Best deal you've ever got??

[Tiger_Lily]

I have a 1,01ct Si2 natural color, canary? diamond, got it for $500 and a 15,48ct violetish green tanzanite for $1350 that I think is my best bargains, not $/ct but in quality aswell.

 

[T L]

I have a 1,01ct Si2 natural color, canary? diamond, got it for $500 and a 15,48ct violetish green tanzanite for $1350 that I think is my best bargains, not $/ct but in quality aswell.

Amazing buy on the diamond.

 

[psproot12]

I have a 1,01ct Si2 natural color, canary? diamond, got it for $500 and a 15,48ct violetish green tanzanite for $1350 that I think is my best bargains, not $/ct but in quality aswell.

Yeah, looks like a "canary" to me. Great buy!

 

[Tiger_Lily]

Great thanks I guess it should be worth about 10 000 or am I just wishing?

 

[chrono]

You did get a good buy, but no, not anywhere near $10K.

 

[Tiger_Lily]

This is what I got for $500.

I bought a diamond on Ebay for $500 ( not the canary one). Went with it to the pawn shop, I tried to sell it at auction a few years ago, but the auction house wouldnt accept it due to heavy inclusions. It was a 0.99ct brownish pink.

Anyway the pawn shop gave me about $2150 for it. For that money I went to Ebay to do some more shopping.

14k - 0.80ct diamond 0.25ct emerald ( I get it to 0.37ct diamond though ) - $625
14k - 0.50ct diamond 1.25ct ruby - $466,69
14k - 1.00ct diamond - $455
14k - 2 bands with approx 1.40+2.00ct diamonds - $596 ( at least 1.00+1.40ct the seller didnt know and I have been trying to measure the diamonds ) Its 10 diamonds 4x2mm and 12 diamonds 4,5x2mm.)

Total: 2142,69


I am happy with that.

 

[chrono]

DianeM,
For what you paid, I wouldn't sweat it. At under $600, you are assured that the cost of the 18K YG setting makes it worth it alone. Who knows whether it is only cedar oil or something else. It has the glow you love and you enjoy wearing it, and I doubt you overpaid for it, even in the worst case scenario. And the Basel Gem Show has stuff that we can only dream off.

 

[Marlow]

My best deal ever....

From the same vendor ( Ebay Thailand - no more active - guess why )

1,33 ct eyeclean top colored oval Merelani Mint and a 1,23 ct fat pear neon pink ( textmarker) Mahenge spinel!!!

Won two one-bid-auction!!! Why.... the vendor fotoshopped the Merelani mint to a poor Tsavorite and the Mahenge looked like a candy apple!!! The videos were good so I bid.

Price: $ 35 for the merelani mint and $ 50 for the Mahenge.... Had a good day when the arrived.

 

[T L]

My best deal ever....

From the same vendor ( Ebay Thailand - no more active - guess why )

1,33 ct eyeclean top colored oval Merelani Mint and a 1,23 ct fat pear neon pink ( textmarker) Mahenge spinel!!!

Won two one-bid-auction!!! Why.... the vendor fotoshopped the Merelani mint to a poor Tsavorite and the Mahenge looked like a candy apple!!! The videos were good so I bid.

Price: $ 35 for the merelani mint and $ 50 for the Mahenge.... Had a good day when the arrived.

Pictures????????

 

[Marlow]

Diane,

yes - they were - sorry - quite stupid!! They offered benitoite too - they looked like tanzanite - only the video showed the materials correct color - so I could compare pic and video.

The Mahenge ( the fat pear )



The Merelani - bigger oval on the right

 

[Marlow]

But nobody is perfect.....

My worst deal....

First time with a lot of money in a gem show....
I bought a black crystal opal 2,22 ct for 1000 DM - is 1000 EUR today - the stone developed over the years a fat crack in the middle!!!!
I hate opal!!! Really!!!
And - same day - a padparadscha ( around 0,70 ct) for 900 DM ( 900 EUR today) - well, the vendor took it back a few years later - was a BE treated stone!!!! Was a scandal.
It would be possible to buy a nice Alex or Paraiba but stupid M. burned some money....

Honestly - I lost my head and was confused to have much more money than in other years - was 1996! Bought to fast and not with sleeping over night!!

My advice ( for TL in Basel next year ) Take 20% of your money - enough to reserve it if you see a perfect gem.

Next day buy.

 

[T L]

My advice ( for TL in Basel next year ) Take 20% of your money - enough to reserve it if you see a perfect gem.

Um, I"ll keep that in mind.

Thanks for the pics of your stones, very nice, great deals!

 

[mochiko42]

Hi, folks -

I thought I would post about my Colombian emerald pendant bought late last year from eBay seller "maravellous" (sells emeralds almost exclusively). These are the posted specs on the pendant:


1.30CT Natural Colombian Emerald Pendant Emerald Cut 18K Yellow Gold Custom Made
Shape or Cut: Pear Cut
Measurements Emerald: 9.40mmx6.50mm
Approx Emerald Weight: Over 1.30 Carats (1 emeralds)
Treatment: no heat ~ Only Oil
Average Color/Clarity Emerald: Medium Green/VS
Measurements Pendant: 20.0mmx6.40mm
Total Gemstone Weight: 1.30carats


I had been checking the seller's listings periodically because they seemed to me high quality, and one day I saw a pendant listed twice - once for $775 and once for $575 - so I chose to buy the second listing of course.

I don't know whether the second price was a mistake, or a typo, or some kind of intentional loss leader, but I'm very happy with the pendant, which seems almost as if it has a little "light" inside it - it glows. I wrote to the company to ask when it was mined, and they said they acquired it five or six years ago.

I'd be interested in anyone's opinions about the quality of this pendant for the price. Don't worry about hurting my feelings; I'll still love it no matter what. It does have a LOT of inclusions, and even a couple of minuscule nicks on the girdle (visible only with a loupe), but somehow I don't mind them.

After seeing the fantastic stones on the video of the Basel Gem Show, I know that this is far from top quality color and clarity for an emerald, but do you think I did OK for a novice CS buyer?

These photos were taken inside with ambient light from outdoors on my carpet - two front views, a side view, and a back view. (I added the chain.) The first photo is closest to the color IRL.

Diane

Beautiful soft green glow... I think you got a great deal of that price! Lovely

 

[pregcurious]

I bought a sapphire that was sold to be as heated, and I sent it to AGL to make sure it was not BE diffused. I just heard back from AGL that it is unheated!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire[/URL]

 

[T L]

I bought a sapphire that was sold to be as heated, and I sent it to AGL to make sure it was not BE diffused. I just heard back from AGL that it is unheated!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire[/URL]

How exciting!!!

Congrats, its a lovely stone, and unheated!!

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks, TL. PS led me to that stone, so thanks PSers! I read about these "finds" all the time and wonder if it will ever happen to me, and it finally has.

 

[T L]

Thanks, TL. PS led me to that stone, so thanks PSers! I read about these "finds" all the time and wonder if it will ever happen to me, and it finally has.

I bet you can't wait to set it now.

 

[pregcurious]

If I had the funds, I'd sent it directly from AGL over to ERD. Alas, mama has to wait.

Actually, I'd rather spend the money on another stone.

 

[Marlow]

I bought a sapphire that was sold to be as heated, and I sent it to AGL to make sure it was not BE diffused. I just heard back from AGL that it is unheated!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire[/URL]

Beautiful sleepy color, untreated

Which orign - Sri Lanka (or Kashmir??? - it has the "look")?

It is from Tan I read - could be Madagascar....

 

[kohaku]

140 dollar for this emerald and star ruby already set in silver ring, they are not the best quality but still nice

 

[T L]

I bought a sapphire that was sold to be as heated, and I sent it to AGL to make sure it was not BE diffused. I just heard back from AGL that it is unheated!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire[/URL]

Beautiful sleepy color, untreated

Which orign - Sri Lanka (or Kashmir??? - it has the "look")?

It is from Tan I read - could be Madagascar....

Tan rarely sells Asian sapphires. I bet its Madagascar, it looks like it. Most of the sapphires he sells are Tanzanian or Madagascar.

 

[pregcurious]

Tanzanian

 

[Andelain]

This one may take that title...



I saw in in the case at a pawn shop, and asked to try it on. It's size 9.5, fits my index finger. I gave it a quick look, the stone color is so perfect I assumed it was man-made, in a 10kt ring. I'd estimate the sapphire at 1- 1.2 ct. It was solidly made, not chintzy at all. Very comfortable on my finger. They wanted $2-something for it.I asked what they'd take, the guy said $200 out the door. I really like it, and figured it's well worth that even as a synth. I happily paid, and wore my new pretty home.

That night I got curious, and pulled out a loupe. I saw that the diamonds were nice, but definitely not CZ. Then I saw an inclusion in the Sapphire that you don't see in the man-mades. I turned the ring over, and could see how heavy and well made it is. Then I saw 3 stamps inside, "18 kt", "Levian", and "Ceylon".

SCORE!!!!!!!!


.

 

[Marlow]

Tanzanian

Best color ever seen from Tanzania - you got a beautiful gem!!!

 

[WinkHPD]

Seriously, that's ridiculous! I'm honestly very impressed! I'm going to be on the look out now for jewelers going out of business!! I think scrap value on that alone is at least $500!

This is probably one of the major reasons that I do not sell on EBAY. I once tried to sell some slow moving inventory for the scrap prices. I even said in large print in the description that the prices were my scrap prices but it hurt my heart too much to scrap them if I could get them good homes.

I had people emailing me with offers of half of scrap and other ridiculous offers, so eventually I just pulled them all and sold them for scrap and actually ended up getting about 10% more than I was trying to sell them for.

My best deal ever is a .97CT Fancy light grayish blue that finished out 0.96cts after polishing out a small chip on the girdle. The $1300 price included a platinum mounting that had one carat of white pave set diamonds. I put a $100 natural blue sapphire in the mounting and sold it at a Southeby's auction for 17 or 18 hundred dollars. So basically, I got my wife's blue diamond for less than $0.00.

One week after I got it for her the dealer who sold it to me called me back in a panic. When he told his father in law, the owner of the business how he had doubled his money in a few hours on that ring he got a real shock at the reaction from his father in law. He started out offering me what I had paid, and very soon was up to $10,000. I asked my wife if she wanted to make a profit on her ring. She was adamant in her refusal. A few years after I got it for her she turned down $42,000. I suspect it will be in the estate when she and I are no longer here.

I suspect that this was/is/and ever shall be the best deal I ever got.

Wink

 

[PrecisionGem]

I bought a sapphire that was sold to be as heated, and I sent it to AGL to make sure it was not BE diffused. I just heard back from AGL that it is unheated!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire[/URL]

How exciting!!!

Congrats, its a lovely stone, and unheated!!

For what it's worth: a friend of mine, bought some sapphire rough, heated it to burn off some green, cut a few pieces, sent the to AGL and they came back as unheated.

A few years ago I sold a Lake Baringo Ruby that I know was not heated, the client sent it to AGL and they returned a report with Heated. She returned the stone.

 

[Marlow]

Seriously, that's ridiculous! I'm honestly very impressed! I'm going to be on the look out now for jewelers going out of business!! I think scrap value on that alone is at least $500!

This is probably one of the major reasons that I do not sell on EBAY. I once tried to sell some slow moving inventory for the scrap prices. I even said in large print in the description that the prices were my scrap prices but it hurt my heart too much to scrap them if I could get them good homes.

I had people emailing me with offers of half of scrap and other ridiculous offers, so eventually I just pulled them all and sold them for scrap and actually ended up getting about 10% more than I was trying to sell them for.

My best deal ever is a .97CT Fancy light grayish blue that finished out 0.96cts after polishing out a small chip on the girdle. The $1300 price included a platinum mounting that had one carat of white pave set diamonds. I put a $100 natural blue sapphire in the mounting and sold it at a Southeby's auction for 17 or 18 hundred dollars. So basically, I got my wife's blue diamond for less than $0.00.

One week after I got it for her the dealer who sold it to me called me back in a panic. When he told his father in law, the owner of the business how he had doubled his money in a few hours on that ring he got a real shock at the reaction from his father in law. He started out offering me what I had paid, and very soon was up to $10,000. I asked my wife if she wanted to make a profit on her ring. She was adamant in her refusal. A few years after I got it for her she turned down $42,000. I suspect it will be in the estate when she and I are no longer here.

I suspect that this was/is/and ever shall be the best deal I ever got.


Wink

Would say you are No. 1 here at the moment and for a very long time!!!

 

[T L]

Wink,
That's a great story, but no pictures??!! It's not a stone for sale, so can't you post one???

 

[pregcurious]

I bought a sapphire that was sold to be as heated, and I sent it to AGL to make sure it was not BE diffused. I just heard back from AGL that it is unheated!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pear-sapphire.194201/?hilit=sapphire[/URL]

How exciting!!!

Congrats, its a lovely stone, and unheated!!

For what it's worth: a friend of mine, bought some sapphire rough, heated it to burn off some green, cut a few pieces, sent the to AGL and they came back as unheated.

A few years ago I sold a Lake Baringo Ruby that I know was not heated, the client sent it to AGL and they returned a report with Heated. She returned the stone.

Hmm, that's food for thought.

 

[pregcurious]

Wink, 2nd request for pics!

Marlow, thanks!