actually suggested I might want to keep it as it is as a way of identifying the stone. I think I will still have it polised though, don''t know about recutting as I was told it wouldn''t do much to improve the colour of the stone.

I am sad about the damage but I''ve learned to be more cautious when I take my pebbles out to oogle at. SO thank you everyone on pricescope for your advise and support!!

 

[chrono]

IM,
I am so relieved to hear that it’s quite a minor damage. Please find a qualified lapidary to handle your stone to prevent potential further heartache.