I recently purchased the following stone from Jeff Hapeman of Earths Treasury. It is 4.37 carats and unheated.
His description was the following
“The sapphire has excellent clarity. There may be tiny inclusions that are visible with a 10x loupe that can’t be seen with the naked eye”
Before bringing it to my jeweler I had noticed two inclusions by eye and after seeing it under the microscope there was clearly one large fissure/bubble looking inclusion along with a section of “sand paper like scratches” on the inside. The second of which creates significant shadowing on on corner of the stone. Both inclusions are also generally in the center of the stone.
The other thing the appraiser said was that she didn’t even believe it was a Montana sapphire due to its size and absolutely perfect cut, which she couldn’t stop complimenting. I reassured her that everything I had read here and elsewhere vouched for Jeff’s cutting skills and his access to some of the best stones Montana produces.
I would provide my own pictures but I’m a terrible photographer and they don’t do the stone justice. The coloring is 100% as advertised and absolutely stunning.
finally though to my question:
Are the inclusions forgivable in this circumstance considering the size, coloring and cut on an unheated Montana sapphire?
I’m also purposefully leaving out the price and would love to hear some opinions on the value of a stone like this.
I will also try to get some pictures later to show the inclusions. From first glance you would never notice a thing, but upon closer inspection they are visible without a loupe and do creating shadowing on about 1/4 of the stone.
Thank you in advance and thank you also to everyone on this board as it has helped me a lot while searching for this stone!!
His description was the following
“The sapphire has excellent clarity. There may be tiny inclusions that are visible with a 10x loupe that can’t be seen with the naked eye”
Before bringing it to my jeweler I had noticed two inclusions by eye and after seeing it under the microscope there was clearly one large fissure/bubble looking inclusion along with a section of “sand paper like scratches” on the inside. The second of which creates significant shadowing on on corner of the stone. Both inclusions are also generally in the center of the stone.
The other thing the appraiser said was that she didn’t even believe it was a Montana sapphire due to its size and absolutely perfect cut, which she couldn’t stop complimenting. I reassured her that everything I had read here and elsewhere vouched for Jeff’s cutting skills and his access to some of the best stones Montana produces.
I would provide my own pictures but I’m a terrible photographer and they don’t do the stone justice. The coloring is 100% as advertised and absolutely stunning.
finally though to my question:
Are the inclusions forgivable in this circumstance considering the size, coloring and cut on an unheated Montana sapphire?
I’m also purposefully leaving out the price and would love to hear some opinions on the value of a stone like this.
I will also try to get some pictures later to show the inclusions. From first glance you would never notice a thing, but upon closer inspection they are visible without a loupe and do creating shadowing on about 1/4 of the stone.
Thank you in advance and thank you also to everyone on this board as it has helped me a lot while searching for this stone!!