Blue Sapphire Search - help

[kweet]

Hi there,
I am looking to purchase a blue sapphire RHR as my mother''s birthday gift. I am thinking either:

Round Sapphire with small round or trapezoid diamonds on either side on a yellow gold band (yellow gold is her preference)

or

Round/Square/Cushion Sapphire with diamond halo on a yellow gold band.

Price is a big consideration and the budget is approximately $1000. I am wondering whether anyone can give me some pointers as to where would be a good place to start looking. Is custom made the way to go?

If you don''t think that a blue sapphire ring is achievable within that price range, I would be happy to hear of any other suggestions for gemstones. She does not like amethysts or garnets and she has an emerald RHR already so I am thinking that tourmaline is out.

With thanks in anticipation,

 

[ma re]

Whether what you''d like is achievable depends on a lot of factors. For starters, what size stone were you thinking about? What is her ring size? What shade of blue do you have in mind? Do you mind treatmants? Is she more into crystaline clear sort of stones, or she prefers those that have a sleepy glow to them?

In terms of shape, you''re more likely to find a cushion cut one, than a round or a square, simply because they''re more often cut that way, but you can always order a stone to be custom cut to your desired shape and size.

Now, when you say that she doesen''t like garnets, does that mean that she doesen''t like any variety of them, or just the red ones (i.e. there are several types of garnets, in all colors except blue). And I also wouldn''t rule out all tourmalines just because she wouldn''t prefer a green one (they also come in numerous colors).

So let''s answer some of the questions above before moving on

 

[kweet]

Mr Ma Rae
Thank you so much for your reply. Here is the info:

I was hoping for approximately 1 carat centre stone, she has a few eternity rings already so I would like something with high impact. Her ring size is about 4.5 in the US, I think (its an L-M in Europe). I would like a medium blue or a royal blue, rather than a dark navy. I don''t mind treatments (should I mind?) I don''t mind whether its crystal clear or sleepy glow.

Cushion would be great - actually this is the preference.

Sorry, I meant that she doesn''t like red garnets - I didn''t know they came in other colours. Also, tourmalines are back in the game, it seems!

 

[kas baby]

how sweet of you to want to create a ring for your mom!

something to add to the already good advice, and something I learned here, is that instead of thinking in carat weight, with colored stones it is good to look in mm sizes. This is just because the densities of different gems are, well, different.

as for treatments, heat treating is common in sapphires, and those that are certified unheated fetch a higher pricetag. The only treatment I''ve been told to "look out for" is Be treatment... I''m fuzzy on the details, but I''m sure someone else can fill in the blanks

 

[kweet]

Date: 7/23/2009 7:45:03 AM
Author: kas baby
how sweet of you to want to create a ring for your mom!


something to add to the already good advice, and something I learned here, is that instead of thinking in carat weight, with colored stones it is good to look in mm sizes. This is just because the densities of different gems are, well, different.


as for treatments, heat treating is common in sapphires, and those that are certified unheated fetch a higher pricetag. The only treatment I''ve been told to ''look out for'' is Be treatment... I''m fuzzy on the details, but I''m sure someone else can fill in the blanks

Hi Kas
Well my mom got divorced after 25 years of marriage last year and its a big birthday (sorry mom but it is!) which I think deserves a special gift. I only wish that money was no object. Thanks for the tip on weight vs size, I was going by what I know on diamonds. I''ll be fine with heat treatment.

 

[chrono]

A medium or royal blue sapphire of about 1 ct and the setting will be well over your budget even if it has been gently heat treated. Even if you go the LOGR halo route, that will already set you back $500 alone for the setting which leaves you only $500 for the ring, not counting the setting fee. Pure blue garnets are rare as with pure blue tourmalines. Are there any colours you will consider? Pink? Green? Lavender?

 

[kas baby]

just passing on the knowledge I learned here when starting my own search

as for settings, a lot of people have halos from a certain ebay vendor, the rings are called LOGR (Lord of Gem Rings) I personally have never bought anything from them, but I''ve heard many good things.

if you are really just looking for blue, I''ve heard spinel can be rather nice and good for everyday wear.

 

[kweet]

thanks chrono
I would consider pink, especially a reddish pink. The only reason why I ruled garnets out is that I know she doesn''t like the dark burgundy coloured garnet. Its unfortunate that she doesn''t like amethysts, I think they''re beautiful. Green is out due to her emerald.
How much would I have to increase my budget by to get the mid blue sapphire, do you think?

 

[ma re]

OK, so now we know a bit more about what to look for - a cushion cut 1ct medium blue sapphire.

You asked about the treatments, well, they''re not all bad, but always make sure that the vendor discloses all the treatments the stone has undergone. Heat treatment is nothing to stay away from, in fact, in your price range it''s useful as it allows you to get a nicer stone for the money, but you should stay away from stones that have gone through a beryllium diffusion treatment. What that means is that basically, the stone has been surface-treated with another element (that it doesen''t contain naturally, once it''s out of the ground) and that''s what gives it color. So a color layer is just close to the surface, and if you want to (one day) recut the stone for whatever reason (maybe to "repair" it after accidentally chipping), that won''t be possible with such a stone. So heat is OK (it''s also used to improve color and sometimes clarity, but it''s stable and permanent).

In terms of color you''ve chosen the most expensive shade there is, so you might only find a heated stone, and even that won''t leave you much for the setting (so you can probably forget about going custom unless you opt for something very simple like a solitaire). Since you say the clarity level isn''t crucial to you, I''d suggest looking at stones that are a bit sleepy (which of course isn''t an expert term

), cause those often cost less, but make sure (by asking the vendor and/or jeweller) that the inclusions in the stone don''t impact it''s durability or integrity. BTW, that glowy look that some stones have is often a result of microscopic inclusions that alter the path of light within the stone - some people don''t like it so such stones are more affordable. Oh and, make sure there''s not too many of those inclusions, cause if you want a sleepy stone doesen''t mean you want a dead one

.

But before you start looking for the stone, maybe you should take a look at THIS website, just to see what gem varieties there are (with all the colors of garnets and tourmalines

), just to make sure you''re making the right decision.

P. S. Does mom prefer more ornate pieces, or more simple ones? That might answer your "whether to go with a three stone or with a halo" dilemma.

 

[kweet]

thanks Kas baby. I will look at LOGR - was a bit stumped by the acronym, great name though! Spinel is an option!

 

[chrono]

A quick caution: while spinels are a less expensive option, blue spinels are not comparable to blue sapphires due to the strong gray mask that many have. Finding a blue sapphire-like spinel is possible but difficult and when found, will be very expensive due to its rarity.

 

[kas baby]

http://www.precisiongem.com/html/html/Garnet_Red.html gem 878 (the second one on the page) is the one that peaked my interest, but perhaps its still too dark?

http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=139&idproduct=2881 this one is sold, but I like the peachy pink color

 

[kweet]

Thanks Ma Re. I''m so grateful for the advice. I''m thinking a sleepy, heat treated sapphire. I personally would go for the halo, but I think its more mom''s style to go for the three stone ring. I looked on the link you provided and a blue spinel or tanzanite also looks promising....

 

[chrono]

While I do not recommend any of these stones, it is only a reference for pricing. As you can see, a medium blue round sapphire of one carat will range anywhere from $600 to $1000.
http://www.ajsgems.com/blue-sapphire-gemstone-sapphire-2046340410.html?cid=2046340410&sl=0&page=1&sprice=wlh&sshapes=rm&sshow=ss&sview=24

 

[chrono]

Date: 7/23/2009 8:04:22 AM
Author: kas baby
http://www.precisiongem.com/html/html/Garnet_Red.html gem 878 (the second one on the page) is the one that peaked my interest, but perhaps its still too dark?

http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=139&idproduct=2881 this one is sold, but I like the peachy pink color

Seems like per your description, the 2nd garnet might be darker than what you are aiming for.
If you are interested the the Malaya garnet from ACS, you can email Barry to ask if he has anymore material left he can cut for you.

 

[kas baby]

is this a good find?

http://www.customgemstones.com/SPINEL/sp1156.html

 

[kweet]

kas baby, that garnet looks beautiful. That really doesn''t have the "red wine" look that we associate with garnets. I really like it. The peachy one is pretty too....

 

[kweet]

this is a very pretty gem. does anyone know whether the vendor is reputable?

 

[ma re]

Date: 7/23/2009 8:06:24 AM
Author: kweet
Thanks Ma Re. I''m so grateful for the advice. I''m thinking a sleepy, heat treated sapphire. I personally would go for the halo, but I think its more mom''s style to go for the three stone ring. I looked on the link you provided and a blue spinel or tanzanite also looks promising....

I thought your mom might like something more simple, but buying another two diamonds with that sapphire will raise the price quite a bit. Especially since you can''t really put teeny tiny diamonds along the sapphire and call them side stones (those are accent stones), so we''re looking at something like 3-4 mm each i.e. 0.1 to 0.3 cts of diamonds times two. But OK, that''s still quite far down the road as you still have to find the sapphire (and it took some folks here months to find the right stone, so...).

As mentioned before, spinels are rarely of a very rich blue color, and I was going to suggest tanzanite if you think your mom would be OK with careful, occasional wear (not 24/7).

 

[kas baby]

Date: 7/23/2009 8:17:03 AM
Author: kweet
this is a very pretty gem. does anyone know whether the vendor is reputable?

I haven''t gotten anything from them, but other people have and are generally happy with their gems. I think there''s a return policy, and I''ve heard to take more stock in the color description than the actual photo. there are some of his gems that ppl have bought in here https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/vendor-pictures-and-owner-pictures-of-ps-stones.109420/

 

[kweet]

I know, it will raise the price, but if I could get the coloured gem centre stone and the setting at a reasonable price, I could get two little diamonds for either side.... I accept, however that I may have to revisit my budget to make this a reality! Once I have selected the centre coloured stone and the side diamonds, how do I go about getting the ring set? Is it logistically easier to go to a local B&M store to get it set?

 

[chrono]

Kweet,
You have too many variables to consider. I suggest narrowing down your options to make this quest a lot easier. Let’s start with how you want to break down your budget, then we will be able to make the right decisions for the centerstone, setting and etc. Right now, I feel like I''m all over the place with your search.
I agree that a local B&M is best for putting the entire piece together. It is always a good idea to have a good relationship with a local jeweller anyway for small services like checkups, cleaning, re-plating and etc.

 

[ma re]

Choosing tapered baguettes (or even regular baguettes) as side stones might be a way to save some money as they are usually larger for the weight than rounds i.e. it''s cheaper to get them in decent size. And of course, cutting down on size of a sapphire (say, from a full carat to half a carat) might do wonders for the budget. Colored stones are not all cut the same, even within the same variety, so you might even find a more shallow cut stone (one that faces up larger than what you''d imagine for the weight) to be more beautiful than some deep ones - it can happen. So I''d suggest you also search for smaller carat weights as some stones face up almost just as large as some much heavier/expensive ones due to different cutting angles used.