Which is the better buy?

[airmanssweetie]

You all on this site have been ever so helpful in my quest for an ER! I have been gazing at yellow sapphires, but I have no idea which one is better for a ring...if you would be able to help me and use your amazing skills that you have...which is the better stone for the money, size, cut, color...

#1 http://www.artcutgems.com/item.php?item_id=384&page=2&category_id=48

#2 http://www.ajsgems.com/gemstones/Sapphire/Yellow-Sapphire-2049216417-2046340416.html?sessionID=Ryx-Y3T-h1SHvZ7e

 

[ma re]

Comparing stones from diferent vendors on the basis of photos alone is not a good idea. Lighting conditions under which photos were made could''ve been very diferent, and the stones might not have even been photographed from the same angles, so it''s tough to make any real comparison. Stone #2 sure seems nicer (to me), but it''s treated. If you don''t mind that fact (after reading THIS) and if the color is like in a photo, I''d go for that one. Stone #1 has native cut, faint color and not much of a color distribution, from what I see.

 

[T L]

Check out TheNaturalSapphireCompany.com for some awesome untreated yellow sapphires that fall in this price range. I think the first one has a window, but you can''t see it clearly because of the tilt of the stone. I wouldn''t even consider #2 because treatments like that really bother me, but that''s me. You can find yellow sapphires with that kind of treatment all over ebay for much less money. If you''re going to go for a highly treated sapphire, I would go to ebay.

There''s some gorgeous well cut radiants on TheNaturalSapphireCompany website right now in the 100 to 200 price range. They might have a few small inclusions, but they''re difficult to see with the naked eye, especially when set.

 

[chrono]

The AJS sapphire has a richer colour but it has been treated more than usual (but the vendor stated that clearly upfront). There are some people who don''t mind lattice diffusion but others don''t mind - hence the nice looking colour for very little $.

Artcut''s sapphire colour looks weak and watery but it''s completely untreated. Some like untreated stones but some don''t care about treatment.