Ceylon Unheated 9x7 sapphire wholesale

[MustangFan]

The Jeweler I went to today said that the one Ceylon Unheated Sapphire (9x7) I looked at he priced for me $2,000 wholesale. He said that only his own customers and family he gets wholesale prices,i don''t understand what''s in it for him???!!! He''s a local jeweler and I''ve bought things here and there before. The sapphire he showed was very pretty, gemstone quality , unheated and he said he could get papers from the gemologist dealer.???? Should I be skeptical?????? or just paranoid?

 

[MINE!!]

Umm.. I can bet that there is something in it for him... I have seen a coupla threads you have done.. are you looking with your heart. I understand doing the safe technical stuff... but I guess sometimes, I think you get what you pay for.. buyer beware... besides are you in love with it? Does it speak to you?

 

[valeria101]

Why skeptical?

I am not a big fan of the 'wholesale-prices-special-for-you' story

but... every time I hear it I try to remind myself that the seller can't possibly know my feelings.

If the treated/ untreated status is a big issue you want to be 300% sure about, than I would imagine some sort of third party opinion might be in order. If it could be a lab report, or the advice of an appraiser of your choice.

Sure you have every right to question price and value. Without seeing the stone...not much I could say about that. Not many folks fall in love with UGLY sapphire. With that part, a lab report will not help much, but an appraiser can.


My 2c

 

[MustangFan]

no, it wasn''t my favorite, but I''m definitely confused on what to buy because sapphires vary in price so much. I want something beautiful for around$3k-4k he says it''s wholesale, the sapphire he showed me is a prettier stone than $3200 at the other place which is sort of a chain store (Robbins Diamonds)
I know that you get what you pay for but I''m wondering if the other store is slightly over priced or about right

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/26/2006 6:09:19 PM
Author: MustangFan

...the sapphire he showed me is a prettier stone than $3200 at the other place which is sort of a chain store (Robbins Diamonds)

Add a few more shops on the list and the respective price interval may well grow larger (from both ends, perhaps).

Not sure what ''wholesale price'' means both for a clearly retail transaction. Surely it doesn''t cost this seller anything to utter the respective word, while rent surely does. ''Bet they''d be disappointed to find out that their price was not high enough for you to trust the quality of the goods!

 

[riogems]

If you like that stone for $2k you should get it. Put together a simple agreement with him - that he''ll send the stone to a lab of your choice, you''ll pay for the report, and if the report comes back that it has been heated, he''ll pay for it. What is the weight of the stone?

 

[MustangFan]

he says 3 carats for a 9x7mm
I don''t like the stone enough, for it to be my first choice , but i thought it would be more like 2 carats for that size???

I basically i just want to know about what price range should I be looking at for an Unheated 9x7 pear shaped rich kashmir color stone?

 

[MustangFan]

I found this

Blue/Violet

Poor Fair Good Very Good Excellent
Sapphire <150 150-400 400-1000 1000-2000 2000 +

 

[politely]

I wouldn''t worry about your jeweler. I can almost guarantee they''re not losing money on the stone. And instead of getting too hung up on the price, you should find a stone that you love. The price is definitely important, but it''s not a great situation to get a great deal on something you''re not happy with. Of course, for some people, the great deal is what makes it sweeter.

Anyway, I think the best thing to do is see as many stones as possible in person. That''s really the only way to know whether you''ve got a stone you love or not and whether you''re getting as a good a deal as you think you are - and what it''s worth to you. As has been said time & again here, that what you like may not be what the gem dealers value most, in which case you can get something you like better for less.

And finally, definitely get certification from a reputable lab... and depending on how paranoid you are, an independent appraiser to confirm it''s the same stone .

Good luck,
-P

 

[riogems]

Hmm - that''s tricky. If you don''t like the stone then keep looking. Think of this like looking for a house... You go around to open houses. You might be told the asking price. The question is -- how did they arrive at that asking price? Most likely, the realtor sat down with their client and showed them some comps from the neighborhood. And they decided on an asking price accordingly. With gemstones, there are no public comps (with diamonds there is a rap sheet but that''s different than public comps too). Therefore, what is the gem worth? And the answer is - whatever someone will pay for it. Abstract this further... if it was based on the actual costs incurred by a miner, cutter, and transportation to you -- it might be as valuable as a stack of coal. The color gemstone market is very very inefficient. And almost everyone would prefer to keep it that way -- that''s how everyone can make their money. I would love to make a chart to demonstrate the vast proportion of the inefficiency.

So - to get back to your question about price -- it all depends really. It all depends how efficiently the stone you''re looking at moved through the system, and what kind of profit margin the person you''re buying it from wants to put on. It would not be uncommon or unfair for someone to have doubled their cost to offer you the price. Also, even small variations in color can cause some serious price differences.

Also, a 9x7 Ceylon probably weighs in the 2.5-3ct range. For unheated, the premium is typically around 20%. From what I''ve gathered by looking online, there is a much much higher premium on unheated in the online consumer marketplace, then actually exists in the buying markets. If there is enough demand for unheated, this will change - as more suppliers enter the market. But then again, if there is too much demand, supply may not keep up -- (ie pink sapphire).

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/27/2006 2:31:20 AM
Author: riogems

If you don't like the stone then keep looking.

Ditto. There should be a sapphire of your liking for the money. Somewhere. I wouldn't get too hung up on the alleged 'bargain status' before something with the color you are after is actually on the table for comparison.

Bad idea? LINK with a web-shop you have to suffer through shipping alright, but so will the seller (providing a return period).

There are a few more between 2 and 4k where that one comes from - check out the list on untreated, and if the so-so photographic skills do not scare you good, it should be worth asking for the seller's opinion. No one wants to keep 'walking' their stock through the mail, they should be informative to avoid that.


I am sure there are many other places... this seller's insistence on AGTA reports made their collection 'memorable'

 

[MustangFan]

Thank you for the valuable information. I have realised right away that there is a premium for sapphires online, and I guess people pay for those prices because normally online everything is discounted. The stone he claimed was a Ceylon looked alot like tanzanite, and I''m just concerned with it being not what it is. Also if I take to be independantly appraised and it''s not even a sapphire, he could just say "oh well that''s definitely not my stone!" That''s what I worry about. Maybe I''m going crazy
But I''m definitely going to go look for more stones soon

 

[colorchange]

Hi,

The only way is to ask him to provide it with a certificate.
If it is really an unheated sapphire and really looking like a fin tanzanite and 3 Ct even with a serious "overweigh" it's not expensive for retail.

Of course a certificate issued by the dealer from whom he bought is worth nothing !

I would not say there is an overall premium on the internet, you just have to choose where you buy from !

 

[BeaudryBabe]

Sounds way to inexpensive to not be heat treated. An independent appraisal is the only way to go.