Can you get a certification for colored stones...

[innerkitten]

And is it a good idea to buy say from a stone cutter over a popular jeweler or the other way around. I looked at sapphires yesterday at a cutters, and he had some cool stuff, lots of shapes heated and un heated that were cool. Than I went to a jewelry store where the stones were set, and everything was sort of uniform looking, same color etc.
-Kitten
p.s. The cutter was quoting prices of $600 to $1200 for what he said were un heated stones ranging from 1.26 to 2.26 carat.

 

[valeria101]

Sure! AGS and GIA issue such reports. I did not really went through the trouble myself (liked the stone and the price and considered the job done, which may not be the wisest thing to do).

As for the prices you are citing: considering a couple of hundreds per stone for the custom cutting, it seems that the stones were farely good. Personally I am not sure if paying 10000 for a 1ct sapphire is really justified, no matter what a collector might say...

One thing that should determine quality is color saturation: if there is no shade of gray in the stone and the color looks like er... blue crayon without transparent or large dark patches, then you are on the target! Unheated stones in that range should be priced about 25% over the heated counterparts with the same look. If otherwise, then you should get an explanation...

Custom cutter for reference: customgems.com,if I hae not mentioned it already.
Could you post pics?

 

[DiamondExpert]

I would recommend AGTA or AGL for certs on colored stones, if the prices dictate going this route.

For example, if you're going to put out big $/ct. for what is represented as a Kashmir, untreated sapphire then you are going to want a cert testifying to these properties and the several 100 $ cost for it is justified.

Remarkable gems require remarkable verification.

Gems of lesser value also require verification of representation, but perhaps not by a major gem lab.