Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapphire

[debi1960]

My husband bought me a 1.88 carat Purple sapphire from Natural Sapphire Company. It is a cushion cut set in a pendant with 3 diamonds. It comes with a certificate and it says its been heat treated. I have no knowledge of how to buy colored stones. But I have been reading mixed to bad reviews on this.

Can someone help me? It cost $2,000.00 and I don't want my husband to be ripped off.

The pendant is still on their website as sold.

Their return policy is 5 days for money back and 30 days for a credit. I believe we have passed the 5 days because it was a surprise 50th birthday present for me.

Please help!!

 

[kenny]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Debi, I am NOT a sapphire expert, by any means!
I'm sure our helpful posters here will offer you good advice.

Is it returnable if you explain the circumstances?

Best of luck on this.

 

[debi1960]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Can anyone give me advice on this purchase??

 

[debi1960]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Kenny - Thanks for responding so quickly.

You know what I went thru to get the octavia. I know this purchase is much less, but I still dont want to see my husband getting something that is not worth what he paid.

 

[FrekeChild]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Can you post the link? Or a picture? Or something to go off of?

NSC can be good for some things and terrible for others.
Often terribly high prices, terrible cuts with big windows and bad symmetry.
Good for natural/mostly untreated sapphires.

I won't speak on customer service.

 

[kenny]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

If you are sure you want to return it and time is of the essence and you are beyond the return period perhaps mentioning this thread and that it was a gift will help.

Also, AFAIC heat treatment is not inherently bad, as long as it was not represented as NOT treated, and the price reflected this. (I have no idea if it does.)

 

[debi1960]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Here is the link to the pendant

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.co ... welry=J816

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Ok, I must first vent a little: that gem is not ultraviolet. Ultraviolet is a wave length that is beyond human perception and the stone would just look black if it were ultraviolet.

There - I feel better. Sorry, exacting engineer took over for a few minutes.

As a rough estimate, I would say the pendat itself would be worth around $200, which would put the sapphire at $1,800 or around $1000 a carat. That seem rather high to me, but I am not an expert on sapphire pricing.

The cut on the stone seems good: no windowing (or just the slightest), nice symmetry and extinction doesn't seem to be a problem (extinction by bad cutting, I mean, not overly dark tone). The small, high table should help with performance.

Is the colour on the website acurate? Colour is the main driver of price for a coloured stone and, personally, the pictures seem too dark for that price. I wouldn't describe it as vivid, specially since the tone creates dark areas that look like extinction (I really don't think it is the cutting though).

If possible, I would get it tested for BE heating. Heating can mean everything from gentle heat (improves clarity and is considered acceptable, but lowers the price) to BE heating (where the stone is heated to just before melting and BE is introduced to improve the colour. This lowers the price a lot, to considerably less than $100 a carat). The certificate is an in-house certificate, by the way, not independent.

 

[debi1960]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

where would I get it tested? I live in MA. boston suburbs

 

[vinkalmann]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

I don't know anything about the lab, but it looks like there's both an in house cert (not valuable), but also one from AGTA. Is AGTA reputable?

 

[RockHugger]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

If your hubby bought it as a present, I would honestly accept it and love it for what it is. A lovely gift from your loving husband. I like it and think it's a pretty stone.

As long as it isn't be treated (I don't think it is), then he didn't get ripped too bad. NSC is a bit over priced like tiffanys but they do have a name to protect, and I don't think they would sell a be stone as just heat. Isthe few bucks worth hurting your husbands feelings. I know I would be crushed if I gave a gift to my husband and he wanted to return it.

In the future though, if you are concerned about him getting ripped off, then tell him you want to shop for gifts together. That's what I do cause my husband is clueless lol.

That's my 2c though.

 

[debi1960]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

I don't want to return it. I just want to make sure he got what he paid for.

 

[vinkalmann]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

That's what I do cause my husband is clueless lol.

LOL...indeed. At least from my point of view, that's why I like the NSC, they're good at helping clueless people like myself put all the pieces together. It's definitely possible to get the stone for cheaper, and then send it off to get it set in a pendant somewhere else, but that's probably outside the scope of what the average guy is going to be able to handle.

The stone has a really nice color, at least in the pics. How does it look in real life. I bet it looks awesome in sunlight.

Like RockHugger said, your husband might have hurt feelings if you want to send it back. Maybe factor that in to the total value of the ring. Besides, you don't want to discourage him from future jewelry purchases do you?

 

[VapidLapid]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

AGTA was a good lab. I dont know if they were even doing Beryllium testing in 2004 when the cert was dated. Still it is a pretty stone regardless. If he were a committed Pricescoper sure he could have gotten a little more for a little less. I think he did pretty well though for a DH.

 

[RockHugger]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

I think BE started in 2002.

 

[Kismet]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

You can bring it to an appraiser to see if your husband got value for his money. Jeff Averbrook (metro jewelry appraisers) is in Medford.

 

[colorluvr]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

I think it is a beautiful color if it's true to it's picture... any chance of getting an IRL picture? I'm not an expert by any means, but I do know that sapphires with a good rich pinky / purple color can be pricey if they are a nice stone.

 

[FrekeChild]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Looks like a deep magenta to me.

I think he did pretty well. Do you like the stone?

 

[debi1960]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

I love the the pendant and the color of the stone. I just wanted to make sure he spent his money well. I was shocked and honored that he spent that much on me since we had just bought the Octavia Asscher ring for our anniversary a few short months ago.

I will try to upload some pictures over the weekend. It looks very much like the color on the link I gave you.

Thanks so much everyone. I feel very relieved that my hubby did ok considering we both know nothing about how to purchase sapphires.

 

[T L]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

I heard NSC has a LIBS machine that can test for beryllium diffusion, did they test it? Honestly if it were me, I would only buy it if they could send it to an independent lab that has a machine that can test for diffusion. An in-house cert is a conflict of interest, even if they do have an LIBS. AGL is a good lab if you live in the States.

An appraiser cannot tell you with 100% certainty if a heated stone has not been be-treated.

 

[Lee Little]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Of course it is great that you appreciate the gift. I think it is very lovely.
That stone and color does not make me suspect it was heated with a Beryl product. It would be a very rare look to come from that treatment but we have learned that heating with a Beryl product can produce many differing results so one would not know for sure without advanced testing. I would not go to the trouble or expense as it looks unlikely and even if it was things would not change in a positive direction due to the discovery, would it?
That type of treatment is completely safe for the consumer and is permanent anyways so I see no need to be concerned.
The seller is a good one, AGTA is a good one, I would say just relax and enjoy the wonderful gift. Best regards, Lee

 

[T L]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

The only reason to check for it is because be-treatment renders a sapphire practically worthless, or worth very little. She wants to know what she is paying for is a fair price. If it is be-treated, and who knows what colors they're coming up with these days to diffuse corundum, then she shouldn't pay $2K.

 

[VapidLapid]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

If you are sure you want to return it and time is of the essence and you are beyond the return period perhaps mentioning this thread and that it was a gift will help.

Also, AFAIC heat treatment is not inherently bad, as long as it was not represented as NOT treated, and the price reflected this. (I have no idea if it does.)

mentioning this, or any thread from PS, to NSC would not help anyone's cause.

If it had come from Tiffany it would have been over 6k based on what I just saw in their catalog.

The point it that it is a pretty stone and a lovely, thoughtful gift and you should enjoy it.

 

[chictomato]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Just wanna drop a line The purple is very pretty!!

 

[kenny]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

If you are sure you want to return it and time is of the essence and you are beyond the return period perhaps mentioning this thread and that it was a gift will help.

Also, AFAIC heat treatment is not inherently bad, as long as it was not represented as NOT treated, and the price reflected this. (I have no idea if it does.)

mentioning this, or any thread from PS, to NSC would not help anyone's cause.

I disagree.
It may.

Some vendors want to avoid such attention.
I'm not saying do anything unethical like blackmail the vendor when they are just following their 5-day policy.
They just may want to get some good publicity by bending their rules.
Or not.

 

[Lovinggems]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

It's a lovely rich grape purple, you can already get it tested to make sure it's not BE treated. Hope the colour is as good in real life as in the photos.

 

[Largosmom]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

I think it is a lovely pendant...fair price? Don't know, the color isn't all that common and that would depend on the clarity and cut and treatments.

I do find NSC to be a bit overpriced, but they do have a brick and mortar store to maintain in New York...not the cheapest place, and the technology they use on their site is not cheap, so those things in and of themselves can drive up price. So...personally, if you are really concerned about treatments, then get it tested, or trust the AGTA report and enjoy it.

Can you return it to them and have them get it tested for you (with provision that if it comes back with just heating, you can have it back?).

Laura

 

[chrono]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

I think it’s a pretty looking sapphire and actually quite well cut by NSC’s standards. Yes, it is priced higher than it might be elsewhere but everyone here knows that NSC is almost always priced higher than other vendors anyway so that’s not a surprise. I don’t think you can say you were ripped off but considering it is a gift, it’s something I’ll probably keep. I’m inclined to believe it is heat only and not BE treated. Of course, I could be wrong but I am of the opinion that the chance of the sapphire being diffused is low, considering the colour (it is not a commonly treated colour). I wish AGTA is around so you can contact them to find out more about their “indication of heating” statement. If they suspected diffusion, would they make a note of that on the memo?

ETA
I see that you are still within the window for the 30 day credit. If NSC will not accept a refund, at least you still have that option.

 

[Lee Little]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Has anyone ever seen that color come from Be Heat treatment? I see thousands of sapphires that have been heated with Beryl products and know a lot of guys in Chanthaburi that treat stones for a living and I have never seen one even close to this saturated grape purple. I have seen purple but more of a reddish, bluish or grayish purple and never any deeply saturated purple. That doesn't mean they don't exist, just I have never seen or heard of them and wonder if anybody else ever has.
Even with being treated with high heat and a Beryl product the price on a beautiful stone certainly does not bottom out, especially in countries other than the USA. Pretty colors still command high prices the world over for Sapphires known to have Be treatment.
It is safe for consumers (unlike some radiation treatments) and the color enhancement goes deep into the molecular structure making it last forever as far as we know. I have watched the prices steadily climb for this product as more and more people are educated about it and I imagine the climb will continue. Best regards, Lee

 

[T L]

Re: Help Kenny! Husband bought me heat treated purple sapph

Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it can't exist. If there's one thing I've learned over collecting a long number of years, is to "never say never" when it comes to treatment. I have a sapphire that was AIGS denoted as "heated" without any LIBS testing. It changes color, Richard Hughes told me he's never seen a color shift be-treated sapphire, and he's seen tons of sapphires, but he said that with the caveat that it doesn't mean it can't exist. I guess for me, it's important to trust, but verification is even more important, especially when it comes to gems and the ever changing market and the big money involved in treatment. Some people may call me paranoid, but I think it's justified after what I've seen and read over the years on various treatment and deceptions.

ETA: I don't know where you're getting your prices from, but I wouldn't pay more than $20/ct for a be-treated sapphire of any color. In essence,it's color has been altered extensively. Retailers can charge what they want, but that doesn't mean the stone is worth a lot, and I find be-treated stones a complete waste of money.