Do you ship internationally?

Yes, we offer international shipping via FedEx. Please note that customs duties and import taxes are the buyer's responsibility and may vary by destination.

How long does shipping take?

Domestic orders usually ship via FedEx Overnight and arrive within 1–2 business days. International delivery times vary depending on the destination.

Can I pick up my purchase in person?

Yes, local pickup is available at our New York City showroom in the Diamond District at 44 West 47th Street. Walk-ins are welcome, but scheduling an appointment is encouraged. New York sales tax applies to in-person pickups.

Do you offer insured shipping?

Yes, all shipments are fully insured for the purchase price during transit.

Are your diamonds natural or lab-grown?

We exclusively offer natural, earth-mined diamonds. Spectra Fine Jewelry does not sell lab-grown or synthetic diamonds.

Do your items come with gemological certification?

Select items include gemological certification. For diamonds, we use GIA (Gemological Institute of America) reports. For colored gemstones — including sapphires, rubies, and emeralds — we rely on SSEF (Swiss Gemmological Institute), Gübelin Gem Lab, or AGL (American Gemological Laboratories). These three laboratories set the global standard for colored stone origin and treatment disclosure. Certification details are noted in the product description and included with your purchase.

Do you offer financing or payment plans?

Yes, we offer financing options through Affirm, allowing you to pay over time. For more details, visit our Financing page.

What is your return policy?

We accept returns within a specified period as long as the item has not been customized, altered, or resized. Please review our Return Policy for full details.

What makes a Kashmir sapphire special?

Kashmir sapphires come from the Padar Valley in the Himalayas, a deposit that has been essentially exhausted since the early 20th century. Their defining characteristic is a velvety cornflower blue caused by microscopic silk inclusions that scatter light, producing a soft glow unlike any other sapphire origin. Unheated Kashmir sapphires with origin reports from SSEF or Gübelin are among the rarest and most valuable colored gemstones in the world.

What does 'unheated' mean for sapphires and rubies?

Heat treatment is applied to the vast majority of sapphires and rubies on the market to improve color and clarity. An unheated stone retains its natural color as formed in the earth, which collectors and connoisseurs prize as authentic and rare. Unheated status is confirmed by laboratory report from SSEF, Gübelin, or AGL. Unheated Kashmir sapphires and unheated Burmese pigeon's blood rubies command significant premiums over heated equivalents.

About Lawrence Paul

Seventeen Years on 47th Street

I've been walking the same block since 2009. The dealers change, the market cycles, but the stones keep teaching me something new every day. That's the part nobody tells you about this business — you never stop learning.

I started young, sorting melee diamonds in a back office on West 47th Street before I could legally drink. Within a few years I was buying and selling at auction, traveling to Geneva and Hong Kong, sitting across from dealers who'd been in the trade since before I was born. You earn respect on this street by knowing what you're looking at — and more importantly, by knowing what you're not seeing.

That's what I bring to Spectra Fine Jewelry. Not just inventory. Judgment.

What I Look For

I don't buy stones because a piece of paper tells me they're rare. I buy them because I understand what makes them rare, and I can usually tell when the market's gotten the price wrong in either direction.

Kashmir sapphire is the one people ask about most. Real Kashmir material is scarce enough that most dealers go a whole career without holding one — no origin produces that cornflower blue. It doesn't sit on the surface of the stone, it rises from somewhere inside it. I've flown to Geneva more times than I can count just to raise a paddle when the real thing shows up.

Argyle pink diamonds I got into early, before most American dealers understood what that mine closing would eventually mean. Production had been sliding for years before the 2020 shutdown made headlines — anyone paying attention saw it coming. Being early is most of the advantage in this business. Being right about being early is the rest of it.

Unheated Burmese ruby has a fluorescence that heat treatment kills outright — the stone glows under sunlight in a way a treated ruby just can't fake. I source these directly and I'll recut when the original cutter left color on the table, which happens more than you'd think.

Colombian emerald is a different problem entirely. The green is unmatched, nobody argues that. But the material almost always carries inclusions, so the real skill isn't finding a clean one — it's knowing which inclusions actually hurt a stone and which ones don't matter at all. You don't learn that from a book. You learn it from handling thousands of them.

And then there's Paraíba — that electric, neon blue-green that looks lit from within. Nothing else in nature does that. Copper-bearing tourmaline, mostly out of Brazil's Paraíba region, sometimes Mozambique or Nigeria. I'll forgive inclusions on a Paraíba that would get any other stone rejected, because that glow is worth more than clarity in a dead color.

Signed vintage is its own world. Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, Harry Winston — I've spent years building relationships with estates and private collectors who surface pieces that never make it into an auction catalog. Tutti Frutti bracelets. Panthère brooches. Alhambra pieces from the 70s. Before anything goes on my shelf, I authenticate it myself — hallmarks, construction, the way the stones are set. I don't outsource that judgment to anyone.

The Recutting Advantage

Most dealers buy finished stones and sell finished stones. I take a different approach.

I recut and repolish diamonds to improve clarity, symmetry, and light performance — sometimes moving a stone up an entire clarity grade or transforming its optical character. The same applies to colored stones: a sapphire or ruby with the right color but poor proportions can become something extraordinary with the right recut.

This isn't common. It requires understanding rough geometry, light behavior, and what a specific piece of material can yield — skills that most modern dealers never develop. But when you can look at a native-cut Kashmir sapphire and see what it can become with the right hand, you can create value that simply doesn't exist on the open market.

The Auction Floor

I've spent enough time in the salesroom at Christie's Geneva and Sotheby's to understand the auction dynamic in my bones. The estimate games. The reserves. The difference between a piece that will soar past its high estimate and one that's being shopped because it failed privately.

When I bid for clients, I'm not bidding blind. I've inspected the stones in person, under proper lighting, with loupe and microscope. I know what the lab report says — and what it doesn't.

The Labs I Trust

For colored stones, I work with the three labs that set the global standard: SSEF in Basel, Switzerland; Gübelin Gem Lab in Lucerne; and AGL in New York City. These are the institutions the auction houses and serious collectors rely on for origin determination and treatment detection on important stones. For diamonds, GIA remains the benchmark.

My Philosophy

If the best example of what you want isn't available right now, wait for it. I've watched too many people settle for the almost-right stone, only to sell it at a loss two years later so they can finally buy the one they should have bought the first time. Rarity matters more than size. Color matters more than a marginally better clarity grade on paper.

I don't stock everything I could stock. Just what I'd actually want to own.

Let's Talk

Whether you're looking for a specific stone, building a collection, or just want to understand what's out there — reach out. I'm at 44 West 47th Street most days, and I'd rather spend an hour showing you stones than convince you to buy something you're not ready for.