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Unheated sapphire for under 1k

Probee

Probee

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
56
Hello,

Our 15 anniversary is coming up and I’d like to have a price of jewelry made. I’m just poking around and found this 1.98 ct unheated sapphire for under $1k. What are your thoughts on color and cut? Are there better alternatives out there? Thank you in advance.
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Colour looks very pretty, it's a vibrant and saturated blue.
Cut leaves something to be desired with the off-centre culet and the excessive depth, but no windowing. Unclear whether this stone will have half-half shadowing/extinction, you'll have to see it in the N/S orientation for that. But it's likely with these shapes. It's why the video is taken with the stone being held diagonally.
Untreated - great.
Size - respectable, even if most of the weight is in the heavy bottom.

The question is, why so cheap?

Check this one out:

Also unheated, also vibrant blue. Only the price is over 4 times that of the sapphire you're being offered.

So why is that? If such a sapphire can be sold for 4 times the price, why isn't this vendor asking it?

The answer most often is, because the sapphire cannot, in reality, be sold for 4 times the price. Maybe it has inclusions which compromise its stability (so making jewellery with it might end up with a stone smashed to sapphire dust instead). Maybe the colour of the video is manipulated and the sapphire doesn't look like that in real life at all. Or maybe it's not what is represented and it's either treated, not natural, or not sapphire at all.

The general consensus is that if the price is too good to be true, there's usually a reason for it. You just have to find out what that reason is. Sometimes there are treasures and bargain deals out there to be had, but more often than not you're sold something that's not what you wanted to buy.
 
Avondale said:
Colour looks very pretty, it's a vibrant and saturated blue.
Cut leaves something to be desired with the off-centre culet and the excessive depth, but no windowing. Unclear whether this stone will have half-half shadowing/extinction, you'll have to see it in the N/S orientation for that. But it's likely with these shapes. It's why the video is taken with the stone being held diagonally.
Untreated - great.
Size - respectable, even if most of the weight is in the heavy bottom.

The question is, why so cheap?

Check this one out:

Also unheated, also vibrant blue. Only the price is over 4 times that of the sapphire you're being offered.

So why is that? If such a sapphire can be sold for 4 times the price, why isn't this vendor asking it?

The answer most often is, because the sapphire cannot, in reality, be sold for 4 times the price. Maybe it has inclusions which compromise its stability (so making jewellery with it might end up with a stone smashed to sapphire dust instead). Maybe the colour of the video is manipulated and the sapphire doesn't look like that in real life at all. Or maybe it's not what is represented and it's either treated, not natural, or not sapphire at all.

The general consensus is that if the price is too good to be true, there's usually a reason for it. You just have to find out what that reason is. Sometimes there are treasures and bargain deals out there to be had, but more often than not you're sold something that's not what you wanted to buy.
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Agreed. I think there are inclusions on the side (potentially even a crack) being hidden under rhe holder thing
 
Thank you all for chiming in. I’m very grateful for your expertise in this as I have none.

I’m not too concern about it being fake or not sapphire. I’m fairly certain that it’s 100% natural based on the source.

I’m gathering questions to ask for further information. So far I have…

1. Feather/fracture that could compromise the integrity of the stone
2. Straight, face up video
3. Color under different lighting

Will let you know when I hear back.

P.
 
If there’s feather/crack, is it safe to say that if it’s not surface reaching it’s wearable as a ring? Is a stone of this size worth getting a lab report for? If so, GIA report is sufficient?
 
Probee said:
If there’s feather/crack, is it safe to say that if it’s not surface reaching it’s wearable as a ring? Is a stone of this size worth getting a lab report for? If so, GIA report is sufficient?
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There has to be a reason for the price. It's either heavily treated, there's a crack, or it's super dark IRL.
 
lovedogs said:
There has to be a reason for the price. It's either heavily treated, there's a crack, or it's super dark IRL.
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What’s the best way to view the crack so that I may ask for more pictures or video? I was assured there’s no treatment. Is the price really unheard of?
 
I agree with everyone else... I think I'm seeing some clarity issues that are mostly being hidden by clever photography (which is not a slight against the seller, per se, just an observation of something rather typical). I'd also assume the color is not going to be as saturated in person and/or very dark.

P.S. Happy Anniversary!!
Huge%20kiss.gif
 
Rfisher said:
Aside from the clarity and color
Do you know the dimensions?
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I do not. I’ll add it to the list of things to ask for. It possible to ask for recut if everything else checked out.

Is the picture below an example of dark/void on top half? Or is that camera blocking the light? Reflection? I took a picture from instagram and the spot remained when the stone moves about. I’m trying to train my eyes to look for negative attributes.

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Probee said:
Is the price really unheard of?
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Not unheard of, but unusual to be sure. Untreated sapphires do fetch a sizeable premium.

If you're dealing with a vendor close to the source (Sri Lanka, Thailand and the sort), they'll often downplay inclusions. When I last bought a stone from a vendor based in Bangkok, and when I asked about the clarity, I was told the stone was eye clean and only had a small feather. When it arrived, it had a big healed fracture running diagonally across the table. To make matters worse, inclusions are usually far better visible in person than in video and photos, especially when the latter are taken in a way to hide the flaws. So, undisclosed or downplayed fractures, feathers, inclusions and the like are always a risk.

And here's a thread that shows how colour in video can be very deceiving. Often times even if the vendor isn't actively trying to manipulate the images, phone cameras will over-saturate the blues.

Probee said:
Is the picture below an example of dark/void on top half?
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Yes, only this stone also has a sizeable window. Half-half shadowing/extinction is typical for elongated cuts. If you orient the stone in such a way that its shorter side faces a direct light source, the half closer to the light will darken or black out (in case of darker colours). Depending on the stone, it might not be too distracting of a flaw, but you have to see it with your own eyes in order to judge for yourself. If it bothers you to the point where it diminishes your enjoyment from the stone, then you'd obviously want to avoid it whenever possible.
 
Me asking for dimensions is related to what the face up size is.
If it’s really deep, you loose face up size (and maybe not mind clean when thinking one has a 2ct sapphire…..but it looks closer to 1 ct or whatever)
I don’t think this stone is a good candidate for a recut. At all. Reason being - you’ll most likely lose noticeable about of color, and most likely be cutting through not minor inclusions. Risky.

If it’s deep, also, it restricts what mountings it can fit into - and you may need custom fab mount to get it to look right. Custom fab mount adds costs.

Your latest picture shows a massive window (see through) the center, and the blacked out areas along the perimeter are extinction.
 
We have beem searching exhaustively for an oval sapphire under $1000. It's tough but doable with the understanding that something has to give somewhere, whether it's size, color or cut. GemOcean has been mentioned here, and they offered us a gorgeous stone for $1300. They might have room to negotiate, and might have something stunning closer to your budget. But likely in the 1.25-1.5 carat range, not 2 carat.

Check out on Etsy the vendors Sapphire Source, GemsVerge and CrystalGemlk . All three have been used by Pricescopers with positive results. That doesn't mean every stone listed is a winner, still plenty of windows and duds out there, but worth a look :-)

Personally I would prefer a well cut stone with good color over a larger carat weight. Everyone here has been very helpful, you are in the right place for good advice!
 
Thank you for all your kind advice. I’ll ask for video without the tweezer holding the stone, different orientations, and in multiple lighting environments.

Would shining the light behind the stone help look for the feather?
 
Rfisher said:
Me asking for dimensions is related to what the face up size is.
If it’s really deep, you loose face up size (and maybe not mind clean when thinking one has a 2ct sapphire…..but it looks closer to 1 ct or whatever)
I don’t think this stone is a good candidate for a recut. At all. Reason being - you’ll most likely lose noticeable about of color, and most likely be cutting through not minor inclusions. Risky.

If it’s deep, also, it restricts what mountings it can fit into - and you may need custom fab mount to get it to look right. Custom fab mount adds costs.

Your latest picture shows a massive window (see through) the center, and the blacked out areas along the perimeter are extinction.
Click to expand...

Interesting point about loosing color and face up. Of it’s really deep, don’t they just cut the bottom and not lose face up? If they have to cut through the inclusions than it would be significantly smaller? I’m more about good looking stone and less so about the weight. 1.98 ct does seem like they tried to stay close to 2ct.
 
I’m sorry I wasn’t that clear.
Once you know the measurements ~
If it’s deep, you are already are losing face up size. Sometimes it’s fine - sometimes it may not be. Just depends on what parameters you are willing to be forgiving in, for other parameters, for your budget.

You mentioned recutting
I stated my opinion it probably will lose color (by losing mass) and being risky due to inclusions.
 
In life you usually get what you pay for.
When you buy from a reputable and trusted source you can be confident that what you see if what you’ll get and if there’s disappointment once in hand, a fair return policy.
Without a lab certificate how can you be sure it’s unheated?
Without a reputable vendor, how can you be sure it looks lovely in real life?
Without a trusted vendor how can you be sure it is actually a natural sapphire or if it will even turn up?
And without a return policy you will be stuck if it’s not as you hoped.
Proceed with due diligence.
 
jenzgemz said:
We have beem searching exhaustively for an oval sapphire under $1000. It's tough but doable with the understanding that something has to give somewhere, whether it's size, color or cut. GemOcean has been mentioned here, and they offered us a gorgeous stone for $1300. They might have room to negotiate, and might have something stunning closer to your budget. But likely in the 1.25-1.5 carat range, not 2 carat.

Check out on Etsy the vendors Sapphire Source, GemsVerge and CrystalGemlk . All three have been used by Pricescopers with positive results. That doesn't mean every stone listed is a winner, still plenty of windows and duds out there, but worth a look :-)

Personally I would prefer a well cut stone with good color over a larger carat weight. Everyone here has been very helpful, you are in the right place for good advice!
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Thank you. I’ll check them out.
 
Measurement 7.3x6.3x5.3mm. Too deep?
 
Probee said:
And additional video

Video Unavailable

This video is unavailable.
streamable.com streamable.com

What do you think?
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I can't stand it when they move stones around so fast! Anyhow, it doesn't reflect much light, and while it has areas with the beautiful blue, it looks dark- much darker than in your original post.
 
I'm pretty sure there's a crack on the side where his thumb is. Or it's a giant surface reaching feather
 
Also it's super dark. I think this will be a waste of 1k.

Here's the crack/issue I see
Screenshot_20240715_224908_Chrome.jpg
 
Yep! Here it is!

1721109487315.png

This is very likely going to be a lot more visible in person. If, in addition to being an eyesore, it's bad enough to compromise the stability, it could be a real risk due to the location. The corners are usually where you place the prongs and they need to withstand quite a bit of pressure during the setting process. If this part of the stone is weaker due to being heavily included, it's more likely for it to crumble under the bending metal.

We also see the colour in the original video indeed isn't representative. It's likely you won't ever see it that bright and blue with your own eyes. Now, I personally love these darker deeper blues, but the market reality is they are less desirable and thus cost less due to how they darken in low light.

You asked earlier if a GIA report would be good enough. For a sapphire, I believe it would be. If the vendor has offered to send it to GIA, that's a good sign. I expect you would have to cover the fee, but considering the asking price, that's normal.

So, in the end, my main concern would be the inclusions and whether they pose a risk. Second would be the colour - if you're after a brighter blue, this one might disappoint you.

Consider your options. If you buy it, will you have the option to return it if it doesn't meet your expectations when you receive it? If, for whatever reason, it would not be possible (or feasible) to return it and you know you'll be stuck with it after you buy it, consider if you want to risk the 1k.
 
Probee said:
Measurement 7.3x6.3x5.3mm. Too deep?
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Not as small face up as I was thinking it might be.


Having the visible matrix (?) inclusion along with multiple other feathers and fissures would be a no -go for plenty of us, but not all.

If you feel comfortable sending monies to this vendor, the transport, the insurance, the vendor sale/return policies, the risk vs reward - maybe this is the stone for you- if you are going into it with open eyes and realize the vendor’s pictures and video are probably very forgiving on all aspects. Salesperson is sale-ing!
 
Wow good eyes! I know I can trust the kind people on here for knowledge and education. It’s tempting but as someone said settling is never a good thing. I’ll keep looking. At the same time I’m pondering maybe I should do a band with 15 melees (one for each year). Something like this instead.
 

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