Sapphire hunt

[dearbornpop]

Hello!
Could someone please help suggest a few reliable sources to purchase a cushion cut royal blue, Ceylon Sapphire online, please? I like the royal blue color! Suggestions on how to select one are also welcome.
Thank you so much!

 

[voce]

->thegemstoneproject on Etsy
->Gemfix
->Cecile Raley Designs on Etsy
->Mastercut Gems
->Roger Dery Gems
->If you have a high budget, cushiongem.com

 

[Anne111]

For unheated sapphires ask Edward Bristol at www.wildfishgems.com.com

 

[dearbornpop]

Thanks! I’ll reach out.

I saw this stone on ETSY. Would someone take a look and tell me if this is a good one? I live t

 

[chrono]

Can’t tell you whit about the cut but the colour is fabulous.

 

[voce]

The color is phenomenal, but in my experience color could hide inclusions, and you should always watch out for treatments in valuable stones. Be wary if this stone is promoted as a good deal. I have seen some excellent color stones that are unsuitable for recuts to bring out the brilliance. You have to ask yourself whether you want a blob of color or something that would sparkle. Don't be seduced by a good price, but go with something you would want to wear every day.

 

[dearbornpop]

I loved the color as well!! I can’t seem to find a 1-2ct Unheated cushion in that color for my price (<=3000). Is this too good to be true?

The stone appears to have a certificate that confirms that it is Unheated. Here is the video:
https://www.instagram.com/lelapinsaphir/

What do you think?

 

[voce]

I would ask who issued the certificate? Is it a top independent lab such as Gubelin, GRS, Lotus, AGL, AIGS, or GIA? If it's a local no-name lab who's to say the seller couldn't have bribed the person to say whatever they want on the report?

I don't trust that the color in the video is the real life color of the stone, because I could see a strong light source in the reflection at a certain point in the video. Hand shots showing a variety of light sources such as sunlight, shade, incandescent etc would be best.

To give you an idea of how different that sapphire could look, I once bought two gems from Ebay...one a rhodolite garnet and one a red spinel, both of which looked 100% red in pictures. Turns out, the pictures between the tweezers were taken under strong lighting (think floodlights in a laboratory setting), and under realistic room lighting and even under the sun, I only see flashes of red, about 10-20% of the stone, and the rest of the stones would be so overcolored they look DARK and BLACK.

I am NOT impressed by the Etsy listing. It doesn't even list the sapphire's dimensions, nor is there photos of a lab report from a reputable lab. Generally for stones about $2k vendors should offer the option of getting a lab report, or they would put it in the listing if they already have a lab report for the stone. The fact that the seller claims a certificate but does not say what lab issued it kind of makes it worthless.

Here is an example of what I consider to be a good listing. https://www.etsy.com/listing/575791...h_query=blue+sapphire&ref=shop_items_search_7

And @dearbornpop yes, you can find 1-2 ct unheated cushion for <$3k, but they'll have inclusions and won't look very pretty (i.e. not a top sapphire). Or, you can get one that's heated for <$3k, which IS top color and good cut and clarity.