What is it worth?

[Barrett]

Someone posted this online and wanted to know what it's worth. He says it's a friend of his who thinks it's worth around $3000. Not sure where that number came from he said or what it is based on.
It's a sapphire bead necklace...location unknown, treatments unknown...he says it weighs 45cts.
Do you know a rough estimate on price with this little amount of information provided..LOL????
I told him it would be pertinant to have a lab report if he truly thought it was worth that much.
I said it might be worth around $100-$150 but that is just a rough guess since I don't really look at beads so it may be way off. I was always under the impression most beaded things were done that way because they were substandard or to small to begin with.
Thoughts on a value?

 

[cm366]

Hey Barrett,

Not enough info to be sure, but the Indian shops in Sydney sell "real Sapphire" and "real Ruby" necklaces like this for $40-50 (dyed) or $100-250 for undyed but barely gem-grade, which look an awful lot like this. Don't go for this sort of thing myself, but I'd guess it'd be in that range unless there's something I'm not seeing...?

 

[chrono]

Pricing will vary greatly depending on how clean the beads are, treatment and colour. Even the very finest will be no more than $500. At worst (if dyed), then less than $50. Here is a reference point for a few bead type necklaces:
http://www.mineralminers.com/html/blue-sapphire-jewelry.stm

 

[Barrett]

Thanks Chrono and cm366! Anyone else have some input???

 

[minousbijoux]

At gem shows, from the high end bead dealers, you can buy high end gemstone beads including ruby, emerald and sapphire beads. High clarity, good color typically 16" strands are multiples of hundreds of dollars. Its hard to tell but those beads do look opaque and so not as high quality as the others I've seen. On the other hand, there are more beads or strands in the photo you show. Other factors might be whether the necklace has any kind of metal like gold beads, gold clasp, etc. Does it? It looks like the beads are graduated in size and I would guess based on the size, color and clarity of the beads that the necklace would be somewhere in the $300 to $600 range, depending on the length of the strand.

 

[minousbijoux]

I used to buy a good portion of my beads on ebay, including many fine quality gemstone beads. I just looked now and could find very few blue sapphire strands for sale. That is a real change, as there used to be many vendors selling blue sapphire. Is it the Kate Middleton phenomenon at play again?

 

[chrono]

Possibly - perhaps many are now highly treated to make them more saleable to meet the growing demand for faceted blue sapphires?

 

[Lee Little]

Beads are really not regulated. Cannot imagine 3k for those. Lab test are limited to a 'per bead' basis. It may be worth way more than 3k after the lab test since the seller would have to cover cost. Best regards, Lee