Sapphire origin/heat treated? Advice needed

[Carbonlover]

Hi - Long time lurker...but infrequent poster.

I have a sapphire ring (estate) that I wanted to get appraised. When I took it to the appraiser, she asked me if I knew the history behind the ring, and I told her only what I knew - that it was a gift from my great-grandmother.

My reason for the appraisal was I decided I would like to wear the ring, so I wanted to have the setting checked out, and then insured.

So she told me she couldn't give me an accurate appraisal on the sapphire without knowing it's origin, and whether or not it was heat treated.

The sapphire is about 3.25 carats, and is a really pretty electric blue. She advised me that she (or I) could take it to GIA in NYC and they would determine its origin....But the cost of this is about $350. She wouldn't even hazard a guess on the value. She wouldn't say "It's between $2000-$4000..." or something of that nature.

My dilemma is - I don't want to spend the $350 if it's only worth $1000.... Is there any way of getting a better estimate on it? The appraiser seemed honest, and she wouldn't take my money, so I appreciated that. I was just surprised - I guess, not the answer I was expecting.

Any advice?

 

[Pandora II]

I would find a new appraiser - preferably someone who is also a gemmologist.

In any case, it is not always possible to establish origin and sometimes they get it wrong - I know of a couple of cases where sapphires were allocated a Kashmir origin by a very reputable lab, in fact the stones were in one case from Madagascar and in the other from Sri Lanka (and yes the dealers who owned the respective stones 100% knew the actual origin and were more than a little suprised).

A gemmologist (they will usually have GG or FGA on their credentials) should be able to establish whether or not a stone has been heated.

Hope that helps.

 

[chrono]

I am surprised that your appraiser is not able to determine if the sapphire is heat treated or untreated. Origin isn't highly important unless it comes from Kashmir with that particular look, then there is a premium attached to it. If curious, you can send your stone to AGL for the $55 brief to find out if it is heated or not. Otherwise, I'd probably shop for a different appraiser who has the lab equipment and experience to check out the stone.

 

[RedSpinel]

I am surprised that your appraiser is not able to determine if the sapphire is heat treated or untreated. Origin isn't highly important unless it comes from Kashmir with that particular look, then there is a premium attached to it. If curious, you can send your stone to AGL for the $55 brief to find out if it is heated or not. Otherwise, I'd probably shop for a different appraiser who has the lab equipment and experience to check out the stone.

This was originally the grandmother's ring, so it might have been mined and cut a long time ago, which brings me to this question: I know heat treatment for Corundum has been done for a long time, but was it more or less common 40-50 years ago than now? I would assume that it was easier to find true Kashmir sapphires "back in the day" than it is now, so maybe it didnt need to be heated(?)

 

[innerkitten]

I'm going to guess they've been heating sapphires for hundreds of years. Buy maybe longer.

 

[Pandora II]

They started heat-treating in Roman times.

Just as likely to have been heated then as now.

 

[Carbonlover]

Thanks for your assistance.... So everybody thinks I should try to find another gemologist before bringing the stone to GIA?

 

[Pandora II]

If you are going to see an appraiser anyway, you may as well just find one who is qualified as a gemmologist (was the one you saw qualified? If so, in my opinion they were being rather lazy.) - preferably someone who is au fait with coloured stones not just diamonds. If they are any good they will carry out all the tests that a lab would do for an initial report anyway.

It can be very hard to find an appraiser who is sufficiently up to date with coloured stone values especially stones like sapphires and rubies where small differences can make $$$ differences, so ask lots of questions before choosing someone.

AGL rather than GIA tends to be the recommendation for coloured stones in the USA - especially amongst the PS group.

 

[chrono]

If you need a appraisal for insurance purposes, you might be able to bypass having a lab memo. Just get someone who knows coloured gemstones. The reason I usually recommend AGL over GIA is two-fold.
1. Very reputable, highly knowledgable and quick turnaround with good customer service.
2. Inexpensive $55 fast track brief as opposed to a full report if a person needs verification and treatment.

 

[Carbonlover]

Thank you! I'll go research AGL....