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Violet Sapphire

coas222

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
14
Hey Guys,

I am new here and relatively new to gemstones also. But i have been living in Bangkok this past 6 months and spent a lot of time looking at gemstones. I am looking to buy a stone and i found yesterday this beautifiul Violet Sapphire that i just love.

I wanted to see what other people who have more experience then my self thought of the stone. Would love any comments and thoughts from more experienced members then my self.

The pictures are from my smartphone and not through a loupe and may not be the best. I think i read that it is best to see the stone through sunlight to i may try to get some pictures like that

Vendor is asking for $4600. Sapphire is Untreated

Thank you.!

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vio77.png

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chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,364
Colour looks rich, and cut looks good.

1. GGT is unknown outside of Thailand, which I do not know whether they have the skill and equipment to check for the slightest hint of heat. At the very least, you are assured that diffusion is not possible because high heat will be required and it is easy to detect high heat.

2. How does the stone look away from the windows? How does it look under halogen, fluorescent and incandescent?

3. Is the colouration even across the crown of the stone (not to be confused with the scintillation or sparkle)?
 

coas222

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
14
Chrono|1447171505|3947804 said:
Colour looks rich, and cut looks good.

1. GGT is unknown outside of Thailand, which I do not know whether they have the skill and equipment to check for the slightest hint of heat. At the very least, you are assured that diffusion is not possible because high heat will be required and it is easy to detect high heat.

2. How does the stone look away from the windows? How does it look under halogen, fluorescent and incandescent?

3. Is the colouration even across the crown of the stone (not to be confused with the scintillation or sparkle)?

Hi Chrono,

Thank you for these very helpful comments.

1. I was unaware of this point and thank you for bringing to my attention the quality of certification. I will make sure to request better certification for more accurate confirmation should i wish to purchase the stone.

2. The stones colour does look very rich, I am going to have a look again tomorrow and attempt to view in different sources of light and take some better pictures including through a loupe.

3. I am going to read about colouration now and I will look out for this tomorrow. I could not honestly remember something like this now and I do not think that was in my awareness when viewing the stone. Thank you for bringing this point to my attention.
 

minousbijoux

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
12,804
From those pics, it looks to be lovely, but closer pics would be more helpful. Also one on where the stone is resting on someone's fingers would really help. I say this because from my experience, if the background is white, then its hard for the camera to balance out both the rich color of the stone with the white background with the result being that the stone color often looks much darker and more saturated than in hand. Still, if it is as nice as I suspect it might be, $1600/ct is a good price for an unheated purple sapphire of that size. Do note that since its a bit deep, it will face up smaller than a comparable round of that size cut to slightly more ideal depth.
 

coas222

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
14
minousbijoux|1447178396|3947858 said:
From those pics, it looks to be lovely, but closer pics would be more helpful. Also one on where the stone is resting on someone's fingers would really help. I say this because from my experience, if the background is white, then its hard for the camera to balance out both the rich color of the stone with the white background with the result being that the stone color often looks much darker and more saturated than in hand. Still, if it is as nice as I suspect it might be, $1600/ct is a good price for an unheated purple sapphire of that size. Do note that since its a bit deep, it will face up smaller than a comparable round of that size cut to slightly more ideal depth.


Thank you for your comments minousbijoux,

I have spent a lot of time here in Bangkok looking at stones, there are so many to view here. I think this one is quite special and i remember it really stood out to me.

I am looking forward to seeing it again tomorrow, as my memory fades of how the stone looked now and these pictures have become my main reference point from which i can remember it.

I am going to take some better pictures including some through a loupe so i can get much closer to the stone. I will make sure to also get one with it resting on my fingers. I always hesitate a bit to get the stone out too much as i worry about dropping it.! :lol:

Thank you for the interesting point about it being slightly deep, that was not in my awareness.
 

coas222

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
14
I took some more pictures today. I also found this beautiful pink Sapphire that i also now love.!

All pictures are taken with my phone inside with mixed light.

For some reason when i upload the picture to the forum it seems to make the stones appear a little dull. Im not sure why its losing colour when i upload.

Can see the pictures in better quality from the links.

Picture 1: http://goo.gl/qTx0jc

Picture 2: http://goo.gl/ITB6GR

Picture 3: http://goo.gl/myMbMv

purp_saph.jpg

saph_pur2.jpg

12233341_10156229331770057_521880404_n.png
 

LD

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
10,261
Can I make another observation please?

At the bottom of the "certificate" it says "Verbal Identification". That suggests that the stone has (a) only been examined without the use of equipment, or (b) has based the identification on what they've been told rather than seeing the stone - I sincerely hope that's not the case though!

So I would take the "report" with a pinch of salt and get it re-reported at a reputable lab - perhaps contact the seller and tell them you're doing so and make it a point of the sale that if the stone comes back as something different from the GGT notes, you can get a full refund.

I'm a sucker for purple sapphire so I hope this unfolds as you want. It's a gorgeous stone.
 

coas222

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
14
Hi LD,

Thank you, I think you are right to make this observation. The cert here is pretty baseless. I think it is only useful for giving details about the size and weight.

I do know the seller quite well now and he actually has 11 people cutting rough stones for him and has a huge amount of experience. I think he knows the stone is untreated and can trust his opinion. That being said with a stone of this value I should get a certificate from GRS just for confirmation as you can never know for sure.! The seller is fine with doing this also.

What do people think about the price of $4600? A good price for a stone like this?
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,023
IMHO the purple stone is GORGEOUS! I agree with LD that it would be good to have another lab confirm what the existing report says, and maybe have that as a condition of sale. I think reputable vendors would be completely fine with that.

I like the pink stone as well, but from the pictures really prefer the purple, so I'm hoping for that!

EDIT: I'm not sure about the price, but I think for an untreated stone of that size + color it seems relatively ok. But that's so far out of my own price range that it's like another world haha
 

coas222

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
14
lovedogs|1447251617|3948167 said:
IMHO the purple stone is GORGEOUS! I agree with LD that it would be good to have another lab confirm what the existing report says, and maybe have that as a condition of sale. I think reputable vendors would be completely fine with that.

I like the pink stone as well, but from the pictures really prefer the purple, so I'm hoping for that!

EDIT: I'm not sure about the price, but I think for an untreated stone of that size + color it seems relatively ok. But that's so far out of my own price range that it's like another world haha


Thanks for your comments Lovedogs. Did you click the picture image 1? The pictures on the forum seem to have lost some colour when i uploaded then. Espcially the pink one. The colour of the pink stone is actually very rich however it has lost colour with both the uploads from the link and on the forum. Im not sure why this is happening. Hopefully i can get the same image from my phone to appear online some how soon to get a better accuracy of the colour.

I think the purple one is the best though it has such a lovely consistent rich colour throughout. Chronos comments from yesterday helped make me aware to look out the colouration today.
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,364
Pictures loaded onto PS lose some colouration and there's no solution for it. I noticed the profile of the purple to be extremely top heavy which might make it a challenge to set. Do you have a better profile picture of it?
 

LD

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
10,261
In terms of price, it really depends whether this material is heated or not and honestly, I wouldn't trust ANYBODY other than a lab. Richard Wise, with all his experience, was once caught out. He thought he had sold a natural unheated Padparadscha Sapphire and it turned out to be heated. It was discovered by a lab. Of course this was done completely by accident and with no dubious intention whatsoever, but my point is that if he can be caught out, then your guy can be too. Trust but verify is our motto here.

Get a lab report (GRS are fine if you're not in the US) and see what it says and then run some comparisons for get an idea whether the cost is fair or not.

Oh and out of the purple and pink, it'd be purple all the way for me. It's far more difficult to find a superb purple than a pink.
 
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