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Help with my blue sapphire purchase!

Is Jeff's stone a candidate for recut or for sale as is?
 
TheElms said:
Is Jeff's stone a candidate for recut or for sale as is?
Click to expand...
Hi TheElms,

It is a candidate for recut. However, if I go for it, it would be a final sale.

Actually, now that I look at it, it seems to be fairly violet.
 
@mahaha I also think the NSC is dull, judging from the photos.

looking for the "right" (not to mention the perfect one) does take time.

Chrono referred me to this vendor. Advice on Blue Sapphire Neededmaybe you also want to shoot an email over and see if Wink has got anything nice.
 
mahaha said:
Hi TheElms,

It is a candidate for recut. However, if I go for it, it would be a final sale.

Actually, now that I look at it, it seems to be fairly violet.
Click to expand...

I don't see violet on any of my monitors or phone. I would just ask Jeff. I don't think he will mislead you.
 
Jeff said that it will shift slightly violet under indoor (I assume yellow light).
I wanted some advice about how to look at these images. I've attached two below from whitegems website. The cushion one seems to have a lot of "black/dark" streaks. While the oval one has less. (Maybe it's on an angle?)

Will the black streak make the stone appear darker? What does it translate to in real life?

Thanks!

SAP012t.jpg SAP071t.jpg
 
Can you ask him to sit both of them on the back of his hand and take a photo, that is a better way to tell I think the black could be just picking up something from a camera or lightness and dark shading, Jeff's stones are amazingly well cut.
 
Something to note, the oval looks like a partial recut of a native cut stone. The cushion stone on the left looks like a complete precision cut, so it may have better light return, although that's not always a guarantee.
 
T L said:
The cushion stone on the left looks like a complete precision cut.
Click to expand...

You're right. That photo is a pavilion only recut.

arkieb1 said:
Can you ask him to sit both of them on the back of his hand and take a photo
Click to expand...

Actually, I picked these pictures up from the "sold" gallery section. I doubt he still has them.
 
I would also ask for side photos of the stones. The partial native cut may be bottom heavy as many sapphires are traditionally cut. Therefore, you may be paying for extra carat weight but with a smaller face up size. The color is nice though, and looks slightly more vivid than the cushion. The lighting may have an effect though on the color since the backgrounds do not appear to be identical in grey color.
 
His stones sell fast so if that is the case they are probably sold already.
 
Hi all,
Since I'm running out of time, I'm not sure if I can have a stone commissioned.
What do you guys think about this one?

https://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/unheated_ceylon_sapphire_2_06/19120/19708

Originally suggested by normaninthesky. I also read chrono's comments about visual inclusions + large culet. In the descriptions, he indicates that this is eye clean? I assume from a distance. Also does a large culet affect the quality of the stone? As long as we do not see a shadow, it should be ok right?

When I compare the colours side by side with Jeff's potential for recut, Jeff's stone does seem to be more violet than wildfish's.

Thanks again!
 
mahaha said:
Hi all,
Since I'm running out of time, I'm not sure if I can have a stone commissioned.
What do you guys think about this one?

https://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/unheated_ceylon_sapphire_2_06/19120/19708

Originally suggested by normaninthesky. I also read chrono's comments about visual inclusions + large culet. In the descriptions, he indicates that this is eye clean? I assume from a distance. Also does a large culet affect the quality of the stone? As long as we do not see a shadow, it should be ok right?

When I compare the colours side by side with Jeff's potential for recut, Jeff's stone does seem to be more violet than wildfish's.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

In some cases, you can't really unsee those inclusions even at a normal viewing distance. But some people are just fine with those, considering the overall impression. I am not sure how a large culet affects the quality. But it is not the typical one and personally I prefer a pointed one. After all, it comes down to personal taste. In my opinion, it is difficult to tell if wildfish's is less violet than Jeff's as the latter is for re-cut. Perhaps I should defer to more knowledgeable members here.

The price is much higher than most of the stones mentioned. But I guess Ed will give a discount, if you ask.
 
mahaha said:
Hi all,
Since I'm running out of time, I'm not sure if I can have a stone commissioned.
What do you guys think about this one?

https://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/unheated_ceylon_sapphire_2_06/19120/19708

Originally suggested by normaninthesky. I also read chrono's comments about visual inclusions + large culet. In the descriptions, he indicates that this is eye clean? I assume from a distance. Also does a large culet affect the quality of the stone? As long as we do not see a shadow, it should be ok right?

When I compare the colours side by side with Jeff's potential for recut, Jeff's stone does seem to be more violet than wildfish's.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

It looks quite grey to me. I would rather buy this one

http://www.finewatergems.com/store/p24/2.05_ct_Untreated_Blue_Sapphire.html
 
I do not like any stones at Gemfame. The Finewater suggested above looks very nice.
 
Thank you for the suggestion! I'm not too fond of the shape of the finewater (2.05ct) one.
Instead, I would consider this one:
http://www.finewatergems.com/store/p51/3.28_ct_Blue_Sapphire.html
It is heated, which I prefer to avoid. However, I guess quality comes first, heating after right? What do you guys think? I haven't been looking at heated stones much, so I don't have a good sense of the value yet, but this stone is beautiful!

Other heated ones to consider:
https://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-blue-11-1289
https://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-blue-11-1262
They added videos! (Which I think wasn't there before last time I saw the stones).

I'm also looking at this one (Unheated):
http://www.ajsgem.com/sapphire/blue-sapphire/unheated-blue-sapphire-2.16-carats.html
Not sure if it will be too dark. I'm in the process of asking for more media.

Thanks again!
 
If it helps you reach a decision, everything gets heated naturally inside the earth. A heat treated stone, has just been heated a bit more after it got dug up.

I would probably pick the finewatergems one, the colour is extremely good.
 
qubitasaurus said:
If it helps you reach a decision, everything gets heated naturally inside the earth. A heat treated stone, has just been heated a bit more after it got dug up.
Click to expand...

If it were that easy, we would not see much price difference between heat and no-heat.
Simple financial fact is that unheated sapphires have and will continue to gain value while the rest might make 3% or meet inflation, as was said elsewhere.
Long-term, in a generation or two, the difference will be a few hundred %.
It's economics: Soaring demand with constante or decreasing supply.
 
Thanks for the replies.

@normanintheskywithsapphires: while I agree with you about the economics part, it's really hard to judge by how much it actually appreciates/depreciates. I think it's good to know that you won't lose your value, and after all, it is an engagement ring, so hopefully it won't be sold.

As for unheated, for me (and my girlfriend) it's not the fact that it will go up in price, it's more so the fact that unheated sapphires rare(r) and somewhat unique. Typically these go hand-in-hand with the price though.

As for the AJS-stone:
I find the pavilion not very symmetric (based on the video on their website). I am also worried that the colour is slightly dark. Here are some photographs:
20170330_143504.jpg 20170330_143528.jpg 20170330_143552.jpg

Any comments/opinions on this one? Thanks!!
 
The main thing is do you like it across a range of different lighting situations?
 
normanintheskywithsapphires said:
If it were that easy, we would not see much price difference between heat and no-heat.
Simple financial fact is that unheated sapphires have and will continue to gain value while the rest might make 3% or meet inflation, as was said elsewhere.
Long-term, in a generation or two, the difference will be a few hundred %.
It's economics: Soaring demand with constante or decreasing supply.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I really enjoy learning from pricescope :). Can you point me to the reports/plots of the prices? I have been really curious for a while about how the prices were changing depending on various factors (heated/non-heated, above 5 ct vs under etc). All I can find is plots of kashmiri sapphires prices, and that doesn't really tell me much about the general trends in sapphire prices.

edited to apologize to the OP, I don't mean to thread jack -- I'd just love to get the info form a reputable source.
 
Quibitasaurus (is that a type of dinosaur)? No offense. I think there are some paid-for price reports but I have based my opinion only on the last year or two that I have been looking at this, and from what I read in old threads and hear of people. If you go back a few years here, you can see what people thought was expensive or cheap and then look at today's prices.

Mahaha, I have looked at the stone in the AJS video... lol, is it only me or is that video 20 minutes long? .... Did they make the new photos? It looks so dark on the video but in hand it is all blue and brilliant. I'd love that one. It looks much bigger than and has such a lively color. Take it if you like it. The price seems very fair, too.

Quintasaurus, I consider myself a purist in terms of treatment, so price is 2ndary. I feel that heating during the earth's growth process is something totally different from melting inclusions and changing colors as we do today. I've seen before/after photos from heated sapphires and there was NOTHING similar anymore. Perhaps low heat is different but you can't say that changing milky white into clear blue is only 'a bit more heating'?
 
normanintheskywithsapphires said:
If it were that easy, we would not see much price difference between heat and no-heat.
Simple financial fact is that unheated sapphires have and will continue to gain value while the rest might make 3% or meet inflation, as was said elsewhere.
Long-term, in a generation or two, the difference will be a few hundred %.
It's economics: Soaring demand with constante or decreasing supply.
Click to expand...
My DD loves blue stones and I would prefer to get her untreated for the reason stated above. If she were to grow old with it and pass it down, etc. I would be happy to know the potential value.
 
It is good to know I am not the only one who is curious about the potential trends in value :). I had hoped the historical data might be accessible (even if the current price guidlines are locked behind a subscription service.). I will just have to look harder :read:. If I find anything I will create a thread!

Op, did you get the pictures in different lighting conditions that Arkieb suggested? I think it looks lovely in the first set of pics you posted.
 
@qubitasaurus Apparently those pictures I posted are in different lightings. (See skin tone of the hand).

Here is the video:
 
Have you gotten it and seen it in person? The only way to tell if you like it is if you see it. And I've done that with a lot of sapphires myself. I've had some that look great in photos inevitably change to something that is average across a range of lighting situations, others that darken to a point I didn't like indoors, and others that were better than pictured, and a lot that looked nothing like the vendor pictures.....

My best advice is make sure they have a good return policy and view the stones for yourself.
 
@arkieb1 No, I haven't. I'm still on the fence with that one. They have non-refundable shipping, and I'm not sure if its worth it to bring it in.

There's also this:
https://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-colored-gemstone/4-dot-60-ct-unheated-blue-sapphire
Does it look a bit gray?

Currently, I'm seriously considering commissioning the stone with whitesgems (JW). What do you think of the saturation? He did mention it will turn slightly violet indoors and become less intense (which slightly bothers me).

Here it is again:
SAP190 before (1).jpg
 
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All blue sapphires colour shift across a range of different lighting situations, you can't get away from that. Even if you lose shipping fees I think you will need to view any potential stones in person, including anything that is cut for you that is the only way you are going to be able to see if you like them or not.
 
I think Arkieb is right, you will ultimately have to see some stones in person.

I would pass on the loupetroop sapphire (unknown seller, no cert from a recognizable lab, no mention of returns plus no idea how to return to sri lanka and a window would be too much for me to stake 6.5 k).

I can see now that the lighting shifts a little in the pictures you posted, but the strong shadow and glare off the table top makes me believe all the pictures were taken in fairly bright conditions (I guess I am saying the lighting conditions look very different from those in my office, so in going forward I would either want to (a) take it to my office to see for myself or (b) pass or (c) get pics in low light. The video looks nice.).
 
I am concerned that there is strong lighting, hence a nicer blue on the hand, but don't know for sure. It has come to the point where you'll have to see it in person to decide. The LT stone is not one I would consider though.
 
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