Need ideas for setting my blue sapphire

[Icy Melona]

Would love some ideas/suggestions for setting my sapphire into a ring. (pictures would be very much appreciated! :p) Please see pic. It is 10.2mm*8.6mm*7.2mm. This is my 1st sapphire and am very excited!

 

[geckodani]

Oooh it''s lovely! What''s your budget for the setting?

 

[Icy Melona]

Thank you!! Didn''t even think about a budget, how much does it normally cost to set a ring? This will be the first time I''ve ventured to get a ring set apart from my e-ring which my mother arranged for me and hubby with her jeweller. Is $1000 AUD enough- silly question, I know?

I''ve seen some diamond halos and the 3 stone rings on websites which I thought were lovely. But I''m worried that the halo setting might make the sapphire look too dark- does it have that effect? Also I''m located in Sydney, Australia so if anyone could chime in and let me know a good bench jeweller that would be lovely.

 

[geckodani]

I can''t help with a bench, but I think setting it as a simple solitaire would be gorgeous. WF Legato Sleek Line comes to mind!

 

[violet3]

Wow! that''s really pretty - i think halos can make a sapphire look darker, but the contrast of the sapphire and diamond is always very pretty.

I would vote for a three stone ring (with half moons - swoon), but then you have to take into consideration the cost of the diamonds for the sidestones...i am thinking something like irish breakfast''s ring (only she has graduated traps next to her sapphire)...see below.

Can''t wait to see what you pick!

 

[violet3]

And here''s one with half moons and melee all around - one of my all time PS favorites - courtesy of miss rocks....

 

[neatfreak]

Halos or bezels are gorgeous, but will make a sapphire look darker. So I would vote for something like the three stone posted if you are worried about the color difference. Yummy!

 

[Kelli]

I think a three-stone would be gorgeous! Love that color

 

[violet3]

Here''s one with half moons, no halo...from the natural sapphire company (pretend it''s blue). They do offer settings too - i wonder if they are only for their own stones, or if they would set one you already have.....

either way, the site is good for getting ideas!

www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com

 

[Deedaa]

I love the idea of half-moon or pear side stones with an oval. I'm looking at a setting like that at the moment for an oval stone.

As a fellow Sydney-sider, I've discovered the issue with side stones is the cost. I was recently quoted $3,700 AUD for a pair of pears, 0.76 total weight. This was from a local jeweller (who was very nice and spent ages showing me his coloured stone collection and telling me about them). I've had similar prices from others. I'm not sure what other options are out there, and purchasing overseas with the value of the Aussie dollar at the moment is not any better.

ETA - The cost of a custom three-stone setting was quoted to me at around $1,500 (on top of the $3,700), I thought this was a bit much.

 

[T L]

That''s a beautiful color on a sapphire, and you could be a hand model!! I think it looks great on your hand without anything - which is the true testament to a beautiful stone. It doesn''t need anything around it to make it beautiful. Do you mind my asking if you know where it was sourced (Burma, Ceylon, Africa, other??).

I''m sure whatever you put it in, it will be gorgeous!

 

[Icy Melona]

Hi all, thank you for your thoughts on this. I love the piccies, I actually saved it on to my notebook! Feed me more please!

I''m so torn at the moment, do I go with halo or 3 stone.

Tourmaline L- the sapphire is from Madagascar, low heat treated and I bought it from AJSGems.com (they''re very nice and honest to work with BTW). The cut isn''t the best but the stone has an intense blue, silky, velvety look that I adore. :p Can you tell I''m excited? I only wish AJSgems had a good supply of untreated sapphires to oggle at. I dream of owning a Kashmir oneday! Teehee... a hand model I am not! I can dream though...

Deeda- yeah, a fellow sydneysider. Gosh, I didn''t know simple setting could cost so much. So far I''ve had one qoute from a jeweller in Dymocks building, I think it was around $1600 for a 18kt WG with 1pt diamond melee halo and diamond melee half shank. He said he''ll use F-G, VS1-2 and I thought that was expensive. I must be out of touch! He showed me some of his works in progress and the quality looked good and he seemed like he would pay attention to small details.

 

[T L]

If you''re concerned about the cut (from your shot, you cannot tell what is wrong with the cut), I would probably do a halo. It would lessen the effect of a window in the stone or bad cutting and show off the color more. A three stone ring probably would accentuate the cutting. JMO, others please feel free to disagree with me.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Beautiful stone! What a great bright blue.

As for settings. I like the half moon idea because the white diamonds will help make that blue pop (althought that sapphire does not need much help).

A halo would also be beautiful. I would consider a pronged halo because that might help lessen the darkening effect.

 

[Deedaa]

I think the cost of the setting you described sounds quite good. From what I can gather the concept of "matched pairs" is an expensive one, making the halo setting a more cost effective option than the three stone ring.

It is a gorgeous stone, whatever you choose will look great.

 

[Lupinbunny]

Oo! I think $1600 is quite a good quote! A few months back I was quoted $1600 - 1700 (very rough quote) for 18kt white gold with 20 1pt diamonds (we plucked a number out of the air that was a ''guess'' at a melee halo and part/ half shank) of a lower grade (can''t quite remember, but I think he said H - I colour?)

 

[ma re]

Here''s my 2c; the stone is really beautiful and it doesen''t need anything else in terms of sides or accents to make it look better. However, it''s on the larger side (for a ring stone) and setting it in solitaire would be OK only if the shank would be slightly wider - otherwise there wouldn''t be much proportion between the two. A split shank could work also. I think both halo and side stones would detract too much away from the stone, but a few small accents on each side of the shank (say three 5-pointers forming a triangle) would be both elegant and cost-effective.

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 10/8/2008 10:17:45 AM
Author:Icy Melona
Would love some ideas/suggestions for setting my sapphire into a ring. (pictures would be very much appreciated! :p) Please see pic. It is 10.2mm*8.6mm*7.2mm. This is my 1st sapphire and am very excited!

Very pretty BLUE!
I always lilke a little bit of *white* around sapphires, to me, that makes them pop.

Ma Re had a good suggestion re: maybe 3x smaller diamonds on either side. That would work well with the proportions of your stone, rather than trying to get single sidestones which budgetwiise may not be an option. ( I think that if single sidestones are too small it won''t look right either.) With 10.2mm in length, it would take 2 sizeable sidestones to look balanced, IMHO.

Just one other thing: make sure whatever jeweller sets it keeps in mind the depth of the stone. At 7.2mm it needs to sit up from your finger a bit to clear the culet (the bottom ''point'' of the stone).

A budget of $1000 may get you a plain solitaire setting, if your jeweller can find you a stock item for that size of stone. Once you go custom the sky''s the limit!

There are lots of settings out there: have a look on Stuller.com for ideas. They don''t show pricing but your jeweller would have access to that kind of information.

It''s a beautiful stone and looks lovely on your hand. Take your time to find the right ''home'' for it...it may take a minute or 2 but it''s worth the trouble!

LS

 

[LostSapphire]

p.s.:

Here is DiamondSeeker's cushion set into a lovely (platinum, I think) solitaire. Just to give you an idea. I believe this stone is somewhere around 6mm x 6mm or maybe 7x7.

LS

 

[T L]

Do you have any close up pictures of the stone or the ajsgems.com stock photo. I would love to see it up close. It's so beautiful.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 10/9/2008 3:52:49 AM
Author: ma re
Here''s my 2c; the stone is really beautiful and it doesen''t need anything else in terms of sides or accents to make it look better. However, it''s on the larger side (for a ring stone) and setting it in solitaire would be OK only if the shank would be slightly wider - otherwise there wouldn''t be much proportion between the two. A split shank could work also. I think both halo and side stones would detract too much away from the stone, but a few small accents on each side of the shank (say three 5-pointers forming a triangle) would be both elegant and cost-effective.

Ooh! That would be gorgeous!

 

[MMT]

I''m really wanting a halo for a RHR , I just think they are so pretty. The blue in your stone is just gorgeous.

 

[cushioncutnut]

Date: 10/8/2008 10:23:43 PM
Author: Icy Melona
Hi all, thank you for your thoughts on this. I love the piccies, I actually saved it on to my notebook! Feed me more please!

I''m so torn at the moment, do I go with halo or 3 stone.

Tourmaline L- the sapphire is from Madagascar, low heat treated and I bought it from AJSGems.com (they''re very nice and honest to work with BTW). The cut isn''t the best but the stone has an intense blue, silky, velvety look that I adore. :p Can you tell I''m excited? I only wish AJSgems had a good supply of untreated sapphires to oggle at. I dream of owning a Kashmir oneday! Teehee... a hand model I am not! I can dream though...

Deeda- yeah, a fellow sydneysider. Gosh, I didn''t know simple setting could cost so much. So far I''ve had one qoute from a jeweller in Dymocks building, I think it was around $1600 for a 18kt WG with 1pt diamond melee halo and diamond melee half shank. He said he''ll use F-G, VS1-2 and I thought that was expensive. I must be out of touch! He showed me some of his works in progress and the quality looked good and he seemed like he would pay attention to small details.

I have the same dilema! Part of it is due to budget! Honestly, I have received several quotes on different setting styles and they have arranged from $1,600 on up. $1,600 is a great price for a custom made setting for the color,clarity, and the amount of melee your jeweler is using. Good luck! I can''t wait to see what you choose. Maybe it will help me to narrow down how to set my sapphire!

 

[anemone]

Date: 10/9/2008 6:39:38 AM
Author: LostSapphire
p.s.:
Here is DiamondSeeker''s cushion set into a lovely (platinum, I think) solitaire. Just to give you an idea. I believe this stone is somewhere around 6mm x 6mm or maybe 7x7.
LS

It''s 7.9mm on a side. Currently it''s set in 18K white gold. This setting can probably be had for less than $500.

 

[Kelli]

Date: 10/9/2008 6:39:38 AM
Author: LostSapphire
p.s.:

Here is DiamondSeeker''s cushion set into a lovely (platinum, I think) solitaire. Just to give you an idea. I believe this stone is somewhere around 6mm x 6mm or maybe 7x7.

LS

I find this beautiful blue in a simple solitaire so enchanting.....

 

[marcy]

Gorgeous sapphire. I''d go with diamond accents.

 

[Harriet]

Ooh. How about pear sides?
P.S. You live in my dream city.

 

[ma re]

Date: 10/9/2008 11:46:03 PM
Author: Harriet
Ooh. How about pear sides?
P.S. You live in my dream city.

Trillions maybe, but I''d think twice about pears. They''re quite long for their size (or carat weight), especially when compared to most other cuts so you''d need quite a lot of space along the shank to have them set. One option is to find those that are more round, but they''re not as pretty. I''d say they''d need to be at least 5x3 mm to acompany a 10x8 center stone, so you''d need at least 18 mm of width on the finger for that. If your hand size and your budget allow that, it can be done, I''m just not sure it would look very good. Trillions are a better choice since they have a wider outline and some sharp edges to balance and define the oval.

 

[Icy Melona]

HI all, yeah, leaning towards diamond sides or diamond something now...

Lost Sapphire- I am a huge fan of your sapphire ring. I saved it onto my notebook ages ago, just to drool and get through the long working day!!

So many great ideas and having a hard time choosing.

Tourmaline Lover- I do have the stock photo and I'll post that one up as soon as I reduce the file size.

I think I'll take my stone to the jewellers and see what they can do. I've saved afew pictures so I'm gonna take those with me to see what their professional advise would be.

 

[Icy Melona]

Here you go... this is the stock photo from AJSGems!