Help me help a friend buy a sapphire

[hikerchick]

So, I am helping a friend put together an e-ring. Unfortunately, after I have educated myself on diamonds . . . he wants a sapphire. So, please give me a crash course on buying a sapphire. How do they grade color? clarity? How do you know the cost is a good value? Are they graded like diamonds?

His budget is 10K for the whole ring. He would like to get a setting like the Tiffany Legacy Halo. I am guessing the setting will be about 3K to 4K so we have about 6K to spend on the sapphire. Will this be enough?

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[MustangFan]

what size is he looking for?
heated or unheated?

Color is subjective, what color blue, yellow, pink, green,purple or pads?

Medium blues are probably one of the most epensive, but he definitely can get a really nice sapphire for 6k

sometimes it's hard to find the right color, shape of a colored stone that is calibrated to fit standard diamond setting. So, if I were him I wouldn't count on buying the setting he has in mind just yet, been there done that!


Colored stones tend to have large pavillions and you may need a custom setting

 

[MustangFan]

http://www.cherrypicked.com/Items/1927sm.jpg

2 carat unheated cushion sapphire for 6k

 

[Kaleigh]

Have your friend also check out, www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 3/29/2007 9:01:19 PM
Author: MustangFan
what size is he looking for?
heated or unheated?

Color is subjective, what color blue, yellow, pink, green,purple or pads?

Medium blues are probably one of the most epensive, but he definitely can get a really nice sapphire for 6k

sometimes it''s hard to find the right color, shape of a colored stone that is calibrated to fit standard diamond setting. So, if I were him I wouldn''t count on buying the setting he has in mind just yet, been there done that!


Colored stones tend to have large pavillions and you may need a custom setting

Thanks MustangFan.
I think he is looking to make the most of his budget without having it be too gaudy. I think a 2 carat would look nice.
He is looking for a blue sapphire. I was going to point him to untreated but do you think a heated sapphire is prettier? How does the heating affect the stone?

His exact words were a "rich blue sapphire"

Is buying a sapphire on the internet a bad idea? With all the variables and the inability to know the exact color in real life? If so, any places in Boston that you guys know about that sells top quality sapphires?

Thanks again for the link and the advice. I really appreciate it.

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 3/29/2007 9:09:56 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Have your friend also check out, www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com

Thank you Kaleigh. I sent him that link already. Don''t wanna overwhelm him too much so I am trying to find options to send him some links to look at for particular stones. Thanks again.

 

[londonblue]

Date: 3/29/2007 8:38:11 PM
Author:hikerchick
His budget is 10K for the whole ring. He would like to get a setting like the Tiffany Legacy Halo. I am guessing the setting will be about 3K to 4K so we have about 6K to spend on the sapphire. Will this be enough?

ah a man after my own heart..

.. too bad i''m a male too lol

I think 3k-4k should be plenty enough for a setting in platinum (spending on the size and number of melee diamonds), and 6k plenty for a nice 1.5-2ct sapphire. depending on her finger size, a legacy style melee halo will add about 1.5-2mm around the stone, making a ring set with a 1+ ct square sapphire measure 8x8mm to 10x10mm from the top view. With a 2 ct sapphire, the final ring may be 9-11.5mm in final width. So the size of her fingers and hands will likely determine how "gaudy" the final ring may look.

Shopping for sapphires can be complex, if you do a search there is a huge wealth of info buried in threads here.

something like this?

 

[Kismet]

I don''t know if they allow personal visits, but http://atggems.com is out of Methuen.

 

[hikerchick]

Londonblue, yours is actually the EXACT ring he wants to create. When I found it last night, I was so excited. I was hoping you''d pop in because I have a bunch of questions for you about working with Quest and the end product. All the pictures when your show me the ring thread are missing so I had asked in Rocky Talk for someone to post them and MrsS kindly did so . . .
I hope you will check into this thread a few times over the next couple of weeks as I get answers to the questions that will determine the final product. I have asked for her ring size. If I read your post correctly, a 1 carat sapphire with the setting you have for your FI will measure 8mm . . . that is pretty big, in my book. So, about how much does a 1 carat sapphire cost? Also, would you suggest asking Quest to find me a sapphire or search myself? Thank you for ANY and ALL guidance you can provide me. You did an AMAZING job with the ring.

 

[hikerchick]

Date: 3/30/2007 8:51:50 AM
Author: Kismet
I don''t know if they allow personal visits, but http://atggems.com is out of Methuen.

Kismet, that website is AWESOME !!!! I will call and see if they will let us come in and see the gemstones. THANK YOU !!!

 

[londonblue]

It''s a lovely ring

I highly recommend Quest! both Pete and Hahn are excellent to work with and so helpful. They provide you with CAD images of the design, and I think if you ask they''ll show you the wax too although Pete told me that the wax tends to be blockier and not look much like the finished product and I was on a short timeline so I didn''t want to add to the turnaround time w/ approving the waxes.

Even though Quest can be pretty busy, there''s always someone, usually Hahn to answer the phone, and Pete''s very good about calling you back if he''s with a customer. He''s very knowledgeable and his very specific and excellent advice concerning your needs really inspires confidence that he knows what he is doing. During your one on one time with him, you will feel that you are his only customer and his top priority. Their quotes are very competitive with other places, although it can be hard to compare since not every place will make a custom ring the same way.

My fiance''s ring size is less than 3, so the ring is quite sizeable to me. But then I don''t often stare at it everyday so there is no shrinkage in my eyes
We used 1pt melee diamonds on the halo I think, possible 1.5pt melee on the shank, I forget. I was trying to get the halo as thin as possible w/ the milligraining and bezel setting.

While shopping for the sapphire, which I did primarily online (the stock in 100% of the stores I went to just were not the size, shape or color I was looking for), i saw prices ranging from $500 to $3000. Square cushion cut sapphires seems to be tough to find (non-square ones abound), and finding one that wasn''t too large was a challenge (a lot of 2+ ct stones out there). In the end I went with cherrypicked after having a few of their stones maile d out to me. The prices for their unheated sapphires go for around 1400 to 2500 per carat for the nice stuff. You pay somewhat of a premium, but I didn''t have the time to check out many different stones. There were 1 or 2 at the natural sapphire company I would have wanted to look at, but it was very hard to judge from the images on their old website. Also nsc''s sapphires often only come with a cert from their store.

Since I sourced the sapphire myself, I don''t have any opinion about having quest find one for you. It may be easier if you are located near them and can see the gemstones in person. I''m sure they would do an excellent job.

I''ll see if I can put the images somewhere more accessible once I find them again.

 

[hikerchick]

Thanks Londonblue. I am sure I will have more questions as we work through this and I REALLY appreciate your input.