Seaglow's Finds

[Seaglow]

Lol I wonder how heavy that'd be in a bangle or as a brooch!

It was so heavy I was thinking paper weight. Lol. But I'm sure Bluegemz can rock it.

 

[Seaglow]

Here's the loot from gem-hunting in Yangon.

First purchase was an unheated blue cushion sapphire ring set in 18k yellow gold with diamond melees. Sapphire at 1.3 carats, peacock blue.

Second is a misty light pink spinel with small inclusions, 3.53 carats, bought at a bargain.

Third is a color-shift untreated sapphire, 5.59 carats, blue in natural light and violet to violetish blue in most artificial light. Cut locally but very bright stone and nice color in all lighting conditions, deep pavilion.

Fourth is a blue gray spinel, 4.04 carats.

Fifth is an untreated transparent light blue star sapphire, 10.31 carats. I cannot capture the stars much but it's got six rays and it is transparent rather than translucent, so the frosted bottom shows the star better, you can see the inclusions under the star in some angles. This is the only sizable highly transparent star I saw.

All stones originating from Mogok.

Special thanks to Burmesedaze for the company! We also went to a high-quality jade store but the prices of most pieces were tens of thousands of dollars so it was for eye candy.

Photos are in natural light and under LED lamp.

 

[Bluegemz]

Really lovely treasures! I particularly like the gentle pink spinel and the color changer sapphire. I really love the mid blue ranges. And the star is quite transparent and lively! How fun this must have been!

 

[Burmesedaze]

Well done!!!
Let's target Bogyoke market next. There are more shops there

 

[Seaglow]

Really lovely treasures! I particularly like the gentle pink spinel and the color changer sapphire. I really love the mid blue ranges. And the star is quite transparent and lively! How fun this must have been!

I also like the mid blue ranges. Apart from having friendlier prices than the more coveted blues, mid blue sapphires usually deepen in color when set! The local market don't like very light and misty stones so the pink spinel was a super deal.

 

[Burmesedaze]

I set my jewellers a challenge. Bigger violet blue stone than yours within the same price range please. Challenge accepted

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Such great purchases Seaglow!

 

[minousbijoux]

What a haul! They are all so different and great, but my faves are your ring, that large blue/violet sapphire, and of course the drop of delicious, but somewhat shy, starryness!

 

[Seaglow]

So overall, I'm very pleased with my haul and the prices which I got them for.

I have been gem hunting as a hobby for more than 20 years and have seen thousands of gemstones. My eye is trained to distinguish between gems and synthetics and stimulants. However, sometimes, you get a miss on the assessment. Whether it is a gem you have not seen (like for example there is a new find that hits the market), or a stimulant you haven't seen.

I always say stick to a stone with a reputable certificate for pricey purchases unless you are seasoned at what you do, because really, to make successful hunts, there's no shortcut but to see a lot of stones.

But even seasoned gem hunters can get a miss, thus prices by dealers who does hunts have a substantial mark up, because the risk taken can be great.

So on my recent Yangon gem hunting trip, I got fantastic deals. I know the usual corundum and spinel inclusions, and the bigger purchases I did, which are the unheated 10.31 carat star sapphire and 5.59 carat violet/blue color shift sapphire carry a local lab report, the most reputable in the area used by locals. This, apart from verifiable unaltered inclusions within the stone makes me certain I got what I purchased.

Here's the catch.....I have doubts about the ring. I like it, checked the stone with a loupe upon purchase,took time with it, but I ignored obvious tell tale signs. Upon checking with gem instruments at home, it turns out that the blue stone is not a sapphire. It's a kyanite. A very, very nice top gem quality kyanite.

I knew when I purchased it that the inclusions were natural and unaltered, and those streaks on the side are typical kyanite, but I ignored it because 1) I haven't seen and wouldn't believe such a kyanite could be so fine (I even checked internet photos, and none held a torch better than my stone), and 2) I was drawn to the stone, it was an emotional purchase and disregarded technicalities.

Upon learning it's kyanite, I researched and read that there are very fine stones mined in Nepal, very few and very rare hardly beyond 2 carats, and they look like Kashmir sapphires. So the stone I got, though not as precious in the market and sold way less than unheated sapphires, is many times rarer than unheated sapphires of the same color, given the quality and Kashmir sapphire look, though I cannot verify the source (I only know such quality from Nepal exists). Thus it is the first time for me to see such quality given my length of experience. Because I haven't seen such stone and given my liking for the very beautiful stone, I made an error in assessment. I guess this is the same when many gem labs, even reputable international labs, made a mistake in concluding some sapphires as Kashmir when in fact they are from Madagascar, as the the stones were of new find and looked very much like Kashmir.

I asked a local lab to confirm it with a brief, and I also had put forward the pink spinel I bought (because it was an unusual unbelievable bargain, though the refractive index is a dead giveaway because spinel is higher than other stones that can be of same color - such as topaz, morganite, kunzite), I wanted a second opinion.

Anyways, given everything, I am happy with the stone, it just requires baby sitting when I wear them. Im fine with the price I paid for the ring, it wasn't a rip off it being kyanite, but it wasn't a steal either. And the next time I go to Yangon, I will let the vendor know (he might not be aware himself of the misrepresentation, but in that case he can also tell his supplier and I will ask for some discount or at least compensation for the misrepresentation).

Again, to correct my previous post, I am presenting my very fine kyanite ring, photo taken by the window under natural daylight, and the results of the brief from the local lab.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Bring the cert for the kyanite when you next come to get your refund back. As well as the receipt. Tsk on him! I will tell him off this weekend when I pass by.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Did he write sapphire ring on the receipt?

 

[Seaglow]

Did he write sapphire ring on the receipt?

Yes he did.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Yes he did.

Good, please bring that along too and tell him it's not a sapphire. My jewellers advised me it's better if you do it yourself.

 

[Seaglow]

Good, please bring that along too and tell him it's not a sapphire. My jewellers advised me it's better if you do it yourself.

The vendor offered to put it in for a lab report but I didn't have the time so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I've encountered many misrepresentations in my hunt. When there is a permanent store or a booth, usually many dealers are honestly unaware. There are times I purposely buy the stone, send it to the lab, and return them to the seller. In such cases, they offer refund or ask me to pick another stone more than or even twice the price of the purchased item then they take the certificate. It helps me clean my supply and the dealer's supply, if they had been had. I'll talk to him on my next visit.

 

[Bluegemz]

This is all so true what you describe. It really happens, regardless of how seasoned we are. I've been looking at gems for most of my life, but I have been fooled when I have been too hopeful, emotional and only see what I want to believe.
The seller sounds as though he too honestly believed it to be sapphire.
Sorry this happened. The bright side is that The kyanite is fine and rare at that level. I don't own any because I've never seen any this fine. Your example makes it worthy of collecting for its beauty. Will you keep it?

 

[Seaglow]

This is all so true what you describe. It really happens, regardless of how seasoned we are. I've been looking at gems for most of my life, but I have been fooled when I have been too hopeful, emotional and only see what I want to believe.
The seller sounds as though he too honestly believed it to be sapphire.
Sorry this happened. The bright side is that The kyanite is fine and rare at that level. I don't own any because I've never seen any this fine. Your example makes it worthy of collecting for its beauty. Will you keep it?

I'll keep it. I actually like it but when I see the seller, I could ask a discount or something. I was drawn to the beauty of the stone, not for the specie type. It would have been great as a sapphire for durability purposes, but a very fine kyanite is a nice collection. It's my only set kyanite jewellery. Would I buy it if I wasn't hopeful and made an initial accurate assessment? I thought about and and yes, I will take it but at a lower price.

 

[Seaglow]

Today I went to Mae Sot, the Thai border town to Myanmar. Lots of overly processed stars and glass-filled materials. There were spinels and some gem stars of saturated purple, blue, and red stars kept by sellers but prices were way too high. So I just got a few pieces, mostly close to mineral specimens rather than gem quality and grabbed some narrow-cut jade, a bracelet and a carved pendant. Jade, I usually do not gamble as there are B jades that are nicely done and it takes sophisticated testing equipment to determine good polymer impregnation, so I only buy jade that costs more than souvenir prices at reputable sources. I can only check the polish to see signs of polymer impregnation and veins for signs of artificial coloring but there are good Type B and Cs in the market. The sellers said their jade are Type A, and to the best of my ability I bought pieces that are affordable but have higher chances to be Type A. The carved pendant I bought is reddish brown in one side and olive green on the other. The brown side is the rind of the stone and the green not a top color, and the green still have black spots, so it has good chances to be untreated. I bought nicely colored green jade rods with decent thickness. Rods/shards have higher chances to be untreated as it is a shape not preferred and often ignored and nicely colored green jadeite occur as narrow veins. Other stuffs I got is a lavender opaque jade bracelet, an 8.54 carats included untreated faint pink sapphire cabochon, 8.45 carats untreated white star sapphire, a parti-colored untreated 6.18 carats sapphire - a nice mineral specimen, some small rough spinels, among others.

 

[Burmesedaze]

I like the jade. Looks like old stock and carving.

 

[Seaglow]

I like the jade. Looks like old stock and carving.

The color is ugly for the the taste of the people in the region so I have no doubt that it's old stock. I find it rustic though in a nice way. The brown side has some transluscency but the green side opaque.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that. If I'm not wrong, the dark part might be the cover of the jade boulder.

 

[Seaglow]

Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that. If I'm not wrong, the dark part might be the cover of the jade boulder.

Definitely the rind of the boulder.

 

[Bluegemz]

I think everything is lovely, but I particularly love the lavender jadeite and the bi colored sapphire, and of course, your white star! So much charm. Any plans for it?

Isn't it wonderful to find something that you love which is considered ugly by others, and therefore you get a good price!
I have a deep green jadeite bangle with a slight oil green cast. It's very translucent but dark. Though it still cost me a few thousand, I was able to negotiate down from 6k and took my time in doing it, because that kind of green is seen as somehow less attractive, and I had the feeling it wouldn't sell in the Asian market too quickly. I was ensmored by it and couldn't understand how others would think of it as less than. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, if the beholder can think for themselves.

 

[Seaglow]

I think everything is lovely, but I particularly love the lavender jadeite and the bi colored sapphire, and of course, your white star! So much charm. Any plans for it?

Isn't it wonderful to find something that you love which is considered ugly by others, and therefore you get a good price!
I have a deep green jadeite bangle with a slight oil green cast. It's very translucent but dark. Though it still cost me a few thousand, I was able to negotiate down from 6k and took my time in doing it, because that kind of green is seen as somehow less attractive, and I had the feeling it wouldn't sell in the Asian market too quickly. I was ensmored by it and couldn't understand how others would think of it as less than. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, if the beholder can think for themselves.

I plan to make it into a ring or as part of by the yard station necklace of large interesting, affordable sapphires. The haul I got are the "undesirables". They are not only a good price, they are give away prices. The region tend to like top color or dark sapphires. The entire haul was below $300. The carving is $30, the peach pink sapphire at $25, and the faint pink 8 carats plus sapphire cab at 8.5 dollars. Most of the budget went to the jade shard/rods. The thing about Mae Sot is it not far from Burmese streams and rivers with alluvial deposits and people pan there for stones. Both sapphires including the white star I got are not in a lot. Just sitting alone from different stalls separate from treated/commercial lots. It's like somebody just went to the stalls and sold them. Lol. They are not even sold by carat. They were sold by stone. The small octahedral crystal red spinels I got at a seller who sells antiques, the entire box plus the slice at $8.5. But the thing about Mae Sot is it is also the closest border to Bangkok, so they easily follow the trends (likes spinel price hike and high price range for fine stones) and they get the simulants and highly treated stones (which is more than 90% of the items sold) so lots of caution needed to shop there but with some gemological knowledge, it can be a fun treasure hunting experience.

 

[Burmesedaze]

I *think* the jade shards, if type A, will cost more than that just by themselves in Yangon. Good bang for buck within the budget.

 

[Seaglow]

I *think* the jade shards, if type A, will cost more than that just by themselves in Yangon. Good bang for buck within the budget.

I'll send them over to the local lab and see if it's Type A.

 

[Bluegemz]

What an adventure to be able to gem hunt in such a place! Now THAT is my idea of fun! Love the idea of a by the yard necklace for interesting and unusual sapphires. They are all very fascinating stones. The green shards are beautifully luminous...that green is a life essence color.

 

[Seaglow]

I *think* the jade shards, if type A, will cost more than that just by themselves in Yangon. Good bang for buck within the budget.

So got the local lab brief and they concluded Type A Jade. The lab said I could make money from the stones. Lol. Better than my market testing in Mandalay Jade Market. Last year, I purchased a cab at the Mandalay jade market from a vendor selling some other rough stones and the cab turned out to be Type B. I didn't really expect much because I only shelled 20 bucks. Lol. So I'd rather buy small rocks at that market and have them carved. They can do it in a day.

 

[Burmesedaze]

Probably us$700-800 as a set for the jade
Great find! I was at the MDY jade market this morning but didn't get anything. Didn't bother going into the market and paying the entrance fee as I didn't have much time. So the perimeter stalls probably had more mediocre stuff. And lots of betel nut stains

 

[Seaglow]

Probably us$700-800 as a set for the jade
Great find! I was at the MDY jade market this morning but didn't get anything. Didn't bother going into the market and paying the entrance fee as I didn't have much time. So the perimeter stalls probably had more mediocre stuff. And lots of betel nut stains

Thanks! There is an entrance fee? I don't remember an entrance fee. Maybe I was taken to a different market? I just took a cab, and said Jade market. I thought there was just one. I went here. Market looks like this, and at the sides some permanent shops, then a few meters, there's a local lab to have your purchases tested.

 

[Bluegemz]

Oh I LOVE those tiny jadeite stones! Oh wow, I'd be captivated by those if I were there. It's great that your jades are A grade.