Help to a crazy woman)) Sapphire purchases

[lisa k]

Hi! I recently bought a couple of sapphire diamond rings that is something absolutely unusual for me since I don’t really love colored gemstones (maybe now I do love sapphires ). Probably my pregnancy hormone had an impact on this impulsive shopping. The rings haven’t been delivered yet and I wanted to hear some experienced opinions if I should keep them or at least some of them all the silver metal in rings, the necklace and earrings is platinum. I don’t have any idea how to identify if the colored gemstone is good, what is the name of the color and how old are these pieces so would be thankful for any additional information that you can see by pictures

 

[Autumn in New England]

First of all, welcome to the forum, and big congrats on your pregnancy!!

Wow, you certainly have been busy, haven't you! Lots of pretty mountings here, especially. I am terrible at dating vintage/estate jewelry, so I'll let someone else take the reins on that. Blue sapphires, like all colored stones, depend heavily on personal taste. Some folks like them lighter, some darker. As far as the "trade ideal" is concerned, that would probably be a stone with a pure blue hue, medium to medium-dark tone, and vivid saturation. It's also important to look at the cut quality to avoid windowing or excessive extinction. As you become a more seasoned colored stone collector, this will all come more naturally to you. So my advice is to get the pieces home, see which make your heart sing and return those that don't. Have fun!

 

[lisa k]

First of all, welcome to the forum, and big congrats on your pregnancy!!

Wow, you certainly have been busy, haven't you! Lots of pretty mountings here, especially. I am terrible at dating vintage/estate jewelry, so I'll let someone else take the reins on that. Blue sapphires, like all colored stones, depend heavily on personal taste. Some folks like them lighter, some darker. As far as the "trade ideal" is concerned, that would probably be a stone with a pure blue hue, medium to medium-dark tone, and vivid saturation. It's also important to look at the cut quality to avoid windowing or excessive extinction. As you become a more seasoned colored stone collector, this will all come more naturally to you. So my advice is to get the pieces home, see which make your heart sing and return those that don't. Have fun!

Thank you very much for your response! I also want to go to some jeweler here in Miami to get his professional opinion before making a decision to keep them. I never bought jewelry online (other than official Cartier web site) and everything this is very new for me but I hope I’ll enjoy my new treasures in life as much as I love them by pictures))

 

[Avondale]

You have selected some beautiful designs for yourself and will also do the smart thing by taking them to a jeweler to help you evaluate them. I'll try to give you some basic tips so that you're better prepared for the meeting.

First of all, colour names and stone quality are more often than not used as marketing tricks. Sellers want to get you to spend your money on their goods so they try to spin your head with terms like "royal blue" or "this is a stone of very high clarity, you can see right through it". You don't want to pay too much attention to that. Instead, your focus should be on whether you like the stones, whether you enjoy looking at them and whether you want to wear them. All other objective qualities are important with regards to determining a fair price, but shouldn't really stop you from buying something you love.

The most important thing with coloured gemstones is colour, it's the main factor in determining the price. The more saturated and desirable colours demand a higher price tag. The sapphires you've selected are all pretty dark in tone. In general less people enjoy and buy dark sapphires, so their price is significantly lower than stones with a lighter and more open tone.

What you need to consider with regards to the colour is that the pictures you currently have are professionally taken in studio lighting so that they display the sapphires in their best. However, natural stones in general have character and look different depending on the lighting conditions. Out in the sun, in fluorescent office lighting, in warm bedroom lights, the stone will behave differently. It's important to try to view these pieces in as many different lighting scenarios as possible when you get them. This way you can judge for yourself whether you like them.

With regards to cut, keep in mind that some of the stones you have are windowed. You see how in the centre of the stone there's a portion that's lighter, more transparent? That's a window and it's a cutting flaw. Pay attention to how it looks when you're wearing these pieces. Since the light passes straight through the window and doesn't bounce back, against skin they might appear near-black.

The presence of a window is sometimes used to mislead less knowledgeable buyers that the stone is of high clarity, but don't let that fool you. A stone with less inclusions will clearly be more expensive, but what you care about most is whether you can see anything with your own eyes that would bother you.

When you're judging whether to keep these pieces first consider if you love them and would enjoy wearing them, and then also take into account your jeweler's evaluation of their monetary value. You could've struck a bargain or overpaid and that will also influence your decision.

 

[pokerface]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find a lot of good advice here, starting with the pinned post on Read This First. IMO, if you have this much cash to burn, you'd be way better off buying one or two really nice pieces rather than a whole bunch of dark and windowed sapphires, presumably from random vendors and without certification. The three stone in particular looks suspicious to me as possibly being lab stones, which greatly affects the value. If the rings are all silver, they are definitely lower quality and/or lab stones, and are not worth a lot at all, but I'm guessing they were more than a couple hundred bucks. Maybe the earrings would look better in person, but in the photo, to my eye, the stones do not match in tone. Hopefully reading a bunch of threads on blue sapphire will point you in the right direction and you can narrow down exactly what color and style is most appealing to you. Good luck!

 

[lisa k]

Welcome to the forum! You'll find a lot of good advice here, starting with the pinned post on Read This First. IMO, if you have this much cash to burn, you'd be way better off buying one or two really nice pieces rather than a whole bunch of dark and windowed sapphires, presumably from random vendors and without certification. The three stone in particular looks suspicious to me as possibly being lab stones, which greatly affects the value. If the rings are all silver, they are definitely lower quality and/or lab stones, and are not worth a lot at all, but I'm guessing they were more than a couple hundred bucks. Maybe the earrings would look better in person, but in the photo, to my eye, the stones do not match in tone. Hopefully reading a bunch of threads on blue sapphire will point you in the right direction and you can narrow down exactly what color and style is most appealing to you. Good luck!

Thank you very much for your comment! This is very helpful. As soon as I receive them I’ll go to the appraiser to check the jewelry and to return it if it’s not what they say. Two rings have certificates already and the price for them were much higher, others do not have certificates. All of them are in platinum settings and with diamond. Except the ring that is in yellow metal: it’s yellow 18K gold and diamonds. So the fact that they are all in platinum setting put me in a wrong conclusion that they are high quality ((

 

[pokerface]

The issue is that not all certificates hold equal weight. Many are made up entirely in house or printed by labs that do not possess proper testing equipment. Even a jeweler or appraiser does not have the capacity to run full tests. It is often possible to positively ID a stone as lab material, but it can be impossible to detect some of the treatments on a supposedly untreated stone without the assistance of AGL, GIA and similar. You had said the settings were silver - but even if they are platinum, this does not exclude the possibility of synthetic stones. If you spent say $8000-$10,000 on these items - none of which are particularly notable for their quality - you could instead get something really fabulous premade, or do what many of us do and create your dream ring from scratch!

1.18 ct Unheated Burma Sapphire Ring — Enhoerning Jewelry

1.18 ct Unheated Burma Sapphire Ring

www.enhoerning-jewelry.com

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

i think sapahires are very subjective
just remember its your money and your hand
if you love something and will wear it and it was not overpriced then enjoy it regardless of what any one else thinks
most people out in your daily life are not going to care if a stone is too dark
work out what you like

looking forward to hand shots
and welcome to the forum

 

[LilAlex]

It's really hard to buy colored stones online -- unless you have a reliable vendor who "knows" your taste. Even diamonds -- which are now fairly commoditized -- are a source of disagreement.

It can be helpful to have one tiny, untreated stone of a color and clarity you adore to use as your color "archetype" and carry around when shopping. Or to benchmark your newly-arrived "treasures." Most new-to-you jewelry is "pretty" and will make you go "Oooh!" That does not mean that it is a pretty as it should or could be -- or is worth the purchase price. It is really unlike any other shopping we have done.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I'm not a sapphire expert and to be honest I don't even like blue! I don't know how much you intend to spend but I was browsing and saw some lovely options from Mastercut Gems at decent prices.

Unheated Natural Sri Lanka Fine Blue Sapphire 2.45 carat ** VIDEO ** in Sapphires Direct From Sri Lanka- Crescent Gems

www.mastercutgems.com

Sri Lanka Natural Fine Blue Sapphire 2.03 carat ** VIDEO ** in Sapphires Direct From Sri Lanka- Crescent Gems

www.mastercutgems.com

Their sapphire page

Products in Sapphires Direct From Sri Lanka- Crescent Gems

www.mastercutgems.com

ETA: Mastercut are very reputable and many if the gems already come with GIA reports.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Did they arrive yet? I’m curious to hear what you think when you see them in person and to see your own photos.