This ray of sunshine is an untreated yellow sapphire that weighs 4.02 carats.  Price is 1060USD per carat.

This is the 4.14 carat Caribbean Sea blue natural zircon that is listed above for 140USD per carat.  Note that zircon is a natural stone that comes from the ground- it is not related to "cubic zirconia" which is made in a factory.  This stone was mined in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia.







Zircon is routinely treated with heat and this stone is sold as a heated gemstone.

Another client chose a gorgeous and very rare 3-carat sized untreated tsavorite garnet for her center stone, and we covered the ring in beautiful diamond accents to create a regal piece of jewelry that she absolutely loves!































We make the process of going from concept to stones to CAD and finished jewelry seamless and painless.

At Paragon Universal Trade we make all kind of custom jewelry- almost anything that you can dream up.  Below is a very beautiful ring that we made for a client with two untreated colorless sapphires and a center violetish-Blue untreated sapphire.

The ruby market is going through a huge change right now.  For decades Burma has supplied most of the world's fine and commercial-quality ruby but as supplies there have dwindled a new deposit in Montepuez, Mozambique has exploded onto the scene.  What is most exciting to me as a gemologist is that the majority of rubies from this mining area do not require treatment.  They aren't heated, or heated with chemicals, or infused with oil or resin in order to increase their beauty.  They just don't need to be!  Only a few short years ago if you wanted a 3-carat ruby with no treatment, you would be limited to a Burmese stone that would cost as much as a very nice house in many Western countries.  Because Mozambique is producing such an amazing quantity of stunning stones, prices have come down as this material makes its way onto the market.  What is just as exciting is the way it is mined and distributed by Gemfields.  The process is entirely transparent to ensure that the source country participates in their own natural wealth instead of being exploited by shady deals, as so often happens with gemstones.  Rough ruby is sold at public auction in Singapore, ensuring that the taxes are paid and the Mozambican government gets their fair share.

We don't have any guarantee that the current system will go on forever though.  Mozambique has had its fair share of political and economic strife and we can't be sure that the mining concession with Gemfields will stay in place.  But for now, you can buy some amazing ruby for much, much lower prices than you've ever been able to in the recent past.  Let me show you a 3-ct sized stone that is available at the moment:









This stone has an independent report from one of the world's foremost ruby experts, Dr. Adolf Peretti (GRS/Swisslab).  He is known for his encyclopedic research in ruby and sapphire so it is easy to find his research online.  Note also that he calls this stone "pigeon's blood", which is the most desirable and rare color of fine ruby.  Don't think of it as a needle in a haystack, but rather a bit of hay in a haystack!  Ruby of such intense color is extremely rare.  It's even more amazing when you consider that it didn't require heat or any other treatment to produce this color- this crystal was mined from the earth in northern Mozambique, cut and polished ONLY.

I am asking $37,880 for this stone.  Please inquire for details, or if you would like a one-carat or two-carat stone (or a five-carat stone!) just ask.  If I have the stone that you want in inventory I can give you a price and details, and if not I can visit some of the other dealers here in the gemstone district of Silom and I can find the right stone at the right price.

This is a really gorgeous untreated yellow sapphire that weighs 4.08 carats.  You can see the dimensions on the laboratory report image below.  Sapphire is most often treated to enhance color or clarity or both, but this stone was a vibrant yellow color straight out of the earth and required no treatment.






If you want details on this sapphire, or if you are looking for a blue sapphire, a different size or shape of sapphire, just get in touch.  

I am asking $970 per carat for this yellow sapphire including independent laboratory report.

It occurs to me that some people coming across this thread might have no idea whether I am just some random guy so this may help:



I've been in this business in Asia for about 13 years, and my wife has been an active part of it for almost 9 years.  Originally when she moved from the Philippines to join me in Thailand we lived in Chanthaburi.  This was a great place to get our arms elbow-deep into the gemstone trade, but a couple of years later we moved to Bangkok to expand our custom jewelry business.  There are a lot of businesses here in Silom that cater to the jewelry trade and that is advantageous when you want a choice of casting houses, bench jewelers, and wax and CAD artists.  Over the years we've found a great team of artisans that provide consistently high quality, and we are able to undercut Western consumer markets on custom jewelry by a wide margin.  

Here is a video from the early days!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rbpnk47t_c

All this to say, no, I am not some random guy.  My wife Melanie and I have built a life around the gemstone trade and around custom jewelry.  If you have a question about gemstones or custom jewelry please give me a holler!  Also if you want to visit us on eBay take a look here:

http://www.ebay.com/usr/paragonuniversaltrade

If you go to either "tiptopgem.com" or to "paragonuniversaltrade.com" it forwards to my business Facebook account.  You will see posts there from my personal account, "David B. Fortier", so feel free to add me as a friend if you would like!

Thank you Bitbunny.  And keep in mind that my wife and I are in the middle of the gemstone district here in Bangkok so if you want a stone a little bigger, smaller, or a different shape- just ask.  We can source most any gemstone here.  If you ever have a question about gemology in general, or the specific properties of a gemstone like hardness, or suitability for a specific purpose like use in a ring, pendant, or bracelet- don't hesitate to ask.  I don't know all of the answers but what I don't know I can find in short order.

Bitbunny, if you want a certificate for that Zambian emerald I can supply one from Tokyo Gem Lab for 35USD.  If you want a report from a different lab just tell me which lab and I will give you a quote.

Slow death, that 4.14ct Cambodian zircon is 140USD per carat.  Same conditions apply- if you want a Tokyo Gem Lab report it's $35, or if you want a different lab just ask and we will work it out.

Just finished the ring above- at the last post to see it in the wax phase or the raw casting.  

I just posted more sapphire on my Facebook page so please take a look!

https://www.facebook.com/ParagonUniversalTradeCo

There are some gorgeous yellows posted today.  Some of these already have an independent report from a laboratory.  If you see any stone that I have listed without a report, never hesitate to ask me about it.  I can get a report from AIGS, Lotus, GRS/Swisslab, Tokyo Gem Lab, or any other lab here in Bangkok.

If you haven't seen my Facebook page you are missing out!  Please take a look, and keep in mind that we always accept bitcoin for payment.

https://www.facebook.com/ParagonUniversalTradeCo

Sapphire is available in yellow, pink, colorless, padparadscha, green, orange, violet, and purple as well as blue.  Blue sapphire is the most valuable.  If you are interested in a different color of sapphire please ask and I will show you some stones and quote a price.  I will either have one in inventory or I will reach out to some other dealers in the colored stone market here in Bangkok and find the right one for you.

The most common shapes for cut sapphire are oval and pear.  The reason for this is quite simple.  Rough sapphire tends to be a bipyramidal crystal, so it is most efficient to cut these two shapes.  This is very important because sapphire is very valuable.  The end user is only willing to pay for the finished weight, so it is in the best interest of the big dealers who buy rough sapphire and cut it to retain as much weight as possible.  If a dealer decided "round sapphires are very attractive and popular; I will buy rough and cut all of them into round stones" he would go bankrupt very quickly.  His yield in finished weight of the stones will be drastically lower than a dealer who turns all rough crystals into ovals and pears.  In effect, by cutting all round stones he is turning valuable sapphire into dust on the floor that nobody will pay for.



It is important to let the shape of the rough crystal dictate the shape of the finished gemstone.  Of course not every rough sapphire is a bipyramidal crystal as you can see in the image above.  Sometimes geologic forces break the crystal, or water tumbles it to erode the original shape, or both!  It is the cutter's job to look at each crystal individually and determine how to save the most weight possible from the crystal.  Besides saving weight for his boss, it is also in the cutter's interest to lose as little as possible because most cutters here in Thailand get paid by the finished weight that they cut.  So not only does his boss lose money when he doesn't make the shape of the finished stone very close to the rough crystal, he does too!

If you have any questions about gemology or about the colored gemstone market here in Thailand, or if you have questions about jewelry please don't hesitate to ask.

Genrijst- are you asking how we take the pictures?  It is with a Canon 6D (full frame) and a 100mm macro lens.

Thank you for the questions!  I ship from Thailand, the colored gemstone capital of the world.  My wife and I have an office in Bangkok at Silom and Mahaesak roads- the epicenter of the gems trade.  We are in BIS/Warner building on the 8th floor, Suite 8A7.  We are just across the street from the Jewelry Trade Center.

The reports that you see above are from a third party- an independent lab.  If you would prefer a report from another lab instead of the report that you see above, that can be arranged.  Just contact me and tell me which lab you prefer and I will let you know the cost.

Shipping is not a problem- we use a secure courier that is an agent for FedEx and UPS and we can ship anywhere on earth (pretty much) in 3-5 days.  Insurance is available at additional cost.

The 4.46 carat sapphire is 1285USD per carat and the 3.12 carat sapphire is 1100USD per carat.

Thanks for the questions and feel free to ask if you have any more!

~Dave

We have two exceptionally beautiful blue sapphires at the moment- please take a look at the pictures below and feel free to ask me any questions that you have!

The first is 3.12 carats:













We also have a 4.46 carat sapphire:








I would be happy to answer any questions you have about these sapphires or any other colored gemstones.

~Dave

Please also inquire if you are interested in blue sapphire, color-change sapphire, emerald, tanzanite, or any other gemstone.  I can source stones directly in the colored gemstone capital of the world, the trading center of Bangkok, Thailand.  My wife Melanie and I have an office in BIS/Warner building at the intersection of Silom and Mahaesak roads- ground-zero for the global gem trade.  If you visit tiptopgem.com or paragonuniversaltrade.com, it leads to my Facebook account.  Ask me questions there, or see my personal account in the comments- "David B. Fortier" and add me as a friend!  Most colored gemstones travel through a dizzying array of wholesalers before they appear in a jewelry store in the Western consumer markets.  There is no need to pay such a huge markup- you can buy direct.

Melanie and I are more than happy to supply stones with an independent laboratory report.  If you don't like the report that comes with a stone, just let me know which report you prefer and that lab will examine your gemstone and give you their opinion in writing.  Whether you want Tokyo Gem Lab, Lotus, GIT, GIA, AIGS, or any independent lab report it's never an issue.

Of course we also make custom jewelry, and Thailand's low labor costs and business-friendly regulatory climate mean you save money.  We can make a wax model of your jewelry by hand or we can use CAD (computer-aided design); we can cast in yellow or white gold, palladium, or platinum, and we can supply accent diamonds at an extremely competitive price.























Find me on Facebook and send a message if you have any questions about our products or service.  We also regularly do design and model work for small independent jewelers who don't have the capacity to make wax models in-house but need a low-cost solution and top-quality.

This 3+ carat ruby is from Montepuez mine in Mozambique, where virtually all fine ruby is being sourced since the Burmese supplies have dried up.  It is vivid red, and has not been treated- no heat, no oil, no glass-filling- nothing at all.  It was mined from the earth then cut and polished.  The included laboratory report is from GRS/Swisslab, one of the most respected institutions in the colored gemstone trade.  It bears the signature of the laboratory's founder, Dr. Adolf Peretti- a noted authority and author of hundreds of research articles on ruby and sapphire.  Please inquire for details.

Blue sapphire from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), fine "royal blue" color, over 5 carats.  This sapphire is available; please inquire for details.

This 2.35ct pigeon's blood ruby from Montepuez mine in Mozambique is available; please inquire for details.