opinion on this blue sapphire

[MCY]

Hi,

I am looking for a blue sapphire and would like your opinion on this stone.

http://www.mineralminers.com/html/sblgems.stm#sblg143

The side photo''s seem a bit gray, but the description shows a saturation of a 5-6. I was also told that the color is even and there is no color zoning in the stone.

Thanks,
MC

 

[Elmorton]

Hmmm...others will certainly chime in - I think the photo is not so hot, but the color certainly looks pretty (maybe a touch dark though?) from what you can see and the description seems good. What is the seller''s return policy? If there''s no harm in having it shipped to you to look at in person, that''s probably what I would do. It seems hard to get a really good idea from that photo.

Have you looked at any other vendors? LaurenthePartier started a great thread a few days ago that lists all of the gem vendors that PSers often use, and you might use that to compare. For example, The Natural Sapphire Company is one place where many people start when looking at sapphires.

 

[chrono]

Mineral Miners has a decent return policy.

That said, the website is honest about several things:
1. The stone is very deep. A 6 mm depth means that you are paying for a 3 ct sapphire but it''ll look like a 2 ct gemstone.
2. The colour is a deep blue, meaning the tone is on the dark side.

There is no mention of a gray mask but I see it in the side view. I''d pass and keep looking.

Many PSers like NSC but personally I don''t because the cut is very bad on most sapphires. Their only advantage over other sellers is the fact that the stones are unheated, so if you are picky and want only unheated sapphires, that would be my recommendation. Otherwise, I''d contact Gary at www.diamondexpert.com or Wink at www.winkjones.com or www.ajsgems.com or www.acstones.com among many others.

 

[MCY]

Thank you Elmorton and Chrono for your responses!

I have been looking for a nice sapphire for the last couple of months. Although I have read and learned alot through PS and the links to various web sites, it''s always hard to tell exactly what the numbers mean. The B&M stores that I have visited don''t even know about tone, saturation, etc when I ask them so it''s hard to compare based on the data alone. They are giving it a tone of 5, but I should probably ask what scale they are basing this on.

Although I tend to like a slightly deeper, darker tone, I do think this one may look a bit too dark in the pictures, but I wasn''t sure if it was just the lighting or the background. Do you think the tone of 5 matches the darkness that you see?

With a budget of 5k, I would love an unheated sapphire in the 2.5-4 carat range that has very good clarity and not too light. How realiztic am I being? From your experiences, is sourcing a stone more expensive than buying from a vendor like NSC?

 

[chrono]

The MM stones appears rather dark for what they call a tone of 5. Sourcing isn't necessarily more expensive - it depends on the dealer/cutter. If you don't need your sapphire to be unheated, you option opens up greatly and your budget will get you a very nice large blue sapphire. I'd only include NSC in my search if I am looking for an unheated sapphire. You certainly will not anywhere close to a 4 ct stone with a $5K budget. Maybe a 2.5 to 3 ct stone, depending on the colour.