Hello! New here, question about a new ring, please go easy on me! :-)

[asapphiregirl]

I''m a little nervous because I am so, so, so not a gem aficionado, so please be gentle with this newbie!

I am curious about a ring my husband just purchased for me for my birthday. Now, I like the ring, so it''s not a big deal if you take a look and decide the ring is yucko, I just wonder why there are lines in the blue sapphire stone. You can''t see them unless you really look hard in bright light. The color is deep blue (but not black-looking, like some sapphires I''ve seen), and there are diagonal lines inside it.

I''ve been trying to read everything I can get my hands on to figure it out (and if I somehow used the wrong search string and this is a repeat thread, I apologize), but I can''t seem to determine why the lines are there, and whether it signifies a poor quality stone. Is it silk banding? Some sort of weird (or common) inclusion? The site he bought it on has limited info on the sapphire (http://www.ross-simons.com/products/179314.html). I''d love some insight/info from a gem genius here!

Thanks very much in advance!

 

[neatfreak]

First, I want to say is what matters is that YOU love it. That's really all that matters.

Now for the hard part...The stone won't be very valuable if it is as dark of a color as in the picture and likely the lines you see are indicative of a poor quality stone. Could be inclusions or could be fracturing inside... On the plus side it does seem that it's a real sapphire. It's really hard to buy something of high quality from a retailer like Ross Simon, but on the other hand the price was very reasonable, so there is certainly a major trade off to be made between price and quality as always...

Hope that helps and welcome.

 

[FrekeChild]

The first thing I thought of was color banding, which is pretty common in sapphires. My computer will not load the site, so I don''t have anything to go off of...

 

[GemRite]

Hello Asapphiregirl,
No worries on being a greenhorn. We all have to start some where With sapphire color banding or zoning is common with sapphires. Especially blue ones. It happens when the stone is formed, like you will see in amethyst or flourite. It can take away from the stone if noticable, often can be hide by orientating the stone so that the banding is parallel to the table. It is not considered an inclusion, but if the banding is noticable it will take some of the price from the gem. It shows the stone is natural It all comes down to the minerals and how the stone was formed. Any other questions feel free to ask, if I don''t know the answer I will tell you. I don''t know everything, but I enjoy learning something new everyday.
Take care,
John B. (GemRite)
Faceter

 

[historychick]

sometimes small white lines that appear, especially in bright light can be silk in the stone, this may take away from the overall value of the stone, on the other hand it does show that the stone is natural. It is not neccesarily a bad thing in fact Kashmire sapphires are famed for their silk and the soft glow that is causes. I''m not an expert so please don''t take my word for it. I do believe that the other posters were correct, since the ring is a gift it''s sentimental value is what really matters to you, so wether or not color banding or silk take away from the resale value won''t really be that important.

Ps your ring is beautiful congratulations enjoy it.

 

[FrekeChild]

The one in the picture on the site has color banding, are the lines different color or if the texture of the stone changes?

At this angle, the color banding runs at about a 45 degree angle to the right through the stone--is that what it looks like?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 8/21/2008 1:42:21 AM
Author: FrekeChild
The one in the picture on the site has color banding, are the lines different color or if the texture of the stone changes?


At this angle, the color banding runs at about a 45 degree angle to the right through the stone--is that what it looks like?

Good eyes Freke!

 

[asapphiregirl]

Thanks so much for all of your insightful replies! I checked the box to be notified by email if someone replied and I didn''t get any email. I figured today maybe I should check back in. *smacks head*

Freke, that is exactly what I''m seeing, although it''s at a bit more of a diagonal.