White Sapphire Parcel

[chantal990]

Hi Everyone,

I am currently in the process of having a ring made with an beautifil large Columbian Emerald and I wanted to have some clear stones hammer set into the band.

After looking into a few different types of stones and into my budget I have decided on white sapphires as a cheaper yet durable subsitute for diamonds. Does anyone know of any online sellers or Gem Merchants in the Melbourne, Australia area who sell parcels? I am after 8, 3mm round white sapphires. Any ideas are really appreciated.

Thanks

 

[leggs]

I was surfing for deals on sapphires today and found this deal for you if you are interested. I have no idea what quality these would be or if they are even real but you know how it goes.check it out anyway at

http://www.tanzanitegem.com/tan/sapphire/sapphire2.htm


While were at it has anyone had any dealings with alpha imports?

Cheers...Paulette...

 

[pyramid]

Have you thought of trying Cut Nut who writes on these boards he is in Australia and would know a good sapphire when he saw one.

 

[Richard M.]

All,

White sapphire is currently in great demand as raw material for diffusion treatment into "blue" sapphire, so most of the stones currently available are small and frequently man-made. I''ve purchased a few small white sapphires from Alpha Imports they claim are natural but they seem unusually clean. I haven''t done a lot of testing though. The cutting was pretty good but they charged me for more stones than I received. Caveat emptor.

Richard M.

 

[rubydick]

A simple test to separate synthetic white sapphire from natural involves checking the short-wave UV fluorescence under magnification. Curved fluorescent bands will be found in the synthetic, while those in the natural are straight or angular. Obviously, protect your eyes, as prolonged exposure to SW can be harmful. Also, in both the natural and synthetic, prolonged exposure will produce yellow color centers, thus a yellow color. These color centers are not light stable, and will fade with exposure to light or gentle heat.

For a full description of this, see my book:

Ruby & Sapphire