Can I please get help picking a sapphire?

[Owenandkelly]

hi there,
Brand new to the site and so glad I found you all! My husband is making me a ring for our 10 th anniversary and I want a sapphire as the center stone. I have up to $3000 to buy the sapphire. I really like cushion cut or emerald cut or something along that shape. I really want an untreated sapphire. I love the non tradional colors that remind me of beach glass. I came across these 2
http://www.starruby.in/store/madagascar-sapphires/5-43-carat-vivid-greyish-green-unheated-sapphire-from-madagascar
http://www.ebay.com:80/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260913205027
And i just want opinions on them or suggestions. Or if anyone has seen a lovely stone with an unusual color, please let me know. I know it's not the traditional vivid blue but I like to be different lol. Thanks everyone in advance!

 

[lin_ny]

I have quite limited knowledge - but I'll give you my opinion.

The first stone appears to be quite well-cut! I'm not well-versed in value of a lighter, more unusual coloured sapphires, so I couldn't tell you if the price was fair or not.

Looks like the second stone has a window... which is due to the stone being cut too shallow. Unless you could set it to minimize the window (which I don't know much about, but someone will around these parts )... I probably wouldn't buy that one.

I'm probably not of much help, but I'll be on the look out for some beach-glassy type sapphires for you.

 

[chrono]

Starruby: I don't understand how a stone can be vivid if it's gray. I think it is a very unusual colour though and looking at the hand shot, the green is quite light. My biggest concern is with the outline of the stone. The top right seems to have a natural? and you can see it in the second picture (lower left). I think it can be hidden by a prong once set but just wanted to point it out. The slightly off centered culet probably won't be an issue to set.

eBay: I sort of like this gray colour. What I don't like is the extreme shallowness of the stone. A giant window which will not close up even if you cover the entire back. This basically means that the outside is lively but the center is dead and see-through.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

for sea-glass colors, I would suggest looking for Montana sapphires as they remind me most of sea-glass

http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6570

http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6449

Those two are from Dana... not the shapes you wanted, but I wanted to show you what I meant for sea glass and Montana

 

[Owenandkelly]

See I knew this site would be a valuable resource! Ok so I never knew what a window was, but I can see what you both mean. I really love the colors of both. I'm getting a video sent of both stones to see how they look. Are there any other sites that offer these types of colored, untreated, sapphires? Thanks again!

 

[minousbijoux]

I completely agree with the three posters! There is no such thing as a "vivid" stone if it has grey in it! I really dislike when vendors do that I would do just as Davi says and look around for Montana sapphires. Unfortunately, if your heart is set on one that big, you probably won't find one, as Montanas don't typically come in super humungous sizes. But check out the sticky at the top for reputable vendors. Specifically, I would go for Precisiongem, Mastercut (as Davi suggested) and ACstones. There are others I'm sure and if I think of them I'll drop back in.

Have you checked out size on your hand to know precisely what you seek?

 

[chrono]

I think AJS and Multicolour are also more likely to have funky coloured sapphires.

 

[minousbijoux]

I completely forgot about Litnon. This stone might have potential, though he skirts the question on clarity and you'd have to ask...

http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=8494

 

[chrono]

I don't think it's going to be anywhere close to eye clean in person. You can see that "cloudiness" in the hand shot all along the outer edges of the sapphire.

 

[minousbijoux]

So at least its another source for you to try - and Michael, the purveyor, seems to be pretty resourceful in his stone contacts. You might want to ask him for what you're looking for in case he has more inventory that is not on his website (undoubtedly so).

 

[Owenandkelly]

What a wealth of information! Thanks so much! How does this one look everyone?
http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=9022

 

[Owenandkelly]

Crap! It's sold!

 

[Owenandkelly]

Crap! It's sold!

 

[chrono]

Sorry to hear that it is sold. Was it sold before you posted or after? It is likely to be coincidental but often it is a good idea to request that the vendor hold the stone in reserve for you while you ask about it here. Seeing a stone posted here as a potential buy can spur others to want the same thing or at least speed up their purchasing decision if they've been thinking about it for a while.

 

[pinkjewel]

oh,too bad it's sold- I thought it was a perfect "sea glass" color.

 

[Owenandkelly]

Hi again everyone,
Ok so I've been searching through some sites and came across a few I would love opinions on if you don't mind. I appreciate the feedback and all the guidance that has been given. Does anyone know if the sites will make a video or take additional pics of stones of interest? Here are 4 of them
http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/10934/13793
http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/1098/12901
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Unique/U3649/Cushion/stoneid=U3649
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Unique/U3513/Cushion/stoneid=U3513

 

[chrono]

The prices of all 4 are really expensive for that colour and quality. Not only that, you should read up on old posts regarding NSC's customer service and photoshopping on PS.

 

[Owenandkelly]

Thanks for the heads up on NSC Chrono! Gosh who knew this would be so complex. I guess I need to read up more on quality because I thought those stones were high quality lol.

 

[sapphirering]

Owenandkelly, I am actually in the process of designing a pair of earrings that are made up of little blue-green sapphires! I love those blue-green shades. I definitely did see some sapphire in the colors that you liked in my eBay searches (all of my stones were purchased on eBay), however they were all small (.8-1.5 ct) and I didn't recall seeing anything in the size that you liked.

Are you only interested in sapphires? I'm asking because I've come across some natural, untreated dark aquamarines in really pretty seagrass shades. I've included a couple of links below. This seller has more if you search his store. I have not purchased from him but have exchanged a couple of emails and he was very professional and nice in our communication.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/110487491264?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
seems a bit light in color but I think you wanted a cushion shape?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-63-CTS-NATURAL-AQUAMARINE-BRAZIL-/110668455455?pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item19c45a9e1f

I just saw that he has some tourmalines that might have the color that you're interested in. HTH!

 

[minousbijoux]

O&K: If I were you and I was interested in a Montana sapphire, I would try and stay close to home and buy from a U.S. vendor. Its not that I'm patriotic, its just that based on Wildfish's prices, I would say that the farther away you get from origin(he's located in Japan I think), the more expensive it seems to be - or at least in his case does.

Michael at Litnon is great to work with, and in all likelihood has other stones in his inventory that are not on his website. I know for sure Dana at Mastercut is the same, though he has his hands in so many things that it may be a while before he can provide photos.

FWIW, I loved that stone you found from Michael at Litnon, though it would be very light (slightly darker in the setting).