Sapphire
Sapphire
Color: Dark Grey
Clarity: Opaque
Origin: Tanzania
Cut: Oval Cabochon
Treatments: None
Measurements: 28.6 x 26 mm
A massive and quite imposing Grey Sapphire Cabochon from Tanzania. A fantastic fixed star or Trapiche pattern is front and center in this one, the gem has a lovely metallic sheen and the ‘star’ is very dynamic with a little movement. Really a gorgeous thing and the only one we have yet seen. Moreover, the reverse has a faceted bezel and polished base so you can follow the pattern to the reverse. Huge and fun piece.
$9 / carat - $707 total
Color: Medium Dark Very Slightly Purplish-Pink
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Sri Lanka
Cut: Oval Brilliant
Treatments: Low Temp Heat
Measurements: mm
An outstanding Sapphire, completely loupe clean and dazzling in-hand. The cutting is excellent and the size and shape are perfect for jewelry. All of these before mentioning the exceptional color - a fine medium dark pink with a light but distinct purplish modifier. Exceptionally bright, zero asymmetries and a perfect tone. A fine gem that simply couldn’t be any better. With AGL Prestige Report stating natural and low temp heat only.
$1250 / carat - $2687 total
Color: Medium Dark Very Slightly Greenish-Blue
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Sri Lanka
Cut: Round Portuguese
Treatments: None
Measurements: 6 mm
A fine and lovely blue gem; just perceptible is a little greenish modifier that gives the stone a very attractive teal highlight. Superbly cut and entirely clean, such Sri Lankan stones are increasingly difficult to source. A round with a great deal of brilliance - an absolute beauty.
$395 / carat - $568 total
Color: Medium Very Slightly Orangish-Pink
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Sri Lanka
Cut: Oval
Treatments: Low Temp Heat
Measurements: 7 x 4.6 mm
An outstanding Sapphire, completely loupe clean and bright. The cutting is excellent and the size and shape are perfect for jewelry. All of these before mentioning the exceptional color - a fine medium pink with a light but distinct orangish modifier. Certainly not anywhere near the padparadscha designation, but a lovely hint of orange nonetheless - we love this hue and don’t think the stone could be any better. With AGL Sapphire Brief stating natural and low temp heating only.
$450 / carat - $495 total
Color: Medium Dark Purple
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Sri Lanka
Cut: Oval Mixed
Treatments: None
Measurements: 7.7 x 6.2 mm
Simply a gorgeous stone - cutting, color and clarity are all just what you would hope. Special mention of course is the color, a deep and saturated color that is not common and very difficult to source in unheated gems. Classic Sri Lankan cutting, but done quite nicely with no windowing or asymmetries of any kind. Simply a great color, excellent in all lighting. One of our favorite shades of purple.
$495 / carat - $826 total
Color: Medium Dark Purple
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Nivitgala, Sri Lanka
Cut: Cushion Mixed
Treatments: None
Measurements: 7.9 x 4.7 mm
Simply a gorgeous stone - cutting, color and clarity are all just what you would hope. Special mention of course is the color, a deep and saturated color that is not common and very difficult to source in unheated gems; a very intense purple that is beguiling. Beautiful cutting, done quite nicely with no windowing or asymmetries of any kind - a very fine polish as well. Superb clarity and very useable size, these unheated stones continue to rise in cost. One of our favorite shades of purple.
$395 / carat - $533 total
Color: Medium Very Slightly Yellowish Green
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Chomoio, Mozambique
Cut: Pear Brilliant
Treatments: None
Measurements: 7.2 x 5.1 mm
From the new deposit in Mozambique comes this very special and simply beautiful green Sapphire. The find typically has been giving us yellows, ‘brick’ red and some bronze colors, but we have occasionally seen some small greens that are unique in their light tone and relative lack of brownish modifiers. We had only seen some smaller greens before this outstanding 1 carat green presented itself; a real beauty that is entirely clean and cut as a gorgeous pear brilliant. The color is so pleasant, a rare quality for green Sapphire to say the least.
$495 / carat - $524 total
Color: Medium Pink / Dark Blue
Clarity: Translucent
Origin: Winza, Tanzania
Cut: Polished Slice
Treatments: None
Measurements: 14.3 x 13 x 2 mm
It certainly doesn’t get much weirder than this. And yes, of course, this is absolutely not a trapiche in the true gemological sense but given that everything with a hint of a fixed star-like pattern is now given this descriptor we simply couldn’t resist. Winza stones are known for extreme zoning and there are many pink-red gems with blue streaks and globs, even the occasional very nice bi-color that could be called a divided Ruby/Sapphire gem. But we have never seen this one before! The dark blue color zones are arranged as a three arm stellate pattern in what looks for all the world like a ruby that has a blue sapphire trapiche. It’s quite likely that we are seeing the product of a once in a million random chance of color zoning here. Moreover, this is the only serious blue in the slice aside from the border, so it looks great. Bit of roughness around the edges, but nothing beyond that. Amazing!
$245 / carat - $1337 total
Color: Medium Dark Blue / Pink-Purple
Clarity: Slightly Included
Origin: Winza, Tanzania
Cut: Custom Shield Step
Treatments: None
Measurements: 6 x 3.8 mm
Though not terribly large, this has to be one of the more successful examples of a close-to-ideal Winza Sapphire. With a perfect blue on the top and a distinct purple-pink on the bottom, this approaches the famous ‘Ruby/Sapphire’ combination that is the stuff of Tanzanian legend. The vast majority of these have inky, over-dark blues with spotty reddish zones, rarely are they so well demarcated. Add to that a fine, and much above the norm, custom cut and you have a lovely example of a famous find.
$245 total
Color: Medium Dark Very Slightly Brownish Pinkish-Purple
Clarity: Eye Clean to Slightly Included (Schiller)
Origin: Umba Valley, Tanzania
Cut: Cushion
Treatments: None
Measurements: 10 x 8.3 mm
A magnificent Umba Sapphire. We were initially drawn to the somewhat unusual and stunning color - a varied mix of hues that gives the gem an overall plum color. The size is superb at well over 5 carats and the cutting is unassailable. We took the liberty of having a full AGL Prestige Report done for this one, certifying that is it entirely natural and unheated.
All this before we discuss the delightful little surprise that this stone hold. At a very precise angle, the undissolved short needles of rutile with flash a wonderful iridescence across the table of the stone. The effect if otherworldly to say the least. And, it is just subtle enough to allow it to be undetectable otherwise. There are no eye-visible inclusions that are responsible, it is simply natural Sapphire at its finest and most beguiling. Outstanding gem and certainly one of a kind.
$895 / carat - $4770 total
Color: Medium Purplish-Pink
Clarity: Transparent
Origin: Sri Lanka
Cut: Oval Cabochon
Treatments: None
Measurements: 6.5 x 6.1 mm
A fine size and a very strong and mobile star in this one - the color is primarily pink with a purplish modifier. There are a few visible included crystals that actually delight under 10x, they quite fascinating. A very pleasant stone and hard to beat at the price point.
$265 / carat - $352 total
Color: Medium Pinkish-Purple
Clarity: Transparent
Origin: Balangoda, Sri Lanka
Cut: Oval Cabochon
Treatments: None
Measurements: 8.9 x 7.8 mm
Strong color zoning is not generally seen as something to feature in Sapphire - either in traditionally faceted pieces or in cabs. Before we even address that asterism on this one, we were attracted to the very interesting and distinct way the hexagonal ‘core’ of the gem is both centered and considerably lighter than the rest of the gem. This makes for a rather aesthetic and interesting cab in which the framed growth pattern is a large part of the appeal - particularly to us gemologists. But then, to have the gem be a star stone in addition makes the effect even more impressive; a very strong and mobile star can be centered directly above the zoning pattern - an impressive and rather rare presentation. We generally don’t see such nice and well formed stars on dramatically zoned pieces like this. Far from a traditional stone in the market, we find this level of individuality makes the stone interesting and attractive.
$195 / carat - $881 total
Color: Medium Dark Green
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Alluvial Deposits, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France
Cut: Hexagonal step
Treatments: None
Measurements: 3.8 x 3.4 mm
A very fine gem from a special locality. French Sapphires are storied gems indeed, for true connoisseurs the connotation holds something akin to Yogo Gulch, though in reality the French stones are infinitely rarer. Known since the medieval period, they continue to be avidly sought after. This lovely and pleasing mid-tone green color makes for a very lovely and quite approachable example. A clean and brilliant stone from this historic locale with absolutely nothing to detract.
$375 total
Color: Medium Dark Slightly Bluish Yellow-Green
Clarity: Slightly Included
Origin: Missouri River, Montana
Cut: Custom Oval
Treatments: Heat
Measurements: 9.5 x 6.5 mm
A classic Montana Sapphire in a superb size and with a great presence. The color is a classic Montana mix of yellow-green with a slightly bluish modifier. There are no real eye distracting inclusions, however there is a bit of haze in the center. Also very indicative of the locale, it is not an unattractive effect as there is just a softening of the brillance - without sounding too poetic it has something of the effect of a distant rain shower. The quality of the cutting (and absolute precision US job) and overall size more than compenstate up for this - at nearly 3 1/2 carats, this is a huge Montana. Precision cut stones of this size are tougher and tougher by the year to locate and continue to appreciate in cost.
$550 / carat - $1875 total
Color: Medium Dark Slightly Violetish-Blue
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Alluvial Deposits, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France
Cut: Cushion Brilliant
Treatments: None
Measurements: 4.5 x 4 mm
A very fine gem from a special locality. French Sapphires are storied gems indeed, for true connoisseurs the connotation holds something akin to Yogo Gulch, though in reality the French stones are infinitely rarer. Known since the medieval period, they continue to be avidly sought after. As these come in array of hues, this particular stone has the added advantage of being a really lovely classic blue. Fairly sizable and very fine color from this historic locale.
$695 total
Color: Light Pinkish-Purple / Orange-Yellow
Clarity: Eye Clean
Origin: Nivitigala, Sri Lanka
Cut: Cushion
Treatments: None
Measurements: 6.1 x 5.5 mm
A very non-typical example of a fine bi-color Sapphire. Rather than a clean demarcation of colors, the type of bi-color most often associated with rectangular cuts, this stone has a purplish-pink surrounding a light orange center. The resulting cushion is a very special stone indeed - the mix of color face-up will most certainly grab the attention and demand a double-take. Gorgeous stone in all regards - cutting, color and clarity are all just what you would hope and just so unusual.
$495 / carat - $663 total
Color: Medium Pink
Clarity: Slightly Included
Origin: An Phu, Vietnam
Cut: Oval Mixed
Treatments: None
Measurements: 7.5 x 7.9 mm
When these were initially brought to market about a year ago, we admit to being skeptical. Was this an attractive phenomenon or simply a hazy stone? After seeing a number of these in the last months, we have decided that indeed, yes, it can be quite lovely. The problem is the widely varying nature of the material; many of the stones are plagued with multiply other inclusions or are fractured, zoned, or simply too opaque. There are, however, a small percentage of these in which the sleepy nature of very light silk, in combination with a nice bodycolor. can make for a gem with an enchanting, ethereal effect.
We will be looking at these extremely carefully to find stones such as this one - lovely, very bright color with a consistent and light to medium amount of silk giving it the ‘opalescent’ effect. One of the crucial factors is that the stone retains a fantastic level of brilliance as well - again, exactly what we see here. Very fine example and rare as such.
A rare and magnificent stone. While asterism in Sapphire is quite common, true chatoyancy is almost impossibly rare. Of the few stones you are likely to find sold as such, nearly all will simply be mis-oriented stars. That is to say, if you cab a star sapphire with the star at the girdle, then across the face will be one ‘leg’ of the star and the appearance will be akin to a cat’s eye. These are always betrayed by simply looking for the other legs under a strong light - you will find them.
Such trickery is not at all the case here. A true, fine eye rolls nicely across the surface of this lovely slightly orangish-pink gem. There are no coarse needles or tubes and the gem is entirely translucent to near transparent. Absolutely a museum grade stone; a true cat’s eye Sapphire of significant size and and, to top it off, such an intense and bright color. With a GIA Notable Gem Certificate.