shape
carat
color
clarity

What do you think of a big pastel blue sapphire?

Should I get the stone?

  • Yes

    Votes: 31 88.6%
  • No

    Votes: 4 11.4%

  • Total voters
    35
  • Poll closed .

pwsg07

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 21, 2016
Messages
739
You summed it up really well.

I was analyzing my analysis-paralysis and I think it’s because it’s my first blue sapphire? Now I don’t know if I will/should stop at one (blue sapphire) so I keep thinking it’s got to be PERFECT.

If I plan to get multiples, then this is a winner from a size perspective as I know I cannot afford a large cornflower blue sapphire. So far it sounds like quite a few PS-ers have multiples?




Can you pls share/post pics of your sapphire? Thanks so much.




What color is your sapphire? Regarding the color I asked and my jeweller is very honest to say it’s pastel. We were looking at it together with his friend and we concluded it’s velvety pastel if that makes sense.

2FC10AFB-BB3B-4ED4-99A0-188B344A1A54.jpeg
This pic probably makes it look better/more blue but you get a sense of the slight velvety-ness. And size. It’s a total giant next to the 1.4? Pink sapphire lol.


The actual cornflower blue sapphire on the Lotus colour chart.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cornflower-blue.250030/


Do you have a thread for the pink sapphire? I cannot find the thread. So pretty
 

qubitasaurus

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
Messages
1,653
I think so, for various reasons... but I think there is a good chance I’ll continue to look for big sapphires if I get a 3 ct cornflower blue anyway simply cos I like bigger stones.

When you say saturated stone, do you mean you expect the stone color to be stronger? Do you have any examples?

Hmm... I’ll also go and do more reading in a while.




That’s Spider-Man! My nickname for that stone/ring. I actually really like the color. If it was unheated I would have gotten it long ago. But it’s heated so... anyway Spidey is sold (and not to me)... so can’t go and admire it any more. :(2




Can you pls share pics of your sapphire ring? Thank you.



Erm so you think shouldn’t buy? :confused:

Haha yes it does look like a spider. I actually really do prefer the current one you are looking at, it seems more likely to command attention as apposed to having the setting steal the lime light.
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,364
Colour is so personal it’s hard to say whether to get it or not. I like light blue, but with more intensity. Not everyone likes the same. The question is how much is it “worth it” to you?
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Ok hope this works. This is a short video that I took yesterday...


Using an iPhone which I feel amps up the blue/color a bit.

Woke up and was still thinking about it hahahah
 

arkieb1

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
9,786
The important question is "do you like it?" It looks like a very pretty color to me! But that is a very personal thing. Also, I disagree with the color chart you posted, with regard to what "cornflower" blue is. That is an often abused term. Cornflower blue is lighter than what most people think. The original intent of that term was to describe sapphires that looked like actual cornflowers. Do a google image search for "cornflowers," and you might be surprised by what you see. What they are calling "cornflower" I would say is closer to royal blue than actual cornflower blue.

While real cornflowers (the actual flowers) are lighter in colour we are talking about what Lotus in Thailand (the lab owned by Richard Hughes) and other labs classify as "cornflower" to them it's a darker vivid yet still bright blue that is much darker than the flowers. But if you have seen a lot of sapphires what Americans call Royal (and what you describe as cornflower) isn't royal at all, royal blue is that really dark dark blue. And there are lots of shades of blue in between.

I think you have to see a lot of sapphires and understand what colours the labs themselves class as specific colours to understand, which I admit is difficult because even Sri Lanka dealers themselves have a different view of describing blue sapphires to most of the labs....

I've found most people on here have a different view of what "cornflower" is to what the labs do, so everyone gets confused.... This stone (which has been sold) came back from Lotus as "medium" and "cornflower" yet by the standards of everyone here and by the photo above you can see it is no where near the colour of real "cornflowers"
2.80 Cushion Inside Lightbox 5.JPG
 
Last edited:

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
072D4813-B218-4EDF-B3A1-434F9606782C.png 1096DCB2-67CE-42DF-A4FC-A4A92026A39C.jpeg 728EB2F5-1A18-4970-8EC9-F7A88303E653.jpeg E9FE92D8-53C8-427B-8EC6-6087052F3744.jpeg
Sure..here it is. Ranges between these shades. Forgive but I’m not a great photographer and my pics tend to always upload looking less saturated, but I hope it the pics give an impression. In office lighting, it looks less saturated and more lavender ish, but doesn’t go dark.

Unheated Sri Lankan, around 5 carats. It has sustained a lot of abuse over the years. I’ll need to get some of the micro abrasions polished out some day. But it’s like an old friend at this point.

It’s beautiful!! And round (which is so hard to find). You have an amazing collection! Thanks for sharing your pics. Does look more saturated than the one I’m considering? Doesn’t seem like it goes gray.

My go-to for discussion of color gemstone saturation is GemLab - https://www.gemlab.co.in/what-is-gem-color-saturation/

Thank you. Ok I think I shouldn’t get so hung up over designations after reading all your posts. Plus I’m actually slightly confused by all the terminology after reading.

I think it would really pop in rose gold.

It will have to be in white gold. I only wear WG as rose blends into my skin and yellow just looks awful on me. :P2
 

arkieb1

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
9,786
Are you going to get it?
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Using my iPhone so can’t type too much at a go in case anyone is annoyed with my numerous posts.

some pictures to show paleness. the cut makes it sparkly but the color is definitely pale and very far from ideal (your sapphire looks more saturated in color than mine).
D0170680-C7E5-4689-ADE5-31E3F04A7A72.jpeg 980278AC-3F12-4FA8-83ED-4E200EA16424.jpeg
(indoors without any artificial lights)

few photos indoors without any lights to show the darkest it can get.
1944645F-5339-4D2F-9895-B1C098AFBC07.jpeg
FDD3C7A0-7C51-4199-AD5C-E6429E532CF9.jpeg

how it’s like indoors usually
1F4D06EF-EF32-41CB-9014-65A6AD9EE6C3.jpeg
37D6E007-E94B-48F9-B620-C8D05A849F8D.jpeg

and in indirect sunlight
BEFA6B8C-D4D3-4822-8A06-8FF05305D8A5.jpeg

you’re right - i likes the sapphire when i got it from gary but wasn’t wild about it like i expected to me. after setting it, i liked it much more. same with the grossular garnet i got from mastercut. the color wasn’t green enough for me to be chartreuse and it wasn’t a vivid yellow. after setting it in rose gold, with the white diamonds around it, it made the stone look much better.

FWIW, the picture of your stone in the setting (next to the pink) is to die for IMO. but i’m a fan of pale stones.

Thanks for all the pics! Your ring is beautiful!

Glad I’m not the only one who feels that way about stones with/without settings. Hehe. Yours is precision cut so probably much more sparkly than the one I’m considering which is native cut.

I agree with @chrono that saturation is not the highest of the high, not least because of the silk that might make things a little worse in low light & better in direct sunlight. I like what I am seeing, whether I'd buy is another question - I think I am very monogamous about satones (one at a time) and this is not my ideal sappire colour (neither is the standard). The stone is memorable as it is - for its subtle colour to play with, beautiful shape.

2p



digressing ... I see sapphires erring violet out of blue exactly as cornflowers do - getting violetish with age & sunbleach, which is their typical look ...

I’ve never seen a cornflower irl!
FE55C3B5-F0B5-48E6-B900-28E4EFD63040.jpeg

Oh hmm. I suppose from an overall scheme of things considering how many rings I have now I’m not monogamous that way.

I mean, ideally if I can have one mind-blowing blue in the right color and size that is the most ideal - that’s what I meant by a category killer (and then I would be totally monogamous to that blue sapphire) but realistically my budget won’t allow me to get one in the color and size like that.

... not unless they want to sell five sapphires each year world-wide.

Hahahahaha

Random thought. One of the vendors did tell me that different markets have different color preferences, and maybe to do with the typical lighting in that region and/or cultural differences.

I live on the equator so the sunlight is probably as strong as it gets all year round.
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
I would not consider the colour as pastel, more cornflower myself.

If I were to ask Jeff White to cut me one of his signature Asscher cut, this is the kind of colour I would go for, so that I could see the windmill.

DK :))

Thank you. Really so nice to hear that.

The actual cornflower blue sapphire on the Lotus colour chart.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cornflower-blue.250030/


Do you have a thread for the pink sapphire? I cannot find the thread. So pretty

Omg you have THE sapphire on the chart? :eek2:
That’s amazing. I feel like I have a celebrity friend.

If you don’t mind can you pls post some pics of the stone in different lighting? Thanks so much.

It’s an unheated pink sapphire that I just got. My jeweller will set in my old engagement ring setting. Don’t have many pics of it. Just snapped a few yesterday as was more focused on the blue sapphire.

CDC1687A-8467-4C5A-8B2E-06742B66F139.jpeg

It was a fairly quick decision. Very pink, sparkly, unheated, round, fits my setting and good price. Ok buy.

Haha yes it does look like a spider. I actually really do prefer the current one you are looking at, it seems more likely to command attention as apposed to having the setting steal the lime light.

I usually like elaborate halos but I draw the line at having a spidery one on my finger. :lol:

My jeweller did say it’s not easy to source all those diamonds for the setting. It’s super eye catching for sure.
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Colour is so personal it’s hard to say whether to get it or not. I like light blue, but with more intensity. Not everyone likes the same. The question is how much is it “worth it” to you?

I know what you mean about the intensity. Plus we all see colors differently anyway right?

Still thinking...

While real cornflowers (the actual flowers) are lighter in colour we are talking about what Lotus in Thailand (the lab owned by Richard Hughes) and other labs classify as "cornflower" to them it's a darker vivid yet still bright blue that is much darker than the flowers. But if you have seen a lot of sapphires what Americans call Royal (and what you describe as cornflower) isn't royal at all, royal blue is that really dark dark blue. And there are lots of shades of blue in between.

I think you have to see a lot of sapphires and understand what colours the labs themselves class as specific colours to understand, which I admit is difficult because even Sri Lanka dealers themselves have a different view of describing blue sapphires to most of the labs....

I've found most people on here have a different view of what "cornflower" is to what the labs do, so everyone gets confused.... This stone (which has been sold) came back from Lotus as "medium" and "cornflower" yet by the standards of everyone here and by the photo above you can see it is no where near the colour of real "cornflowers"
2.80 Cushion Inside Lightbox 5.JPG

I’ve seen a lot of cornflowers that look dark to me, and dark blues that are royal. Some of the labs are more relaxed about classification (I heard some Thai/Sri Lanka labs) and will easily indicate cornflower for non cornflowerish colors. So yeah ultimately is still whether the color is nice irl.

These would pass as cornflower to me:

B1A9513A-EE4F-49FD-A999-7CDFD92C5AF2.jpeg 15F7A22C-5312-43FB-A945-E297905E4997.jpeg
They have that velvety blue - took these pics off my jeweller’s fb. So probably my idea of cornflower is a touch lighter than the stone you showed.

Are you going to get it?

I don’t know! Haven’t decided. But after seeing everyone’s opinion at least if I do get it I won’t feel like I got a total dud.
 

pwsg07

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 21, 2016
Messages
739
Thank you. Really so nice to hear that.



Omg you have THE sapphire on the chart? :eek2:
That’s amazing. I feel like I have a celebrity friend.

If you don’t mind can you pls post some pics of the stone in different lighting? Thanks so much.

It’s an unheated pink sapphire that I just got. My jeweller will set in my old engagement ring setting. Don’t have many pics of it. Just snapped a few yesterday as was more focused on the blue sapphire.

CDC1687A-8467-4C5A-8B2E-06742B66F139.jpeg

It was a fairly quick decision. Very pink, sparkly, unheated, round, fits my setting and good price. Ok buy.



I usually like elaborate halos but I draw the line at having a spidery one on my finger. :lol:

My jeweller did say it’s not easy to source all those diamonds for the setting. It’s super eye catching for sure.

That sapphire is not mine. I just found the photos on the Facebook.


The colour of your pink sapphire is so intense. Another beautiful stone in your collection
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
Of the two, the trillion looks more spinel-like and the oval looks more like tourmaline, imo
You're a lucky lady to have so many potential buys coming your way :geek2:
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Of the two, the trillion looks more spinel-like and the oval looks more like tourmaline, imo
You're a lucky lady to have so many potential buys coming your way :geek2:

In person the spinel is more sparkly. But you are right, the tourmaline has an unusual color. I actually walked around with it at the local show to look for another with the same color.

Lucky and unlucky sort of. Haha
 

LilAlex

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 3, 2018
Messages
3,590
Wait, are we still on that original unheated blue? I really like it. Yes, it is a little undersaturated -- and even a tad grayish in low light -- but I think it's killer, overall. I did not see size, price, etc., but read some references above to its being fairly priced. I agree with others who say that if you will only own one (!) and this is not your ideal color, then maybe pass. I bet it would look great on an overcast day -- and I see a lot of those.
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Wait, are we still on that original unheated blue? I really like it. Yes, it is a little undersaturated -- and even a tad grayish in low light -- but I think it's killer, overall. I did not see size, price, etc., but read some references above to its being fairly priced. I agree with others who say that if you will only own one (!) and this is not your ideal color, then maybe pass. I bet it would look great on an overcast day -- and I see a lot of those.

Yeah. Got distracted but yes still on the unheated blue which I will see again tomorrow. Price is less than 6k.

He’s also sent me some videos of a 9 carat :eek2:and 4 carat GRS certified cornflower sapphires that I can’t afford, lol.
 

mellowyellowgirl

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
6,179
Excited to see what you decide Icy! Do snap pics of goodies for us when you're there!
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Pinks and pads please!!! But anything to perve at will be good.

Perv, hahaha

I don’t rem any new pads but he always has pinks. I can let you perv my new pinks too? Hahaha :lol:
 

mellowyellowgirl

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
6,179
Perv, hahaha

I don’t rem any new pads but he always has pinks. I can let you perv my new pinks too? Hahaha :lol:

I'm so in love with your spinel. Like you don't know how much!!!!! I want 5 billion pics of the thing when you set it!!!!!:kiss2:

We're coming back to Singapore next year! During the jewellery fair!!!!!
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
I'm so in love with your spinel. Like you don't know how much!!!!! I want 5 billion pics of the thing when you set it!!!!!:kiss2:

We're coming back to Singapore next year! During the jewellery fair!!!!!

Haha ok but maybe not so soon as not sure if cert is done by tmr. Actually the spinel isn’t really orangey color but the tourmaline is SO pink it makes any pinkish stone with other tones look more orangey/reddish if it makes sense.

In July? The Oct show is much smaller.
What will the boys do while you go shopping? :P2
 

mellowyellowgirl

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
6,179
Haha ok but maybe not so soon as not sure if cert is done by tmr. Actually the spinel isn’t really orangey color but the tourmaline is SO pink it makes any pinkish stone with other tones look more orangey/reddish if it makes sense.

In July? The Oct show is much smaller.
What will the boys do while you go shopping? :P2

Yes July!

Haha the reason why the boys wanted to go back is because they want to hit ALL the water parks. There was one in a suburb near Changi that we didn't go to.

Might go to Sentosa too as we didn't last trip and Hubs and I went to Sentosa about a billion years ago.
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131

Lisa Loves Shiny

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 1, 2007
Messages
4,690
Color is personal and I agree only you can decide if the price is reasonable. I like the stone. It will be shifty from blue to greyish blue- just like the sky when rain is coming your way.
 

qubitasaurus

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
Messages
1,653
Excited to see what you decide Icy! Do snap pics of goodies for us when you're there!

Yes ditto to the pictures, especially if there are more blue stones -- he seems to have exquisite tastes in picking them :dance:.
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Color is personal and I agree only you can decide if the price is reasonable. I like the stone. It will be shifty from blue to greyish blue- just like the sky when rain is coming your way.

I’ll have a second look today and then decide... not sure how I’ll go. Could be either way. :think:

Yes ditto to the pictures, especially if there are more blue stones -- he seems to have exquisite tastes in picking them :dance:.

His nice blues fly off the shelves so not sure what he has but will look.
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Ok some pics as promised...

9.2 ct and two 4 carat each unheated sapphire. All GRS certified as cornflower
2A250A04-3734-456C-BCAE-DA281FF60164.jpeg
With the pastel blue under white light
683EC4B9-594D-427E-AA05-CAC550D1C232.jpeg
Orangey light
827EBFD8-51E7-4A86-B396-B954F3CAFD44.jpeg
Pastel indoor in temp setting
13E76401-CE00-4071-B1A7-C7D2FA93AB48.jpeg
Natural light / outdoor
17E7DA4D-BB5F-4B39-8100-81969DAA1637.jpeg
Pastel with 9ct cornflower under white and orangey light
E1A6FC0C-1F22-4EA7-A0E2-C2F5C915801A.jpeg 2AE66A57-1AA7-475F-8E91-95B7A01266DF.jpeg
Various unheated pinks
4DA4A1DB-6134-48D6-A5C9-E62DB036E8A4.jpeg 0F79B783-3C78-497C-A81C-60D2BA8F7C36.jpeg
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top