How does the Try Before You Buy program work?

Eligible loose stones ship to you for in-hand evaluation before you commit to payment. At checkout an authorization hold is placed on your card, not a charge. You are only charged for stones you decide to keep, and unwanted stones are returned to us.

Which stones are eligible for Try Before You Buy?

Select pieces across the catalog are marked as Try-On eligible. Availability depends on stone value and current inventory. Email crescentgems@gmail.com to confirm whether a specific stone qualifies for the program.

Try Before You Buy - See Your Loose Gemstone Before You Buy

Buying a loose gemstone online without seeing it first is a leap of faith. Even with high-resolution photos under standardised lighting, colour reads differently in person, scale feels different against your finger, and nothing replaces holding a stone under the light of your own home. Our Try-On programme solves that problem. Every stone in this collection can be sent to you to evaluate in person before you commit to purchase - particularly valuable for engagement ring centre stones and collector-grade pieces where getting it right matters most.

How Try-On Works

Select the stone you want to evaluate. We authorise your payment method rather than charging it and ship the stone via FedEx or UPS, fully insured. You have a set time window to see the stone in your hand, compare it under different lighting, hold it against a setting if you are commissioning a piece, or simply decide whether it is the right one. If you keep the stone, the payment processes. If you return it within the window, you owe nothing beyond return shipping.

For exact mechanics - payment authorisation period, return shipping, eligibility outside the US - email crescentgems@gmail.com before placing an order.

Which Stones Are Try-On Eligible

Most stones across our collections are Try-On eligible. This collection lists confirmed available pieces, but eligibility extends across our full inventory. The most popular Try-On categories are:

Ceylon blue sapphire over 1 carat - engagement ring centre stones where colour and size must be seen in hand
Teal sapphire over 1 carat - the colour shifts significantly between screen and hand
Peach sapphire over 1 carat - warm blush tones read very differently under different lights
Unheated yellow sapphire over 2 carats - Jyotish buyers who need to see saturation in hand
Ruby over 1 carat - red reads very differently in daylight vs artificial light
Cat's eye chrysoberyl - the chatoyancy phenomenon must be seen under direct light to be evaluated properly

Why We Offer This

We are confident in our stones and our photography. The Try-On programme exists because buying a significant gemstone is a meaningful decision, and we want you to be completely certain before committing. Our sourcing comes directly from Sri Lanka - read more on our About page. Every purchase includes a 14-day return policy regardless of Try-On status. Free US shipping.