Should I send this sapphire for recut by Richard Homer?

[BWise]

I just bought this sapphire from eBay. 5.66ct, VS, unheated. I took it to an independant appraiser, and he thinks the cut and color are both beautiful. However, after seeing Richard Homer's work, I cannot stop the thought of sending this candy to him for recut. I don't how much the weight loss will be but am sure that it will decrease the value. The Question - shall I do it? Help!

 

[BWise]

Additional pictures (I don''t know how to upload multiple pics in a single post, so please bear with me)

This sapphire looks dark than the picture in most angles. It has a window in the cut. From several views, you can only see half of the stone blue, the other half dark and inky.

 

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More pics

 

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Pic D

 

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Pic E

 

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Pic F

 

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Pic G -last one.

 

[MJO]

You could send it to Richard and have him give you his opinion. He has told me that some stones were not worth recutting and some rough I sent him he said would be better off given to someone that does not charge as him because the final product would not be worth it.

 

[valeria101]

It doesn't cost anything to ask. My main concern would not be as much the cost of cuting (up to you if it is ok or not) but the effect. Concave faceting may not work very well on darker material - I've heard this from more than one source and never seen overly dark gems cut this way.

If Richard can recommend a competing cuter (!) all for the better.

Among Pricescope posters, Michael E does beautiful classic gem cuting... And you might want to investigate the work of Daniel Stair at Customgemstones.com: some of the designs look very inspired, IMO.

Just a thought...


Btw, your sapphire might be dark (it shows a bit in the pictures) but if the color is that blue with no gray tinge and clarity perfect, that's still a very nice stone.

The pictures show a decent cut. Since you see a window and the pavilion is not flattened, I guess the stone was made a bit shallow to lighten the color. This doesn't mean that the cut style used is the best at this job though...

 

[Michael_E]

The window that you are seeing is most likely only visible when the stone is tilted and this is normal. The reason that one half of the stone looks dark while the other is reflecting light, is due to the light that you are viewing it in. If you were to take it outside on a bright overcast day, the stone would look bright all over, since light can enter the stone from every angle. The decision to have Richard cut that particular stone would depend more on your personal preference for it''s look. The stone is deep enough that I doubt if you would lose much weight in a recut and it is definitely not too dark to be concave cut. I would ask Richard his opinion and go for it if you really like that style. After all it is your stone, you will be wearing it and the final value only really matters if you intend to sell it, (I personally don''t think that the final value would be affected very much and may actually increase with a brighter look) .

 

[MJO]

Date: 5/21/2005 4:47:44 AM
Author: valeria101
It doesn''t cost anything to ask. My main concern would not be as much the cost of cuting (up to you if it is ok or not) but the effect. Concave faceting may not work very well on darker material - I''ve heard this from more than one source and never seen overly dark gems cut this way.

If Richard can recommend a competing cuter (!) all for the better.

Among Pricescope posters, Michael E does beautiful classic gem cuting... And you might want to investigate the work of Daniel Stair at Customgemstones.com: some of the designs look very inspired, IMO.

Just a thought...


Btw, your sapphire might be dark (it shows a bit in the pictures) but if the color is that blue with no gray tinge and clarity perfect, that''s still a very nice stone.

The pictures show a decent cut. Since you see a window and the pavilion is not flattened, I guess the stone was made a bit shallow to lighten the color. This doesn''t mean that the cut style used is the best at this job though...

I agree with Michael, I don''t beleive this is dark. It looks like a 75 tone to me. Concave cutting would look great on this stone if that is what you want. One think is that the price goes down substantially per carat to a collector if the stone is recut under 5cts. But it''s your stone. I had an unheated Burma stone recut by Richard Homer that went under the Magic 7ct mark to 5.2cts. The stone is less desirable from a weight point of view but more desirable from an asthetic point of view and since I am keeping it I choice the asthetic aspect.

 

[BWise]

Thanks so much for all your good advice!

I took the sapphire out in the sun, it looks a little lighter but the window is still there, so does the half blue/half dark effect. I stopped by local jewelry store yesterday, and their sapphire looked better in terms of even color viewing! Does this have anything to do with the fact that the culet is not pointed?(a line instead - pardon my layman language)

I agree that the asthetic aspect is more important. I have not seen a concave cut in person so there was a little uncertainty. I just want to bring out the beauty of this stone to a even color show and lots of sparks.

Precision cut or concave, as long as it serve that purpose. It will be great if the weight can be kept 5+.

My appraiser called the color (B7/4, BV 8/3), only if I know what does that mean!

 

[cflutist]

Date: 5/22/2005 2:30:35 PM
Author: yingh

My appraiser called the color (B7/4, BV 8/3), only if I know what does that mean!

B7/4 = Blue, dark tone, moderately strong saturation = 1.6/10 GIA Color Grading scale

bV 8/3 = bluish Violet, , very dark tone, very slightly grayish saturation = 0.4/10 GIA Color Grading scale.

Don't let the color grade scare you. I had a sapphire that was a 4.5 that in my mind was very beautiful.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/colored-stone-grading.17940/

Might also add that Richard recut my sapphire and I was pleased with the results.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/an-amazing-sapphire-recut-by-richard-homer.19311/