Question on Paraiba Cabochon

[cooksa]

Hello all! Looooooong time lurker, first time poster! I purchased this cab from a reputable Etsy vendor (I'm sure you all can figure out who...) It's my first *real* gemstone purchase. I just purchased today, so I don't have it in hand yet. I'm hoping it blows me away, but I've never seen one in person, sooo...I may have too high expectations?

First, the goods:







My question is about getting a gemstone report from AGL. I'll start off by saying I do trust the vendor is being honest when stating it's Brazilian. She did, however, say it may be oiled (she states there are no surface reaching inclusions, though, so I'm not sure why it would be oiled?). So I want to be certain of any treatment. That being said, do I just get a brief? Do I go for a presteige report to include origin, even though it's not the most amazing Paraiba ever? The vendor stated she'd be willing to send it to her local lab when I send it back for setting which would be cheaper, but it won't contain the origin either. While I'm fairly sure I'll hang onto it, resale value is *sort of* important to me, and the cost for the reports isn't an issue at all. I'm more questioning if spending the money on a prestige report is worth it in the long run. Thanks for any help!

 

[SparkliesLuver]

In my honest opinion, I'd spring for the Prestige Origin report from AGL. Regardless if it's the best paraiba or not, you're still probably paying paraiba price. So you want to know and verify you got what you paid for. Oh, and I'd want to know the treatment as oil is very different than heat. All of that said, see it in-person first and make sure it blows you away.

 

[chrono]

I don't know how much you paid for it, and that would determine which report I get (brief or origin).

1. Am I paying for the Brazilian origin? If so, then origin report
2. I agree, why oiled if there is no surface reaching inclusion? Perhaps she is just playing it safe?
3. If you are going to keep it regardless, then why bother with the report? The report is to give you as much information as possible so that you know what you are buying and you can then figure out whether the price is fair.

 

[Arcadian]

Speaking for myself only, I'd bow out if oiled. I'm glad that the seller told you it could be oiled in the spirit of disclosure but also, maybe that way depending on how it was mined.

If you don't care about the oil, or origin, do a gem brief. Gem brief will tell you if its been treated but I'm not sure of the extent of what they tell you. You will at least have baseline verification. If you care about origin, you'll need to move up to prestige report.

 

[cooksa]

Thanks for the replies. I searched here before my question about oiling Paraibas, and found a post where someone said the lab stated it seemed as though the oil may have been run-off from being stored with other oiled stones? But that it wasn't enough to label it "oiled". So saying it may be oiled could be to cover her ass? It wasn't the most expensive, I bought it for the size, actually. To replace a sapphire cab in a ring I purchased a few months back.

Anyways, again, thanks for your replies.