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Same sapphire, almost doubled price in 9 months?

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citronnier

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
11
Hi everyone,

I posted here a few weeks ago about our quest for a preferably Portuguese cut, round, cornflower blue (not dark), 7.5 mm, heat okay sapphire for our engagement ring.

The search continues! Thank you to everyone that gave such useful advice.

Recently my boyfriend viewed this 7.1 mm sapphire, heated with AGL brief. The price given was $5640. However I did a bit of digging in the forums and found two posts from December 2017 and January 2018 (although by the same poster) about the same sapphire that noted the price was $3000 here (post #3) and here (post #10).

Has the market changed such that the price for this sapphire has almost doubled? We both really like it, but the difference in price has us scratching our heads a bit. :think: Of course, we are total newbies to the CS world so we await your expert opinions!

Edit: this is the sapphire in question https://rogerdery.com/gems/blue-sapphire-signature-round-1712016/
 
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Your links aren't working. Could you please fix them so we can see the sapphire and the previous posts?
 
The links work for me. The increasing interest in Sapphire's worldwide for engagement rings has caused prices to go up, and the better the gem, the higher they've gone! I had a vendor tell me he would be re-pricing at least one gem in his inventory because finding more of the same was impossible. This was a vendor I know and trust.
Roger's gems are amazing and he's an expert so I'd either follow up with him (out of curiosity) or ask him to show you gems that are in your price range now. He may well have another gem you'll like and that suits your budget. Good Luck!
 
You can also ask (and hope) that he’ll honour the old price. Maybe he won’t but who knows. I asked a vendor about an older stone and he kindly agreed to negotiate.
 
Interesting, thanks for sharing your opinions. I know there is increased interest in sapphire engagement rings since Kate's engagement in 2010... but enough interest since January of this year for the price to have doubled seems a little too much for me. But of course I know very little about the gemstone world!

In any case, the price is within our budget but we will keep looking around for other options. Just knowing that the same vendor can price so differently within the span of several months makes me want to buy elsewhere.

I know Roger has a great reputation and high quality products, but I prefer vendors that post their prices online. The discrepancy in price that the other poster got (although from several months ago) makes me wonder if he would quote different buyers different prices based on the impression he got from how much they would be willing to pay.
 
Take your business wherever you want.......Just don't make accusations you can't back up. Vendors have legal rights if their reputation is affected by comments such as yours on a forum such as this.
 
It is a beautiful sapphire and I hope someone else buys it and enjoys it.

I make no accusations towards the vendor, just musing regarding this selling practice. :think:

I know he is an extremely reputable vendor and see there are posters defending his actions. I am just a newbie looking for a sapphire in the forums. I mean no harm and I am sure the vendor cares little of my admittedly ignorant views regarding the industry. :))

I appreciate all of your opinions but have to say I feel like my negative opinion towards the pricing actions of a beloved vendor is not welcome here. I was just wondering if this is normal practice and if I should expect prices of the sapphires I am viewing to skyrocket if I don't snatch them up right away.
 
I for one appreciate you highlighting this so pls don’t take one member’s post to represent everyone. FWIW I don’t usually buy from vendors who don’t disclose their prices upfront. Who knows how their pricing works then right.

Prices have gone up as far as I’m aware for sapphires and rubies according to a trusted vendor but has not doubled from what I know. Shop around. There will be others.
 
The price you are currently quoting is close to 3k per ct. A lot of vendros quote prices on a per ct. basis. Or quote both figures (total and per ct.). I guess it is because people find this a useful basis for comparison. Is it possible the original poster simply missunderstood?

Also have you checked out concave gems? They have a lot of sapphires that would rival that colour.
 
citronnier said:
It is a beautiful sapphire and I hope someone else buys it and enjoys it.

I make no accusations towards the vendor, just musing regarding this selling practice. :think:

I know he is an extremely reputable vendor and see there are posters defending his actions. I am just a newbie looking for a sapphire in the forums. I mean no harm and I am sure the vendor cares little of my admittedly ignorant views regarding the industry. :))

I appreciate all of your opinions but have to say I feel like my negative opinion towards the pricing actions of a beloved vendor is not welcome here. I was just wondering if this is normal practice and if I should expect prices of the sapphires I am viewing to skyrocket if I don't snatch them up right away.
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I for one feel like it's perfectly legitimate for you to have negative opinions about this as a consumer. Have you tried negotiating to have him honor that earlier price or move closer towards that?

When it comes to colored stones, unlike diamonds, it's all about supply and demand. Prices can fluctuate. If he's sold a lot of sapphires at low prices and others in the industry have sold at higher prices, it's perfectly legitimate and reasonable to move prices up. Sapphire production fluctuates a lot, and it's not like diamonds where production and prices are stable.

If he has fewer sapphires in his inventory since December, then he may not want to sell this so much, because it's always good to have nice examples of your work, so he may be more reluctant to let this one go.

As to whether prices of sapphires would skyrocket, it really depends on what the sapphire rough mining output is, and the export situation. I heard some places like Tanzania have unstable government policies, so that may be lowering the supply. No clue when these problems with governments will be cleared up. Your guess is as good as mine what will happen to sapphire prices.

One thing I do know: each sapphire is unique. There can be many beautiful ones that come your way at better prices sometime down the line, just not the exact same as this one. You should weigh how much you want a good deal vs how much you like this one.
 
Just to add... I do find that for CS prices (say on a per carat basis) vary widely depending on origin, seller, treatments, cuts, color, etc.

So an untreated stone vs a treated stone that looks almost the same could be double/triple the price, same for trade desired color eg pigeon blood rubies or cornflower blue sapphires...

As for sellers, certain sellers with better reputation can and do sell stones at higher prices. I myself have paid much more for stones from sellers simply because I like the cutting or prefer to go to a reputable seller.

There are lots of stones around do spend some time looking and don’t feel pressured into making a hasty decision. Anyway here are some other round stones you can have a look at. Not saying they are comparable to the originally referenced stone but no harm looking I think.

https://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-blue-11-1291

https://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-blue-11-1313

http://www.crescentgems.com/product/TXpVPQ==/blue_sapphire
 
I’m the one that posted that price. And all I will say is that that price is correct according to my emails from last December/January. I can’t explain the discrepancy, although I will say that the color and cut of that particular stone made the $3000 price a steal and the $5500 price is similar to what other vendors have for that clarity, cut quality, and color.
However, I don’t think that he quotes prices based on what he thinks someone will pay. I had not discussed a budget with him when I asked to see the other two (which were cheaper) just what I was looking for in a stone. My assumption would be that they repriced it based on what is available on the market and how much they are willing to let it go.
 
Yes, I share the dislike of some vendors' practice to not post prices ... at this point I do not bother with vendors who choose not to post prices on their websites but in years past I have contacted Roger Dery and did purchase once or twice. I found he (and Ginger) to be responsive and transparent and the items as described or better, but in more recent years have come to realize for me it is off-putting to have to inquire in order to receive a price so that's why I don't buy from any vendor who doesn't publicly list prices.

Relatedly, I have noticed price increases on some gemstones on more than one vendor's website over the last year or two, mostly sapphires but also spinels. To my understanding these increases track market increases and although sometimes I beat myself up on not acting sooner I don't question the vendor's right to adjust pricing to reflect market conditions. FWIW, price adjustments in colored gemstone stock in my experience happens much much less often as compared to price changes in the loose diamond market.
 
Jbows said:
I will say that the color and cut of that particular stone made the $3000 price a steal and the $5500 price is similar to what other vendors have for that clarity, cut quality, and color.
However, I don’t think that he quotes prices based on what he thinks someone will pay.
Click to expand...

I second on the opinion on the price and wanted to chime in since you are still shopping, and agree that vendors generally probably price base on what they are willing to let the stone go. Also, just because there’s is a posted price, doesn’t mean it is the sale price.
 
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