A sapphire in a solitaire setting w/o diamonds?

[kkl16]

I'm doing preliminary research on a sapphire e-ring in yellow gold, with a budget of 1500-1800. It seems like all the pics I see have diamond halos or side stones. The pics of sapphire solitaires with no diamond embellishments seem either blah or to lack personality or both. (It doesn't help that a lot of them are CAD renderings.) Is this because the darker color of the sapphire makes it pop less? Is it possible to do a sapphire, in say, a Tiffany setting, and not have it look "wrong"?

Does anyone have any pics of successful plain settings of sapphires that I can use as a starting point? Or should I change my search to include diamond embellishments? I personally find the halos too blingy for my personal style, though I like them from an aesthetic standpoint. And also I'm not sure if my budget will even allow for extra diamonds.

Thanks for your help

 

[kkl16]

This is a pic of a lone colored gemstone setting that appealed to me (with an emerald, not a sapphire), but it's obviously made for a serious rock, and I am in the market for something in the 6mm range!

 

[kkl16]

I also like pear, trilliant and half moon side stones, but again, what will this do to my budget, and is it totally weird to have the side stones also be sapphires? Or maybe too hard to color match?

 

[movie zombie]

it can be anything you want it to be!
personally, i hate halos....everyone here knows it. i've seen a few here on pricescope that are lovely so never say never!

however, halos on an e-ring, imo, take away from the color stone and look a bit like a right hand ring. again, merely my opinion. nor do you have to have side stones of diamonds or other sapphires.

a solitaire color stone can be quite a lovely e-ring.....mine is but its very large as you can see in my avatar.

there are some on this page w/o diamonds...i particularly like the first one in the upper left:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...AA4A50C124B284FABDF5D17DBB233EC33&FORM=IQFRBA

this is just slightly higher than your price range but i think very lovely:

http://www.turtleloveco.com/Blue_Sapphire_Solitaire_Engagement_Ring_p/ch-bss-r.htm

sold but in the size range you're looking for:
http://eragem.com/montana-blue-sapphire-solitaire-engagement-ring-solid-14k-gold.html


the above might give you some design ideas.....i love the idea of a solitaire sapphire e-ring. the setting in your picture would be lovely also. don't feel pressured to have to have diamonds just because its an engagement ring. many of here went with color stone solitaires and don't regret it.

congrats and happy hunting!

 

[iLander]

I have a largish (7 mm) garnet set in a solitaire and it looks good. I sometimes wear it with a diamond 7-band ring, and it pops the color and makes it look awesome. I think the diamond band keeps it from looking bland, and tells the world that this is a special sapphire.

I would suggest white gold for both, claw prongs on the sapphire.

 

[Upgradable]

Here's a ring that has been on my wishlist forever! It makes my heart beat faster just looking at it.

Artist is Adzia's Jewelry Atelier. http://www.etsy.com/shop/AdziasJewelryAtelier?page=7 I've had her make several pieces for me and her work is perfection. Hope you like this.

 

[derbygal]

Of course this yellow sapphire is massive, but it is one of my all-time favorite rings on here.

 

[kkl16]

Thank you so much for all these ideas, and some great websites as well (the Eragem pieces are definitely up my alley). The Adzia ring is a beauty and gives me hope for both my plain solitaire idea as well as the yellow gold. The pictures I had been looking at were starting to convince me that the blue/gold contrast was too stark, but it definitely works with this one. I would love to be open to white/silver metals but I have a warm skin tone and almost all my other jewelry is yellow gold.

I am so in love with the multi-prongs/claw prongs! One of the first stylistic details that have really appealed to me. My guy likes the simplicity of the Tiffany setting and really dislikes the more vintage/artisan styles, which is a shame because I think one or two subtle, well placed embellishments would really warm up a colored piece.

 

[kkl16]

It does seem that the multi-prong/claw-prong style lends itself to bigger stones though, huh?

 

[movie zombie]

perhaps and probably....larger stones need larger prongs....smaller stones, smaller prongs and someone that does "fine" work really well.

you could also do an oval in an east/west setting....which is my preference....which is how i'd do that Adzia ring.....might cost more to do though....food for thought for a stone i have!

one point, he's not the one that's going to wear it...and for lots of years. perhaps he fears an embellishment will increase cost? might be worth finding out. run a couple of the links and/or pictures we've provided by him to see what he thinks.

also, blue sapphire is in demand now due to "the royal wedding" last year. has driven prices up and perhaps quality down as people will pay more for less quality in order to be a copycat.

do you already have a stone? will you need a designer to source one for you? do you plan to hunt for it yourself? or are you going to try and buy a ring already completed?

 

[distracts]

Cross Jewelers has a good selection of sapphire solitaires. http://www.crossjewelers.com/

 

[kkl16]

Please feel free to weigh in on the yellow vs. white gold question... Maybe I can convince myself to look at white gold, which would open up a lot of options.

 

[jstarfireb]

Almost all of my rings are solitaires. I also don't like halos unless they're extremely delicate (although I do like bezels a lot). I think a plain solitaire can be really classy and doesn't have to be boring at all. You can dress it up a little with an engraved or filigree band if you like that sort of thing. Also, have you seen the Heart of Water Jewels lotus ring design? I think it works best with stones in the 6mm range:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/60762371/sparkly-blue-lotus-ring-in-sterling

For what it's worth, I have a zircon in a setting that's very similar to your inspiration one with the emerald:

 

[distracts]

Please feel free to weigh in on the yellow vs. white gold question... Maybe I can convince myself to look at white gold, which would open up a lot of options.

Yanaazul here has the most covetable YG/blue sapphire set of rings EVER. It is a fantastic and beautiful combination.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/search/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/search/[/URL]

White looks good too, but if you have your heart set on yellow gold, stick to it.

 

[kkl16]

perhaps and probably....larger stones need larger prongs....smaller stones, smaller prongs and someone that does "fine" work really well.

you could also do an oval in an east/west setting....which is my preference....which is how i'd do that Adzia ring.....might cost more to do though....food for thought for a stone i have!

one point, he's not the one that's going to wear it...and for lots of years. perhaps he fears an embellishment will increase cost? might be worth finding out. run a couple of the links and/or pictures we've provided by him to see what he thinks.

also, blue sapphire is in demand now due to "the royal wedding" last year. has driven prices up and perhaps quality down as people will pay more for less quality in order to be a copycat.

do you already have a stone? will you need a designer to source one for you? do you plan to hunt for it yourself? or are you going to try and buy a ring already completed?

movie_zombie, thank you for this in depth response. These are all good questions; ones I need to consider and some of which I have been grappling with upon discovering PS.

My fiancee is more of a classic guy in terms of his own style sense. Also, his parents are wiccan so he is always rebelling against their earthy style. So I don't think it's a cost thing, since my budget is my budget is my budget He had a strong reaction to the Caleb Meyer/Jim Meyer/Ann McKay settings I showed him, but did say that it was up to me in the end.

I don't already have my stone, and if I could find a completed ring or a jeweler I trusted to source the stone I would, just to keep things simple for myself. However, I fear if I stay on this site longer I will be tempted to do it the way people do here, buying the stone and the setting separately and then finding a jeweler.

I think the next step is for me to go and try some rings on and get a more in-person feel for my parameters and budget and what they will actually get me; how all these ideas feel in real life on my actual finger.

 

[movie zombie]

LOL re rebelling against wiccan parents! however, your thoughts are probably dead on re why he's anti-embellishments....

yes, try on as many solitaires as you can regardless what color the color stone is. it really does help to define what you're looking for even though you already have solitaires you wear.

i agree that in this instance finding "the right" ring and purchasing it would be easiest on all concerned. its what i'd do in your situation. this site is extremely addictive and once bitten by the color stone bug, you will be back.....and perhaps that would be the time to do a "project" from resourcing, designing, etc.

and i hate to even raise this but if you've been poking around here you know about upgrading and the dreaded "shrinkage" syndrome..... will this be your forever e-ring? or are you thinking you'll upgrade later? how does he feel about that?

 

[sapphirering]

Here's one of my current favorite from 23rd street jeweler:

 

[kkl16]

and i hate to even raise this but if you've been poking around here you know about upgrading and the dreaded "shrinkage" syndrome..... will this be your forever e-ring? or are you thinking you'll upgrade later? how does he feel about that?

Yes, I have noticed that. My grandmother was a jewelry nut and was the same way. I don't think it'll be an issue for me though because wearing jewelry over a certain price range makes me really nervous, especially living in NYC. Sometimes looking at people's bling on the subway gives me palpable anxiety in the pit of my stomach!

sapphirering, is there a name for that kind of setting where the prong looks like a petal/leaf?

 

[movie zombie]

sounds like you've considered all the issues/angles. have to agree with your re NYC and not wanting to bring attention..... and i think you can do well with a solitaire. however, those larger prongs will, i think, require a larger stone....or be done more delicately which again brings us back to someone doing very fine detail very well.

 

[Arkteia]

Sapphirering,
What a beautiful stone Usually. I am not into light-pink colors, but this one is something special.

 

[yanaazul]

Aw, thanks for the compliments on my ring, Uppy and distracts!

kkl, if you love and wear yellow gold, I encourage you to go with it! As is amusingly made completely obvious from that summary of my threads that distracts posted, I'm exclusively drawn to blue sapphires, and with one recent exception, everything in yellow gold. You'll also notice I'm not one that is much for the diamond accents, so all my sapphires are solitaires. In my opinion, blues pop wonderfully against yellow gold, as much as against white metals.

I whole-heartedly recommend Adzia. I provided her with my sapphire bought separately, but she features sapphires as regular offerings. She's very easy to work with. My ring was based on this listing: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/64836458

But customized for an oval in 18K yellow gold. http://www.etsy.com/transaction/71002473 For reference, the oval is 7.7mm x 6.4mm. Ring is size 5.5.

My lotus ring with the smaller round was made by Sally/Heart of Water, whom jstarfireb mentions above. http://www.etsy.com/transaction/29865819 The gold looks a bit rose-ish in the listing, but it is 18K yellow. The sapphire is 5.1mm round, on ring size 5.5.

The bezel set sapphire is 6.5mm x 5.0 mm (again, size 5.5), so probably closest to the size you're considering right now, though I realize you're probably looking for prong-set solitaires. Here's the listing for picture reference. http://www.etsy.com/transaction/21332885

All my handshots scattered throughout threads have my rings stacked and/or with rings on multiple fingers. Let me know if you want me to take pics with a single ring on left ring finger...

 

[chrono]

Lots of things for you to mull over:
1. Have you tried on a plain 6 mm solitaire ring? How does it look on you? How do you feel about it? How do you feel about wearing it forever?
2. How does white gold look on your skin? Does it "stick out" too much? Does it clash with your skin tone?
3. Do you own any white gold jewellery? Does your skin react to the nickle in the alloy? Are you all right with having to replate it occasionally to keep it looking white?

Actually, white and blue can be quite stark in contrast; yellow gold softens the look of dark blue sapphires. If going the multi-prong look, make sure the prongs are smaller than usual or the stone will be swallowed up by the metal. The extra quantity of prongs will make up for the smaller size.

The reason for getting the stone and setting separately is the ease of getting better quality stones, better pricing and more options. Ultimately, that is your decision.

 

[movie zombie]

yellow gold works for me....never have understood the fascination with white gold....

18k gold has a very different look from 14k gold. i'm not a 14k gold fan, either.

18k gold with a sapphire is lovely, imo.