Looking for a square sapphire, strong medium blue

[kaehl28]

New to the forum, the hunt, and just about everything else. I'm looking for a square sapphire, 7mm. . .strong medium blue. Highest quality possible.

I've been through this forum and every site listed in the vendor thread and have now realized that there aren't many around. Hopefully begging will help

Thanks,
-Shawn

 

[Pandora II]

Do you mean a square cushion cut or a square step cuts? The former will be much easier to find.

What is your ballpark budget?

 

[kaehl28]

Pandora,

Thank you for your reply.

We're looking for a step cut under 4k, but could go a little more for the right one.

Thanks!
-Shawn

 

[Pandora II]

To be honest, your best bet would be to see if you could have one cut. I don't remember ever seeing a square step cut blue sapphire...

7mm square should be a touch over 2cts in weight.

Do you have other parameters in terms of treatments etc?

 

[kaehl28]

I did not want any treatments, but have gotten some advice that I may have to go with a heated stone to get what I'm looking for. I have all of a week's worth of experience so far, so if I say something stupid you have permission to reply with "Hey new guy. . .listen up!"

Thanks.

 

[pregcurious]

I 2nd Pandora's suggestion. You can contact a precision cutter to cut a sapphire for you from their material. You can find cutters listed on the thread titled "Can we start a new thread with respected CS vendors?", which is the first thread on the Colored Stones Forum.

Jeff White has cut several sapphires and other colored stones for PSers. You can do a search for his name on PS to see his work. There is a big advantage of commissioning a stone with a precision cutter from their material; if you buy a stone yourself for a recut, it will be difficult to find a cutter who will take the liability on your material.

Here is an example of a light medium sapphire he cut for someone:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-my-2-15-jeff-white-asscher-sapphire-set-in-a-ring.77729/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-my-2-15-jeff-white-asscher-sapphire-set-in-a-ring.77729/[/URL]

Light to light medium colored stones are often favored for step cuts because the lighter colors show off the steps. You can see examples of 2 blue sapphire asschers that Jeff cut, and they are both on the lighter half of the blue spectrum.
http://www.whitesgems.com/gallery/corundum.htm

That said, step cuts can look fantastic in medium to medium dark sapphires also. Pandora posted a fantastic emerald-cut (rectangular step cut) blue sapphire at the bottom of the first page on this thread:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/should-i-be-worried-silk-inclusion-in-the-crown.170977/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/should-i-be-worried-silk-inclusion-in-the-crown.170977/[/URL]

 

[ddgdl]

One thing you might find, as I have, is that a lot of the precision cutters do not have sapphire rough right now, so be prepared to be patient.

 

[kaehl28]

Thank you for the wonderful information. I have already been in contact with Jeff White and am working on that front, too, so I must be learning a little bit.

But after reading this forums for a week or so, I have learned to hit it from all angles so I very much appreciate your advice and links. Pandora's emerald cut that you referred to is one of the images I saved last weekend as a "want this but in a different shape" file

In other words, your kind advice is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

I 2nd Pandora's suggestion. You can contact a precision cutter to cut a sapphire for you from their material. You can find cutters listed on the thread titled "Can we start a new thread with respected CS vendors?", which is the first thread on the Colored Stones Forum.

Jeff White has cut several sapphires and other colored stones for PSers. You can do a search for his name on PS to see his work. There is a big advantage of commissioning a stone with a precision cutter from their material; if you buy a stone yourself for a recut, it will be difficult to find a cutter who will take the liability on your material.

Here is an example of a light medium sapphire he cut for someone:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-my-2-15-jeff-white-asscher-sapphire-set-in-a-ring.77729/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/its-here-my-2-15-jeff-white-asscher-sapphire-set-in-a-ring.77729/[/URL]

Light to light medium colored stones are often favored for step cuts because the lighter colors show off the steps. You can see examples of 2 blue sapphire asschers that Jeff cut, and they are both on the lighter half of the blue spectrum.
http://www.whitesgems.com/gallery/corundum.htm

That said, step cuts can look fantastic in medium to medium dark sapphires also. Pandora posted a fantastic emerald-cut (rectangular step cut) blue sapphire at the bottom of the first page on this thread:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/should-i-be-worried-silk-inclusion-in-the-crown.170977/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/should-i-be-worried-silk-inclusion-in-the-crown.170977/[/URL]

 

[kaehl28]

One thing you might find, as I have, is that a lot of the precision cutters do not have sapphire rough right now, so be prepared to be patient.

All one has to do is walk through a retail jewelry shop for two minutes to learn that having patience and waiting to find the EXACT thing that you want (and going to the right place to do it, here) . . . is a good thing.

 

[Pandora II]

http://www.jewelryexpert.com/catalog/Square-Radiant-cut-Sapphire-183ct-CS8651.htm

I found this one...

I think you will need to consider a heated stone or you may find this an impossible search.

 

[pregcurious]

http://www.jewelryexpert.com/catalog/Square-Radiant-cut-Sapphire-183ct-CS8651.htm

I found this one...

I think you will need to consider a heated stone or you may find this an impossible search.

I did not have a good experience with this vendor.

 

[Pandora II]

Just to give you a head's up, a stone like the emerald cut I posted on the other thread was a 4ct Kashmir that was sold by Palagems. Knowing the kind of prices they charge for their top end stones I would imagine this stone went for upwards of $80k retail.

I'm afraid you are looking at the best of the best in terms of colour there...

That said, it might be worth asking a jeweller to call Pala and see what they have. My e-ring stone was from them and their quality is excellent.


Pregcurious - I've no knowledge of the vendor so good to know! I thought it might be useful in terms of info on price/quality...

 

[pregcurious]

No problem, Pandora. Bijoux Extraordinaire has nice things, but I would not buy from them. Others may be okay.

 

[colorluvr]

Perhaps there will be some rough available to the precision cutters at the Tuscon Gem show? (If that's not a good place for them to find rough, my apologies, as I know very little of what is available in Tuscon re: rough)

 

[ddgdl]

According to Gene and some others, high quality sapphire rough is rarely, if ever, available at the Tucson show.

 

[Pandora II]

Perhaps there will be some rough available to the precision cutters at the Tuscon Gem show? (If that's not a good place for them to find rough, my apologies, as I know very little of what is available in Tuscon re: rough)

Likely not - a lot of the countries that produce sapphires have export bans on rough (Sri Lanka for example), so the best bet is to pick up a stone and recut it. This means paying for weight that will be lost in the recut and possibly ending up with a stone that no longer has the same colour and/or saturation as the original. Not for the faint-hearted!

It would be worth asking people to keep a look out for a stone that might just need a hair-cut or that is already cut to the right size, colour and shape.

I had some stones sourced at Tucson a few years ago - I sent an email with the details and budget, they emailed me a couple of days in, I altered parameters and they then found my stones. One got a teeny trim and the others were fine as is. I did only ask one vendor to source for me though - so as not to get people potentially wasting their time.

 

[kaehl28]

Just to give you a head's up, a stone like the emerald cut I posted on the other thread was a 4ct Kashmir that was sold by Palagems. Knowing the kind of prices they charge for their top end stones I would imagine this stone went for upwards of $80k retail.

Oh, I know that both that size and Kashmir are outside of the budget for this one. Maybe next time around.

 

[LD]

You may find this thread useful also!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/is-this-feasible-blue-sapphire-question.171015/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/is-this-feasible-blue-sapphire-question.171015/[/URL]

 

[Starzin]

I found this square step cut but the vendor is in Australia, gives no prices or detail and says Trade only within Australia all over the place. I don't know if that means vendors in Australia and Joe Public internationally, or that they won't deal with a vendor overseas either. Perhaps a vendor here knows or you might send an email to ask for clarification. They have several square, asscher, princess cuts.

http://www.oneilsaffiliated.com/pro...ceylon-sapphire/1-02ct-emc-ceylon-sapphire-2/

PS - these are the only videos I've seen which show the silk/zoning often present in sapphires so clearly. Don't be put off - it's rarely as visible in IRL.

PPS - But I've just had a thought...post a shout out (or email) Gary Holloway, part owner of Pricescope and a jeweller in Melbourne - he should know or be able to get the information easily.

 

[winternight]

If you do go custom I suggest seeing the stone in person pre-cut. I had an experience where the cutter's pics looked great but the sto e was very dark irl.

 

[marymm]

All That Glitters has a 3.24ct Medium Blue Sapphire, billed as unheated - description says "octagon cut" but to me it looks kinda square with cut corners (7.1x7.6mm) - http://www.atggems.com/Photos_New.htm (scroll down just a bit) - it's over your stated budget (and can't quite tell from the one photo whether there's a small window or not) but thought you might like to eyeball it in the name of research. And ATG is a reputable vendor - I've bought from them in the past as I believe other PSers have. Good luck with your search!

 

[mercoledi]

This one is a cushion, but a nice one and close to the size you wanted: http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/1098/13163

- Identification: Natural Unheated & Untreated Blue Sapphire
- Carat: 1.45
- Shape: Cushion
- Measures: 5.98x6.74x3.66 (millimeter)
- Color Grade: Good
- Tone: MD60
- Color Zoning: None
- Clarity: Lightly Included
- Cutting Grade: Very Good
o Brilliancy: 50%
o Depth: 61%
- Origin: Bible, Sri Lanka
- Treatment: None

 

[colorluvr]

I bought two sapphires from Gary Braun last fall, one was unheated (AGL cert) and one was heat only (AGL cert). He brought them back from his trip earlier in the year, but he didn't recut them because the native cuts were nice enough that they didn't need it and he didn't want to loose weight. They are both pretty stones and I recently got them set, so when I get them back from the jeweler on Monday, (spiffing up prongs and rhodium plating) I'll share some photos.

I got an email from him (we were conversing about the sapphires I bought) and he told me that he might be able to source some sapphires at the Tuscon show, my mistake for assuming he meant rough, after reading your posts I imagine he was speaking of stones that he could recut.

 

[kaehl28]

@LD - That thread is wonderful, thank you! I'm nearly twice as knowledgeable now than 20 minutes ago. . .which should tell you exactly how little I had to start with

@Starzin - Those look excellent. I'll show them to her this eveing. Thanks!

@marymm - Initially, I thought that was going to end up being The One. But she thinks it's too big and what little we know about windows (assuming you mean the inverted triangle in the bottom-center of the stone where it looks like you can see the mat behind it) draws our eye to that every time we look at it. However, she now likes that shape as much as square. . .so that opens up our options. Appreciate the link!

@mercoleid - Love it. . .she's thinking about whether or not she likes cushion. . .which leads me to think that she probably doesn't. But that one sure is pretty. Maybe I'll start a gem box for her

Thank you to everyone, I do appreciate your efforts!

 

[Starzin]

@marymm - Initially, I thought that was going to end up being The One. But she thinks it's too big and what little we know about windows (assuming you mean the inverted triangle in the bottom-center of the stone where it looks like you can see the mat behind it) draws our eye to that every time we look at it.

Sapphires tend not to face up as big as other gems of the same weight because of their density. Better to judge on dimensions than weight for any gem really. The listing hasn't given the size so I'd email and ask for the details of size, clarity, saturation - any more photos - and whether it has a window. You might not get an answer for a day or two because of Tuscon but it's definitely worth following up if you like if.

 

[Starzin]

Duh! Just realized there is a cert with the size on...carry on.

 

[kaehl28]

Well, after both of us looked around a bit more and thought a bit more and saw some very good examples. . .we've changed our minds to a cushion cut. Still with square dimensions, but she likes the cushion more.

Short story, our search just got a bit easier.