Starting my hunt for a deep blue sapphire...a manly sapphire...

[haagen_dazs]

HI Colourstone Psers...
Sorry if you are sick of seeing my threads or my crossed eye avatar =p

Since I have been reading and comparing various gemtones (pink sapphires, amethyst, red spinels) , I might as well multi task and evaluate some blue sapphires. Its more time saving for me.

You all have helped me find that pretty ACSstone nice pink/purplish sapphire so I look forward to all your comments

1) I am looking for a rich deep blue sapphire that is appropriate for a man ie. not too flashy but not too dark that it blacks out. It has to look blue to observers .. eg upon first glance, it would be great to illicit responses like "ah-ha. thats a beautiful blue sapphire" and not "eh? whats that thing you have on your finger "

2) I know most people, if budget allows for it, would love big gemstones.
The gemstone I am looking for have some restrictions.
It has to be less than 3mm (or preferable less than 2.5mm)in depth/ I know that basically limits the overall weight of the sapphire to be pretty small but oh wells such is life.
I hope that the sapphire will fit flush on a man''s ring.
(its may be odd why i am looking for stuff now when i am not even engaged as yet =p but oh heck, it doesn''t hurt to start the search early)

3) I am open to oval, pear or cushion shapes

 

[haagen_dazs]

http://wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/12245

With that said, I found a potential stone on wildfish

The oval could be or may be angled as such.

Questions
1) What do you think of the colour? I dont see any greens, yellows or greys.

2) Assuming all prices at any vendors are negotiable, what do you think of this price relative to the open market

3) Is the depth of 49% too deep? Would that be of a concern? side question. How is depth usually calculated in odd shapes? Does one divide the depth with the longer length or the shorter width of the gemstone?

4) Is 40% brilliance too dark for the gemstone? I have read some past threads that commented that 40% might be low by wildfish standards. Something like 60-70%+ would be more brilliant...hmmm

 

[haagen_dazs]

another wildfish vendor photo

 

[LD]

I love the colour but don't know if Ed's photos are true/dark/light etc so hopefully somebody who's bought from him can comment. Assuming it's a true representation then I have the following comments (a) it's very very shallow. This will impact on performance I would think. (b) I can see an inclusion just under the table. I know that Ed has said there are no inclusions visible without a loupe but I'd like to see that IRL as I'm very sensitive to inclusions that are in a prominent position (c) Ed says there is no window which is surprising considering the cut BUT not impossible. I would ask to see a few head on photos as you can't really see much in the first photo.

I don't know Ed's return policy but would like to know that before going ahead for all the reasons stated above. I would definitely say that you should have a chat with Ed about this stone if you're interested in it. Honestly, the blue is wonderful and this will not look black! It might also be worth asking Ed if it looks darker in certain lighting conditions (most sapphires do) and if so, does it still retain a bright blue colour?

Lastly, don't go with numbers when looking at coloured gemstones, buy with your eyes - this is far more reliable.

 

[chrono]

The colour in the picture but that stone is awfully shallow, which isn''t a good thing.

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 11/11/2009 8:11:04 PM
Author: Chrono
The colour in the picture but .

Chrono.
The first part of your sentence is not making sense to me .

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 11/11/2009 5:33:55 PM
Author: LovingDiamonds
b) I can see an inclusion just under the table.

I would ask to see a few head on photos as you can''t really see much in the first photo.

buy with your eyes - this is far more reliable.

HI LD
thanks for your comments.
The inclusions are " tiny needle and colorless bubbles invisible to the eye."
I will see about getting extra photos.
The only way to buy with my eyes is to buy and see it I will ask Ed about the darkness of it .

 

[movie zombie]

yes, number ratios and depth numbers just don''t work well in the world of color. often a native cut stone that is bottom heavy will display such great color that one will overlook that 1-it is native cut and 2-it is bottom heavy. being bottom heavy can give an advantage to the color as well.

a manly blue, not too dark to be black but rather small....i sense you have a design already in mind. mind sharing?

mz

 

[Michael_E]

Contact Andrew here: Aussie Sapphire and see what he''s got on hand. I''ve bought quite a bit of rough from him in the past and in smaller sizes they cut fantastic blues. The attached picture shows the color range of the best of them. If you want a real manly stone you need to ask for one with "hair" in it and no silk...silk is for the ladies.

 

[DianaBanana]

Date: 11/11/2009 11:28:10 PM
Author: Michael_E
Contact Andrew here: Aussie Sapphire and see what he''s got on hand. I''ve bought quite a bit of rough from him in the past and in smaller sizes they cut fantastic blues. The attached picture shows the color range of the best of them. If you want a real manly stone you need to ask for one with ''hair'' in it and no silk...silk is for the ladies.

I can vouch for the "manliness" of these sapphires.....I bought this pair from Michael E for one of my guy friends to replace two of the diamonds he had in a 3 stone ring. The end result was striking....and manly.

I should dig out the before''s and after''s.

 

[deorwine]

I can vouch for Ed''s return policy, which I have found to be quite excellent. So you need not have any fear of the possibility of having to return one of his stones. That being said, it''s obviously kind of a pain for both him and you, so yeah, asking him questions is a good thing (and he is a really nice guy and very willing to answer questions and give you all the information you need!)

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 11/12/2009 12:15:36 AM
Author: deorwine
I can vouch for Ed''s return policy, which I have found to be quite excellent.

hi deowine
did you buy from Ed and had to return the gemstone? If you did return it, why so?

 

[movie zombie]

i echo the idea of contacting Andrew of Aussie Sapphires......high end aussie sapphire is indeed "manly". i recently purchased a small sapphire that was cut from some of andrew''s rough. aussie sapphire tends to run "dark" but the really Really REALLY high end rough can cut to perfection w/o the darkness. you can''t go wrong!

mz

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 11/11/2009 11:28:09 PM
Author: movie zombie
yes, number ratios and depth numbers just don''t work well in the world of color. often a native cut stone that is bottom heavy will display such great color that one will overlook that 1-it is native cut and 2-it is bottom heavy. being bottom heavy can give an advantage to the color as well.


a manly blue, not too dark to be black but rather small....i sense you have a design already in mind. mind sharing?


mz

hi mz
what about not being bottom heavy? can a shallow stone still keep the nice colour within the stone?
i read that for very overly dark gemstones, they sometimes cut it shallower to make the colour/hue lighter.
true?

i have a design in mind but let me figure something out and see if its feasible before i start sharing.

 

[movie zombie]

see the response of Chrono and Loving above....

shallow cut might open up the stone to be lighter.....and open a window so big that you can see right through it.....which would not be a "manly" stone.

i''ve seen pictures of some stones that are shallow and concave cut. i''ve also read that concave cutting is done in order to brighten/lighten a stone and/or disguies inclusions.

if you haven''t purchased richard wise''s book re gems yet, you might want to. you''re jumping into the color stone world with both feet....a good thing. but a lot of your questions would be answered in his book.

mz

 

[ma re]

I really like that color, but you''d have to see it in person (or at least in more photos) to be able to really evaluate if it''s a good choice or not.

 

[chrono]

Mark,
My apologies for the disjointed sentence. That’s what happens when I try to chat on FB with 2 other friends at the same time while I try to answer questions on PS. I have to say though that this is the first time I’ve heard of a “manly” blue.

I meant that the colour of the sapphire is bright and very pretty but am concerned about the shallowness of the stone. Yes, it is possible for a shallow stone to still retain a nice colour, however, it also means it most likely has a window large enough for a herd of elephants to march through.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I like the Aussie sapphires personally, the color looks more "manly" to me.

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 11/12/2009 7:43:48 AM
Author: Chrono
a window large enough for a herd of elephants to march through.

Date: 11/12/2009 1:53:12 AM
Author: movie zombie
shallow cut might open up the stone to be lighter.....and open a window so big that you can see right through
mz

The description on his website specifically says zero window
I believe that should be accurate else it will be detrimental to his business.

So if we talk science, if its a 49% to 40% depth, is that possible to carve a gemstone with no window?

Pondering about this gemstone...

 

[LD]

Date: 11/12/2009 12:57:55 PM
Author: haagen_dazs

Date: 11/12/2009 7:43:48 AM
Author: Chrono
a window large enough for a herd of elephants to march through.

Date: 11/12/2009 1:53:12 AM
Author: movie zombie
shallow cut might open up the stone to be lighter.....and open a window so big that you can see right through
mz

The description on his website specifically says zero window
I believe that should be accurate else it will be detrimental to his business.

So if we talk science, if its a 49% to 40% depth, is that possible to carve a gemstone with no window?

Pondering about this gemstone...

Mark - if you look at my original post you''ll see that I mention that as it''s shallow 9 out of 10 times this will mean a window. There are always exceptions but when you see a stone cut this shallow (forget percentages - use your eyes), you would expect to see a HUGE window as Chrono has said. Now then, there are always exceptions and this may be one - but this is why I said you need to ask the question and ask to see a head on photo. Whether there is a window or not depends on the cut, facet placement etc etc etc so there is no absolute answer. With diamonds you can use numbers but you use eyes with coloured gemstones. The art of buying is different for both (although I buy diamonds with my eyes as well as they''re a useful tool that comes free

)

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 11/12/2009 3:19:16 PM
Author: LovingDiamonds
The art of buying is different for both (although I buy diamonds with my eyes as well as they''re a useful tool that comes free

)

Thanks LD
Hopefully I can get some photos. I also used my eyes to buy diamonds too.
Nothing beats looking at the real thing.

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 11/12/2009 9:11:55 AM
Author: MakingTheGrade
I like the Aussie sapphires personally, the color looks more ''manly'' to me.

you know, they do! If I was having something made for hubby with blue sapphs I''d go there.


-A

 

[haagen_dazs]

i am trying to understand how the Aussie sapphires blue is different from the deep cornflower/kashmir blue....
hmmm

 

[deorwine]

I did buy from Ed and returned it. Not because anything was wrong with the stone, which was beautiful and everything he said it would be, but it wasn''t quite the color I wanted at the time. Again this was very much my fault, as I thought I wanted one thing but it became clear I was really looking for another shade of color (uh, I was kind of confused at the time... hadn''t looked at enough stones in person). Anyway even though it was not at all any fault on his part Ed was very very gracious about the return process and offered to help me find something that would be more to my taste, and in general was very nice about the whole thing.

Actually, now, a couple years later, I wish I''d hung on to that stone; at some point I decided I really wanted that color after all (I told you I was confused!), but of course by that time someone else had bought it... D''oh!

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 11/11/2009 11:46:03 PM
Author: DianaBanana

The end result was striking....and manly.

I should dig out the before''s and after''s.

do you have the befores and afters?

are the australian sapphires too dark when hammer set into a man''s wedding band ?


how is the australian blue different from the ceylon blue? (i wonder if this qns can even be answered objectively .. lol oh wells)

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 11/20/2009 11:18:58 PM
Author: haagen_dazs

Date: 11/11/2009 11:46:03 PM

Author: DianaBanana


The end result was striking....and manly.

I should dig out the before''s and after''s.

do you have the befores and afters?


are the australian sapphires too dark when hammer set into a man''s wedding band ?



how is the australian blue different from the ceylon blue? (i wonder if this qns can even be answered objectively .. lol oh wells)

mark, a woman has just posted photos of her Aussie sapphire in SMTR - thought you may be interested:
thread

I think that should give you some idea of their appearance as compared to the Ceylons we more commonly see around here..