Need help with some rings.

Missycarol9999 · Nov 23, 2018

I had some rings passed down to me and want to get them insured just in case plus pass them down to my daughter. They are saphires and diamonds. I have another i have no clue about. I thought maybe ruby or Garnett but it doesn't have the same qualities. It glows bright pink under a uv light but a beautiful red in normal light. Can anyone help me with these. Just a rough estimate on a recommendation of an appraiser who I can send them to and trustworthy.

OoohShiny · Nov 23, 2018

There is a section that lists appraisers:
https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers/

but @oldminer and @denverappraiser are two that are active on this board.

If you click on their names in this post, you should get through to their User pages, which gives you their contact details within the Media tabs that appear.

Missycarol9999 · Nov 23, 2018

OoohShiny · Nov 24, 2018

Did you see my previous post?

Missycarol9999 · Nov 24, 2018

Yes i seen your previous post and made one similar to this on his thread asking for help. The only thing i got was a rude reply from him telling me not to clutter up his thread and to take them to a local jewerly store. Real big help. Took it to the one most recognized in my area and not much help at all. All they told me was all my diamonds are real and so are are my saphires. And my ring that shows a very bright red reaction in th uv light is cc rubies. Also the masquise cut she told me was a black onyx. Although under a uv light it has the same reaction as my saphires which is a deep violet color. It also changes from a dark blue to a green depending on the angle. So since the appraisers on here just seem to want to rude and not very helpful i will find somewhere to ship them to.

tyty333 · Nov 25, 2018

Missycarol9999 said:
I had some rings passed down to me and want to get them insured just in case plus pass them down to my daughter. They are saphires and diamonds. I have another i have no clue about. I thought maybe ruby or Garnett but it doesn't have the same qualities. It glows bright pink under a uv light but a beautiful red in normal light. Can anyone help me with these. Just a rough estimate on a recommendation of an appraiser who I can send them to and trustworthy.

Missycarol9999...With all do respect, you should have contacted an appraiser via phone or email (not through a thread on a different subject).

I see that you have taken them to a jewelry store. Did you ask for a written appraisal asking for what the value of the rings are for insurance
purposes?

Have you checked ebay for "sold" items similar to these? You might get a good idea of what they are worth without sending them to an appraiser. My
inclination is that the cost of a good appraiser (like the ones in our appraisal list) and cost of shipping would eat up much of the value of the rings.

IMO (take it for what its worth), you should wear these rings and enjoy them for what they are. Their value is most likely not high (check ebay) and
the cost of insurance would not be worth insuring them.

Missycarol9999 · Nov 25, 2018

Your right and i would have but there was no contact information and his rude reply uncalled for with all due respect. And the jewerly store said the value would be high on the four stone saphire because they were natural untreated saphire and a royal blue. But given her review on the large masquise cut I will have them shipped off before they appraise them

OoohShiny · Nov 26, 2018

Missycarol9999 said:
Yes i seen your previous post and made one similar to this on his thread asking for help. The only thing i got was a rude reply from him telling me not to clutter up his thread and to take them to a local jewerly store. Real big help. Took it to the one most recognized in my area and not much help at all. All they told me was all my diamonds are real and so are are my saphires. And my ring that shows a very bright red reaction in th uv light is cc rubies. Also the masquise cut she told me was a black onyx. Although under a uv light it has the same reaction as my saphires which is a deep violet color. It also changes from a dark blue to a green depending on the angle. So since the appraisers on here just seem to want to rude and not very helpful i will find somewhere to ship them to.

Do you mean the post you made on a thread about 1980s diamond prices?

I believe that I politely pointed out that duplicate posts are not allowed on the forum (I even used the word please!), not @oldminer, the appraiser who started that thread a number of years ago, so please do not confuse us as it would do him a great disservice and he is a longstanding, skilled expert in the appraisal world!

I mentioned him in my previous post on this thread, as well as Denver Appraiser, both of whom I would highly recommend you contact for assistance and high quality appraisal.

I don't recall telling you take your jewellery to a local store, though, so perhaps someone else chimed in before the posts got deleted? Either way, the fact that both our posts got deleted suggests that a passing Moderator agreed that they were best placed on this dedicated thread rather than being placed another thread.

The benefit of having one dedicated, separate thread for a subject is that it is easier for everyone to search for later, and means that it is easier for you, the poster, to keep track of replies - if you have to search through a number of duplicate threads to check for replies and hopefully find an answer, it is more work for you! It is nothing personal - it is standard forum etiquette to try to keep separate discussions on dedicated threads, so you have not been singled out!

You've had some great advice so far, and it sounds like the store you visited have also given you some good feedback, so I think you are right to ship them to a qualified appraiser for a thorough examination and valuation.

We will be interested to see the results of the process so please do come back to let us know in due course

tyty333 · Nov 26, 2018

The address for the appraisers are on this link that Ooohshiny provided for you. Maybe you can find one located close so you wont have to mail them in.
https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers/

Missycarol9999 said
"And the jewerly store said the value would be high on the four stone saphire because they were natural untreated saphire and a royal blue."

I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure a jeweler can not tell whether a stone is "untreated" without it going to a lab with the proper equipment.

denverappraiser · Nov 26, 2018

Missycarol9999 said:
So since the appraisers on here just seem to want to rude and not very helpful i will find somewhere to ship them to.

I'm certainly proud to be grouped with Oldminer but I've not seen a request for an appraisal on any of these items so I'm not sure what rude response you think you received or how. I make a point to be polite. My shipping address, as well as my rates, are linked to from the bottom of every single post. I'm quite confident that's true for David as well.

tkyasx78 · Nov 26, 2018

I have never seen natural untreated high quality sapphires set in 10K gold! I am sure the inflated "retail figures" on an appraisal could show a high dollar value, but agree with tyty333 that the resale value ( or amount you would gain from sales at a consignment shop etc ) is significantly lower than retail.

From my experience and based on the pictures I would assume the red ring is indeed a heavily included light ruby. I would expect it to be worth 150-500 for a resale value and am sure a store would try to get 500-1200 when brand new for it.

The marquise yellow gold ring is possibly a london topaz or lab sapphire. ( my best guess would be a topaz based on the side picture ) I would assume the white stones on the sides are also either white topaz or white sapphire I would not guess it to be a natural untreated sapphire as it was set in a 2 v prong setting which would leave it very very prone to chipping, and while replacing a cracked 40$ topaz is not the end of the world, most jewelers would put a stone that cost thousands of dollars in a setting that is heavier and that would protect the girdle of the stones. I would expect the resale value of this one also to be under 500 due to the gold being shelled/puffed out on the sides and therefore thinner than a heavier band and the actual cost in a store to be between 300 and 1000

The ring with the blue center and smaller blue around it look to be lab sapphires, the ring is likely to resale under 400 and retail between 300 and 1000

the 4 stone that is set in 10K white gold I would guess is lab sapphire with a resale under 400 and retail between 300 and 1300.
___________________________________

Personally I would not insure any of the rings and just wear them. They are beautiful gifts and can remind you of your loved one!

If the stones are removed from the inexpensive settings that they are in ( I can only see that one is clearly stamped 10K and I assume the others are 14K or lower in gold content ) and do INDEED test with GIA as natural untreated high quality sapphires you will want to have them insured!

Let us know what the stones test as! Most people who buy natural untreated sapphires that are high quality will have them set in at least 14k. Usually they will be set in 18K or platinum, if the person is ok with a stock setting like the one posted , natural stones are generally at least set in 14k.
Of course anything is possible!
I look forward to your updates with the reports once they have been sent to labs and removed from the settings!

Missycarol9999 · Nov 26, 2018

None of them are white gold and took them to a second jewerly store. An saphires are natural and the big one is saphire and not lab created. All Natural with real diamonds on the side. Nothing lab created. All have inclusions but the big one has very few and you can barely them. Said it was the closest he has seen to a flawless saphite. So thanks for the opinion and truly appreciate them.

lmyracle · Nov 26, 2018

Those are pretty rings, @Missycarol9999. Please check back and let us know what your findings are. I'm always intrigued with family heirlooms like this.

One thing I notice is that "untreated" and "unheated" are 2 totally different things but a lot of jewelry stores throw around the terms when they aren't aware of what they're talking about - even "Natural". There's natural vs synthetic but even natural sapphires can be treated. Nothing wrong with that per se but a natural unTREATED is different than natural unHEATED.

I went to a store the other day and asked if a ring was heated. The clerk said, "oh yes, it's natural". Um....not what I was asking -- she just really didn't know and unless you're being told it's unheated and see a certificate, then you always assume it's heated. That being said, I hope yours aren't heated - what a marvelous thing if it's not and even if it is, it's still a pretty color! Please please check back in when you find out! I'm so curious and always trying to learn!

Bron357 · Nov 26, 2018

Unfortunately No one on Pricescope can give you an appraisal from a few photos.
To identify gemstones correctly, and determine what treatments have occurred, you need to perform a number of tests using specialised gem equipment ie under x10 magnification (or higher using a gem microscope) a Refractometer, you need Specific gravity, perhaps to use a polariscope, Chelsea filter and a dichoscope as well.
Lots of gemstones look similar and there are plenty of man made versions around as well.
Man made versions are identical to the natural gems they mimic except grown in a lab not found in the ground. It can take quite a lot of effort and analysis to confirm if natural, from the ground or made in a lab.
So to know for certain you will need to find someone who is both a gemologist (who has all this equipment) and is a registered appraiser - that’s extra study and qualification (and you’ll have to pay for the service) and get a full report and valuation.
Otherwise you can go by what the jewellers have said which might be wrong, if they aren’t a gemologist and haven’t done the required investigative testing.

Missycarol9999 · Dec 4, 2018

Getting ready to have some of the gems sent off out of the four stone ring. There were two different color saphires in them. But going to have them reset in a white gold ring since the other one kept falling off. Went ahead and removed them from that. They came out almost too easy. But no im not looking for any answers on here before anyone makes the wrong assumption just thought you guys might like to see the pictures I took of them. My dad said he had to have one of the gems replaced for my grandmother because it came loose and fell out.