Need Guidance w/ Sapphires

[MonkeyMike]

I''m looking to get my FI some sapphire earrings for her wedding gift... but I''m kinda overwhelmed with the wide selection of sapphires. I''ve seen the junk that goes for ~$15 and the unheated/untreated ones that go for $1000+ per carat.

So what do I want?
blue sapphires on white gold studs. prefer unheated/untreated.
1 cttw
under $1K
(if i can swing it, i would like a sapphire pendant also)

I''ve seen the stuff at TNSC, but I don''t know if it is worth the price. Keeping with 100% natural, I''ve also seen minerminerals, and they appear to be much more affordable for what appears to be the same thing. That''s what really confuses me.

So, if it looks like im totally confused, and throwing my hands up in the air... i am! hopefully someone can give me some help. ask me questions... I''m willing to put in whatever input I need to. unfortunately, I dont think I have the time to get a custom set, so I''m limiting myself to an "off the shelf" purchase.

in need of guidance...
~mike

 

[sapphire.panda]

How about these beauties? They are bigger than you specified (sapphires total ~2 carats), and a little more money ($1125), but aren''t they pretty?

Link: http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6945

 

[MonkeyMike]

Date: 8/5/2009 1:25:33 PM
Author: sapphire.panda
How about these beauties? They are bigger than you specified (sapphires total ~2 carats), and a little more money ($1125), but aren''t they pretty?

no problem with overshooting the $1K by a bit.

~mike

 

[Kismet]

What shade of blue are you looking for and did you want rounds or some other shape?

 

[sapphire.panda]

Sorry the link doesn''t work. Try copying this and pasting it into your browser:

http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6945

Alternatively, you could google "litnon", and the first thing that comes up is the website for Gemline. Click on "Fine Jewelry", and the earrings are toward the bottom of the page.

 

[MonkeyMike]

Date: 8/5/2009 1:34:44 PM
Author: Kismet
What shade of blue are you looking for and did you want rounds or some other shape?

i like medium to dark blue. the lighter blues never really make my brain say "oh, that''s a sapphire"

i always like round, but i''m open to other cuts. seems that round and oval are the most common for the sapphires.

~mike

 

[chrono]

Date: 8/5/2009 1:40:35 PM
Author: sapphire.panda
Sorry the link doesn''t work. Try copying this and pasting it into your browser:

http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6945

Alternatively, you could google ''litnon'', and the first thing that comes up is the website for Gemline. Click on ''Fine Jewelry'', and the earrings are toward the bottom of the page.

Link fixed.

 

[chrono]

The pricing of sapphires all depend on many variables: treatment (heating, BE, filler, etc), colour (hue, tone and saturation), cutting to some degree, clarity (transparency) and carat weight. Treated stones are usually costs less and gentle heat treatment is an accepted practice. It improves the colour and is permanent. It will not fade or affect the structural integrity of the stone. It also allows for a much larger stone given a set budget. Top untreated blue sapphires are well over $1K/ct. I doubt you’ll be able to squeeze in a pendant with your budget.

Is there a certain mm size you are looking for? The Litnon aka GemLine earrings look quite dark but it seems like you prefer something medium dark. My concern is that these are really dark looking in person though to the point where you might only get a blue flash occasionally instead of looking blue.

 

[MonkeyMike]

Date: 8/5/2009 4:18:06 PM
Author: Chrono

The pricing of sapphires all depend on many variables: treatment (heating, BE, filler, etc), colour (hue, tone and saturation), cutting to some degree, clarity (transparency) and carat weight. Treated stones are usually costs less and gentle heat treatment is an accepted practice. It improves the colour and is permanent. It will not fade or affect the structural integrity of the stone. It also allows for a much larger stone given a set budget. Top untreated blue sapphires are well over $1K/ct. I doubt you’ll be able to squeeze in a pendant with your budget.

Is there a certain mm size you are looking for? The Litnon aka GemLine earrings look quite dark but it seems like you prefer something medium dark. My concern is that these are really dark looking in person though to the point where you might only get a blue flash occasionally instead of looking blue.

realistically, im okay with a heated stone... i would prefer to stay away from the heated and treated stones. im not expecting to get a 100% natural kashmir sapphire for my budget

. the thought of getting an additional pendant was based on looking at prices for 1 cttw sapphire earrings on mineralminers. but i have no clue if they are any good.

as far as size, right now she wears some 1/2 cttw diamond studs, and i would like to get sapphires that are bigger than those.

~mike

 

[chrono]

I’d try to get something heated so that you can get larger sapphires. Seriously, no one can tell with the naked eye if a sapphire has been heated on not. I took a peek at the sapphire earrings on MM and the lighter ones look decent but the darker ones are too dark. They are also cheaper because they don’t have diamond accents like the Litnon earrings. You’ll probably be able to get a pendant if you stick with MM.

 

[chrono]

I just had a thought if you really love those earrings: I recall Litnon aka Gemline offers a hefty discount to Pricescopers. If so, then the earrings will be well under your budget! I’m not crazy about the colour of the sapphires but the setting is very pretty.

 

[MonkeyMike]

thanks for the help so far... I have to agree with you that some of the MM sets are dark. I would like to see some blue under normal lighting, so I''d probably lean more toward a medium blue.
looking at: http://www.mineralminers.com/html/sbljlry.stm , would you consider item sblj171 to be too dark?

Re: the Litnon set... I am okay with the diamond surround, it wasnt one of my must''s but, it would be nice. I do wonder if the overall size is a bit much.

~mike

 

[serenitydiamonds]

Date: 8/6/2009 4:50:09 PM
Author: MonkeyMike
thanks for the help so far... I have to agree with you that some of the MM sets are dark. I would like to see some blue under normal lighting, so I''d probably lean more toward a medium blue.

looking at: http://www.mineralminers.com/html/sbljlry.stm , would you consider item sblj171 to be too dark?


Re: the Litnon set... I am okay with the diamond surround, it wasnt one of my must''s but, it would be nice. I do wonder if the overall size is a bit much.


~mike

The lighting for the photos seems a little non-ideal, so I''m not sure if you''d consider sblj171 to be medium blue, it looks almost light blue. It could be the lighting though as the ''very dark blue sapphire'' appears a nice shade of blue.

--Joshua

 

[Gailey]

Date: 8/6/2009 7:19:21 PM
Author: serenitydiamonds

Date: 8/6/2009 4:50:09 PM
Author: MonkeyMike
thanks for the help so far... I have to agree with you that some of the MM sets are dark. I would like to see some blue under normal lighting, so I''d probably lean more toward a medium blue.

looking at: http://www.mineralminers.com/html/sbljlry.stm , would you consider item sblj171 to be too dark?


Re: the Litnon set... I am okay with the diamond surround, it wasnt one of my must''s but, it would be nice. I do wonder if the overall size is a bit much.


~mike

The lighting for the photos seems a little non-ideal, so I''m not sure if you''d consider sblj171 to be medium blue, it looks almost light blue. It could be the lighting though as the ''very dark blue sapphire'' appears a nice shade of blue.

--Joshua

Good point MonkeyMike. If they interest you, I would ask for a face-on photo taken in light overcast daylight.

 

[chrono]

Date: 8/6/2009 4:50:09 PM
Author: MonkeyMike
thanks for the help so far... I have to agree with you that some of the MM sets are dark. I would like to see some blue under normal lighting, so I''d probably lean more toward a medium blue.
looking at: http://www.mineralminers.com/html/sbljlry.stm , would you consider item sblj171 to be too dark?

Re: the Litnon set... I am okay with the diamond surround, it wasnt one of my must''s but, it would be nice. I do wonder if the overall size is a bit much.

~mike

Link adjusted to make it easier for me.

 

[chrono]

I’m wondering if it’s the picture too because the description says medium dark – to me that tone is about right. The saturation isn’t intense but the price reflects that and for the quality, it is a fair price. I’d email to reserve the earrings while waiting for additional pictures.

 

[tabulem]

I agree that heated would be better, because it''s an long-accepted practice, 99% of sapphires are heated, and you''ll get can either get something more beautiful for the same amount of money, or you can save money.

 

[T L]

Just make sure it''s not a beryllium heated or treated stone. Some sellers will say it''s heated, but you should make sure it''s not be-heated, but traditionally heated instead. This type of treatment is a way of adding color to the stone it would not ordinarily have, akin to dying something.