Justin_Cutter
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2011
- Messages
- 543
Hey Friends,
So I was recently at the Tucson Gem Show in search of a 3-5ct Pink Sapphire. I purchased this 3.95ct sapphire for a member of my family that I am very close to. She is like a 2nd mother to me so when she expressed the desire for a pink sapphire ring I was more than happy to help!
What sparked this was last year she was at a show in Las Vegas and in the lobby was a case with a beautiful pink sapphire ring. The stone was very large and so was the price! She then asked me if a pink sapphire could be purchase within a reasonable budget. I told her that I felt a good 3-5ct pink sapphire could be purchased in the $3500-$8000 range depending on weight and treatment. Her biggest concern was that the sapphire would have great color... something that catches your eye from across the room.
The requirements were simple.
Color Color Color!
Eye clean.
Oval, or Cushion Cut.
Heated or Unheated
3-5ct.
I searched every dealer at the Gem Show in the convention center of Tucson. The selection of large pink sapphires was very limited but luckily I found the perfect stone for her.
Bill Vance is the dealer that I purchased the sapphire from. Bill was wonderful to deal with and possibly the most experienced Gem dealer I have ever encountered. He is a Master Cutter who has over 40 years of experience. Bill showed me some of his re-cuts and I was very impressed. The sapphire I purchased was not cut by Bill unfortunately; however the native cut on the stone is pretty good.
Bill really took his time showing me his inventory and explaining the history behind each stone. It was a great opportunity to deal with someone who has so much experience. On a side note Bill had the best collection of Red Beryl I had ever seen. It is so rare to see larger examples of red beryl, of which Bill had quite a few!
Bill offered me this Oval 3.95ct Pink Sapphire for $4500 which included a GIA Report. I louped the stone and could see some light bubble inclusions, but these were not visible to the naked eye so that was ok. The saturation was very strong and I felt the color was close to what I was looking for. The price felt comfortable to me after seeing what the other dealers were asking for pink sapphires. Bill told me that the stone was heated when I first asked to see it, but upon opening the GIA report he noticed that the stone was unheated. I could see a look of disappointment on his face. He calmly called his wife over who had marked the stone as heated in the show case. She looked at the report and realized the mistake that had been made. I could tell she felt terrible about the mistake, but a price had already been offered to the customer. Bill looked at me and said "well what can you do mistakes happen." Bill realizing that he had under quoted the sapphire looked up at me and said "would you like a $6500 sapphire for $4500?" This really says a lot about the kind of business Bill runs. I was really impressed to see him honor the original price in this situation. Some may think that this might have been a sales technique, but the disappointment I saw on Bill's face was genuine. Not to mention $4500 was a decent price even if it had been heated. Mistakes happen, especially with such a large inventory.
I took a couple pictures and emailed them to my relative. She loved the color! She actually screamed when she saw the pictures, haha! I was overjoyed to have found the perfect color for her! I promptly told Bill that I would take the sapphire. $4500 was exchanged and the sapphire was mine.... well at least until I set it and send it to the rightful owner.
Here are the pictures. Please keep in mind that these pictures are really close up so some inclusions are visible that the naked eye can not see.
Outdoor Pictures with Direct Sunlight.
Overcast Outdoor Pictures!
Indoor Pictures with Incandescent Light! Interesting Color Shift!
Fluorescence!!! The strongest I have ever seen in person!
GIA Report!
Thanks for looking!
~Justin
So I was recently at the Tucson Gem Show in search of a 3-5ct Pink Sapphire. I purchased this 3.95ct sapphire for a member of my family that I am very close to. She is like a 2nd mother to me so when she expressed the desire for a pink sapphire ring I was more than happy to help!
What sparked this was last year she was at a show in Las Vegas and in the lobby was a case with a beautiful pink sapphire ring. The stone was very large and so was the price! She then asked me if a pink sapphire could be purchase within a reasonable budget. I told her that I felt a good 3-5ct pink sapphire could be purchased in the $3500-$8000 range depending on weight and treatment. Her biggest concern was that the sapphire would have great color... something that catches your eye from across the room.
The requirements were simple.
Color Color Color!
Eye clean.
Oval, or Cushion Cut.
Heated or Unheated
3-5ct.
I searched every dealer at the Gem Show in the convention center of Tucson. The selection of large pink sapphires was very limited but luckily I found the perfect stone for her.
Bill Vance is the dealer that I purchased the sapphire from. Bill was wonderful to deal with and possibly the most experienced Gem dealer I have ever encountered. He is a Master Cutter who has over 40 years of experience. Bill showed me some of his re-cuts and I was very impressed. The sapphire I purchased was not cut by Bill unfortunately; however the native cut on the stone is pretty good.
Bill really took his time showing me his inventory and explaining the history behind each stone. It was a great opportunity to deal with someone who has so much experience. On a side note Bill had the best collection of Red Beryl I had ever seen. It is so rare to see larger examples of red beryl, of which Bill had quite a few!
Bill offered me this Oval 3.95ct Pink Sapphire for $4500 which included a GIA Report. I louped the stone and could see some light bubble inclusions, but these were not visible to the naked eye so that was ok. The saturation was very strong and I felt the color was close to what I was looking for. The price felt comfortable to me after seeing what the other dealers were asking for pink sapphires. Bill told me that the stone was heated when I first asked to see it, but upon opening the GIA report he noticed that the stone was unheated. I could see a look of disappointment on his face. He calmly called his wife over who had marked the stone as heated in the show case. She looked at the report and realized the mistake that had been made. I could tell she felt terrible about the mistake, but a price had already been offered to the customer. Bill looked at me and said "well what can you do mistakes happen." Bill realizing that he had under quoted the sapphire looked up at me and said "would you like a $6500 sapphire for $4500?" This really says a lot about the kind of business Bill runs. I was really impressed to see him honor the original price in this situation. Some may think that this might have been a sales technique, but the disappointment I saw on Bill's face was genuine. Not to mention $4500 was a decent price even if it had been heated. Mistakes happen, especially with such a large inventory.
I took a couple pictures and emailed them to my relative. She loved the color! She actually screamed when she saw the pictures, haha! I was overjoyed to have found the perfect color for her! I promptly told Bill that I would take the sapphire. $4500 was exchanged and the sapphire was mine.... well at least until I set it and send it to the rightful owner.
Here are the pictures. Please keep in mind that these pictures are really close up so some inclusions are visible that the naked eye can not see.
Outdoor Pictures with Direct Sunlight.
Overcast Outdoor Pictures!
Indoor Pictures with Incandescent Light! Interesting Color Shift!
Fluorescence!!! The strongest I have ever seen in person!
GIA Report!
Thanks for looking!
~Justin
). You got an excellent price! How nice of your second Mom to have someone she can absolutely, solidly, 100% count on! How awesome of you to take it so seriously and get such a good price (I know that's who you are, Justin, but still - you went to every dealer there! That's love).
). In direct sunlight, it certainly does not close up at all and in fact looks the most saturated. Its probably an optical illusion but it looks asymmetrically cut in the first two pics...that is, the top side looks longer than the bottom side. That said, great performance in daylight.
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