218 carats Unheated Burmese Sapphire. Price comment please

[Lee Little]

Re: 218 carats Unheated Burmese Sapphire. Price comment plea

BTW have you noticed the Trapiche markings at the bottom of the stone?

Thanks LD,
Those makings at the bottom of the stone are hexagonal color zoning rather than Trapiche markings. 60 degree angles of color zoning are seen in a great number of Sapphires thus it is very common. Trapiche has a hexagonal shaped center and six rays, like a star that does not move and is not common, however, those are also available from the same source, Mogok. If it was easier to post a pic here I would as I have some in my computer. Best regards, Lee

 

[Lee Little]

Re: 218 carats Unheated Burmese Sapphire. Price comment plea

Any idea why the previous owner sat on the rough for nearly twenty years, not cutting it and selling it then? Do you think it is because he's hoping the price will go up and he'll be able to sell it for more years down the road, as it happened last year?

Why is it that I am seeing red flags while reading this thread? I was wondering the same thing as you^! Isnt it odd that someone would procure an enormous and seemingly wonderful chunk of sapphire rough, then sit on it for 20 years? You do hear stories of people buying large cut stones, sticking them in a vault somewhere and selling them later on once the price has gone up, and I guess its true that someone could do the same with rough, but I dont know...........

Another poster said he had seen this exact same piece some time ago, at over 500 cts, now its being presented as 218cts, maybe its size has been reduced due to part of it already having been removed and cut into gems. But if that were the case, then the member here wouldnt have recognized it as the same stone he saw before.

The bottom picture appears to be fairly clean from what little we can see of it, and if it is, that could be worth a LOT of money. I would be surprised if its clean enough to be cut into just one or two stones. It wouldnt be 75,000 per carat or more unless it is cut into one or 2 large, really clean stones. Even then I think that would be high.

Forgive my cynicism, but it often helps to be wary when it comes to colored gems.

Hi Red Spinel,
The methods used to procure such a stone could influence someone to sit on it for a long time and I do not believe it had anything to do with waiting for the price to go up. Remember, we are talking about Burma and a military regime.
The piece was not cut to 218 carat, a recent AIGS report shows the weight at over 512 carats, the original poster simply posted an incorrect weight.
As it turns out $75,000 was a good guess, however, the actual price paid (then returned by the seller's decision) was over $107,000. Best regards, Lee