Who are the Best Precision Cut Colored Gemstones - Online Vendors?

[Irving]

Hello there!

I've done my research on round brilliant diamonds but would like to do some comparisons for gemstones, so thought I'd ask here.

I have tried searching the forums, I have read the sticky on 'new to buying a coloured gemstone', and I've read the list of online vendors for colored gemstones on this forum. Now I have the following questions:

1) If I'm the type of person who "settles for perfection" and I'm very very keen on finding a precision cut gemstone (most likely sapphire, but I may change my mind), who are some of the best cutters for colored gemstones? Take the example of round diamonds, we've got the Victor Canera CIH, the Black by Brian Gavin, the WhiteFlash ACA, and so on. How about the colored gemstone equivalent name brands for the cream-of-the crop precision cutters, who also sell quality gems online?

2) I've looked at the list of recommended vendors on this forum but can't really narrow them down for having precision cuts and having a lab report from a reputable lab (like AGL). I know a few names have been floated around: Jeff White, Gemfix, WildFishGems, but I can't seem to find one that seems unanimously excellent (both precision cut AND comes with an AGL lab report). For example:

Jeff White seems highly regarded here, but looking at his available supply page, there aren't many pics, they're small pics, no videos, and there are no lab reports attached. Is he really a trustworthy online vendor?

For Gemfix, they say a lot of the stones are cut by Andrew, does that mean they're precision cut (does Andrew only do precision cuts)? Also there's no easy way to search for stones that have the AGL lab reports. Would you say this is a good vendor to buy from?

WildFishGems have gotten mixed reviews here, although I do see that they have a section on precision cut stones. Again, no easy way to sort stones with reports - you'd have to click on each stone and see if there's a lab report attached, and see which lab it's from.

I've heard good things about Escobar Diamonds, but they don't have an online inventory to browse, except for the preset jewelry, with no lab reports or pics of the unmounted colored gemstone. As strange as this may be, I'd prefer buying online rather than traveling from store to store and talking to salespeople.

In short, I'm hoping to use the wisdom of the crowd here to help me find a reputable, excellent vendor online that sells precision cut quality gems with a reputable lab report, like AGL. Please let me know if there are any vendors that I might've overlooked. I would like to avoid the brick and mortar stores. As for price range, a few thousand dollars would be the sweet spot. 1.5 - 2 carat would be great (using round diamond sizing just for ballpark sizing, even though I know this differs for gemstones). If I'm unrealistic about pricing, please let me know.

Thanks all in advance! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Indylady]

Gems are more about color than cutting, so I wouldn't worry too too much about a 'total precision' cut--I think any precision cut is usually pretty good/good enough. Jeff White is great, so is Gene at Precision Gem and Barry Bridgestock--those are my faves. I think a lot don't come with AGL or other cert's because consumers/customers probably don't want to pay a markup that includes the cost of those reports, though you can get it certified on your own or I'm sure some/many vendors would send it out for you at your cost.

 

[qubitasaurus]

There are many factors to optimize over with coloured stones. The rough may be in an odd shape (implying that you will lose a lot of weight if you insist on cutting to certain specific angles). Or colour saturation may be unevenly distributed in the rough (such that you actually end up with better colour if you retain more weight in the pavillion or leave a lot of depth in the stone, even though this will make the cut subideal).

A great lapidary (including the ones you mentioned) will cut to optimize the trade off between these parameters. So not everything they have in inventory will meet what you are looking for.
If you specifically require to max out some quality like 'cut', then I would say you need to write to them and let them help you. The rest of us just want the best colour possible (with only minor issues with the cutting). So if you don't spell out what you are looking for then they are going to assume you are also interested in making sure the colour 'pops' above all else.

Try Gems by Nomads and Meyer and Watt. They have nice inventories, and can probably help you max out as many parameters as possible -- however they are not cheap, understandably because maximizing all the above simultaneously is rare.

 

[icy_jade]

If you are looking for the best out there, you may like to check out the annual AGTA award winners. Not all sell to consumers (I think), but the stones I’ve seen from those who do are amazing. There are a few repeated names that you can check out e.g John Dyer, Christopher Wolfsberg and Dalan Hargrave.

 

[dk168]

Jeff White and Jeff Davies are my go-to vendors.

JW is more for custom work, and I have never requested for any of my stones to be certified. However I believe he can and will arrange for certification at extra cost if requested.

He has a vast inventory of roughs, and he is always busy with commission work.

He has loads of photos to upload to his site, however, it's not an activity high on his list of priorities.

I would advise you to contact him by email with your requirements, and ask if he has anything suitable, and go from there.

For my first CS for him, I picked out colours that I like from his gem galleries, provided him a rough size guide, and he returned suggesting a suitable stone.

We agreed on the price and payment plan, and months later, I have my first JW custom piece, a 9mm+ Rubellite (still unset).

His cutting is supherb, and can stand up to scrutiny under 20x magnification.

JD is more for the less expensive stones, however his more expensive offerings usually has certification included in the price.

For me, communication is key, and I find both gentlemen easy to deal with, especially JW - I guess we built up a rapport after 5+ projects.

DK

 

[Arcadian]

So basically you don't care about color you care about cut.

Because I will tell you this; precision cut stones is not always about perfect color. I've seen my fair share of precision cut stones that were ghastly color wise.

here its about the color. the cut even if "natively cut" can bring out the color. And even highly regarded precision colored stone cutters will leave a stone alone cut is good and the color is jaw dropping. why cut away that type of color? no need.

This isn't diamonds down here where there are tiny tolerances and, where you got plots and so on on reports. Gemstone reports very seldom come with such things. Gems are about color, about species, about inclusions, about treatments, about zoning, about origin.

Basically a pigeon blood red ruby can get top billing at a lab without a precision cut.

We can help you on color, we can help you on secondaries, we can even help evaluate if a stone is too dark or not. we can even help on cut (some of us dig that type of thing) but perfection? thats a very broad definition.

I urge you to do some reading down here.

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

I think you’ll find that the less expensive colored gemstones don’t have a certificate attached, necessarily. But a reputable vendor should allow you to return the stone if a certificate you acquire shows any problems. You have several choices on which lab to use and what level of inquiry, and the certificates can run up a pretty penny. Depending on the stone and what you need to know, the defining characteristics may be pretty observable just with a basic loupe.

You might check out Gene at Precision Gem, Gary at Finewater, and Jeff at Earth’s Treasury. Have fun in your colored stone discoveries!

 

[shinyrocks]

I'll second the recommendation for Jeff White. He is my fave by far (and he is an AGTA award winner as well, so he's recognized as one of the best in the biz). One thing to know about Jeff is that almost all of his business is commissioned (or cut to order). While he has a few stones on his site, he tells me that he maintains thousands of pieces of rough in his inventory for cutting.

On the whole certification thing: most vendors don't send their stones out for certification unless requested. It is expensive, takes quite a while, and usually isn't necessary. However, I have found Jeff (and others) more than willing to send a stone out for certification if desired. There is usually an additional fee though.

 

[Irving]

Hi all! Thank you for your response! I didn't mean that I don't care about color. I meant that I wanted both supreme color and precision cut. That's good to hear about Jeff White's extensive unlisted inventory. I'll reach out to him and check out the others that people have mentioned here

 

[chrono]

Most of the very best coloured genstones aren’t precision cut for too many reasons to list. Is there a particular gem type and colour you have in mind?

 

[Arcadian]

Hi all! Thank you for your response! I didn't mean that I don't care about color. I meant that I wanted both supreme color and precision cut. That's good to hear about Jeff White's extensive unlisted inventory. I'll reach out to him and check out the others that people have mentioned here

Define "supreme color".

There's reasons why I ask you to define this, because its subjective.

You can go for industry ideal color or you go for your favorite color which might not be industry ideal. And to be fair, industry ideal = $$$ if you have it to spend great, but hopefully you actually enjoy the color too!

There's lots of industry ideal colors for some stone species that are far from my favorite color. Its best for you to understand those differences and know what your own personal tolerances are.

I'd take a look at this thread which is intersperced with great color and precision cut stones. Not all of them are industry ideal color might be helpful info for you to read nontheless.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/somebodys-gotta-buy-this-stone.177156/

 

[ShinyPink]

I have stones from several of the vendors previously mentioned. I go to them and look at the color. Some cuts aren't my favorites, but I look at color. For example, I'm not a fan of oval shapes, but Jeff White had a gorgeous yellow beryl I couldn't resist. Gene at Precision is wonderful, as is Gary at Finewater. Gary does have lab reports for sapphires and some others. Also, I'll buy from some cutters on Instagram, if I love the color and the cut, precision or not.

There's so much out there! Take your time and enjoy the hunt.

 

[dk168]

As already mentioned by the others, colour is very subjective, therefore it makes sense to have an idea of the colours that one likes or dislikes to start with when shopping for CS.

For example, I like my Aquas pale with a green modifier. I asked JW to look out for one for me, and he said he has a rough in hand that may suit. He described it to me, we agreed on the cut, price and payment plan. A few months later, I had a gorgeous Aqua in hand.

As for cut, that is personal preference too. I am not keen on checkerboard cut, no matter how great the colour of the stone.
For paler stones, I favour step cuts.

For the Aqua mentioned above, I left the cut to JW to decide, and he advised EC would be the most appropriate.

My recent project with him (my latest was a synthetic and not allowed to be discussed in here), an Imperial Topaz, I saw a pic of 2 parcels of roughs on his FB page, and contacted him about availability.

The colour spec was pale pink, no orange or brown.

He picked out one of larger roughs for me, and kept it until I have completely paid for it. It took months and it is my most expensive CS with him to date.

When he was ready to cut, I was given the option to cut for colour or for size. Originally, I opted for size. Good job he asked as I changed my mind and opted for colour instead. Again I left the cut to him, and he advised EC which was music to my ears!

And the finished stone is gorgeous in the pic he sent me.

Certification was never mentioned or discussed.

For examples of different cuts, I found JW's gem galleries very useful.

Doug Menadue of Bespoke Gems also has a very informative section on different cuts.

I would advise the OP to browse their websites for a better appreciation of different cuts if you have not already done so.

If one favours concave cuts, then have a look at Richard Homer's offerings.

I can only purchase significant CS or other jewellery by paying in instalments, and JW is very understanding in that respect. He would agree for payments to be spread over more than 3 months - my Imperial Topaz is nearly a year!

I could be seen as being bias about JW, however, for me personally, I cannot fault his customer services. And we have already started discussing my next project - a medium blue 8mm+ Sapphire in Asscher cut.

DK

 

[Acinom]

Exciting new sapphire project @dk168

Jeff White is indeed great to work with. His cutting is superb.

I also love working with Gene from Precision Gem and Doug Menadue from Bespoke Gems. Gene’s stones are all about maximum saturation.
Jeff Davies is really nice for less expensive gems.
I have newer worked with Richard Homer. His concave cutting is amazing. @dk168 has a beautiful amethyst from him.

I guess these cutters are willing to provide a certificate, but I have never asked for one. For me it’s all about colour and a cut that brings out that colour and no window.

You could contact the cutters to discuss what rough and cut gems they have in there inventory. You could do a custom cut project, but that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

 

[Irving]

Thanks again for all the helpful responses.

As for color, I was open to possibilities (whatever looked nice, since I wasn’t settled on a particular type of stone yet). But if I had to say one off of the top of my head, I quite like the color of padparadasha. As for what particular color, I like the color linked in Pala’s educational page. I like the “typical” color of aquamarine (the color you’d see if you went on Amazon and typed in aquamarine ring). For other blue rings, I think I saw some light colored sapphires, maybe on Gemfix where I quite liked the colors. I’m open to any other light pink, light blue colored stones.

As for shape, I like round and ovals.

I’ve been looking on Precision Gems, Finewater, and JL White’s page, I’m looking forward to his next Gem Scoop. Anyone know how often they come out? Finewater appears to have the biggest selection of the 3 I’ve named. I love Jeff’s payment plan option mentioned above

 

[dk168]

Gem Scoop is irregular in that JW sends one out whenever he can find time to cut a few stones not for commission work.

He also has a separate maildrop for higher end stones and that is even more irregular I think.

As for his payment plan, the norm is for the payments to start and finish in the same calendar year. To be allowed to spread into another year is a privilege and not the norm.

DK

 

[Irving]

Gem Scoop is irregular in that JW sends one out whenever he can find time to cut a few stones not for commission work.

He also has a separate maildrop for higher end stones and that is even more irregular I think.

As for his payment plan, the norm is for the payments to start and finish in the same calendar year. To be allowed to spread into another year is a privilege and not the norm.

DK

That's good to know. I just reached out to Jeff, hope he replies soon and won't hold my breath for the next Gem Scoop. Same calendar year is still pretty good