Question for the Ladies

[Davey Wavy]

I''m wondering what you girls out there think as far as lab created gemstones go? I''m not talking cubic zirconias instead of diamonds, but are lab created sapphires, for instance, as satisfying a gift as natural sapphires? That is my girlfriend''s favorite stone, and I don''t know whether lab created stones are a way of saying "I''m too cheap to get the good stuff" or if they are sufficiently high enough in quality and character to be an impressive gift. Thanks for any and all opinions.

 

[camper]

I don't really know anything about lab-created gemstones so can't comment too much on those versus the real ones. HOWEVER, if I were to receive a semi-precious stone such as a sapphire, I would, at some point, have it appraised for insurance purposes. If it's a true sapphire then you'd have no problem; if it's a lab-created stone, who knows what she'll think (or do)!

Be prepared.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 9/20/2003 10:39:55 PM camper wrote:

If I were to receive a semi-precious stone such as a sapphire, ----------------

Hi!
First, PLEASE, PLEASE do not call sapphires 'semi-precious'...I beg you! First of all, they are not considered so (rubies, emeralds, sapphires and pearls, along diamonds are all 'precious'). Diamonds are not even the most expensive of the bunch! (rubies are).
Well, as for the question above: if I were to buy a sapphire as a gift, I would get an affordable sapphire (genuine) of which there are so many that, given their low price, quite a few people think that all sapphires are cheap and not all that precious

, OR get a smaller one (same policy as with buying diamonds). A one carat sapphire can get in the neighbourhood of 10K, just like diamonds, but even getting to see such a bauble will take patience and will power because, unlike great diamonds (smaller ones), great sapphires are rare(even smaller ones!).
Hope this helps restore the BLUES' honor...

 

[valeria101]

Practically: a blue sapphire with violet shade (like tanzanite) heat treated, below 2c, could be a charming trinket! Check israel-diamonds (sapphire section, of course), Allthatglitters (run search on this) and simplysapphires and see what I mean. Not enough choice? See AJS Gems and multicolour.com. From all these sources I would buy without a blink, and from some I already have... I have no qualms against created gems (as long as the chemistry stays the same) if the LOOK real. But created sapphires one can guess from a mile, because perfect natural stones are SO sparse that you do not believe your eyes. How could I believe that, say, a bright blue tiny thing in a cheap setting could be a beautiful Kashmir or Burma worth north of 5K? I guess some created rubies got close to the natural look (inclusions included), but sapphires... I have yet to see a good 'hand-made' one. Honestly, after all, seing is believing: the one natural FLAWLESS, Mogok ruby I was shown, I thought was fake. But then, the jeweler was practicing the trick on everyone, with simmilar success! The price of that would put any diamond to great shame, about three times... I wrote all these assuming you are a buyer of sapphire, not a seller. But I hope the message passes either way. I would buy a piece of jewelry with an artificial stone any day, as long as the jeweler's work on the piece would overshadow the stone!

 

[NewYorker]

Sapphire are indeed "precious" gems. The cheap ones you see in malls are so dark and almost black that they are practically worthless. I truly good sapphire will be such a shade of blue it would leave you breathless.
I vote to buy a real one since fake sapphires are not a convincing color of blue and, well, just look fake from a mile away.

 

[mike04456]

The very terms "precious" and "semi-precious" are obsolete and inaccurate. I could show you a "semi-precious" garnet that goes for for $2000+/ct and a "precious" ruby for less than $50/ct. People in the trade have long since stopped referring to anything as "precious" or "semi-precious." Don't use either term with a jeweler or gem dealer, or you've just pegged yourself as an amatuer to be taken advantage of.

 

[innerkitten]

Why not get a natural stone that has been treated. It's cheaper and it's still the real thing.