Please advise on blue sapphire?

[ElegantRascal]

Gary has this one

3.61 ct Blue Sapphire

3.61 ct Blue Sapphire

www.finewatergems.com

Thank you so much for the suggestion, that's a really lovely stone but it's not really the colour I'm looking for - I think that's a bit more cornflower? And I'd really like a more rich royal blue. Sorry for being picky!

 

[ElegantRascal]

@voce I could probably say the same about my supposingly Mahenge Spinel I got from Yvvone, in the colour looked good in her photos, however, the stone IRL was not as vibrant as I had hoped.

Therefore, JD is no alone in this, IMHO.

Mind you, as the Dan Stairs saga had illustrated, Spinels are difficult to photograph as they shift in different lighting conditions. Hey ho!

DK

Thanks for the information!

 

[ElegantRascal]

I agree that JD is not alone in having gems turn out not as vibrant. I've had Mahenge spinels from Yvonne and from Desertrose turn out not as vibrant in person, but never this muddy brown as in JD's spinel.

I've bought second hand JD gems such as a tanzanite and tourmaline that were fantastic. So I'm not in it to blame JD or anything. It's quite possible the vendor has not seen the gem in strong sunlight as we get in California. I certainly can't complain about the cut. It just doesn't appear in my past of the world any color resembling the vendor picture on Etsy.

What I appreciate about Yvonne, is that she takes pictures in natural light, and I've had better experiences with her gems turning out nice and vibrant. I'm thinking that because you are in the UK where there's not strong sunlight compared to say, California, less of the UV fluorescence cones out. I find that for spinels and tourmalines, more of the mask and extinction agree visible under strong sunlight.

Sorry OP for the aside. JD has a lot of fans here, but I hope you will be able to see the gem in person with a UK vendor before deciding, not based off a couple of Etsy pictures.

This is all really good to know, thank you!

 

[dk168]

Thank you for the explanation, and the extra tip! Jeff D. says he doesn't have anything suitable in rough or coming in, so I'll take a look at Jeff White too.

That's a shame re: JD. Hope you have better luck with the other UK/EU vendors mentioned, or with JW.

And yes I am getting an Asscher cut blue Zircon from JW.

DK

 

[ElegantRascal]

No -- good point.

My point, though, is that no stones look like that. If there were one or two, I'd think maybe. But every. single. one. From $200 to $5,000. All the most killer gems in the known universe. I think others here must see that, too (scroll up a little)?

For comparison, go to Lang or Berganza and look at their six-figure colored-stone rings. Unheated Burmese rubies and untreated Colombian emeralds and even some Kashmirs. They look like actual gems -- not an anime version of what a gem would be.

I don't want to re-litigate this whole thing. I got plenty of "good riddance!" after the last time I called out unscrupulous and, well, "semi-scrupulous" vendors. But I like your insights and I like your pretty gems and your good ideas. And I won't go out of my way to call someone out (my posts concealed the vendors' ID) -- but when someone asks specifically about a particular vendor, I expect people to say what they think.

This is a good point, thank you, and certainly something I'll bear in mind.

 

[dk168]

Thank you so much for the suggestion, that's a really lovely stone but it's not really the colour I'm looking for - I think that's a bit more cornflower? And I'd really like a more rich royal blue. Sorry for being picky!

Not picky at all!

Colours are very personal, seasoned PSers who like CSs are all in agreement on that one.

DK

 

[Niffler75]

@ElegantRascal Personally I think with NSC, the issue reported in the media dates back to 2017 I think. I do trust my sources recommendation however. Take a look at UK trust pilot reviews. Maybe things have changed for the company? It's hard, I do not know what I would do.

Have you heard back from Gems and Jewels UK on Etsy?

 

[ElegantRascal]

That's a shame re: JD. Hope you have better luck with the other UK/EU vendors mentioned, or with JW.

And yes I am getting an Asscher cut blue Zircon from JW.

DK

Thank you, I've sent Jeff White a message. The recommended UK vendors are him, Jeff Davies and Gems and Jewels UK, aren't they? And no EU vendors have been suggested yet I think?

 

[ElegantRascal]

@ElegantRascal Personally I think with NSC, the issue reported in the media dates back to 2017 I think. I do trust my sources recommendation however. Take a look at UK trust pilot reviews. Maybe things have changed for the company? It's hard, I do not know what I would do.

Have you heard back from Gems and Jewels UK on Etsy?

Ah okay, thanks - I'll do some more research. They do seem to get a lot of good reviews and most bad ones relate to dodgy settings, so perhaps I just wouldn't get my stone set by them.
I haven't heard from Gems and Jewels UK yet, hopefully soon! Thank you so much for your help.

 

[ElegantRascal]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who is taking the time to help me with my search - it's so kind of you, and I really appreciate it so much!

 

[Niffler75]

@ElegantRascal No probs! Hope you will carry on posting!

 

[voce]

NSC has a large inventory. From my experience with them (two rings), the color in their pictures is pretty accurate. That's where the positive points end. Yes, they probably have built a good reputation over many decades as a family business, but the most recent owner/CEO is unscrupulous, and in my opinion, a scumbag.

He photoshopped stars onto star sapphire pictures of pairs. When someone complained about this on PS, they claimed there's nothing wrong with it, in a gloating manner. Then it came out that he forged court papers to manipulate Google into suppressing negative reviews. So, any "trust pilot" rating could be manipulated too. I don't mind that some shops have overhead so prices are higher, but the whole issue with photoshopped images, the arrogance in their response, and the unethical legal tampering to manipulate their ratings into being more positive, it just seems too many things that I as a consumer do not really wish to support.

 

[dk168]

Thank you, I've sent Jeff White a message. The recommended UK vendors are him, Jeff Davies and Gems and Jewels UK, aren't they? And no EU vendors have been suggested yet I think?

Sorry, however, Jeff White is based on USA not UK. I don't believe I have ever said he is UK-based.

DK

 

[ElegantRascal]

@ElegantRascal No probs! Hope you will carry on posting!

I definitely will, you're all so incredibly helpful and make it feel much more manageable!

 

[ElegantRascal]

NSC has a large inventory. From my experience with them (two rings), the color in their pictures is pretty accurate. That's where the positive points end. Yes, they probably have built a good reputation over many decades as a family business, but the most recent owner/CEO is unscrupulous, and in my opinion, a scumbag.

He photoshopped stars onto star sapphire pictures of pairs. When someone complained about this on PS, they claimed there's nothing wrong with it, in a gloating manner. Then it came out that he forged court papers to manipulate Google into suppressing negative reviews. So, any "trust pilot" rating could be manipulated too. I don't mind that some shops have overhead so prices are higher, but the whole issue with photoshopped images, the arrogance in their response, and the unethical legal tampering to manipulate their ratings into being more positive, it just seems too many things that I as a consumer do not really wish to support.

Thank you for that, that's really useful to know. It's definitely off-putting, I think perhaps I will try and find my stone elsewhere and only turn to them if other places don't work out.

 

[ElegantRascal]

Sorry, however, Jeff White is based on USA not UK. I don't believe I have ever said he is UK-based.

DK

Ah sorry, my mistake! Thanks for setting me straight.

 

[ElegantRascal]

Hi everyone, just thought I'd update this thread. The vendors I contacted say that sapphire supplies are not great at the moment, and this has got me thinking that now might not be the best time to make such a big (potentially overseas) purchase, what with postal difficulties and lockdown and so on. So I think I'll put off my search till things return to normal - hopefully it won't be too long! I'm not in a rush so I don't mind waiting.
Thank you all so much again for all your help! Now I know which vendors to go to when I resume my search. And I hope it's okay if I revive this thread when that time comes, to ask your opinions again!
I hope you all stay safe and healthy in the meantime.

 

[reirei]

I'd like an eye-clean, transparent stone of a rich royal blue colour (slightly dark but not so it appears at all black). I'd prefer a cushion or oval cut, perhaps round. I don't mind heating, I don't think the price difference for non-heated is really worth it to me (hope you experts don't hate me for that!). As for size I think about 3-4.5 carats, with the length and width measurements being about 7-9mm. My budget is about $10-14,000, preferably on the lower end of that! Especially as I might need to pay extra for VAT and import duties.

@ElegantRascal in case you just want to look, AJS Gems in Bangkok has a 20% off sale all gems right now until the end of the month. They have some lovey rich royal blues in their inventory in stock.

This stone is really lovely, a vivid royal blue, and seems to hit most of your criteria. When set, it will be an amazing royal blue with its intense saturation (and not black out like darker stones!).
They're a pricescope recommended vendor and have a good return policy too!

Lot#: SAP4503NT
Total weight: 4.18 carats
Price (USD): $17,900.00
Sale Price: $14,320 (17.900 - .20 for 20 percent off sale)
Clarity: Eye Clean - Almost Loupe Clean
Origin: Ceylon
Shape:Oval
Cut: Step Cut
Comment: Heat only
Size: 10.53 x 7.28 x 5.87 mm

A fully saturated fine Ceylon royal blue sapphire. This stone was precision cut with excellent polish. Certified by GemResearch Swisslab (GRS) with the color graded as "vivid blue (GRS type "royal blue").

Royal Blue Sapphire - 4.18 carats at AJS Gems

Buy high quality natural Blue Sapphire at wholesale prices at AJS Gems.

www.ajsgem.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next largest I could see from their inventory matching your description was this 2.97 carat for $5,436. It's a little smaller in carats from what you wanted, but the size seems to match! It's a medium blue, though, not royal, based on the description.

Lot#: SAP4499OR
Total weight: 2.97 carats
Price (USD): $6,795.00
Sale Price: $5,436 ($6,795.00 - 20% off sale)
Pieces: 1
Clarity:Eye Clean
Origin:Madagascar
Shape:Oval
Cut:Step Cut
Comment:Heat only
Size: 9.27 x 6.62 x 5.30 m

A FINE MEDIUM BLUE SAPPHIRE. The cut is superb, with perfect proportions and polished to a high brilliance.

Blue Sapphire - 2.97 carats at AJS Gems

Buy high quality natural Blue Sapphire at wholesale prices at AJS Gems.

www.ajsgem.com

 

[ElegantRascal]

@ElegantRascal in case you just want to look, AJS Gems in Bangkok has a 20% off sale all gems right now until the end of the month. They have some lovey rich royal blues in their inventory in stock.

This stone is really lovely, a vivid royal blue, and seems to hit most of your criteria. When set, it will be an amazing royal blue with its intense saturation (and not black out like darker stones!).
They're a pricescope recommended vendor and have a good return policy too!

Lot#: SAP4503NT
Total weight: 4.18 carats
Price (USD): $17,900.00
Sale Price: $14,320 (17.900 - .20 for 20 percent off sale)
Clarity: Eye Clean - Almost Loupe Clean
Origin: Ceylon
Shape:Oval
Cut: Step Cut
Comment: Heat only
Size: 10.53 x 7.28 x 5.87 mm

A fully saturated fine Ceylon royal blue sapphire. This stone was precision cut with excellent polish. Certified by GemResearch Swisslab (GRS) with the color graded as "vivid blue (GRS type "royal blue").

Royal Blue Sapphire - 4.18 carats at AJS Gems

Buy high quality natural Blue Sapphire at wholesale prices at AJS Gems.

www.ajsgem.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next largest I could see from their inventory matching your description was this 2.97 carat for $5,436. It's a little smaller in carats from what you wanted, but the size seems to match! It's a medium blue, though, not royal, based on the description.

Lot#: SAP4499OR
Total weight: 2.97 carats
Price (USD): $6,795.00
Sale Price: $5,436 ($6,795.00 - 20% off sale)
Pieces: 1
Clarity:Eye Clean
Origin:Madagascar
Shape:Oval
Cut:Step Cut
Comment:Heat only
Size: 9.27 x 6.62 x 5.30 m

A FINE MEDIUM BLUE SAPPHIRE. The cut is superb, with perfect proportions and polished to a high brilliance.

Blue Sapphire - 2.97 carats at AJS Gems

Buy high quality natural Blue Sapphire at wholesale prices at AJS Gems.

www.ajsgem.com

Thank you so much for the tip! I like the look of these stones (although I'm thinking that cushion cut might be my favourite rather than oval). AJS seem like a great vendor for what I'm wanting.

I think I am going to hold off on making my purchase for a bit, until the world gets back to normal (hopefully soon!) as I'm still trying to stay pretty much self-isolated, and would rather get the stone when I can take it to a jeweller to give me an opinion on it. Plus I'm kind of hoping that there will be more stock and more options to choose from when things return to normal.
But I'll definitely look at AJS when the time comes to make my purchase!

Thanks again!