Purrrfect color, but...

[FallenRox]

Thanks so much fallenrox! I'll check themm both out. I hope your stone turns out to be awesome as that will be an amazing price for a stone that size! A jeweler I use has a lavender blue spinel that is antique cushion cut (what I'm looking for) that's about 2.3 ct and I'm getting quoted $500! I will hopefully get pics to post here, but if you get yours and it's nice I'll be sooo jealous! Can't wait to see pics.

You're quite welcome!

It's really easy to find not so honest people but fortunately there are those who don't make the humans look so bad. Honestly, I expected to pay a lot more for THE stone. Based on the costs from the various lapidaries I spoke to for the color I wanted, I was advised not to go much higher than $35.00-$40.00 per carat. I trust the people that told me that but I also know that as soon as the saturation or color changes that cost is going to go way up. If that one you're talking about is highly saturated and really well cut, that might be considered an acceptable price to some.

I know what I'd do though and that's toss it up here for input, so I hope you do

and I can't wait to have my little sparkly all cut pretty and back to me too! Hopefully I won't stink so bad at taking pictures at that point.