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Yet another sapphire I''m looking at....

Color is IMO quite typical of Thai material, meaning that there is a noticable greyish tint and that tone is on the darker side. But if that''s the shade of blue you were looking for, that''s all that matters since we don''t all have the same preferences (thank God). The cutting is decent and the stone should preform quite well (being round helps in that department). Other than that I don''t know what else to say. I personally wouldn''t pay that much for a stone like this, but that''s just me. I understand that untreated material always costs a lot more, but only you can decide what price is acceptable for you.
 
Are you all right with the dark tone? There is some gray from the pavilion view but it doesn’t seem too bad face up. Also, it looks to have a small window, if you aren’t fussed about it, which you might be able to minimize the appearance in an enclosed type setting but that in turn, will end up darkening the stone even further. On the whole, it doesn’t look too bad but the price is really expensive, even for an untreated sapphire!
 
Ma re,

You can see a gray mask in that image? You are a better man than I. I find subtle gray invisible in most images, a slight cool affect might give you a clue. Certainly you might infer it, plus a little green, given the origin, but visually it looks like a nice blue to me. Well that''s the problem with images and monitors, every one is a variable and that''s why I almost never comment on images they really are misleading. They can tell me what I do NOT want to buy, but not what I do.

I really like the 3-D thing. Very tech-y though I find myself asking how all that data helps a consumer gauge the beauty of the stone. I think a video view is the more useful, you can then see the stone in a more dynamic way as you would wear it. I would like to add video to my own site, I think it would help.

Best,
 
Richard, I agree that monitors and our eyes make these judgments and opinions more subjective than would sometimes be useful, but since images are all we can have here (there was a discussion recently about why we can''t post videos and links to them...) and people ask for advice, sometimes I try to help. I might have overreacted here with the "gray comment" as it''s barely visible even to me, and it might be due to settings on my monitor. I guess we have to wait for TL to show up as she has the radar/x-ray vision to spot any hint of gray in any stone better than most other people
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Of course, photography, lighting, background...all make a difference, so who knows if I''m right. Considering my knowledge and experience compared to yours, I''m probably not
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Date: 4/30/2010 1:51:19 AM
Author:winternight
What do you all think? Its hard to figure out their color system since everything seems to be ''blue'' and ''vivid.''

Insomnia and sapphire hunting....


http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Blue/B3766/Round/stoneid=B3766
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I noticed that about them, everything is blue or vivid!! I take color grading very seriously, and I feel that''s deceptive.
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If it was really vivid, it wouldn''t be a Thai sapphire. They''re not known for vivid coloration!! I find it rather dark and I don''t see the strong saturation I would in a truly vivid sapphire.
 
I think the window is quite large. At first it almost seems that the window is confined to the last tier of pavillion facets that end with the culet. A closer look shows the facets of the next tier in the upper right quadrant are also windowed. I looked at the facet angles on their certificate(!) and for both of these tiers on the pavillion the angles are just too low to be anything but a huge window. This could be why people see it as having grey.
 
I think its darker than I prefer in my blue sapphires, and I think it would be even darker in dim lighting, making it "black out".
 
I''m not entirely sure (as you''ve already mentioned) that this would really come into the "vivid" category. It''s a nice rich warm colour but it also looks quite dark. Once set, this will almost definitely look darker again. The window as well would be something that would bug me if I were paying that amount of money.

Like Richard, I hardly see any grey in this stone - but I do see black - and that always makes me wary.
 
TL,

Vivid is a term that describes saturation or, at least, that is how it should be used. Gray and brown reduce vividness. I am sure you know all this, I say it for the benefit of others who are less knowledgeable. Problem is we dealers have for years been very loose in our use of terms. I use the term all the time simply because if it ain''t vivid I won''t buy it.

Ma re, we can certainly critique an image, but it''s important to always keep in mind that the image is just that an image. For that reason, I never comment when members post an image and ask for an appraisal, either of the quality or price. I think for a dealer or gemologist to do so knowing how deceptive and image can be is unprofessional. My own opinion only. Now, if you are not in the trade that is another story.
 
NSC..tisk..tisk..tisk
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Date: 4/30/2010 11:53:05 AM
Author: Richard W. Wise

Ma re, we can certainly critique an image, but it''s important to always keep in mind that the image is just that an image. For that reason, I never comment when members post an image and ask for an appraisal, either of the quality or price. I think for a dealer or gemologist to do so knowing how deceptive and image can be is unprofessional. My own opinion only. Now, if you are not in the trade that is another story.
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No I''m not in the trade, to me it''s just a hobby, field of interest, passion...
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I seriously doubt this will help, but maybe... This color of sapphire reminds me of blue denim jeans... Does that make any sense? So I think I''m seeing a bit of grayish also.
 
Date: 4/30/2010 10:47:51 AM
Author: VapidLapid
I think the window is quite large. At first it almost seems that the window is confined to the last tier of pavillion facets that end with the culet. A closer look shows the facets of the next tier in the upper right quadrant are also windowed. I looked at the facet angles on their certificate(!) and for both of these tiers on the pavillion the angles are just too low to be anything but a huge window. This could be why people see it as having grey.
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If the second tier of facets up from the culet was windowed, then the color would be just as light as those facets directly around the culet since you'd be looking at the same area behind the stone, wouldn't you ?
 
not necessarily. the thickness of the stone ( from the table) is different for one tier than the other albeit slightly. Still there are different lengths in there for the light paths from one windowed tier to the next. light coming through the window from the white fluffy backing will still travel within the stone longer for one than the other. If you look through two dirty windows you can see through both though one may be dirtier and show it slightly. If you look through one thickness of glass and then cover half of it with another identical thickness you can still both see through and see the difference. looks like half of the second tier facets (lower left) are unlit in the first place and half of the remaining ones are clearly window and since it is full frontal it''s not a tilt window. The area behind the windowed facets is also not the same for one tier to another not even for facets within the same tier. The facets are at different angles and they are acting like prisms so the view through is even more to the side. The fluffy backing may be in contact with the facets but the light impinging one facet may be more oblique than on another and this may be made even more oblique by the prism effect. I dont think a window has to be utterly monochromatic. After all you can still see the outlines of individual facets in windows.
 
VP,
I went back to look and I really believe that Michael is correct. I don’t think what you are looking at is a giant window. There is a smaller one at the culet and I think what you are seeing is the internal reflection through the table.
 
Wow, interesting discussion. You can all really see things that I don''t, but hopefully I''m learning. I appreciate the comments/feedback.
 
Date: 4/30/2010 11:53:05 AM
Author: Richard W. Wise
TL,

Vivid is a term that describes saturation or, at least, that is how it should be used. Gray and brown reduce vividness. I am sure you know all this, I say it for the benefit of others who are less knowledgeable. Problem is we dealers have for years been very loose in our use of terms. I use the term all the time simply because if it ain't vivid I won't buy it.

Ma re, we can certainly critique an image, but it's important to always keep in mind that the image is just that an image. For that reason, I never comment when members post an image and ask for an appraisal, either of the quality or price. I think for a dealer or gemologist to do so knowing how deceptive and image can be is unprofessional. My own opinion only. Now, if you are not in the trade that is another story.
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Thank you for posting. I am going to TRY to remember this. I do see brown stones i like though but I guess that's because they are brown, not another color with some brown. But usually I prefer that sharp vivid look. Hmmmm

Edited to add: OP -- it is too dark for me. I don't like my sapphires to be dark at all! But that is personal, maybe you like them darker than I do. I would keep looking.
 
Stone Hunter,

Brown stones are somewhat of an exception. The rule holds for spectral hues, the hues of the color wheel plus pink and purple. Even so, a brown stone with a touch of red will often be more vivid than a pure brown.

R.
 
Grey and brown are not hues, so if a stone is pure grey or pure brown, you really cannot judge it's vividness (saturation) of color, only it's tonality.
 
The stone will probably look darker in person, just FYI. I would have trouble buying a sapphire I had not seem in person first--or had looked at for me by another trusted pair of eyes.

My e-ring sapphire is from NSC and I love it, but my DH picked it out and I had nothing to do with the selection.
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it is probably a shade darker than I would have chosen on my own, but with his budget he picked a gorgeous stone. NSC pics of my stone looked lslightly lighter than the pic you posted, so I''m guessing IRL that sapphire will be quite dark. It''s a personal preference thing. Do you like stones that are dark dark blue?
 
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