Question about sapphire search for e-ring

[brendaman]

Now that things have settled in our household, FI and I are working with our local jeweler for the sapphire (w/diamonds) e-ring. I can''t decide on the setting yet, because I told him I want to find the stone first. I''ve not been following the sapphire market and am trying to catch up on recent news. At first I thought I wanted an unheated stone, but I don''t think I would be able to get the color I wanted (more of royal blue w/no violet or GIA color B with vivid saturation) for the budget we have for the stone (max $9K) . I also wanted a lively stone. When we first started looking at sapphires, we were considering around 3 carats for an unheated. So, now since we''re looking for heated,. and I thought I could bump up the size to about 4 carats (or at least 10mm in lenght) since supposedly a heated would cost less. But I suppose that the color/saturation I prefer is pricey in the current market. The jeweler says I''ve educated myself into having very expensive tasted, but I want what I want. I''m not limiting myself to cut as the color and liveliness of the stone are more important to me.

Yesterday, the jeweler sourced about 4 sapphires for me, but they were all too light with too much violet (GIA vB or bV), and one royal blue was a tad too dark (I feel like Goldilocks), although they were all quite lively (sorry no pics yet). One of them was worth keeping, and he''s going to show us more on Tuesday, so I will compare it with the one worth keeping. I know I have to compromise, but I''m not sure whether I would compromise on (a) color; (b) size; or (c) liveliness. For example, to have the blue color I prefer, would I compromise on size (less than 3 carats?).

I would appreciate your opinion.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Finding the perfect sapphire takes time. Your stone is out there, you just have to do some patience. Are you open to working with multiple vendors, or other vendors besides your local jeweler?

I would take a look at Richard Wise''s website, he has some nice stone, and I know he has other stones that he does not publish online. I don''t think you should compromise on what you want, it is just not worth it in the long run.

And I think you are right to wait until you have to stone to figure out the setting. With many of my color stones, the shape, color, and size determine what kind of setting would look best with it.

 

[brendaman]

Date: 8/1/2009 4:15:05 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker

Finding the perfect sapphire takes time. Your stone is out there, you just have to do some patience. Are you open to working with multiple vendors, or other vendors besides your local jeweler?

I forgot to mention that we started our search in October 2008, so we''ve looked at a lot of sapphires all over the place, including some of the recommended vendors here. FI likes and trusts our local jeweler and prefers to work with them. I think he just wants the one-stop shop where he doesn''t have to worry about appraising and then insuring the stone before getting it set by someone else. We''ve purchased other things from our local jeweler and like what he''s done and his sources and designers. If they''re unable to help us, then we''re going to have to source the stone elsewhere.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 8/1/2009 5:43:17 PM
Author: brendaman

Date: 8/1/2009 4:15:05 PM

Author: LtlFirecracker


Finding the perfect sapphire takes time. Your stone is out there, you just have to do some patience. Are you open to working with multiple vendors, or other vendors besides your local jeweler?

I forgot to mention that we started our search in October 2008, so we''ve looked at a lot of sapphires all over the place, including some of the recommended vendors here. FI likes and trusts our local jeweler and prefers to work with them. I think he just wants the one-stop shop where he doesn''t have to worry about appraising and then insuring the stone before getting it set by someone else. We''ve purchased other things from our local jeweler and like what he''s done and his sources and designers. If they''re unable to help us, then we''re going to have to source the stone elsewhere.

If you want to use your local guy, I would bring pictures of what you are looking for color wise. However, I would caution you against taking your jeweler''s appraisal. I would take any expensive stone to an independent appraiser and make sure it can be returned if something is discovered about the stone that you didn''t know about.

 

[D&T]

If you found the perfect color but the size was just a tad smaller than what you had hoped for, can you find a setting that would help showcase the gem a little more maybe with accent stones surrounding the gem or a three stone look? have you thought about settings as well on what you would like it ot go in? just wondering.

 

[ma re]

Are you sure a stone that size wouldn''t be too large, especially if you plan on wearing it 24/7? If I would HAVE to compromise, I''d probably go for a stone that''s bit smaller, rather than compromise on color or liveliness. And, eventhough you shouldn''t compromise on anything considering the amount of money you''re prepared to pay for this stone, you should know that those are natural stones we''re talking about, and they can''t just be made to order. For example, if you''d like a 1 carat natural pink diamond it wouldn''t matter if you have a million dollars ready to pay for it right now, you''d probably still have to wait for one to come out of the ground as they''re very rare and in high demand - just like the kind of sapphire you like.

 

[chrono]

For something very large and top colour, it will take time. Depending on the contacts your local jeweller has, it might take longer or shorter. While ideally, we all would love everything in our stone, sometimes something has to give or else be patient and keep looking. I would not compromise on colour or liveliness. I might compromise on size a little if pressed; say 3 carats instead of 4 carats. In your case, I’d continue to hold out or start opening up my search to include other vendors.