New to gemstones..Ceylon sapphire advice

[steaktacos1]

Hi all. New to price scope but so grateful for this amazing resource!
I am having my engagement ring reset and wanted to use the old setting for a Ceylon sapphire. The jeweler I took my setting to happened to have a Ceylon sapphire-pictured above. he said he would set it into my ring for $400 total. My ring is a halo made for a 0.6 carat stone. I’m brand new to gemstones so I’m wondering if this sounds reasonable, or if you think otherwise. I attached a photo of the sapphire and setting. It has to be cut to fit the ring. I’m also wondering how I would know if it’s real or worth buying...he said it was a natural sapphire and he’s a reputable local jeweler. Thanks for any and all advice

 

[Bron357]

My jeweller charges me around $200 to set my gemstones into existing settings. That’s just for prong work, I’m supplying both the gemstone AND the ring.
So $400 is very cheap to include a natural Ceylon sapphire.
Has the sapphire been subject to any treatments?
Just to expand, there’s natural sapphires with no treatment at all (uncommon and expensive), natural sapphires heat treated (most sapphires) but there’s also natural sapphires that have been beryllium diffused (improves blue colour) and/or flux (glass) filled (fills in the cracks/ fissures turning a very flawed stone into something pretty). These last two types of treatment are not recommended, basically they are valueless gemstones. Better to have an “honest” lab grown sapphire than a highly treated “natural” sapphire.
Highly treated sapphires can look pretty but aren’t necessarily robust. Flawed stones that are glass filled can chip or split with an unintentional whack and if anyone uses a jewellers torch or pickling solution, they can crack apart.
so check with the jeweller exactly what you are getting.
$400 would be a very good price to include a natural with heat only sapphire. $400 would be an OK price for a BE diffusion and heat only natural sapphire but $400 would be too much for a glass filled or lab grown sapphire.

 

[LilAlex]

Can't say much from a photo let alone one that far away and indistinct.

At $400, it will be heated and maybe diffused and maybe even synthetic...?

You can buy what you like or you can try to make sure you are getting something of value. At that price point, vendor will not provide a reputable report.

 

[tyty333]

She also said "it" has to be "cut" to fit her ring. So that's $400 for sapphire, cutting, and setting into the ring.

 

[wildcat03]

I can't see much other than the color, which looks lovely. However, I feel like that color is generally pretty expensive. So, the total of $400 for stone and setting seems suspiciously low. If you really want it, I'd get the seller to confirm that it's heated but not treated (as discussed above). It can be sent to GIA and they can test for treatment. I believe the cost is between $50-100, but it's on their website. If it comes back as stated, then you got a great deal.

 

[lovedogs]

That sounds super suspicious to me. The price is too low for a natural sapphire of that size and color

 

[Cerulean]

The pricing is suspiciously low. I find the whole thing odd, honestly.

I can’t imagine why it’s worth recutting a sapphire that isn’t worth much to begin with to fit into a setting instead of just finding one…and it’s still very underpriced for that labor plus resetting. The sapphire has to be worth essentially nothing to justify it.

 

[PinkAndBlueBling]

I don't know why anyone would recut a stone to fit a setting. Why make the stone smaller when the setting can be altered fo the stone?

 

[ringo865]

^this! Why cut the sappire to be smaller. Is the cutter a skilled lapidary? How do you know that this cutter has the ability to cut it to keep the color and not cut a big window in it? Why not either get a ready-made sapphire ring, or look for a sapphire that will fit your setting, or keep looking. $400 all in (setting, sapphire and cutting the sapphire (smaller)) seems like too inexpensive. He’s probably making it up on the reset?