Pink Sapphire
- Thread starter Parmela1
- Start date
- Joined
- May 25, 2005
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- 538
Here is some content on how to judge pinks online, (though the images don't copy here, and I am to lazy to insert them...).
"Pink, being a lightly colored form of red sapphire or ruby, has become popular in recent years.
Its colors range from a light lavender rose to the so-called "hot pink", which resembles a vivid bubble-gum hue.
Aside from padparadscha, which is partly orange, natural pink sapphires have become the most expensive variety within the fancies.
Prices of pinks vary greatly with size and color intensity. However, untreated hot pinks of several carats have buyers lined up at the mines. In the wake of this popularity prices of pink spinel have increased as well.
The fact that heart shapes are much more frequent in pink sapphires than in any other color points to the emotional occasions they like to be used for. Especially Japanese buyers love big pink hearts.
Hot pink was once a unique offer from Sri Lanka, but we do not see that continued. Madagascar has taken a dominant position for pinks, but most stones are heat treated and are not clean.
(Remark: Though Madagascan stones are sometimes heated at lower temperatures (600°C), we feel that "treatment is treatment". To distinguish between low and high temperature heating does not help at all, but further complicates the situation for the buyer and increase the confusion in the market. Either a stone has been artificially pampered with, or not. If there was no change, then why was it heated in the first place? "A little pregnant does not count.")
If you want a truly natural pink you will have to search longer and, no doubt, pay more.
Pink on photo: Well, that depends.
Ranging from the most tender-baby-complexion to alarm-button-shocker-hue, natural pink does not allow a simple evaluation.
Light pinks are notoriously difficult to capture. Like yellow they suffer from exaggerated display of inclusions, re-pay good luster with fuzzy images and pretend to have windows where the eye sees none. In fact light pinks are known to have made photographers quit their jobs (or being fired).
Below are three adorable pink sapphires that will stop your breath in person, but they are hard to capture digitally in an attractive manner.
Far from cheap untreated light pinks don't forgive shallow areas, over represent inclusions and either swallow their luster, or turn out fuzzy.
Photos above: Light pinks are mercilessly self-critical.
Strongly colored pinks on the other hand are more than robust. The following shots were immediate photographic "bull-eyes", and do neither exaggerate the stones beauty nor understate their weaknesses. Further around the color wheel this is taken to the extreme when even opaque rubies still make relatively good photos.
Photos above: Hot pinks jump straight into the camera without problems.
As a rule, the more color in a pink the more critical you should be about any flaw you can see on the image. Be wary with hot pinks that look too included or windowed, they probably are. Unless the price reflects the visible flaw and the seller names it for what is it, you might have a bad awakening.
On the other side you can make a good catch if you find a fine, but lightly colored, pink that is undervalued due to its bad photo manners. "
"Pink, being a lightly colored form of red sapphire or ruby, has become popular in recent years.
Its colors range from a light lavender rose to the so-called "hot pink", which resembles a vivid bubble-gum hue.
Aside from padparadscha, which is partly orange, natural pink sapphires have become the most expensive variety within the fancies.
Prices of pinks vary greatly with size and color intensity. However, untreated hot pinks of several carats have buyers lined up at the mines. In the wake of this popularity prices of pink spinel have increased as well.
The fact that heart shapes are much more frequent in pink sapphires than in any other color points to the emotional occasions they like to be used for. Especially Japanese buyers love big pink hearts.
Hot pink was once a unique offer from Sri Lanka, but we do not see that continued. Madagascar has taken a dominant position for pinks, but most stones are heat treated and are not clean.
(Remark: Though Madagascan stones are sometimes heated at lower temperatures (600°C), we feel that "treatment is treatment". To distinguish between low and high temperature heating does not help at all, but further complicates the situation for the buyer and increase the confusion in the market. Either a stone has been artificially pampered with, or not. If there was no change, then why was it heated in the first place? "A little pregnant does not count.")
If you want a truly natural pink you will have to search longer and, no doubt, pay more.
Pink on photo: Well, that depends.
Ranging from the most tender-baby-complexion to alarm-button-shocker-hue, natural pink does not allow a simple evaluation.
Light pinks are notoriously difficult to capture. Like yellow they suffer from exaggerated display of inclusions, re-pay good luster with fuzzy images and pretend to have windows where the eye sees none. In fact light pinks are known to have made photographers quit their jobs (or being fired).
Below are three adorable pink sapphires that will stop your breath in person, but they are hard to capture digitally in an attractive manner.
Far from cheap untreated light pinks don't forgive shallow areas, over represent inclusions and either swallow their luster, or turn out fuzzy.
Photos above: Light pinks are mercilessly self-critical.
Strongly colored pinks on the other hand are more than robust. The following shots were immediate photographic "bull-eyes", and do neither exaggerate the stones beauty nor understate their weaknesses. Further around the color wheel this is taken to the extreme when even opaque rubies still make relatively good photos.
Photos above: Hot pinks jump straight into the camera without problems.
As a rule, the more color in a pink the more critical you should be about any flaw you can see on the image. Be wary with hot pinks that look too included or windowed, they probably are. Unless the price reflects the visible flaw and the seller names it for what is it, you might have a bad awakening.
On the other side you can make a good catch if you find a fine, but lightly colored, pink that is undervalued due to its bad photo manners. "
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2004
- Messages
- 38,227
A quick and simple guide on how to purchase a nice looking gem:
http://www.palagems.com/quality_4cs.htm
A quick and simple guide on what to look for in pink sapphire / ruby:
http://www.palagems.com/burma_ruby.htm#ruby_buying_guide
A ruby is basically the same as a pink sapphire other than being lighter in tone, thus pink instead of red.
http://www.palagems.com/quality_4cs.htm
A quick and simple guide on what to look for in pink sapphire / ruby:
http://www.palagems.com/burma_ruby.htm#ruby_buying_guide
A ruby is basically the same as a pink sapphire other than being lighter in tone, thus pink instead of red.
Treenbean
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2010
- Messages
- 798
Gene Flanigan has a really beautiful Winza sapphire with blue flash but it isn't cushion and it isn't 2 cts.
You can check it out here: http://www.precisiongem.com/html/html/Sapphire.html
Ed Bristol: The above informative post has some amazing natural sapphires, he is also very trusted in the gem community. One day Ed, oh yes, one day I will have one of your pretties
Ed's website is: http://www.wildfishgems.com/
Happy hunting!
You can check it out here: http://www.precisiongem.com/html/html/Sapphire.html
Ed Bristol: The above informative post has some amazing natural sapphires, he is also very trusted in the gem community. One day Ed, oh yes, one day I will have one of your pretties
Ed's website is: http://www.wildfishgems.com/
Happy hunting!
- Joined
- May 25, 2005
- Messages
- 538
Treenbean, thanks! You know, my prettiest is my daughter, and I will have big stick ready when she gets older
soberguy
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2009
- Messages
- 650
I like this one quite a lot, and several PS members have had good luck with Tan. You will also find that his prices are generally FAR less than others, and if gems are not certified, he will send them for certification for you for a fee.
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-07ct-UNHEATED-Notable-Cushion-Natural-Pink-Sapphire-/230472447223?pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item35a93a74f7
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-07ct-UNHEATED-Notable-Cushion-Natural-Pink-Sapphire-/230472447223?pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item35a93a74f7
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2010
- Messages
- 12,688
If I were you and unheated wasn't necessarily a deal breaker, I would look at Tan's heated but otherwise untreated pinks. You would save a fair amount of money, since unheated pinks command a premium these days. Then, if you wanted to, you could pay to have it certed as verification that it had no other treatments. Good luck!
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2008
- Messages
- 24,801
Personally, I would only stick with unheated stones, since determining diffused stones (which are heated), is extremely expensive to test for, and only a few labs in the world have the equipment to test for it. If a sapphire is diffused, it is worth very little, even from a regular heat treated sapphire with no diffusion.
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