Can anyone let me know if these appear to be sapphire?
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Perhaps lab created sapphires
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Hi Rebecca!
Well, your stones could be sapphire, but unfortunately I don’t think anyone can tell you for sure from a photograph. The colors are beautiful and they do look quite a bit like the multi-colored sapphire parcels I’ve seen in numerous venues over the years, but without further examination the best I can give you is a “maybe!” I see you’re a Pro Member here. I’m almost finished with IGS’ certification program myself and, even though I’ll probably never work as a gemologist with that credential alone (somebody correct me if I’m wrong on that!), the knowledge I’ve gained just from this in-depth online program has been incredible. I tell you that to say this: if I could see a few of those of the gemstones you pictured up close and test them a couple of different ways I think I could probably tell you whether they are sapphire or not…and maybe even what they are if they are not sapphire.
I see that you’re a member of IGS. I don’t know if you have considered it or not (and IGS isn’t paying me to say this or anything), but if this sort of thing really interests you, I’d encourage you to take a look at the Professional Gemologist Certification program here. It has definitely been worthwhile for me in my handmade jewelry business. It’s not a quick and easy program, but it will definitely teach you how to identify your gemstones yourself. As a jeweler I’ve collected many, many gems over the years…and of course I’ve neglected to label most of them. Subsequently I’ve forgotten what they were. In the earliest days of my “hobby” I bought gems off of Ebay all the time without much thought as to whether the seller was truthful about the stones’ identities or whether they were passing off fakes. It’s sad that a lot of them will do that and very few buyers - myself included back then - know enough about gemology to be able to tell the difference. I’m so glad to have the knowledge now so that I can tell my customers exactly what they’re getting.
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Rebecca,
Without seeing them in person, I could not tell you. There are many simple tests that you can do to see if they are sapphires, man made or treated in any way. Unfortunately there are a lot of fakes out there and so many different treatments.
A microscope is your friend.
All the best,
Otter
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To gigihr:
Mr., Im Certified Professional Gemologist, Certified Diamond Specialist and I did several specializations in Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Jade, Pearl, Opal and other; all this EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS OF IGS are at the highest level, because GEMOLOGY IT IS A SCIENCE, this means ALL GEMOLOGIST IN THIS WORLD USE THE SAME SCIENTIFICS METHODS TO ID ALL THE GEMS IN THIS PLANET.
The GIA graduates Gemologists in the appraisal reports usually are using the IGS PRICE LIST AS REFERENCES, inside and outside US, and I can prove to any one.
So I AM PROUD OF IGS, THE DIRECTORS TEAM AND THE MEMBERSHIP.
You can work in any area of gemology as I’m doing in my business and also writing a gemology book as I did and is actually in Amazon.
You will became a scientist.
This is my testimony.
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Well hard to say if or if not sapphires. Could be glass, too. Years ago, had someone adamantly state they were “natural sapphire”. Tested them, was color glass nicely cut. So be careful from whomever you buy from.
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There is absolutely no way to know from photographs alone. They “could be” Sapphires or they could be Spinels or they could be GLASS. Heck, they could even be Plastic !
If you are considering Buying them or any of them, Demand a GIA report (not some foreign, or fake lab report) OR require that your payment be held in escrow (PayPal ?) until you are able to receive a sample (or 10) and get a GIA lab report at your own expense. Release the escrow payment only after confirming their legitimacy.
Keep in mind too that maybe only 80% of these are Sapphires and the rest are Spinels or Glass or Plastic. Paying full “Sapphire Value” for anything other than Sapphire makes no sense.
If you are unable to get them tested yourself and/or the Seller is unable or unwilling to get GIA Lab testing done for you … RUN AWAY from the deal Quickly !
Best wishes to you.
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PS> They are all “Windowed” meaning they were cut to maintain carat weight and not for brilliance and color. So even if they are proven to all be Sapphires, their value is affected by the fact that they are (in my opinion) poorly cut.
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As a Pro Member, you should know that no stone can be identified by a picture. Or it’s very unlikely.
The first group could be yellow sapphire, but I would say unlikely. Given the range of yellow color, they could be citrine or as already suggested, synthetic sapphire or spinel.
The second group are all cut in a heart shaped faceted pattern. Again, I would guess glass or synthetic on this bunch.
Simply speculating but asking for an identification of a stone as a sapphire through pictures alone is impossible. Even with the stones in hand, several definitive tests would need to be performed.
All we have to go on is color variation in the first photo and really nothing definitive in the second batch except they all appear to be about the same size and heart cut.
Let us know if you find out!
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Excellent observation! That first batch are all windowed which implies poor cutting and cutting for maximum weight as you suggested!
Hello Rebecca. The stones appear to be the type commonly sold in Etsy as genuine natural ------- (you name the stone here). The price paid is usually the give away, and so is the color and uniformity of the stones.
Ivan, I know exactly what you’re referring to! Claims are made that a rare stone like a 5 ct high quality-looking tsavorite is natural and the price is a couple hundred dollars. Right.I don’t know how they get away with such fraud but buyers beware!
Buyers need to look at the disclaimers made by the various sites before they buy but most don’t. Practically all sites disclaim responsibility for the authenticity of the claims made. If responsibilty were accepted I am sure 95% of the advertisements would vanish. However, the greed chain ensures that this does not happen. The answer is to stick with suppliers known by reputation and not by quick non-verifiable sales.
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I have to agree with everyone: not possible to ID with pix only. Testing is required. Reputable labs are the only way to go… (GIA)…
Beware of buying on line… I keep seeing stuff on Etsy that is dubious… someone was selling rubies but I doubt that they themselves even knew what they were really selling…sold as “genuine” it was a mixed lot of low quality natural and synthetics… Things like this happen all the time… someone buys something from an unknown person saying it’s this and that, then turns around and resells it saying the the first seller said, without confirmation of what it really is…
Buying at brick and mortar stores will cost more but is far safer as to knowing what it is and getting refunds. If the price is too good to be true, it’s not true!!!