planning a ring - need budget help

[lavatea]

I am planning an anniversary band for our 5 year anniversary (4 1/2 years away, ha ha). I had looked into getting pink sapphires set into a wedding band when we got married, but settled on a plain platinum band instead (very glad I did, too). So now I''m dreaming of a 5-stone anniversary band with pink sapphires.

I want natural, untreated, unheated sapphires. Not sure if I want ovals, rounds, or cushions. I want 5 stones, but I want the ring to just cover the top of my finger; I don''t like when the stones kind of poke over on to the tops of your other fingers (if that makes sense). So I have no idea what mm stones I will need or what that translates into as far as carats. I wear a size 5 1/2 ring.

Since this is so far away, I''m mainly concerned with how much money I will need to set aside for this project. We are fairly low income for at least another year (I''m a nursing student), although we do get fairly decent tax returns usually. I am guessing I should start saving my pennies now, because the unheated sapphires I''ve seen so far have been somewhat pricey.

Budget help? Any ideas or suggestions I should file away?

Thanks in advance. I love you guys.

 

[Arcadian]

I would really start saving pennies now.


BTW, what color pink are you looking for? Vividness dictates price no matter the size.

-A

 

[chrono]

Definitely start saving those quarters now.

It''s not going to be easy finding a matched set of 5 that are all untreated, especially if you want a shocking vivid pink. Will the top half of you finger be around 20 mm? If so, then the average of each stone needs to be around 4 mm each, which translates to at least 0.5 ct each.

 

[luckynumber]

it''s going to be expensive to get five 0.5 ct well-saturated, unheated pink sapphires of the same hue....

what is your budget and finger size?

 

[lavatea]

My finger size is 5 1/2, and I have no idea how many mm of finger coverage that translates to. I don''t have a ruler or anything. I''ll attach a few pictures and maybe you experts can judge based on that.

First, here''s about the color pink I''m thinking:

 

[lavatea]

Here''s a shot of my e-ring on my finger. The center pear is 7.92x5.25x3.29, but I have no idea of the side stones.

 

[chrono]

Are you looking for the same finger coverage as your current set? The pink example you showed will be pricey if untreated.

 

[lavatea]

Date: 1/4/2010 2:03:55 PM
Author: Chrono
...It''s not going to be easy finding a matched set of 5 that are all untreated...

Would I be better off buying rough and having matching stones cut? Or is that the more expensive route?

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/4/2010 4:18:53 PM
Author: lavatea
Would I be better off buying rough and having matching stones cut? Or is that the more expensive route?

This method will be easier but also be the more expensive route. I would not purchase the rough but let the cutter source it.

 

[lavatea]

Date: 1/4/2010 4:18:47 PM
Author: Chrono
Are you looking for the same finger coverage as your current set? The pink example you showed will be pricey if untreated.

I''m wanting to completely cover my finger - so just a bit more than the e-ring. I don''t want any band to show, but no hang over, either. I have an example that I saved off of here, but I''m not sure if I should post it because I don''t know who it belongs to.

 

[lavatea]

Date: 1/4/2010 4:20:32 PM
Author: Chrono

Date: 1/4/2010 4:18:53 PM

Author: lavatea

Would I be better off buying rough and having matching stones cut? Or is that the more expensive route?

This method will be easier but also be the more expensive route. I would not purchase the rough but let the cutter source it.

Hmmm...ok. I could go more expensive if it wasn''t TOO much more expensive and it meant less headache.

So, are we talking $10,000 range or significantly more than that? Even that number makes me ill to imagine, but we do have 5 years to save. And we should be in a significantly better place by then.

 

[Upgradable]

Is there a reason why you are set on untreated? Heat is a very well accepted treatment for sapphires, and that could make finding stones much easier.

 

[Arcadian]

I'm no ring designer, so bear with me (I worked it all out on a post it note...lol)

So if you get a center stone of say 6 to 6.5mm round
On either side flank that by 2 side stones of 4-5mm rounds
and 2 more stones of like 2-3mm rounds?

OR

You can do mixed shapes. I'm pretty bad when it comes to this type of stuff, so bear with me, I worked it out on a post it note...lol

if you went with a princess cut center stone of about 5-6mm then 2 smaller sized princes cuts of maybe 4-3mm??) then 2 trapezoid cuts on either side of that, you'd also get your finger coverage. Or change it around to whatever you like.


What I'm saying is there's no wrong or right way to go, as long as its what you personally like.

I think the possibilities are endless, so it may be a matter of you maybe cutting out a few shapes and seeing what you like? (some people do that and it works very well)

Some cutters won't touch rough they've not sourced, so you may want to have the cutter do the sourcing for you.


Sapphires can really be expensive when you're wanting vivid color AND no treatment.

If you were after a softer color you may be able to save money while still staying natural.

Also, you may want to think about graduating the color. That can add interest to the ring and also of course, keep the cost down a bit.

The color you chose is quite saturated and lovely, but your talking about something that can be potentially expensive. If you can live with a heated stone it will bring your price down.

If it were me I'd would set the budget about 5K, at least for now. Because you're looking not only at the cost of the materials, but the labor costs of putting it all together.

-A

 

[Upgradable]

Check out this link.

 

[lavatea]

I like the idea of size gradation, but I''m not so sure about mixing shapes - especially since my e-ring is sort of laid out that way (although they are all pears, just set sideways on the side).

I''ll keep it in mind to have the cutter source the rough if I end up going that way.

 

[lavatea]

Date: 1/4/2010 5:10:44 PM
Author: Upgradable
Check out this link.

Thanks for the link! And thank you all for your help so far.

ETA: I want unheated just because I'm a nut that way.

 

[ma re]

Based on your finger size and on the fact that you don''t want something that wouldn''t poke your neighbouring fingers, and on the fact that you want five stones, I''m guessing you''d be fine with 3.5 mm each (since you need about a third of the band''s circumference to be covered, so that''s about 17 mm). And since you''d like to keep budget down, I''d advise you to choose among elongated shapes (ovals, marquises, pears, elongated cushions - get the picture?) and set them lenght-wise along the band (like THIS, not like THIS). So five ovals, each 3.5 by 2 mm should do it. As sapphires of that size would weigh around 0.10 cts each, they shouldn''t be expensive, even if natural and nicely pink. But the issue here is, would you be OK with a 2 mm band? For instance, THIS one is similar in color to what you''re after, calibrated (available in large quantities), untreated and costs 5$ (each) - but it''s the wrong shape and you''d need more than five of them to cover your entire finger. All in all, I think finding the right set of 5 stones might be a bigger issue than finding money for them, as you certainly don''t need them in sizes like half a carat each that could indeed make them pricey. That is unless you want a wider band (like 3.5 - 4 mm), in which case each stone could weigh around 0.25 cts and cost somewhat more, but still way less than thousands per carat (even if you''d pay 500$/ct, you''d need 125$ per stone, so 625$ in total for the stones). Hope this helps.

 

[vinkalmann]

I don''t know if any of these would match the style that you''re looking for, but my fiance and I are getting matching wedding bands from the Natural Sapphire Company:

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Sapphire-Jewelry/Sapphire-Wedding_Bands/

Note at the top there''s a check-box for pink sapphires so you can see what they''d look like. The benefit of doing it through them is they would do all the matching work. To a certain extent they can change the dimensions of the rings, ie make them wider or narrower.

Fair warning, the rings aren''t cheap! But then again neither are unheated pink sapphires . It might be interesting to get a price quote one or two to see what you''re dealing with, they''re very willing to help.

I''d have to look at some past emails, but the ones we looked at were anywhere from ~1500 to $2500 for her wedding band. (that''s a completely ball park number though since we are looking at blue sapphires and the pink may be more, I don''t know)

 

[lavatea]

ma re, that first link in your post looks almost exactly like what I''m thinking in my head. I definitely like the look of ovals set EW instead of NS. My wedding band is 2.5 mm, and I don''t think I''d want to go any thinner than that. I was thinking more along the lines of probably 3 mm. Would the stone size that you suggested still be around the same?

vinkalmann, this ring would also work, but I think I''d probably either want the mm to be just a tad smaller (so the stones didn''t stick out so far), or cut out two stones altogether. Are the stock rings from the Natural Sapphire Company as good of quality as their loose stones? I had been thinking of buying loose and having something put together either by WhiteFlash or BGD.

Thanks again everyone. I know this is a long way off, but all the input really helps me. I''m a pretty big planner.

 

[vinkalmann]

If you wanted the stones smaller, I would bet that they could do that. I say this because when we originally asked about matching wedding bands, they suggested that hers be 4mm and that mine would be 5mm so it was more masculine. Based on that I know that they can make changes to the rings.

Note that these rings aren''t considered stock and are custom made based on what you want. I would think that these stones are or high quality, but I couldn''t say for sure. That would be a good question to ask if you ask for a price quote.

For kicks, if you want to get an idea what individual stones cost you can look through they''re selection there. It''s under Sapphires="">Pink. It''s not terribly useful for you in the sense that the stones aren''t matched, but it''s definitely fun to see all the different colors out there.

There was a NSC rep that popped her head in here a couple of weeks ago, maybe post a question directed to her? The link was titled "Greating from NSC" or something like that.

 

[ma re]

Well larger stones would most probably be more expensive, but since we're still talking quite a small size, the difference in price would probably not be very dramatic. However, if stone is 2 mm wide, that doesen't mean that the ring has to be 2 mm as well, cause you can have things like milgrain edge or some other details along the edges to make the band slightly wider. I think setting elongated stones E/W is a really cost effective way to do this ring, and if you like the design, all the better.

 

[vinkalmann]

Date: 1/5/2010 2:37:13 PM
Author: ma re
Well larger stones would most probably be more expensive, but since we''re still talking quite a small size, the difference in price would probably not be very dramatic. However, if stone is 2 mm wide, that doesen''t mean that the ring has to be 2 mm as well, cause you can have things like milgrain edge or some other details along the edges to make the band slightly wider. I think setting elongated stones E/W is a really cost effective way to do this ring, and if you like the design, all the better.

This is true. Elongated stones are definitely cheaper. Using the rings on the NSC page for comparison, the eternity bands that use the baguette stones were close to half the price for the same band using princess cut stones. Because of that fact we''re probably going to go for the baguette stones, the end result is similar and won''t break the bank as much.