Anyone ever buy from IG seller leenagemslk?

[Ionysis]

Yes loads. Hang on...

 

[Ionysis]

 

[Ionysis]

 

[Ionysis]

 

[Ionysis]

 

[Ionysis]

 

[Polyhex]

This thread was intriguing enough for me to visit his Instagram which led to me buying an unheated sapphire after being impressed with the price. I prefer to buy from the countries of origin without western middle-people. I'll update with my own photos after it arrives.

 

[Ionysis]

Funnily enough the one stone I got which I was rather disappointed with was the spinel I bought. I’ve just tried photographing it and it’s a nightmare to get even close. In real life it looks nothing like my photos or in fact his.

 

[Ionysis]

This thread was intriguing enough for me to visit his Instagram which led to me buying an unheated sapphire after being impressed with the price. I prefer to buy from the countries of origin without western middle-people. I'll update with my own photos after it arrives.

Double check with him on heat. Untreated doesn’t mean unheated in SL. I asked about this stone and was told heat only. His unheated stones are ALWAYS described as unheated in the comments under the photo. This colour in sapphires is always heat treated in my experience.

 

[Polyhex]

Double check with him on heat. Untreated doesn’t mean unheated in SL. I asked about this stone and was told heat only. His unheated stones are ALWAYS described as unheated in the comments under the photo. This colour in sapphires is always heat treated in my experience.

You are 100% correct and he told me so in our chat, I must have hallucinated! Still looking forward to receiving it!

 

[elizat]

I have a few I can share as well. his photo is in natural daylight, my photo was inside.

 

[elizat]

Another.

In this case, the stone was actually even better than it was in the pictures. Some of the zoning that you can see in his pictures and bright sunlight disappeared once it was set.

 

[Ionysis]

So the track record on sapphires seems pretty good - not so much on spinels!

 

[elizat]

So the track record on sapphires seems pretty good - not so much on spinels!

Agree.

The tsav garnet I have is pretty true to photo as well. It does have some darkness when flat on skin, but you don't see held up to the light.

I am going to ask my setter, that is also a lapidary, if they can slightly tweak the cut.

 

[icy_jade]

I wonder if it’s a factor of the natural lighting. Tropical lighting is supposed to be good for stones right? Put the same stone in some gloomy winter weather, it could look completely bleh.

 

[fredflintstone]

This thread was intriguing enough for me to visit his Instagram which led to me buying an unheated sapphire after being impressed with the price. I prefer to buy from the countries of origin without western middle-people. I'll update with my own photos after it arrives.

I do not mean to belittle your stone as it looks beautiful. But I do hope the price was reasonable as yellow Sapphire this intense is rarely not heated, but they do exist. I would send it in for a report at a reputable gem lab. If it is indeed unheated it will be worth more money than a sapphire the same color heated.

 

[fredflintstone]

I wonder if it’s a factor of the natural lighting. Tropical lighting is supposed to be good for stones right? Put the same stone in some gloomy winter weather, it could look completely bleh.

This is true. The closer to the equator you look at a stone, the more vivid it will look. Especially warm colors. A fact.

 

[icy_jade]

This is true. The closer to the equator you look at a stone, the more vivid it will look. Especially warm colors. A fact.

Scary if I ever have to move to another continent then, lol. How devastating if all my stones look crap in the new place

 

[Polyhex]

I do not mean to belittle your stone as it looks beautiful. But I do hope the price was reasonable as yellow Sapphire this intense is rarely not heated, but they do exist. I would send it in for a report at a reputable gem lab. If it is indeed unheated it will be worth more money than a sapphire the same color heated.

Thank you! It's quite a low price (low enough for impulse buy) and it IS heated, I clearly hallucinated when typing the post and it's too old for me to edit it.

 

[Polyhex]

Another.

In this case, the stone was actually even better than it was in the pictures. Some of the zoning that you can see in his pictures and bright sunlight disappeared once it was set.

This is a spectacular ring!!!

 

[elizat]

This is a spectacular ring!!!

Thanks!

 

[fredflintstone]

Scary if I ever have to move to another continent then, lol. How devastating if all my stones look crap in the new place

I would not worry too much. I think people put too much credence in how a stone looks in sunlight. For these two reasons:


1. People wear their jewelry in most places indoors, especially in colder climates. Be more concerned how it looks in different indoor lighting, than outdoors. Especially the lighting that is most prevalent to where you wear your jewelry the most, and remember, no stone looks good under CFL light other than greens & yellows.

2. No matter where you live a stone will look different on different times of day and whether it is cloudy or not.

 

[Elise_k]

Seems like this seller is pretty trustworthy as long as I ask for additional pictures.

is there specific lighting conditions I should ask photos of?

does anyone know if his price is negotiable?

any thoughts?? @Ionysis

 

[Ionysis]

Yes always try to negotiate. But be aware his stock moves fast so you might get gazumped!

 

[Elise_k]

thanks!!

I’m thinking of getting this one! But I have no idea what violet sapphire prices should be..

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[LD]

I wouldn't buy from them ever again. I know there are 2 or 3 people here who have had good experiences but I'll let you judge from his selling photo to what I received! Lesson learned and a gemstone that has been consigned to the bin. He seems to be one of just a number of Instagram sellers who seem to "always" have very good, highly saturated gemstones at "cheaper than normal" prices. So buyer beware! Oh and when I told him I was seriously unhappy his response ................ why not buy one of our sapphires as they're always good!

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

Funnily enough the one stone I got which I was rather disappointed with was the spinel I bought. I’ve just tried photographing it and it’s a nightmare to get even close. In real life it looks nothing like my photos or in fact his.

Dang, that stinks. Are you talking about the color is off from the 3 pics above or there is a problem with the stone? Spinels are so moody, but I think that is part of why I love them. I remember 15 years ago when I set my 1st one at a mall store and I thought they switched it because it looked so different under their lighting! Ha

 

[LD]

I wonder if it’s a factor of the natural lighting. Tropical lighting is supposed to be good for stones right? Put the same stone in some gloomy winter weather, it could look completely bleh.

Nope! I live in the UK and have been buying gemstones from all over the world for over 25 years now. I know for example that if I buy something from Gene that what I get will be exactly as photographed AND it will appear exactly the same in real life in the US or UK. Similarly, I have bought from vendors in Asia and never ever had a problem. Obviously with less sun and typically grey overcast skies in the UK, dramatic photoshoots are harder to do and gems don't always look at their best but a good gemstone should resemble the seller's photo - not be a million miles away to the extent you wonder if you've been sent the right stone!

 

[LD]

This thread was intriguing enough for me to visit his Instagram which led to me buying an unheated sapphire after being impressed with the price. I prefer to buy from the countries of origin without western middle-people. I'll update with my own photos after it arrives.

Do treatments bother you? I appreciate that he's told you that this is heated but my bet would be that it's been treated as well. Ask the question but then as this forum says "trust but verify". If I were a betting person (and I hope I'm wrong) I highly suspect this stone will be more brown when received. As I said, I hope I'm wrong.

 

[fredflintstone]

I wouldn't buy from them ever again. I know there are 2 or 3 people here who have had good experiences but I'll let you judge from his selling photo to what I received! Lesson learned and a gemstone that has been consigned to the bin. He seems to be one of just a number of Instagram sellers who seem to "always" have very good, highly saturated gemstones at "cheaper than normal" prices. So buyer beware! Oh and when I told him I was seriously unhappy his response ................ why not buy one of our sapphires as they're always good!

I am not sticking up for this vendor or calling LD a liar, but what I see here may not tell the whole story.

We must remember many of these vendors are from tropical countries. The sunlight in tropical countries is much more direct and stones will look more vivid in their natural sunlight than say someone that lives in the same latitude as Chicago, especially during the non-summer months.

Now, I am sure many of these vendors know their natural sunlight does this, but that is how they see it in their environment. But they should also provide indoor lighting pictures and tell what the light source is, especially when asked.

To say these vendors videos/pictures are always more vivid, of course they are, they live in the tropics. That does not make them unscrupulous though.

Now, the picture taken by LD on a white background. Many times, a white background can make slightly grayish medium to very light tone violet, purple, bluish stones look darker and more drab than they are. It brings the gray out. That is a fact, unless you manipulate the picture’s color. Plus, what type of light was that picture taken in? Was it not conducive to the color of the stone? Was it to much light making the stone go darker to the camera’s eye or to little? Was the camera proficient at bringing out the true color?

In the end that stone probably sits in between the picture in tropical light and the indoor picture. Though probably leaning a little more towards the tropical picture.

We all know that most stones look different in different lights. That is a fact. I have always thought that people need to see what stones look like indoors more than outdoors, especially in colder climates as they will be wearing their jewelry indoors much more than outdoors. But you do need both. Just do not think some vendor in Thailand, Vietnam or Sri Lanka is dishonest because their pictures are more vivid. Its just a fact that they are in those countries’ natural sunlight.



Peace.