Help with Cherrypicked sapphire

[snotty_pie]

Hey everyone,
Like many before me, I''ve been lurking around the forums for a while, but now I am hoping for some opinions on a stone that my BF and I are bringing in from cherrypicked. Richard Orbach has been great to work with so far - sending me several pictures and answering emails very quickly (and being patient with all of our questions!). But this is our first time buying any pieces online, and we''re a little worried! We just want to make sure we''re getting a good deal for the price.

Does it seem deep to anyone? I appreciate any comments that anyone can give!

Thanks!

http://www.cherrypicked.com/Gallery/Score.aspx?ItemID=1857

 

[valeria101]

Don't know more about this stone than the seller writes.

IMO, the great thing about this shop is that every piece gets a fair comparison with the very best. There is a fee for the valuable service, but I can only wish this much were on offer everywhere.

I'm no expert though, so this is only my 2c worth hunch.


The knee-jerk impulse with a post like yours demands to look up some match... online at least. This time, I wouldn't know. First of all, don't know if there could be room for improvement judging from what is known. And perfectly colored, unenhanced, round sapphires just don't pop up out of the blue

by the dozen.


For the sake of argument: LINK but your find has no flaw at all, not just none that shows face up (re: the feather and zoning visible from the side views). Good for you.

If there is something you wanted and neither delivers (shape? size? cost? .. dunno) there are other places open for a search. Thinking of what has been mentioned around this forum: Pala International, Walter Arnstein' (The Natural Sapphire Company, where the link above leads), R.W.Wise Goldsmiths are the obvious and safe. Asking dealers directly makes a more 'adventurous' option. Taking into account that you can have any stone certified by the seller and inspected by an appraiser, perhaps no source is trully adventurous these days.

Anyway, with that sapphire, I am wondering what more to ask for

 

[Edward Bristol]

Cherrypicked has first class stones on first class prices.

Edward Bristol
www.wildfishgems.com

 

[bar01]

Funny, I have been drooling over that sapphire you are considering. At some point in the future I intend to buy more sapphire and diamond items for my gal - a pendant and earrings are on the list. For the pendant I would be looking for a sapphire in the 2.5 -3.5 ct range with a quality that approaches the sapphire I bought from cherrypicked for her e-ring. That 3.58 ct sapphire is close to the quality of hers, but has even better brilliance scoring, and is close to gem collector quality. I have found that the cherryscores translated well into GIA based appraisal scores.

In other words, if this is the size and shape you desire - in an untreated sapphire – you would face a real challenge to find a better one than this sapphire anywhere. Most people (not PS’ers of course) and many jewelers would be lucky to ever see this kind sapphire in their lives.

Now to address other issues – price and fear - which is common with somepeople buying on line

Richard Orbach is a reputable, well known dealer. Of course I feel that way about some of the top of the line colored stone dealers like Wink, Richard Wise, Michael Arnstein, and one or two others mentioned often here on Pricescope. Also this sapphire comes with an AGTA cert, signed by no less than Richard Hughes.

About cherrypciked prices – in my experience you get what you pay for. In other words their prices are fair for what you get. If you could find a similar quality sapphire at a traditional high end retail store you would pay more, much more.

Now about worries purchasing on line - from Cherry (or the other great guys mentioned) – there are no worries. You get to have the sapphire for 10 days (or more) and can return it during that time if you are not happy. For me, I spent a few days studying my cherry sapphire in all types of lights, and then I had it examined by local independent lab for a brief check of treatment, quality, and a rough price check. Then – satisfied with quality and price - I agreed to take it permanently. Later after it was set with diamonds in a ring, I had the whole thing evaluated and appraised again (with much more detail) - with Richard Sherwood.

Worst, worst case - would be that you paid an independent appraiser in your area something like 200 bucks and decided to send it back. So you might be out of pocket this cost - plus shipping back to the dealer.


About the price for this sapphire - it seems in "the range" for this quality and size - but you need a professional lab/appraiser to verify. About the depth it - it is around 77% which is in the desired range of 65-80%. Lower depths (within this range) give you more face up size (bang for buck), but the higher depths (in this range) can mean richer color.

 

[snotty_pie]

Wow, thanks for all your help! I didn''t even realize that the AGTA cert had been signed by Richard Hughes.

I''ll definitely give the appraisers a call, and I''ll post some more pics when it comes in. I''ll probably be back asking for opinions on settings too. . . Bertrand, I saw your thread about your gal''s e-ring. Congrats, it''s a beauty! I''ve copied the pics over, so I hope you don''t mind if I borrow some ideas!

 

[MJO]

I have dealt with RIchard Orbach on a few purchases and found his material to be top notch and exactly as he described.

Regards,
Maurice

 

[Patty]

Oh my Goodness, that sapphire is STUNNING!

 

[icekid]

loooove that color

just stunning! and I''ve heard only good things about cherry picked

 

[Kaleigh]

Cherrypicked has an excellent reputation. I adore the color of that sapphire. It's gorgeous!!!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

I like it.

No red flags that I can see offhand.

 

[snotty_pie]

Thanks for your posts, everyone! The sapphire came in this morning, and wow, it''s quite brilliant! My guy and I are pretty happy with the find, but the true test comes tomorrow when we take it to an appraiser.

Does anyone has thoughts on setting a sapphire as a solitaire? I saw a thread here: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-building-sapphire-ring.37544/=

But to be honest, I haven''t really seen any solitare sapphires as an e-ring. Mostly, you see a three stone ring with diamonds as the sides. Thanks for any opinions in advance!

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Diamonds really help a sapphire''s color "pop".

I would recommend at least a small diamond accent.

 

[strmrdr]

Id love a sapphire as a solitaire :}
Diamonds in the wedding band would make an awesome match something like a 3/4 channel set eternity band would be awesome with it!

 

[just_looking!]

This one by wink jones might look nice with a round sapphire?

 

[just_looking!]

oops - sorry about the pricing stuff, i thought I''d chopped that off!!

 

[snotty_pie]

Hi everyone!
Good news with the appraisal - we went to see Janet Stevens in Bellevue, WA. Her website. Janet was really thorough in answering our questions and took a bit of time to talk to us in general about sapphires and her overall experience as a GG.

She said that it was "in the range" of what she expected for an unheated sapphire of this quality. However, she wanted to do some more research before giving us exact prices on what she would have expected to pay for the stone. The best part of the appraisal was when she opened the package it was in and said "oh, wow. . ."

Another funny note was when I walked in, I saw a copy of Richard Hughes'' Ruby & Sapphire, and she said that she met him twice - in the end I asked her if she could confirm that it was unheated, and she says, "The foremost expert in sapphires says it''s untreated. I''m not about to question him." LOL. Overall, the stone was exactly as Richard Orbach said it was. It has two inclusions that we saw under the microscope as well as a small cloud-like inclusion. She saw some zoning from the back of the stone under the microscope but couldn''t see it with the naked eye so well. She rated it as a vB 5/4 (I think. . . will confirm when I get the full report). So we''re 99% sure we''re going to keep it.

We''re now thinking about settings. I think we''re leaning heavily toward ripping off the Tiffany three-stone setting. LINK. I''ve also seen settings where there''s the main stone, then two smaller princess cut diamonds on each side, and then a baguette next to the princess cut. I can''t seem to find an example online though, but I think it''s an interesting combination of shapes. And of course there''s the trellis version of the 3-stone setting. . . so many choices! Anyway, we''ll be talking with two different jewelers in the Seattle area in the next week - Mallinak Jeweler (LINK) and J Lewis Jeweler (LINK). Thanks for the suggestions about settings from Richard S., strmrdr, and just_looking!

Anyway, enough gushing. Here are some more pictures that my guy took of the stone - we tried a variety of lighting, but the best setup for our lens (no macro lens here. . .) was just a basic flash with tripod.

 

[snotty_pie]

For some reason, I can''t add more than one file to each post. Here''s some more:

 

[snotty_pie]

One more

 

[bar01]

I am looking forward to hearing more from the full report from your appriaser. It would be great to confirm that saturation rating.

I do think that adding diamonds is the way to go. Not sure about your overal budget - but if you go with the Tiffany "inspired" three stone ring (like I did) you are going to be looking at some rather huge side diamonds which could easily exceed the cost of your sapphire - not that thats bad, but you need to keep that in mind.

I like the ideas by storm and just looking - either an enternity setting - or a solitaire setting and then add a ¾ eternity wedding band

 

[valeria101]

Bertrand, I hope you don''t mind my picking your comments below. Just wanted to add to the same points you make.

Date: 1/23/2006 9:25:56 AM
Author: Bertrand

I am looking forward to hearing more from the full report from your appraiser. It would be great to confirm that saturation rating.


Second that. Although I do not really know what the particular appraiser called ''4'' saturation level (if that was the case). Some shops would use the same name for scary stuff, and in GIA''s terms that is quite average - not in line with the high expectations this sapphire came with.



I do think that adding diamonds is the way to go. Not sure about your overall budget - but if you go with the Tiffany ''inspired'' three stone ring (like I did) you are going to be looking at some rather huge side diamonds which could easily exceed the cost of your sapphire

Or they could be some fancy shaped sides (traps, half moon, baguettes or the like) which are typically larger for the weight than rounds and quite a bit less expensive. Some argue that these sides are more flattering for colored stones since they are... not the most brilliant diamond cuts, overall. It may sound as a sales pitch, but it convinced me (within limits - some fancy side-stones are downright dead, not just ''less brilliant'').

My 2c. Congratulations for the wonderful blue!

 

[bar01]

Date: 1/23/2006 9:44:36 AM
Author: valeria101

Bertrand, I hope you don't mind my picking your comments below. Just wanted to add to the same points you make.

Date: 1/23/2006 9:25:56 AM
Author: Bertrand

I am looking forward to hearing more from the full report from your appraiser. It would be great to confirm that saturation rating.


Second that. Although I do not really know what the particular appraiser called '4' saturation level (if that was the case). Some shops would use the same name for scary stuff, and in GIA's terms that is quite average - not in line with the high expectations this sapphire came with.



I do think that adding diamonds is the way to go. Not sure about your overall budget - but if you go with the Tiffany 'inspired' three stone ring (like I did) you are going to be looking at some rather huge side diamonds which could easily exceed the cost of your sapphire

Or they could be some fancy shaped sides (traps, half moon, baguettes or the like) which are typically larger for the weight than rounds and quite a bit less expensive. Some argue that these sides are more flattering for colored stones since they are... not the most brilliant diamond cuts, overall. It may sound as a sales pitch, but it convinced me (within limits - some fancy side-stones are downright dead, not just 'less brilliant').

My 2c. Congratulations for the wonderful blue!

Not at all.

I did not want to get hung up on numbers - since she was not sure about the rating the appraiser gave her - but since you have opened it to discussion - I would expect a saturation rating of around 5. I would not call a 4 saturation "average" - it is still good IMHO - but a "five" was my expectation based on the cherryscores and the price. Of course, numbers are numbers, one has to let your eyes and heart determine!

I think diamonds of other shapes may be a good idea, and may save some money - but I have always been a fan of round ideals which are used in that that Tiffany arrangement. I would have to go back to my analysis but as I remember I figured out that the proportion for that tiffany picture arrangement was about 70% or 75% for the sides - i.e. for an 8mm sapphire that would yield .7 or .75ct each side diamonds. Of course smaller or different shapes can work very well !

 

[widget]

Well, from the pictures it sure looks like a lovely stone.

Congrats, SP! Can''t wait to see how you decide to mount it!

widget

 

[snotty_pie]

I will definitely take a closer look at the appraisal once it comes in, probably later this week. I''ll let you guys know!

Anyway, being the math geek that I am, I think if we go with the Tiffany/Bert imitation, then we''ll head for the Golden Ratio (LINK) - 62%. For my 8 mm stone, that would be about a 0.45-0.5 carat round diamond. Much more affordable too! I do like the channel set diamonds too though.

Thanks again for your comments, everyone.