Quality of maul store sapphires?

[beginswithT]

Okay, so I went into Bailey Banks and Biddle not long ago with my girlfriend just to try on different styles of rings to see how they worked on her hand.

I could tell, immediately, that all of the pieces were WAY over priced, but in real life, I had some trouble judging quality. Most of my gem viewing has been My girlfriend noticed that some seemed a little windowed when she moved her hand around, but otherwise, they were mostly of an attractive, medium blue color, seemed clear (although I didn''t look through the loupe) with no obvious color zoning, nothing was too spectacular (like the glowing blues on the "cornflower" threads), but nice. I thought that most chain stores carried merchandise that was both overpriced AND very low quality.

So, in your experience, what IS the average quality of colored gemstones in a typical mall store?

 

[chrono]

My experience is that the quality is poor to down right terrible. Most of the time, the colour is too dark or washed out. Saturation is also on the poor end. They do tend to carry decent lab created stones though but I don''t know if the prices are competitive. If you are lucky, you might be able to find some pretty pieces at a reasonable price but the quality will only be mediocre.

 

[strmrdr]

Every once in a while you will find some decent ones but most places/ most times they are pretty bad.
General rule is if its very nice looking and at the maul its usualy a Lab made stone.

 

[Michael_E]

beginswithT,
Every stone has to be looked at indepenently. I don''t think that you can really characterize and group all "mall stores" into the same heap. A higher end mall store could very well have some excellent sapphires and some really bad ones in the same case in an attempt to satisfy all segments of their market.
When you say that the stones that you were looking at were medium blue and very clean, you didn''t mention price. In general, if those types of stones carry a low price, then you can assume that they are synthetics. If they carry a high price, then they may be natural and they should either have a bonafide cert from a recognized lab or they should be able to show you the natural features of the stone under a microscope. The funny thing about many mall stores is that, while they may have a microscope, often they don''t have anyone available who knows how to use it. My advice is to buy these stones from an independent jeweler/gemologist who can show you what you''re buying and why the price is the way it is.

 

[Georg]

Chrono is right ,..
You will have a hard time finding a supper fine Sapphire in your usual mall store but there surely are exceptions,...
I guess this will depend on the area of where the mall is located and the quality of jewelry being sold to the type of buyer in the area,..
Chances are if you are shopping in small town where the market for fine jewelry is smaller you may find a great sellection of Tourmalines or garnets , but when it comes to more expensive gems like Sapphire or Ruby, your chances seeing such gems are very limited due to high carying socts of such merchandise. However most jewelers however have a direct suppliers and all it takes is a call and maybe over night shipment and you can have a sellection you never dreamed of,... Or if you want to just get an idea of what the high end gems should look like, you need to visit fine jewelry stores ,.. they are usualy located in busy high exposure areas where big dollar buyer traffic is guaranteed,.. Usually down town areas in large cities ,.. In New york you have your famous 5th Avenue and or west 47th and 48th street ( the jewelry district)or Canal street. In LA finest shops are located in down town or Rodeo Drive In Beverly Hills ,... You probably know that each large city has it''s own "Exclusive shopping area",...
But yet,.. don''t be dissappointed if you walk into third floor of Tiffany''s & co.on 5th Avenue "The floor of all ladies dreams and all man''s nightmares" where you may see a hundreds of fine Sapphire rings but you may not see the type shown in the pictures on Cornflower subject,.. Why? Those gems are extremely rare, and highly desirable. If they become available they command outrageous prices and believe it or not they are sold rather quickly,.. I am not saying that Tiffany''s is unable to supply you with Kasmir Sapphire you just have to ask for it . It is known that the one on 5th ave has a room at the back for the big $ items if requested,... If they don''t have it in stock you will be put on waiting list ,... I meet with Tiffany''s buyers often at The Tucson AGTA show each year and you would be amazed to see their shopping list!,.. If you are member of trade, Tucson Gem fair is a great place to buy at wholesale prices but still you rarely see good Kasmir sapphire of the same or close to the calibre Richard posted ,.. The Kashmirs I have seen lately in Tucson are nothig to talk about ,... but you are guarranteed to see large numbers of fine Burmeese and Ceylon goods,...
If you are trully seriously considering Fine Kasmir ,.. It may be good idea for you to check out Cherrypicked.com I have a friend who has purchased from them before and his experience was extremely pleasant. They trully are working hard to earn your business,..
Best regards
George