HELP WITH A SAPPHIRE, PLEASE

[dyb225]

Hi! I am interested in purchasing a natural blue sapphire that is certified to be the following:

VERY SLIGHTLY VIOLETISH BLUE
Type 2 MODERATELY INCLUDED
VIVID saturation
7 DARK color tone

I think I read somewhere that violet blue is the recommended color and vivid saturation is also good; however, the dark 7 color tone is what I am concerned about. Will this stone be too dark?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

[Pandora II]

Do you have any photos?

I would suspect that the stone will be overly dark if it's a 7 - I would look more for a 5. That said, it depends entirely on what grading system they are using - sadly there is yet to be a universal grading system for coloured stones.

 

[chrono]

Two things stand out for me:
1. Moderately included - how obvious is it and where are they located?
2. Dark tone - I'm concerned this will be too dark.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

I would recommend a Medium to Medium Dark color tone. Even the high end of the Medium Dark scale can be to dark in my opinion. Odds are if you go with a dark color tone it will only look "good" in direct sunlight. The rest of the time it will appear to be almost black especially in indoor lighting.

When I first started looking for my Sapphire I went to a very popular jewelry franchise store. I had them ship in 2 different round sapphires that were both in the 1 carat range. Both stones were describe as Ideal and AAA certified. Color was described as vivid and of the highest quality. These stone were in the $5000-$6000 range each!!!! At the time I was not yet aware of what a fair market value was for stones like this. If I had been I would have told them to take a hike! When the stones came in I went to see them and I was completely unimpressed with how they looked. So dark they were almost black. I told the jeweler they looked like crap and there response was.... "well this is the best there is" ha ha! Oh and for the record if someone feeds you the AAA certified bull don't even waste your time. There is no such thing. Do your self a favor and ask the jeweler what lab gives this AAA certification and watch as there face goes blank because they have no documentation to prove such a certification exists. If they do have documentation odds are it was done in house by there resident gemologist.

I would love to know what Vivid actually means in relationship to sapphires. I hate these loose descriptive words that the CS market is plagued by. Especially the sapphire market. Vivid, Strong, and Intense just to name a few. NSC cough cough.

Anyway, sorry for that I guess I had some frustration that I needed to get out. The sapphire market really preys on those who lack knowledge of the material and the treatments that are currently used. Do your research and don't hesitate to ask questions. You are posting here on PS so that is a excellent start!

If you want the definitive word on if the sapphire you are considering is "ideal" in terms of sapphires, I would recommend asking the seller to agree to a tentative sale until AGL or another reputable lab can verify what the stone truly is or isn't. Even if the stone comes with a report from a lab don't hesitate to seek a second opinion. That is what I did on 2 of my resent sapphire purchases and I am so glad I did.

Lastly once you see the stone in person and if it is truly beautiful to you then go for it! As long as the price is right and the lab report comes back good there is no reason not to unless you are only buying for investment/resale. That is the beauty of the is obsession with colored stones that so many of us here have. Just because the general market says that "vivid" is the most sought after color tone that doesn't mean you will think it is the most appealing to you. You be the judge and choose something that gives you that wow feeling every time you look at it.

Fair warning: If you are indeed seeking the market definition of perfection in a sapphire be prepared to pay dearly for it. I have see sapphires of equal cut, clarity, and weight go from $500 per carat to $5,000+ per carat just because there was a favorable change in the saturation of the stone. This is just the reality of it. Remember COLOR is everything with sapphires!!! I have seen some sapphire with cuts that I would not go near with a 10ft poll but since the color was right it still sold for a premium.
If you can skip the middle man and buy direct from the source that will help with the cost but doing this also has its own set of new challenges.

~Justin

 

[Gerry]

Would be really helpful if you could post a picture or ask the vendor to take one for you. You should receive much more opinion about the stone because with only these words written, there is no way to tell.

But if they mention that the stone is dark tone, it will be obviously dark indoors like previous poster said. But that does not mean its a bad stone, its all relative to the price of the stone and the overall color.

 

[chrono]

Gerry,
This post is a year old; I'm fairly sure the OP has either found a sapphire to their liking or has moved on.