Newbie with an aqua-colored stone question

[btrsweet5747]

Hi, everyone- I am so glad to have found this site! I have always loved colored gems, but unfortunately I'm not very knowledgable about them. SO and I have a variety of stones in various settings (he's from the Middle East and has some stuff from his family), so when thinking about engagement rings, I was really hoping to get something different for the center stone. At first, I was thinking of an aquamarine, as I have an oval ring, a pair of triangle earrings and a trillion pendant in aqua...but then, after looking at this site for a while I realize that that might not be a good choice as aquas don't seem to be good for everyday wear and the fact that there don't seem to be an overabundance of them in nice shades. All of the other aquamarines I've bought are from local chain jewelers and are exactly what you all have talked about- grey and glassy. So maybe you all could help me find something that might stand up better and have a better color?

What I know that I want is a cushion cut that is square (meaning that the mm is the same length and width), blue-green in color, and somewhere around 8-12mm, maybe? I'm open to the size/carats, and the actual cut (I've seen some that are more rounded and some that are more squared off)- I'm more interested in getting the right color and shape. I have some settings in mind, but those are still open as well. Could you all help me, please?

Like I said, I am very new at this, so I don't really know the difference between, say, heated and unheated, etc. I've heard the terms, but I really don't know which is better. Also, there are so many differences in price that I'm weary about buying when one stone is $15.00 and another that looks the same is $1200.00. How do I know what to look for?

TIA, everyone! I really appreciate it!!

Kristi

 

[btrsweet5747]

So I was doing a little more research, and I found out that there are sapphires in more blue-green/teal colors as well. What do you all think about this? I also thought about maybe a black diamond, but I guess that those don't hold up as well because most of them are treated? I'm just a little overwhelmed, I guess. Can anyone steer me in the right direction?

 

[Treenbean]

Hi
We have all been there, the new person, looking for the right stone. Aqua's aren't really durable enough for daily wear, and I presume you want to wear your engagement ring daily Aqua's are generally heated to get rid of their natural greenish hue. A lot of aqua's tend to be grey in their secondary hue or bluish grey (see Santa Maria Aqua).

Sapphire is a good choice. Durable enough for daily wear, but they are very dense so a 1carat sapphire will be smaller mm size than, say a garnet of the same carat weight.
There are lots of great threads on here about sapphires and their treatments. Heat treatment is generally accepted but be diffusion treatment is a huge "No No" unless the treatment is fully disclosed and you are "ok" with it and the price of the gem reflects the diffusion treatment.

If you like blue greens look to Montana sapphires and Australian sapphires, as they seem to have the right mixture of zoning to create the teal tone.

Round cuts are more rare, since the sapphire crystal seems to lend itself to ovals.

Hope this helps, Both of the sapphires are from Gemfix they are Montana in origin

 

[aviastar]

Those Montana sapphires are a great color! I didn't even think of Montanas when reading through your post, so I am really glad Treenbean posted them, they seem like a great solution to color/wearability.

Best of Luck!

 

[btrsweet5747]

Those are beautiful! I actually saw that cushion on Gemfix, just a few minutes ago, which is strange! That looks exactly like what I'm looking for- it has the color and the durability. Thank you all very much- from what I understand, I can talk to the cutters at these sites to see if they can get something in the size/cut/color I want, correct? I was wanting something a little bigger than the one pictured there...

 

[Treenbean]

It never hurts to ask. You may want to talk to Gene at Precision gem as well. I know he has some Montana sapphire rough, but I'm not sure what color. His cutting is fantastic. I have a little multicolored yellow, pink, white Montana sapphire from him that is one of my favorites to look at as it has do many different dimensions to it.

 

[btrsweet5747]

Thanks again! I am in new territory here, and it's nice to have some direction as to where to look...