Need a sapphire, advice saught please!

[imitcan]

I have four .25 ct princess cut diamonds that I would like to use as sidestones with a natural medium blue sapphire. My question is; what shape(s) and size range should the sapphire be. I would be wearing this ring on my right hand and I have small fingers (size 3.5) If anyone has any photos of a similar setting I would love to see them.
Thank you for your time. I am a new poster to this forum but have been learning so much from everyone else's contributions.

 

[JewelFreak]

A little more info would be helpful -- such as what your budget is; what sort of style do you like (antique, contemporary, etc.); though you said "natural," would you be willing to accept any treatment, such as heat; what shape(s) do you like best. With such tiny fingers (lucky you!) you probably wouldn't need to go for a real large stone.

Try trolling through the Show Me The Bling forum too -- you might find settings or stones (cut & color) there that give you ideas you like. Sounds like a fun project!

 

[imitcan]

Thanks for the prompt and helpful response JewelFreak! In hindsight, I realize I could have added more information and detail. My preference is for simple and timeless jewellery pieces. My engagement ring is a 1.07 rb solitaire, set in a contour knife edge setting about 3mm in width. It is almost 21 years old, and I still love it.
As for budget, I am at a loss when it comes to the cost of sapphires, which is why I wanted to get an idea of what size I might need to look for. I wouldn't be opposed to some heat treatment but not so much that the end product is not anything like it was in its original state!
I know I don't want a round sapphire, but would an oval look alright with princess sidestones? Or will the ring look better with a square cut sapphire? I am glad to have the hands of 5 yr. old when it comes to wearing my wedding rings and I hope it will be advantageous when it comes to buying a sapphire that looks bigger on my hand than it really is. I do want the center stone to look balanced with the sidestones though.
As soon as I have some time I will definitely look at the Show Me the Bling forum!! Any other suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[chel180]

Maybe these will give you some ideas? I personally think that princess side-stone would look best with a square shaped centre stone.


I was on Bill Kent's website earlier and has a couple of beautiful and well prices blues sapphires with certs that you might like to look at. Not to mention hes a true gent to work with. Try http://sapphires.ca/bluesapphiresw.html- beware his photos are always rubbish but the stones irl are anything but!

 

[imitcan]

Hello chel180!
Thank you for the link to Bill Kent and sapphires.ca. I am spending too much time already browsing his wares and drooling!!! The possibilities are more endless than I thought. I am getting behind on all matter of things over here.
I am thinking that a squarish cut sapphire or princess cut sapphire of about 1-1.25 carats would look best with two .25 ct princess diamonds on either side of it. I wish I could go bigger, but the budget really should not be stretched that much. I love the photos you attached, particularly the second one from the top - the radiant sapphire-! That is what I was invisioning only with 2 princess diamonds on either side. What carat weight do you think that radiant sapphire is?

 

[FrekeChild]

Hello chel180!
I love the photos you attached, particularly the second one from the top - the radiant sapphire-! That is what I was invisioning only with 2 princess diamonds on either side. What carat weight do you think that radiant sapphire is?

We're not even going to be able to give you an idea on what the carat weight of the radiant sapphire. That ring could be a size 3 or a size 10, so that's no help. The diamonds could be .10ctw or 5ctw. So there is really no way to give you any idea as to how big that sapphire is.

You need to start thinking in dimensions. I've been in colored stones for so long that I have no idea how big of a spread ANY carat weight of a diamond should give you, except that a 1ct round diamond should be about 6.5mm.

I have a 1.14ct lavender sapphire radiant and I believe it's about 6.7 x 4.8mm. But colored stones vary - they are not cut to order like diamonds, you can't just have a list of stats and expect 10 stones to appear that fit those specs perfectly the way you can with diamonds.

So what you need:
Idea of color: blue? What shade? How saturated? Violet or green tones? Pure blue?
Shape: radiant/barion emerald/rectangular/square
Budget?
Dimensions?

 

[imitcan]

Wow!! I have certainly come to the right place for advice! Wish I can have you all over for dinner for more in-depth discussion.
I think that to keep the centre stone balanced with the sidestones the minimum dimensions of a squarish stone should be 5 or 6 mm And my finite budget dictates that I shouldn't really be looking at anything bigger than 7 or 8 mm. And I know that the squarish stones will not be perfectly square. The princess diamond sidestones are about 4 mm square. Am I making any sense?
I know I would like a blue sapphire and I am open to it having undertones of violet or green, but I have never seen one like that in real life. The nicest one I have seen is on the finger of a former co-worker. It was blue and very sparkly and oval. I know I do not want it so saturated that it looks navy blue/black. But if it is only blue that is fine. I like the princess cut stones as well as the radiants the best. I would not be opposed to a rectangular sapphire either, if all other details about it were to my liking.
Okay, so now for budget; I hope I don't sound completely ridiculous, but I would like to keep the cost of the stone under $1000.00!!! I plan on having a local independent jeweller set the stones for me. He did our wedding rings almost 2 decades ago and we still love them and they are holding up wonderfully.
I am making the trek to the city soon, so hopefully I will see a variety of sapphire rings in some swanky jewellery stores there, and get a better idea of colour saturation, undertones and dimensions.
Thanks again, you are all so knowledgeable and generous with your time!