The Natural Sapphire Company - all opinions please

[LD]

As has been mentioned in a previous post, seasoned regulars to this forum may be ultra wary when new posters all start raving about the same company AND put the Company's name in the title of the post AND the posts are all fairly long and descriptive. This may just be a complete coincidence and as we're coming up to Christmas I guess more people are buying holiday presents so I'm not judging! I'm just being a little cautious.

However, I do know that this particular company has not had just good press in the past so .............. let's do a neutral thread! Good and bad review about NSC please!

I've only purchased from them once.

Plus points:
- Loved the packaging!
- Fairly good customer service (certainly friendly)

Negatives:
- The gemstone wasn't quite the colour it appeared on the website
- If you're out of the US some of their payment options don't apply
- Some slight pressure to keep the stone when I wanted to return it (it wasn't just "yes, ok").
- Many of their gemstones are much higher in price when comparing like for like with other vendors.

 

[luckynumber]

who would you say, in your personal opinion, is a better vendor lovingdiamonds?

I am in the process of trying out a number of vendors with lower value stone purchases.

Would esp appreciate your input re vendors shipping to the UK.

sorry, that''s a bit of a threadjack....

 

[centrc]

I had a good experience. I also went to their showroom in NYC, so it was a different experience than buying online. When they brought out the stones, some certainly looked different than they did online, but that is because online it is just a picture and it can vary depending on your computer screen colors, type of screen, color options, etc.

 

[Linda W]

Hi LD,

As you know, I am a huge fan of the NSC, I have bought all my stones from them.

I can give nothing but excellent raves about them.

When I received my stones (pads and one blue sapphire) they were gorgeous. Better in person, than on the screen.

Their customer service to me was excellent. I dealt with Steven Bliss, who was wonderful. There was never any pressure, whatsoever to keep my stones, if I didn''t love them. There was one blue sapphire I didn''t care for and Steven told me to send it right back, no problem at all.

They have always been very accommodating to me. Michael Arnstein the owner, is also a doll to talk to.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I've written a lengthy review in the past, and honestly I feel like I see NSC purchases pop up here quite often, just not as often as some of the precision cutters. And usually the reviews aren't as lengthy.

I bought my padparadscha from them after visiting them in person.

Positives:
Livia was sweet and spent time showing me many different things, no pressure to buy.
Really nice packaging
I had thought about returning, and she said it would be fine if I did
They removed the stone from an already set ring, since it was the only one I liked colorwise. And there was no pressure to have them do the setting either.
Great selection, especially given the rarity of the material
Prices were relatively competitive (but hard to judge well because few cutters even sell it)
Relatively well cut.
I've emailed Livia after wards about other items, and she's always been very nice and prompt in answering, even though it rarely results in a sale, lol. She even once counseled me not to buy something because she wasn't sure it could be resized properly to accommodate my small fingers, which I thought was very honest.

Negatives:
They were a bit disorganized due to recent employee and policy turnover
The photos online can be really misleading as I found out when I went in person
Many of the things they call pads I don't think are pads (evals are done in house too)
There was a small chip, but they fixed it.
Many of their stones can be more expensive than other sellers, and not always well cut.


I think that's all. I think generally the prices are more expensive and cuts aren't always great, but I think as in many things, you can find the right deal if you look carefully. I only dealt with Livia, but she was absolutely sweet and patient, even though I had a tiny budget. She was very honest about what she thought about the cut and color of certain stones, and wasn't "car salesmen" about it. I wish their online photos were more reliably accurate, and I would be more comfortable relying on Livia's verbal descriptions than the online photos and info personally.

 

[LD]

Date: 12/19/2009 1:16:50 PM
Author: luckynumber
who would you say, in your personal opinion, is a better vendor lovingdiamonds?

I am in the process of trying out a number of vendors with lower value stone purchases.

Would esp appreciate your input re vendors shipping to the UK.

sorry, that''s a bit of a threadjack....

Luckynumber I never recommend vendors or give a personal opinion because quite honestly what I may like another may not. Also, every single vendor has good and bad and it''s dangerous to give a glowing opinion because somebody could see that and buy something that they are disappointed with. I''m happy to give a personal opinion if somebody posts up a gemstone and says "what do you think" and I''ll tell the truth (or won''t post if I''m struggling to find something positive to say) but that will, again, only be my personal opinion and will be irrespective of the vendor.

 

[Linda W]

Date: 12/19/2009 4:03:56 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
I''ve written a lengthy review in the past, and honestly I feel like I see NSC purchases pop up here quite often, just not as often as some of the precision cutters. And usually the reviews aren''t as lengthy.


I bought my padparadscha from them after visiting them in person.


Positives:

Livia was sweet and spent time showing me many different things, no pressure to buy.

Really nice packaging

I had thought about returning, and she said it would be fine if I did

They removed the stone from an already set ring, since it was the only one I liked colorwise. And there was no pressure to have them do the setting either.

Great selection, especially given the rarity of the material

Prices were relatively competitive (but hard to judge well because few cutters even sell it)

Relatively well cut.

I''ve emailed Livia after wards about other items, and she''s always been very nice and prompt in answering, even though it rarely results in a sale, lol. She even once counseled me not to buy something because she wasn''t sure it could be resized properly to accommodate my small fingers, which I thought was very honest.


Negatives:

They were a bit disorganized due to recent employee and policy turnover

The photos online can be really misleading as I found out when I went in person

Many of the things they call pads I don''t think are pads (evals are done in house too)

There was a small chip, but they fixed it.

Many of their stones can be more expensive than other sellers, and not always well cut.



I think that''s all. I think generally the prices are more expensive and cuts aren''t always great, but I think as in many things, you can find the right deal if you look carefully. I only dealt with Livia, but she was absolutely sweet and patient, even though I had a tiny budget. She was very honest about what she thought about the cut and color of certain stones, and wasn''t ''car salesmen'' about it. I wish their online photos were more reliably accurate, and I would be more comfortable relying on Livia''s verbal descriptions than the online photos and info personally.

MTG: I agree with you on this. Some pads, I don''t think are either. I purchased mine 4 years ago now and I definitely know mine are pads. If I were to purchase again, I would want a lab cert, just by the certain colors that show on their screen.

 

[LD]

Completely agree about the Pads. The Pad I bought was probably only just a Pad IYKWIM! As there''s so much debate about what is/what isn''t a Pad I would agree Linda that certification is definitely THE way to go.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

My DH bought my engagement ring there and LOVED his experience. He had a limited budget and dealt with Livia. She helped him find a beautiful sapphire, worked with him to design a delicate three stone setting, and worked with his budget to find diamond side stones. I think their prices are a little higher than other vendors but my DH was so happy with his experience as a newbie purchaser that he never wants to go anywhere else

 

[SB621]

A good friend of mine did buy a rather expensive blue sapphire from them. I was not impressed at all with the cutting- neither was she so it was returned. I never asked how the return process went. It just seems that TNSC has more medicore reviews and I personally have never seen anything on their website that peaks my interest enought to buy. I will stick with precision cutters.