Sapphire Engagement Ring Help

[Thuvia]

I have bought several stones from Lisa and none of them from her web site. My feeling is that her web site is more for informational purposes rather than for listing her inventory. So if you want to know what she has, email her. She has a new email format where she sends out links to a limited number of stones. This is much better than the PDF and she may be able to tailor one for you which includes only sapphires. It wouldn't hurt to ask her about this.

 

[chloeishere]

I have received some photos from a vendor and am looking for some opinions. This stone is around $2000.00 (leaving room enough for a setting) and has an AGL report which specifies Heat treatment but no additional treatments. Obviously making a judgement from a photo is difficult, but I'm just looking for general opinions concerning the stone's features. Overall, I tend to like it's color and the general look of it; however, it never hurts to get more opinions.




Cheers,

Adam

I think that stone has come up in an engagement thread before (I'm thinking the sweet "colorblind" guy)? I didn't share my opinion on it then, though, so I will now.

I think it's a very pretty, well-cut, and unique sapphire, but it's not going to look like a traditional blue sapphire, and I wouldn't recommend it for a "surprise" engagement ring (i.e. one where the fiancee-to-be is not directly involved in the search, and isn't looking at potential ring stones with you). The color zoning is obvious to an experienced eye (and, though people won't know the name for it, I think most people would notice there's something different about it), and the color is considerably lighter than a traditional blue sapphire (which some of us love! It's not a bad stone, just not what people will expect for a "blue sapphire." But it's a gamble and a potential disappointment for both of you if she's not looking at the stone with you, and saying, YES! I love that!).

The ebay stone you were linked from jeffdvs looks nice, but if ovals are a no-go, ovals are a no-go.

It's a shame the loupe troop seller isn't selling, I think that Jeff White sapphire would be pretty much perfect for your budget and for what you are looking for (and an unbelievable deal, honestly-- you couldn't replace that beauty at that price. Wise of her to keep it).

I agree that Lisa is a great next person to check with-- avoid the whole Canada import issue and expense. The natural sapphire company sapphire you were linked is not bad, but not very saturated in color (it's greyish), and has a noticeable purple tone. I think for the price you could definitely find something better. I'm also not crazy about the cut, but I'm (perhaps overly) particular about cut.

Mastercutgems is also a great place to look, very reasonable prices and he's supposed to be a really nice guy.

Good luck with your search!

(edited for clarity... believe it or not. :p)

 

[UrsTx]

Thank you for the opinions on the stone. I agree that there is a certain amount of zoning. In some pictures, it does look like there is less than in others, but it is still there. I am still considering it, but am continuing to look other places as well.

@Thuvia - I have looked into Lisa Elser before but, from her website, she didn't seem to have any sapphires that fit my specifications. I am continuing to check, however, as getting a stone from a Canadian vendor would be ideal.

@Chrono - I have inquired as to the 1.56ct sapphire photo you linked. It is within my price range, so I have requested further photos.

@ UrsTx - I have looked at the NSC before and, while they do seem to have some nice stones, they don't seem have a lab report included with them from a reputable lab. In addition, I have read some relatively bad reviews of the NSC and so am a little apprehensive about purchasing from them.

I am waiting on photos for 2 more sapphires that I am hoping to get some opinions on. Hopefully I can post them tomorrow.

Cheers,

Adam

I wasn't aware. Then I won't be making any purchases from them (NSC) either! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[athenaworth]

Did you see this? I'm not sure if it's too light for you, but the seller is a trusted PSer, has a precision cut stone from an amazing lapidary and is in Canada http://loupetroop.com/listings/rings-colored-stone-center/gene-sapphire-ring

 

[acote]

Hello again all,

@athenaworth - I did happen to come across that ring in my search. While I do like the look of it, I think the stone may be too light for what she is thinking.

@chloeishere - Thank you very much for your opinion. I had never thought of that and it's a really good point.

@Thuvia and Chrono - I have emailed Lisa. She is currently out of town but is planning on sending me some ideas when she returns. Thanks for that suggestion.

I have some others updates I thought I would post.

Below are some photos of 2 different stones that I am currently considering (stone A and stone B for reference purposes). Both are round cut, both are approximately the same size (A: 6.22 x 6.19 x 4.66; B: 6.15 x 5.2 x 4.85), both are very close is ct (A: 1.47; B: 1.56), and both are very close in price (A: 2000.00; B: 1950.00). Stone A has an AGL Gembrief report stating heat but no other treatments while stone B has no report but I am told that it has only received heat treatment. Both stones comes from vendors that are considered reputable on this forum.

Stone A:




Stone B:




Any opinions you can offer would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[chrono]

They are rovals, a cross between a round and oval. Is that safe enough since ovals are a no go? Both are from different vendors? No hand shots? Stone A looks dark in the setting but the background looks dark too except that with the background blurred, it is difficult to find a colour reference point. Stone B has no colour reference point for me, which is why I prefer hand shots. It is also slightly tilted to the right, so I cannot make out the cutting as clearly as I would like.

 

[acote]

Sorry, the measurements of the Stone B should say: 6.15 x 6.2 x 4.85, not 6.15 x 5.2 x 4.85.

@ Chrono - do you classify them as "rovals" because the measurements are not exactly the same for width and length? If so, given the very small differences (0.03mm in Stone A and 0.05mm in Stone B), would it have an ovalish-type look? It doesn't to me from the pictures, but you seem far more experienced with this than I.

To answer your questions:

1) I have no handshots of stone B.

2) Concerning stone A, the first photo (in the setting) is taken outside with overcast skies. The 2nd shot (blurry hand one) is taken under fluorescent lighting.

3) They are indeed both from different vendors. Stone A is from Mastercutgems while Stone B is the one you pointed out to me from spectralgems.net (http://www.spectralgems.net/?attachment_id=1037).

I hope this helps. Thanks again!

Cheers,

Adam

 

[chrono]

The measurements are round enough so I'm guessing the tilt is throwing my perspective off.

Stone A: I'm surprise the overcast outdoor picture is poor. Usually sapphires look their best here. The fluorescent picture looks very nice. That's the hand shot, right?

Stone B: Is Roger open to providing a hand shot? Do ask about the lighting condition used as both pics look different.

 

[acote]

@ Chrono - yes, the fluorescent picture is the hand shot.

I will email Roger and see if I can get a hand shot of the stone he has. I will admit that, at the moment, I am leaning towards stone A. While slightly dark in the setting, there is still a decent amount of blue in there. Also, I agree that the hand shot looks very nice. In addition, it has the AGL lab report.

I'd still love to get more thoughts from folks on here, though, before I make up my mind.

Again, thank you so much for all your help.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[acote]

Another update!

I have received some hand shots (of Stone B) from Roger at Spectralgems and figured I would post a few here. They are below:






I hope these can help with offering some opinions more informed than my own. Overall, I like the color of both stones. One (stone A) is slightly darker than the other but, overall, both seem to have a deep blue combined with some "flash" (but nothing too crazy). Both are around the same size and around the same price. While I'm no expert on things such as color zoning or extinction, they both look, to my eye, to have very little of either.

The only major difference between the two is that one (Stone A) has an AGL report while the other (Stone B) does not (Roger has offered to get one but, given my time limit of early September, I'm not sure if it's possible in time).

So, that's currently my situation. I'm still waiting on information to come from Lisa Elser (early this week I imagine) but am going to have to make my decision soon. Any further advice or opinions that could be offered would be extremely helpful.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[chrono]

Stone B looks very pretty; not darkening much under low light nor losing much saturation. I prefer Stone B over Stone A even though it is heated solely by colour alone. It is up to you to decide if being untreated is more important to you. I hope Lisa has options for you.

 

[acote]

I should clarify. Both stones have apparently been treated with heat. Stone A, however, has an AGL report which says so while stone B does not. Given the good reputation of both vendors, I guess I'm wondering how important the AGL report is in this situation. Earlier in this thread, it was recommended that one be provided; however that was before I had narrowed it down to particular vendors with good reputations on this forum.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[athenaworth]

Any updates?

 

[acote]

Nothing much to report. I have emailed Mastercut Gems to get a few more photos before I make my decision; however, he has not emailed me in the last few days, so I'm sort of stuck waiting.

I was hoping to get some more opinions from folks on the two stones (lookswise) and the report v. no report as it pertains to these 2 stones in particular (both being from reputable vendors). Given the vendors, I'm just unsure how much weight I should put on the report in this situation.

If I get any more photos, I will post updates.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[JewelFreak]

I like stone B better. It holds its color well, saturation is great, cut brings a lot of sparkle to it. I'm interested to see what you get from Lisa.

--- Laurie

 

[acote]

Another update!

Here is a handshot of the sapphire Lisa sent me. It is round cut, 6.49mm, 1.18 cts, unheated. No lab report comes with it, although it does have a certificate from her.It's got a pretty different color than the others I have posted about in this thread - more teal than blue in some cases. Anyways, opinions welcome!



Cheers,

Adam

 

[marymm]

I like stone B better. It holds its color well, saturation is great, cut brings a lot of sparkle to it. I'm interested to see what you get from Lisa.

--- Laurie

Out of all three, I like Stone B the best - for the reasons stated above in Laurie's post.

 

[chrono]

Is that a Montana sapphire or you aren't sure? Any better picture showing the colour and cut? Or is it out of contention because it isn't blue enough for you?

 

[acote]

The stone from Lisa is from Tanzania. That being said, I do think that the color is not as blue as I would like, sadly.

I think I'm going to purchase stone B from Roger. Even though it has no lab report, he seems relatively trustworthy and has been nothing but forthcoming with me about where he gets his gems, the process they go through, etc. In addition, it seems like the posters in this thread are not too worried about it. So, all in all, I think I have made my decision on the stone, unless someone can convince me otherwise concerning a lab report (or another reason) by end of today.

I will be sure to post my own pictures of it when it arrives and when I get it put in a setting.

Thank you everyone for your amazing help. It has been much appreciated so far. While it has complicated the process slightly, I think it will make the ring better off.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[minousbijoux]

As I'm sure you've gathered, Roger has impeccable integrity.

That's not to say that honest mistakes do occur from time to time, but I would be comfortable buying from Roger without a lab report. I also think that knowing Roger, if you eventually sent it off to AGL, and it came back as something other than stated, he would likely stand by it.

ETA: and btw, congrats, its a beautiful stone!

 

[jstarfireb]

The color on Roger's stone is gorgeous! I'll add another vote of confidence for Roger. I would have no problem whatsoever buying from him without a lab memo and trusting his disclosures of treatment, origin, etc.

 

[acote]

It has arrived! I took delivery today of the sapphire from Roger. I have a week to look it over and ensure that I am happy with it. From my first impressions, it seems like everything is in order. I took a few photos to post for comments. They are below. Each has a description of the type of light it was shot in. All photos are taken with my iPhone 4S. This will be split into 2 posts, as I cannot post more than 4 images in one post. I have handled the stone, so fingerprints are certainly possible on the top.









Overall, the stone is slightly lighter than the photos suggest. However, you can see in the 3rd one that, given the angle, it can look pretty dark. The stone rarely looks that dark in person, however.

To be continued...

Cheers,

Adam

 

[acote]

...3 more photos for comment.







So that's all of them. Obviously, given the camera I used, the photos are not as nice as the ones posted earlier. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it looks even though, given the angles, it can certainly look darker than anticipated. It has some nice brilliance to it with a good saturation. That being said, it doesn't look like it has significant zoning, inclusions or black parts. Looking forward to hearing comments.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[chrono]

I am sorry to say that I am very disappointed in seeing these pictures. You said that they are slightly lighter but even so, that is not reassuring. Does it look anything like Roger's pictures? If so, great! If not, I would keep searching for the right one. I hope that the dark tone I see in these pictures are due to your inexperience with photographing gems which admittedly isn't exactly an easy task.

 

[acote]

@ Chrono - Yes, I think my inability to adequately take photos of the stone is the problem. It has a lot more brilliance and is not nearly as dark as the pictures make it seem. I have taken some more photos that look much better, but it's safe to say that Roger's are still the best. While it looks a lot like Roger's pictures, it may be very slightly darker than his pictures suggest, but not by much. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. I'm still going to inspect it a little more to make sure, but I get a good first impression.

Thanks again for your help.

Cheers,

Adam