Do AJS stones need to be recut?

[Stone Hunter]

Or have you used them in jewelry as is? The prices are so good that I wonder if they are the "native cuts" that other dealers warn about. I also wonder if the "native cuts" are really that bad.

Thanks.

 

[riogems]

As with any dealer, cutting will vary on a stone by stone basis. My guess is you could choose many that you wouldn''t have to recut. I don''t think the case is that their prices are so good; but more of the case that other stores prices are so bad. Keep in mind, pictures often look different than the actual stone. This is not necessarily on purpose; but testament that it is difficult to capture a gemstone''s beauty and color accurately in a picture. The only downside is usually s&h and insurance are not refundable.

 

[Kismet]

I''ve purchased from them twice. One stone I put right into a ring, the other I''m pondering recutting as it has a small window.

 

[colorchange]

 

[partgypsy]

The ajs stones vary in how well they are cut, and often parallels the way they are priced. I''ve purchased 4 stones from them. Except for the color change garnet which I got just for novelty, I would feel comfortable setting all of them. One (aquamarine) does has a slight window but I still think its quite beautiful. One thing to keep in mind very few of their stones are calibrated, whch may mean they may need to have a custom setting. I think his prices are good.

You can tell some from the photos which ones have bigger windows, also calculate the depth from the proportions, lastly contact Arnold. He may be able to tell you if he is getting in something that would better suit your needs, and you can always say, I have $XXX, and I want a pink sapphire (for example) of around this carat weight, which has the best cut for my money?

Good luck, I think the search is fun.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Thank you for your thoughtful replies. I have a small amount of money and am trying to decide what to spend it on. A stone comes to mind...But I have no real knowledge and want to avoid buying junk I won''t like once I''m more educated.

 

[strmrdr]

From what Iv seen most of his stones are midrange and fair priced.
He carries a few high end peices but the most part they are midrange.
Better than the mass market stones but not as nice as the high end stuff from Pala or Cherrypicked but for a whole lot less money too.

 

[strmrdr]

To be honest for the type of stones AJS carries Gary @ www.diamondexpert.com is my pick of vendors.
Slighly more expensive but he is in the US and is a kewl guy to deal with :}

 

[strmrdr]

btw the better the quality of the material the more likely it is to be native cut, the best material is cut close to the mine and a lot of the rest is shipped to cutting factories.
Sometimes it will be recut sometimes not before it hits the street.

 

[Pandora II]

I looked at them when I was looking for my tsavorite.

I ended up buying one through Wink because I wanted a great stone and wanted it looked at by an expert rather than me buying based on one photo. I paid nearly double what a similar sized stone on their site cost (mine is top colour -a medium dark colour with very little yellow, which admittedly they have very few in), which makes me wonder how the stones compare with the photos?

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 2/9/2007 10:42:26 AM
Author: strmrdr
To be honest for the type of stones AJS carries Gary @ www.diamondexpert.com is my pick of vendors.
Slighly more expensive but he is in the US and is a kewl guy to deal with :}

THANKS! I''m going to take a good look at their site.

So far (at other sites) the things I''ve seen in my price range that I really like have been sold.

 

[Kismet]

What type of stone are you looking to buy?

I''ve purchased a number of stones from AC Stones and have always been very pleased with what I''ve received.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Thanks. I will look there too. I am open to alot of stones. I like the Spinel, Tourmaline, Garnets, Sapph, color change stones, etc.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Oh wait I have been looking at "AC stones" and haven''t found anything there, yet.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 2/9/2007 2:40:12 PM
Author: Stone Hunter

Date: 2/9/2007 10:42:26 AM
Author: strmrdr
To be honest for the type of stones AJS carries Gary @ www.diamondexpert.com is my pick of vendors.
Slighly more expensive but he is in the US and is a kewl guy to deal with :}

THANKS! I''m going to take a good look at their site.

So far (at other sites) the things I''ve seen in my price range that I really like have been sold.

Gary has access to thousands of stones over whats on his site.
He is right in the middle of one of the hottest(pun) gemstone selling areas in the US.
Tuscon AZ.
Figure out what you want and set him hunting... its what I do :}

 

[movie zombie]

storm gave good advice: forget the websites....be specific and let your personal shopper in tucson do the work. that''s exactly what i''d do if i knew what i wanted!

movie zombie

 

[colorchange]

It may be harder to find somebody to trust there, but bangkok is a better place to start searching than Tucson: More choice and much cheaper. Almost any ruby or sapphire you see in Tucson has been in Bangkok previously.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 2/12/2007 1:50:34 AM
Author: movie zombie
storm gave good advice: forget the websites....be specific and let your personal shopper in tucson do the work. that''s exactly what i''d do if i knew what i wanted!

movie zombie

Well I really don''t know what I want yet. Trying to figure that out and figure out the colored stone vendors too. I may just wait and up my budget.