What to do with a large stone?

Hi everyone,
I have a large sapphire found by my father in central Queensland back in the 70s that I could use some advice on.
Does anyone have any tips on who could advise me on valuation and options for cutting.
Much appreciated.
Marty

Nice saphire you got there Marty, welcome to the forum. :gemstone:

Cheers

Doug

Where about's are you located, roughly?

Im on the Gold Coast.

One hell of a sapphire, pic 3 is your table. The determination will be to facet or cab the stone. Sapphires are just as beautiful cabbed as the are facetted. I am sure Dihusky, who is on the Goldie will offer reams of technical assistance.

Nice stone Martyz - would love to find one that size and cut it

Looks like it has been cleaned up or roughly shaped in preparation for cutting, potentially with an orientation and shape in mind.It would be best to find a local very experienced cutter to inspect it and give you some advice as the colour zoning will give a number of options on how to cut the stone, their price will follow.

You might need to think about what you are trying to achieve, chasing a flawless stone, a certain colour or maximising stone size or cutting a pair of matching stones. This will help with the conversation.

Thanks for your input everyone.
My dad was a keen fossicker and my brother and I went on a trip with him in 1978 camping in the bush around Emerald and we found this one under the roots of an old iron ark.
Up until a few days ago we had almost forgotten about it. We thought it was mostly black!
Anyway Im one of three brothers and as this stone has a lot of sentimental value Im trying to figure out how best to treat it.
I have a lot of other semi precious stones and would like to speak to someone on the Gold Coast if possible.
Thanks again.

Awesome stone. I am at Mudgeeraba and happy to have a look but don't consider myself an expert cutter for a stone of this significance. I would be keen to have a look anyway at this and your other stones if that helps you in someway.
If you don't get any satisfaction here, maybe drop down to the Gold Coast Lapidiary club at Burleigh as they have members that have skills in this area.

Think about what you want to do with the end result.
It is probably to big to wear cut to maximise yeild into one stone.

Good luck with this step to go with the good luck in finding such a stone.
Cheers Peter

Thanks Pete.
It would be good to catch up and show you through some bits and pieces.
Im new to this forum so I dont know how share contacts.

Martyz said:

Thanks for your input everyone.
My dad was a keen fossicker and my brother and I went on a trip with him in 1978 camping in the bush around Emerald and we found this one under the roots of an old iron ark.
Up until a few days ago we had almost forgotten about it. We thought it was mostly black!
Anyway Im one of three brothers and as this stone has a lot of sentimental value Im trying to figure out how best to treat it.
I have a lot of other semi precious stones and would like to speak to someone on the Gold Coast if possible.
Thanks again.

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you could have a look at getting 3 x similar stones cut one for each of you brothers, thats what id be looking at, imo :Y:

Thats definitely something Im thinking of Grumpygold.
Part of the reason we thought it was black might be to do with the size but as you can see it is a nice colour inside. Smaller stones might help to bring out that colour so Im doing a bit of research to try and find out if that could work.
As much as breaking up the single stone hurts Im not sure if we can really appreciate it in its current form.
For all you enthusiasts out there, we only saw its true colour a few days ago so I hope you enjoyed these images as much as we did.

Martyz said:

Thats definitely something Im thinking of Grumpygold.
Part of the reason we thought it was black might be to do with the size but as you can see it is a nice colour inside. Smaller stones might help to bring out that colour so Im doing a bit of research to try and find out if that could work.
As much as breaking up the single stone hurts Im not sure if we can really appreciate it in its current form.
For all you enthusiasts out there, we only saw its true colour a few days ago so I hope you enjoyed these images as much as we did.

Click to expand...

Yes i did, and I look at it every time there is a new post and lick my lips again.

Thanks.

just dont rush any decision.... but the advice to check out local club is a top idea, some one will spear you in rite direction for sure, good luck mate :Y: :Y: :Y:

Hi Martyz, as previously mentioned I'm on the Gold Coast up the northern end in Monterey Keys and would be happy to help, I also have a close friend who taught me how to cut, he's based in Carrara near the markets and is not only a top cutter but also a Gem judge.

For cutting a stone like that he's the guy I'd introduce you to. Need to check the stone for inclusions etc as this will help determine if it can be cut as one stone or better to produce a couple of smaller stones, either way the cut has to suit the rough with the realisation that you'll lose around 2/3rds of the stone in the cutting process.

Whereabouts are you based?

grumpygold said:

just dont rush any decision.... but the advice to check out local club is a top idea, some one will spear you in rite direction for sure, good luck mate :Y: :Y: :Y:

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I agree.... don't rush.
Is it a proper crystal shape for a saphire ?
I'd recon that would make it a rare find to start with. Maybe of more value in the future down the track as it is.
Just pop it away for yourself for now and let the others have a few other trinkets.... after all, it is You who is chasing it all up !
Jmho
:fire:
:gemstone: hey.... where'd it go... lol

Thanks Silver I understand what youre saying but its been sitting in a drawer 40 years and I would like to enjoy it before another 40 years passes. I was 10 when we found it so you can figure what my last birthday was.
Having said that, Im no rush to make a decision and Im looking forward to researching my options further.
Cheers.

Hi Dihusky. Im on the northern end of the Gold Coast as well at Runaway Bay. Id love to catch up if you have the time.
Martyz

That is one very serious sapphire, not many cutters I'd trust with a stone like that.

Doug Mendahue is definitely someone who I'd think of doing the job if I had a stone like that I wanted faceted. He's not cheap but his skills are second to none.

https://www.bespoke-gems.com/lapidary-services-for-the-jewellery-trade.php

Another bloke who is a mate of mine and a member here is excellent, his name is Carl Barney Hauptstein, you can find him on facebook but I'm not sure if he's taking on cutting jobs for others at the moment, mainly he's working on his own projects.

Thanks for information Heatho. I had a look at Dougs website and he does have some very nice sapphires on it.
Im just getting started on doing some research into what might be possible with this stone so Im happy to receive any and all advice.
Martyz

Martyz said:

Hi Dihusky. Im on the northern end of the Gold Coast as well at Runaway Bay. Id love to catch up if you have the time.
Martyz

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That'd be good, tried to send you an email yesterday via your profile, don't know if it went through and you got it, anyway you're almost at 10 posts so contacting should be easier soon.