Advice for a yellow Sapphire Seeker? (e-ring).

[NKOTB]

The second is a bit dark and blurry. I was in a bit of a rush. I tried to crop the first one, but it wasn't working without making it look bad. It's always tricky trying to reduce the files enough to post here. I guess what I should say is that the photos don't quite do the stone justice.

 

[innerkitten]

I love the little golden sparkles in the first picture. Pale yellow sapphires are beautiful. So that price is in Canadian dollars right?

ETA: I just converted it. Almost exactly the same. That seems pricey.

 

[NKOTB]

Yeah, he's not cheap. Most jewellers aren't, though, are they? It's 1690 (so, 1000/ct), but the darn taxes push the number up. I think he reduces the cost of the stone if he sets it (at least, he did for me on my last custom job with him).

 

[erinl]

Would someone from the U.S. have to pay Canadian taxes?

 

[NKOTB]

Well, the tricky part is that he won't ship. So, either I'd have to be a "middle woman" (paying taxes and shipping it south), or, if an American came up and bought it, you might be able to submit a claim to get the taxes back?

 

[corundum_conundrum]

Thanks for thinking of my search New Kid! (and thanks for the eye candy.) Its nice to get some B and M price comparisons. I actually think 1000/carat at a B an M store is fair for yellow sapphire of about 1.5 carats. Alas, this stone is too far out of my price and geographical range. I think buying electronically will help me get more of a deal. My B and M versus online comparison shopping seems to indicate prices are much lower over the internet.

I know the right sapphire will eventually come your way.

Thanks innerkitten! I've had a few close opportunities so far and I may have a lead on something to post here by the end of the month. I also have been promised some possibilities for after the new year, and a gem show coming up in a few weeks. So I'm still optimistic.

 

[gemseeker2012]

Hello Corundum!

I'm not sure how your search is coming, but I happened to come across a beautiful lemon yellow round sapphire today and I thought of your quest. It was actually at a local custom jewelry shop that I just discovered - they actually had a nice selection of unheated stones, wish I had found them sooner! In any case, here is the info, if you're interested, I can provide a link to the store that has this stone. It is GIA certified and pretty fairly priced, I think.

Here's the data:
Natural, unheated sapphire (forgot to ask about the origin, sorry)
Round 6.5 mm
1.37 ctw
$685

I took a quick iphone pic for you Doesn't come close to doing it justice. The stone is bright lemon-yellow and sparklicious

 

[NKOTB]

Dang, that's a way better price per carat than my local place! Good find, gem seeker!

 

[innerkitten]

That's a pretty little stone. Nice and sparkly! But it does seem to have a touch of green don't you think? I think he said he was trying to avoid green. Where is he anyway? Wonder if he found a stone?

 

[gemseeker2012]

I see the green in the photo, too, but didn't notice it at all in real life. I didn't take it outside to look. It is a pretty little guy, very tempting even though I wasn't looking for it!

 

[innerkitten]

I see the green in the photo, too, but didn't notice it at all in real life. I didn't take it outside to look. It is a pretty little guy, very tempting even though I wasn't looking for it!

It could be a reflection or something. It is pretty. And the great thing about sapphires ( for me anyway) is how durable they are. They make great ring stones.

 

[corundum_conundrum]

This is a great stone, thanks gemseeker! The only thing I find more stunning than its luster is the price! I've never seen an unheated yellow of this quality even close to this price at retail in a B&M store. And a good face-up size to boot. Congrats on your stone, by the way! I'm glad your patience paid off.

Nice and sparkly! But it does seem to have a touch of green don't you think? I think he said he was trying to avoid green. Where is he anyway? Wonder if he found a stone?

Innekitten you know me well! Yes, it looks to have a touch too much green for what I am looking for, but thank you gemseeker. Photography does tend to accentuate the green in these yellow guys. There's actually a nice link about the difficulty in photographing yellows at widfishgems, for anyone curious: http://wildfishgems.com/gemstones_on_photo

Nevertheless in my experience if the photo shows this much green, the stone would also show some green in the sunlight. My experience has also been that stones deemed to be "lemon yellow" have a secondary green. It seems to be a trade designation for stones that are yellow but flirting with green.

I'm still on the market, so any suggestions are welcome! I had a frustrating month at the end of october--a few leads that didn't work out, and there were a few stones that were very close, but I didn't order because of minor problems (tad small, just slightly off in color). I'm not on a tight deadline, so I have the luxury of being selective. However, I have realized that I might need to be more flexible and start ordering some things. I'll keep you posted if I order something...I will need your opinions Thanks for keeping me in mind.

 

[erinl]

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

Bottom row, middle?

 

[Kitten35]

You can get some really nice settings for very good prices from American Set, an Ebay vendor. They are on the PS vendor list, and I have one and it's very nice. Really couldn't beat the setting for the money. If you can find an affordable setting, you can sink the majority of your budget into a really great stone.

 

[corundum_conundrum]

Hi Erin. I think that is gemfix's best unheated yellow too. Thanks for the suggestion. Silvery yellow is not exactly what I am going for, though, and that seems to be mostly what Gemfix has. I would take golden yellow over silvery, but I'm really hoping for a true, pure yellow. I've seen a couple out there...just not in the right size or shape yet. A new contact, however, is optimistic, so I am optimistic!

Thanks for the Setting recommendation. I will check them out. I will definitely have to be economical on the setting, but my budget has not really interefered with any purchases. I think its just the lack of selection. For example, one vendor who other PSers have suggested has fairly high prices only had options at about my size inside my price range. NIce certed Golden-yellows. Stuff at NSC is at or near my price range too, and within my range when they put eveything on sale about evey other month (I would only go through them as a last resort, say, after February if all else failed. They might be a decent company, but too many red flags on PS for my taste). Only one cutter said my budget was too low to get retail prices, which seems right, but who on PS pays true retail?

A higher budget would allow me to entertain options that are much bigger, but I don't really want something too big anyway. Although I did see a beautiful color on a 3.5 carat stone....o well...

Thanks everybody, and I hope to have something to post soon.

 

[innerkitten]

Today I noticed Mastercut Gems has a round yellow stone in it's Sri Lanka sapphire section. Thought of this post.