Help With Selecting Sapphire Engagement Ring

[yojo]

Hi Folks,

I''m getting ready to pop the question and am looking at going with a sapphire - the lovely lady is very conflict-conscious, and previously made the point that "conflict free diamonds" and plain old blood diamonds share the same market place and buying one affects demand for the other. Sound logic or not, diamonds are out.

So now I''m getting down to business on the internet trying to put something together with a sapphire. My girl likes blue and apparently sapphires are a somewhat established alternative, so that''s where I am. If someone has other ideas I''m open to suggestion as well.

That said, I''m a standard clueless guy and really don''t know what I should be shopping for. Here are some open questions:

What shape stone should I get?
I''ve been thinking round since that seems to be the standard with diamonds, but I''m not sure if that''s true for sapphires, or if there is any sort of standard. Due to price constraints it will probably be a solitaire setting, so I also like round for being more intrinsically balanced.

What size is reasonable?
It seems like sapphires price significantly cheaper than diamonds, so I can put a bigger rock on her finger. I''m looking to spend $700-$1000 for the ring (I''m a poor student), but I''m leaning towards a relatively simple setting (~$300 18k white gold/plated), which gives me up to ~$700 for the stone. It''s worth mentioning that the lady is petite and has fairly small hands, I don''t want her to look like she''s wearing costume jewelry when she puts the thing on.

Opinions on colors?
I lean towards slightly darker blues, but it seems like the ideal for sapphires is "cornflower," which as I understand it is on the lighter end of blue.

Where should I be shopping?
Given the somewhat tight budget, I''m trying to get the most for my money. It seems like there''s a pretty good consensus on the best places to buy diamonds, but I''m not buying diamonds. Anyone had experiences they want to share?

I was initially leaning towards this stone: http://www.israel-diamonds.com/product/Sapphire/sg/34001.aspx, but it seems like the site (israel-diamonds.com) has gotten some mixed reviews; at the very least they''ve been shilling their site on the boards here posing as customers.

Whew, that''s a lot. Thanks in advance for any help, and let me know if there''s anything else I can provide in terms of information.

 

[ma re]

Welcome!

Since you''re a newbie to all this gemstone mumbo-jumbo, I think you''ve come to the right place as you''ll learn quite a bit along the way, make an informed purchase and hopefully get good value for your money.

Speaking of which, since you''re on a budget and since good quality sapphires are pricey (possibly one of the most expensive stones out there), maybe it would be good to consider possible alternatives, as there sure are some available (there are dozens of gemstone varieties used in jewellery, some of which are nice and blue). Tell us, do you think she would wear her e-ring a lot, or just every now and then? That''s important to know, cause if she''d wear it only (say...) once a week, you can consider some gems that are not recommended for daily wear due to the fact that they''re not as durable as some other, but are still beautiful, wearable and possibly more affordable - they''re just not 24/7 stones. But if you think that she''ll want to wear it daily, there are still some other stones to use and you''re not limited to sapphires. Spinel is one of those stones, it''s almost as durable as sapphire and it can come in nice shades of blue. It can also be more brilliant ("sparkly") than a sapphire due to it''s optical properties, but that''s another story and you don''t need that much info right now. Vanadium chrysoberyl is another stone suitable for daily wear, it can be either bluish-green or greenish-blue in color (kind of light turquoise), it''s quite affordable and can also be very brilliant. Other blue stones are really not recommended to be worn daily.

But which ever stone you choose to go for, it would be useful for you to read THIS article. It''s a good introduction to "what''s iportant and what''s not" when it comes to gems, and will make it easier for you to understand how to spot a good one. If in the end you still decide to go with a sapphire, there are two good articles to read, one is HERE and the other one HERE. The first one isn''t all that useful, but is more of a newbie''s intro into sapphires, while the other one is a more detailed guide to buying them.

Now to try to answer some of your questions.

While diamonds are most often round, sapphires are not. Diamonds are round cause that shape brings out the maximum of their brilliance, and since they''re colorless stones there''s not much else to bring out except brilliance (that''s why colored diamonds are not so often cut into rounds). But with colored stones there''s a factor more important than brilliance and that''s color. The better job you do at bringing out the best possible color from a stone, the more money you can get for it. Preserving as much weight as possible is also a factor since gems are sold by weight. So what cutters want to achieve with sapphires is choosing a shape that''ll preserve as much weight as possible (keeping waste to a minimum) while bringing out a nice color, and that''s achieved with ovals and cushions. That''s why those shapes are two most often found in sapphires, and will give you the widest choice of stones. Other shapes are available but are more limited and it can take much longer to find one just right.

When it comes to size, most women wear solitaire e-rings of around 6 mm in diameter, which is between 1 and 1.5 cts in weight. In that size gems can stand alone as solitaires, while if you go with smaller stones it''s good to go with a three stone arrangement. In fact, since you''re on a budget, I''d advise you to consider a three stone ring (one large and two small stones, one on each side) cause that style can be very cost effective. You can either go with all three blue stones or one blue and two white side stones. For that style it''s normal to use stones of 4 to 5 milimeters in diameter. BTW, I''d strongly advise you against any kind of plating when it comes to metal, cause that might be good in the beginning, but not in the long run. When plating wears off (and with daily wear that can happen in a month or two) you''ll need to replate it often and for a poor student that might turn out expensive. Better go for 14k solid gold than for something plated in 18k. And since you mention white gold, actually most 14k whites are whiter than 18k''s and don''t need rhodium plating.

Color is a matter of preference, eventhough market (demand and supply) dictates that some colors are more sought after i.e. more desirable. I''d try to figure out which shades of blue she loves the most (you''re not the one who''ll be wearing the ring

) and consider those. When it comes to sapphire, cornflower is the norm, which means that medium blues (not dark, but also not light) are the most desirable. It''s the same with spinel, but they''re a bit harder to find in pure shades of blue - they most often have a bit of grey in their blue. Vanadium chrysoberyl only comes in light shades.

I can''t answer some of your other questions, but I''m sure someone with more shopping experience will show up soon.

 

[Kismet]

What shape should you get? Well, what shape does your gf like to wear? The most prevalent shape for sapphires is oval, not that you can''t find (or get them cut) in other shapes, but ovals are what you''ll see the most of.

Rounds are nice but you''ll get more visual size with an oval or rectangular shape. When looking at sapphires make sure you get the mm dimensions because sapphires (and other gemstones too of course) have a different specific gravity than diamonds. All things being equal (which they''re not) a carat of sapphire will be smaller than a carat of diamond.

As for the shade of blue, what does your gf like? Pictures of sapphires *tend* to be lighter than what you see in person so unless your ideal ring setting involves a pair of tweezers and a strong light source I would advise looking at pictures that are lighter than what you would ideally like. Photographs showing the stone on the back of a hand are nice because they give a good idea of what the gem will look like when set.

There''s a sticky of colored stone vendors in this forum and that''s a good place to start looking. Personally I''ve purchased from
ACS
Art Cut Gems
Master Cut Gems
Wildfish Gems
Precision Gem
Peter Torraca
Mineral Miners
AJS

Pretty blue spinels are more difficult to come by than pretty blue sapphires. Blue spinels in your budget will probably be too dark, too grey or both. Vanadium chrysoberyl is a gorgeous stone but really it''s more green than blue.

 

[SB621]

If you are trying to get a very inexpensive, yet good quality for the price I would recommend Lord of Gem Rings on ebay. They have dozens of diamond settings in their store for under $300. Many of us have bought from them and I think for the most part have had very positive experiences. They can also custom the ring to fit whatever stone you have.

For Sapphires- I personally like Richard Homers concave cuts. I think they would make beautiful engagement rings.

1.22ct blue Sapphire $830
http://www.webgraphicsengineering.com/Gemstones/detail.cfm?zNum=5801

Sorry I can''t get the pictures to attach

This stone is heated, but I think it is just gorgeous.

 

[chrono]

Shape of stone is a personal preference. Gemstones are cut differently from diamonds and as such tend to come more commonly as ovals, followed by cushions. You can also find rounds, pears and trillions but less often. Sapphires are denser than diamonds so a 1.5 ct sapphire will be about the same size as a 1 ct diamond. For those on a budget, I always recommend getting a heated stone since it doesn’t look different from an untreated stone (unless magnified) and it also offers more options to choose from. I’m with Ma Re that 6 mm seems to be the norm for solitaires where the stone is able to sit alone in the setting, without appearing too small nor too large.

As for colour, again, it is a personal preference. While the trade likes a medium dark blue, if the lady likes a lighter shade or darker shade (although I don’t advise anything darker than a medium dark), you’ll be able to pocket some $$ since it isn’t a highly desired colour, and hence priced for less. I would try my best to find out which shade she likes best since she has to wear it and look at it 24/7. Some like a pure blue, some like some violet, and others like a lavender shade, etc.

 

[AustenNut]

You might find this link helpful to determine the types of blue sapphires available and also their relative worth compared to one another. I''ll post more later, but you''ve been given some great advice already.

 

[yojo]

Wow, you guys are amazing. Definitely glad I came here. Big thanks to all for the good advice about size, weight, color, cut, ring material, etc. I''ve definitely learned a lot already and it sounds like you all are leading me away from some potentially bad choices. Based on feedback I''m now looking at ovals/cushions, looking in the 6mm range, probably heated, and will set it in 14k white gold, unplated. Many thanks for the links to vendors (and the beautiful stone sarahbear turned up). Now down to my answers of issues you all raised:

Frequency of wearing: Ideally I would like this to be something she can wear all the time. She wears a lot of "fun" jewelry as is - we''ve done a lot of traveling together to the cheaper parts of the world (southeast asia, south america) and she likes to pick up little rings and such wherever we go. She wears a few of these daily, and I''d hope the engagement ring would make it into the rotation.

Cut preference: My girlfriend does not own any "classic" gemstones, so I don''t have any direct read on what shapes she likes. She has owned a few things while traveling that contain round and oval stones of unknown type, but nothing has been faceted.

Color preference: She definitely doesn''t like purple jewelry - she''s expressed an active distaste for it before, so distinctly lavender gems are out, though a little bit of violet is probably fine.

Thanks again for all of your help!

 

[Barrett]

Great post Ma re!..nice of you to take the time to write all that out..very helpful for people

 

[Pandora II]

Just wanted to add that if your girlfriend is very into the ethics thing with diamonds then you might want to only consider sapphires from Australia and the USA.

Coloured gems can have equally murky provenance... Burma for example is hardly a hotbed of democracy...

Many sapphires come from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) - my understanding is that a percentage of anything bought over there goes towards the Sri Lanka governments arms budget for fighting the LTTE. As far as I am concerned that makes it a great idea to buy Sri Lankan stones, but others may not share my political views.

And, let's not start on the mining/production of gold, platinum etc

 

[Arcadian]

http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3_43

There''s a lot in your price range.

My sapphire came from Gary Dutton and diamond experts. Its on the violet side but its a very sweet stone.


As far as settings, I like LOGR, and have my own sapphire set in one, however, this is an engagement ring and something special, so I would maybe put a little more into it and get another setting.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330358921023&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Thats a really great solitare which has some bling to it. I''ve ordered from them before and the settings are very well made, the diamonds are very nice, and the price is extremely good for what you get. They will make the head the size you need for free, as well as size it to her hand. Takes roughly 7 days for you to get it and they are VERY good with answering questions.

If thats not one you like, take a look at some of their other settings.




-A

 

[AustenNut]

What do you think of spinel 16319? It''s 1.26ct, 6.5mm (4.3mm depth), eye clean for $378.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a 2.01ct sapphire cushion that''s been reduced to $600. 7.31x7.28 is the size.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I would personally suggest Montana sapphires for ethical and budgetary reasons. They tend to have a hint of green, which I personally like but may not be your cup of tea. If gives the stone a very earthy look that reminds me of cool streams or still bodies of water. And you can get a lot of bang for the buck.

This one sold, but you can contact Dana about whether he might have any more rough he could cut for you.

http://mastercutgems.com/preview.php?cat=251&id=5689


Dan at customgemstones.com and Bob Cast at bobcast.com also seem to cut a lot of Montana sapphires, so you could also contact them.

Best of luck!

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a 1.32ct sapphire with dimensions of 7.5x5.7x3.4 for $588. The picture is small, but unfortunately the bigger picture on the stone''s actual page isn''t there (it''s the stone on the top left of the 2nd page of blues).

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a 1.26ct sapphire cushion. Its dimensions are 7.1x5.1x3.9 and it''s selling for $551.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a 1.22ct sapphire cushion for $580. It''s dimensions are 6.6x5.2x4.2.

 

[AustenNut]

Yet another sapphire cushion. This one is 1.35ct, 7.5x5.7x3.6 and costs $716.

 

[AustenNut]

Oops, here''s the picture for that last sapphire.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s another. This is a 1.53ct sapphire with the dimensions of 6.8x5.5x4.7 for $696.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s another sapphire. It''s code sblg136 and has 0.97ct and is 6.7x4.8x3.5 for $320.10.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s another sapphire oval. It''s code is sblg130 and it''s a 2.04ct 7.4x6.3x4.7 stone for $673.

 

[AustenNut]

Grrr! Forgot to post the picture for the last one.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a sapphire cushion being offered for $630. 6.0x5.7x4.1 with a weight of 1.37cts.

 

[AustenNut]

This sapphire cushion might interest you. It''s 1.78cts with dimensions of 6.83x5.42x5.16 for $880.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a round sapphire for $575. It''s 1.14cts and is 6.25 in diameter and 3.9 deep.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a spinel that might interest you. It''s 2.35ct, 8.7mm diameter and 4.68 deep, and costs $635.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s an oval spinel that could be interesting. It''s a big 2.7ct, 9.2x7.2x5.6mm stone for $405.

 

[AustenNut]

Here''s a sapphire oval that might interest you. 1.09 cts and 6.90 x 4.90 x 3.40 mm for $460.

 

[AustenNut]

Another sapphire oval from AJS. 1.2cts 6.70 x 4.90 x 4.00 mm for $498.

 

[LittleLovely]

Wow, AustenNut! Great job finding all those beauties.

Yojo, I agree with Pandora II. You might want to ask your lady specifically which gems she would consider "conflict-free" and go from there. Happy hunting!