I want honest opinions!

[Fly Girl]

I''ve been looking for red/blue bi-color sapphires, and not finding a lot. Mineralminers does have a couple of yellow/blue sapphire bicolors, but I''m guessing that these won''t float your boat like the wildfishgems example. This one is an unheated/untreated 4.34 cts for $1779.40.

 

[stepcutgirl]

RC-I LOVE the second one! I may give him a call and see about it. I worry though it may be too dark? I am going to bezel my stone.

FG-yeah, I''m not into yellow even a tiny bit!

 

[T L]

Date: 6/12/2009 7:01:11 PM
Author: stepcutgirl
RC-I LOVE the second one! I may give him a call and see about it. I worry though it may be too dark? I am going to bezel my stone.

FG-yeah, I''m not into yellow even a tiny bit!

Shhhhh - me neither!

 

[stepcutgirl]

See, I don''t consider myself a purple sapphire girl but this is the one I am in love with at wildfish. If it were just bigger, I''d snap it up and adore it in a heart beat!

I''m actually considering trying to talk myself into smaller so I can get it...but I have a certain size in mind.

http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/11406

 

[Fly Girl]

http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/11406

Here is the link. You like those wild colored stones, where the camera separates the purple into red and blue.

No problem about not liking yellow. As my mother would say, that means there is more for the rest of us.

 

[RubyCharm]

Date: 6/12/2009 7:09:23 PM
Author: stepcutgirl
See, I don''t consider myself a purple sapphire girl but this is the one I am in love with at wildfish. If it were just bigger, I''d snap it up and adore it in a heart beat!


I''m actually considering trying to talk myself into smaller so I can get it...but I have a certain size in mind.


http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/11406

I can see why you love that color; it''s fantastic!

When I was on the search for my engagement stone, I initially fell in love with a smaller star ruby from the NSC that had a pink star (on a red body)! It was truly rare and amazing. But I also had a certain size in mind, and I don''t think I would have been happy with a stone smaller than the one I eventually got (which has a silver star on a red body). However, if you do end up getting a smaller stone, I think it will look larger if it''s prong-set and not bezel-set. A bezel-set stone faces up a little bit smaller. I don''t know if faceted stones tend to look a little darker when bezeled, but the color of my star ruby stayed pretty much the same (I would say there''s no noticeable difference between mounted and unmounted color in my case).

 

[icekid]

Date: 6/12/2009 7:16:54 PM
Author: Fly Girl
http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/11406

This stone is really pretty! It is not SUPER small, but if you had something else in mind, you might always regret it. What about sending that photo to Wink and seeing if he can find something similar, but larger?

 

[stepcutgirl]

Yeah, I''m fairly set on a James Meyer bezel like Coati and AJ''s. Both of their stones are around 8.5 mm and I like the proportion of both of theirs. Seems like 2 mm shouldn''t be a big deal. It''s such a small measurement, but it does!

 

[stepcutgirl]

Date: 6/12/2009 8:12:03 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 6/12/2009 7:16:54 PM

Author: Fly Girl

http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/11406

This stone is really pretty! It is not SUPER small, but if you had something else in mind, you might always regret it. What about sending that photo to Wink and seeing if he can find something similar, but larger?

I hadn''t thought of that. I will try that! Thanks.

 

[RubyCharm]

OK... so I found another stone that looks very similar to the "wild violet" stone from Wildfish. Here''s the link:

http://www.planetarygems.com/rare_gems.htm

I''m also attaching a picture of it. It''s a 1.80 cts. unheated, color change sapphire from Sri Lanka measuring 7.2 mm in diameter. However, I don''t know if The Planetary Gems Co. is a reputable dealer... I''ve never dealt with them.

 

[icekid]

Date: 6/12/2009 8:17:38 PM
Author: RubyCharm
OK... so I found another stone that looks very similar to the ''wild violet'' stone from Wildfish. Here''s the link:


http://www.planetarygems.com/rare_gems.htm

Good find, Ruby! I recall looking at their site before, but I am not sure I know of anyone buying there before.

 

[E B]

Wow, that''s a great match!

This person had a good experience with Planetary Gems, for what it''s worth.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Wow that''s a really great match! I''m not sure about them though. Their prices are very low.

 

[RubyCharm]

Date: 6/12/2009 8:37:43 PM
Author: stepcutgirl
Wow that''s a really great match! I''m not sure about them though. Their prices are very low.

Yeah... I''m not sure how much is a good price for a fine color change sapphire of that size, unheated, and from Sri Lanka. Any experts want to chime in? It might also be that the Wildfish stones are overpriced... I don''t know.

 

[icekid]

Date: 6/12/2009 8:48:37 PM
Author: RubyCharm

Date: 6/12/2009 8:37:43 PM

Author: stepcutgirl

Wow that''s a really great match! I''m not sure about them though. Their prices are very low.

Yeah... I''m not sure how much is a good price for a fine color change sapphire of that size, unheated, and from Sri Lanka. Any experts want to chime in? It might also be that the Wildfish stones are overpriced... I don''t know.

I do personally find that wildfish is definitely on the more pricey side of things! But then on the other hand, planetary''s prices seem too good to be true

 

[chrono]

I second IceKid''s opinion. Wildfish seems a little pricey while Planetary seems too inexpensive for the quality offered.

 

[beaujolais]

I think Wildfish is crazy expensive. And they are not even well cut ! No offense to Ed, though. He seems like a great guy and I love his ideas and all.

Um, nice avitar Chrono.

 

[icekid]

Date: 6/13/2009 2:37:20 AM
Author: sonomacounty

Um, nice avitar Chrono.

ummmm yeah I must admit I''ve been drooling every time I see Chrono''s avi for the past two days.

 

[ma re]

Date: 6/13/2009 7:27:32 AM
Author: icekid

Date: 6/13/2009 2:37:20 AM
Author: sonomacounty

Um, nice avitar Chrono.

ummmm yeah I must admit I''ve been drooling every time I see Chrono''s avi for the past two days.

I must admit I''ve been confused every time I saw that never before seen avatar, which was showing up a lot lately, and didn''t even realise it was Chrono.

Back on the subject, would you consider something like THIS or THIS? Ametrine is usually cut in step cuts (mostly emerald cut) to make the split between the colors more distinct and obvious, but fancy shapes like these actually mix the colors and you get all kinds of interesting and beautiful shades, including pinks and purples. It''s also affordable and abundant, so finding one in a desired size and within budget shouldn''t be a problem. It''s not the most durable of stones, but it''s OK for something that wouldn''t be worn 24/7, and even if you''d damage it, it wouldn''t cost a fortune to replace it. Maybe it''s worth a thought.

 

[stepcutgirl]

Date: 6/13/2009 8:47:45 AM
Author: ma re

Date: 6/13/2009 7:27:32 AM

Author: icekid

Date: 6/13/2009 2:37:20 AM

Author: sonomacounty


Um, nice avitar Chrono.

ummmm yeah I must admit I've been drooling every time I see Chrono's avi for the past two days.

I must admit I've been confused every time I saw that never before seen avatar, which was showing up a lot lately, and didn't even realise it was Chrono.


Back on the subject, would you consider something like THIS or THIS? Ametrine is usually cut in step cuts (mostly emerald cut) to make the split between the colors more distinct and obvious, but fancy shapes like these actually mix the colors and you get all kinds of interesting and beautiful shades, including pinks and purples. It's also affordable and abundant, so finding one in a desired size and within budget shouldn't be a problem. It's not the most durable of stones, but it's OK for something that wouldn't be worn 24/7, and even if you'd damage it, it wouldn't cost a fortune to replace it. Maybe it's worth a thought.

Well I do like those. Very cool colors but I'm not willing to get something that won't be good for daily wear and the setting also is important to me, it will be a James Meyer bezel and I can't afford to keep buying new settings each time the stone cracks, splits or does whatever it does.


ETA-I emailed wink so I'll see if he has any options. And yes Chrono...whats up with the new avatar?

 

[Lovinggems]

This sapphire is sold but you can always ask the Swala gems to source something similar for you.

 

[RubyCharm]

I think it's worth a shot to call Richard at Cherrypicked. The Cherrypicked stones are gorgeous. And, in my personal opinion, they are not as overpriced as the Wildfish gems, because you're paying for high quality selected gems (and the Cherrypicked score will tell you how they measure up to other gems of the same kind in terms of color, clarity, cut, etc.; which is very helpful when you're not an expert in colored stones).

Besides, Richard has many gems in his vault that are not posted on the website (which he doesn't update very often), so you could inquire about other alternatives. As for the two Cherrypicked colored change sapphires that I suggested before, you could ask him to send you more pictures in different light settings. That's what I did when I worked with him, and he was happy to send me more pics. Richard also charges a very reasonable shipping fee in case you'd like to review the stones before you decide whether you'll purchase anything at all (he'll put an authorization hold on your credit card, but nothing will be charged until you complete the purchase). I spent a small fortune reviewing stones in person from different dealers, and I must say that Richard's shipping charges were the least expensive among all of them. I was also interested in a stone from Ed's website and exchanged emails with him for a while, but never got to review any of his stones because I didn't want to make a bank deposit without even seeing the stone first!!! Besides, international shipping can be more of a hassle.

Another thing that I'd like you to keep in mind is that, a lot of times, pictures don't do justice to the actual beauty of certain colored stones. Many times I was pleasantly surprised to receive stones that looked significantly more beautiful in real life than in pictures. So, don't choose your engagement ring stone based on pictures alone, and don't pick the first sapphire that you get to see in real life if you had never seen a fine sapphire before. I think you can do that with diamonds, but not with colored stones. Try to review at least two or three stones, if possible. I fell in love when I saw the first unheated & natural sapphire from the NSC (up to that point, I had only seen the commercial quality sapphires that you can find in mall jewelry stores and, believe me, ANY sapphire from the NSC looks MUCH MUCH MUCH better than those sapphires). But then, I realized I was dealing with stones that were in a whole other league. Anyway, no matter what you decide to do, keep us posted!

 

[RubyCharm]

I just wanted to post the pic of the Cherrypicked color change sapphire for everybody to see...

 

[chrono]

Ruby,
That colour is nice but appear rather dark in tone. I wonder what the lighting condition the picture was taken in.

 

[chrono]

Sonoma, IceKid, Ma Re and SCG,
Thanks! That''s my new OMC. I initially put up my spessartite but then noticed that there are already so many orange avatars here and mine just blended in with everyone else''s lovely orange spessartites, and I even confused myself. I am still toying around with another spess picture so I might give that a shot in a few days. After all, I am a coloured gemstone person at heart and it would be sacriligeous to have a diamond avatar, right?

 

[T L]

Date: 6/13/2009 5:08:41 PM
Author: Chrono
Sonoma, IceKid, Ma Re and SCG,
Thanks! That''s my new OMC. I initially put up my spessartite but then noticed that there are already so many orange avatars here and mine just blended in with everyone else''s lovely orange spessartites, and I even confused myself. I am still toying around with another spess picture so I might give that a shot in a few days. After all, I am a coloured gemstone person at heart and it would be sacriligeous to have a diamond avatar, right?

Yes, if we want to look at diamonds all day long, that''s what SMTR is for. I want to see that spess!!! Can you tell I''m not a white diamond person? LOL!!

 

[icekid]

Date: 6/13/2009 6:04:42 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 6/13/2009 5:08:41 PM

Author: Chrono

Sonoma, IceKid, Ma Re and SCG,

Thanks! That''s my new OMC. I initially put up my spessartite but then noticed that there are already so many orange avatars here and mine just blended in with everyone else''s lovely orange spessartites, and I even confused myself. I am still toying around with another spess picture so I might give that a shot in a few days. After all, I am a coloured gemstone person at heart and it would be sacriligeous to have a diamond avatar, right?

Yes, if we want to look at diamonds all day long, that''s what SMTR is for. I want to see that spess!!! Can you tell I''m not a white diamond person? LOL!!

Well, I''ll stick up for your new diamond a bit here, Chrono! Because that avi photo does absolutely NOTHING for your stone in comparison to the video of it that I just watched. That stone is 100% WOW. I am in love!

 

[kas baby]

I don''t know what color(s) you''re looking for, but while browsing for a sapphire on multicolour.com this one caught my eye and I thought of this thread...

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/sapphire/pp6068aa/&1244716636

 

[stepcutgirl]

I like that stone, but I think in a multi color I like the colors to be obviously different. I''m also interested in solid blue stones with the exception of that violet one I posted above...so maybe I''m open to vibrant violent stones as well.

Chrono, if that is the new cushion I saw in the video with the oec''s...holy moly!

 

[T L]

Date: 6/13/2009 6:23:47 PM
Author: kas baby
I don''t know what color(s) you''re looking for, but while browsing for a sapphire on multicolour.com this one caught my eye and I thought of this thread...

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?/details/sapphire/pp6068aa/&1244716636

GIA Code: rP 5/3
Hue: reddish purple
Tone: Medium
Saturation: very slightly grayish

The GIA gemset color on that stone leaves much to be desired. I have a feeling it will not be that vibrant in person.