Sri Lankan Sapphire Show and Tell

[CSpan]

I have been searching for a sapphire for ages and was about to pull the trigger on a stone from a Sri Lankan IG vendor when I read the posts about all the issues with returns et. I am extremely grateful to those who have gone through such frustration and been willing to share their stories.

I went back to searching US vendors but on my budget it was slim pickings for sizable and a stone that looked blue.

I was browsing IG and an account I have followed for awhile and bought from previously posted that he was in Sri Lanka cutting! If you don't follow Tim from Inorgems you have to start. He is based in Sedona but travels to buy rough and decided to cut in Sri Lanka since back and forth has been difficult. I had the security of an American business (paypal invoice, credit card protection, 5 day returns to AZ) but the cost savings of buying overseas. He also shipped the stones to his AZ office and they dispatched it to me so no customs or insurance issues.

Anyhow, so not the point, here they are!

Cushion is 2.23 unheated 7.9 x 5 9mm here is every different lighting environment i could find.
CFL dining room. No natural light

Kitchen leds

Worst light ever. CFLs of varying intensity.
Horrifically bad
Backyard total shade under the porch

Outdoors overcast diffuse light around noon.

 

[CSpan]

Wow I am a terrible photographer.

Here is the friend, I almost didn't buy this one but saw it rough and couldn't resist. A 1 6ct heated 7 2mm round.

Group shot horrible bathroom


Again with the cfls

 

[Double E]

Congrats for getting your desired stones and thank you for creating this thread ^^ I shared your concerns on buying from IG seller from Sri Lanka.

Would love to know more about how you rate the whole purchase process from Tim, such as responsiveness, provision of photos / videos in different lightings, even communication on cut if any etc. A precision cutter who is close to his rough source does catch my attention!

As how I understand, can I say Tim provided you multiple roughs or a single rough that he believes closest to your requirements and color preferences and you made your decision on which to cut?

 

[CSpan]

Congrats for getting your desired stones and thank you for creating this thread ^^ I shared your concerns on buying from IG seller from Sri Lanka.

Would love to know more about how you rate the whole purchase process from Tim, such as responsiveness, provision of photos / videos in different lightings, even communication on cut if any etc. A precision cutter who is close to his rough source does catch my attention!

As how I understand, can I say Tim provided you multiple roughs or a single rough that he believes closest to your requirements and color preferences and you made your decision on which to cut?

Happy to answer your questions. These are my experiences so as always your mileage may vary, but he has established business practices so I think that helps.

When I learned he was in SL I asked about blue stones he had on hand. He showed me a photo of rough (see above) waiting to be cut and told me the approx size he expected for each and approx carat price. I didn’t have to put down a deposit or reserve anything, as he cut he showed me the finished stones. He is cutting it all so it was just a matter of picking which finished stones I like.

I didn’t have any input on the cut, Tim knows what he is doing and cuts to the best advantage of the rough. But I did indicate what I was looking for size and shape wise so he could cut the most appropriate rough first. For instance, I wanted an oval or elongated and loved the color of that center rough but it was never gonna be anything but a round and he let me know that up front. He also said he’d look in the market for additional pieces. If he has your requirements he will show you the cut stone first and only post it if you pass or buy and then posts with a sold sign.

As far as processes. He is on IG and is very responsive but he is in a different time zone so we mainly chatted either morning or evening. You won’t get responses at noon if you are in the US.
I always had a response within the day, so if I sent a message in the morning he would respond when he woke up in my evening. There was only one lag but he let me know he was going to harvest rice for a friend and be out of network. Otherwise if I messaged I could expect a response within his next work day.
He sent photos of the entire cutting process (some videos which I need to learn to post).
I asked for specific lighting shots and videos and he was happy to oblige. He was willing to describe the lighting he was in too. He had already sent one stone to Colombo so his partner took those, not an issue but it was a day wait. I never felt pressured like I had to decide and buy immediately.
I was interested in a Pad he was cutting and I think he showed me in a few lighting situations and I took a couple days to decide maybe three days? Anyhow I passed so he posted it afterwards.
For what it is worth his photos were quite accurate as were his verbal descriptions, I’ll do a post in the vendor photo thread as soon as I can figure out to do a grid pattern.

Shipping was a little slow but totally out of his control. He dispatches the stones to his partner in Colombo who goes to the local authority and gets approval then they ship. eMS or FedEx to the US. If he has a lot of stones he ships to someone in Sedona and they break down the parcel and USPS it out. No idea for EU or Uk.

In my case, Once I decided on the stones Sri Lanka had gone into lockdown so he couldn’t get the stones across the country for about a week. I did have to check in with him to see if they were moving but that may have been rice week . He then advised EMS wasn’t moving so they’d go FedEx and had it delivered to his person in Sedona. FedEx took awhile. Nothing left SL for maybe 2 weeks? He let me know when it had. Arrived in AZ no problem but on a weekend if I recall so it didn’t go out immediately and then I was out of town so I asked for a hold. Once I said ship she got it out within a day or so and it was 2 days with USPS.

Let me know what else I can answer. Tim is a very nice guy personally and great to chat with.

I can’t speak to return although I may return the cushion, not for any other reason than I would love a slightly larger sized stone. But I’m torn because the color! Unheated! Price!

 

[maru8888777]

These are beautiful stones. I've been following him on IG and will reach out to him next time I need a sapphire.

 

[Cerulean]

Beautiful stone. Can someone share his link to Instagram? I can’t seem to find his account!

 

[maru8888777]

Inoro Gems and Jewels (@inorogems) • Instagram photos and videos

www.instagram.com

 

[Double E]

Happy to answer your questions. These are my experiences so as always your mileage may vary, but he has established business practices so I think that helps.

When I learned he was in SL I asked about blue stones he had on hand. He showed me a photo of rough (see above) waiting to be cut and told me the approx size he expected for each and approx carat price. I didn’t have to put down a deposit or reserve anything, as he cut he showed me the finished stones. He is cutting it all so it was just a matter of picking which finished stones I like.

I didn’t have any input on the cut, Tim knows what he is doing and cuts to the best advantage of the rough. But I did indicate what I was looking for size and shape wise so he could cut the most appropriate rough first. For instance, I wanted an oval or elongated and loved the color of that center rough but it was never gonna be anything but a round and he let me know that up front. He also said he’d look in the market for additional pieces. If he has your requirements he will show you the cut stone first and only post it if you pass or buy and then posts with a sold sign.

As far as processes. He is on IG and is very responsive but he is in a different time zone so we mainly chatted either morning or evening. You won’t get responses at noon if you are in the US.
I always had a response within the day, so if I sent a message in the morning he would respond when he woke up in my evening. There was only one lag but he let me know he was going to harvest rice for a friend and be out of network. Otherwise if I messaged I could expect a response within his next work day.
He sent photos of the entire cutting process (some videos which I need to learn to post).
I asked for specific lighting shots and videos and he was happy to oblige. He was willing to describe the lighting he was in too. He had already sent one stone to Colombo so his partner took those, not an issue but it was a day wait. I never felt pressured like I had to decide and buy immediately.
I was interested in a Pad he was cutting and I think he showed me in a few lighting situations and I took a couple days to decide maybe three days? Anyhow I passed so he posted it afterwards.
For what it is worth his photos were quite accurate as were his verbal descriptions, I’ll do a post in the vendor photo thread as soon as I can figure out to do a grid pattern.

Shipping was a little slow but totally out of his control. He dispatches the stones to his partner in Colombo who goes to the local authority and gets approval then they ship. eMS or FedEx to the US. If he has a lot of stones he ships to someone in Sedona and they break down the parcel and USPS it out. No idea for EU or Uk.

In my case, Once I decided on the stones Sri Lanka had gone into lockdown so he couldn’t get the stones across the country for about a week. I did have to check in with him to see if they were moving but that may have been rice week . He then advised EMS wasn’t moving so they’d go FedEx and had it delivered to his person in Sedona. FedEx took awhile. Nothing left SL for maybe 2 weeks? He let me know when it had. Arrived in AZ no problem but on a weekend if I recall so it didn’t go out immediately and then I was out of town so I asked for a hold. Once I said ship she got it out within a day or so and it was 2 days with USPS.

Let me know what else I can answer. Tim is a very nice guy personally and great to chat with.

I can’t speak to return although I may return the cushion, not for any other reason than I would love a slightly larger sized stone. But I’m torn because the color! Unheated! Price!

That sounds promising^^ Thanks again for the extensive sharing!

Noted you have explored the possibility in hunting your stone from other vendors located in US before going with Tim, May I know around how much you think you have saved for stone of similar quality? Of course provided you are comfortable to share

 

[CSpan]

Happy to share, for similar sizes I was looking around $3000 for a US based vendor. Tandi had some less expensive stones but I wasn't sure of the color and didn't wanna stress about store credit vs returns.
The unheated stone was $850/ct. I'll have to look up the heated round, I think it was $700/ct.

 

[Double E]

Happy to share, for similar sizes I was looking around $3000 for a US based vendor. Tandi had some less expensive stones but I wasn't sure of the color and didn't wanna stress about store credit vs returns.
The unheated stone was $850/ct. I'll have to look up the heated round, I think it was $700/ct.

That’s an obvious difference really. I may probably look further into the possibility of working with Tim. I guess you are also happy to be his repeat customer~