Update at PrecisionGem

[Harriet]

Date: 6/7/2009 9:58:03 PM
Author: Lady_Disdain
We can all go on a mine trip: Ouro Preto for imperials, Hematita for alexandrite, Teofilo Otoni for tourmaline, Brasilia for quartz...

May we have some pao de queijo?

 

[Harriet]

AN,
Yes, but I didn''t price them. I was looking out for the Brazilian gems. They were scarce, but boy, did they stand out!

 

[chrono]

AN,
I have shopped fairly recently for some original mine Brazilian and Mozambique paraibas. Unfortunately, I feel uncomfortable posting pictures of the stones online because I backed out of the purchasing process. For the Brazilain stones, I looked at both clean and included stones. Let''s just say that the clean stone is more than double the price per carat of the included stone. As for the included stones, there was nothing unattractive about them - no black or brown or other obvious marks, only some sleepiness to them. I prefer blue so that''s what I looked at, but you are correct that greens and blue greens are slightly lower priced than the blue paraibas.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Date: 6/7/2009 9:59:21 PM
Author: Art Nouveau
LD,

If you don''t mind sharing, where is this museum with the paraibas? I was in So. America for 3 weeks recently and I didn''t see a single paraiba. In fact, I didn''t see any nice color gems at all. Five years ago when I was in Manaus, H. Stern showed me 3 super neon 1 carat size Caribbean sea turquoise color paraibas. The price was $10,000 per carat, which I thought was ridiculous, so I passed. But I have never seen any stones that glow like those since. How included are the stones that you saw for $15,000 per carat?

Harriet: When you were in Tucson last February, did you see any lower clarity paraibas? If so, what were they going for?

Cind11: That sounds about what I was quoted. Harriet has seen this stone in person. Is it worth it?

AN

Amsterdam Sauer is my favourite jeweller for coloured stones. It is best to call ahead if you want to see Paraibas, unless you are at their headquarters in Rio. This gives them time to ship out the truly fine stones (the ones I got to see had been called in to São Paulo for a client). I wouldn''t have called them eye clean, but the inclusions weren''t dark or very distracting. Mainly, they were small internal fractures (to my untrained eye), which did not reach the surface but madde the stone not quite crystaline. I would certainly pass on one of the stones, which had a small fracture were a prong would probably go.

Both Amsterdam Sauer and H Stern have small museums in Rio. H Stern is more focused on jewelry production, showing the stages and design process. They have some impressive jewelry pieces on display (and they give visitors a cute little bag of hard candies as well!). Amsterdam Sauer, however, is the real mustn''t miss. Old man Sauer was a real collector who personally went on gem buying trips all over Brazil. His book on emeralds is very good (but long out of print). The best pieces are in this museum. Don''t expect detailed explanations: the stones are labelled with name, carat weight, origin but no detailed explanations on the gem type. The alexandrite will blow your mind (unfortunately, it is not possible to see them under both types of light...), a lot of great acqua (including a world record crystal), emeralds, etc. And paraiba, of course!

Amsterdam Sauer also sets up displays in stores. The mall stores will have some very nice opals, rubies and common place uset gems on display. The true high end locations (inside the top hotel in town or in the airport) will have blockbuster stones. I saw my first good Paraiba in the airport store. It was impossible to miss it: the blue screamed at me from the other side of the hallway. These are itinerant exhibitions, though.

Harriet: of course - plenty of pão de queijo and caipirinha for all. Coconut water if you over indulge!

 

[Cind11]

Date: 6/7/2009 9:59:21 PM
Author: Art Nouveau
LD,

If you don''t mind sharing, where is this museum with the paraibas? I was in So. America for 3 weeks recently and I didn''t see a single paraiba. In fact, I didn''t see any nice color gems at all. Five years ago when I was in Manaus, H. Stern showed me 3 super neon 1 carat size Caribbean sea turquoise color paraibas. The price was $10,000 per carat, which I thought was ridiculous, so I passed. But I have never seen any stones that glow like those since. How included are the stones that you saw for $15,000 per carat?

Harriet: When you were in Tucson last February, did you see any lower clarity paraibas? If so, what were they going for?

Cind11: That sounds about what I was quoted. Harriet has seen this stone in person. Is it worth it?

AN

It looks like a beautiful stone. But for the size, $16,000 seems excessive.

 

[T L]

For your viewing pleasure since it''s so hard to find good pics of Brazilian material on the net. Brazilian paraiba earrings. Unfortunately, photography cannot even begin to capture the neon glow of these stones.

 

[Art Nouveau]

LD: If I ever go to Rio again, I will definitely visit Amsterdam Sauer museum and H Stern. This time we only had one afternoon and evening and by the time we were done with sightseeing, H Stern was closed. Actually, on my trip in 2004, I passed on the paraibas from H. Stern, but I bought a salmon imperial topaz from Amsterdam Sauer. AS was nicer to deal with and willing to negotiate a bit. H. Stern''s prices were non negotiable. Their marketing is very aggressive. One of their representative was actually on the cruise ship giving lectures on color stones and free shuttles were provided at every port to take guests to their stores. I saw the paraibas in Manaus only because I asked the rep on the ship about paraibas, and he requested stones from the Rio store to be sent there. I was at the store in Buenos Aires on my recent trip and it was quite disappointing. I see more color stones at local gem shows.

Cind111: I felt the same way when I saw those gorgeous paraibas in Manaus. For the price they were asking, I want a stone bigger than a carat.

Chrono: I saw your earlier thread about shopping for a paraiba and I was wondering if you ever bought one. Sorry it didn''t work out for you. I have looked at a few stones over the past year and haven''t found the right one yet. The good ones are way over priced, but the cheaper ones do not look good enough. I may have missed the boat on the paraibas.

TL: Those earrings are ''to die for''. Thanks for posting.

 

[chrono]

AN,
I feel the same way as you; the good ones are way overpriced and the affordable ones seem overpriced too. I think we've both missed the boat.

 

[T L]

They are very beautiful stones, but that being said, I think one needs to put perspective on it. They are afterall, heated tourmalines, which can easily chip due to thermal stresses put on them. I personally would feel a bit antsy wearing a stone wroth tens of thousands that could easily chip.

 

[redfaerythinker]

A piece of that rough is coming home to me. A thread with more details to follow.