Looking for a remarkable sapphire

[newgembuyer]

I am interested in purchasing a round blue sapphire to set in the center of an engagement ring (approx. 0.9 - 1.4 ctw ). I am looking to find an all-around great gem in terms of cut, color, clarity, saturation, brilliance, etc. Therefore, I am most drawn to sapphires that are a brilliant blue (with perhaps a hint of purple), but no visible green or yellow, and little gray or black.

I have looked into buy a loose sapphire from a local jeweler, who purchases his stones directly from cutters in Thailand. He had two sapphires that fit what I was looking for, but I felt like the prices he quoted me seemed high. Then again, I have never bought loose sapphires before so I am not even sure what is reasonble to spend. For a .97 ct stone, I was quoted ~$1850, and for a 1.20 ct stone, I was quoted ~$2900. Do these seem like fair market prices for quality round blue sapphires?

I am willing to pay for quality, but I would hate to pay too much because I didn''t know any better. Can someone help me out? I would love to know the price range for 1 ct sapphires and what kind of quality one might expect at various price points. Thanks!

 

[cflutist]

Check out #6738 on palagems.com. Its .99 cts 5.5x5.5x3.9 and has really nice color in my opinion. I saw the wholesale price (I am a trade member)but cannot share it with you. The $1850 you were quoted is not out of line for a B&M store. With colored stones, they most important thing is the color and the value will vary tremendously based on it. A search of all round blue sapphires less than 1.4 ct on that site yields 44 stones with wholesale price of $50 - $1100 per carat.

If you like what you see on that site, contact a local jeweler to see what they will sell it to you for.

They also have great buyer's guides for the consumers.

 

[WinkHPD]

If you want something truly incredible, go see Richard Homer at www.concavegems.com. He is also working on his web site and may nothave what you want listed, but he can cut it for you to the exact size that you want. If you mention my name he will give you a ten percent discount.

Wink

 

[bar01]

Sounds like you and I are looking for the same thing - except I was looking closer to a 2 ct sapphire for my gals engagement ring

I posted a question about this issue earlier on this site -did not get much feedback.

I think you will find that you can save money by buying online vs a store. Good Sapphires are hard to find in a normal store.

The prices for a good sapphire seem to run about $1000-$2000 ct on line. Anything less than $1000 ct is questionable quality - in my mind.


Make sure any stone you get has a AGAT cetificate with it - or that you get one as soon as possible.


Try these two sites for some good selection:

http://www.walterarnstein.com/

http://cherrypicked.com



Good Luck !

 

[newgembuyer]

Thanks for your post bar01. I've been to both the websites you suggested before and found them to be some of the best. I think I'll probably go with stones from a local seller, though, since I have found several that really look good (priced from $1500-2000/ct). Certainly, I've found the privately owned familiy jewlers, who do their own purchasing abroad, to be the most helpful. I wish you luck in finding a great stone as well.

 

[Diamondsbybree]

http://www.ajsgems.com/

They have some real beauties~!

 

[mogok]

Hello newgembuyer,
well looking at what you are asking I think that for this you should be able to get a nice around 1 ct unheated Burmese blue sapphire. Typically Burmese will be strait blue with a tint of purple, even color and good brilliancy. Less sleppy than kashmir...
I wish you all the best for your reseachs. I'm leaving to Pailin this week end and again in 2 weeks before to go to Mogok in Burma... I will think about you there. But whatever I hope that you will find the stone you dream about before that!
All the best,

 

[yowahking]

Be careful. If you are spending that much on a 1ct sapphire, ask for an AGTA cert. There are too many treatments out there that I see every trip to Bangkok. I see stones represented as Burma which are from Madagascar, I see stones sold as untreated which are for sure treated. But in a 1 ct , only a very few will be truly worth spending $2000 on. Don't rule out a YOGO as long as it is certified not treated. I don't mind heat treated stones as long as you are paying heat treated price. But Yogo's are only untreated otherwise the other Montana stones are dime a dozen. Sri Lanka still produces tons of good 1ct sizes.
Scott

 

[Zkashmir]

i am looking for the buyers of kashmir sapphire (rough) uncutted 3 in number kindly reply to email
[email protected]