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My dream sapphire - FOUND

slksapphire

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Dec 6, 2011
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242
first, a warning: no photos of the stone (yet) ... reasons below but sorry to disappoint.

PANDORA -- THANK YOU!!!!!! :appl:
as some of you know, i live in hong kong. pandora suggested i reach out to richard hughes and that is eventually what i did. he ended up sourcing a stone for me and was so incredibly helpful in all aspects of my purchase.

thanks to all the pricescopers (TL, LD, Justin_Cutter, others!) who were so graciously giving of their time and expertise in my search. sapphires are hard (esp compared to diamonds, in my opinion) and at the end of the day, i had to learn to trust my eyes after educating myself (mostly through the informative discussions here).

the search for my stone has been so rewarding and i am shocked that such renown experts in the field (like richard hughes) would help with no hesitation at all! i dropped him an email through his website and was shocked when he responded in a very timely fashion. he showed me a bunch of stones that met my parameters and helped me examine each of them. then we reached out to chris smith, who happened to be in hong kong last week, and he turned around a report OVERNIGHT!!!! just incredible.

so ... i chose a 5.4ct emerald cut sapphire. it is a beautiful color and an amazing cut; there is a visible inclusion (i think it is a feather) but you have to look very hard to see it when the stone is tilted a certain way over white paper. in a setting, i think it would be very difficult to see.

i have no photography skills whatsoever and given it is an emerald cut, it is very hard to photograph accurately. it is going to take quite some time to have it set properly but i promise some photos when completed.

thanks again to all.
 
forgot where i was ... you guys want details!

unheated
origin: ceylon
dimensions: 11.68 X 7.71 X 6.04
color: vivid blue (GRS type royal blue) -- awaiting AGL grading report (just got confirmation of origin and no heat from them)

the stone is apparently a "classic" bright ("electric") ceylon blue. very little/faint zoning, no color change, little/no extinction, no windows visible from above.

think that's all ...
 
slksapphire|1329829336|3130738 said:
forgot where i was ... you guys want details!

unheated
origin: ceylon
dimensions: 11.68 X 7.71 X 6.04
color: vivid blue (GRS type royal blue) -- awaiting AGL grading report (just got confirmation of origin and no heat from them)

the stone is apparently a "classic" bright ("electric") ceylon blue. very little/faint zoning, no color change, little/no extinction, no windows visible from above.

think that's all ...

WOW! That's all I can say until we see pictures :))
 
Brilliant, I spoke to a couple of people here and they were pretty sure he would help out too given that you were both in the same city!

Handy having the HK show in town and Chris there as well to do the report.

V jealous and WOW, an e-ring stone found by one of the uber-gemmologists, makes it very special in my book! :bigsmile:

Where are the pictures????
 
Sounds like everything is falling into place! I am happy for you.
You see, it's customer service like that which makes AGL number one in my book.

" my search. sapphires are hard (esp compared to diamonds, in my opinion)"
Yes, I see diamonds as the Burger King of gemstones. It's "Have it your way". Lots of them and they are made to order...or maybe the Wal-Mart of gemstones would be more appropriate.
Colored stones are more akin to fine dining and culinary. Lots of ingredients. Different taste. It takes a long time to find that perfect little bistro in the corner of that strip mall on 33rd and Ash.

Can't wait to see the pics!
 
Barrett|1329838625|3130804 said:
Sounds like everything is falling into place! I am happy for you.
You see, it's customer service like that which makes AGL number one in my book.

" my search. sapphires are hard (esp compared to diamonds, in my opinion)"
Yes, I see diamonds as the Burger King of gemstones. It's "Have it your way". Lots of them and they are made to order...or maybe the Wal-Mart of gemstones would be more appropriate.
Colored stones are more akin to fine dining and culinary. Lots of ingredients. Different taste. It takes a long time to find that perfect little bistro in the corner of that strip mall on 33rd and Ash.


Can't wait to see the pics!

:lol: :appl: :appl: :appl:

(Ssshhh, you'll get banned for sacrilege)
 
richard hughes is one of the best of the very best. looking forward to your pictures!

eta: and i so agree with the Burger King comment!
 
Hi,

I am so excited for you. What a lovely story. Richard Hughes is a gem himself. Lucky girl.

AQnnette
 
Wow, the stats make it sound like a beautiful stone and to have had two of the world's authorities helping you out is indeed an honor. In my book, it would bring a certain cache to the the stone...

Please post pics asap - I am dying to see what an "electric blue" sapphire looks like.

Do you feel like they helped you to get a good deal as well?
 
Pandora|1329844258|3130865 said:
Barrett|1329838625|3130804 said:
Sounds like everything is falling into place! I am happy for you.
You see, it's customer service like that which makes AGL number one in my book.

" my search. sapphires are hard (esp compared to diamonds, in my opinion)"
Yes, I see diamonds as the Burger King of gemstones. It's "Have it your way". Lots of them and they are made to order...or maybe the Wal-Mart of gemstones would be more appropriate.
Colored stones are more akin to fine dining and culinary. Lots of ingredients. Different taste. It takes a long time to find that perfect little bistro in the corner of that strip mall on 33rd and Ash.


Can't wait to see the pics!

:lol: :appl: :appl: :appl:

(Ssshhh, you'll get banned for sacrilege)


hehehe...as long as I stay over here with my colored camouflage on no one will see me.... :read:
 
Barrett|1329866498|3131201 said:
Pandora|1329844258|3130865 said:
Barrett|1329838625|3130804 said:
Sounds like everything is falling into place! I am happy for you.
You see, it's customer service like that which makes AGL number one in my book.

" my search. sapphires are hard (esp compared to diamonds, in my opinion)"
Yes, I see diamonds as the Burger King of gemstones. It's "Have it your way". Lots of them and they are made to order...or maybe the Wal-Mart of gemstones would be more appropriate.
Colored stones are more akin to fine dining and culinary. Lots of ingredients. Different taste. It takes a long time to find that perfect little bistro in the corner of that strip mall on 33rd and Ash.


Can't wait to see the pics!

:lol: :appl: :appl: :appl:

(Ssshhh, you'll get banned for sacrilege)


hehehe...as long as I stay over here with my colored camouflage on no one will see me.... :read:

I can see you! :naughty:

Slksapphire - many many many congratulations. Your gem sounds phenomenal. I REALLY can't wait to see it. Please please please can we have some photos - bad or not, we don't care, just please (pretty please) one or two?
 
that was cruel ... i'll put all of us out of our misery!

i took this terrible photo with my iphone indoors in natural light on a foggy day. i think the photo shows some darker bands but the stone does not look like this in real life. although the photo can't capture the brilliance of the stone, i think the color is ok (though a touch darker than actual.)

enjoy ...

IMG_0416.JPG
 
slksapphire|1329890737|3131516 said:
that was cruel ... i'll put all of us out of our misery!

i took this terrible photo with my iphone indoors in natural light on a foggy day. i think the photo shows some darker bands but the stone does not look like this in real life. although the photo can't capture the brilliance of the stone, i think the color is ok (though a touch darker than actual.)

enjoy ...

oh wow!!! that color is incredible!!! how do you plan to set it?
 
Oh my freakin freak of freak!!!!!!! Heart stopping! It's the Rockefeller Sapphire!!!!! Girl you are lucky.
 
Now that's a sapphire!

Incredible... enjoy it, it's a beauty!
 
Congrats. It's really a gorgeous sapphire with a very uncommon emerald cut. :love: Lucky you. Also, my personal experience with Richard Hughes is also much like yours. He is so incredibly down to earth, friendly and helpful to everybody and anybody even though he's in a realm of his own in the gemstone world.
 
Yoiks!!! It IS the Rockafeller Sapphire :shock:

Just as well you posted photos by the time I got here - considering some of the photos we decipher here this one is first class...just as the stone itself is. Just unbelievable the way things came together.

Congratulations, it's a stunner :)) :appl:
 
thank you all for your kind thoughts. i REALLY couldn't have done it without you. i was literally asking about the difference between heated and unheated stones when i first started learning about sapphires! now i know enough to be dangerous, especially with my checkbook! :naughty:

and yes, i am an extremely lucky girl to have been matched with this beautiful gem by richard hughes. but i am most lucky to be celebrating 20 years with my wonderful husband (it's a very late 10th anniversary gift). gems are ever more lovely when there is a memorable story behind them, and this one has it in spades!!!
 
Gorgeous sapphire. Congratulations.

How would I go about contacting Richard Hughes for help finding one for myself?
 
Congratulations, but we need pictures ASAP! :saint:

ETA: I Missed the photo above! Just GORGEOUS. Sorry about my lazy eyes.
 
wow! even i can tell that stone is special. how beautiful!

and congratulations on 20 happy years! so rare and so lovely, to see people in love after so long. :appl:
 
Oh MY ! That stone is amazing :) Congrats on such a beauty, the color is so amazing. I've just seen your other thread and I LOVE your setting choice. It's going to look incredible.
 
bright ice|1329925610|3131665 said:
Gorgeous sapphire. Congratulations.

How would I go about contacting Richard Hughes for help finding one for myself?

A web search will net you the answer (it's on his website).
 
bright ice,

i just heard from dick and he is happy to help source sapphires! just press the "contact us" tab on his website:

www.ruby-sapphire.com

i know that many of you buy through ebay and the internet so you are familiar w international logistics. i considered working with a couple of sapphire dealers in the u.s. but ultimately, decided it was best to go with someone local (i was just lucky that dick happens to live here!) so that i could compare several stones that met my criteria AT THE SAME TIME. i was working with a very reputable b&m retailer here in hong kong who could only source 1 or 2 stones for me at a time ... it just couldn't compare with the experience of looking at stones side-by-side (especially at different price points).

however, if you don't live in a place where there are colored stone experts, i would be willing to deal with the logistics hassles all day long. as i have learned, colored stones are a completely different animal from diamonds!

good luck on your search.
 
Now that is an absolutely stunning, knockout sapphire. Beautiful, with amazing glow and color.
 
I can't get over how stunning your sapphire is :appl:
 
Absolutely Beautiful, truly, truly incredible - congratulations. I can't wait for more photos!!!!!!
 
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