Purple sapphire ring

[rimshotsnap]

Hi All,

Some of you may know I'm working on an alex e-ring for when I plan to propose in September. In addition, I would like to create a simple ring for my girlfriend's mom as well, since I will be stealing her daughter (and she will be moving overseas to be with me). I want a purple sapphire (mom's birthstone, and favorite color), simple design, and would like to engrave the words "forever in your debt" or something like that on the band, ideally in her native language.

Since the alex ring will take pretty much my full budget, I'm hoping the second ring is pretty but cost effective. Any suggestions for how I should go about putting this together? I leave in mid-September so need everything together by then.

I've found a few examples of nice-looking stones in the 1 ct. range for 200-300 dollars, but I'd love some help in locating a decent stone. Other costs would be the metal (not sure what to choose), engraving (not sure where to go), and labor (not sure who to use).

A couple stones I've found:
http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-colored-gemstone/1-dot-34ct-unheated-purple-sapphire;6410
http://www.precisiongem.com/rapidcartproPG/index.php?product/page/100/gem-1673--purple-sapphire
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-06-carat-cushion-unheated-purple-sapphire-Loose-purple-sapphire-Certified-/171871601217?hash=item2804588241

Would love input from the wonderful folks on this board! All my plans are happening faster than I'd normally prefer, but such is the nature of my life these days

 

[MollyMalone]

Less than a carat, but I like the slight color-shift & the cut; her pics, in my experience, are accurate. Listed at $300, but Yvonne Raley has a sale through today, so $255; 2-week, unconditional return-refund policy. Given your time constraints, think you'd be better off getting the whole shebang from the same vendor (and eliminate stones that are overseas). I think Yvonne would do well by you.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/239412021/sale-unheated-color-change-ceylon?

She's used a terrific NYC engraver -- Alex Pugachevskiy -- for some of her designs. He may be overkill (i.e. pricey) for merely an inside inscription, but I wanted you to have the reassurance that her engraver does excellent work; maybe you'd decide to also have visible engraving done on the ring?

 

[rimshotsnap]

Great suggestion, Molly! I looked at Yvonne's stones first and somehow passed this up since the picture looked more blue than purple. But I love the CC component. I will talk to her

 

[Niel]

I like the loupe troop one.

 

[minousbijoux]

I love either the LT stone or the option of Yvonne Raley - in fact, Yvonne's stone looks gorgeous! Here's another purple sapphire on LT:
http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-colored-gemstone/untreated-pinkish-violet-sapphire-agl-brief

 

[canuk-gal]

I love either the LT stone or the option of Yvonne Raley - in fact, Yvonne's stone looks gorgeous! Here's another purple sapphire on LT:
http://loupetroop.com/listings/loose-stones-colored-gemstone/untreated-pinkish-violet-sapphire-agl-brief

great suggestions---beat me to it!

cheers--Sharon

 

[rimshotsnap]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I've been trading emails with Yvonne today and think we already have a plan. We're going to do a center sapphire, and side stones of emerald and zircon (her daughter and my birthstones). Something like this:



I think we'll go with the first sapphire. The sapphire isn't as true purple as I was originally thinking, but it should work. Easy process, great symbolism, pretty ring, reputable source. Seems pretty hard to beat.

I want to take everyone here out to lunch to say thank you.

 

[minousbijoux]

It does appear that Yvonne's sapphire has a darker side ( ), but the question is just how dark?

 

[rimshotsnap]

Great questions about the darkness of the sapphire. Yvonne says it is very dark in real life, but will perk up in a setting. I wasn't planning on looking at the stone first. I suppose I should get more information about just how dark it really is, and whether or not there are other options. Since the setting is a stock size, I'll need a round stone, exactly 5mm in diameter.

 

[MollyMalone]

Great questions about the darkness of the sapphire. Yvonne says it is very dark in real life, but will perk up in a setting. I wasn't planning on looking at the stone first. I suppose I should get more information about just how dark it really is, and whether or not there are other options. Since the setting is a stock size, I'll need a round stone, exactly 5mm in diameter.

This sapphire (5.03 mm) is closer to 5 mm than the one I linked up-thread, so I'm wondering if it's the one you're speaking of:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/241297656/sale-unheated-color-change-ceylon?

P.S. Isn't it incredibly wonderful that Yvonne has been giving up weekend time to work with you on this?!

 

[MollyMalone]

You shouldn't worry that these are the only 5mm sapphires available to her, because she is in New York where many, many gems can be sourced much more easily than in other locations.

Let me just add a cautionary advisory about this. Yes, Yvonne is based in Jersey City, which is right across the Hudson River from Manhattan. But.... this is the time of year when a number of doors in the Diamond District are shuttered because many of those in "the trade" are taking vacation as respite before things kick into high gear once again. So all her sources may not be available to her just now, even if she herself is not taking time off.

Are you concerned that your future mother-in-law will think less of you if the sapphire is dark? It's possible you may have fewer demands (other than nailing down the e-ring) on your attention, energy, and spare time than I'm imagining & you can easily afford to knock your socks off. But if the perfect-stone-for-the-money-allotted doesn't quickly come into sight, I hope you won't beat yourself up. The Duchess of Cambridge -- along with countless other women -- are happily wearing rings with sapphires that are too dark by PS-trade standards. I predict that it's your sweet, generous thoughtfulness which will shine through more brightly than any stone ever could!

P.S. for Diane: quite a few of my friends and family members are small business owners or solo entrepreneurs (heck, I was married for a number of years to one). So I know how any "off" time represents lost opportunities and revenue. But since surviving an unexpected heart attack at the age of 48, I've striven to dial back my own "sure, can do!" tendencies, give myself permission to be "lazy" & like to see others who are ambitious/quite conscientious do the same. So it would be fine with me if Yvonne didn't go above and beyond for her customers on weekends and evenings. No jewelry-related purchase is an emergency crisis of life-threatening proportions

 

[mochiko42]

You know, I really think you should see the two sapphires in person in conjunction with the other gems. You've waited this long, and judging from how quickly the alexes reached you, it would add only a few days to the process. I'm just afraid that the sapphire on the left will be too dark and will look kind of lifeless. This is an important ring that may even be passed on to the next generation, and I feel that you should see how the stones look next to each other. I know from what Yvonne writes in her item descriptions that she also believes that people should see the gems they are buying, so I'm sure she would have no objection to sending them out to you. You shouldn't worry that these are the only 5mm sapphires available to her, because she is in New York where many, many gems can be sourced much more easily than in other locations.

I also wanted to mention the engraving in Korean characters inside the ring. If you live in an area where there are many Asians, I believe that you should have that done by someone familiar with the Korean language. I saw that someone mentioned Yvonne's engraver Alex as masterful, and I agree - he engraved my initial "D" on the shank of a ring and it looked great, and he creates wonderful designs. However, as far as I know he has no knowledge of Korean. Too many things could go wrong. I speak as someone who had to reject a silver bowl that I intended to give as a present when it was engraved by someone who spelled the recipient's name wrong. True, the inscription could be "erased," but why take a chance?

Sorry if this seems too much like nit-picking, but I felt I should share my concerns, because you impress me as a careful person who has invested a lot of time in researching these projects. Personally I would advise you to go the extra mile to make sure you get something that meets your expectations.

Diane

I think I must have missed the part where OP mentioned that the engraving will be in Korean.
Anyway, if it helps, one of the gemsetters and jewelers at Greenlake Jewelry is Korean; he has an IG account and posts some great work there too. Hope it's helpful! 감사합니다 (kamsahamnida, thanks)
http://www.greenlakejewelry.com/artist_bio.aspx?eid=8

 

[rimshotsnap]

I truly appreciate all the thoughtful comments here.

Yes, I would like for the engraving to be done in English. Yvonne told me that as long as the text can be put into a Microsoft Word file, it should be suitable for engraving (can be easily done with Korean). The engraving is an important part of the overall piece, so I would definitely want to feel confident that this would be done right. I suppose one other consideration is the font: Microsoft Korean is pretty blocky and boring: It might look nicer to have a more stylized engraving. I will definitely get some more information from Yvonne and about this and consider some other options.

My future mother-in-law definitely has her preferences.. she's a picky lady and I mean that in the best way possible But she isn't expecting any kind of gift, and I'm sure she would love anything I give her. Of course, I want to give her something that just on the surface is as nice and it can be. The perfect stone would be a deep royal purple since I know she loves that color, but at some point I have to prioritize my own energy expenditure. I still have to plan the proposal and the trip to SE Asia that follows! I suppose I should start by getting more input from Yvonne. I'll have to think about this.

Lastly, yes, it is amazing to me how responsive Yvonne has been (though last night she selfishly had an evening out with friends ) She has been wonderful to work with and I leave it to her to make those work/life choices.

 

[chrono]

If possible, go with the lighter sapphire. It is always better to err on the lighter tone than dark.