Where to start? So many choices!

[DecoDaze]

Hi all, this is a jewelry week for me. I'm a couple of months away from finishing a decade-long project, and I'm planning a ring to commemorate the occasion. I'd like a colored stone; I've purchased a few in the past, but I'm really a newbie when it comes to CS. Budget is about $2500 for the stone (though would be great to come in under, even way under, that!). I'd like a 6.5-8mm round, because most of the settings I'm drawn to require round stones. I do not want a kashmir-ish sapphire because I have other blue sapphires in my collection already, and I'd like this to be a bit different. I also don't want anything yellowish/orange/pink, or yellowish green, which don't work well with my skin tone. Hot pink is OK with my skin tone, but not really my style. So... lighter blues, blue green, reds, purples would all be good. The stone has to be appropriate for a ring, obviously, and I need it to be relatively sturdy, because hard as I try, I'm hard on my stuff. I don't know how I'll set it yet, but I gravitate toward bezels, so I'd like to try get a stone that won't black out in a bezel.

I'm looking at Montana sapphires--love the blue greens--and spinels, though I'm getting that spinels in that size with colors that I like seem to be out of my budget. But I don't know. Can you open my eyes to some options within the above limits? Thanks so much for your help!

 

[VapidLapid]

Jadeite,
old stock or vintage because of the embargo

 

[SparkliesLuver]

What do you think of this?

http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-colored-gemstone/barry-blue-green-tourmaline

Beautiful color. Price is way below your budget. Size is a tad larger than your range but not by much. I know it's not the toughest stone out there but it'd still look beautiful in a bezel, I bet.

 

[Starzin]

Congratulations on your project coming to an end and deciding to treat yourself with a memorable piece of jewellery!

Montana sapphires - have you had a look through Gemfix? Andrew is a precision cutter and cuts many (but not all) of the stones on his site. We have just evaluated a few for someone else so if you search a few pages you'll probably find the thread.

Mmmm... lavender jade. While this one is large and oval, it's simply set so that, if it appeals, you can wear it while deciding on a setting. Note that the price is in pounds and converts to approx $2,110usd.

Hard wearing and distinctively different!

 

[chrono]

Do you want something faceted or cabbed? In actuality, spinel is going to be cheaper than sapphire unless you are fine with heat treatment or colours that are less in demand.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Found a couple more for consideration:

http://jefferydavies.com/inventory/product/215-spinel-1-20ct
Love the video. It looks pretty round to me but the listing says oval - you'd have to ask to make sure. Way under budget.

http://www.finewatergems.com/spinel.html
The last one on the page - the 3.08 Burmese spinel. I really like the deep pinkish purple color but I wonder if it'd get too dark in a bezel. You'd have to see it in various lighting situations.

I'm sure others with better opinions and more experience will chime in too.

 

[chrono]

http://jefferydavies.com/inventory/product/215-spinel-1-20ct
Love the video. It looks pretty round to me but the listing says oval - you'd have to ask to make sure. Way under budget.

It is a roval, a cross between a round and an oval with a difference of 0.5 mm in its LxW.

 

[DecoDaze]

Thanks, all! I was thinking faceted... I find myself becoming distracted by all the lovely colors and shapes out there.

SparkliesLover--Love the finewater gems spinel. It's a little big, but I suppose I could make that work... Re the blue-green tourmaline: It's gorgeous, but I'm thinking a little too minty/pastel for me.

Starzin--Thanks for the tip on the montana thread!

I thought I had looked around a lot, but for some reason I missed the spinels on Finewatergems. This is really helpful, thanks!

 

[pregcurious]

I am drawn to the same colors, mostly in saturated medium to medium dark stones. I tend to stick to sapphires and spinels for durability. I can't imagine spending more than $500 on something that is luxury and worrying about my being so vlsy that I would break it.

 

[Vidalia]

Precision Gem has a really lovely round cut sapphire that's about 7.4 mm that's just within a budget of $2500.

Link: http://www.precisiongem.com/Gemstones/rapidcart/sapphire.html
Also, AJS has several roval cut pink sapphires and rose-colored spinels that might suit your color preferences.
Happy hunting!

 

[FrekeChild]

I saw the 3.08ct spinel in person and was not impressed at all. I didn't even take pictures of it (and I take pictures of pretty much everything!) because it was so disappointing. So, having seen it in person, I would say no to that one. It's a dark plum color with a bit of brown to it.

 

[DecoDaze]

Thanks for letting me know, FrekeChild, I'll skip it for sure.

pregcurious, yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking. This ring is something I want to wear a lot and to last. So I want it to be durable.

Vidalia, that sapphire is lovely!

So after spending way too much time in the last couple of days hunting around online, I'm starting with three Montana sapphires from gemfix. Laurie was nice in our email exchange and said I really needed to see them in person. I found myself coming back to the blue-green colors over and over. Though I'm afraid they don't all meet my criteria, as of the three, only one is round! And one is a bit above my budget. But now I'm thinking I'll just figure out the setting after I find THE stone (although this project started with the setting, I've done this before, where a project ends up in a completely different place than it started). They're all really different, so I'm curious to see what (if anything) grabs me. I haven't seen any in real life, so that seemed like a good way to approach it. The sapphires should arrive next week.

I ordered #331, 371, and 399 from http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_montana.html......

I see that #371 had been mentioned before, but not purchased, so I'm wondering if that means it's less impressive in person? Anyway, I'd love your thoughts based on these listings. And who knows? One of these might be the one, or I might be back to the drawing board. It's fun, regardless.

 

[pregcurious]

Hey DecoDaze, I can't wait to hear your impression of the stones.

Would you consider 446? It's a green Montana on Gemfix's site. I've been drawn to it and wondering what it looks like in real life. If I am ever in San Diego, want to visit in person.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I saw the 3.08ct spinel in person and was not impressed at all. I didn't even take pictures of it (and I take pictures of pretty much everything!) because it was so disappointing. So, having seen it in person, I would say no to that one. It's a dark plum color with a bit of brown to it.

My apologies for recommending. Thanks for chiming in, FrekeChild!

Can't wait to hear your thoughts about the stones (and see pictures!) once they arrive.

 

[DecoDaze]

Thanks, Sparklies! Can't wait to share.

And pregcurious, I would definitely consider 446--if it wasn't $2000 over my budget! Looks amazing.

 

[Starzin]

So after spending way too much time in the last couple of days hunting around online, I'm starting with three Montana sapphires from gemfix. Laurie was nice in our email exchange and said I really needed to see them in person. I found myself coming back to the blue-green colors over and over. Though I'm afraid they don't all meet my criteria, as of the three, only one is round! And one is a bit above my budget. But now I'm thinking I'll just figure out the setting after I find THE stone (although this project started with the setting, I've done this before, where a project ends up in a completely different place than it started). They're all really different, so I'm curious to see what (if anything) grabs me. I haven't seen any in real life, so that seemed like a good way to approach it. The sapphires should arrive next week.

I think you've made excellent choices! The first thing being - as you noted - that you have a choice of shape, cut and colour in order to refine what you really like in this gem. I think that's really important with Montanas because they appear to be so difficult to capture with a camera. Andrew seems to be cutting all the time and a few have been added since burntskye''s thread started only a week or two ago.

Can't wait for your impressions - and photos - of them!

 

[ephsea]

I've fawned over #371 on many occasions. Love that color, and the supernova cut is a wonderful oval cut IMO.

 

[chrono]

The three you listed are so different from each other that to compare them to one another would be unfair (pear, apple and orange).

 

[DecoDaze]

Thanks, Starzin and ephsea! I'm really excited to get them!

Chrono, I deliberately chose really different gems, all of which spoke to me online, to get a sense of what I like in real life. So it's not really about comparing them. I'm sure we've all had the experience of falling in love with something online and then realizing that that shape or color or what have you just doesn't look good on our finger. At least I managed to narrow it down to a blue-green color! If one of these really grabs me, perhaps I'll order a comparison stone. Or maybe not, if I love it. I asked my local jeweler to source some for me, but she didn't come up with much, so I thought gemfix would be the better way to go. But maybe I'm just a sucker for all their pretty pictures.

 

[Starzin]

Just throwing this into the mix - already set but with double halo of blue diamonds then white diamonds. While it's above your budget for the stone alone, it may fit for overall cost if the setting appeals.

Note the video link on the page.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/200228...ed-blue-green-montana?ref=shop_home_active_16

ETA: note the blue diamonds are most likely irradiated but could also be synthetic so do ask if it interests you.

 

[DecoDaze]

Well, this is disappointing. I was all ready to come on and announce that the sapphires had arrived, but when I opened the package... it was the wrong order. I received a garnet meant for somebody else. Apparently my sapphires are on their way to Tennessee, so who knows how long it's going to be until I get them???

Starzin, somebody snatched that ring up not long after you posted it!

 

[pregcurious]

Those lurkers!

 

[FrekeChild]

Honestly, I had a terrible experience with GemFix when they sold something out from under me that they had promised to me. They told me that they would be relisting it on Monday for me to buy, and relisted it Friday instead.

I highly doubt I'd do business with them again, based on the above situation and because I find them a bit overpriced compared to other places.

I was amused when the stone was returned back to them, and they emailed to let me know it was still available. That stone has been sold three times that I know of, and returned every single time.

 

[Starzin]

Bummer!!!
It will probably be another week then - how disappointing for you. Still a little more anticipation never hurt anyone.

Re JuliaB ring - ooh! Not to worry, she has also done a Montana cushion you can see in her sold items. I pointed Sparklies at it in her thread last night but I don't think it's of interest in that particular style - so if it appeals to you, the point is that JuliaB has a source for blue diamonds and can make something similar. However most custom jewellers could probably get them if you wanted to pursue it and get a couple of quotes when you have your centre stone.

 

[DecoDaze]

Update: Andrew called and apologized profusely. He said this was the first time this had happened. They're paying for both of us to overnight our packages back to gemfix, and then they will overnight them to us. And give us a discount on a purchase. Certainly nice enough, though I'd rather not make an extra trip to FedEx! We'll see how it goes...

 

[Starzin]

However... he has done what he could to correct the situation in the fastest way he could and with a sweetener - not all bad from that point of view. Just a little longer

 

[chrono]

At least the customer service response is quick and positive.

 

[DecoDaze]

So I'm hoping the sapphires will arrive on Tuesday, if they are able to overnight them on Monday. And yes, Chrono, the customer service was very responsive--and like I said, incredibly apologetic. I called, they apologized and said they'd call me back with a plan, and then Andrew called not ten minutes later. It's maybe just as well, since DH has been out of town and is returning tonight. This way I'll be able to show him the stones repeatedly over 7 days instead of just 3. He'll be thrilled.

The only real problem I'm having is that I keep thinking about the setting possibilities for different shapes. I need some focus! I don't buy new pieces all that often so when I do, I have a hard time narrowing down my wish list.

FrekeChild, out of curiosity, which stone was it that you've seen sold repeatedly? Were they apologetic when they sold the stone against their promise to you?

 

[DecoDaze]

Update: gemfix sapphires have arrived. See thread here: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gemfix-montana-sapphires-thoughts.206181/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gemfix-montana-sapphires-thoughts.206181/[/URL]