questions regarding recent purchase

[topcatskin]

Forum,
I just received a blue sapphire that I looked at first in person and now have taken possession of. I have a certain number of days to review it, and it that time I am going to get it appraised to verifiy purchase info. My concern regards the slightly violet color of the stone versus the royal blue that I saw (probably under flourescent lighting) and inclusions that are visible via the naked eye. On the girdle there is even some copper looking material (stone?) as thick as an eyelash and 1mm long.

The stone was purchased from a reputable company and at $3300 a carat for a 4 carat sapphire I paid an amount that makes me question my purchase as I did not take note of the inclusions before nor the specks of "stone" in the stone.

Is it normal to see "things" in an untreated sapphire?

R/

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Here is a nice link to clarity of sapphires - click here I would say that most of the sapphires I see on here are eye clean, treated and untreated. Mine has one small inclusion that is hard to see.

If the inclusions are visable enough to take away from the overall beauty of the stone, than it may be worth reconsidering. However, if it is something that will not show up when it is set, you may want to keep it. Are there several inclusions or just one large one?

I would get it appraised for sure. You can also post pics on here and get some opinions. People are pretty honest here.

As for the color. Sapphires often shift under different lights. If you don't like the slightly violet color, that would be a concern. There are colors that are considered "more desirable", but at the end of the day, most people advise that you buy the stone for the color that you like best. My sapphire looks very blue in sunlight, shade, on rainy days. It looks more purple inside with artificial lights. I have no problem with that. Just from what you have written, if I was looking at this stone, I think the clarity would be more of a problem to me than the color. But you have to figure out what is important to you.

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 7/2/2008 11:20:06 PM
Author:topcatskin
Forum,
I just received a blue sapphire that I looked at first in person and now have taken possession of. I have a certain number of days to review it, and it that time I am going to get it appraised to verifiy purchase info. My concern regards the slightly violet color of the stone versus the royal blue that I saw (probably under flourescent lighting) and inclusions that are visible via the naked eye. On the girdle there is even some copper looking material (stone?) as thick as an eyelash and 1mm long.

The stone was purchased from a reputable company and at $3300 a carat for a 4 carat sapphire I paid an amount that makes me question my purchase as I did not take note of the inclusions before nor the specks of 'stone' in the stone.

Is it normal to see 'things' in an untreated sapphire?

R/

Sapphires come in many colours, not just blue. And many of the blues have a violet-ish undertone. Some people love that, some don't.

The cost per carat seems a bit high if you are not feeling that this is the *perfect* stone for you. Granted, untreated sapphires are much more expensive than treated...perhaps an expert can chime in regarding the line on the girdle.

Untreated sapphires often have what is referred to as 'silk', which are soft, whitish cloudy threads running through the stone.

It might help if you could take some photos of it on the back of your hand in daylight (both sunny and cloudy), and also some indoors as well. Then you can kind of compare them side by side, and also compare them to the photos provided by the seller.

Keep in mind that every time you photograph a coloured stone they can turn out differently, depending on light source and direction, etc. And if you are setting this stone into a ring, it will face up darker once there is no light coming from the back of the sapphire.

Do you have any photos from the seller that you could post for us to look at? We LOVE pictures!