zeolite
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2008
- Messages
- 619
Another thread discussed if a purple sapphire was worth the price paid. Not to hijack that thread, I’m opening a new one, showing what is rare, but possible in purple sapphires. Quotes from that thread:
LeeLittle: I have seen purple [sapphire] but more of a reddish, bluish or grayish purple and never any deeply saturated purple. That doesn't mean they don't exist, just I have never seen or heard of them and wonder if anybody else ever has.
TL: Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it can't exist. If there's one thing I've learned over collecting a long number of years, is to "never say never" when it comes to treatment.
This gem was purchased in the 1986 Tucson AGTA wholesale show, long before beryllium treatment had begun.
It is an interesting story how I acquired it: I saw another buyer examining an intensely colored purple sapphire. His exact quote to the dealer “the color is dynamite!!”. I expected him to examine it, make notes, put it down, and continue shopping. He didn’t! He bought it right under my nose!
I spent the remainder of that 1986 show looking for a purple sapphire of such intense color. I couldn’t find one in all of Tucson!
The next year, I tried again. Still no luck! I grumbled to that same selling dealer, about not being able to find such a stone. He commented that the same buyer was here, he had the stone, and might sell it. I told the dealer to tell him I wanted to find him. The dealer put us together, and the buyer offered to sell it, but at a slight 3% markup from the previous year. I paid it, and got the sapphire! I had Phillip Youngman to do a slight (cutting) tweak to brighten the stone.
In 24 following years, at Tucson, I’ve seen larger, better cut, but I’ve never better or even equal color to that sapphire!
The picture below, is fairly accurate about the daylight color and the saturation. The incandescent color is slightly brighter, and slightly redder.
When I photographed it with my very expensive camera, it showed red, like a ruby. I had to do considerable Photoshop work to make the picture match the gem. As always, I held the actual gem next to my computer monitor, to adjust the color to match the actual sapphire.
LeeLittle: I have seen purple [sapphire] but more of a reddish, bluish or grayish purple and never any deeply saturated purple. That doesn't mean they don't exist, just I have never seen or heard of them and wonder if anybody else ever has.
TL: Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it can't exist. If there's one thing I've learned over collecting a long number of years, is to "never say never" when it comes to treatment.
This gem was purchased in the 1986 Tucson AGTA wholesale show, long before beryllium treatment had begun.
It is an interesting story how I acquired it: I saw another buyer examining an intensely colored purple sapphire. His exact quote to the dealer “the color is dynamite!!”. I expected him to examine it, make notes, put it down, and continue shopping. He didn’t! He bought it right under my nose!
I spent the remainder of that 1986 show looking for a purple sapphire of such intense color. I couldn’t find one in all of Tucson!
The next year, I tried again. Still no luck! I grumbled to that same selling dealer, about not being able to find such a stone. He commented that the same buyer was here, he had the stone, and might sell it. I told the dealer to tell him I wanted to find him. The dealer put us together, and the buyer offered to sell it, but at a slight 3% markup from the previous year. I paid it, and got the sapphire! I had Phillip Youngman to do a slight (cutting) tweak to brighten the stone.
In 24 following years, at Tucson, I’ve seen larger, better cut, but I’ve never better or even equal color to that sapphire!
The picture below, is fairly accurate about the daylight color and the saturation. The incandescent color is slightly brighter, and slightly redder.
When I photographed it with my very expensive camera, it showed red, like a ruby. I had to do considerable Photoshop work to make the picture match the gem. As always, I held the actual gem next to my computer monitor, to adjust the color to match the actual sapphire.
, don't take anyone's "word" for it. Get it in writing, and get lab verification if necessary. That goes for ALL vendors.
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