Where to buy a natural sapphire in NYC?

[ejbritt052112]

My boyfriend and I are looking into getting a sapphire engagement ring (so excited)! However, no one else we know has purchased a sapphire for that purpose in the New York/Long Island area. I'm aware that you have to be extremely careful with sapphires because less than reputable providers may not disclose all treatments that the stone may have been exposed to.

We're looking for a dark blue natural sapphire (but not inky) that is between 1 and 2 carats and not heat treated (although if it's a beautiful stone at a fair price, heat treatment is ok). We are looking to spend less than $2,500 on the stone itself, and $4,500 or less on the ring in total.

1) Is this doable?

and

2) If so, where should we go? I know that there are some great online retailers but we both generally prefer looking at items we buy in person.

Thanks!

 

[chrono]

Price and quality will vary from vendor to vendor.

They have storefronts and an online presence but are not in NYC
Marc Sarosi - www.africagems.com
Arnold & Rung of AJS Gems - www.ajsgem.com
Joe Escobar - http://www.escobardiamonds.com
Gary Braun of Fine Water Gems - www.finewatergems.com
Andrew Gulij of Gemfix - www.gemfix.com
Dana of Master Cut Gems - www.mastercutgems.com
David Wein of Multicolour Gems - www.multicolour.com
Roger Dery of Spectral Gems - www.spectralgems.net

In NYC
David of Diamonds by Lauren - www.diamondsbylauren.com (mainly fancy coloured diamonds but also coloured gemstones)
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com
Paraiba International www.paraibainternational.com

 

[minousbijoux]

Congratulations! Pretty exciting to be ER shopping.

Here is our list of vendors which you've probably already seen: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/list-of-vendors-for-reference.208782/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/list-of-vendors-for-reference.208782/[/URL]

The vendors that come to mind that are located in NYC are:
Prima (call them to ask if they have sapphires).
NSC (a mixed bag of reviews here, mainly stemming from how they look in their photos/videos vs. how they look in hand which you would circumvent if you went in to see them in hand. Also, someone I respect immensely as a collector, bought a beautiful stone from them and was quite satisfied with the stone and the transaction, so that is enough for me to recommend them to you).
Paraiba International (again, its worth a call to see what they have in sapphire inventory).
Pala Finally, if you have a jeweler you'd like to work with or someone you've worked with in the past or with whom you are comfortable, you can look at Pala's inventory here http://www.palagems.com/php/db_search.php action=gemresults&actionType=easy&Gem_Type=Sapphire&greater_less=&Total_Weight=&inventory_number=&submit=Find+All+Matches and have them sent to your jeweler so that you can look at them in hand. This might also work with another gem vendor to the trade, gem2000.

 

[Arcadian]

is it doable? Maybe. how big of a stone are you looking for?

 

[minousbijoux]

is it doable? Maybe. how big of a stone are you looking for?

Ooh, Arc, so glad you chimed in as I overlooked those questions the OP was asking. I think it will be a serious challenge to come up with a stone in your specs, even if heated, if the stone has strong saturation and is not included. The less saturated, the more inclusions, and the farther away it is from the coveted blue with violet modifier (for example blue with a green modifier), the more likely it will be for you to find something in your price range.

 

[chrono]

is it doable? Maybe. how big of a stone are you looking for?

Between 1 to 2 carats. My guess is that unheated is definitely out. Heated is possible if she's not looking for a medium/med. dark, slightly violetish blue or pure blue with strong to vivid saturation. The closer it is to 1 ct, the stronger the possibility. She won't be able to come close to the 2 ct mark unless she prefers a darker tone, less intense saturation or a green modifier.

 

[Arcadian]

is it doable? Maybe. how big of a stone are you looking for?

Between 1 to 2 carats. My guess is that unheated is definitely out. Heated is possible if she's not looking for a medium/med. dark, slightly violetish blue or pure blue with strong to vivid saturation. The closer it is to 1 ct, the stronger the possibility. She won't be able to come close to the 2 ct mark unless she prefers a darker tone, less intense saturation or a green modifier.

Oh gosh, that was in the OP wasn't it My only excuse is that its Friday....

OP, I think you're going to have to really reassess what you want. Yes you can find a lot of things, but understand that once you remove the possibility of the most common and you may either have to lower some of your other requirements, or really up your budget. Finding an unheated sapphire in the near to ideal or ideal color range of blue that you want will be a needle in a haystack.

Unheated stones can be well over your budget for the entire ring for the size you want. If you're ok with standard heat, it opens a lot of doors to you, and if unheated is out of the budget for what you want, you'll be closer to the budget you want to stay in for heated stones.



Gemfix
http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_blue.html

Africa Gems is having 20% off sale until April 15
http://www.africagems.com/bluesapphire.html

 

[MrsWhitney]

Price and quality will vary from vendor to vendor.

They have storefronts and an online presence but are not in NYC
Marc Sarosi - www.africagems.com
Arnold & Rung of AJS Gems - www.ajsgem.com
Joe Escobar - http://www.escobardiamonds.com
Gary Braun of Fine Water Gems - www.finewatergems.com
Andrew Gulij of Gemfix - www.gemfix.com
Dana of Master Cut Gems - www.mastercutgems.com
David Wein of Multicolour Gems - www.multicolour.com
Roger Dery of Spectral Gems - www.spectralgems.net

In NYC
David of Diamonds by Lauren - www.diamondsbylauren.com (mainly fancy coloured diamonds but also coloured gemstones)
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com
Paraiba International www.paraibainternational.com

I live in NYC, and David of Diamonds by Lauren had some really pretty sapphires- and they can source if needed. Chrono gave you a great list.