Neophyte seeks cushion-cut sapphire for ering, where to look

[OutOfTheLoupe]

Hi folks;

I hope you'll forgive what feels like a very uninformed foray into your forum, but you all seem like such incredibly knowledgeable people that I couldn't resist asking for a little guidance.

I'm seeking a lovely sapphire for an upcoming proposal - the woman of note has indicated the stone, the cut, and a preference for a lovely lively blue colour, and something of a vintage or halo setting, but little more. I've spent the past few weeks popping into most of my local jewellers, but to be honest the quality and variety of available stones here has been somewhat lacking, coupled with a general lack of service which has left me combing through the backwoods of the internet for a little guidance.

I've obviously seen what's on offer at a few major online dealers - N@tural Sapphires, Blue Nile, etc. Some of the reviews and information posted about the various companies leaves a lot to be desired.

Can anyone make some suggestions, or am I barking up the wrong tree (or seeing as I'm totally new to this, perhaps I'm barking up the wrong shrub).

My budget is approximately $10k, with a little wiggle room in each direction. Please let me know if you have any helpful advice.

Thanks!

 

[Niel]

Re: Neophyte seeks cushion-cut sapphire for ering, where to

Can you post the color she's after

 

[OutOfTheLoupe]

Re: Neophyte seeks cushion-cut sapphire for ering, where to

I'm sorry, I should have been more specific.

The colour she prefers is a vivid medium to dark/deep blue - my searches seem to indicate she'd prefer a kashmir, ceylon or burma stone?

 

[Niel]

Re: Neophyte seeks cushion-cut sapphire for ering, where to

So the trade ideal?


My first step would be to contact now escobar if you're in the US,he seems to have a lot of sapphires in that range and does a nice halo

 

[chrono]

Re: Neophyte seeks cushion-cut sapphire for ering, where to

$10K budget total = X for stone and Y for halo setting.

What metal do you plan to use for the setting? Let's presume platinum and a simple halo, so that's around $2K to $3K, which leaves you $7K to $8K for the sapphire. What ct weight and mm size sapphire? Heated or untreated?

 

[QuantumStuff]

Re: Neophyte seeks cushion-cut sapphire for ering, where to

What is your timeline? If you can wait 6-9 months, your options are much better, whereas 1-2 months you're most likely left to what is sitting on the shelves ready to go.

My relative leadtimes might be off, but you get the picture.

If it were me, I'd begin by asking a few precision faceters what they have on hand in both cut and rough. A few names come to mind:

Jeff White
Gene (precisiongem.com)
Lisa Elser
Gary (finewater gems)

Many more out there, these are just a few that I can immediately think of.