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Choosing between two sapphires

jdleee

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 29, 2020
Messages
3
Like many others, I have been lurking in the CG threads and now my turn has come to seek advice from you guys. We got engaged recently and now we are designing the ring :)

This will be my first gemstone and I am deciding between two sapphires, a teal and a parti. They are mined in Nigeria (honestly I don't know the difference between them, except they are both pretty).

*I hope it's ok to share the product links and prices here. Please let me know if I should remove them.

Here they are:
- Teal sapphire: 1.15ct, 6.78mm x 5.30mm, eye clean

Screenshot 2020-07-30 at 6.38.49 PM.png

- Parti sapphire: 1.53 ct, 7.76mm x 6.05mm, eye clean

Screenshot 2020-07-30 at 6.40.02 PM.png


Seeking advice for the following:

1. Which is a better size for me? Ring size: US 5, I want a dainty and pretty ring. The setting that I am thinking about is pictured below. Centre stone with 18k yellow gold and side diamonds, may have to go with smaller diamonds depending on budget ($$$).

1596105267387.png

2. Which stone do you think will look better under different light conditions?

3. The asking price for the teal is 640 USD, parti 850 USD. They are slightly high for me, since I still have to get it set in a ring. But I am willing to pay a bit more (they are very pretty) if the prices are fair. What do you think of the prices?

I am glad to have found PS because I was getting lost in my search for a good gem, learned a tonne here and I know that this is just the beginning of my gemming adventure :D My fiance doesn't know what he got himself into by getting me to choose the e ring!
 
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paragon1234

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 8, 2020
Messages
206
I prefer the second sapphire.
My engagement ring is a similar style but with only a pear diamond each side. Since you have a small finger think about whether or not it would annoy you to have the pears poking your fingers on either side - i.e. maybe smaller diamonds are a good thing.
 

jdleee

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 29, 2020
Messages
3
@paragon1234 Curious as to why you prefer the second stone?

Thanks for the tip on the diamond size. I want to wear this as a daily ring, so it has to be comfortable to wear. This makes me wonder as well if I should stick with a small sapphire. The teal is 5.3mm across and the parti is 6mm, the difference is small but may be amplified on a small finger.
 

elrohwen

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
5,542
I think they're both very pretty! Personally I wouldn't be worried about size, I don't think the bigger one is too big, but size is such a personal preference. I'm a size 6 and am working on a 3 stone ring with a 5.7mm round sapphire and it's definitely not too big (I'm actually doing a 3 stone to give more coverage with two 4.6mm stones).

My worry about the first is that it might be too dark in person, and my worry about the second is that it would wash out and not look super blue. Can you get more pics/videos in different lighting?
 

natasha-cupcake

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 16, 2017
Messages
1,217
Just a word of caution--I have a small (6mm) round yellow/blue parti sapphire. It's pretty but when I look at it from any distance at all, it just registers as "green". Maybe I just have lousy eyesight, but if you like the parti sapphire, you should test drive it first, to make sure you like the way it looks on your hand. This one is oval and is bigger than my round, so maybe the color differential will be easier to see, if that's important to you.
 

ItsMainelyYou

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 27, 2014
Messages
4,756
Beautiful choices! You cannot go wrong no matter which you choose.
I'm really digging the quarter colored parti sapphire because you don't see those that often.
Are you setting N/S or E/W? That will determine how much coverage you have for sidestones.
I did e/w and my spinel is a @9x7.3 and my sidestones are 4mm. My size is @6. They don't rub on my fingers at all.
 

paragon1234

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 8, 2020
Messages
206
@paragon1234 Curious as to why you prefer the second stone?

Thanks for the tip on the diamond size. I want to wear this as a daily ring, so it has to be comfortable to wear. This makes me wonder as well if I should stick with a small sapphire. The teal is 5.3mm across and the parti is 6mm, the difference is small but may be amplified on a small finger.

The typical reason I guess - the first one is too dark for me. You should really try seeing the stone in person in various lighting if you can.
 

voce

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 13, 2018
Messages
5,161
I choose the second one because if budget is a concern, the second one is more close to calibrated 8x6 size and will fit in a stock setting.

Example of stuller setting:
 
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jdleee

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 29, 2020
Messages
3
Thanks for the note on colour @elrohwen @natasha-cupcake. I don't have more videos of the teal, but on closer inspection of the video in the link it does look like the left half will be too dark.

The seller sent more videos of the parti and from the bottom I could see a large yellow area in the centre of the sapphire (more than 50%). I would like a higher % of blue-green and less yellow.

Unfortunately I can't see the sapphires in person because the seller is based in Nigeria and I'm in Singapore. Singapore has a limited selection of teal/parti sapphire and they come at a much higher price point, so I'll mostly get them online. Which is a bit terrifying so I'll do as much as I can to educate myself o_O and TAKE MY TIME.

@ItsMainelyYou Thanks for the reference on size! Very helpful - I think I'll be happy with a sapphire that's 5-7mm across when set N/S. Is that your spinel in your profile picture? :kiss2:

@voce thanks for reference, will look into it

For now I'll keep looking and hopefully come back with better options to share!!
 
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elizat

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
4,000
In looking at those photos, They seem to me to be pretty different colors. Do you want something that's more shifty towards yellow/green? Or blue green?

Caleb Quashen has lots of parti and teal sapphires, if you are going to look at more options.
 
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