- Joined
- Jun 5, 2011
- Messages
- 2,139
I've been on the hunt for a violet sapphire or spinel for a few years now. I wanted as saturated as possible, good mix between blue and purple. HARD. TO. FIND. Some were beyond my budget, some were the right colour but poorly cut (and too expensive to risk a recut on), some I missed out on when I was sleeping (before those in different time zones were helping me look). Mostly, I just came up against lack of availability. I bought some tanzanites along the way, hoping they would scratch the itch, but ultimately moved most on, scared I'd set them then give them a good whack and crack them (I can be quite clumsy, even though I try to be careful).
Then, I found this little cushion. It's not big (1.60 ct, 6.56L x 6.27W x 4.65H), and it's from the Natural Sapphire Company. Yep. I know they don't always get great reviews here, and I've gotten annoyed in the past whenever I see a thread asking about them, and I know it will inevitably be the person's first post ever on PS (i.e. spam), but I honestly had a great experience with them. The customer service was excellent, the woman I dealt with (Caitlyn) answered all of my questions thoroughly and quickly, shipping was fast, with a nice presentation, and they were willing to get a GIA cert for free (here's where I might get some flack, as I didn't end up getting a cert - it involved shipping the stone back across the border with some fairly complicated instructions, and I got lazy). Anyway, it's apparently unheated. There is a fairly large inclusion/pit on the pavilion, that I could see face up when the stone was loose, but only off to the side and if I looked hard, at certain angles, in certain lighting. I haven't noticed it at all since being set.
I sent the stone to Jeff Davies to set. This is my second setting from Jeff, and I'm very happy with both.
The stone doesn't really cooperate for pictures. My phone seems to often erase the purple aspect, or puts it in as a weird zoning thing. IRL, it shifts between an even, purplish blue (outdoors) and bluish purple (indoors). Sometimes, it's that perfect, tanzanite-looking, "blurple" (to quote a friend). Caitlyn rated it an 8/10 for saturation, which I would agree with overall. Good enough for me! (Though if a precision cut, higher saturated one within budget ever comes up, I'm grabbing it, too!
)
Then, I found this little cushion. It's not big (1.60 ct, 6.56L x 6.27W x 4.65H), and it's from the Natural Sapphire Company. Yep. I know they don't always get great reviews here, and I've gotten annoyed in the past whenever I see a thread asking about them, and I know it will inevitably be the person's first post ever on PS (i.e. spam), but I honestly had a great experience with them. The customer service was excellent, the woman I dealt with (Caitlyn) answered all of my questions thoroughly and quickly, shipping was fast, with a nice presentation, and they were willing to get a GIA cert for free (here's where I might get some flack, as I didn't end up getting a cert - it involved shipping the stone back across the border with some fairly complicated instructions, and I got lazy). Anyway, it's apparently unheated. There is a fairly large inclusion/pit on the pavilion, that I could see face up when the stone was loose, but only off to the side and if I looked hard, at certain angles, in certain lighting. I haven't noticed it at all since being set.
I sent the stone to Jeff Davies to set. This is my second setting from Jeff, and I'm very happy with both.
The stone doesn't really cooperate for pictures. My phone seems to often erase the purple aspect, or puts it in as a weird zoning thing. IRL, it shifts between an even, purplish blue (outdoors) and bluish purple (indoors). Sometimes, it's that perfect, tanzanite-looking, "blurple" (to quote a friend). Caitlyn rated it an 8/10 for saturation, which I would agree with overall. Good enough for me! (Though if a precision cut, higher saturated one within budget ever comes up, I'm grabbing it, too!
)
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