my sapphire has arrived

[indigoblue]

I need some opinions. As you will remember, this is a color shift (blue to violet) sapphire:
#3 Sapphire Round "Roulette" Cut
Weight: 2.35 cts
Measurements: 7.8mm, depth 5mm
Clarity: VVS
Origin: Sri Lanka
Enhancements: Heat only

This is the first stone I've ever bought, so I had no idea what to expect, but I didn't go "WOW!!" when I first saw it. Maybe my expectations are unrealistic. Please tell me if that's true.

I took a few pictures beside the window on a cloudy day. I can take more if you tell me what to do. These little buggars are slippery and hard to pick up.

Vendor shots are first.

 

[indigoblue]

Here's another one from the backside. The color in the photo is way off. It's not this blue. It's much more purple. Outside, it's very purple.

 

[OTL]

Looks pretty close to the vendor picture to me. I like the cutting on that stone. You can't find a lot of round sapphires.
Maybe a little more greyish than vendor's photo but that could be caused by the lighting. You said it is a cloudy day right? My experience is that blue stone looks like that in a cloudy day could be very pretty if in the sun.

 

[chrono]

How accurate are your pictures? It looks close enough to Gemfix's hand shot to me other than not being as saturated. I'm seeing no purple at all but a slightly grayish, slightly violetish blue stone. It is less saturated than the hand shot but that could be due to the low lighting by the window on a cloudy day. Most gems need some sun to look prettier. How is it under incandescent and fluorescent? Perhaps you are looking for something blue, without the violet?

 

[LD]

I agree with Chrono that in your photos there's a considerable amount of grey that isn't present in the vendor's photo. Do you see that IRL or is it just the photo? Does the cut look okay to you? I realise we're not seeing exact head on photos but there appears to be a very noticeable tilt window that's not evidence in the Gemfix photo.

Live with the stone for a day or two and make sure you assess it in all lighting conditions. What's important is that you have to love it in all lights - not just one (unless you're prepared to compromise on that). If you didn't go "WOW" it's either, as you say, that your expectations were too high OR simply it's just not the stone for you. I suspect you were expecting an "in your face vivid stone"? If so, I can understand the disappointment.

 

[indigoblue]

There is a large, distinct tilt window that appears at a very slight angle. And you are right about the gray. It turns very dark gray, almost black, inside with incandescent light. The cut looks great to me, but my experience is limited. The coloring looks a little watery (for lack of a better term). I don't mind that it's more purple than blue. I just didn't expect it to become so dark under some circumstances. But then I really didn't know WHAT to expect. Maybe this is the norm.

 

[chrono]

Sounds like you aren't satisfied with the sapphire for very valid reasons and that good enough reasons to return the stone.

 

[minousbijoux]

Sounds like you aren't satisfied with the sapphire for very valid reasons and that good enough reasons to return the stone.

I agree completely. I noticed 1) a very obvious tilt window not seen in their photos; 2) a not highly saturated stone (love your descriptor of "watery"); 3) a stone that appears darker in some lightings than their photos indicate. I can't tell about the cutting because I can't get past the tilt window. This would not make the cut for me.

 

[airplay355]

I agree with everyone. Not a stone that made me say wow either. If your initial reaction isn't good, I'd say send it back.

 

[corundum_conundrum]

its hard to tell whether there is gray in the stone or whether the whether the total reflection of white light in combination with the lighter violet hues makes it look gray. But I guess it doesn't matter--if it comes off as gray it is.

 

[JewelFreak]

The tilt window would make me send it back; it's too much. I agree with others that it's not as saturated as I'd like & if it darkens as you say, that's no fun either. Don't hesitate to send it back if it doesn't thrill you -- that's part of the business. I didn't send back the first stone I bought & wish I had. You should feel Wow! when you see it.

--- Laurie

 

[Kelly12]

Very gorgeous, what will you use it for? A ring ?

 

[indigoblue]

OK, so I took the stone to my local colored stone guru at a reputable jewelry store. I met her last fall when I bought a tanzanite ring on eBay that turned out to be CZ. She was so nice and helpful and truly interested in determining the truth about my purchase. It's what got me interested in learning about colored stones. I will tell you the whole story sometime. But I digress.

She has done several appraisals for me and knows that I was interested in tanzanite, so when I walked in with a purple stone, I'm sure she assumed I had another one. But it didn't fool her for long. She quickly figured out that it was a heat treated sapphire. We put it in a yellow gold setting, and I could see the prongs clearly through the tilt windows. She said that the price was about what she would expect, but if it wasn't exactly what I want, I should return it.

So I guess I will.

 

[minousbijoux]

Even though I'm sorry you have to return it, I think you're making the right choice. Here's hoping the next one is everything you want.

 

[LD]

You should listen to your gut. You didn't go "WOW" and you didn't love the stone. That's all that matters so I agree with Minou that you're doing exactly the right thing by sending it back.

BTW don't bother buying from Ebay - over 50% (and that's being conservative) of what you see on there is either very poor quality or synthetic/simulant unfortunately. There are some good sellers but those are in the minority.

 

[lin_ny]

Just my personal opinion - I'm convinced that although Gemfix has handshots now, they seem a bit photoshopped. The saturation is definitely off and the stone is so much brighter and crisper in their pictures.

I bought a sapphire from them last year and was incredibly disappointed with the stone in person. They told me that the stone matches their monitor perfectly, and that everyone has different monitors. I thought that was a poor excuse for having extremely misleading pictures (especially when they refuse to take additional pictures or video!)

Sorry to hear it isn't what you'd hoped.

 

[indigoblue]

Here's the tanzanite story. I bought a ring on eBay from a guy who was supposedly selling stuff he got at an estate sale. It was a 6 carat round tanzanite in an 18k yellow gold setting with 20 2x2 princess cut diamonds in the band for $1500. He only had a couple of fuzzy pictures. so you couldn't tell much about it.

I took it to my jeweler, and she did every test she knew how to do, and it failed every one. She even asked me if she could pop it out of the setting so she could really test it. Her Dx was CZ, but she appraised the setting at $2200.

When I told the seller, he still insisted that it was tanzanite and told me to take it to another jeweler. My jeweler recommended a gem dealer who had an office in a high rise building where you stand in the hall outside a locked door and get buzzed in if you pass muster. He didn't think it was tanzanite and sent me upstairs a few floors to Memphis Gemology Lab (where you had to stand in the hall again and get buzzed in). The guy there also said that it wasn't tanzanite, but he wouldn't speculate as to what it was. He said that it was precisely 10mm diameter, and real stones are never cut to exact dimensions.

My jeweler was afraid that I was disappointed, but I was having a ball taking this stone around town and getting opinions. Everyone was so nice and knowledgeable. I didn't know this world existed. I was hooked.

So I returned the ring without any problems. I thought that the seller was honestly mistaken He offered to refund me $500 if I wanted to keep it. I liked the setting, but the ring was too gaudy even for me.

A couple of months later I got a message from someone at eBay. She said that she thought she was purchasing a ring for $1100 that I had previously bought and returned. This time the eBay guy was selling it as a natural cornflower blue sapphire! I told her the whole story, and we decided that it was probably the same stone because mine had a tiny scratch on the table, and so did hers. She took it to two jewelers. The first one "put a probe on it" and said that it was corundum. The other one declared that it was a synthetic sapphire, and she thinks he really knows his stuff because he said the probe couldn't tell the difference between natural and synthetic sapphires. She kept the ring because she loves it and thinks it's a sapphire. She doesn't care if it's synthetic and not natural because only she will know. And I had assured her that the setting would retail for twice what she paid for it.

So that's how I got bitten by the colored stone bug.

 

[LD]

Great story - thank you for sharing.

Unfortunately this is not uncommon.

What I'm REALLY surprised about is why your 3 gemologists couldn't determine what it was - or even likely to be! The RI of synthetic and natural corundum is the same. Your jeweller (or the Memphis lab) must have done a simple RI so it would have been a no-brainer I think! What I'm also VERY surprised about is that you were told that natural gemstones are very rarely cut to exact measurements! I can't believe this! Natural stones are often calibrated and DO have exact measurements. Based on your story I wouldn't use any of the people you took that stone to in future.

Anyway, it's a good story and a brilliant learning curve for you! I'm so glad you got your money back.

 

[indigoblue]

My jeweler was the only one who did any extensive testing. She did RI, and although I don't remember the number (I think it was >2), it was what she used to declare it CZ. She also was able to do specific gravity since she took it out of the setting. I think she was trying to let me down gently. Don't be too hard on the other guys. They just did cursory exams while I waited. I was in a hurry to get to work and didn't want to waste too much of their time. I wasn't asking them to identify it. I just wanted an opinion as to whether it was tanzanite, and that's what they gave me. An opinion ("No, this isn't tanzanite."). I can't answer as to why the guy at MGL said that natural gemstones of that size (precisely 10.00mm) aren't usually cut to calibrated measurements. I have noticed that none (that I can remember) of the stones I've seen in my search for a sapphire have been calibrated measurements. But my experience is limited. I'm learning.

 

[chrono]

I hope the gemmologist assisting you isn't using a Presidium gem tester. You mentioned a probe and that's what came to mind. This device is not accurate and no good gemmologist will use it, preferring a refractometer instead.

 

[VapidLapid]

Great story - thank you for sharing.

Unfortunately this is not uncommon.

What I'm REALLY surprised about is why your 3 gemologists couldn't determine what it was - or even likely to be! The RI of synthetic and natural corundum is the same. Your jeweller (or the Memphis lab) must have done a simple RI so it would have been a no-brainer I think! What I'm also VERY surprised about is that you were told that natural gemstones are very rarely cut to exact measurements! I can't believe this! Natural stones are often calibrated and DO have exact measurements. Based on your story I wouldn't use any of the people you took that stone to in future.

Anyway, it's a good story and a brilliant learning curve for you! I'm so glad you got your money back.

Indeed. all stones have exact measurements, whether they have been measured as such or not. They may not be round numbers, but then they may not be round stones. Imagine if stones were cut to inexact measures, maybe being 10mm most of the time but occasionally puffing up to 10.2 or something. That would be like having a round cut tanzanite, and one day it gets all bloated and looks like a cushion!

You did right by sending that sapphire back. It did not meet your expectations and was not what you want. Simple.

 

[minousbijoux]

Great story. Now I want to know what kind of feedback that ebay seller has on toolhaus!

 

[T L]

There is a large, distinct tilt window that appears at a very slight angle. And you are right about the gray. It turns very dark gray, almost black, inside with incandescent light. The cut looks great to me, but my experience is limited. The coloring looks a little watery (for lack of a better term). I don't mind that it's more purple than blue. I just didn't expect it to become so dark under some circumstances. But then I really didn't know WHAT to expect. Maybe this is the norm.

I have a blue sapphire that same tone in the very same cut, and it's around 8mm in size too. It has lots of light return, and it shouldn't turn very dark, even if it gets grayer. Is the tone much darker than in the photos?