opinions on a sapphire purchase

[eringnewbie]

Hey guys and gals, my boyfriend and I purchased what appears to be a lovely blue sapphire from Gemfix last night. I wanted to get your opinions on the info I have so far. The gem should arrive maybe early next week and ill post my impressions and more photos at that time.

So Laura at Gemfix said its medium tone bright blue, well saturated with no windows or zoning issues. I asked about color performace and she stated it it doesn't black out. The AGL they provided stated in the comments the color stability is excellent.

Obviously buying online is always difficult because of color differences on monitors and photographing gems is never easy. With that being said, I'm really excited about the possibility that this could be my center stone.

I posted this picture in a recent post about insurance but I assumed it would be overlooked unless someone was amped up about answering insurance questions!

 

[FrekeChild]

I think it's a beautiful color and a great size! How do you plan to set it? I can't wait to see your pics and hear what your impression is!

 

[eringnewbie]

It arrives tomorrow and I'm impatiently waiting. Haha

I saw a lovely pave halo with split shank recently that caught my eye. But I'm open to other ideas.

 

[FrekeChild]

What a gorgeous setting! Do you have any thoughts about a wedding band? That setting looks like it'd be hard to wear a wedding band that sat flush on the side, so that might be something to put some thought towards. You might like the gap between the rings, or you might find a curved band to sit up next to it, or you might not even want to wear a wedding band next to it! Are you planning on going custom or did you want to try to do a stock setting?

 

[RTFrog]

I think a split shank halo would be great. Nice color, looking forward to more pictures!

Here's a splint shank halo with a sapphire too:

 

[eringnewbie]

Thanks I really love the setting!

Great questions. I hadn't really thought about the band yet. Although I tried on a few curved bands and liked the look. Any downside to getting a curved band?

As for custom vs. Stock, I'm going to leave that up to my boyfriend. He knows at the very least I like the idea of a halo around the sapphire and from there its in his hands. We looked at a great place locally that does outstanding custom work, so maybe we will go that direction.

This is my first time dealing with all this stuff...so is there any disadvantage to getting a stone bought else where set in a stock setting?

 

[azred]

beautiful stone, i'm sure it will be lovely in person

Many of the more experienced colored stone/custom jewelry fans will chime in I'm sure, but I just wanted to say that one thing I like about custom is you get EXACTLY what you what and a ring built to compliment the dimensions and shape of your stone.

There may be a cost advantage if you can go with a stock setting, though - and there are many lovely ones out there!

Congrats on your stone and your engagement! Hooray on daring to be different

 

[pregcurious]

I think it looks like a nice vibrant blue. Can't wait for your pics.

 

[movie zombie]

nice sapphire!

 

[corundum_conundrum]

I think its very pretty. Just make sure that it doesn't go too gray in incandescent light. Sapphire can suffer from one of two problems indoors: they can go black or gray. One's that stay blue or go violet-blue are my (and dare I say, most peoples') preference.

 

[chrono]

My favourite shift for sapphires are those that go from blue outdoors to violet blue indoors. As CC advised, take a good look at how it shifts indoors; many black out or become desaturated (grayish).

If you ever plan to wear your wedding band alone, a curved band might look a bit strange. Sometimes the e-ring is not worn due to the activity (rough sports, gardening, unsafe place, etc). It's not an issue to set any stone into a stock setting as long as it is a calibrated size. A non-calibrated size will require a custom setting made to fit the "odd" dimensions.

 

[eringnewbie]

Chrono and CC, thanks for your comments. I'm very sensitive to the color shifting. Most of the stones I've looked at in B&M stores looked great in the store but when I walked to a window for natural light they were so dark they turned black. I have not noticed a graying issue yet but I'll be looking for it.

Will definitely be nice to see the stone at home where I can easily evaluate lighting conditions. Im really hopeful it looks as pictured. From what GF told me and the online description it could be a homerun!

As someone new to this whole process I did have a few questions. One, when a report lists the color stability as excellent what does that mean? Two, the stone dimensions seem pretty standard to me. Its a rectangular shape more than a square. Anything about the cut that could pose a problem when setting it?

Thanks for the input on the wedding band as well. Im not sure I would mind the curve band if I wore it solo, but I'll need to think about that some more. A very good point to take to heart!

Appreciate everyones comments. Cant wait for it to arrive tomorrow!

 

[chrono]

Heat treatment of a sapphire improves the colouration, often driving off any green, yellow and lessening the gray. The treatment is permanent and the colour is stable. This means the colour will not fade, change or be removed. The stone should fit in a standard 8 x 6 mm stock setting. Not all stones are cut to calibrated sizes; you might get some cushions that are long and skinny and those will need a custom setting. For example, 8 x 7 mm and 9 x 6 mm cushions will need a custom setting.

 

[eringnewbie]

Well it arrived. I think its really pretty and a good size but but I'm having some reservations. When its turned to the side I notice some windowing. Is that something to be concerned about? Also the color is great in the sunlight but indoors and low light it seems washed out. I know its hard to find a sapphire that will perform well in all lighting conditions so maybe thats out of my price range. What do you guys think.

 

[eringnewbie]

More pics

 

[FrekeChild]

It does appear to have a "tilt window", which all stones, even diamonds have. Does it have a window when you look straight down into it? If it does, that would be a problem. How do you feel about the color?

 

[eringnewbie]

It doesnot have a window when you look straight down. As for the color, I think its great in the day light. Indoors it turns more purple like than blue. Still pretty. Its apparently precision cut so I excepted there not to be a window issue.

 

[eringnewbie]

I guess I jist expected it to look more electric like the pictures on GF. doe any of the other cushions or ovals on GF seem beter for the price point. We probably want to keep the stone under 4k.

 

[chrono]

The stone looks and behaves as I would expect it to. Sapphires tend to look their best under indirect sunlight. They will either gray a bit or become purplish indoors. They will darken under low light conditions. The cutting looks good and a bit of tilt window is normal. Remember that all vendors will show their stones at their prettiest, meaning it will not look as pictured all the time but only under very specific light conditions.

 

[minousbijoux]

The stone looks and behaves as I would expect it to. Sapphires tend to look their best under indirect sunlight. They will either gray a bit or become purplish indoors. They will darken under low light conditions. The cutting looks good and a bit of tilt window is normal. Remember that all vendors will show their stones at their prettiest, meaning it will not look as pictured all the time but only under very specific light conditions.

Sometimes I wish we could all have this tattooed on our foreheads as I too am sometimes disappointed when I get stones in hand. Of course, you can't blame a vendor for trying to coax the best from the gem - unless of course they photoshop or otherwise manipulate the photos.

 

[LD]

You've asked for opinions on the colour and I'm going to be honest. I think the stone is much darker than the vendor's listing and not as bright or vibrant as described. I'm not surprised but am disappointed for you. My initial thought when I saw the vendor photo was "WOW". Now, to me, and this is completely personal, there's not much WOW factor in the photos you've taken. It's a pretty stone but not jaw dropping which I think you may want?

I don't know where you live but in winter here, with the short days, we tend to spend time inside with incandescent lighting. That means that I don't often see my sapphires in daylight so, for me, I look for ones that are particularly good in incandescent lighting.

So, think about when you'll be looking at it most and that may help to make your decision. Certainly the day time shots look pretty.

In terms of the wedding band I wouldn't go for a curved one because it will look odd on its own (I had one and got rid of it). If you want to keep a split shank you could design a high ring with split shoulders moving to a single band just before it hits your finger. That way your ring would sit over the wedding band and would sit flush. Hope that makes sense.

 

[eringnewbie]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I really aopreciate it! Again, I think the sapphire is pretty but it doesn't have the wow factor like LD mentioned. Being new to gems I am quickly learning how important it is to see the stone in various lighting conditions. While you can nearly buy a diamond sight unseen based on soecs the same cannot be said for a sapphire.

I am fine with the color shifting in different lighting conditions from blue to purple to maybe a grayish blue, but this stone certainly looked darker than pictured on the vender. I do not fault them for this because we all know how hard it is to capture the color right. Ive seen some glimmers of the hand shot picture from the vender while looking at the stone yesterday but that seems to be the exception not the rule.

Do you guys and gals see any other gems on GF that might work better. Im fine with a darker hue if its saturated enough to make the color apparent as blue in most lighting.

 

[eringnewbie]

Oh and two more things...

I know silk sort of makes a stone glow but you lose the sparkle. Should I like at stones with silk? Or should I avoid them?

And what types of colors should I look at if I want it to behave nicely indoors. I spend most of my time under fluorescent lighting at work so I'd rather have a stone look decent indoors.

 

[pregcurious]

For silk, a little bit can enhance the diffusion of light and make the stone glow (getting rid of the dark areas you see when you move a stone around) and help the color look very uniform. Too much silk, however, and a stone will start looking opaque. For me, I find that the stone has to be vivid (no/little grey) to be able to handle silk because the silk tends to make stones look milky/whitish/greyish.

Imagine a row of sapphires of the same hue/color, with varying amounts of silk. In the light colors, you probably don't want any silk. In the vivid, electric blue colors, you can image that a _little_ silk will help the color pop more.

Here is silksapphire's sapphire, which is one of the best on this forum. Her's has just a little silk, but the vivid color (lack of grey) can handle it:
www.pricescope.com/forum/colored-stones/my-dream-sapphire-found-t172133.html

If you have ever seen the Hope Diamond, what is amazing about it is that although it is colored a greyish blue, it scintillates because diamond has high refractive index, and the diamond itself is very clean and therefore has a great crystal. It assume it is also cut well enough to balance brilliance (light refraction) with preservation of carat weight.

 

[minousbijoux]

Your questions about silk are good and some that we all grapple with. I, for one, am in general not a silk lover if it impacts the scintillation/sparkle of the stone. If it has silk, is vibrant with broad flashes, then I would consider it, but its really a personal preference thing. My favorite sapphire I have is a medium dark vivid blue (slight violet) that sparkles and flashes; if it had silk, it would glow more but I'd lose the sparkle and pop.

 

[chrono]

Liking a clear stone or something silky is very personal. Yes, there is a trade-off either way. Silk will dampen some of the sparkle and flash but helps to limit extinction and softens the look into something satiny or velvety. Some people like very silky (or hazy) stone, some like just a touch and some not at all. My personal preference is to have just a touch of silk or barely there silk so that I still get sparkles AND glow, depending on the lighting situation.

Unfortunately, there is no magic colour to shop for to have the stone behave well indoors; you'll have to look at a stone by stone basis. Some super looking blues are naughty indoors. When inquiring with the vendor, tell him/her that you will be wearing it under fluorescent lighting most of the time and would like to know if that sapphire is a good candidate for you.

 

[eringnewbie]

Thanks for the help. I have to admit its a little disheartening to feel like the color and stone performance I want is probably outside my budget. Almost makes me reconsider my choice of sapphire over diamond...almost!

So I'm sure most people would say this stone is too dark, the photo was taken under jeweler's lighting, but it's already set and if down the road I wanted to upgrade the stone they give you that option. Thoughts? As you can see the phone used to take the pic is casting a shadow on the ring but it still has some fun flashes of blue/violet.

 

[FrekeChild]

The question you should be asking yourself is if you like the color. So, do you?

 

[eringnewbie]

FC, its okay. It doesnt have a bright blue pop which is something I'd love to achieve. Someone just posted a sapphire they received from the master cut sale on page2 and I'm loving that color. Don't think think I'll ever find it a sapphire in that hue/saturation though.

 

[carmen1]

Don't give up or settle, you should be able to have the sapphire you love for your wring. I know Jeff Davies has posted some gorgeous blue sapphires lately, have you checked with him to see if he may have what you are looking for?

http://www.pinterest.com/jeffdaviesgems/sapphire/