Investment

[lacina]

Since Richard started this interesting thread on colored stones . I agree that Sapphire and Ruby is one of the best investments in gems.
I have come across this STUNNING Ceylon Sapphire, It is untreated in any way the color is typical very pretty Ceylon med/light Blue and it is huge 8.9carat.
VVS clarity with typical very slight silk formed by microscopic rutile needles . A Picture Perfect example of natural Sapphire so clean, and brilliant , unbelievable!
As a true dealer allways after making some money,.. My idea was heat treat this stone to a darker color,.. Be worth more!
After showing it to colored stone friends and dealers and listening to their opinions I have decided to set it in Platinum with nice diamonds and keep it arround for a while for the Investment type of buyer,...
I think this large gem should be left in it''s natural form. I know heat treating would darken the color and would multiply it''s value. However I trully love the stone the way it is,... This way ,... Its like a virgin type of corundum never touched by the flames of heat!
The reason why I am showing this ring to you , is another opportunity to enhance your investment stone if you find the right one as Richard said, recutting or in this case re heating it can bring you the extra value you are looking for. This Sapphire is fairly inexpensive but do you know what two shades darker heat treated stone of this size is worth?
Best
George
GLe Gem Imports

 

[oldminer]

It sure is difficult to grasp the color of such a stone. Unheated is not the commonplace situation and that's nice.
I see the background color in your photo is quite blue which normally indicates you are pumping up the blue color in a digital program. How would you say the actual color is? As shown now, or is this photo a little more intense a blue than the stone appears in regular lighting?

 

[abbott]

I have a 5ct. ceylon sapphire that I purchased many years ago in St. Thomas. It is a beautiful medium, corn flower blue.. How can I tell if it has been heat treated?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

-----------
How can I tell if it has been heat treated?
-----------

You'd have to have a (good) gemologist look at it, Abbott. He can tell by the inclusions if it's been heat treated or not.

 

[lacina]

Hi Oldminer,
The background is actualy bluish gray,... This is the actual color of my desk. No digital enhancements done,.. However the color in a realk life is not 100% the same But very close.
Colored gems are hard to photograph,...

Best
George

 

[lacina]

Hi Abbott,
I would reccommend you to send send your ceylon to a guy like Richard
But just for your information Here is a picture of typical sapphire inclusions called rutile needles. They cross each other the way the sapphire crystal was formed. Sometimes they are not so pretty and can be visible to naked eye. That is why the cutters use heat to melt them away,... This is called a clarity enhancement. As they melt away , the metal presented in the inclusions while melting away will also enhance the color. The Stone above has much finer rutile needles present. however they can be seen by trained expert with 15X loupe. The expert can tell if they are in their original shape or partially melted. This is how you can tell if the stone was heat treated or not. Now there are more enhancements that can be done to a Sapphire they also requite an expert to tell you what they are,...
Buying colored gems on line or importing them from Thailand can be very interesting because some Thai cutting companies have come up with enhancements hard to detect without a special equipment.
Best
George