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Help evaluate this *blue* sapphire

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Odyssey44

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 20, 2023
Messages
638
Always the way that other things pop up when you are on the hunt for something specific! While looking for pink, I found this blue. First picture makes it look like a real beauty, just the color I would want. . The videos, I am not so sure, because it looks much darker. If this is the same person holding the stone, and I do not know, that is quite a skin color change. I have also circled an area in the last picture that never seems to sparkle when moved. Could this be a window? The dimensions to me seem a bit shallow, at 10.25 × 9.26 x 5.27? Not sure of this cut either. I do not trust my eye with blue sapphires so would be grateful for your caring critiques!
https://imgur.com/a/ehOBVYG
 
What kind of blue do you want?

This would be a no for me. I love silky but this is……muddy. Especially in the videos. They should be looking breathtakingly amazing in the videos in order for you to receive something nice in real life.

I feel you can be silky but lively at the same time and this stone is rather dead looking. If they couldn’t make it look super flattering it’s not going to be all that in real life.

The first photo is nice but there’s a dark patch/window and a truckload of light has been shone on it.

Sorry that comes off as super negative but I get the vibe that you have very discerning tastes and I don’t think you’ll be happy with this.

ETA:

For example this one may or may not live up to the video in real life but I feel like you have a fighting chance in real life of it looking awesome because the video is so beautiful

 
Last edited:
Odyssey44 said:
I have also circled an area in the last picture that never seems to sparkle when moved. Could this be a window?
Click to expand...

You can't evaluate a window looking at the pavilion. :P2

With that said, the stone is windowed. Hugely so. You can see it best in the second video.

1754065754937.png

You see how there's a brighter rim around the very edge of the stone?

Everything else is a window.

It's massive. It's somewhat hidden by how silky the stone is - the light just can't get through, you can't see behind it. The crystal is not clear at all.

I don't trust the saturation of these images at all, and I believe the stone will be noticeably more grayish and dull in person.

I don't think you'll be happy with it.
 
mellowyellowgirl said:
What kind of blue do you want?

This would be a no for me. I love silky but this is……muddy. Especially in the videos. They should be looking breathtakingly amazing in the videos in order for you to receive something nice in real life.

I feel you can be silky but lively at the same time and this stone is rather dead looking. If they couldn’t make it look super flattering it’s not going to be all that in real life.

The first photo is nice but there’s a dark patch/window and a truckload of light has been shone on it.

Sorry that comes off as super negative but I get the vibe that you have very discerning tastes and I don’t think you’ll be happy with this.

ETA:

For example this one may or may not live up to the video in real life but I feel like you have a fighting chance in real life of it looking awesome because the video is so beautiful

Click to expand...

I am probably looking for a neon, velvety cornflower blue. I like the color of the first picture, but not of the videos--it went too dark. Is the window the area that is not sparkling back? That is what confused me because all the windows Iam familiar with you can see the background right through it. So this is a photography trick to disguise it? Your vibe of me is spot on and why would not consider buying a sapphire without asking here! Negative is what I want!! I want all the problems pointed out to me, so I don't wind up opening the box and being disappointed. Buying a stone with a window I did not catch would have made me cry! Thanks! :kiss2:
I can see the one you posted is quite sparkly. Would you consider it velvety too?
 
Avondale said:
You can't evaluate a window looking at the pavilion. :P2

With that said, the stone is windowed. Hugely so. You can see it best in the second video.

1754065754937.png

You see how there's a brighter rim around the very edge of the stone?

Everything else is a window.

It's massive. It's somewhat hidden by how silky the stone is - the light just can't get through, you can't see behind it. The crystal is not clear at all.

I don't trust the saturation of these images at all, and I believe the stone will be noticeably more grayish and dull in person.

I don't think you'll be happy with it.
Click to expand...

I thought I was looking at the table in the bit I circled! I sure hope I did not circle anything below the girdle, but I did have to do it on my phone. I had my glasses on, I promise!
Ohhh, I totally see the whitish area around the outside and the interior of darkness!! Thanks! I thought if I could not see through it, there was no window. Now I understand. I am just learning how to allow for some silk but avoid what you are pointing out here. Thanks!! :kiss2: The world of blue sapphires is quite new to me. I only remember my mom having commercial ones that looked black and thinking, why bother?
 
I got a message that Imgur deleted messages for being in violation of their term of service. But they don't say exactly why. Honestly!
edited to say I think skin in the video may sometimes flag it as inappropriate. Ok, we love gems, but not like that!!! Come on Imgur!!
 
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Odyssey44 said:
Is this stone a huge window too?
Click to expand...

Nope, you can actually see the facets that join at the very bottom of the pavilion flash and move. So no window. But definitely veeeery silky. And I highly doubt that blue is true to life.
 
Avondale said:
Nope, you can actually see the facets that join at the very bottom of the pavilion flash and move. So no window. But definitely veeeery silky. And I highly doubt that blue is true to life.
Click to expand...

Your eyes are good! I see the facets now that you say. I look for this in transparent gems to see how well they meet. I am having a hard time applying the same principles to these sapphires. Silk is just a whole new idea for me. Previously I thought of it as bad--just a euphemism for poor clarity.
 
Getting a feel for your tastes now, I don't think you're going to be happy with that first stone... not in the color, cut, or clarity. I like the second stone (just judging by the media provided) much better. The color looks good and the cut is fantastic. As @Avondale said though, the silk is very heavy, which is affecting the transparency. In person, I have a feeling it will be rather cloudy. Some folks don't mind that if the color is right. Do you have a return policy on that one?
 
Autumn in New England said:
Getting a feel for your tastes now, I don't think you're going to be happy with that first stone... not in the color, cut, or clarity. I like the second stone (just judging by the media provided) much better. The color looks good and the cut is fantastic. As @Avondale said though, the silk is very heavy, which is affecting the transparency. In person, I have a feeling it will be rather cloudy. Some folks don't mind that if the color is right. Do you have a return policy on that one?
Click to expand...

Yes, I am getting that impression. I have learned a new way to see windows! So I am glad my education is furthered. I have not inquired at all about the second one. I just saw it and really liked the color and wanted to see what people thought of it. I doubt I will get it. I have to better understand first the silk vs. transparency balance, and see pictures of stones that have the right balance. I will probably only ever buy one ring sapphire, so it is important to me to get it just right the first time. It is just so new to me, not asking for eye or even loupe clarity!
 
Odyssey44 said:
I have to better understand first the silk vs. transparency balance, and see pictures of stones that have the right balance.
Click to expand...

Here's the thing, though - the right balance is a matter of taste more than anything else.

In moments like these comparison is the wise man bestowing knowledge upon you. :mrgreen:

Silky vs crystalline ruby:

Silky vs crystalline sapphire:
www.instagram.com

Enhoerning Jewelry on Instagram: "A sizable unheated blue sapphire, showing the coveted 'Kashmir like' blue glow, but in fact, hailing from Madagascar ⁠ ⁠ Available for viewing & jewelry design consultation in our Midtown Manhattan showroom (by appoi

174 likes, 11 comments - enhoerningjewelry on May 10, 2025: "A sizable unheated blue sapphire, showing the coveted 'Kashmir like' blue glow, but in fact, hailing from Madagascar ⁠ ⁠ Available for viewing & jewelry design consultation in our Midtown Manhattan showroom (by appointment only) – or...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
And where exactly silky moves into sleepy territory is another personal taste parameter. It definitely affects price though.
It also can (I’m not sure if always?) be environmental light dependent on how noticeable it is.

Seeing a thread on a sapphire that someone evaluates in hand (and their pictures) that doesn’t enjoy silkiness, and then someone else’s thread on that same stone (and their pictures) that embraces silkiness, is enlightening. Neither is wrong nor inaccurate.

The second one you posted is interesting but I also have doubt it holds its color or even has the color as depicted. It’d have to be one for someone who on top of not minding sleepy, doesn’t mind inclusions.

The (lovely!) one Mellowyellow posted, I think looks like has areas of crystalline and areas of silkiness, so zoning. But hard to tell if that’s irl, just what I see in photo.
 
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