Buying a Tiffany-like Sapphire for e-ring

[sapphire4christmass]

This week, I''ve begun shopping for a sapphire ring, so as to have one for her by the Christmas holiday.

I''ve read over several of the threads relating to sapphires and would like some advice as to getting a sapphire within the next five weeks.

I visited Schlanderer & Sons, according to some the best place in Ann Arbor, as well as some other stores in town and saw some nice rings and some oval sapphires of ''all right'' color. I drove an hour and a half to the nearest luxury jewelers (Tiffany & Co, Cartier and some other high-end mall jeweler in Troy, MI) and saw gems that I liked more.

I would like to get a oval, Tiffany-like sapphire, without paying for a Tiffany ring.

(Are Tiffany sapphires of higher quality than other B&M sapphires?)
What should I do?
What sites have good selection as of today (cherrypicked, for example, seems to be about 90% "SOLD," right now)
And, to be super specific, is # 819 a good color? - http://www.cherrypicked.com/Gallery/Score.aspx?ItemID=819 - it looks too light to me

thanks,
Thomas

Ann Arbor, MI

 

[widget]

Hi, Thomas! Welcome to Pricescope!

What fun! Yes you can get a lovely sapphire from other than Tiffanys and such...and almost assuredly pay less.

Probably the first thing you should do is establish what your budget is, and what "look" of sapphire you like. (Richer, more saturated blues will be more costly than lighter toned ones, but not necessarily "better"...it's really a matter of personal taste.)

You might also want to decide if heat treatment is OK with you. Untreated sapphires will cost more.

The internet is a great place to 'window shop' and decide what colors, shapes you like best. If you're uncomfortable actually purchasing a stone over the net, find a reputable B&M jeweler (avoid typical mall stores), tell them what you want and have them call in several candidates for you to look at.

I've purchased several stones from Cherrypicked, and have been very very pleased. They do deal almost exclusively with untreated stones, however. Richard Orbach is a great guy, and I'm sure they have many stones that are unlisted on their site.

I've also heard good things about www.naturalsapphirecompany , and they have a large posted inventory to look at and drool over.

There are many more good places, of course, but that's a start.

Good luck!
widget

 

[widget]

Here''s a picture of #819 you mentioned...

While it got high scores on color, tone, and clarity, the scores were lower on brilliance/luster and zoning. These are things I''d want to ask Richard about. I''m sure he''d be straight with you and not steer you wrong...

widget

PS: I think the color is lovely..

 

[Kaleigh]

Hi Thomas,
widget gave you excellent advice and I too like the natural sapphire co, they have great stones. Good luck in your search and welcome to PS!!!

 

[bar01]

Almost 2 years ago, my gal and I saw a beautiful Tiffany Sapphire E-Ring. It was stunning. So was the price.

After many months of research - much of it here on PS - I did did come up with a Sapphire E-Ring which not only met - but in my eyes - exceed what we had seen at Tiffany's at 40-50% less cost for the entire ring.

The sapphire came from Cherrypicked. The diamonds and custom made setting were from whiteflash.

There are a few sources for the top end sapphires as mentioned - cherrypicked, natrualsapphriecompany, Richard Wise, wink, and others. Not only can you get a sapphire as good or better than Tiffany's- but you can have a custom made setting to match anything you want.

About cherrypicked and their inventory being sold - this is a good feature. It allows you to see what previous sapphires sold for and how their cherryscore affected the price - also understand that fine (near gem quality) sapphires (especially untreated) are very rare to find. I would recommend you call Richard Orbach at Cherrypicked, or any of the other companies mentioned, and tell him what you are looking for and they can search for your sapphire - not everything is on their websites. Photos are often very unreliable for colored stones. You can trust the people at the companies listed to help you find what your looking for.

Also don't forget to get your own independent appraiser lab to check out your sapphire before you purchase.

Also do a search on sapphires and you will find lots of good information and here on PS.

 

[bleusaphir]

i like item B313 at www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com

along with the vivid blue color and excellent clarity, it has a nice outline and profile.

but it may be a smaller stone than you want....

 

[valeria101]

Date: 11/12/2005 10:26:23 AM
Author:sapphire4christmass

And, to be super specific, is # 819 a good color?

Yes, that''s quite great in my book because I prefer these stones to look blue not black indoors (=less intense light). But it seems that dark blue is more popular anyway and those dark ones that still have good saturation are obviously beautiful regardless.

If you prefer them darker, how about this one?


The shops'' return policy has already been put to the test around here (not that I ever had any reason to doubt it!) and they seem very open about the looks and quality of their stones.

Their list of untreated sapphires is nowhere the range of others mentioned here, but there are nice little finds on it.

 

[bar01]

Some more comments - I like this one from Cherrypicked much better. As wdiget mentioned, the other stone has good color but less than desirable zoning and brilliance. Those cherry scores are very good indicators in my experience.

thenaturalsapphirecompany has some nice ones too..

 

[Kaleigh]

Bertrand that is just gorgeous!!!

 

[widget]

Author: kaleigh
Bertrand that is just gorgeous!!!

Is it ever!!!!!

From their description, you''d think it was a Kasmir!

Here it is:

 

[sapphire4christmass]

Date: 11/12/2005 11:25:24 AM
Author: widget
Hi, Thomas! Welcome to Pricescope!

...

The internet is a great place to ''window shop'' and decide what colors, shapes you like best. If you''re uncomfortable actually purchasing a stone over the net, find a reputable B&M jeweler (avoid typical mall stores), tell them what you want and have them call in several candidates for you to look at.

I''ve purchased several stones from Cherrypicked, and have been very very pleased. They do deal almost exclusively with untreated stones, however. Richard Orbach is a great guy, and I''m sure they have many stones that are unlisted on their site.

...

Good luck!

widget

Hello again everyone,

I''ve reserved (/mostly purchased) the following sapphire from cherrypicked - http://www.cherrypicked.com/Gallery/Score.aspx?ItemID=1873

However, today I took it to a top Ann Arbor B&M (Lewis Jewelers) for inspection. After repeatedly praising it''s beauty, he noted one line through the sapphire and then opined that it''s retail value was $2000 and that his store would sell something like it for $1400. This is significantly less than the $2350 I was quoted for the gem.

He knew that I had purchased it online. What should I make of this? I think it is very beautiful but don''t want to be a dupe. I''m much more internet ready than the typical consumer but don''t want to be burned online.

thanks for any thoughts.
Thomas

 

[MINE!!]

I have a story to tell.

When I brought my gemstone (spessertite) to a ''upstanding, well respected, high end B&M" store in my area to set my stone in the setting. He looked at it and sadi "WHAT is this supposed to be..." I told him it was a spessertite.. he said " a GARNET?" Well, we seel garnet here, hope that you did not pay too much for it." Well respected, upstanding, upper end kiss my a$$ ....

Just last week I went to a jewelry store in Lady Lake Fla. It was a very nice B&M. I was looking at the colored stone and the lady behind the counter said, "Oh wow is that a spessertite garnet?" "they are so rare and beautiful, what a unique engagement ring." MY local place was ticked that I did not buy my stone from them methinks...

 

[decodelighted]

I think an independant appraiser would be a lot more "un-biased" than a guy who''d rather you buy from him. It''d cost ya, maybe $75 ...

Also ... did that guy have any of these miraculous lower priced sapphires to show you that wowed you more?

 

[bar01]

Please don't take your gem for appraisal to someone that SELLS gems. You are asking for trouble - they can be biased. Find an independent appraiser.

I had my cherrysapphire checked by one the best independent labs/appriasers - Richard Sherwood. He confirmed that the price i paid was fair and in line for internet pricing - which is typically lower than retail B&M only stores.

Do yourself a big favor - take a 45 min drive and go see THIS GUY with your cherrypicked sapphire. I am originally from Michigan and sent my best friend to Jim Krol this year wth his gal's engagement ring where he found honest /independent information.


Edited later - that cherrypicked sapphire does sound wonderful - and has an interesting history to talk about with your gal/friends/family -here is the comment from the website

"Originally abraded by more than a century of wear, this very old sapphire was taken out of a victorian era ring. repolished by reginald c. miller lapidaries, the gem took on a life of it’s own as we were privileged to witness the beauty of this gem super clean ultra rich super blue color without the abraded surface. no, sapphires are seldom found these days looking like this; rich, regal and the most prized of blues in the sapphire world, this gem is all about an intensity and electricity found only in days of yore"

 

[flopkins]

However, today I took it to a top Ann Arbor B&M (Lewis Jewelers) for inspection. After repeatedly praising it's beauty, he noted one line through the sapphire and then opined that it's retail value was $2000 and that his store would sell something like it for $1400.

Tell you're very interested and for him to call you when he sources a stone of similar quality/weight for that price!!!!!

Send the stone to an independent appraiser and see what they say! I wouldn't trust the B&M to give an unbiased opinion!!!

 

[widget]

I''ve got to chime in here and agree with the others. I would be very leery of an assessment of a stone coming from someone who''d like to sell me one of his! An independent appraisal is the way to go.

Another possibility, I suppose, is to call this guy''s bluff and ask him to call in a few comparable stones for you to look at.

I did that not too long ago. I purchased a stone from cherrypicked. While I still had it on approval, I showed it to the jeweler I thought was going to set it for me. She urged me to let her call in a couple of stones for comparison which would cost less.

I asked Richard for an extension of my "approval time" and he was agreeable about it.

Well, the stones she called in didn''t even belong in the same room with the CP stone! It was almost laughable! The whole exercise only served to confirm to me how exceptional the CP stone was!

By the way...the stone you''re considering looks absolutely yummy!

widget

 

[icekid]

sounds like your local guy is just trying to get you to buy from him- forget that! That cherrypicked stone looks absolutely phenomenal. I think getting an independent appraisal might help you to decide if you''re making a good purchase.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/1/2005 5:32:55 PM
Author: sapphire4christmass



He knew that I had purchased it online. What should I make of this?

Competition biting ?

If they can offer a similar stone for $1400 let them bring it in, preferably during the return period for the one you''ve got already.

Minor color zoning not visible face up is not such a HUGE detraction, especially if the sapphire is not heated.

Cherrypicked is no bargain basement, but the things they list are not easily replaced either. This doesn''t mean it can''t be done, of course.