Opinions on this one please....

[Desertrose]

Looking for a round sapphire, and found this one...can anyone with more experience with sapphires tell me if this one will be darker IRL? I like the rich saturation and vibrant royal blue color. I tend to prefer the more glowy "Jedi" blue sapphires. Opinions? Some of you may recognize the seller...the price is not bad, it is heat treated but vendor says nothing else.

 

[katharath]

The color is very pretty, it looks somewhat similar to a sapphire I was recently considering. (I posted about them a month or so ago?). I ended up not choosing the one that was a deeper/darker blue, because it just seemed a bit too dark too much of the time for me.


The big thing that I've noticed about medium to darker blue sapphires (I've owned a small handful now) is that they just seem moodier to me than many other stones. They often look too dark to me personally, unless they have plenty of light, ideally plenty of sunlight. So if you want a deep blue sapphire that's always "on", I think it's rather difficult to find. Even with a perfect cut, they can look dull at least some of the time. I really like Portuguese cut sapphires for this reason, I think the cut looks great with blue sapphires. Honestly, I flat out LOVE blue sapphires. I wear mine literally every day.

To try to answer your main question - I would think these pics show it in its ideal state, looking as beautiful as it can - and it is a gorgeous color. (I do see a bit more extinction than I'd like to in the third photo). But you probably won't see the color looking like that unless the sunlight conditions are appropriate. So yes, I think much of the time it will look darker, or at the least, closer to pic three the the other two. It's one of those preference things, I think. I can live with the moodiness of these gems bc when they are "on", they are a blue that is essentially like no other (only cobalt spinel and hauyne can get there for me/IMO - at least that I've personally seen IRL). But it's kind of a trade off/what can you live with thing when you're looking at darker blue sapphires. I mean, they're just darker in general to begin with, you know?

This is just my personal experience, your mileage may vary with other PSers . You'll probably get plenty of replies after the weekend is over...

 

[Desertrose]

Thank you Katharath for your opinions...since this will be my first blue sapphire, I don't have a lot of experience to know what I will/will not like in terms of darkness, color, so it's nice to hear your perspective.

I do get what you mean about a stone with that "POW!" color, also going dark at times...I think it is that color that I want, and I will need to live with the consequences! Lighter blue sapphires are also pretty, as well as the particolors, but they just don't have the classic feel.

Still hoping to hear from other's experience....

 

[chrono]

I would think these pics show it in its ideal state, looking as beautiful as it can - and it is a gorgeous color. (I do see a bit more extinction than I'd like to in the third photo). But you probably won't see the color looking like that unless the sunlight conditions are appropriate.

This is my guess as well, based on the 3 photographs. There's no way to be sure until you see it in person though.

 

[Desertrose]

Thanks Chrono, I'm thinking of ordering it, and can always return it if too dark. If I do get it I will post some pics so people can see how it compares in real life.