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Help with Sapphires

Cuts on both are very nice. My main concern is that 9544 is not eye clean, meaning you will be able to see the inclusions under normal viewing conditions.
 
Prices are pretty good for what they are... But the first one does have clarity problems. The 1.03 is a much better deal considering the more desirable purer blue color, an equally good cut and much better clarity.
 
I have started to educate myself on sapphires because I think I am going to marry one soon;
but in my experience, Internet visuals go only go so far.
Maybe posters here can help us both clarify "what we see and what we will get".

I get all the theory about sapphires but I need real life "eye food". Unfortunately, there are not many great sapphires lying around in stores to just go and look at.
What I have seen on the market, with the naked eye, is generally underwhelming.
I mean - in a few stores and on people's hands.

I just see many flat stones that hardly sparkle and color tends towards flat black.
If you get a hint of royal blue in any light - you're lucky.

Then, you turn to the Internet...and you see these examples with insanely blue stones that make you swoon.

http://www.thegemtrader.com/Gems SR Page 1.htm


My question is: if I were to see these above in person, how close to the pictures/videos would we most likely find them?

Do such vivid, saturated sapphires even exist or when you see them f2f, they are much more subdued and less impressive?
I don't have many places where I can go in person and see lots of sapphires of different grades.
I think I am yet to see a mind-blowing sapphire in real life - though I HAVE seen quite a few online.
Is it just computer illusion?
 
They occur in real life except that most of the very saturated blues are heated...difficult to find them unheated. Also very "crystal" ones are rare (still transparent, but not as crystal). They usually appear a bit silky. Strong light helps color pop.

I recently got a small, below a carat unheated Ceylon. First photo under a lamp and second photo under natural daylight, cloudy day. The stone holds the color but it's a bit subdued on the clouldy daylight. Photos taken with no flash and with an iPad.

Please disregard the other stones. These are old photos.
image.jpeg image.jpeg
 
sapphiredream said:
Do such vivid, saturated sapphires even exist or when you see them f2f, they are much more subdued and less impressive?
....Is it just computer illusion?
Click to expand...

Categorically and strongly yes (they do exist) and no (it's not an illusion). I've taken a look at your video and some of the stones in it are very nice, and will very much look the same or even better in reality, but even those aren't the 'best possible'.

Highly saturated, vivid, strongly colored blue sapphires do exist and are very much buyable - the ones that labs would grade cornflower or royal blue, for example. Shiny, bright blue stones of vivid saturation, medium to medium-dark tone and without over or undertones - ideally also with microscopic amounts of silk to even out the color and give it an extra edge. Many gem dealers - on the web included - buy these as a cornerstone of their sapphire stock, because they're always in high demand and always sell fairly easily even within the trade itself.

But to expand on this: once in every few thousand such top quality stones, you can come across one that's so insanely blue it almost glows - and those are so good that you can't even capture them in photos or videos properly because the color almost 'bleeds' all over on the screen. It shows as patches of blue even through reflections in photos and videos. Those are the best of all and far from being a computer illusion, they are so good that computers actually diminish them and can't really do them justice - much the same as with other stones of fluorescent properties like top quality Burmese rubies, Tanzanian spinels, Vietnamese spinels, and others.

So while generally speaking top quality blue sapphires in reality can and do look strong vivid blue - sometimes more so than what screens can show - to the contrary of being illusory, they can get even better.

sapphiredream said:
Unfortunately, there are not many great sapphires lying around in stores to just go and look at.
What I have seen on the market, with the naked eye, is generally underwhelming.
I mean - in a few stores and on people's hands.
Click to expand...

You answered your own question in a way - the sapphires you're referring to are commercial grade, mass-jewellery ones. Ones exactly like this:

sapphiredream said:
I just see many flat stones that hardly sparkle and color tends towards flat black.
If you get a hint of royal blue in any light - you're lucky.
Click to expand...

... and that's what most of the jewellery market is made of. Dark and inky with flashes of blue. A far cry from top quality.
 
Thanks all for your opinions. What other sapphires would you recommend me. I want it for an ering. Her hand is small and I want set it in a Halo ring, so I don't want a massive rock that make her hand look like a greenlantern, you know what I mean. I also don't want to break the bank.
 
IMO, The 1.03 gem (2nd on the list) from Dana is worth ordering..........he has a great return policy and is easy to deal with. That gem would look nice in a halo. Ask Dana if he has any other's that fit your wish list (price, size, color)--plus it gives you the ability to compare and contrast gems on the same shipping charge.

If you find gems you want input on, do like the first statement and bring them here for feedback......
 
Frost said:
Categorically and strongly yes (they do exist) and no (it's not an illusion). I've taken a look at your video and some of the stones in it are very nice, and will very much look the same or even better in reality, but even those aren't the 'best possible'.

Highly saturated, vivid, strongly colored blue sapphires do exist and are very much buyable - the ones that labs would grade cornflower or royal blue, for example. Shiny, bright blue stones of vivid saturation, medium to medium-dark tone and without over or undertones - ideally also with microscopic amounts of silk to even out the color and give it an extra edge. Many gem dealers - on the web included - buy these as a cornerstone of their sapphire stock, because they're always in high demand and always sell fairly easily even within the trade itself.

But to expand on this: once in every few thousand such top quality stones, you can come across one that's so insanely blue it almost glows - and those are so good that you can't even capture them in photos or videos properly because the color almost 'bleeds' all over on the screen. It shows as patches of blue even through reflections in photos and videos. Those are the best of all and far from being a computer illusion, they are so good that computers actually diminish them and can't really do them justice - much the same as with other stones of fluorescent properties like top quality Burmese rubies, Tanzanian spinels, Vietnamese spinels, and others.

So while generally speaking top quality blue sapphires in reality can and do look strong vivid blue - sometimes more so than what screens can show - to the contrary of being illusory, they can get even better.



You answered your own question in a way - the sapphires you're referring to are commercial grade, mass-jewellery ones. Ones exactly like this:



... and that's what most of the jewellery market is made of. Dark and inky with flashes of blue. A far cry from top quality.
Click to expand...

So where does one buy such sapphires?

Sometimes you just need to know WHERE to head with your money. Which vendors?
I am in the market for such a sapphire around 2-3 carats.
Where should one get such?
 
 
Well I think that's all from me. I hope I can choose one of all these.
 
 
sapphiredream said:
So where does one buy such sapphires?
Sometimes you just need to know WHERE to head with your money. Which vendors?
I am in the market for such a sapphire around 2-3 carats.
Where should one get such?
Click to expand...

I'd look around on various high-end websites if I were you. I can't really specify or talk too much since I'm a dealer who mostly sells to other dealers and not publicly (waiting for my trade badge on the forum), but I'm sure the discerning people of this forum will be more than able to answer that for you. And besides, Googling around a bit should take you to quite a few top of the line stores/sites/resources - there's no shortage of people offering high end stones on the Net for sure.

Another really good option if you're concerned that WYSIWYG may not apply is simply to go to a gem show. The Tucson gem show is mere months away and half the planet pools their stones best there every year.

Here are a few photos of high end stuff pulled from Google and strictly non-vendor sites so you know what to look for and compare to quality-wise.

1) http://www.lotusgemology.com/images...y/lotus-color-types/peacock-blue-sapphire.jpg

2) http://www.lotusgemology.com/images/library/articles/quality/lotus-color-types/burma-royal-blue.jpg

3) http://www.lotusgemology.com/images...icles/passion-fruit/kashmir_sapphire_ecut.jpg

4) https://i.pinimg.com/236x/4f/c3/80/4fc3806224ec166d981b790a21ad088e.jpg

5) http://www.lotusgemology.com/images...les/passion-fruit/burma_sapphire_21ct-new.jpg

6) http://www.lotusgemology.com/images/books/r-s-gemologists-guide/RS-Gem-Guide-462-463.jpg

7) http://www.lotusgemology.com/images...les/passion-fruit/madagascar_sapphire_7ct.jpg

Another thing to note: if you're looking for top of the line blue sapphires, Montana sapphires will not generally satisfy. Even the very best of Montana can't compete with best Madagascar, Sri Lanka or Burma stones - they simply lack where purity and intensity of hue are concerned and will always look a bit dull/greenish/greyish when compared to ultra-saturated heavy hitters from other more traditional sources.
That said, Montana has a lot of eye candy to offer in the green/turquoise/greenish blue department.

Also, a lot of the stones in the above links display varying amounts of silk. The same blue colors can be had with or without silk but generally speaking a small - and I mean really small - amount of silk can actually boost the color a lot. The catch is that it must be just right - not so much that it visibly impacts brilliance or makes the stone dim, but still enough to help the stone light up more easily and gain a 'glow' that top of the line blues normally exhibit.
 
Woww that tones! Those blues are awesome. I like the skyblues from the links I posted but those are really awesome ones. Now I'm wondering where can find any of those too.
 
... I think there's no shortage of people trying to sell high quality sapphires on the Net - Google around a bit and I'm sure you'll get quite a few results. Or maybe someone else will recommend something useful.

The above photos - on my monitor at least (for reference, typing from a recent MacBook with the brightness setting all the way up) - are representative of what top quality sapphires can look like in real life and as such make good reference stones. The stones are all in the 'fully lit up' stage; that's how a good quality sapphire should look when it lights up fully in diffused daylight with the sun behind you in the clouds and the stone in your fingers held up to chest level and examined, for example.
 
Hi everybody, again it's me perturbing your peaceful and probably frozen day. This is a video of the second one from the first post.

https://www.facebook.com/mastercutgems/posts/1536464979783347

I think that is like a turquoise tone, is that good or bad?
My gf likes that color but I'm pretty sure she prefers a more blue one, but I'm not where to search. As i see, montana sapphires always look like turquoise. Personally, I love that color, but i know her favorite color is plain blue. I think I'm sinking on my confussion.
 
I think you need to nail down what color blue she likes. I think it’s a very personal preference, and if you love one color, another is an entirely different animal IMO. Good luck!
 
Ooh that's gorgeous!!!!
My disclaimer is that I adore green though so I feel the green is a bonus.
Probably too green if your gf is into pure blue.
 
jewelsforalltosee said:
I much prefer this one over the two from crescentgems. Do you have a shade of blue you're looking for? These are all so different.
Click to expand...

Actually, I don't, all I want is a good sapphire that doesnt look black, as are generally sold at stores.
 
costarricenze said:
Actually, I don't, all I want is a good sapphire that doesnt look black, as are generally sold at stores.
Click to expand...

There are lots of good stones out there. You and your GF need to agree on a color to be able to narrow things down. I like the last one from Mastercut gems that you linked. I've almost ordered it myself. But looking at it from the side view it seems to have a lot of GREEN.

Could the two of you take some time and look at sapphires together? She needs to be very clear about her color preferences. Good luck!
 
jewelsforalltosee said:
It's a bit lighter than the others you've posted, but I don't think you're going to really have a good idea until you see any stone in person. Maybe going lighter will give you the sparkle/no black you want. I know there's varying opinions on NSC on this forum, but that's where my sapphire is from and I have been very happy.
https://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/0.58ct-montana-round-blue-sapphire-b7907-/
Click to expand...

I personally wouldn't buy from them as I believe there was a photoshop scandal recently. The owner was indicted on fraud for forging a judge's signatures-- a quick google should show you the story...

Just a head's up...
 
whitewave said:
I personally wouldn't buy from them as I believe there was a photoshop scandal recently. The owner was indicted on fraud for forging a judge's signatures-- a quick google should show you the story...

Just a head's up...
Click to expand...

I heard about that, thanks for the reminder. The owner was trying to remove fake negative reviews posted by a former employee online. He photoshopped the judge's signature. Nothing regarding the company's inventory, thankfully.
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/...a-judges-signature-to-solve-your-seo-problems
 
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