Looking to buy a sapphire stone.. too good to be true?

[Cybele]

Hello everyone,

I'm a newbie to buying stones, I'm 23, Indian and I've never bought any kind of gemstones or jewelry for myself before. But I really want to make a start, under my own steam and my own (not all that lavish) income.

Okay so on my local version of ebay (India), I spotted a sapphire for sale, which is about 55 USD, its advertised as

Gemstone : Blue Sapphire

Colour : Blue as in Picture

Origin : Sri Lanka

Shape : Oval Mixed Cut

Clarity : Transparent VVS

Treatment : None

Lustre : Exceptional

Weight : 1 Ct

Type : Natural

Dimensions : 7 x 5 x 2.8 mm

Okay, granted that most stones here in India are significantly cheaper than what they go for abroad, but still...

I might end up buying it anyway, since there is a return policy, but I really can't believe it. Someone suggested I post here to get an informed opinion, and I'm really glad that I've found this forum, since I've learned a lot already!

Thanks guys!

 

[Cybele]

The pic above is of the back of the stone, here''s another pic of the back

 

[Cybele]

And this is the front - Seller''s name is blacked out for privacy.

To me, it seems the stone is quite included and not a VVS but I''ve read here that one might prefer inclusions in a sapphire to show it is "natural". I''m kind of confused now.

 

[T L]

Sapphires are routinely diffused (artificially enhanced in color) and if it's really cheap, it's probably diffused or a very poor stone. If it's diffused, then it shouldn't be worth more than $10, even in the States. Diffused sapphires also have inclusions, and are natural mined from the earth stones. They just look like muck before they're diffused. Sometimes, sellers take synthetic stones and "beat them up" and cut them badly to make them look more natural too. Inclusions can also be caused by stress to the stone after "beating it up" for some time.

I would not buy a sapphire without a reputable lab memo, and for me, that goes for any sapphire. Some people will only get a lab memo for stones above a certain pricepoint, but diffusion/synthetics really bother me, so I always request one, and it must also state all treatments on the stone. Not all lab reports do.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

First of all, remember that the picture is magnified many, many times so it may be eye clean when you hold it in your hand (although, I, too, have my doubts). When people say thay like inclusions to show that it is natural, most people are refering to microscopic inclusions, not eye visible inclusions.

However, that stone is cheap because it is not very good by trade standards: the colour is not very saturated and greyish and it is not deep enough (it has a window) and the cut is kinda wonky.

 

[harshilzaveri]

Since the seller is in India, you should ask for a Gemological Institute of India (GII) certificate? Or better an IGI certificate?