Sapphire needs appraisal--help!

[Mrs. Bojangles]

My husband and I bought a 1.62 carat Montana sapphire from Mastercut Gems. Dana hand selected a sapphire for me based on my specifications. It wasn't one that was on his web site. My husband wants it to be appraised, just to have a third party's opinion of the gem, but I'm having a hard time finding someone to do it. Local jewelers I talked to are busy with Christmas orders.

The gem is a beautiful blue-green, more green than blue in sunlight, and I love it. However, I understand my husband wanting an outside opinion. I'm curious, too, what someone else would say the value is.

What should I do??? I've had it for a week today and time is getting short.

 

[pregcurious]

Are you asking us for the name of an appraiser? Where are you located? If you're in the Metro DC area, I would go to Martin Fuller. He is very well versed in diamonds and colored stones. http://www.martinfullerassociates.com/

I think it's worth getting any stones over $500 appraised. For sapphires, rubies and emeralds, it makes sense to get an AGL cert immediately because of all the treatments out there, but I think time is an issue.

 

[Mrs. Bojangles]

No, I am not in the DC area nor near any huge city. I'm just not sure what to do...send the beautiful stone back and next time have an appraiser lined up?

 

[Roger Dery]

No, I am not in the DC area nor near any huge city. I'm just not sure what to do...send the beautiful stone back and next time have an appraiser lined up?

Hi,
There are several appraisal organizations in the US that have a focus on the jewelry trade. Can find someone close to you here:

http://www.isa-appraisers.org/
http://www.appraisers.org/ASAHome.aspx
http://accreditedgemologists.org/ - - this one is solely focused on jewelry.
http://www.najaappraisers.com/ - this one is solely focused on jewelry.

Hope you find this helpful.

 

[pregcurious]

Gotcha. You can also find an appraiser through AGS:
http://www.americangemsociety.org/find-an-appraiser

If you cannot find one near you, I would call an appraiser and see if you can send the stone, insured, to them.

 

[Mrs. Bojangles]

Thanks everyone! I will check out the links. I just called another nearby jeweler who was advertised as having gemologists on staff, but they too are busy till after Christmas.

 

[LD]

I don't know if this gives you any comfort but Dana's pricing is very fair and reasonable. I'm pretty sure that you won't be unhappy with an appraisal. There are many (fussy collectors) on this forum who have bought from him and are exceptionally happy.

 

[Michael_E]

The gem is a beautiful blue-green, more green than blue in sunlight, and I love it. However, I understand my husband wanting an outside opinion. I'm curious, too, what someone else would say the value is.

What should I do??? I've had it for a week today and time is getting short.

I think that you've answered your own question on this one. You love it and you now have it in your hand. Will an appraisal change the way the stone looks to you?

Your husband wants an appraisal for what reason? If it is to assure himself that he got a good financial deal, then he needs to choose his appraiser carefully, since appraisal's on this sort of stone are all over the place, (due to the difficulty of finding comparable stones, any appraisal will be a somewhat uneducated guess at best). Montana sapphires which are clean and have unique colors are some of the most attractive gems that I have seen and yet they are invariably undervalued for a variety of reasons. If you love it, then why risk affecting the way you feel about it with an appraisal that has marginal accuracy?

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I think you should enjoy your beautiful sapphire and get it appraised after Christmas and not let yourself become stressed over this. I am sure Dana will stand by his gemstone. Why don't you drop him an email and see if he will extend the return period for you if that is your concern. He is a wonderful gentleman to work with.

 

[Mrs. Bojangles]

Thank you everyone for your words of wisdom and assurance. I read here a lot for about a year or so before we ever bought this Montana sapphire. I read about sapphires, treatments, and the various vendors and what people thought of them. Dana at Mastercut Gems was always spoken of highly, which was why I checked out his web site in the first place. He has been a complete gentleman in his emails to me. I inquired about a Montana sapphire between 1.5 and 2.0 carats. He did not have one but he found one in his elderly friend Paul's cache of gems, and handpicked it for me.

I do love it. An appraisal won't change that. But...in the back of my mind I think, "I don't even know Dana. He is a faceless person on the other side of my computer screen. He seems extremely nice and has been so helpful...but..." But is this sapphire worth what I paid for it? etc.

I think I will send him another email and express my concern. It's not that I want to return the sapphire; I just want assurance from a third party.

Also, I a bit leery of everything right now because we just had to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent and she trashed the place, used it to train puppies in apparently. Very very nasty. We have to replace carpet in the entire place after we treat and seal the sub-floor. This has nothing to do with Dana, of course, but it has left me feeling vulnerable and extra-cautious, if that makes any sense.

Thanks for listening.

Patty

 

[LD]

Patty

I sympathise with your situation - it must be horrible to have a tenant do that to you.

I'll tell you how you can quickly find out if you've paid a fair price - look at these websites, they are ones that PSers use who have large inventories. Type in Sapphire and the carat range and see what sort of prices (for a similar colour and level of treatment) are available. I bet you any money that you won't be able to find much for less than you paid to Dana. One thing about him is that his pricing is VERY fair.

http://www.ajsgem.com/
http://www.multicolour.com/single.html

 

[Mrs. Bojangles]

Thanks, LD, and you're right. Dana's pricing is very fair. Also, I did email him last night and he wrote back just a little while ago, assuring me that it is a natural sapphire (I wasn't questioning that, just wanted an opinion of value) and said that he wanted me to be sure I wanted the sapphire before he took my money out of Paypal to give to his friend.

I do love the stone and have decided to keep it. You're right, LD, he is very fair in his pricing. Paul was a little higher, but still within reason and less expensive than many places I've seen.