shape
carat
color
clarity

My recent purchase - a blue sapphire

dzop

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
151
When my wife and I started shopping for a sapphire, we thought we'd pick a cornflower blue, ~1ct stone.

We ended up with a blue-violet, 1.9 ct, overrsaturated stone. Whoops.

But we're really happy with our purchase.

Started out ordering online, but quickly realized that I was too picky to order off the internet. Went in person to several NYC gem dealers. Ended up buying from Natural Sapphire Company - I know they're controversial on here, but they had the prettiest stones and not only were they price competitive, they were actually priced under a few other options that I would've expected to be cheaper.

Stone is a the least Ceylon-looking Ceylon sapphire ever. Heated. Intensely saturated to a flaw - the tone is too dark. But it doesn't black out in incandescent light, and when it catches the light the blue flash is utterly electric. I've never seen a stone like this - the closest I can describe it is like a true D-block tanzanite, but on the bluer side of the range of those, with all the flash and sparkle of a sapphire. Minimal color shift. No face-up zoning. Strong pleochroism (see one of the pictures below). Native cut, but little wasted weight below the girdle and critically (given the dark tone) no window.

Regrettably, I didn't save the picture from the NSC website, but I can report the picture was several ticks too light but spot on in terms of saturation.

Pics or it didn't happen? OK, pics.

Next to a north-facing window, cloudy day:
img_0764.jpg

Incandescent, medium bright room:
img_0798_2.jpg

Incandescent, showing the worst it ever looks when the saturation is too much for the ambient light:
img_0788.jpg

Strong pleochroism!
img_0800_2.jpg
 

Acinom

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
10,535
Congrats!!! And thanks for sharing.
How will you set the stone. Do you already have a setting in mind?
 

dzop

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
151
Bezeled into a ring by a local deesigner. Rose gold.
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,364
Congrats on the e-ring stone. I love bezels and you probably have a specific design in mind but knowing that it darkens significantly at times and that a bezel will further darken it, I'm just making sure that you are aware of this.
 

dzop

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
151
My experience is that the bezel darkens the body color, but that's not really what this stone is about. I'm cautiously optimistic about bezelling it, but have instructed the designer to keep the bezel low so that the high crown can catch as much light as possible.

Also, not an e-ring. An RHR.
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
Messages
38,364
dzop|1480435266|4103432 said:
My experience is that the bezel darkens the body color, but that's not really what this stone is about. I'm cautiously optimistic about bezelling it, but have instructed the designer to keep the bezel low so that the high crown can catch as much light as possible.

Also, not an e-ring. An RHR.
My apologies for not reading thoroughly. I feel that collet bezel (open pavilion) gives the best of both worlds. Light coming in from the bottom and sides will help a lot more than light coming in from the top.
 

dzop

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
151
Interesting - I've always found light coming through the pavilion to interfere with flash by reducing contrast.
 

dzop

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
151
The finished piece (which we picked up today) being worn by my very happy wife on a gloomy day here in NYC. Chrono, FWIW, the bezel seems to have lightened up the stone, though I suspect that's because I was scrupulous about instructing the designer to make sure the bezel didn't extend above the girdle.

img_0834.jpg
 

Desertrose

Shiny_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jan 6, 2016
Messages
239
What a pretty shade of blue! I also like the twisted band with diamonds...nicely balanced piece!
 

Acinom

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
10,535
Wow! The blue looks even more beautiful now that it's set. Gorgeous stone and setting. Please post more pics :appl:
 

dzop

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
151
Indoors at night, in a well-lit room:

img_0836.jpg
 

arkieb1

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 11, 2012
Messages
9,786
Gorgeous stone, I am one of the few on here that like sapphires dark/royal but still a beautiful vivid blue like yours is, I like them in all shades actually but yours is stunning, congrats!!!!
 

chatoyancy

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 17, 2016
Messages
1,384
The ring is elegant and I love the color of the sapphire.
 

RaiKai

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 8, 2010
Messages
1,255
It is beautiful!

I am glad you and your wife went with the colour that felt most right to you; it is luscious!
 

praween_s

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2015
Messages
111
Very beautiful !! I'm totally into dark blue sapphires. I have been avoiding bezel setting with this sort of color until I've seen yours. Congrats!!
 

dzop

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
151
One more - indoors, north-facing window, sunny day.

Lesson learned from this, for me, is that there's a huge difference between a darker blue metamorphic sapphire and a darker blue igneous sapphire.

fullsizerender_171.jpg
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top