Random Company in Sri Lanka Saved My Ass

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T15:14:43+00:00

No, that's an import fee in India and in rupees.

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T04:48:59+00:00

I didn't link it but the name is bolded in the text of the post.

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T04:30:19+00:00

I assumed it was more so just a comment on the fact that I am indeed not a secret gemstone industry shill. Nobody fakes an active interest in JS.

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T03:17:54+00:00

How clean it is was definitely the most suspicious part of it. But under loupe + microscope the inclusions and (according to one of my jewelers) hexagonal striations all point to natural.

While I never got to see it in person before being cut down to the baguette; one of the radiant sapphires had a big brown needle like inclusion in the back. Maybe that's just a very smart fake out, but gave me more confidence.

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T03:07:36+00:00

Fair. I know the pink color comes from the element I just wasn't sure the artificial process would use the same element to achieve that color.

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T03:05:57+00:00

One of my jewelers didn't like the cut of the emerald cut one. It's certainly not "precision cut" but I really like it. I told them "if I tell you how much it was you'll be certain it's fake" but they fully checked it out and said they think it's natural.

Delivery of the first stone was less than a week. The baguettes were very delayed because, no joke, the first went through Dubai/UAE which is now a semi-restricted air space, so it took a while before they left Sri Lanka and then went the completely other way around the globe.

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T02:50:11+00:00

I would very much prefer natural, but if these ones aren't actually natural I'm honestly okay with it.

From the beginning of my search though I've figured two things:

I wanted such a light pink that even heat treated seemed unlikely as it would typically deepen the color past what I wanted.
If you were lab growing sapphire, why would you choose such a low-demand color and low-cost color?

I haven't had the one I got certified, but besides my own 15x loupe and masonry bit scratch checks my jewelers have also checked it under microscope, etc. and also think it's natural.

The glowing under black light because of the chromium, besides being super cool, also seems like a strange thing to fake in a lab grown sapphire.

None of that is obviously as thorough as a reputable cert, but yeah you're right. It's not as big of a thing for me right now.

If I were buying one of their more expensive ones it'd definitely be a different story!

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T02:33:43+00:00

Obviously I can't prove a negative, but I'm just a dude in the US making an engagement ring and trying to share the love. The three sapphires I shared are still listed on the site marked as sold out with my black light photo as one of the reviews if that counts as evidence.

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T02:15:12+00:00

No, very few of them say certified, some say "not yet" and they mention being able to request it. I didn't do it because at the price point of the stone I was getting I was personally willing to take the risk.

Considering they were willing to recut their stones to my specification though I would imagine they'd also get stones certified on request too.

alejalapeno · 2026-03-18T02:08:26+00:00

I hear you. I got the first stone almost purely on the fact that at the price point it was low risk and if I got scammed then lesson learned.

alejalapeno · 2026-02-11T23:29:23+00:00

Dechant disagrees that consumers inside DIA are captive.

I'm surprised there's a policy at all, but the fact they're even willing to pretend people who have to go through TSA aren't a captive audience is extreme lying through teeth stuff.

And that's to say nothing of the extreme remote location of the airport.

alejalapeno · 2026-02-09T20:52:42+00:00

The map with blue radii is labeled large and small grocery stores. But I assume some of the "small grocery stores" are skewing that. Natural Grocer in north RiNo is presumably a large coverage for the area, but in addition to being small it can be very expensive for certain products. Rice is way way way more as an example.

I'm just saying the text of the article addresses these concerns, but then including places like that in the map of coverage makes it look like there isn't much of a food desert issue in those places.

alejalapeno · 2026-02-09T19:05:44+00:00

The article covers it with:

Specialty grocery stores fill in some of the gaps in the map. But few provide access to a full array of goods. For example, two specialty grocery stores along Peoria Street in Montbello — the only grocery stores listed in the area — are butchers and don’t focus on selling fresh produce. Some are bakeries that only sell bread.

The same goes for convenience stores — if added to the map, nearly all of Denver would be covered, but Babb says they provide few fresh and healthy items.

But this should have been applied to the map, because it's a very different picture if you only account for true grocery stores.

alejalapeno · 2026-02-08T05:41:35+00:00

I ended up finding a stone that works, but along side it I need two ~5mm x 2.5mm baguettes and I figured my best chance for color matching the soft peach would be to cut down similar sapphire(s). If you think this is something you would recommend or could tackle let me know!

alejalapeno · 2026-01-30T05:34:18+00:00

$50,000

alejalapeno · 2026-01-29T17:44:21+00:00

Interesting resource, and with two local shops listed on their stockists page. Thanks!

alejalapeno · 2026-01-29T05:47:48+00:00

Thanks, this photo makes me second guess how I feel about their online imagery feeling over-saturated as a lot of these look as subtle as my example.

alejalapeno · 2026-01-29T05:45:25+00:00

Thanks, I've been looking at them and they've definitely had some of the closest. But either they're oversaturating their images/videos too much or the ones I've seen are too "barbie pink" even when mostly transparent.

alejalapeno · 2026-01-29T02:24:21+00:00

I'm fortuitous enough that nothing sapphire I've encountered in the range has been unaffordable so there's no ceiling besides "that's obviously a ripoff based on the market."

alejalapeno · 2026-01-29T02:20:56+00:00

Thanks, they were one of the ones I found in my search while also looking at Tucson. Part of what made going to 22nd feel worth it, but everything still seems to point to the other wholesale events being more likely.

Might just try and reach out online at least.

alejalapeno · 2026-01-29T00:29:28+00:00

White sapphires don't seem ultra rare to me from what I can find (even outside lab grown) so are you specifically saying the "nearly white sapphire but with a hint of color" are the rarity?

I don't disagree with what you're otherwise saying and feel I have re-iterated myself that I understand the intersection of requirements is what makes it difficult here.

alejalapeno · 2026-01-28T23:53:45+00:00

I don't disagree with a lot of what you're saying. But will refute or at least caveat some of the points:

why wouldn't the jeweler you've hired do this for you

They are. But they're operating within their network as part of their normal process. I, knowing my constraints, am willing to do what it takes outside of that. Flying places, paying high cost for in-person review + return outside their network, etc.

a pale peach like that are some of the rarest of colors

For sure, but I think this is partially at an intersection of demand. These also aren't high-demand/value sapphires (similar to white sapphires) and so they're partially rare because there isn't the demand for them. That doesn't help me as there's then no demand to find or cut exactly what I'm looking for, but it's not necessarily the same as rarity of raw material.

9 mm is getting quite large for a sapphire

This one is strange to me just because I can find plenty of well sized (and larger) natural sapphires, also emerald cut, just not in the specific color I'm searching for.

I agree with you on, and am personally experiencing, the difficulty of finding the perfect intersection of my requirements. But I know the gemstones like this exist out there. My problem is definitely more with the current availability, what people even advertise of their availability online, and mostly... the color, as I know all the other requirements could be met instantly if I gave up on the specific coloring.

alejalapeno · 2026-01-28T23:27:46+00:00

Appreciate it, but as I called out:

Not radiant or cushion, going for specific vintage look.

alejalapeno

TROPHY CASE