Fake? Fracture filled? Both?

[airplay355]

Update time!!

I sent this to Peter Torraca for a recut. He’s going to rework the current shape to fix things like the chips, polish, symmetry etc. so that it doesn’t look so weird. He suspects it will be around 7ct or so when done. So, no one worry. It’s going to stay the same rough weird shape it is and won’t be another boring oval.

It will probably be done late May so I’ll have to wait a while but I think it’s totally worth it. After I get it back, I’ll take it to AGL for a better report. Then start thinking about jewelry (and of course asking everyone’s opinions). I’ll post pics and videos when I have another update.

 

[bright&shiny]

I missed this thread - but I'm captivated now. Can't wait to see the recut results!

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Update time!!

I sent this to Peter Torraca for a recut. He’s going to rework the current shape to fix things like the chips, polish, symmetry etc. so that it doesn’t look so weird. He suspects it will be around 7ct or so when done. So, no one worry. It’s going to stay the same rough weird shape it is and won’t be another boring oval.

It will probably be done late May so I’ll have to wait a while but I think it’s totally worth it. After I get it back, I’ll take it to AGL for a better report. Then start thinking about jewelry (and of course asking everyone’s opinions). I’ll post pics and videos when I have another update.

I’m late to the party but after reading through the thread I will admit I’m a bit disappointed it’s being recut. I hope in the end I’m wrong and it will be much prettier but that’s a lot of weight to lose. I think the person who offered you $3,500 with a bunch of criticisms of the stone was trying to take it off your hands and make a huge profit for themselves.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

This is so exciting
Looking forward to seeing it again after the recut

 

[airplay355]

I’m late to the party but after reading through the thread I will admit I’m a bit disappointed it’s being recut. I hope in the end I’m wrong and it will be much prettier but that’s a lot of weight to lose. I think the person who offered you $3,500 with a bunch of criticisms of the stone was trying to take it off your hands and make a huge profit for themselves.

After Peter saw the stone, he thought the same thing - that it was worth maybe $1k to $3k in its current state. Whoever set it chipped it pretty badly and most of the weight is sitting in the belly but off to one side. He isn’t trying to buy it so I just gotta go with what the people in the trade are telling me.

I think if weight mattered most, we’d just keep them the way they were right out of the ground. For this one, I’d rather lose some weight but be able to use it, get the chips fixed etc. I trust Peter and don’t think he would do anything but make it better. I also think that he wouldn’t bother recutting it if he thought there wasn’t much to improve upon. It’s gonna stay the same general shape and will look much better in a piece of jewelry.

I attached a couple more pics.

 

[airplay355]

And here’s what I sent Peter. Yup, the pavilion is essentially flat, so those are face down shots. Some of these I posted but there are new ones.

 

[Rfisher]

Is Peter T doing a full precision cut to a pattern
Or is he free styling it more like a native cut?

Thank you for the update
- so interesting!

Update time!!

I sent this to Peter Torraca for a recut. He’s going to rework the current shape to fix things like the chips, polish, symmetry etc. so that it doesn’t look so weird. He suspects it will be around 7ct or so when done. So, no one worry. It’s going to stay the same rough weird shape it is and won’t be another boring oval.

It will probably be done late May so I’ll have to wait a while but I think it’s totally worth it. After I get it back, I’ll take it to AGL for a better report. Then start thinking about jewelry (and of course asking everyone’s opinions). I’ll post pics and videos when I have another update.

 

[airplay355]

Is Peter T doing a full precision cut to a pattern
Or is he free styling it more like a native cut?

Thank you for the update
- so interesting!

Free styling to keep the shape/cut generally the same but to fix some of the major issues like chips and to improve the cut so more of the pretty blue is visible. It’s a nice royal color but the thicker parts darken up.

He gave me the option to completely recut to a specific pattern but it would take longer, be more complicated with less predictable results (because of the inclusions from it being unheated) and would lose a lot more material, maybe closer to a 4ct finished product down from 10.2.

I didn’t really want to go through the hassle of approving pattern models or worrying about what compromises I should make to get a certain shape/pattern. I also didn’t want to turn over half of the stone into powder. So I went with the freestyle option. It probably won’t be precision cut status but I’m sure he will be able to improve it. I asked him to do whatever he thought was best, just start cutting and see what he gets into.

 

[minousbijoux]

Free styling to keep the shape/cut generally the same but to fix some of the major issues like chips and to improve the cut so more of the pretty blue is visible. It’s a nice royal color but the thicker parts darken up.

He gave me the option to completely recut to a specific pattern but it would take longer, be more complicated with less predictable results (because of the inclusions from it being unheated) and would lose a lot more material, maybe closer to a 4ct finished product down from 10.2.

I didn’t really want to go through the hassle of approving pattern models or worrying about what compromises I should make to get a certain shape/pattern. I also didn’t want to turn over half of the stone into powder. So I went with the freestyle option. It probably won’t be precision cut status but I’m sure he will be able to improve it. I asked him to do whatever he thought was best, just start cutting and see what he gets into.

Wow, I can't imagine that Peter is often afforded such a generous and expansive opportunity; I bet its every lapidary's dream project! I look forward to its redo.

 

[airplay355]

3.48 Carat Tanzanite, 10x8.5 mm, Keystone Radiant Cut, Tanzania -

3.48 Carat Tanzanite, 10x8.5 mm, Keystone Radiant Cut, Tanzania

lauriedonovan.com

I’m hoping it comes out something like this.

 

[airplay355]

Update time. Here’s the current progress. I’m very pleased so far and it seems like it’s going to come out great!

 

[airplay355]

It’s gone on a diet and lost some weight, but nothing too crazy. And it won’t be a boring cushion or oval. Freestyle cut was the way to go

 

[Autumn in New England]

This is so exciting! Can't wait to see the finished piece... I absolutely love the shape!!

 

[partgypsy]

Please keep us posted. Love to see before after photos. It's probably pretty rare to work on a sapphire of that size.

 

[Ionysis]

So exciting! Can’t wait to see the finished stone.

 

[airplay355]

As requested, here are some final pics from Peter. It’s now 7.23ct, down from 10.18 . I’m very happy with it and I’m glad the damage is fixed and the shape is much improved. Let me know what you think, good or bad

 

[VividRed]

I love it!

 

[RMOO]

What are its new dimensions? Did most of the weight loss come from the wonky pavilion? Looks like the clarity was improved too. Looks great!

 

[airplay355]

What are its new dimensions? Did most of the weight loss come from the wonky pavilion? Looks like the clarity was improved too. Looks great!

Old dimensions 10.47 x 12.51 x 8.46mm
New dimensions 9.76 x 11.84 x 7.40mm

So it is a bit smaller but that was probably necessary to fix the damaged corner and cutlet. Since everything stayed within a mm, it probably won’t be too noticeable. I guess that means most of the weight came from evening up the weird pavilion. It’s still plenty large enough to get some attention.

 

[Autumn in New England]

While it's really impressive to have a fine colored 10ct. sapphire, a poor cut would still be a deal breaker for me. I'd much rather own a 7ct.+ stone with a high-quality cut. Huge improvement and definitely the right call, IMO!! I also love how Peter exaggerated the trapezoid shape and pointed the sides. The color looks improved too.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

As requested, here are some final pics from Peter. It’s now 7.23ct, down from 10.18 . I’m very happy with it and I’m glad the damage is fixed and the shape is much improved. Let me know what you think, good or bad

OMG !
Its still huge !

 

[fel]

Gorgeous. What will you make out of it?

 

[bright&shiny]

It’s fantastic! The saturation seems even, and the facets visible in the hand photo are wonderful. Congratulations!

 

[airplay355]

Gorgeous. What will you make out of it?

Ya know I’m not too sure. I think my ma is leaning towards selling it but I’d kind of like to make a ring and keep it in the family. It’s been a bit of an effort to just dump it now.

it should arrive tomorrow so I can take some in person pics.

 

[airplay355]

Off to AGL tomorrow! Gonna see what kind of certificate they suggest but I think one with origin and color grading is probably best. Here are some pictures I took today. Overcast day and by the window. The very dark pic is with it upside down so you can see the difference in symmetry. Sad to lose 3ct but it’s so much improved. No more damage/chips and much brighter/bluer. Peter did an excellent job improving it without sacrificing any of the cool parts - it’s still a free form shape and still pretty large.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Off to AGL tomorrow! Gonna see what kind of certificate they suggest but I think one with origin and color grading is probably best. Here are some pictures I took today. Overcast day and by the window. The very dark pic is with it upside down so you can see the difference in symmetry. Sad to lose 3ct but it’s so much improved. No more damage/chips and much brighter/bluer. Peter did an excellent job improving it without sacrificing any of the cool parts - it’s still a free form shape and still pretty large.

it looks awsome !
i hope you get it made into some thing so it can stay in the family

 

[airplay355]

Here’s the report. is There anything I should pay particular attention to? I’m not too sure how to interpret the bottom. Any idea what it might be worth?

 

[Sprinkles&Stones]

So exciting! Congrats! It’s gorgeous

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

So glad for the update and love the recut! I will admit I was pretty scared, as I've seen some threads here on PS that resulted in disappointing recuts. I'm so glad yours has a happy ending!

As for value I have no idea, as I've never have seriously researched royal blue sapphires. I would definitely do everything I could to talk my Mom out of selling, however!

 

[Crochet_Sparkles]

Here’s the report. is There anything I should pay particular attention to? I’m not too sure how to interpret the bottom. Any idea what it might be worth?

The big thing is that there's no evidence of heat or other enhancements; that'll increase value. It's not a common cut, nor trade ideal color (although not that far off, by my eye), and Madagascar isn't as prestigious as some locales. But it's very large. So short answer is that it's definitely valuable. But such a great story! It would be a shame for the family to lose that.