Jeff White 3+ carat GIA Unheated Sapphire

[Gypsy]

Please consider this an RT thread (honest thoughts, all of them) instead of a SMTB thread (tell me you love it, or keep quiet if you don't)

Measurements are 7.6 x 8.1

 

[Gypsy]

A few more.

 

[JewelFreak]

I'm not gonna keep quiet -- I love the color. Cut too. What are your plans for it?

--- Laurie

 

[Gypsy]

I'm not gonna keep quiet -- I love the color. Cut too. What are your plans for it?

--- Laurie

Thank you Laurie! I am planning a three stone with half moons: 4 x 2.6 F VS. I am going to buy the half moons next week if everything checks out.

 

[bright ice]

I think it"s beautiful! What do you think?

 

[ddgdl]

Beautiful! I mean...um...its ugly! It is misshapen! You will hate it! So, uh...you should sell it to me

Very nice find.

 

[T L]

Honest thoughts, since you asked. Does it have some half/half extinction thing going on? The color is nice, a little darker that my personal preference, and slightly grey if your photo is accurate, but it's pretty. I think the extinction thing would bug me a little bit though since I am paying a huge premium for his cutting.

 

[Gypsy]

Thank you guys!

I'm a novice with colored stones. I know what the big no no's are, but not more than that so I thought I'd ask for expert assistance.

My thoughts, since you asked though, are:

I love the color. It's pretty much Goldilocks Just Right for me. Not too dark, no navy and no black. Even at night it's blue. It's got some violet in it, but I wanted that and like it. No gray that I see to my eyes (that's the camera, I think), which is what I wanted to avoid.

The shape is a little out of symmetry. It's a slight bit fatter on one the bottom of side than the other. Which bugged me last night, but this morning I'm more accepting of it.

The cut is very nice, no window, but it does do that half dark extinction thing that elongated shapes do no matter which way (N/S) you flip it. But I think I can live with that.

That's what I think. But like I said, I don't have trained eyes and I don't know colored stones the way the folks on this board do, which is why I posted asking for complete honesty. I need to know what the pluses and minuses are so I can evaluate how I feel about those, and make a decision.

Other than that... I bought this Pre-Loved and got a reasonable price on it, so I'm not going to be as picky as something I bought straight from Jeff. I do wish it had less extinction, but even the dark half is a very lovely color when it does that.

 

[T L]

This is a photo of a sapphire that has no grey to my eyes.



Your stone, in the photo, does have grey, and it's a bit extinct, but if you love it and you feel you got it for a great price, then that's what matters. It's still a very pretty stone. I just know that Jeff charges a great deal for his cutting, so I would be a bit upset paying his full premium when it has half/half extinction going on.

ETA: All of my sapphires have grey, and for what I paid for them, I'm very happy. Very few of us can afford vivid saturation, especially in an unheated gem. It's all about what you can live with and what you paid.

 

[violet3]

I LOVE IT! that's a perfect shape for half moons - your (soon to be) new ring was my first choice for my engagement ring. I went with a band instead, but hope to one day add one of those to my hand

 

[marymm]

Okay, I will admit I am not crazy about this stone - the extinction and the wonky symmetry would bug me regardless - but also, for me, the appeal of a Jeff White stone *is* his amazing precision-cutting... which to me is not evident in this stone.

BUT, color is king - if you opened up the box and thought "holy cow this color is exactly the blue sapphire I've dreamed of" - PLUS the fact it is unheated - and if the price was reasonable to you - these are factors that could easily outweigh extinction and wonky symmetry. Only you know what you're looking for in a blue sapphire and whether this stone meets your criteria.

 

[Gypsy]

Oh good lord PS is having issues again. This is the third time I am typing this post (yes, I will copy and save).

First, okay I can accept that you see gray in it. But the amount/type of gray it has I can live with. And the secondary color on the stone is purple, which I like so I'm good there. Color is a non-issue for me.

As for Jeff's cutting. Yeah, I agree it was disappointing to see the bulging asymmetrical outline and the extinction, and I think those are both due to cutting for weight. It weighs in at 3.02 carats. But that's not unusual for colored stones, just not what you expect from someone like Jeff. Still, it doesn't have a huge hole in it (and let me tell you, so many of the stones I was looking at did) from a window so I'm okay there.

This is the last sapphire I bought. It was WAY too gray for me, and what I was looking to avoid this time around. And I think this one does avoid that. Unfortunately, it's not as big as this one (10.5 x but ultimately it's the color that matters.

** I'll post the pics of the other one later, PS isn't letting me upload any photos**

 

[movie zombie]

i'm with TL.

if you got a good price on it and you love it, well, it is for you and it is your $. the object is to please you, not us.

will the half moons also be sapphires or diamonds?

 

[T L]

The color isn't the only thing you have to worry about. Tone is important too. If it's too dark, it will only darken in a setting. Do you feel it will not go very extinct once set?

 

[movie zombie]

i can understand why you like it: those flashes of blue are like sirens in the wind.

another question: will the setting compensate for the ends being different?

man, if that stone was like those flashes but w/o the darkness it would be so very expensive!

 

[Gypsy]

TL I don't think it will, I did the paper trick to see what it would look like bezeled (which I'm not planning on doing) and I still liked it very much. It's a blue stone, not a navy one. The setting is going to be very open as well, so I think it will be fine.

Mary, if it wasn't a Jeff White would you feel better about it?

FINALLY, I got the pic of the other sapphire to attach. It was too gray for me. The window was less noticeable in person, but there.

MZ-- I am wondering if Jeff would recut it for performance. I'd be okay losing weight, if I kept spread.

BELOW is the one that was too gray for me:

 

[Gypsy]

Setting I am planning:

 

[T L]

Setting I am planning:

It will be beautiful. You can't go wrong with a classic timeless setting and a sapphire.

 

[chrono]

It doesn't rock my socks off but if you like the hue, tone and saturation, then that is moot point. The 1/2 and 1/2 extinction would bug me to no end though; I sold off and/or returned stones that looked like that because I want to see colour througout the stone, not just on half of it all the time. It has a tendency to show up on elongated rectangular stones (but not always).

 

[Gypsy]

It doesn't rock my socks off but if you like the hue, tone and saturation, then that is moot point. The 1/2 and 1/2 extinction would bug me to no end though; I sold off and/or returned stones that looked like that because I want to see colour througout the stone, not just on half of it all the time. It has a tendency to show up on elongated rectangular stones (but not always).

Can it be recut to improve that do you think? Since it weighs in at 3.02 I'm wondering if he cut it for weight.

 

[Gypsy]

Setting I am planning:

It will be beautiful. You can't go wrong with a classic timeless setting and a sapphire.

Thank you TL. I'm not 100% sure the stone is a keeper-- the setting is though. Regarding this stone I really like the color and I know that's a personal thing, but I do need to live with it for a couple of days to see what I think about the extinction long term. It really is too bad that it has that PLUS the bulge. I wish it were one or the other (and I would pick the bulge over the extinction). If I orient it with the bulge side up instead of down it bothers me a lot less.

 

[chrono]

I am very sure it can be improved with a recut but at what cost? No, I don't think it will be worth it in the end for the very same reason you think - the drop from the 3 ct mark, more so for an unheated stone. Like you, I can live with a bulging stone but extinction really bothers me.

 

[movie zombie]

geez, now pricescope has eaten my long response! and then did some really strange screen things!

IMO the 2nd stone is better than the first one.
went back and re-read your posts: you say that the color at its darkest is "navy", not black.
as long as you didn't pay an arm and a leg, i think you could have done worse.

i am not a fan of recuts: no guarantee that the desired results will be achieved and the stone could look worse.

i think if you love it as it is, you love it as it is.

i think we lose sight of the fact that sometimes we overload ourselves with too much info and worry.

could you have done better? maybe, maybe not.
could you have done worse? definitely!

 

[Gypsy]

Eating my posts too.

It's not navy OR black. It's blue. Never gets to Navy instead it goes purple-ish.

What would a good price have been for this stone? I know, I HATE these questions, but I'd still like your opinions.

 

[chrono]

Eating my posts too.

It's not navy OR black. It's blue. Never gets to Navy instead it goes purple-ish.

What would a good price have been for this stone? I know, I HATE these questions, but I'd still like your opinions.

Depends on how accurate your pictures are. Forget navy, royal and etc. I have no clue about descriptions like that. Can you describe the hue, tone and saturation under the various conditions below? I am pretty sure it colour shifts, correct?
Outdoors full sunlight
Outdoors shade
Indoors fluorescent
Indoors halogen
Indoors incandedscent

 

[Gypsy]

The sidestones would be diamonds. F VS. I have them on hold, but I need to know if I am keeping the stone first. A different stone with different dimensions would need different sides.

 

[T L]

I am very sure it can be improved with a recut but at what cost? No, I don't think it will be worth it in the end for the very same reason you think - the drop from the 3 ct mark, more so for an unheated stone. Like you, I can live with a bulging stone but extinction really bothers me.

Good point, sapphires take a price jump at the 3 carat mark, and if a recut makes it under 3 carats, that's something to consider.

 

[T L]

Eating my posts too.

It's not navy OR black. It's blue. Never gets to Navy instead it goes purple-ish.

What would a good price have been for this stone? I know, I HATE these questions, but I'd still like your opinions.

Sounds like a color shifter, which are generally less money than a sapphire that keeps its blue hue in all lighting. It's so hard to give a price since sapphires are at an all time high right now, especially unheated ones. Perhaps research pricing on 3 carat color shift sapphires (unheated) and see what you come up with.

 

[thbmok]

For me, the color and cut are borderline assuming the pictures are accurate. But I think the more relevant question is, does it make you gasp when you look at it? I find that I hesitate to set stones that don't quite have that effect on me no matter how much I like the color.

 

[Gypsy]

Eating my posts too.

It's not navy OR black. It's blue. Never gets to Navy instead it goes purple-ish.

What would a good price have been for this stone? I know, I HATE these questions, but I'd still like your opinions.

Depends on how accurate your pictures are. Forget navy, royal and etc. I have no clue about descriptions like that. Can you describe the hue, tone and saturation under the various conditions below? I am pretty sure it colour shifts, correct?
Outdoors full sunlight
Outdoors shade
Indoors fluorescent

Indoors halogen
Indoors incandedscent

I don't think I know enough to do that. And there was no sun today. All overcast here. Pics were taken by the window indoors. Pretty accurate. But thats all I've got so far. Taking it for apprasal Saturday.

No gasping yet though.