heat-treated blue sapphire side stones

[nswartzb]

I''m looking to get 2 blue sapphire side stones for an e-ring -- 7x5 mm pear-shaped, 1.75 tcw, AA gem grade.
1. Can people confirm that it is "normal" for such stones to be heat-treated? (In other words, after spending $10K or $20K on a diamond, it is not considered unsual to not get natural sapphires.)
2. Does anyone have an idea about how much such a pair should cost?
Thanks

 

[bar01]

I posted a response to your question under rocky talk.

Did you browse/search through the messages here first? You can find answers to previous questions such as yours.


Here are just a recent few:


Crash Course

Grading Sapphires

Lastly,

You may want to look at this:


Pear Sapphires

 

[nswartzb]

based on a quick read of the links you provided, it seems the answers are:
1. Yes, heated sapphires are "normal" -- though it is possible to get unheated stones.
2. The ballpark cost is probably $600-800.
Please confirm or correct the above.

 

[bar01]

----------------
On 9/2/2004 2:15:57 PM nswartzb wrote:

based on a quick read of the links you provided, it seems the answers are:
1. Yes, heated sapphires are 'normal' -- though it is possible to get unheated stones.
2. The ballpark cost is probably $600-800.
Please confirm or correct the above.----------------

1) Confirmed. Natural heated Sapphies are the norm. Unheated Sapphires are rare (less than 5%) of market.

2) Unconfirmed. Prices can be all over the map I am affraid - very difficult to pin down.Color, treatment, and origin all affect price signficantly. The prices in the link I gave are a place to start. I think for an E-ring quality sapphires from Ceylon or Madagsacar in the sizes you want - you would be "starting" at 700 per ct (and up) for treated stones. I think you are going to have some challenges finding a nice "matched" pair of Pear Shapped Sapphires.

If you are going to buy online Always ask for a pre-sale inspection or no hasle return policy within 1-2 weeks.


Good luck

 

[nswartzb]

x

 

[bar01]

They look nice.

Maybe some of the experts on this board can offer an informed opinoin.

 

[chrono]

Finding my own matched pair of sapphires is difficult and I hate buying online because the colours on the computer monitor is never the true representation of the real sapphire. It is always best to see it yourself.

That said, however, I chose Wink of Winfields (http://www.winkjones.com) and trusted him to find me just the right pair. That took out a lot of guesswork, searching and matching on my part and I am free to reject or accept the stones that he choose. However, I had to be very specific so that he is able to find what I am looking for. I believe Gary of Dutton's Diamonds (http://www.diamondexpert.com) will do the same. I am in the process of buying some gemstones from him so I can't comment on the quality yet.

I was very selective with the sapphires because it has to stand up next to the lovely center diamond. I really can't comment on the sapphires you posted because it could look better or worse in real life. Are those heated sapphires? There's nothing wrong with heated sapphires. And I like pears. Will these complement a round diamond?

 

[nswartzb]

chrono-
didn't you get a jubilee with 2 trillinats? and were concerned about the total width of the stones? is so, do you mind my asking what your ring size is, and what the total width of the stone you settled on, and how you like it -- just right or could you have gone wider?
thanks

 

[chrono]

The look I think is more of a personal preference but since you asked, I'll share my personal preference with you.

My center Jubilee measures approximately 5.4mm each way. The side trillion sapphires measure 4mm each (tip to centerline of the other end, not tip to tip). My ring size is 4.5. I could have gone wider but it would mean I would need a larger center diamond too. As it stands, the stones covers 2/3 of my finger and that's fine with me since having the ring wider will bother me. I don't like the feel of "obstruction" next to my other fingers.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 9/2/2004 1:29:19 PM nswartzb wrote:



I'm looking to get 2 blue sapphire side stones for an e-ring -- 7x5 mm pear-shaped, 1.75 tcw, AA gem grade.

----------------

The picture looks fine... but as crono says, it is not feasible to get a good opinion about the stones from the screen. If I take the picture for good, than these two may want to be definitely less dark and perhaps more saturated blue. They appear well matched face-up. The left piece appears less deep cut and of thus of slightly lighter tone. This face-up matching is usual practice though, and the difference may be only visible with this insane magnification. I'd rather see them 3X than 10X!
This being said, the pears are better than the dark greish stuff usually found in catalog jewelry, but there can be better. This is just about the picture (which makes them look dark violet on my computer screen) - what do I know?

Anyway, I wanted to point out something about your sentence above, more than the picture.

#1. "AA gem grade" does not say anything. Those "AA" are used by stores and Ebay sellers by tradition, but there is no standard of grading for them. To a professional, your use of this wording may indicate that the best you expect is... the not so great 10$/ct stuff in cheap jewelry!

#2. 7x5 is a "calibrated" size and may or may not correspond to exactly 1.75ctw. Better quality gems of any kind rarely come calibrated. The whole "calibration" idea is meant to match bulk gem cutting to the demand of large scale jewelry producers, not fine sapphire to hand made jewelry.
Also, sapphire is not usually cut to precise specifications, so 7X5 mm may not correspond to a fix weight but rather a range. It is usually down to the quality of cutting to make a correspondence.

I hope this does not sound wrong... all I know about the story is your posts


The sapphires in the picture look well matched and of good quality. However, I would ask for a pair with better color (lighter tone, higher saturation) for comparison. I would not expect better to cost less, but you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Tupac]

hi sir well im new to this field but as i deal in sapphires can u please tell me that u r looking for srilankan sapphires or bangkok sapphire i do have three blue sapphire AAA grade oval cut and are of bangkok origin and is 1.20 ctw each if u r intrested in those i can send u the pictures
Regards
Tupac