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Small purple sapphire

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IcePhoenix

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 15, 2019
Messages
248
I recently bought a GLC certificated sapphire from eBay. I would love to hear an opinion from others PSers20190429_163812.jpg 20190429_163623.jpg
 
Also it's unheated according to the certificate
 
I don't trust GCL for sapphire treatment but if it is an inexpensive stone, it probably doesn't matter.
 
How much did you pay if I may ask? I agree with Chrono that for an inexpensive stone, treatment doesn’t matter much, if at all.
 
Well, do you like it?
 
I quite like it, around 20$
 
My two cents: either the seller has absolutely no idea of what they sold you (unlikely), or you didn’t buy a sapphire. Or perhaps a beryllium diffused one, which has no real economic value.

But again, at that price you can’t go wrong and as long as you like it, you should be happy with your purchase ;-)
 
The seller is thaigemstore on eBay and he's open about beryllium treated sapphire (I bought one for a few dollars) and the certificate does say it's not heated. Anyone has bad experience with this seller? Also why did you say that?
 
I bought quite a few gemstone from him included a 200$+ one so I really hope I didn't get scammed, that would suck BADLY
 
It could be an inexpensive sapphire, where the color is not very saturated. It could be synthetic as well. There are many overseas dealers that charge very little for gems that we are used to paying a great deal more for. They get them in large lots and sell them each off one by one by one. There are occasional great deals to be had, but it takes a good eye to spot the scams, and the genuine deals. Unfortunately, there are quite more of the former, especially these days.

I heard of thaigemstore, he’s been on eBay forever. I never purchased anything from him that I can remember. My favorite eBay store was Tan and Odysseygem, but he’s no longer around. I hope he’s doing well.
 
T L said:
It could be an inexpensive sapphire, where the color is not very saturated. It could be synthetic as well. There are many overseas dealers that charge very little for gems that we are used to paying a great deal more for. They get them in large lots and sell them each off one by one by one. There are occasional great deals to be had, but it takes a good eye to spot the scams, and the genuine deals. Unfortunately, there are quite more of the former, especially these days.

I heard of thaigemstore, he’s been on eBay forever. I never purchased anything from him that I can remember. My favorite eBay store was Tan and Odysseygem, but he’s no longer around. I hope he’s doing well.
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The certificate doesn't give me any guarantee of a genuine stone?
 
IcePhoenix said:
The seller is thaigemstore on eBay and he's open about beryllium treated sapphire (I bought one for a few dollars) and the certificate does say it's not heated. Anyone has bad experience with this seller? Also why did you say that?
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For no other reason than the price
 
VividRed said:
For no other reason than the price
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Ok, I understand but he has a very good feedback (99.9% if I'm not mistaken), I have a certificate, although very cheap and basic (he offers AIGS and GIA certificates as well) and hasn't been elusive communication-wise. I asked for the value of various gemstone I bought and most of the time it was 15-30 $ more of what I paid. So nothing of extraordinary value. 2 star sapphires were kind of the exception but I don't know if I should believe his own estimates
 
I bought some unheated natural rubies (no in-filling) from this eBay store, knowing that they were VERY small and a bit included, with slight pinkish tones. So I knew when I was buying them that they weren't worth anywhere close to thousands of dollars. My local jeweler does great work and is also a lapidary, so I had him take a look before setting them (as small stud earrings for my second ear piercings) and he said they looked decent (i.e. natural).

But again I want to stress that I purchased these for a small project, knowing what they were, and did not have wildly high expectations of amazing quality. Knowing what I did, and watching the video of the stones provided on eBay helped a lot, but I had an idea of what I was expecting, and was pleasantly surprised when they arrived in the mail and looked good enough for earrings. For a bigger purchase, I have relied on American sellers/intermediaries/lapidaries only.
 
I really don't know what to do now, especially with the parcel of the stone of 200$+ + a couple of tourmalines, a dark purple spinel and a rhodolite
 
eBay is pretty good about backing up people that don’t get refunds. Thaigemstore has been on eBay forever, so they will refund most probably, otherwise eBay would have locked out their company ID.
 
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mdi said:
I bought some unheated natural rubies (no in-filling) from this eBay store, knowing that they were VERY small and a bit included, with slight pinkish tones. So I knew when I was buying them that they weren't worth anywhere close to thousands of dollars. My local jeweler does great work and is also a lapidary, so I had him take a look before setting them (as small stud earrings for my second ear piercings) and he said they looked decent (i.e. natural).

But again I want to stress that I purchased these for a small project, knowing what they were, and did not have wildly high expectations of amazing quality. Knowing what I did, and watching the video of the stones provided on eBay helped a lot, but I had an idea of what I was expecting, and was pleasantly surprised when they arrived in the mail and looked good enough for earrings. For a bigger purchase, I have relied on American sellers/intermediaries/lapidaries only.
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Same, I don't expect the highest quality, just some real stones with truthful pictures and their treatment properly disclosed to start my little collection. You see I'm young, I don't have a lot of disposable income (or an income in general :lol: excluding monetary gifts) so even if I wanted I couldn't buy 500$+ stones, the 200$ one is definitely a splurge, a one of a time thing since I have not seen other many similar stones
 
IcePhoenix said:
Ok, I understand but he has a very good feedback (99.9% if I'm not mistaken), I have a certificate, although very cheap and basic (he offers AIGS and GIA certificates as well) and hasn't been elusive communication-wise. I asked for the value of various gemstone I bought and most of the time it was 15-30 $ more of what I paid. So nothing of extraordinary value. 2 star sapphires were kind of the exception but I don't know if I should believe his own estimates
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Don’t mind my comment too much. At that price, if you like the stone, buy it :)
 
There is a definite learning curve to buying gems. We've all been beginners! Next time you find something, let us have a look before you purchase it. It will help with your education, plus it's reassuring.

What are your plans for the gems you purchased?
 
MrsKMB said:
There is a definite learning curve to buying gems. We've all been beginners! Next time you find something, let us have a look before you purchase it. It will help with your education, plus it's reassuring.

What are your plans for the gems you purchased?
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For now I really don't know, perhaps something with the star sapphires, but I will post them in the appropriate thread when they arrive (same seller)
 
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