Overwhelmed looking for a high quality sapphire

[sebas]

Hi folks,

I'm a bit overwhelmed. :-/ I'm looking for a nice centerstone sapphire for an engagement ring. I've done some research and here is a rundown of what I learned:

1. I want a medium-dark blue. A royal blue. Mostly blue hue, maybe a touch of purple (~10%). No green.
2. I want lots of brilliance, scintillation, saturation. Has to sparkle. So the cut has to also be very good. I know that you get more brilliance with depth, but I don't want something that is way too deep because that would mean it would stick up high. Maybe around 4-5mm depth?
3. I want an oval.
4. I don't have a preference for natural or heat treated except that natural seems to be associated with better crystal, meaning it keeps its brilliance and color under most lighting conditions.
5. I want minimal zoning and little to no extinction. If there's minimal zoning, maybe off to the side or underside where it won't be much of a factor.
6. Seems like I could get good quality from Burma or Sri Lanka.
7. I want something around 2cts (or the equivalent of 1.6-1.8 diamond ct.) I heard sapphires are denser than diamonds so higher carats for equivalent size.

I've looked at some sapphires at Brilliant Earth, but nothing that caught my eye. I saw one sapphire priced at $4800 for 1.68ct at a local store in San Francisco and it looked much better than the ones at Brilliant Earth, but maybe I can find better? I've looked online at gemsny, naturalsapphires, and other places, but online photos don't say much and I can't be ordering 10s of sapphires to compare and return. I've talked to Richard Wise and he seems great and knowledgeable, but his selection is really small for 1.5-2ct. sizes until he goes looking for more next winter.

What's the best approach? Keep asking local stores to receive sapphires to look at? How do I know I won't get ripped off? Anybody else like Richard Wise who has a reputable eye and selection of gems? The GIA says only if it is natural or heat treated and sometimes the origin, but it doesn't say how high the quality of the color, crystal, clarity, etc.

My hope is to have Victor Canera do the setting for the sapphire. He had 2 or 3 he showed me via email, but they weren't quite right in size, shape, color.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

Hi folks,

I'm a bit overwhelmed. :-/ I'm looking for a nice centerstone sapphire for an engagement ring. I've done some research and here is a rundown of what I learned:

1. I want a medium-dark blue. A royal blue. Mostly blue hue, maybe a touch of purple (~10%). No green.
2. I want lots of brilliance, scintillation, saturation. Has to sparkle. So the cut has to also be very good. I know that you get more brilliance with depth, but I don't want something that is way too deep because that would mean it would stick up high. Maybe around 4-5mm depth?
3. I want an oval.
4. I don't have a preference for natural or heat treated except that natural seems to be associated with better crystal, meaning it keeps its brilliance and color under most lighting conditions.
5. I want minimal zoning and little to no extinction. If there's minimal zoning, maybe off to the side or underside where it won't be much of a factor.
6. Seems like I could get good quality from Burma or Sri Lanka.
7. I want something around 2cts (or the equivalent of 1.6-1.8 diamond ct.) I heard sapphires are denser than diamonds so higher carats for equivalent size.

I've looked at some sapphires at Brilliant Earth, but nothing that caught my eye. I saw one sapphire priced at $4800 for 1.68ct at a local store in San Francisco and it looked much better than the ones at Brilliant Earth, but maybe I can find better? I've looked online at gemsny, naturalsapphires, and other places, but online photos don't say much and I can't be ordering 10s of sapphires to compare and return. I've talked to Richard Wise and he seems great and knowledgeable, but his selection is really small for 1.5-2ct. sizes until he goes looking for more next winter.

What's the best approach? Keep asking local stores to receive sapphires to look at? How do I know I won't get ripped off? Anybody else like Richard Wise who has a reputable eye and selection of gems? The GIA says only if it is natural or heat treated and sometimes the origin, but it doesn't say how high the quality of the color, crystal, clarity, etc.

My hope is to have Victor Canera do the setting for the sapphire. He had 2 or 3 he showed me via email, but they weren't quite right in size, shape, color.

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

I think 2ct may be a little disappointing to you in terms of size depending on the cut. I think you should possibly adjust your requirement to 2.5ct.

$4800 for a 1.68ct sapphire is extremely high! It better be a perfect stone at that price. Most of your local B&M type stores will suffer from this type of pricing. Don't give into it unless you absolutely must have the stone.

Shop shop shop around! This is one of the most valuable things you could do to help you know when your getting ripped off. Some stones command crazy prices because of there origin. For example Kashmir or Burma would be worthy of a higher price tag. But don't necessarily feel you have to have a Kashmir or Burma sapphire for it to by nice. There are many origins that have exceptional sapphires. I am not seeing much of them on the market at the moment but Madagascar Sapphires can be exceptional... even rivaling Kashmir stones at a fraction of the price!

I have not seen any difference in a stones ability to hold brilliance regardless if it is heated or unheated.

Just relax and pace yourself. It took me almost a year to find the right stone. Judging by your requirements you want a very high quality stone and that may take a little while to find, but it will be worth it when you do!

To my knowledge AGL is the only lab that will give you a Grade for the quality of a stone. They offer it as an extra option to there prestige report along with origin.

Here is mine to give you a reference.






Hope this helps
~Justin

 

[gemseeker2012]

I'm in the same boat as you - although looking for a very different stone. My experience with sapphires through local jewelers has been disappointing as most in my area deal primarily with diamonds and have limited experience with quality sapphires. Therefore, I'm had to turn my hunt to the internet. I'm sure you found this site, but did you check out the blue ovals here? I am nowhere close to a sapphire expert, but it might be worth taking a look. If you like something, you can always post it here to have the experts weigh in (if you do that though, you might want to reserve the stone first).

http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_blue.html

On the top of the forum is a listed of trusted CS vendors. Look through their websites and don't be afraid to send emails - lots of time all that they have isn't listed.

Also, you mentioned San Francisco, I think. If you're in the area, I've seen good things posted about Joe Escobar and D&H Sustainable Jewelry - although I have no personal experience with either.

Good luck!

 

[sebas]

Thank you so much for your responses. I have to say that it is so refreshing to see people on here helping each other out.

justin > That is a gorgeous sapphire. I didn't know about the more extensive GIA report. I will definitely ask to get one once I've narrowed it down to one or two sapphires. I'm sure that a few hundred dollars will be worth knowing that it is what the seller says it is.

gemseeker > I checked gemfix and I think that I will start ordering some sapphires from different locations that have a 100% refund policy. Naturalsapphires seem to also provide free shipping, but they don't seem to have good certificates for all their sapphires. I also checked all the vendors listed at the top of this colored gem forum.

I hear what you have to say about local dealers. $4800 for 1.68ct may be a little bit steep, but it was natural (unheated) and seem to have good brilliance, very faint zoning, and a small inclusion visible only with a 10x loupe. However, I had no other sapphire to compare with and my working memory isn't as good as it was 5-10 years ago.

I'm definitely doing my best to shop around. I have to say I am a little bit anxious to get this done in the next month because I would like to propose this year (and she has been with me for 6 years this November!) and having the setting done will take another month or two. Unfortunately I spent a lot of time looking for a special multi-faceted rose cut diamond that just didn't exist.

So from reading on pricescope and a little bit of research it seems that Richard Wise and whitefishgems are one of the top guys for high quality sapphires (and gems in generals). Also, Jeff White seems to be one of the top guys for precision cutting sapphires and other gems. I have to say that I want my cake and icing. Meaning, I want a high quality sapphire (color, brilliance, clarity, etc.) and also a nice precision cut to make it sing. A lot of the sapphires seem to be native cut and they don't seem as refined as the precision cuts used on diamonds, which is why I like Jeff White's cuts. Any thoughts?

 

[sebas]

justin > The numbers on the report are what I wish were available for all sapphires! I like how they give a % brilliance, color rating 75-85, etc.

What does % depth mean?

Where did you find your beautiful sapphire?

 

[sebas]

gemseeker > I took a look at gemfix again. I think I had looked at some other gem... website before. It's nice that gemfix does their own cutting too (kinda like Jeff White). Thanks for the reference.

Anyone have anything but positive opinions of gemfix? Is their precision cutting comparable to Jeff White's?

 

[sebas]

I found this link that compares carat weight of diamonds and sapphires (and others):

http://www.jewelryimpressions.com/gemstone-size-versus-carat-weight-comparison-chart.html

for ovals it is generally 1.14 times more carat weight for a sapphire.

 

[chrono]

1. I want a medium-dark blue. A royal blue. Mostly blue hue, maybe a touch of purple (~10%). No green.
Medium dark blue is a good choice for the tone. Remember saturation is also part of the colour quality so it should be included in this part of your question too. From what I can guess, looks like you want something with very strong saturation. Hue is very slightly violetish blue to pure blue.

2. I want lots of brilliance, scintillation, saturation. Has to sparkle. So the cut has to also be very good. I know that you get more brilliance with depth, but I don't want something that is way too deep because that would mean it would stick up high. Maybe around 4-5mm depth?
Brilliance and scintillation are functions of cut, so yes, you are looking for either a very good precision cut or very good non-precision cut stone. Depth does play a role in a function of cut, but does not guarantee maximum brilliance alone. It is a combination of many factors. Do not worry about whether it is 4 mm or 5 mm or whatever at this point - look at the total depth percentage (around 60% to 75% is fine, depending on the cut design) and most importantly, the overall LOOK of the stone. Too shallow and you'll get a windowed stone. Too deep and it will look small, plus you'll start to get extinction issues.

3. I want an oval.
Great! One of the easiest shapes to find.

4. I don't have a preference for natural or heat treated except that natural seems to be associated with better crystal, meaning it keeps its brilliance and color under most lighting conditions.
Treatment has little to do with crystal, brilliance and colour. Crystal is clarity related, brilliance is cut related and colour is inherent to the material. Untreated is just rarer than heated and for many, it's a mind thing to know that it came out of the ground that way, untampered by humans. Heated and unheated corundum are natural sapphires. BE diffused and resin filled corundum are natural sapphires. The correct terminology in this case in untreated, not natural because natural only means that the stone is a real sapphire. Some sapphires come out out the ground looking clean and some could do with a touch of heating to melt the inclusions back into the corundum. A touch of silk is actually desired as it gives the sapphire that soft velvety look while still having brilliance and sparkle. Of course, this is your personal choice, so crystal it is! All sapphires will colour shift, it all depends on the lighting condition. What you want is something that shifts to a pretty colour indoors (usually more violet), rather than a grayer or inkier blue.

5. I want minimal zoning and little to no extinction. If there's minimal zoning, maybe off to the side or underside where it won't be much of a factor.
A good sapphire should show no zoning face up, with very little extinction. Zoning from the underside is not taken into consideration.

6. Seems like I could get good quality from Burma or Sri Lanka.
Forget origin for now. I know many beautiful Thai sapphires are being sold as Burmese or Sri Lankan stones. Buy the stone, not the name. In any case, the premium for such a location should be minimal. Like everything else, there are nice stones and cruddy stones from the same location so don't get hung up on that.

7. I want something around 2cts (or the equivalent of 1.6-1.8 diamond ct.) I heard sapphires are denser than diamonds so higher carats for equivalent size.
Correct. That said, cut and cut design also dictates the mm size so a 2 carat sapphire could measure anywhere from 6 mm all the way up to 8 mm. I am stretching the measurement, of course, but in general, it should measure around 7 mm or so.

The advantage of buying locally is that you can see and handle the stone without having to pay shipping costs of having it sent back and forth. The disadvantage is higher pricing, smaller selection and quite often, lower quality. It is going to take time to find a good sapphire. To be honest, GemsNY doesn't have good stones and NSC carries many poorly cut stones although they sometimes have well cut ones. Also, many stones are not listed in the inventory so you'll have to either email or call the vendor / lapidary. Start of with a description of what you are looking for with pictures of what you have in mind. This will narrow down the choices and also limit the risk of returning stones that do not meet your requirements. GIA provides only minimal or basic information but AGL's pricier full report will give you the cut and colour quality.[/quote]

 

[chrono]

Inclusions - please do NOT go for loupe clean. This is almost impossible unless you are willing to wait many many years. Eye clean is the standard for coloured stones. The quality standard for coloured gemstones is very different from diamonds and have a very different set of criterias.

Next month is definitely pushing it for your time frame. Diamonds are far easier to find than coloured gemstones.

Cut can only improve a stone so much. It is the material itself that counts first, then the cut. Mediocre material can only be improved so much by precision cutting. Of course, a crappy cut is a very sad thing on fine material as well. There is nothing wrong with "native" cutting as long as it is not horrible. PSers are now rarely using this term as it isn't accurate. It is better to say precision cut vs non-precision cut. Some non-precision cuts are excellent(!) and some are sorely lacking. Top quality sapphires are rarely precision cut because many lapidaries do not have the $$$$$ funds to purchase such expensive rough or have the right contacts or etc. Some do, but not many.

 

[thbmok]

gemseeker > I took a look at gemfix again. I think I had looked at some other gem... website before. It's nice that gemfix does their own cutting too (kinda like Jeff White). Thanks for the reference.

Anyone have anything but positive opinions of gemfix? Is their precision cutting comparable to Jeff White's?

Although Gemfix does some of their own cutting, not all of the stones are cut by Andrew. Gemfix offers a much wider variety in the quality of cutting vs what Jeff White offers. IMO Andrew can certainly cut to Jeff White's quality, but he does not do it with every stone.

In my experience Andrew is really accurate with his descriptions when I ask specific questions, but I find his pictures to be really unhelpful compared with what I see in person when I visited his shop. Some pictures are spot on, some colors show a slightly different hue, some colors show a lighter/darker tone and paler/richer saturation. The worst part is that I see absolutely no consistency. I would buy from him if he has the right stone, but definitely not based on his pictures.

In my experience Jeff White is really accurate with both his descriptions and pictures, but I have only seen one of his stones in person.

 

[slksapphire]

hi sebas,

welcome to the world of sapphires! i recently purchased a sapphire and went through exactly what you are going through now (you can read about my search by looking for emerald cut sapphire). it took me about 6 months to find the right sapphire and get it set ... i think you will have plenty of time.

a few comments:

- try to see as many sapphires in person as possible. don't know if this is possible where you live, but it's really the best way to learn about pricing/quality quickly. i started w a local jeweler who called in stones for me, but it took too long and i could only see 2-3 stones at one time. eventually, i ended up buying my stone at the gem fair in hong kong. i worked with richard hughes, who showed me about 10 different options.

- i think you want a royal blue, but be careful about saying "no green" ... justin's fabulous sapphire has some green in it as does mine (and it was rated a 3 for color by agl). maybe you mean no visible green? also, incredibly small differences in color have a HUGE impact on price. "fine" gems per richard wise can be priced at $10,000+ per carat.

- for truly fine gems in the u.s., the name palagems came up repeatedly. they are only wholesalers so you will need to contact a jeweler who is willing to work with you.

- here is my takeaway on internet buying -- it may be the best way to purchase a sapphire but it is REALLY hard because there are so many variables thrown into the mix. remember that whatever shows up on your screen could look WAY different from how you see the stone in real life under natural lighting conditions, etc. even with the most reputable dealers.

good luck ...

 

[SB621]

Is your heart really set on an oval? I'm just saying that I have a oval sapphire ring that I'm selling through JBEG. I also really wanted an oval but after a few months of looking at it the shape was just extremely awkard on my finger. While it was nice it just seemed that cushions or even a round were way more attractive to me with the flashes of light they brought out. So anyhow now I'm getting rid of my oval and going with an RB or cushion (maybe maybe an asscher). Did you lady request an oval?

Don't be overwhelmed with your sapphire hunt. There are so many wonderful ppl on this forum that you will get this done in no time and have a wondeful ring. I can't wait to see what you decide on and how to set it!

 

[movie zombie]

just some thoughts:

richard wise has a great eye and great contacts. if he's shopping for you, you are in good hands.

inclusions are also a sign of authenticity and origin.....identifiers. not necessarily a bad thing and in some cases a good thing.

high quality does indeed command high prices.

blue sapphires are "in", especially after the royal wedding last year and blue sapphire prices have risen as a result.

which store in SF did you see the $4800 stone? you might also call these people:

http://www.escobardiamonds.com/

and see what they have in stock before you drive to san jose to see. reputable and used by some higher end shoppers here at pricescope.

http://www.escobardiamonds.com/show...5&title=Cushion cut Blue Sapphire 2.27 Carats

the above is the only one shown on line but my experience is that vendors do not have their entire inventory online so its worth calling having a "chat". this i learned from richard wise!

 

[sebas]

Wow! Thanks for all the very insightful comments. I am learning new things every day (steep learning curve).

Chrono > You are definitely convincing me that I should be open to heat enhancement and thank you for clarifying the nomenclature. I have a better understanding of the word "natural" and will start using no enhancements or heat enhancement. Same for "native." Origin is forgotten, no need to pay a premium for a lesser gem. So if I find a good color and cut from Antarctica I will consider it. Good points about depth and size. I don't want something too shallow or too deep and I will go by total depth %.

thbmok > Great points about the difference between Jeff White and Gemfix. I'll make sure to talk directly to Jeff and Andrew and see the gems in person before purchasing.

slksapphire > I remember your gorgeous sapphire! The fact that I have such a vivid memory speaks to how beautiful it was. Point taken on the "no green." I did mean no visible green. Thanks for the palagems recommendation.

sarahbear621> You bring up a good point. My heart is set on this gorgeous setting that had an oval diamond and I think the oval shape is needed to make it unique. The oval would not be oriented long ways with the finger as many ovals are, but rather perpendicular to the finger. My lady liked the setting I am going after. The difficulty with oval for me seems to find something that is about 1.3-1.35 length:width ratio. It can't be too round or too elongated for it to look good in a halo.

moviezombie> Thanks for the recommendation. I will look into escobardiamonds right now.

I'll get back to you guys soon.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

Thank you very much! I bought the stone from Gemsthailand. Here is my thread about the stone. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/5-58-ct-blue-sapphire-gemsthailand.163440/

Here is a stone that is in Gemsthailands inventory that I have been curious about.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-60CT-RARE...4188?pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item3a492cc5ec

It's much bigger than your required size but I thought it was worth showing because it gives you a idea of how far your money can go outside of a retail store. You could email them and ask for a in hand picture. They have provided that for me in the past.
~Justin

 

[movie zombie]

the oval orientation you prefer and desire is referred to as "east/west"......i too prefer that orientation and you can see it in my avatar.

no matter what you do make sure of a return policy and shipping costs for said return should you decide to have a stone shipped to you for viewing/approval.

 

[sebas]

Justin > Thanks for the recommendation. I hadn't heard gemthailand until you pointed it out. Looks like they have a good selection.

Movie Zombie > Ah yes, that makes sense. East/West orientation.

 

[sebas]

Justin > Was the shipping and return policy good with gemsthailand? I'm a little more hesitant dealing with international online vendors. That said, I can see how there would be less of a mark up than some of the US vendors. The prices do seem a bit lower for what they offer than some of the other US vendors.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

I have had no issues buying and returning stones to Gemsthailand.
~Justin

 

[sebas]

I also took a look at http://www.ajsgem.com/ which is located in Bangkok, Thailand. Any knowledge of this vendor and how it compares to gemsthailand?

 

[minousbijoux]

I would point out to you that generally speaking, the overseas vendors will not have precision cut stones. If you are fussed about the cut - and it sounds like light reflection and brilliance are important to you - than your options would be to get a stone overseas as Justin and others point out, which has the potential to be recut for maximum light return and brilliance. While I defer to Justin's expertise as he has purchased from them, the stone he showed here looks lacking in color consistency and punch to me, perhaps because its native cut and has some extinction issues going on? He can speak to whether those concerns can be removed with the addition of hand shots, but still keep in mind that it might not fit your expectation for light return and scintillation...

I personally would not work with Richard Wise for several reasons not worth mentioning, but those that have, appear to have gotten top notch stones. However, you will pay through the nose for them. I believe places like AJS, Africagems, Swala and Pala are as good if not more competitive, and you would do well to check them out as well. Have you looked at the sticky on the top of this page which lists all the accepted vendors of good quality and good standing?

Finally, don't miss the category of precision cutters here in the US. You have Jeff White, who would be great (a bit on the pricey side, but absolutely amazing stones and luster), but there is also Roger Dery who's favorite stone to cut is - you guessed it - blue sapphire. Periodically, I sell a few of my stones, and I must say I have never had a stone of Roger's that I would be willing to part with. There is also Dana at Mastercut Gems who had worked out a deal with a source in Sri Lanka to get Sri Lankan corundum cut to his specifications. When they first showed up on his website, he had what looked like good quality stones for far less than you see elsewhere. Also, there is Gary Braun of Finewater gems who probably won't have what you're looking on hand, but he goes on buying trips fairly often, so its worth contacting him as well. His cutting is excellent as well.

If you don't mind settling for a well cut but not a precision cut sapphire, you can try some of the ebay vendors like Tan (his stores are listed above), Jeff Davis, and GemsofThailand (Justin's recommendation, above - sorry if I butchered the name).

Chrono's idea of sharing what you seek re a visual of the color would be a great shortcut as otherwise people can have two very different definitions of words...

Good luck. Please post often for us, as we're all junkies waiting for the next fix

 

[sebas]

minousbijoux > Thank you so much for your detailed response. You made some great points and suggestions and I am considering them all. I will definitely post pictures of the best sapphires I find. I'm waiting for three local jewelers to show me some examples and will take pictures and videos with my iPhone so long as they let me.

 

[Gempassion]

Hi sebas,

Brilliance sounds very, very important to you. I know that concave faceting is not everyone's cup of tea, but you might want to consider it as an option.

http://www.concavegems.com/query3.cfm?yVarieties=Sapphire&ySpecies=Corundum

 

[sebas]

Gempassion > Thanks! I noticed that was one of the liked gem cutters. I'm looking at them right now.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

minousbijoux makes some good points. The stone I posted is by no means perfect I just wanted you see that you could potentially get more for your money. The in hand shot would be a better example of what the stone really looks like. All of the in hand pictures gemsthailand has sent me have been very accurate.

What do you think is your most important requirement? Color, Cut, Brilliance.......?

I just found this stone. Again not perfect but the color is pretty nice! Check out the video.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GRS-CERTIFI...2424?pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item564c09b688

I have never bought from this dealer before but his feedback is excellent.

~Justin

 

[minousbijoux]

That does look to be a lovely, saturated blue, Justin. I just wish there was some way to know ahead of time whether a vendor's photos are accurate, particularly for a stone of such significance. More and more I find that I buy small test gems from new vendors to see how closely the stones appear to their descriptions, etc., and slowly work my way up to their more expensive stones (or not) depending upon how accurate they prove to be over time in their photos and descriptions. Correct me if I'm wrong, Justin, but you were very successful with your engagement stone because of your diligent efforts, your perseverance in your search, and your continued willingness to return stones until you found just the right one. And it paid off in spades.

I guess I'm just pointing out that there are several ways to conduct the search. One way is to work with a jeweler and have them source a stone for you. I believe that this would likely be the most expensive way to secure a stone, retail prices. Another way is to go straight to the precision cutters, with a clear idea of what you want. This will likely be less expensive, hopefully provide you with more precision in what you want, and perhaps take less time. The final way is to use ebay and overseas vendors (I'm throwing them in together only because of the difficulty of long distance searches, both with determining the accuracy or suitability of the stone in question, and the challenges and costs associated with shipping and returns). If you have the stomach and endurance for it, you can save quite a bit over the other methods - in Justin's example, his stone was well under a retail price - but you have to be willing to take the time needed to find stones, return them if they aren't right, and keep on looking...

 

[Arkteia]

Only one of my sapphires (from Gemfix) is precision cut. And I had personal experience with the store, and ended up buying the stone that I would not have chosen if I were looking just at their website. But Andrew's cut + good material created immensely brilliant stone, a true beauty. They are decent vendors, and they offer competitive prices.

The rest of the stones are native cut, and my favorite one has many drawbacks, but the color... It is easier to adjust a setting to a stone, than vise versa. I can not give you advices, but often superb colors come with the baggage of poor cut, because no one wants to cut off too much and end up with a smaller, cheaper stone. And if cuts were important to me, I'd call Gemfix, since their quality/price ratio is favorable. Also, Gary Braun has a good eye for color blue, and he is a precision cutter. He travels to Colombia and other places, and I would recommend calling him. Sometimes he has sales on his website, and this way I bought a heat-only, beautiful stone. Also, I once bought a stunning unheated stone from Brad (the gem trader), and on an impulse sent it back because I spent too much $$ on gems at that time. Now I consider my impulsive decision irrational. MTG bought a stone of a similar color from Brad and made a beautiful ring from it.

 

[sebas]

Hi Justin, the stone from ebay looks very nice. The video shows some extinctions in the middle? I liked minousbijoux points about the different approaches one can take. I know that the approach of ordering and returning could be worthwhile. In the next 1-2 weeks I am going to see more sapphires from local jewelers and this will train my eye a little more so that I can judge online orders. That said, the cost of shipping and returning can add up quickly. There is some cost benefit analysis to be done. I still haven't figured that out in my mind. I take it ebay sellers want you to buy the stone first rather than have you look at it first to decide... ?

Arktela > great point on nice colors are usually associated with non-precision cuts. Andrew from Gemfix would like me to drive down to San Diego and see in person. But I am hoping that I can do it over the phone. I'll look into Gary as well.

 

[Justin_Cutter]

minousbijoux, I know exactly what you mean. It is so hard to feel confident about buying a stone online having not seen it in real life. There will always be some risk involved but as long as the seller has perfect feedback and a good return policy then I feel comfortable. The stone I just posted from eBay comes with a 14 day money back warranty. The buyer does have to pay for shipping tho.

My general rule of thumb is that if a seller has any negative feedback I usually will not purchase anything from them. Its also nice to see that this seller has 12,473 transactions with 100% positive feedback.

Yes minousbijoux my perseverance was the key to finding a nice sapphire! In my opinion the sapphire market is probably the hardest market to find a quality stone in for a good price. There are so many treatments and fakes to navigate though unfortunately. That is part of the reason I have been buying lots of Spinel lately.

sebas, Yes the video does seem to show some extinction but that may be due to how the stone is sitting and or the lighting environment. I would definitely ask for a couple in hand shot if you are interested. Also maybe ask the seller if he feels the stone suffers from extinction. If he doesn't know what you are talking about then that's a good sign to stay away.

You are correct in that you have to pay the full price in order to see the stone with ebay sales.

Cost benefit analysis is definitely something to think about. I am not sure exactly how many thousands I saved by purchasing my sapphire the way I did, but I am confident that the savings was substantial. My sapphire probably would have listed for double what I payed for it at a retail store here in the USA. Who knows maybe even more than that.

I will say this many of our vedors that do master cuts are more affordable that retail stores. So even if you do go with a master cut stone you will be getting a better deal than if you purchased a stone at a retail store.

Great Idea! Get as many stones in to see as you can! Especially if the shipping is free for the store you are working with. Seeing sapphires in real life is one of the best ways to learn!

~Justin

 

[sebas]

I saw some more sapphires earlier today. When looking at these sapphires I can tell which sparkles more and I can tell which color I like the best, but I can't tell whether the sapphires I am seeing having zoning or extinction. All 4 sapphires I looked like had dark areas, which I assume is extinction. In fact, one of the gems which was supposedly the best had about 1/3 to 1/2 black depending on the angle I viewed it. Could it be the lighting that was being used or is it in fact extinction? Is there a video or website that demonstrates how to identify extinction/zoning? I feel that if I can't identify which sapphires have extinction or zoning then I won't be able to determine which is good.

Thanks!