I saw some cool gems today

[innerkitten]

At the suggestion of someone on this web site I conntaced Gencal about six weeks ago and they wrote back to me and said they were going to be in San Francisco ( thats where I live) soon and would meet with me and show me some stones. They are the suppliers for several stores here in the city.So today I finally got a chance to see their unheated sapphires and spinel. The sappires were mostly medium blue to dark blue, and I got to look throuh the loup which Ive never done and I could see the inclusions and stuff which was cool cause I''ve never had a chance to see that type of thing before. The prices varied depending on the inclusions etc. They were cheaper than they are on their website, the ones I was looking at anyway. We are going to meet again so i can see the stones in better day light.
I''m thinking of buying from them but need some time to think about it, any ideas or suggestions. What questions do I need to ask when we meet again.
-Kitten

 

[innerkitten]

I can't belive no one had any ideas

 

[caratgirl]

I would absolutely require a guarantee that the stones had not been diffusion treated as well. You will need to go to a good gemologist appraiser so that they can run some tests on the stones. Just make sure that you can return for a full refund if all is not well. I read in the JCK magazine (jewelry magazine to the trade) many times that even experts can't tell the difference with some of the treatments these days, so the vendor might just be unaware. Not to say that this is the case here, but I would just be sure. The price goes way up when there are no treatments, heat or otherwise.

 

[valeria101]

#1 Depends on what you want to buy. Below 1000/ct or so, there is little reason to worry about enhancement: as far as I know color and, way behind, clarity is what makes the price below this line. So, if you are not thinking to spend a small fortune look for a nice 'cornflower blue' which looks good ein EITHER ARTIFICIAL and NATURAL light. Quite a few sapphires display SOME color shift (I'd not call that color change) from either blue to violetish-blue (looking like Tanzanite) which is nice too, but lower quality goods just shift from blueish to DRAB. Well, who needs that! Dark stones are not only cheaper, but very common commercialized, so, unless you like you sapphires black, avoid them or go to tha mall for the widest range of choices

(joke)!

Strong zoning (seen when rotating the stone 360% as bands of clear alternating with blue) should draw back the price of common sapphires only if very stryking. However, it would affect the price for any sapphire if it shows strongly face-up. I think that the chances to see diffusion-treated spphires with such bands is almost nil (diffusion makes color much nmore uiform) but this is just for fun. How can you tell a diffussion treated sapphire? It looks gorgeous and costs little, FULL STOP.

 

[valeria101]

#2 Do you need the stone certified? Only if expensive or you can't stand the fealing that your blue think has been baked. If the stone you like looks great and is expesnive: ask for some appraisal. If you are an aggressive consumer, ask for a cert, but this is way more unusual than for diamonds (givne the range of price of sapphire, certs get ususal when you do approach the price of diamonds).

How can you tell a great sapphire? COLOR: buy a handfull of cornflowers (hope still in seazon), take a deep look at them. No kiding, if the flowes are healthy there is no accident that the color of best sapphires are named after them! Try to get your sapphire to get well cammuflaged in the bunch of cornflowers: that would be a breathtaking beauty, and if large, worth a fortune. Sounds strange? One thing: usually this is not achievable. Nice stones, ven with darker bodys display FLASHES of intense blue which are a sign of good color saturation. Those are nice and valuable.

 

[valeria101]

#3 I have mentioned checking color in different ypes of lighting before. The intesity of lighting also matters: the best sapphires should be able to keep some blue-ness even in deem light. In any light these stones might display a mooted sparkle (some say these look like velvet, or silk velvet, since brilliant flashes are some blessed times still visible). The silk (same material which makes start sapphires possible, rutyle, but I guess other things too) makes the color less senzitive to lighting. So, if the stone is silky but still see-through and of good saturation of color, the price should not be negatively affected by this type of inclusion.
Other inclusions? Only take them into account if ugly face-up. They are much more acceptable and have a zillion tymes less effect on price than in the case of diamonds ( a flawless, draw sapphire will be worth naught, a flawless cornflower blue will be worth only somewhat more than an eye clean, usually, the word 'flawless' should not be used with regard to colored stones). The stone should be discounted signifficantly is it is VISIBLY included (naked eye, face-up).
Forgive this novel! Maybe you know these, but what do I know? For a technical explanation of what is to be analyzed about colors (hue, tone, saturation) aside the common-sense tips above (and the hundreds I missed) look at WWW (this is about green, blue is no different).

 

[valeria101]

That WWW is WWW

The same site has a piece on sapphire, but, in my oppinion, shoots to high (applies to once-in-a-lifetime encounters with royal gmes, or such).

Oh and I forgot the CUT! Forget about it too. Look for some decent shape (not a 3X1 long oval or a 50% dislocated culet) in layman terms. the chance to get a stone with beautiful cut from the start are not all that great, and cutting should not distract from the material (color), which is the real goal here. You can always have a great crystal recut even for little cost, andif your purchase is a hit, even the cutter will be thrilled to see the rarity and make it shine to 'American standards'. Conclusion: don't sacrifice ANYTHING for the cut right now, because you will narrow your choices uselessly. If the seller wants to give you a grayish (low saturaturation), shaky blue (color loss upon change of lighting conditions) thing beacause is 'well cut' (as posed to the shapeless, stryking blue PEBBLE aside), RUN! It's a SCHEME!