Can anyone give me a ballpark blue Sapphire value?

[Tribalypredisposed]

just wondering if you had considered giving this to your mum as a present?
It would make a good family heirloom to hand down and would only grow in value.

I work in a call center, so I am not exactly rolling in it. Despite that, mom has scored an original hand signed and numbered Picasso print, an original Shoji Hamada vase, a stuccoed pot from Michoacan (she studies pre-Columbian stuccoed pottery from Teotihuacan), a beautiful micro beaded turn of the last century purse, a Tom Philabaum perfume bottle...in the last few years from me. As an old hippy, this is not exactly her style, even though I am sure she would love it. And then my sister would inherit it, and she has enough.

 

[Tribalypredisposed]

@Tribalypredisposed I'm in Australia too.

I have used Leonard Joel auction rooms before and they have been flexible on commission they are in Melbourne

you can check out past auction results on their website although you would be better to wait until Melbournes harsh lock down is over with as I wouldn’t drop that on a ring I couldn’t inspect in person.

Lawsons is in sydney not sure on their rates.
They both sell mid range and higher end jewellery I would steer clear of auction rooms like lloyds who have less valuable items.

Good luck with the sale and congrats on a great find

Thanks! But despite the desert around me, I live in Arizona and not Australia.

 

[CSpan]

Thanks for coming back and sharing the story. It's fun to see something work out so beautifully these days.

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

There are a few antique jewellers who will value your item online and offer to buy it from you if they like it. I haven’t used them because I’m not sure I want to sell. Otherwise I would have.
Worth a look into.... keeping in mind they will offer a price that allows them a good margin to re-sell.

 

[oodlesofpoodles]

I have had a recent experience that might be helpful. I decided to sell a emerald ring that I am not wearing. I reached out via email to Fortuna auction house. They sent me a mailing label covered under their insurance policy at their expense to view my ring in person. They suggested a reserve price and they gave me a low - high estimate and told me they expected it to sell in the middle of that range. They charge nothing if your item does not sell for the reserve price. If it sells they charge 15% - this covers professional photography of your item and their expert staff. They were extremely professional. I watched the auctions for a week for stones similar to mine and saw that at this time they were selling right at the reserve prices. In the meantime I also reached out to a well known jewelry house Lang's Antiques and received a cash offer. The cash offer was the reserve price with Fortuna so for me it would make more sense to go with the cash offer with no fees over the maybe higher amount minus 15%. The process has been painless and I feel will probably be your best option. The risk for fraud on ebay is high for a seller. Ebay heavily favors the buyer.

 

[chroman]

known jewelry house Lang's Antiques

Oh good idea - that’s another good place to reach out too. They have details for selling on their site

 

[Tribalypredisposed]

I see that some people here offer items on Loupe Troop. How does that work? Is that a good option too?

 

[Bron357]

Loupe Troop can be like eBay in that if you are paid using PayPal the buyer can raise a dispute saying they received nothing in the mail or the box was received empty and PayPal is likely to believe the buyer.
So on Loupe Troop buyers often ask for Friends and Family payment. That is 100% safe for the seller (no recourse for the buyer) but then the buyer has to worry if the seller won’t scam them. For this reason most people only feel comfortable paying via Friends and Family for small amounts. When people have a presence here on Pricescope, it is felt to be safer.
Many of us have bought or sold happily on Loupe Troop but a $10,000 sapphire ring isn’t within everyone budget or on everyone’s shopping list.

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

I see that some people here offer items on Loupe Troop. How does that work? Is that a good option too?

If you are looking for a fast turnover - your best bet is taking it back to the people who have already shown interest with your GIA cert and an idea on what’s the least you would take for it.

 

[Tribalypredisposed]

I took some better pictures of my sapphire, on a sunny day instead of cloudy and some using magnification...

 

[Tribalypredisposed]

I took some better pictures of my sapphire, on a sunny day instead of cloudy and some using magnification...View attachment 786856View attachment 786857View attachment 786858View attachment 786859View attachment 786860View attachment 786861View attachment 786856View attachment 786857View attachment 786858View attachment 786859View attachment 786860View attachment 786861

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

I took some better pictures of my sapphire, on a sunny day instead of cloudy and some using magnification...View attachment 786856View attachment 786857View attachment 786858View attachment 786859View attachment 786860View attachment 786861View attachment 786856View attachment 786857View attachment 786858View attachment 786859View attachment 786860View attachment 786861

That background .... I’m assuming styrofoam?? Is making it look like the stone has cracks.... or inclusions that you can’t tell if they are in the stone or not.
The pics are also accentuating the window.

Do you not have some velvet lined jewellery box’s to use?
maybe try laying it down on a mirror.
try wadding a white or black towel and threading the ring through.

Did you get your GIA cert?

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

Straight up though - buy a nice box - you can’t sell a $10,000+ ring by presenting it on styrofoam.

 

[Ionysis]

I have to say, as you are looking for input on value, I collect unheated sapphires and there is no way I would pay $10k for that one even at that carat weight given the less than ideal colour and huge window. I think you need to moderate your expectations. It’ll need some feel of getting a bargain to get a buyer over those issues.

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

In an attempt to help you present this ring as best as possible (and I’m far far far from being an expert - I have just fought with this for the last couple of months until I found success) - (I’m also assuming like me you are using a phone to take the pics).....

When I said pics in the sun I meant just that. Outdoors - in direct sunlight.
Find a really nice flower in the garden or park and take pics with the direct sunlight from different angles. (This is hard to do as you won’t be able to see your phone screen well so just take a lot).
Make sure whatever is behind it isn’t showing through the window (the big gap in the middle).
Go for a FLAT white or black background. Nothing with texture.
Velvet is the best for not reflecting light but will show up every hair and bit of fluff.
Some ring boxes that you can buy like Cartier have a *holder* for a ring rather then a slot and work really well for presentation - $50 or less on eBay.

I’m including pics of it indoors in natural light, with the last pic being outside in direct sunlight - you can see it presents completely differently according to lighting and photography skills. Obviously I wouldn’t use the one with the white background as the camera is doing the stone a massive disservice as it never really presents like this at all.... the photo needs to be edited to correct the lighting to what your eye sees, where as the other photos are completely unedited and look fine.

Purchasing a loop with a light attachment makes for much better and readable inclusion photos - but no-one buying it will want to see those. They should be noted on your GIA report.
(Which is why I keep asking to see it.... are you still waiting for it?)

Hope that helps somewhat.

edited to add - You need to give it a really good clean too. People be zooming in on these pics. Get in under the setting and all around the stone.

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

**edited, op request**

In summary, do justice to your ring’s beauty with a few great shots, and it may attract many more buyers that way. And agree a pretty little box never hurts.

@Ionysis Personally I always find honesty like yours refreshing, it’s why I come to PS, to learn. Since you have experience with collecting unheated gems, I’d be curious how much you think “non ideal” color unheated sapphires like mine or @Tribalypredisposed or @Beautiful-disaster would for in the market, as I know al 3 of us are eager to learn, and since I believe @Tribalypredisposed is perhaps thinking of selling and would love more guidance to help him (her?) make the best decisions.

Fantastic examples and an even more fantastic ring!! Love everything about it - especially the colour shift to purple.
Best of both worlds!

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Tribalypredisposed apologies—if I may hijack the thread for a quick sec here to write back to @Beautiful-disaster Thank you! I absolutely love the cut on your sapphire; can’t wait to see what setting you end up choosing!

PS @Tribalypredisposed You May consider purchasing a vintage ring box on eBay. They go for $20-30 only, and would compliment your vintage ring beautifully rather than a new ring box. Just a thought.

 

[Beautiful-disaster]

@Pinkmartini87 would you mind telling me who this is who sells these lovely pieces?
I have a really thing for antique and antique style pieces and these are truly lovely.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Pinkmartini87 would you mind telling me who this is who sells these lovely pieces?
I have a really thing for antique and antique style pieces and these are truly lovely.

@Beautiful-disaster Of course, the shop is “Isadora’s antique jewelry” in Seattle, WA. Great customer service, authentic antique jewelry (as far as I can tell!) and it made us feel good supporting local business at the time when we lived there.

 

[Bron357]

Firstly, give it a nice clean. Just a drop of liquid dish soap in water with a soft toothbrush and gently scrub around and under the prongs/ setting. Rinse and set to dry. If you have a silver cleaning cloth you can polish the metal (it’s safe for gemstones).
Your background needs to be white and matt finish, plain ole printer paper is fine, this shows the colour the best.
Best light for photographs is usually outdoors but not necessarily in direct sunlight. I find LED lighting favourable for blue sapphires, not so much warmer lighting.
These are the same sapphires, same iPhone, no post adjustment but the source of the light can make the sapphires look different.

 

[Ionysis]

I think it all depends on how long you are prepared to wait for the person who falls in love with your stone. There is something for everyone out there, but it may take time for that person to come along.

For example I bought a non ideal stone recently because it just happened to be the perfect size for a setting I have and am very emotionally attached to. And the price was reasonable (because of the muted blue and “native” cut).

If the intent it to shift it quickly and reinvest in more stock - and I understand the OP is into buying and selling, house clearances, realising the cash value for the next prospective transaction - then either you price it to move, or put it into an auction and keep your fingers crossed more than one person has their eye on it.

The display ideas are absolutely lovely - but at that price you’d expect the buyer to want a return option and to see candid videos and photos showing every angle and different lights - at least I would. Or else you’re dressing it up to look stunning, catching someone’s eye, but will find it coming back in the next post. So I’d definitely suggest a combination of glamour shots and candid camera.

Anyway, just my thoughts for what it’s worth.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Ionysis Pearls of wisdom IMHO. Agree with you that one should be honest when selling jewelry, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because by not doing so may simply incur more trouble for the seller in the end (a buyer deceived is an unhappy buyer and will understandably demand returns).

I think it’s important to present the ring at its best (without digital modification) so the buyer can see the “potential” of how beautiful it can look in the right condition, but also to present the ring in as many possible light conditions as possible so the buyer can have “realistic” expectations to how the ring can look under nonideal conditions. An informed buyer is a happy buyer, and happy buyer=happy seller.

I agree also that to get the best price for the ring the seller needs to put in more time/energy, vs a quicker turnaround approach for a lower value, but less energy/time needed from the seller.

I simply find coming up with an ask price very difficult for these large but non-ideal color sapphires. This is where I hope PS can come together and help @Tribalypredisposed.

 

[Bron357]

The avenues for selling pre loved jewellery are limited. The “fastest” methods usually mean the lowest price - unless it’s a private buyer anyone else (jeweller, pawn broker) will be wanting to add their % on top when they on sell.
Auction can be great or terrible, it depends who is there at that auction and moreso if there’s more than one person wanting to take it home.
If time isn’t crucial you can use Loupe Troop or ebay “buy it now” setting your price and waiting until a buyer comes along.
The photos needs to be accurate and depict both the best and the not so great aspects of the ring.
Yes it has a window but it’s a unique vintage gem, its an emerald cut shape, that’s rare because cutting a gem into that shape causes more carat weight loss during cutting, it’s unheated so its completely and totally natural and that’s rare these days.
Yes, it has a window but look how huge it looks on the hand! Don’t omit a hand shot, find a young slim hand to display it on. It’s surprising how many people omit a hand shot, you want people to appreciate this is a BIG sapphire.
I’m sure that there is someone out there who will be absolutely delighted to buy and love your ring.

 

[Skyjems]

You may want to see if you can get a student from your local college photography program to come out and take pictures for you for $100, it may be a lot less time and effort than trying to learn how to photograph gems and jewelry on your own.

 

[Tribalypredisposed]

That background .... I’m assuming styrofoam?? Is making it look like the stone has cracks.... or inclusions that you can’t tell if they are in the stone or not.
The pics are also accentuating the window.

Do you not have some velvet lined jewellery box’s to use?
maybe try laying it down on a mirror.
try wadding a white or black towel and threading the ring through.

Did you get your GIA cert?

Yeah, I got my GIA cert. #2215169227. I guess I need to work a lot harder on the photos, that is packing material...I am a single man without really anything velvet or jewelry related in the house...

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Tribalypredisposed

Just pulling the GIA photo for your ring, now that’s a good looking photo! (And usu GIA reports aren’t very flattering to the stones, so I think your stone has A LOT of potential to shine with the right photos)

You’ve got a real beauty there. Unless you really need the money now, I would advise you bide your time, work on some photos, and reach out to various online vendors, try loupe troop, online consignment shops, get lots of estimates, and really wait for a best offer/deal. Big unheated sapphires like this are rare.

 

[Tribalypredisposed]

The avenues for selling pre loved jewellery are limited. The “fastest” methods usually mean the lowest price - unless it’s a private buyer anyone else (jeweller, pawn broker) will be wanting to add their % on top when they on sell.
Auction can be great or terrible, it depends who is there at that auction and moreso if there’s more than one person wanting to take it home.
If time isn’t crucial you can use Loupe Troop or ebay “buy it now” setting your price and waiting until a buyer comes along.
The photos needs to be accurate and depict both the best and the not so great aspects of the ring.
Yes it has a window but it’s a unique vintage gem, its an emerald cut shape, that’s rare because cutting a gem into that shape causes more carat weight loss during cutting, it’s unheated so its completely and totally natural and that’s rare these days.
Yes, it has a window but look how huge it looks on the hand! Don’t omit a hand shot, find a young slim hand to display it on. It’s surprising how many people omit a hand shot, you want people to appreciate this is a BIG sapphire.
I’m sure that there is someone out there who will be absolutely delighted to buy and love your ring.

Thanks for your thoughts. I understand it is not the preferred color, but I see a lot of sapphires around the same size being offered for $9-10,000 that have much lighter color, zoning, lots of grey, eye visible flaws, or windows in places other than the table. Maybe they are just hoping for a sucker, but it seems like they must sell some, or they would not be offering. I think this is a really pretty stone, very even color, eye clean.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Yeah, I got my GIA cert. #2215169227. I guess I need to work a lot harder on the photos, that is packing material...I am a single man without really anything velvet or jewelry related in the house...

You could have a look in your wardrobe for suitable fabric and just play around taking photos
Its such a lovelly stone

 

[Tribalypredisposed]

I have to say, as you are looking for input on value, I collect unheated sapphires and there is no way I would pay $10k for that one even at that carat weight given the less than ideal colour and huge window. I think you need to moderate your expectations. It’ll need some feel of getting a bargain to get a buyer over those issues.

I appreciate your candid thoughts, especially coming from a collector. I still feel like trying for a higher price, it seems like if I do not get the higher price, I still have the sapphire and can then offer it for a lower price. If I start at a lower price, I never find out it I could have gotten more...

 

[Tribalypredisposed]

You could have a look in your wardrobe for suitable fabric and just play around taking photos
Its such a lovelly stone

Lol. Fabric selection in my wardrobe: blue jeans, t-shirts...I think I need to hit my mom up for some more help, she has a collection of vintage textiles.