Expectations too high?

[stepcutgirl]

So, I recieved my very first loose gemstone today. It''s a sapphire that is slated to be for an ering. I''ve been anxiously awaiting its arrival and upon getting it and tearing into the package was a real let down. It was so much smaller than I expected. And the color a beautiful blue on the web site to my eyes is a light denim. I tried to take pics to show the difference in color but my picture came out much more vivid than it appears to the eye. Am I alone? Is this normal?

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 12/8/2009 2:16:18 PM
Author:stepcutgirl
So, I recieved my very first loose gemstone today. It''s a sapphire that is slated to be for an ering. I''ve been anxiously awaiting its arrival and upon getting it and tearing into the package was a real let down. It was so much smaller than I expected. And the color a beautiful blue on the web site to my eyes is a light denim. I tried to take pics to show the difference in color but my picture came out much more vivid than it appears to the eye. Am I alone? Is this normal?

Where did you buy it from? Have you looked at it in a variety of lighting conditions, especially daylight? Sapphires aren''t the greatest gems for indoor/dim-light viewing.

As for size, I''ve had a couple of those moments. I''m sorry

 

[stepcutgirl]

I bought it from wildfish gems. It is bright out today, outside it almost look like aquamarine! I do have plans to bezel it so that may help with the color but i''m also planning to get the pavillion recut which may make it a touch lighter!

 

[stepcutgirl]

ive taken around 20 pictures trying to get one that shows its true color but they all come out making the stone look like it is royal blue! Any tips on how to get a true to life picture?

 

[FrekeChild]

Can you post a pic anyway?

 

[chrono]

Size wise, I know it can be a bit disappointing because we are used to seeing blown up pictures. So when I’m interested in something, I get the mm measurement and draw it out on a piece of paper to make sure the size is acceptable. As for the colour, perhaps it was the lighting condition that the picture was taken in (strong diffused lighting)? I’m only guessing because I don’t know how Ed takes his pictures. My sapphires do well under all lighting condition, including low lighting (just a smidge darker, that’s all, but never extinct).

ETA,
For the photography, perhaps it’s the colour balance on your camera?

 

[stepcutgirl]

Ed''s picture.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Mine in natural lighting.

 

[stepcutgirl]

In artificial lighting.

 

[stepcutgirl]

I realize my top picture doesn''t look too much different color wise but it''s not even that dark. It''s like a light to medium demin shade. It appears to shift into purple a little too.

 

[FrekeChild]

Did you post that before you bought it? I don''t remember seeing it before...

 

[stepcutgirl]

Yes under the title hint of a window.

 

[chrono]

Yes, I remember seeing you post it before buying because you asked about a recut. A slight colour shift to purple is to be expected. I’m really surprised by the size of the window though; it’s the size of the entire table! In your picture, I see more gray but perhaps, it’s just your picture.

 

[FrekeChild]

That''s right! Sorry, my head has been buried in books, and it''s made me brain dead instead of making me smarter.

That is a really big window, and ditto everything Chrono said. What are the specs on it?

 

[Liane]

That looks like more than a "hint" of a window in the first picture to me.

It looks like a very pretty color in the photos but if that's not what you're seeing, I dunno.

If you don't love it, send it back. Gems cost too much to keep around if they don't thrill you. Especially for an e-ring, you should love the stone. Don't be afraid to send things back and get exactly what you want. It took me some time to come around to that point of view, but honestly, you should be willing to stick it out until you find something perfect.

Being surprised at the small size is normal. I went through that when I first started collecting too. I'm used to it now and know what to expect, but it was definitely a surprise at first. Pictures online look so much bigger, and we pay so much for such tiny packages!

Edit: oops, Chrono and Freke pointed out the window while I was typing this post.

Well, I agree with them.

 

[stepcutgirl]

So, will a recut close this window? And by gray do you mean in the blue you see a lot of grey?

Specs are:

- Identification: Natural Unheated & Untreated Blue Sapphire

- Carat: 1.535

- Shape: Round

- Measures: 6.58-62x3.97 (millimeter)

- Color Grade: Good

- Tone: MD60

- Color Zoning: None

- Clarity: Lightly Included

- Cutting Grade: Good

o Brilliancy: 50%

o Depth: 60%

- Origin: Tanzania

- Treatment: None

 

[movie zombie]

the window is more bothersome than the color for an e-ring.

if you are disappointed in it in anyway now, it will only get worse as time goes on.

we''ve all bought stones that are smaller than we thought they''d be. i''m now in the habit of getting the ruler out before buyi!

again, if this is to be for an e-ring, well, i''d reconsider whether this stone is the right one.

if you like light blue, i think you can do better w/o having a window.

also...and this is just me....i don''t buy faceted stones with the idea of refaceting. i know others so, though. a recut does not always make a stone into a winner.....

mz

 

[stepcutgirl]

Yes, more of a window than I expected as well. For reasons I''m not sure I sure I should explain here I can''t get my money back. I could probably trade it for another though.

 

[FrekeChild]

Well a recut would clean up the window situation, but if you feel like it's too small already (or at least smaller than you expected) and not the right color, I'd send it back and start looking somewhere else.

Have you asked a cutter about getting it recut?

BTW, that is about the same size as my ering spinel at 6.5mm.

ETA: Just saw you can't return it. I'd look into a trade.

 

[Liane]

I wouldn''t go through the trouble of a recut if you don''t 100% love the color, which it sounds like you don''t. You will end up with a smaller stone, possibly a substantially smaller one, and it sounds like this is already smaller than you had anticipated (although 6.5mm diameter is a very respectable size for an e-ring).

If you really loved the color and it just happened to have a subpar cut, that would be one thing, but that doesn''t seem to be the issue here. Correct me if I''m wrong, though, I don''t want to take an unfairly negative view.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Yes, i''ve spoken to a cutter about a pavillion only recut. I''ve been told this will not affect the face up size. I''m not sure the stone is too small, I was just shocked by the size because in my mind it was going to be much much bigger! Size isn''t the biggest issue as I''m going to be having an antique halo made that will beef up the size some. Maybe I just had higher than normal expectations as this was the first stone I have ever purchased?

It''s not the color I thought it was going to be. To be honest though I''m not sure that I don''t like it. I just had a very different thought of what it was going to look like.

 

[chrono]

I suspected a larger window from the original which was hidden by the angle of the stone. Yes, a recut will close the window but you are going to lose a good bit of size and carat weight, which already will lower the original value, in addition to paying the cutting fee plus other cutting risks. From my calculation, this stone has only a 60% depth, so you don’t even have enough depth to work with. I’m sorry, SCN. I’m with Liane that if it doesn’t wow you, it should go back; more so for such an important stone like your e-ring stone.

 

[T L]

Date: 12/8/2009 3:15:34 PM
Author: movie zombie
the window is more bothersome than the color for an e-ring.

if you are disappointed in it in anyway now, it will only get worse as time goes on.

we''ve all bought stones that are smaller than we thought they''d be. i''m now in the habit of getting the ruler out before buyi!

again, if this is to be for an e-ring, well, i''d reconsider whether this stone is the right one.

if you like light blue, i think you can do better w/o having a window.

also...and this is just me....i don''t buy faceted stones with the idea of refaceting. i know others so, though. a recut does not always make a stone into a winner.....

mz

One with mm increments!!

I would also reconsider another stone. Always ask about color shifts in different lighting when buying any colored gemstone as well.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Date: 12/8/2009 3:15:34 PM
Author: movie zombie
the window is more bothersome than the color for an e-ring.


if you are disappointed in it in anyway now, it will only get worse as time goes on.


we''ve all bought stones that are smaller than we thought they''d be. i''m now in the habit of getting the ruler out before buyi!


again, if this is to be for an e-ring, well, i''d reconsider whether this stone is the right one.


if you like light blue, i think you can do better w/o having a window.


also...and this is just me....i don''t buy faceted stones with the idea of refaceting. i know others so, though. a recut does not always make a stone into a winner.....


mz

Ditto this last. If it''s already facing up too small I wouldn''t recut it. I would, in your place, return it (both because of the window and because it''s not the color you want) and contact someone like Jeff White and some of the others on here and see what they have. I know Arjunajane just got a sapphire that Jeff recut from a native cut.

 

[stepcutgirl]

I''ve already given Ed 945.00 that I can''t get back so I really don''t have the option of contacting another cutter.

 

[chrono]

In that case, I''ll go for a trade to a different stone.

 

[LD]

It''s not uncommon to see photos and then you build up your expectations and when the gem arrives there''s a feeling of disappointment. Great gems don''t leave you with that feeling so ........

1. You don''t like the window
2. The colour is bothering you
3. You feel it''s too small (and will only get smaller with a re-cut)
4. You''re going to have to pay more money to get it re-cut

For the money you''ve paid, I''m pretty sure you could get something that doesn''t have that many negatives. Don''t forget also that there are no guarantees that the sapphire will rock your world even after a re-cut. There''s a element of danger about that too.

Great gem dealers always have a good returns policy because they understand that sometimes gems (although lovely) just don''t do it for you.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Anybody feel like scouring Ed''s site for me? I''ve looked. I''m about to cry. I''m looking for something that when you take 25% off it it is around 1000. I''m considering star sapphires too. I really want blue but violet appeals to me as well.

 

[Liane]

If you didn''t see anything you loved on Wildfish right now, get in touch with Ed and see if he has anything else that isn''t posted on his site (maybe not right this second, but after you''ve had some time to compose yourself and figure out exactly what is or isn''t working for you about this stone, so you know what you want in another).

I''m sure he''ll understand and be more than happy to help you out. Like LovingDiamonds said, good gem dealers understand that sometimes a particular stone just doesn''t work out, even if the stone itself is completely beautiful, and they want you to be happy with your purchase.

 

[Novel]

I was going to say exactly what Liane did. Stepcutgirl, I'm sorry this one didn't work out for you and that you feel locked in here, but I'm sure Ed would want to help you find something else. A lot of the vendors we talk about all the time have much more material than is on their site. And I'm sure he wants a satisfied customer just as much as you want to, and should, love your e-ring stone.