getting a Montana Sapphire to Australia

[sapphiresal]

Hi guys,

I am completely new to the forum - I stumbled across you all while investigating engagement ring options, and now realise I could use some help!

I have fallen in love with the pale blue green that seems to only be in Montana Sapphires... I've even found the one(!) at Gemfix, after following your recommendations on dealers. Sadly, Gemfix are telling me that they cannot ship to Australia - I have gotten a quote from G4S to do the shipping, but Gemfix are yet to agree to go this way.

http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_montana.html#thumb - 2.71ct on the right side, about 2/3 down the page.

If they won't help me, I'm stuck (and sad)... can you help?

I'm looking for a rectangular 2.5 - 3.5ct pale blue-green sapphire in a cushion or radiant cut. There are lots of smaller and darker stones around, but I'm very keen on the pale - I want it to be obviously not white, but that's about it!

The setting I plan to use is one I have seen at local jeweller - white gold with a single row of graduated round white diamonds and a milgrain edge, up to a horizontal setting with 4 fine double-prongs. I have seen it with a 1.7ct diamond, but the $18,000 price tag made me very nervous. Switching to sapphire makes it (much) cheaper, but still with good durability.

http://rox.com.au/gallery.html - third picture in gallery.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling post. If anyone does have any stone or shipping suggestions, they would be very much appreciated.

cheers,
S.

 

[digdeep]

Are you sure about this? They ship internationally, however if they don't take a cc, then it's a wire transfer.

http://www.gemfix.com/order.html

 

[eac]

I don't know if my experience would be helfpul...I just had a gemstone shipped from the USA to New Zealand (a tsavorite from http://www.fgsgems.com). Shipped express mail and insured, it was fine. I had tracking numbers from the vendor, and I received the stone exactly 5 business days after it was sent. However, it squeaked in just under New Zealand's customs/GST value requirements.

In Australia your customs/GST limit is $1,000 AUD.
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5653.asp#GoodswithadeclaredorassessedvaluenotexceedingA1000

So you'd probably get pinged for customs/GST.

Another option is a mail forwarding service - Gemfix would ship it to the US drop for the service, and the service would send it on to you. I've used these for sending items to New Zealand. But it doesn't negate the customs/GST side of it!

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/04/ask-lh-whats-the-best-mail-forwarding-service-for-online-shopping/

 

[sapphiresal]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Yes, digdeep - I'm sure. I thought exactly the same thing, so I emailed and asked if they could give me an extended inspection/ return period to allow it to get here and me to show it to my jeweller, and the reply I got back was that they can't ship gems over $999 to Australia with any service including USPS and FedEx.

I thought of the mail forwarding service too, eac, but I use myUS.com and they won't forward gemstones. They open all packages and if they find anything proibited they send it back or toss it out. Ouch!

I'm not too worried about the duties - in Aus they don't apply to loose sapphires, rubies or emeralds (but they do to diamonds) and I'm okay with the 10% GST.

Its all very frustrating - my big hope is that Gemfix will agree to open this shipping account with G4S... It's free for them to do it, and it seems logical to me that it would make business sense to open them back up to an Australian market - fingers all crossed.

 

[chrono]

I did not realize this and am sorry you cannot purchase as easily as those of us in the US. I hope that GemFix agrees to forward your stone to G4S.

 

[apropos]

Gemfix was a complete PITA to deal with in my experience.

They were unhelpful and quite rigid in their policies. For example no additional hand shots as they would prefer to just ship the stone to you and have you return it at your expense if you don't like it.

Even if you wave money in their face they have zero enthusiasm about anything which would require them more than the minimum effort or deviate from processes they are familiar with on their part. I got the distinct impression that they don't particularly care for overseas business.

I'm sorry but you will have no luck as another GemFix policy - which you probably do not yet know of because of their slow email replies - is that they do not accept overseas CCs. Another GemFix policy you are unaware of is that they do not ship using your couriers.

Real sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[digdeep]

So sorry to hear this! Another thought is if you can find someone else that doesn't have this rigidity. Dana at Mastercut may have or know of someone that has a Montana Sapphire. Blaze Wharton at Blazengem's has his own mine.......I've only looked at a few stones, but others have found what they wanted and he is a very nice/easy person to deal with. Warning: His photo's of the stones are not good, and the descriptions tend to be overused, but I know if you get off the script and have a conversation he may be able to help you with the stone you are looking for.........and possibly send it to Australia without the hassles.
I had one interaction with Gemfix that has left them permanently off my radar. Fun to look at their pictures, but that's it for me. I wish you the best of luck in your search.......

 

[peacechick]

What about Wild Fish Gems? I see some Montana sapphires there.

 

[vickygigi]

I second the recommendation from Digdeep. Contact Dana at Mastercut Gems! His customer service is amazing! He is such a nice guy. I am sure he will brainstorm with you to find a solution. I have always loved the stones I've gotten from him too. Quality gems, reasonable prices, courteous service. Win win win.

 

[iolitedreamer]

I agree with those who have suggested Dana at Mastercut. The one stone that I bought from him was beautiful and if it is something he cuts himself, that is a plus too i have been keeping up on this thread and I feel badly for you that you can't just get the stone you want. However, I believe the folks here have given great advice.

 

[sapphiresal]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all your replies!

I'm throwing in the towel on Gemfix, who are now saying that they are "well aware of G4S" but it is their own policy not ship gems over $999 to Australia. Following apropos' advice, I won't bother with the other options for getting it from them... Disappointing, but it seems to me that I shouldn't have to work so hard to give them my money

I've followed peacechick's suggestion of WildFish Gems - there is a Ceylon sapphire in a very pale blue-green there that I am growing very fond of... I would love to hear your views on this stone! http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/1086/16877

This one also looks a possibility, http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/11078/11915 but I am bit concerned that the shape seems a little off-centre and whether those are inclusions that I will notice when I have it in (or on!) my hand...

I think I will hold off on contacting anyone else, pending your comments on the ones above - I don't want to get a bunch of people working for me only to turn around and buy somewhere else. If neither of those work out though, I will definitely try Dana - he must be thrilled with the all the lovely compliments!!

S.

 

[chrono]

I am sorry that Gemfix is holding fast to their policy and in your shoes, I would look elsewhere too.

WFG cushion sapphire:
I know you want the colour to be light but expect this one to end up almost colourless. The dark background amps up the colouration and the hand shot will be the strongest colour that you'll see. It is likely to "fade out" outdoors. The cut is also off centered but the symmetry is otherwise fine. I don't know if this will bother you when you see it up close. Seems pricey at $3K for an almost colourless "native" cut stone that is just slightly over the 2 ct mark.

WFG oval sapphire:
There is a reason why this one is priced much lower than the cushion sapphire. Without hand shots and looking at the background colour being very similar to the stone itself, I am guessing this one will also be almost colourless in person. The outline symmetry is a little off but may not be noticeable in a prong setting. What makes it a poor candidate is the huge window (the part where it is see-through). Due to the shallower depth, it cannot be recut to close the window without significant carat weight and size loss, where the colour is also likely to be further affected negatively.

 

[digdeep]

IF you can get more photo's of the Wildfish gems then great, however if not, I'd strongly urge you to contact Dana @ Mastercut or Blaze at Blazengems. Dana is a truly GOOD person and he's a problem solver. Blaze is salt of the earth.....and worth a query about stones you might like. I agree you don't want to go overboard with looking, but for me three vendors reviewing their inventory for my stone......is not overboard. It's a good opportunity to see what's out there. Compare and contrast and come here for feedback......of course!

 

[deskjockey]

IF you can get more photo's of the Wildfish gems then great, however if not, I'd strongly urge you to contact Dana @ Mastercut or Blaze at Blazengems. Dana is a truly GOOD person and he's a problem solver. Blaze is salt of the earth.....and worth a query about stones you might like. I agree you don't want to go overboard with looking, but for me three vendors reviewing their inventory for my stone......is not overboard. It's a good opportunity to see what's out there. Compare and contrast and come here for feedback......of course!

Another vote for both of these. I didn't end up buying from either (yet!) but probably will be in the future just based on communications from them. IIRC Dana was expecting some new rough in soon, that was about a month or so ago. So definitely worth contacting him now even if you don't see anything on the site.

 

[peacechick]

I agree that you should be approaching more vendors to get more options. It's such a hassle sending stones to Australia (I can empathize as I'm in Canada and we have to deal with customs and all that) that you want to have the best stone possible that you know you're going to love, and not hopefully need to return. I was throwing out the Wildfish option as I happened to browsing that site at the time, but I certainly haven't gone through all the vendors-- if you haven't, you should be, and messaging the people recommended by our PSers

 

[sapphiresal]

Okay - I can take a hint!!

Thanks everyone - I've emailed both Dana and Blaze, and I'll let you know when I hear back from them.

 

[adamofoz]

Hi Sapphiresal,

I'm in the process of trying to source a Montana Sapphire in Australia.

I'm not having much luck.

I was wondering if you ended up having any success?

If so please let me know how you organised everything.

Ideally I'm after a Square, Radiant or cushion cut 9essentially something symmetrical so it can be set off axis)
around 9mm diameter and light /pale blue tones.
very shiny and no inclusions!

Thanks, Adam

 

[arkieb1]

Hi I am another Aussie, Gemfix are notorious **edit, please keep language family friendly** to deal with if you live outside the US. The only way to get one of their stones over $1000 is to have another vendor get it for you, take pics of it and then if you are happy ship it to you. Someone like David Klass for a small fee would do it for you, or I would suggest getting him to make the setting as well because it will be cheaper and probably nicer than what you will find here.

Wildfish Gems have a few nice stones however most of them look nothing like his photos. Tread carefully with that. Ask for more photos in natural light.

Email Blazengems and see what they have available ask him to take more pics in natural light because the pics on their website are not that accurate but if you get natural pics you will get a better idea and the owner is great to deal with;

http://blazengems.com/retail/shop/

Email these guys too;

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MountainMommaGems

And Jerry who is wonderful to deal with he could probably cut you something, I think he probably has access to rough material close to what you are looking for that could cut you something;

http://www.gemartservices.com/for-sale.html

Closer to home Doug might be able to get rough for you and cut you a stone he is in Sydney & is also great to deal with;

http://www.bespoke-gems.com/

I agree with the posters above Dana is also good to deal with too. The price of all of the jewellery on the website you linked us to is ridiculous for what it is. You could have the stone from Gemfix sent to any one of the top vendors in the US and end up with something better for a fraction of the prices they are asking including the GST to get it into Australia.

I have no idea what these guys are like to deal with but they have a number of light blue well cut Montana sapphires listed for sale;

https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/250049407/193ct-unheated-montana-missouri-river?ga_order=price_desc&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=blue%20montana%20sapphire&ref=sr_gallery_37

 

[deskjockey]

Also they weren't mentioned the first time around but you both might want to check at earthstreasury.com, he seems to have a lot of nice montanas and may be able to help. Also http://missouririversapphire.co/ (they seem to have a lot of nice minty, lighter colored ones). Both have excellent cutting too, though I know nothing about their international shipping policies.

 

[ragiff]

apropos, I will have to agree with that gemfix policy, I actually contacted this week about sending additional photos of a sapphire, they did not budge, tuff policy. I decided to pass.

 

[SapphireStyle]

I had the same difficulty with Gemfix trying to find a way to convince them to send a stone over $1,000 to Canada. So annoying!

 

[PieAreSquared]

Hi Sapphiresal,

I'm in the process of trying to source a Montana Sapphire in Australia.

I'm not having much luck.

I was wondering if you ended up having any success?

If so please let me know how you organised everything.

Ideally I'm after a Square, Radiant or cushion cut 9essentially something symmetrical so it can be set off axis)
around 9mm diameter and light /pale blue tones.
very shiny and no inclusions!

Thanks, Adam

Well, you already know who doesn't ship over $1000 to AU (whose policies are clearly spelled out on their site, I see), so now let's actually address your first hurdle:
To find a 9mm Montana sapphire is going to be hard in itself. Have you seen any? The rough is generally not big enough to cut a clean stone that large.
In addition, the shape you are looking for, squarish, is uncommon.
Do you have any flexibility on your preferences?