mpc
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- May 4, 2009
- Messages
- 80
My hunt for a blue sapphire started 7 months ago. I have always wanted a nice blue sapphire since it is my birthstone. But I’ve never actively pursued one. Through my PS ‘education’, I knew I wanted a pretty large stone (I already had a dream setting in mind) that was either an elongated cushion or oval, unheated, medium toned (not too dark) with vivid saturation that would not black out in low lighting. By chance, I came across a stone on Enhoerning Jewelry that was within my budget and seemed like a good buy. Although that stone was not the one, it ultimately started my blue sapphire journey. After ordering and returning 4 different stones and reviewing videos and pictures of countless others, I have finally found the one!
I believe @whitewave and @voce have recently had good experiences with Inken from Enhoerning jewelry and I have to give her credit for helping me find my sapphire. Over the last 7 months, after my initial purchase (and return), Inken would occasionally check in on me with new finds that she would discover from her suppliers or if she was attending gem shows. There was never any pressure to buy, mostly just FYI “look what I found”. If I expressed interest, she was always willing to take more photos or more videos in all kinds of lighting conditions I requested. And any purchase came with a reasonable (domestic) return window. Most notably, she found me a 3.6 ct unheated Burmese sapphire with AGL certificate for an amazing price. But alas, it was too small. Naturally the biggest tradeoff was color/expectation versus budget.
A few weeks ago, Inken reached back out and offered to look in Vegas at JCK. I told her I probably wouldn’t be buying a stone at this time (life was kind of busy) but if she found something really spectacular, to email me and I might be tempted. She emailed me on the first day of the show with a stone that took my breath away: 4.61 carats, unheated Madagascar, GRS ‘cornflower blue’.
Some things I leaned along they way:
1) blue sapphires are shifty!!! I found I had to see the stone in person and find one that would look good even in my abysmal office lighting.
2) patience is key. I was not in any hurry so as long as I worked with vendors (I purchased and returned sapphires from other vendors, not just Inken), with reasonable return policies it was a no risk scenario.
3) don’t settle. There were several stones that were ‘good values’ but one thing or another gave me the slightest reservation (an inclusion, poor performance in certain light, or size). Despite the ‘good value’, I returned the stones because they weren’t my dream stone.
Anyways sorry for the wordiness.Here are some pics!!
I believe @whitewave and @voce have recently had good experiences with Inken from Enhoerning jewelry and I have to give her credit for helping me find my sapphire. Over the last 7 months, after my initial purchase (and return), Inken would occasionally check in on me with new finds that she would discover from her suppliers or if she was attending gem shows. There was never any pressure to buy, mostly just FYI “look what I found”. If I expressed interest, she was always willing to take more photos or more videos in all kinds of lighting conditions I requested. And any purchase came with a reasonable (domestic) return window. Most notably, she found me a 3.6 ct unheated Burmese sapphire with AGL certificate for an amazing price. But alas, it was too small. Naturally the biggest tradeoff was color/expectation versus budget.
A few weeks ago, Inken reached back out and offered to look in Vegas at JCK. I told her I probably wouldn’t be buying a stone at this time (life was kind of busy) but if she found something really spectacular, to email me and I might be tempted. She emailed me on the first day of the show with a stone that took my breath away: 4.61 carats, unheated Madagascar, GRS ‘cornflower blue’.
Some things I leaned along they way:
1) blue sapphires are shifty!!! I found I had to see the stone in person and find one that would look good even in my abysmal office lighting.
2) patience is key. I was not in any hurry so as long as I worked with vendors (I purchased and returned sapphires from other vendors, not just Inken), with reasonable return policies it was a no risk scenario.
3) don’t settle. There were several stones that were ‘good values’ but one thing or another gave me the slightest reservation (an inclusion, poor performance in certain light, or size). Despite the ‘good value’, I returned the stones because they weren’t my dream stone.
Anyways sorry for the wordiness.Here are some pics!!
That color!!!
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