Hi I’m new to this and recently purchased some Tanzanite and some diamonds in India although good value for money after i had them certified they were not as good as expected.
I have recently been offered from another dealer two stones one is 12.5 carat and the other 10.1 carat both are exeptional and i guess would come back AAAA i do not know the clarity as yet but colour is very good as i have seen the stones, the dealer was recommended to me by a friend i have met him but yet to buy from him these stones he has offered me at $350 per carat is this too expensive for whole sale price,
Please help
I can find for you more cheaper. 270-320 usd per carat. Directly from Tanzania. My number is+90 (530) 312 02 00
Unless you are buying in Tanzania, and even then in bulk, I don’t think you can really expect to get a “wholesale price.” You might be doing somewhat better than buying complete jewelry pieces by buying loose stones, but I wouldn’t call it a wholesale price. If you are set on buying tanzanite for yourself (as opposed to for resale), you don’t need to worry about whether you are paying wholesale or retail, just about whether you are getting the best price you can manage. This probably requires shopping around, both locally to you and on line. Also, unless I was a gemstone expert (which you are not, since you couldn’t judge the clarity of the stones you saw), I would not buy without a return privilege. Then you can have the stone(s) examined by a gemologist and possibly appraised and then decide whether to keep them. Clarity does influence the value of tanzanite, and, at the upper end of the color scale, small differences in color, which might not be that apparent to a lay person, could make a big difference in value. I don’t buy a lot of tanzanite, but I was looking at buying some rough for cutting a while back and, from the research I did then, and the research I did just now looking at a few sites on line, I think $350/ct would be a good price for clean (VS or better) tanzanite of killer color. Be aware that tanzanite can be a dark blue and be too dark or be a dark blue without being that almost-too-dark-slightly-purple-and-glowing top color. There’s also the issue of how well cut it is, although most of the good tanzanite I have seen has been pretty well cut.
If I planned on having the stones set, I would also check for estate pieces, as it is possible you could buy something cheaper at auction…not that likely, but possible.
I am curious which colored stone grading system is being used to give it a rating of AAAA ? Given the number of more generally accepted systems and the vast number of systems that sellers have created for themselves, it is quite difficult to know what an AAAA rating is. It would certainly be important to know this.
Also, when taking the stone to be graded will the gemologist be using the same system? As an example, the Tanzanite Foundation uses a more consumer friendly system where a grade of vBE would translate to violeteish Blue Exceptional. The same stone in the GIA rating system may be vB 6/4 which is violetish Blue, medium dark hue and moderately strong saturation. I’m more familiar with the GIA system and a vB 6/4 is a very nice stone.
As a note: IGS uses the GIA system in it’s price guide.
Best wishes and I would be pleased to know more which system is rating it as a AAAA stone.
think these pics may be better let me know your thoughts please good or not so good 
13ct and 11ct
thanks for the advice, yes your right im not a gem specialist if i was i wouldnt be asking questions in here, i’m just fed up of the so called gem specialist jewellers ripping me off every time i buy something
here are some pics of the stones that arrived today, on loan i may add from someone in India until i verify that im happy, wow trying doing that in a jewellers in the UK
Here is a link to some rather fin tanzanite in large sizes. the best color is a very deep, pure blue with an overtone of violet and the prices on this website for their best stones are about $700/ct:
Lighter tones and muddy colors with brown or grey tints are less valuable. It is hard to tell from your photos…I’m thinking I see some grey in the top picture, maybe a little in the bottom one, but not sure. What I do see is large windows in both stones which wash out the color under the table in both of them. So both of them are cut a pavilion angles which are too shallow and, if I’m right, the face up color will improve quite a bit if the stones are recut. The color you see under the crown facets at the edge is basically the color you should be seein under the table, too, in a well cut stone. I would caution that all stones below about 2.0 in refractive index will window when tilted enough off axis, but your tanzanites are RI=1.69, and, at the angle of your photo, I don’t think they should be windowing as much as they are. To determine whether they are windowing due to incorrect angles, you need to look directly down into them at right angles to the table. Put your finger under the stone (held in your other hand) and wiggle it. If you can see the finger moving under the table, you have a window due to incorrect pavilion angles.
IDK what you are paying for these, so if I were you I would look at the link I sent and at a few other tanzanite sites and try to match color with your stones and see whether you think you are getting a good deal. Short of involving an appraiser who does not sell stones and doesn’t offer you any, a real indepedent appraiser, this is the best you can do. It does take a while to develop an eye for color, but if what you have is vastly different in color from comparably priced stones on the internet, you will know you are not getting a great deal.
As I said, the color I can’t be sure to judge accurately from your pictures, but the windowing I am pretty sure about and it does indicate to me that these are not of the best quality, or they would have been cut to show their color to best advantage. If you decide to buy these, they can probably be recut to proper angles without a loss of more than 15% or weight, for about $200.
Hope this helps. It really is risky to be buying gemstones without a lot of experience in the business or an expert consultant who has not conflict of interest.
Thank you for some excellent advice, I’m very interested in gems and especially as an investment so i need to be buying the best that i can for the best price i can find unfortunately this has led to a crash course in gem, on this occasion the tanzanite has been sent to me under no obligation to buy it, the pics that i uploaded are not the best but doing the test you suggested yes i can see the finger moving on baguette but not the oval, i’m being asked to pay $350 pr ct but im sure there is a lot of movement in this price this is why im trying to get some solid advice, i would take them to a gemologist that i know in Leeds for IDGL certification but he seems less familiar with tanzanite than he does with diamonds the last ring i took him with tanzanite he graded AA, these are definitley of better quality
cheers Glyn
You just have to remember that gems as investments seldom work out.Unless you have a business license and are buying at Tucson or through your wholesaler in bulk parcels, it is unlikely that you will get a “wholesale price.” You may be paying less that the guy who is buying it already set, but it is still a retail price almost by definition, because anyone can buy it by the piece at that price. OTOH, when you sell, you may be selling at wholesale to a dealer who has to make a profit. Even private sales are likely to be below retail prices, because sales between individuals are seldom at retail. Why buy at retail from a private seller when you can walk into a store and get a guarantee of some sort and buy the same thing?
You might do better buying rough and having it cut, but this supposes that you know color and clarity and cutting orientation well and have experience selecting a cutter and being sure that what you are offered is genuine. I’ve done about as well as in the stock market buying rough, but that has been to some extent a fluke, as ten years ago no one knew that tourmaline would go so high. Probably a combination of TV jewelry shows creating demand and educating the public and a decreased supply, along with a rising middle class in Asia increasing demand. That said, you needed (best time may have passed) to buy big stones in excellent color to do best. In colored stones, there is also the possibility that a new strike will flood the market and keep prices from rising, altho’ they don’t seem to decline much.
I do know people—professional cutters—who are going to the markets in Asia and buying sapphire (selected sapphire, that is, and they DO have the eye) and coming back and selling it alongside their custom cut stones, This presupposes that you have a niche market for very fine cut goods of good color and that you are able to select the very well cut gems for sale at selected gem houses in Asia and buy several at a time. You have to buy a good amount because you’ve got to include the cost of your trip in the price of the stones.
One of the problems with getting into this business is that there are precious few places outside of full time employment in a high end jewelry store, custom faceting for years or somehow sitting at the elbow of a gem trader for years to acquire the info you need to be a savvy buyer of gems.
Shoot another picture of that oval, I could swear that it will window face up, but the camera does play tricks sometimes…good luck!
I have ALOT of Tanzanite if interested