Post # 1
Member
795 posts
Busy bee
Hi Bees!
I finally received my Chatham lab created blue sapphires from africagems.com
We ordered the gems on Monday night and I received them on Friday! Here are a couple pictures.
This is the packagaing. It seems pretty secure. The gems are in a plastic container which was in the envelope with the warranties in the rectangular box. Oh and the gummy bears are also from them, so that was a nice treat 🙂
We bought two sizes because I was still hesitant on whether I wanted 7mm or 7.5mm so we got both since they have a really good return policy.
The 7.5mm stone on my hand in the sun.
The 7.5mm stone on my hand in the shaded living room (so no direct sunlight).
This is actually a brilliant earth sapphire I saw when I went to their Los Angeles showroom. I believe it’s the 7mm super premium natural blue sapphire that costs around $4,000.
I don’t know sapphires too well but they seem pretty in real life. Pictures don’t seem to do it justice. They have this deep blue hue and it’s super sparkly!! I wish the pictures were more accurate 🙁
So what do y’all think? For about $500 a gem is it a good buy or not? P.s. the brilliant earth sapphire is super gorgeous too (I think showrooms have some type of special lighting to make the picture more accurate) but it is just way too much money for me…
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This topic was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by namsayin.
Post # 2
Member
795 posts
Busy bee
I may be a little obsessed but here are some more (and in my opinion better) pictures of my new sapphire!
Post # 3
Member
2502 posts
Sugar bee
jenebbuh: they’re pretty! i can tell the difference between the BE one and the Chatham ones, but I think the Chatham ones are still quite beautiful (and especially for the price). fwiw, most showrooms do have special lighting that makes everything particularly sparkly….except Brilliant Earth, lol. At least not their Boston showroom – the lighting was TERRIBLE, and my sapphire looked much prettier outside than it did in the showroom lighting (the showroom was not well lit in Boston).
Post # 4
Member
112 posts
Blushing bee
I think my 4 mm was around $400 so now I think I way overpaid! Beautiful stones, enjoy!
Post # 5
Member
363 posts
Helper bee
I LOVE Africagems! That’s where i got all the colored diamonds for the band of my ring (not my center diamond though) they are awesome! They do have a great return policy and if you are buying more than one stone from them they will color match too. Your sapphires are beautiful and I’m sure your ring will be amazing! Congrats!
Post # 6
Member
795 posts
Busy bee
ilovesophia: Yeah I think the BE one definitely has more life in it, but it’s just wayyyy out of my price range 🙁 maybe for my 10th anniversary though 🙂 hehe
flummoxed: wow that is kinda pricey! I was kinda sad when I went back to their site today to request to return the 7mm one because I saw they have a promotion of 20% off for 4th of July… if only I had waited :/ haha oh well
hbaird_2006: Thank you! I’m so glad to find another fellow africagems fan!!!!
Post # 7
Member
2502 posts
Sugar bee
jenebbuh: i hear ya. i got a natural one from BE and it was NOT cheap! (which kinda always makes me laugh when people assume that we picked out a sapphire to save money…nope!).
i think the lab created stones have a really fun sparkle that you don’t get with natural stones – the good natural stones i think have more depth, but it’s different from the sparkle you get with the lab created stones. i think you have two great ones! which one are you going to keep??
Post # 8
Member
795 posts
Busy bee
ilovesophia: LOL yeah… little do they know that sapphire rings are actually the traditional engagement ring and sapphires are actually more valuable than diamonds. It’s just the industry that makes diamonds more appealing hence they can charge more. I decided to keep the 7.5mm. I think I read somewhere that larger lab created stones look like glass so I was a little worried about that which is why I ordered two stones. Now I’m thinking I should’ve gotten 8mm bc these stones are gorgeous! 🙂
Post # 9
Member
11 posts
Newbee
I’m a bit confused here regarding the BE/Chatham comparison. My understanding is that Chatham grown sapphhires have better tone/saturation with no occlusions compared to those found in mines. Your experience is different?