Peachy pink sapphire questions

[crc2018]

Hi! New to the forum, not ready to buy yet, but trying to educate myself in advance on quality and price.

I'm interested to learn why there is such a price difference between the 1st sapphire (natural sapphire company) and the second 2 (gemfix). I assume some of the difference is due to color saturation (1st appears lighter) and some due to clarity (VS versus VVS and VVS-VS). I also think I see some extinction on the 1st. Are these issues enough to account for the price difference, or are there additional issues with the first that I an unaware of and should keep an eye out for? In short, I am wondering what issues to look for when the price seems suspiciously low. And again, I'm not buying any of these right now, but I am trying to learn for when I'm ready to buy!

1st from Natural Sapphire: https://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/2.21ct-madagascar-pear-pink-sapphire-p3605-/
2nd 2 from gemfix: https://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-pink-13-538 and https://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-pink-13-535

 

[chrono]

NSC has always been overpriced (on top of mostly terrible faceting) but they offer a huge inventory. The NSC linked has a good sized window. All 3 do not have independent lab verification of not being treated, if that matters to you.

 

[voce]

Welcome to the PS forums!

Sure, color may account for the price difference, but the most noticeable difference is in the CUT.

The one from natural sapphire company does have extinction, as you have noticed, but it also has a big WINDOW. If you click on the front view, the window is that clear area. Light will go through the gem instead of reflecting back at the viewer.

In contrast, the one from Gemfix is very well cut, no windows, no extinction, good brilliance. It is a gemstone whose optical performance is far far superior.

 

[crc2018]

Thank you very much, chrono and voce! I appreciate the insights. I suspected the cut was a major factor, I'm not familiar with windows, but just at a glance, the gemfix ones seemed to have much more sparkle. Could vendor photography hide a window or will it usually be apparent when looking online? Re: treatments, I've read to avoid most, but I don't have a strong opinion on heat only (yet).

 

[lovedogs]

The gemfix ones look good. NSC is always overpriced for subpar quality. The gemfix ones will almost certainly look better. Vendor photography could theoretically "hide" a window, but it will almost certainly show in a video.

Heat only is fairly standard (but certainly up to you in terms of whether you are ok with it or not). Other treatments are less accepted (mostly because some make the stone less stable, and should drive the cost down significantly).

 

[whitewave]

What about this one?i found it the other day but the other poster didn’t like a fatty pear

https://www.etsy.com/listing/633618093/unheated-pink-sapphire-184-ct?ref=shop_home_active_3