Help bid on a 3+ carat unheated blue Kashmir sapphire

[valeria101]

I pretty much monopolize Wildfish with my purchases

Have you ever thought to partner explicitly ? You seem 1000 times more interested in the $ side of gems than I could possibly be ! [ & someone's gotta ... ]

 

[Seaglow]

If I have USD50,000 to spend....if it's for enjoyment, I'll shop for several pieces and just enjoy.

If I plan for investment (investment = I'm prepared to lose money as it goes with investments), I will go mainstream, use the USD50,000 in one go. Big, untreated, decent cut, nice color and good clarity sapphires or rubies or emeralds, or imperial jade or alexandrite or fancy colored diamonds. I'd consider a big nicely colored tsavorite or spinel. This is because when you sell, you want the demand to be there and these are the most sought after stones that would most likely hold (and proven to hold over the years) the demand in years to come. It's what sells the quickest when you would like to liquidate.

For sapphires, unless it's really a Kashmir looking one or a Kashmir that holds to its name, I will hunt for more than 10 carats.
No matter how rare and beautiful, you won't see in a Sotheby's or Christie's catalogue "magnificent euclase"- it's always the rubies, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, jades, and alexandrites. The catalogue is representative of the demand of the high-end market.

Not to say a blue euclase can't be bought, there is a collector out there somewhere (though chances are that collector already has a 2-3 carat euclase), but it won't be as easy to liquidate as the other known gems.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Chroman and Seaglow have given very good advice and tips.

 

[chroman]

What Seaglow said!

I imagine one problem is just getting into the circles where these nice monster stones move.

I suspect when something really special comes into the market, dealers have short lists of clients they call first, and the stones never reach the open market (or at least not the web market we're familiar with).

 

[valeria101]

Do not remember spectacular Euclase cut ... Mineral specimens - a few. I do not have anything comparable with e Christie's catalogue to show ... quite another world, in this respect. The objects seem to linger aside emerald stock at primary sources, until one asks.

 

[Muhammad_Ali]

Kashmir?
Hmmmm.
If really from Kashmir it's worth a TON of money - but only if the most reputable gem lab for color stones states the origin is Kashmir.
That lab is AGL American Gem Lab in New York, NOT IGI, so I'm skeptical.

That it's presented with an IGI report tells me it doesn't have an ice cube's chance in Hell of really being mined in Kashmimir.
If it really was the report stating so would be from AGL, GIA or Gübelin.

Without a top lab grading report stating Kashmir origin I would not bid a dime on this.
I've worked too hard for my money to gamble when the odds are this bad.

IGI has been accurate for me so far. Helped my cousin source an IGI Burmese ruby, GIA later returned the same origin results. I don't disagree with the origin, but I would pass on the stone for the cutting alone.

 

[Muhammad_Ali]

I would pass:

1. Poor cutting

2. "violetish blue," a Kashmir stone should be "Kashmir blue!"

 

[arkieb1]

What do you want to spend your money on gemstone wise, or doesn't it matter specifically? A lot of the big high end stones get snapped up by the Chinese and European market before we ever see them. I have a friend who is a Mahenge dealer (I am not selling this to be clear) who just bought this 16 carat piece of what he classes as top Mahenge rough. He says it will cut a 7 to 8 carat stone because it's fairly clean and the asking wholesale price before haggling was $40 000. It usually takes a few weeks and something like this sells to high end dealers in China or Europe before it ever really is on the "market". He has similar size pieces of rough that aren't the same quality in colour that sell for less than $500 per carat wholesale. But apparently this is something "special."

 

[chroman]

This article popped up in a completely different context, but seems relevant to this conversation too:
http://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/can-you-tell-which-sapphire-is-more/

 

[Arkteia]

I remember when I just started collecting my stones, I walked into a store downtown, I think it was Fox jewellers, or something like it. They had beautiful stones. Aquas were really dark-blue. They carried Alex Sepcus ring for 6K. Why so much, I asked. Because it had a Paraiba. And they had a Kashmir sapphire ring, 9 ct I think, 10K/ct. It was many years ago, but during that time, new finds have been discovered (Mozambique). The cuts have become so much better. In short, I would see no need to pay the premium for any provenance unless the stone lives up to it. And there are so many gorgeous, beautifully cut, Ceylon sapphires around, still!

I can not say anything about Ed's stones, frankly speaking, they appeared too expensive to me. But maybe he has a discount for old customers?
I think Ed makes great photos and is a talented writer, with natural prose style, power of observation and good humor. Of everyone who writes, he could potentially become Gerald Durrell of gem business, and actually, I would definitely invest in his book, but I have never seen one.

(But even with the writing - I did not accompany my family to the Emirates, because from Ed's blog, it appeared that everything there was super expensive. So i thought i would have to live in two-star hotels, and all that. My husband later told me that gold was pretty cheap as compared to other places, and that in general, the Emirates were more than affordable. I don't hold it against Ed, of course, just an example that one could find better bargains and never take anything written too seriously. So now, I just enjoy his humor. But I would buy a book)

 

[arkieb1]

This article popped up in a completely different context, but seems relevant to this conversation too:
http://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/can-you-tell-which-sapphire-is-more/

That is so true there were apparently stones from Madagascar that actually got mistakenly certified as "kashmir" because of the colour.....

 

[normanintheskywithsapphires]

Have you ever thought to partner explicitly ? [ & someone's gotta ... ]

No, my financial orientation is the result of a lifetime spent in management. I do not want to run a business anymore, retired, and I doubt Ed would want me know-nothing as a partner, especially when he already has me as a loyal paying customer.

But maybe he has a discount for old customers? I think Ed makes great photos and is a talented writer, with natural prose style, power of observation and good humor. Of everyone who writes, he could potentially become Gerald Durrell of gem business, and actually, I would definitely invest in his book, but I have never seen one.

Arkteia, yes, after three purchases, I have a 'collector-status', meaning I get 25% off automatically, and minus 5% for bank-transfers, 30%, and then I try to use his monthly newsletter sales with 33% (plus 5%). After near 40% down, I don't feel too overcharged, considering all the little extras and his personal customer service. The rainforest I get with every gem makes nice presents for birthdays. I know everything can be gotten cheaper somewhere, but that's really not my view on life. His books are on Amazon, BTW.

Arkieb1, I hear buying rough is the most tricky part? Perhaps some day.

 

[partgypsy]

No, my financial orientation is the result of a lifetime spent in management. I do not want to run a business anymore, retired, and I doubt Ed would want me know-nothing as a partner, especially when he already has me as a loyal paying customer.


Arkteia, yes, after three purchases, I have a 'collector-status', meaning I get 25% off automatically, and minus 5% for bank-transfers, 30%, and then I try to use his monthly newsletter sales with 33% (plus 5%). After near 40% down, I don't feel too overcharged, considering all the little extras and his personal customer service. The rainforest I get with every gem makes nice presents for birthdays. I know everything can be gotten cheaper somewhere, but that's really not my view on life. His books are on Amazon, BTW.

Arkieb1, I hear buying rough is the most tricky part? Perhaps some day.

Hmm, I just recently had a birthday, can I be your friend?

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

I really enjoy Ed’s website and learned a lot there. He has an infectious love for gemstones that is very charming. This little hobby is supposed to be about beauty and joy. Thanks for being here, Norman, and sharing your excitement with us!

 

[arkieb1]

Yes I agree buying rough if you are not a gemstone cutter or good friends with one or a number of them is tricky.... Having said that the high end rough is still cheaper mostly per carat than the finished high end stones that are in the 6 to 20 carat range.

 

[normanintheskywithsapphires]

I really enjoy Ed’s website and learned a lot there. He has an infectious love for gemstones that is very charming. This little hobby is supposed to be about beauty and joy. Thanks for being here, Norman, and sharing your excitement with us!

Thanks for having me!

 

[T L]

I just found out that Sotheby's. sold an 8.64 carat sapphire for $22,400/ct. Gueblin concluded it was Kashmir and SSEF concluded it was Ceylon. When spending a great deal on origin, it might be prudent to get two reports, and I would make AGL one of them.

 

[7188429]

When purchasing a Kashmir sapphire, do not trust an IGI report. I did, I purchased a 4 carat unheated Kashmir sapphire with an IGI report. Turned up it were a fake report. Still not sure how they were able to get it into the IGI registry. Never got a response from IGI in regard to the report either. AGL graded it to be from Cambodia.

I returned it back to the seller to get a refund which I had to fight for about 3-4 months as the shipment were mystically missing from the Indian Post Office as it had been stolen. It were missing from the Post Office, but the strange part is that the seller relisted the item about 6 months later. The Post Office obviously released the shipment to the seller and just filed it as "lost".

If I hadn't filed the case to the Indian government, I would've never seen a cent of my money.