Please help me with my blue sapphire engagement ring!

[hopeniks]

Hi everyone,

My SO and I have been talking about marriage and have decided to get engaged in about a year. We are in the process of looking for an engagement ring for me. I have decided that I would like a sapphire engagement ring, and found Pricescope through the recommendation of one of my friends. I've learned A LOT from all of you and from reading the posts here, so thank you to you all! There is still a lot I don't know, however, especially with buying online, so I'm turning to you all for help.

Here's what I am looking for:
- A round blue sapphire
- 6.5-7mm
- Medium blue that's not too light or too dark (I also don't want purple tones or color-change stones)
- I'm okay with heat treatment, but am hoping for an unheated stone.

I went to the Gemfix store in San Diego in June and looked at Andrew's stones, but I'm no longer living in SD, so we have started looking at stones online. I've found a few that interested me, and would like to hear your opinions.

This will be way too dark indoors right?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-68ct-UNHE...Gemstones_1&hash=item35ab821908#ht_2282wt_917

http://www.ajsgem.com/sapphire/blue-sapphire/blue-sapphire-1.65-carats.html-0

And some from Gemfix:
http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_blue.html
Blue Sapphire Round Brilliant Cut (4th up from the bottom, on the right)
Blue Sapphire "Portuguese" Cut (3rd up from the bottom, on the right) - does this one look like it has a tinge of violet?

http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_montana.html
Montana Sapphire "Roulette" Cut (3rd up from the bottom, on the right)

I would love to hear your opinions! Thank you!

 

[velouriaL]

I don't have the eagle eyes for color of some folks on here, so I can't comment on color by photos..

One of the benefits of GemFix is that you have visited Andrew in a person and have seen some of his stones and presumably got a feel for whether or not you'd like to work with him. Can you remember any of the stones you saw in person and how they compared to his online photos? Also, I don't think he charges a restocking fee and has has a pretty good return policy, so you could theoretically have him send out three stones for your selection and then send back the ones you don't want. Of course, you have to pay out initially even if you'd be refunded.

I love Montana sapphires in part because they are from the continent I live on, and think that's pretty neat. I think they tend to have a steely or denim tones, but that's not exclusively so...

I am a big fan of emailing (though not excessively or annoyingly) the vendors and asking them if there's anything they suggest based on your budget or needs or haven't yet listed on their website. You might check some of the other popu lar cutters-- (THIS IS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE LIST) Barry Bridgestock, Jeff White, Michael E., Gary Braun, Dana Reynolds, Dan Stair, Lisa Elser, Gene Flanigan, Jim Rentfrow, etc.

 

[Arkteia]

Odysseygem's sapphire appears too dark.

 

[hopeniks]

@velouriaL: That's a good point you made about Andrew. I remember liking several of his stones in person, but I'm not sure if he showed me the stones that he has posted online, so i can't say how they compare. Thank you for the list of cutters! I've only emailed Jeff White and didn't even think to email other people...d'oh!

@crasru: Yeah, I thought so.. Oh well, thank you for your input!

 

[marymm]

Maybe you could post a photo of what you consider to be "medium blue" to you?

Going off my definition, and based on the colors showing on my monitor, the OdysseyGem, the AJS, and the GemFix Montana Sapphire stones all look to be darker than medium blue... the two remaining stones you linked to are both Ceylon blue sapphires from GemFix and between those two, I have a slight preference for the Portuguese cut, but I do think the other Round Brilliant has a beautiful blue color. I would maybe order those two to look at in person.

Also, if you do happen to remember any of the stones you looked at in person at GemFix and can match them up to their website photos, that should help you figure out how their website-image-color compares to real-life-color.

 

[rainydayam]

Hi! just my two cents. i agree with velouriaL's suggestion to e-mail gemfix. I emailed them a few months ago and Laura was absolutely wonderful. She helped me to find a set of four MATCHING sapphires in the exact color that I wanted and answered every question that I had.

 

[pregcurious]

I think both of the Gemfix stones that you pointed to might be considered lighter than medium blue--if you decide to locate stones without seeing them, it might be good to provide pictures to vendors.

 

[hopeniks]

@marymm: That's a good idea to ask me to post a photo of what medium blue means to me.
I like the color of both of these Jeff White stones:
http://www.whitesgems.com/gallery/SAP010.htm
http://www.whitesgems.com/gallery/SAP024.htm

As for the two Gemfix stones, I have a preference for the Portuguese cut as well, but I do like both of them. I wish I could better remember what Andrew's stones looked like in person! Oh well, thank you for your input!

@rainydayam: Yes, I will definitely email Gemfix! That's great that you were able to find what you wanted! Andrew was very helpful when I went to his store.

@pregcurious: Great idea! I didn't even think about giving pictures to vendors...haha. Thank you!