Help on Blue Sapphire Engagement Ring

[hkhkhkhkhk]

Hi all,

Happy New Year! Wish everyone all the best on this forum.

I am looking into purchasing a Blue Sapphire engagement ring - after reading through a lot of posts on the forum, I have a few questions that I hope PS members can lend me a hand on.

Here are some of the "specs" I'm looking for:

Budget: under $8000 (including ring and setting)
Weight: between 1.5 to 2.5 carats
Colour: medium blue (looking for something that glows but not too light in colour)
Setting: I'm thinking of a 3-stone setting but I'm open to suggestions

I've looked on James Allen and NSC but I am hesitant as the reviews seem to be mixed on the forum here. I then looked at gemfix and saw some sapphires that looked beautiful to my untrained eyes:

http://www.gemfix.com/images/stones/sapphire_blue/sapphire_blue_1147.jpg
http://www.gemfix.com/images/stones/sapphire_blue/sapphire_blue_1150.jpg
http://www.gemfix.com/images/stones/sapphire_blue/sapphire_blue_1128.jpg

But it seems like on gemfix I have to buy the sapphire separate from the setting - and I'm not sure where might I be able to set this (I live in Chicago).

I've also looked at ajsgem and saw this, which also looked nice:
http://www.ajsgem.com/sapphire/blue-sapphire/blue-sapphire-2.04-carats.html-1

Any help are much appreciated, thanks!

 

[chrono]

I presume you are looking at rounds only?

1. Are you looking at untreated sapphires or heat only is acceptable?
2. What is the mm size you are aiming for? Size can vary greatly when shopping only by carat weight.
3. It would help to know how much you plan to put aside for the setting. If using diamond sidestones for a 3 stone ring, there will be less money allocated for the center sapphire.

Gemfix: look at the hand shots since colour is more accurate. I believe their sapphires are slightly darker and slightly less saturated in person.
AJS: seems expensive lately. Note that their gems are also darker and slightly less saturated in person.

You are fortunate to live in Chicago where you have many choices of jewellers who are skilled to set your stone for you. I've heard Merry Richards (or a similar sounding name) recommended on PS in the past.

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

Thank you very much for the quick reply!

Re your questions:

1) Primarily looking at round
2) I am fine with heated sapphires as well
3) It seems like 6-8mm are normal? My girl friend has a small hand, so probably not something too big
4) I'm looking at platinum for the ring, which seems like it needs a price of roughly 1500 - 2500 if it's not plain. That should leave around 5000 to 6500 for the sapphire? Ofcourse, this is just a limit not a goal If I can find something nice cheaper I'll gladly jump on it too!

Thanks again!

 

[distracts]

Well if you are looking for a platinum setting, $2k would be for just the setting not including the sidestones if it's a three-stone. If you want a three-stone ring, you really need to have some idea of the sidestone size when picking - each of my side stones cost as much as my center sapphire did.

 

[Niel]

Concave gems seems to have a lot of blue rounds in your range. Email him he might have more than he has listed too.

http://www.concavegems.com/query3.cfm?yVarieties=Sapphire&ySpecies=Corundum

Also I'd leave more for the setting. The larger the center the larger the side stones need to be to be proportional.

 

[Starzin]

You've picked three very nice sapphires at Gemfix.

To my eye 1150 may be a little grayer than the other two, OTOH Andrew says they are all well cut and he is the owner and a precision cutter himself. He also notes on 1128 that it has some faint inclusions which may or may not be visible to the naked eye while 1147 has a touch of violet. Note that 1128 looks slightly brighter because the lighting is different (look at the fingers).

So with these three... will you notice the inclusions in 1128? Will you like the violet tinge to 1147? We can't tell you those things.

They appear to be too close to call in a static photo and without seeing them in person and it would now be best to judge a couple in hand. Be aware that some buyers through PS have reported that the Gemfix stones look darker when received.

At this stage I suggest you open discussions with Andrew - phone or email - and ask his opinion of the three in hand. Then select two, buy them and send the one you don't want back. Andrew will talk you through the process of doing this. Don't worry it's a fairly common occurrence

Once you have them in hand you need to take them to every kind of lighting you have and see how they look because they will change.

It's also okay not to like either one when you get them and send them both back and keep searching. This is an important purchase and everyone appreciates that you want to get it right.

Please let us know what eventuates and if you get a/some stones to look at, please take more pictures and post them here where we can have another look at them.

I have looked at some other sites and frankly wasn't able to find comparable or better colours with cutting as good as these. So taking cut, colour and price into account I personally think these are worth investigating further - good luck!

ETA: the AJS is quite a nice colour but it has a window - dead oval spot in the middle - and isn't round. This may or may not be noticeable once set. Be aware that it's flooded with light for the video and is likely to be much darker in hand.

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

Thank you very much for all the help!

Distracts / Niel - I will keep in mind the setting cost, potentially changing it to something more vintage without the other stones to keep price within my budget. Thanks for the warning!

Starzin - Thanks a lot for your opinion! I've taken your suggestion and sent Andrew an email. It's definitely good to hear from experts - I would have never noticed the window for the stone on the ajs site.

Thanks again!

 

[Starzin]

Pleased to be of help though most definitely not an expert! Do let us know how you decide to proceed after hearing back from Andrew.

 

[ilovegemstones]

I like 1128 because it is so bright. The inclusions don't bother me they may bother you. Andrew was very helpful over the phone with stones in his hand today when I was deciding between three stones. I found it much more helpful than when I emailed him because of all the back and forth question and answer. He has called back within a couple of hours whenever I have left a message. So eager to hear what you decide!

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

I gave Andrew a call and he sure is very helpful on the phone!

Ultimately I decided to look 1134 and 1147. He said that 1147 changes to quite a strong violet under incandescent light, so I wanted to see how it looks as my girlfriend really likes purple as well. 1134 should be very bright under daylight, so it should look beautiful as well. I will pick one and return the other, as suggested.

I'll post pictures here once I received them. Look forward to seeing the stones and opinions from you guys!

Thanks!

 

[Starzin]

Well done! We'll all be interested to see your pictures and hear what you think of them

 

[minousbijoux]

I gave Andrew a call and he sure is very helpful on the phone!

Ultimately I decided to look 1134 and 1147. He said that 1147 changes to quite a strong violet under incandescent light, so I wanted to see how it looks as my girlfriend really likes purple as well. 1134 should be very bright under daylight, so it should look beautiful as well. I will pick one and return the other, as suggested.

I'll post pictures here once I received them. Look forward to seeing the stones and opinions from you guys!

Thanks!

It is such a good idea to have more than one to view at once for comparison purposes. It will be great to see them in hand and to hear your thoughts.

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

They arrived!!!

It's so tough to decide though... based on what I'm looking at, one turns purple quite nicely under incandescent light (1147), while the other is definitely a lighter and brighter color (1134).

Here's some pictures! In all the pictures, if there are 2, the left is 1147, the right is 1134.

Sunlight - top down


Sunlight - side


1134


1147

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

Here's some more photos, this time under incandescent lighting:

Bottom up view for both. Again, left is 1147, right is 1134


1134 under incandescent


1147 under incandescent


Finally, both with flash

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

Really appreciate some help from the expert eyes of PS members here!

 

[chrono]

We don't have the sapphires in hand but you do. At this point, it becomes which one you prefer: flavour A or flavour B? What we can do is probably help you out a little in deciding which flavour might be the right one for you.

How does GemFix's pictures compare to what you see?
Are your pictures accurate compared to what you see?

ETA
Colour is evaluated only from the face up view, preferably looking straight down the crown, parallel to the table.
Flash photography distorts colour so we discourage this. You will need stronger lighting to compensate for that when taking pictures indoors.

 

[Starzin]

They arrived!!!

It's so tough to decide though... based on what I'm looking at, one turns purple quite nicely under incandescent light (1147), while the other is definitely a lighter and brighter color (1134).

Well you seem quite pleased with both - well done!

As Chrono has pointed out, you are in the best position to judge since the head on shots suffer from reflection - both from the facets and from you - so it's difficult for us to tell anything. I like the "bum shots" though 1147 does seem to change quite markedly from a deep blue to violet while 1134 seems to hold its colour in the different lighting - is that how it appears to you?

You might try taking a picture with light from a window (not sun) coming over your shoulder and just prop the gem case up a little at the back or take it out and rest it on a neutral surface (white paper is probably best). Please make sure you are doing this in a carpeted room or with a rug, not with a tiled floor beneath you.

You might also try putting the gems on your fingers in the same way Andrew has.

Another thing that may figure into your decision is the type of setting - i.e. halo or not. Typically halos will darken the stone a tone or two. I know that you said platinum but have you been looking at settings in your spare time while waiting for the stones? Or do you plan to propose with the stone and select the setting together?

Such progress!!! I'm impressed with how smoothly this has gone for you

ETA: I don't know what you used to take the photos but some people find an iphone takes better shots than their camera. Also make sure either phone or camera is on the macro setting.

ETA2: Oops! just saw you said 3 stone, in that case no need to worry about the sapphire darkening in the setting.

(Sorry for the edits folks )

 

[deskjockey]

Oh dear, I'd never be able to choose.

I love stones that are shifty, I find it interesting and generally prefer them.But I think the other stone is really beautiful too. If you can, try to see what they'd look like in a setting, and how the color changes when the light coming into the stone is blocked a little bit.

 

[Starzin]

Just wondering if you have managed to choose between them yet

 

[pregcurious]

Can you propose with both and let her pick? That would be really cool!!!

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

I've decided to go with 1147 - the one that changes colour under incandescent light. Since she loves purple as well, I figure this will be the best of both worlds.

I just went to Merry Richards today and picked a setting. Should have something back by weekend - I promise I'll post some pictures up here once it's all done!

Thanks!

 

[Starzin]

Well done! No doubt the colour change will also keep her endlessly fascinated

The weekend... brilliant! We look forward to the next round of pictures

 

[ilovegemstones]

I LOVE the one you picked! Congratulations!

 

[Jereni]

Yay! I like the 1147 a tiny bit more because the color seems richer.

 

[minousbijoux]

Late to the party, but fwiw, I noticed that 1134 has color zoning, so unless you like that, its another vote for 1147...

Oh, and let me congratulate you on your speed! Please share pics when you can.

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

Here it is! Only have pictures under incandescent light so it looks purple, but it is a lovely blue under sunlight.

 

[minousbijoux]

Very nice - I love that violet modifier. Question: how do you find the tone of the sapphire and how did Gemfix describe it? Did they say it was medium dark? I'm sure your fiance will love it.

 

[Jereni]

That came out very lovely - well done.

 

[Niel]

wow quick turn around. very beautiful!

 

[hkhkhkhkhk]

Thanks all!

minousbijoux - They actually say medium blue on the website. Under daylight or the lighting in the jewelry store, it is actually quite a nice sparkling blue (not dark blue). So I'd consider it accurate.