Your opinions on this sapphire from Dana, please!

[Blue-Seeker]

Hi,
I have been e-mailing Dana about this sapphire http://mastercutgems.com/preview.php?cat=251&id=6369
He's been great so far. I have a project in mind and I've got budget and color constraints, so I'd like some opinions, please!

The back story: I own two tsvorites, bright green, very brilliant, 4 mm each, trillion shape. I'd like to set them with a blue sapphire. Sounds simple, right? My budget for the sapphire was about $2,000. However, a kitchen remodel, new furnace and possible dental surgery for one of our dogs, leaves me with a budget of $500 for the stone. The bright side of this is that I don't want a large stone for this project because I have decided after looking at ring designs locally, that I'd prefer a wide band for this design, similar to number 12 on this page http://www.jalbrechtdesigns.com/15fabdesigns.html I will have the ring made locally, though, using the photos of number 12 as a jumping off point. This is a right-hand ring, and I will have it made in silver with high-carat yellow gold accents. I have many small loose diamonds in a variety of sizes from old jewelry that I will recycle as accent stones.

I prefer sapphires that have had as little treatment as possible, but heat-only is okay for this project. I'm wary of buying sapphires after all I've read on here, and my preference is to buy directly from cutters who seem to have more information on their stones. I'm not very picky about inclusions, or color zoning, if the color is appealing to me, and the price is right! In fact, I bought this http://www.spectralgems.net/corundum.html (last stone under fancy sapphires on this page - 2.35 Umba unheated) that my local jeweler is setting in a rose gold head on a wide, brushed sterling silver band. I had hoped that this sapphire would work with my tsavorites, and it did, in some lights, but this sapphire from Roger is a color chameleon, so I decided to use the trillions in a different ring design.

So, thoughts on the stone from Dana? I e-mailed him about the color and he said it is blue with no modifiers to his eye. I keep thinking I see teal in the photos, but it's hard to say. Dana also suggested round rather than oval with the trillions. I'm not opposed to having something custom cut, but with my budget, that may be pushing it.

I'll try to find some photos of my tsavorites. But capturing the green color may be impossible. Thank you!

 

[Aoife]

I love the design you're thinking of using for this ring!

To my eye, there seems to be both green and grey in this sapphire. Now, whether that would be an issue with the tsavorites, I don't know, but I do worry a bit whether the tsavs, which you describe as bright green, wouldn't overwhelm this sapphire. On the other hand, price/color/value is always a consideration. If you aren't sure, Dana has an excellent return policy, so it might be worth the shipping to take a look IRL.

 

[T L]

Well, I see modifiers of grey, and quite a bit, if the photo is accurate. It's also still in its native cut, so it appears its not a precision cut, or it's not a well done recut. It doesn't float my boat, no offense to Dana. There's other sapphires on his site that I've seen that I like better.

 

[LD]

Are you okay with blue having grey (i.e. will make it look colder)? If so, then apart from the window, which may close a bit in a setting, go for it. However, personally I don't like that much grey as, to me, it doesn't give the warmth, depth and general ooomph of a blue sapphire.

Like TL, I mean no offence to Dana who is one of the loveliest men ever but I agree that I've seen others on his site that have been more appealing.

 

[mastercutgems]

LOL.... No offense taken as I did not cut it... LOL... You Ladies are a hoot

Merry Christmas

Most respectfully;

Dana

 

[LD]

And that's why we love Dana!

I was considering this one myself as it's so pretty! How about this ............

http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6329

 

[Aoife]

And that's why we love Dana!

I was considering this one myself as it's so pretty! How about this ............

http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6329

I was looking at that one, too! It might be a bit light for the tsavorites--I think we may need photos of them to help with recommendations.

 

[T L]

And that's why we love Dana!

I was considering this one myself as it's so pretty! How about this ............

http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6329

I was looking at that one, too! It might be a bit light for the tsavorites--I think we may need photos of them to help with recommendations.

I saw that one too LD, and it's very nice for a light toned sapphire. Very very pretty and well cut!!

 

[Blue-Seeker]

I love the design you're thinking of using for this ring!

To my eye, there seems to be both green and grey in this sapphire. Now, whether that would be an issue with the tsavorites, I don't know, but I do worry a bit whether the tsavs, which you describe as bright green, wouldn't overwhelm this sapphire. On the other hand, price/color/value is always a consideration. If you aren't sure, Dana has an excellent return policy, so it might be worth the shipping to take a look IRL.

Thank you! I've had that design bookmarked for a while now, with the intention of recycling some stones from old jewelry.

The green and the grey modifiers are the issue, Aoife. I have looked at a lot of sapphires at my local jewelers over the past few months, and the tsavorites look best with bright, true blue sapphires with no modifiers. The green of the tsavorites seems to pull out any modifier in the sapphire. And the brilliance of the tsavorites also tends to wash out anything next to them. They are not very big, but they make up for it in color and brilliance

I prefer to look at stones locally, and I am fortunate to live near several goldsmiths who work with several of the cutters mentioned on PS, and who can source stones from Pala and other wholesalers, too. But with my budget, I've got to consider other options.

Of course the sapphire that looks best with the tsavorites is the 3.15-carat estate sapphire I've been ogling at a local jewelry store since August. It is a medium blue color with strong saturation. But way out of my budget now, and the owner -- it's on consignment -- is unwilling to agree to a sale contingent on an AGS report. So I do have an idea of the color I'm looking for.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Well, I see modifiers of grey, and quite a bit, if the photo is accurate. It's also still in its native cut, so it appears its not a precision cut, or it's not a well done recut. It doesn't float my boat, no offense to Dana. There's other sapphires on his site that I've seen that I like better.

Yes, I see the same thing in the photo, TL. I am a bit concerned about the window, too, but was hoping the design I chose would close it.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Are you okay with blue having grey (i.e. will make it look colder)? If so, then apart from the window, which may close a bit in a setting, go for it. However, personally I don't like that much grey as, to me, it doesn't give the warmth, depth and general ooomph of a blue sapphire.

Like TL, I mean no offence to Dana who is one of the loveliest men ever but I agree that I've seen others on his site that have been more appealing.

To be honest, LD, I never thought of the warm versus cold aspects to the color! But after looking at a lot of sapphires locally, I would say that a warm, true blue is the best color. So as little grey as possible. Perhaps it's the presence of grey modifiers that gives the sapphires a washed-out look next to the tsavorites?

 

[Blue-Seeker]

LOL.... No offense taken as I did not cut it... LOL... You Ladies are a hoot

Merry Christmas

Most respectfully;

Dana

They are an outspoken bunch, these ladies, aren't they But I appreciate their honesty. My apologies to the native cutter whose work we are picking apart!

 

[Blue-Seeker]

And that's why we love Dana!

I was considering this one myself as it's so pretty! How about this ............

http://mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6329

I was looking at that one, too! It might be a bit light for the tsavorites--I think we may need photos of them to help with recommendations.

I saw that one too LD, and it's very nice for a light toned sapphire. Very very pretty and well cut!!

Thank you, for the link, LD. This sapphire caught my eye, too. It is lovely. But I know without seeing that sapphire in person that it will be too light to pair with the tsavorites. And too much grey. The tsavorites will pull the grey out of that stone I could see that sapphire with a pale pink or pale yellow halo. I'm not much of a halo fan, but that stone seems to be calling for one. What a pretty engagement ring it would be with a diamond halo.

TL, Aiofe, and LD -- thank you! Yes, photos of the tsavorites will be helpful. It's sunny today. I'll do my best to capture their green goodness in photos.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Photos -- these are indoors on a windowsill. The color in the photo is fairly close to what I see in real life, but they are more brilliant in real life than these photos show.

Filtered sunlight coming in window from behind stones.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Can't figure out how to do multiples -- sorry!

So this is about as dark as they ever look. They hold their color well. Sometimes they look like they have a lot of blue in them; other times they look like they have more yellow in them.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

With a pen for size reference. These photos were taken on a windowsill with the light hitting the front of the stones. You can see a hint of the brilliance in these photos.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Another one indoors, filtered sunlight.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Last one. I'm wearing a blue T-shirt. There may be some reflection of my shirt in this photo.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Whoops -- one more. This one's a little less blurry.

 

[Aoife]

Those are very pretty, and I agree that you are going to need a blue sapphire that has a little snap to the color. Unfortunately, I don't think Dana has anything that's quite right at the moment.

Have you checked out Multicolour, Gemfix, and Simply Sapphires?

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Those are very pretty, and I agree that you are going to need a blue sapphire that has a little snap to the color. Unfortunately, I don't think Dana has anything that's quite right at the moment.

Have you checked out Multicolour, Gemfix, and Simply Sapphires?

A sapphire with a little snap. That's a great way to put it, Aoife! Thank you for the compliment on my tsavorites. The photos show the stones in filtered sunlight. Under fluorescent light or bright sunlight, they are brighter and neon-y.

So far, I've contacted Dana and Rick Martin. And both have been great. I agree with you that the sapphires Dana has listed will probably be washed out by the tsavorites. Rick's got a few that sound promising. Edit: And, yes, I've looked at Gemfix and Simply Sapphires. But I haven't checked out Multicolor. Simply Sapphires was one of the first places I contacted when I started my search in August. They were having a sale in September, and a few stones I was considering sold very quickly. They were also a great company to work with; very responsive. I will certainly consider them for smaller, accent-size sapphires. I'm impressed with their selection of calibrated sapphires in smaller sizes.

But, actually, I'm considering a different combination, given my budget constraints and the premium on blue sapphires. Just by accident, I noticed how good the tsavorites look with the black pen tip in the photos. And I got to thinking that a black-green combo with small sapphire and diamond accent stones could be really nice, and very art deco looking. So maybe a black spinel is in my future. The black spinels I've seen posted on here lately are really gorgeous.

 

[chrono]

The tsavorites look great; you'll need a center sapphire that's going to do them justice.

 

[pregcurious]

What a beautiful green.

 

[Blue-Seeker]

Thank you, Chrono and pregcurious. Yes, these stones are a very intense green. I need an intense blue sapphire, a very saturated blue, with this green. An expensive blue. Sigh. I think I'll may have to pair these with a different center stone. Or, if I stick with a sapphire, I will have to increase my budget. Because even in smaller sizes, the intense blue I'm looking for is expensive. I wish sapphires were not so popular these days. I blame Will and Kate for my predicament