This is a sapphire ring I have which I call the 'Big Blue'. It is a 4.6 carat round Ceylonese sapphire.
I have a friend who specialized in selling coloured gems, especially ruby, sapphires and emeralds. I get to 'play' with them all the time although I have to be careful all the time when I almost dropped a case full of emerald cut blue sapphires on the floor (each around 4-5 carat). I would need to sell my grandchildren to slavery to pay for the disaster.
One day, while I was 'playing' with the gemstones, I found this round sapphire and fell in love with it. It is an imperfect beauty. I always thought I could not deal with imperfect sapphires but this imperfect beauty captures my heart. I treat the inclusions (which is just a lighter blue which just makes the sapphire sparkles) as unique ID and I would recognize this sapphire anywhere. It was love at first sight -- it is big and round and I am really amazed to find a 4ct plus round sapphire. I love the shade of blue and that little part where the colour is slightly lighter actually made the stone more brilliant. As for the flaws -- they are not really bothersome and I swear that they actually added depth to the stone and made me really look at the stone to see the 'flaws', I admit that when I am bored I actually take out the ring and examine the flaws - ok, I know I am weird. My friend do sell flawless but heated stones -- beautiful colours but all-so-perfect and uniformed. I was in love with the stone -- so when I was told it was unheated, I literally grabbed my credit card and shoved it to my friend's face. I could accept the flaws if the stone is unheated but would not be so forgiving if the stone is heated as I have seen so many heated and flawless sapphires. Ahhhh....I am spoilt by my friend who allows to play with her gemstones.
The Big Blue has kicked up quite a big controvery. My friend who sold me this sapphire said it is an unheated sapphire and sold me at a friendship price - at cost price. She had this stone languishing in the safe for over 20 years before it sees daylight and I happened to be the first person to see this sapphire.
As I am renewing my home insurance, I wanted to get this ring appraised. I went to one fairly well known appraiser and the appraisal stated that the stone has 'evidence of heat treatment with minor residues in fissures'. The appraisal stated that the result reported were vased on binocular magnification with achromatic and apalanatic lens, refractometer, prism spectroscope, ultraviolet light, millimeter gauage, metric diamond balance.
I was puzzled and upset at the appraisal. As my friend's place was just a few streets away from the appraisal, I showed him the appraisal and promptly ignited world war 3. He had a rather heated confrontation with the appraisor over the phone asking several pointed questions. My friend also told me that he had the stone for 20 years and was from a trusted supplier who supplied him for over 20 years. The ring was then sent to another well known appriaser for a second opinion and was told that the stone was unheated. My friend said that his reputation is at stake while the 1st appraisor said that it was his 'personal opinion that it was heated and he had over 20 years of experience'. Later, a 3rd appraisor was roped in.
To tell the truth at that point of time, I was really more puzzled than upset. I thought that the experts with so many equipment should be able to tell the stone whether it is heated or unheated at one glance. The combined expertise of everyone comes up to 100 years and no one could answer whether the stone is unheated or not? And I am getting bemused when everyone started to 'stake their reputation' and the most unsightly war between the appraisers started when they got 'personal' with their insults. There are so many technical terms flying around and I could not understand them except most of them end with -ion.
I was told to send my Big Blue to GIA or AGTL to 'settle the matter'. After thinking through, and to the disappointment of many, I decide to leave the stone a 'mystery' and let the heir to figure out 'the truth'. At least, there are 2 things the appraisers agree - it is a 'real' and not a synthetic sappgire and it is a Ceylonese sapphire. And.....as everyone said, it is really a beautiful sapphire and a very flashy one as no one can ignore this sapphire when I wear the ring.
I am sorry that this is the best photo I have of the Big Blue. The blue is consistent similar to the shade at the bottom half of the stone. I am really thinking of re-setting this sapphire with a tiny, tiny halo. Well, maybe at a later date
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