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Should I keep this sapphire from Tan? Or return it?

stargurl78

stargurl78

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 19, 2010
Messages
3,296
I received an oval sapphire from Tan last week and I'm trying to decide if I should keep it. I need to decide by tonight in order to contact him within the return policy period. I'm leaning towards returning it because while its a pretty stone, its just a tad too dark I think.

Curious what you all think before I make a final decision...

Here is a link to the stone:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/230463346122?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

And my pics:

iphone nov 11 141.JPG

iphone nov 11 145.JPG

iphone nov 11 151.JPG

iphone nov 11 154.JPG
 
More...

iphone nov 11 158.JPG

iphone nov 11 159.JPG

iphone nov 11 160.JPG

nov 13 030.JPG
 
It seems dark to me, too, but the most important thing is that you don't seem to love it!
 
And a few more...

nov 13 034.JPG

nov 13 036.JPG

nov 13 039.JPG
 
Aoife said:
It seems dark to me, too, but the most important thing is that you don't seem to love it!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts Aoife! I feel like I can see random sparks of blue, but there just isn't enough of it and most of the stone is dark...
 
If the pictures are true to life I agree that it is dark. If it was me I would return it and try again another day. :))
 
Return it.
 
If you need to ask, it needs to go.

Of course this rule only applies if you are buying it for yourself. If you are buying for others, you need to sleep on it, and then think about it again.
 
TL gave me good advice recently about a Mahenge spinel but it applies to your sapphire as well. If it does not knock your socks off - return it.
 
Unfortunately, this is a case when his video is not representative of the stone in typical lighting. I would've been tempted to purchase that stone too based on that video, but the reality is quite different.
 
One of the reasons that this sapphire looks dark is that the facets on the pavilion have been cut a bit too "flat" with respect to one another and so you are getting a fairly large head reflection in the center of the stone. It is deep enough that it could be re-cut to a bit more of a roval shape and end up with a substantially brighter stone. The color showing looks good to me, you just need more of it. If you're looking for one of those "electric" medium blue stones, I have a feeling that it will cost you quite a bit more in that size range.
 
+ 1

I was just typing that if it were my stone, I'd ask Tan if I could keep it for several more days (from my experience, he has been very reasonable) and contact one of our lapidaries. Jerry Newman did a fantastic job on one of my sapphires, and he is very economic. I think one can tell you the potential for a recut from your pictures. The color (what is seen of it) is very pretty, juicy-blue with violet secondary. On the minus side, it is heated, but I'd risk...
 
I'm going to return it. I am not thrilled with it and I think I'll always wonder if I should have held out for something that isn't so dark. I considered looking into a re-cut but I think I'm just going to wait until I can afford exactly what I'm looking for, even if its quite a bit more expensive. Thanks all for leading me in the right direction!
 
If your photos are accurate, it looks dark.

Can you let us know about the return process to Tan?
 
pregcurious|1321287763|3061399 said:
Can you let us know about the return process to Tan?
Click to expand...

and what you paid for the stone? just curious.........
 
I typically stay with lighter sapphires from Tan, so I'm not sure how to read his photos on darker stones. I apologize for the mistake, as I thought it looked great from the video. I typically buy other gems from Tan, and so far, I have only purchased one sapphire from him, but it was very true to the video, but it was also a medium light tone.

You may want to ask him if he has anything more saturated and not as dark. He's very good about making recommendations, so that if you do return the stone, he may give you a store credit. I think his prices are second to none on sapphires, so I think its worth a shot.
 
pregcurious - Sure, I'll let you know how it goes. I'm going to package it up after work tonight and send it out tomorrow.

MZ - I paid $880 for it.

TL - No worries, I wanted to purchase it anyways to see how it looked IRL, since it looked like a nice stone from the pics and I have purchased from Tan before and have been pleased. Thank you for the suggestion, I'll definitely inquire to see what else he has. I don't mind going a little smaller to get something with better color...
 
thanks.......
 
Stargurl - I've not had much luck with Tan's sapphires and they've always been darker in real life so I stopped buying because I've had to return. I think TL is right that if you look for the lighter colour sapphires then you've got a chance of getting one you like.

As you're asking the question I'm sensing that you don't love it so you should definitely send it back. From the pictures it looks overly dark. If that's what you want then it's a nice sapphire. However, if you're looking for something lighter/brighter then I doubt whether you'll grow to love it.
 
LovingDiamonds|1321300209|3061541 said:
Stargurl - I've not had much luck with Tan's sapphires and they've always been darker in real life so I stopped buying because I've had to return. I think TL is right that if you look for the lighter colour sapphires then you've got a chance of getting one you like.

As you're asking the question I'm sensing that you don't love it so you should definitely send it back. From the pictures it looks overly dark. If that's what you want then it's a nice sapphire. However, if you're looking for something lighter/brighter then I doubt whether you'll grow to love it.
Click to expand...

Funny you say that, :)) but I just got a light sapphire from Tan in the mail today, and it's spot on. Well, I love it. I think I do have more luck with lighter toned sapphires from Tan, although it's only the second sapphire I ever purchased from him. Umba sapphire, 2.4 carats.

TLdenimsapphire.jpg

TLTansapphirevendorvideostill.png
 
stargurl78|1321318981|3061772 said:
TL, your new stone is gorgeous! And I do like the one you linked, thank you so much! I think I'll email him now to see if he'll do the exchange. I saw this one too, do you think this one will be dark? I like the cut...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-93ct-Dynamic-Oval-Portuguese-Natural-BLUE-SAPPHIRE-/350500431644?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519b74271c
Click to expand...

Oh no!! I think someone bought that first one I linked too above. That's lurkers. :((

I'm almost afraid to make a comment on the other two you picked out. I think now that you have a handle on his vendor photos, you may be able to make a fair judgement yourself. That's all I'm gonna say for now!
 
TL, don't worry, I bought it! :bigsmile: Tan wouldn't go lower on the price (he responds IMMEDIATELY) so I decided to buy it anyways. So please let me know your thoughts on the other 2 I posted, although I think I like the one that you suggested best.
 
I like the second one better because
1) It has a high crown (lots of sparkle factor)
2) It's larger
3) It's deeper so a higher concentration of color I think (face up).
4) Nice cutting.

Post pics when you get this one. I think the first one I picked out has the most traditional sapphire blue color, but all three are very pretty!!
 
I do like the higher crown on that second stone but I agree that the one you posted has the more traditional sapphire blue color and that is what I am looking for. Thanks again TL! I'll definitely post pics when I receive the stone.
 
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