Sapphire for wedding rings

[tefutefu]

Hi!

I'm new here and this is actually my first post!

I have no experience when it comes to gemstones, and PS really helped me gained an insight on what to look for in a gemstone! I think I am still really naive when it comes to choosing a gems though, so I would really appreciate any suggestions and comments that anyone of you have to offer!

I recently got engaged and am currently searching for untreated sapphires for our wedding rings Like any newbie, I searched online and came across Gem Select and The Natural Sapphire Company, and thought they offered good deals, until I read about their reviews on PS and well... got kind of put off I'm also afraid of looking for them on ebay, since shops often get mixed reviews too... Does anyone have any vendors they can recommend?

I'm not looking for something big actually. I'm searching for a 5mm sapphire for my engagement/wedding ring and 3 2.5mm sapphires for my fiance's ring. The sapphire on my ring will be bezel set as I don't really like prongs, and my fiance's ring will be flush set

I live in Japan so it would also be very helpful if anyone knows about shipping options and custom tax rules for the sapphires to be sent to Japan Or if you know any vendors in Australia, it would be a great help too, as my brother is living there

Thanks in advance!

 

[iLander]

WELCOME TO PS!

You didn't say what color sapphire, so hopefully you're not restricting yourself to just blue rounds

Gene has an amazing pink with blue flashes, which would be mine if I had some spare $$ (see the PS Pearl thread to see where all my money went LOL) I think if you want an oval you'd be pleased with this:

http://www.precisiongem.com/html/html/Sapphire.html

Dana has sapphires all over his site, so you're better of putting the term in the search box to see them all. Don't worry, his photos stink, but his stones are great:

http://www.mastercutgems.com/index.php?page=view&cat=251

Richard Homer does a brisk business in sapphire rounds, concave cut, but annoyingly his site has been down for a few days, you might want to email him, he's very pleasant:

http://www.concavegems.com/

John at Gemrite has some rounds, including an amazing pink and a color change blue round

http://www.gemrite.com/cubecart/

Good luck, be sure to report back, and Congrats!

Remember, you can always ask any of the cutters what they have and they will custom cut for you. Their guarantees mean that even if it's custom, and you don't like it, it's still returnable. This is a good group of guys, and other PSers will add more names.

 

[Largosmom]

For a custom sapphire, don't be intimidated...email the vendors and see what they have (It took me a few days to get up enough nerve to try it at first). I got my color change sapphire from Jeff White of http://www.whitesgems.com/cutgems1.htm. Jeff does a lot of custom work, and would ask you to peruse his gallery and see what pictures are closest to the color you are looking for. Dana from http://www.mastercutgems.com/ does have sapphires as well, and many are very lovely, also worth emailing as he has stock that is not on his website. I've also purchased other stones from Dan Stair at http://www.customgemstones.com/, from Barry at http://www.acstones.com/default.asp and Gary Braun at http://www.finewatergems.com/. Gary is another who has more rough than available inventory...I think he does a lot of custom work.

After a lot of window shopping, come back and search their names here and you'll see some of their stones set. Some have a very specific style of cutting which you may love or not. Don't be afraid to ask questions via email...many times the cutter's description is more accurate than the photos. Dana in particular will warn you off a stone if he doesn't think it will suit you. All offer great return policies and if you don't like the stone, you can return it. I think for custom cuts there can be a bit of a nonrefundable deposit for some, however, just ask.

Hope this helps. I bet you will find a very lovely pair of stones!

Laura

Edited to add...finding matching colors can be a challenge, so be prepared for slight differences if the stones are not cut from the same rough (and perhaps even if they are...sapphires can have color zones with slightly different shades)

 

[tefutefu]

Thank you so much for your inputs! I really appreciate it

Actually, we are looking for round blue sapphires I wanted sapphires, and my fiance and I agreed on blue (I like blue, and he thinks the will look cool in his rings lol)

I'm going through the links posted, and searching for other threads to see how the gems look like after setting as well They do look very lovely!

If I can't find what I'm looking for, I'll try to gather my nerves and be brave enough to e-mail the vendors to ask if the can custom make what I want

And maybe it's just the quality of the pictures but I especially love this! http://www.whitesgems.com/gallery/SAP010.htm
The colour looks so beautiful

Oh, and iLander, I saw the pearls, they are lovely! I do agree they can get expensive I went window shopping once to see if I'd be able to get a set of Mikimoto pearls for my mom in the future, and figured they may be cheaper since I'm in Japan but... The prices nearly made my eyes popped out lol

 

[chrono]

It would be helpful to narrow down a few specifics:
1. Does it have to be precision cut? (it's all right if that's what you want so you can narrow down your choices)
2. Are you particular about treatment? Untreated only?
3. Which shade of blue you are looking for? The JW example looks to be a pure blue with very strong saturation and medium to medium dark tone. When shopping around or asking vendors if they have what you are looking for, show them an example picture as it usually gives people a better idea rather than just relying on words.

 

[tefutefu]

Thanks for the tips Chrono! Sorry for coming across as too vague, I'm not too sure about things like this...

After going through the sites and reading about precision vs native cuts, I'm picking precision cut, they look so much prettier! I also don't know how to explain this but... I somehow just want an untreated gem I understand they can get more expensive and rare but since I don't normally wear jewelry, and it's for my engagement/wedding ring, I'd want for it to be the best we could afford now and something really beautiful that I'll love and cherish, and won't be bored of looking at for the rest of my life

As for the colour, I always thought I wanted something of a light medium to medium colour! I guess I'll never know for sure until I've seen pictures or the real thing. But thanks for pointing that out! I'll remember to keep the 3 points in mind as I continue searching for the gems

One *really* stupid question though... How do you tell if it's a saturated gem or not? I can't seem to figure that out...

 

[Largosmom]

The saturation is the intensity of the color of the stone.

The color is called its "hue", and the darkness or lightness is called the tone.

Laura

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

There have been some gorgeous sapphires cut by Jeff here on PS. I know off the top of my head that Arjunajane got a Jeff White recut, and Stepcutgirl and Dianabanana got theirs from JW as well.

Also, here's the old sapphire thread you can peruse to see what you like in terms of color - Link

And finally, when I was in Japan two years ago I went to a pearl shop in Roppongi called Amit Trading Co. - I didn't really know anything about pearls then so I have no idea how good their quality is, but the pearls looked really pretty to me, and might be worth a trip just to check out the eye-candy. Here's their website - Link

 

[tefutefu]

Thank you Laura, for your explanation! I think I have a better understanding of saturation and colour now

B.E.G., I checked all the links, and other as well and those are really beautiful stones! My heart seems to skip a beat everytime I see a beautiful sapphire featured in the posts! While I don't want to limit my choices and not ask other vendors before making my final decision, I am somehow very attracted to JW's sapphires... They look so... Amazing! I did read that his gems are on the pricier side though

I'm reading this thread now https://www.pricescope.com/communit...ll-lighting-conditions.128100/?hilit=sarap333 and also found this for reference http://www.crossjewelers.com/products/how_to_buy_sapphire.asp?FolderID=53 I'm not too sure how accurate the colour chart is but the I really like the Camelot blue

 

[Largosmom]

Give yourself time and enjoy the process! It's more work to find the ideal colored stone than most regular diamonds...far less to choose from.

I priced nice sapphires at my local jewelers and that made JW's work seem a bargain. If you haven't already, it doesn't hurt to ask and see what he may have, he's a nice guy and won't look his nose down at you if you cannot afford something he proposes...in fact, I'd discuss budget up front. He just wants you to have a stone you will love--this is true for all the people I have purchased from so far. It's been very pleasant to discover that most of these gem cutters are not just businessmen/women, they love what they do and when the perfect stone finds its way into your hand and they had a part in making that happen, they are just as thrilled as you are. This is one reason to contact many cutters as their stock will all be different from time to time. Some do charge a slightly higher premium for their work than others...that can be for many reasons, including where they live (cost of living). Jeff does seem to have more choices in sapphires available than many others, which is one reason many of us ended up going with him. Perhaps his prices are a bit higher because he maintains more in inventory or rough than other people do, in addition to his beautiful cutting work.

I found out through my search that I had a set of criteria I started with...size, color, treatment, price. The resulting choice is a compromise between these. You have to decide what's most important to you and prioritize your list for what suits you and your fiance...the result will help you make the decision. If you really want untreated, which is very nice, then the other criteria...color, size, or budget may have to give some. For colored stones, usually the color remains top or second priority of the list. If you were looking for a diamond, color might be part of what you are willing to trade to gain more carat size, for example.

I made the mistake of falling in love with a certain setting before finding the stone...several other people were looking at it and I felt I just had to get it immediately, not thinking it through--that it would limit me tremendously. So, my stone size was limited to a certain range, which also drove the budget...I priced blue stones from $1500 to $3500 in the size of about 1.5 carats. This was my 20-year anniversary gift so I was replacing a far smaller "mall sapphire" set. The price difference between the stones had to do with the color and inclusions in the stones. A couple (cheaper) stones I rejected immediately because they were too light. Even a larger, expensive stone had a lot of color zoning (bands of color in the stone), that turned me off as I could see it with the stone tilted...even though it had no other visible inclusions. The cuts were also not great in my mind. Mid-search, I decided I really wanted a color-change stone, so had to put color in second place behind size. Not many people had color-change stones and I could get only one to view locally. That left budget and treatment as what I had to play with. In the end, treatment gave some in exchange for maintaining a budget. I ended up choosing a heated stone because my other criteria were more important to me. Price came in about the middle of the other stones I looked at, and I had a better looking and cut stone for the price.

Laura

 

[minousbijoux]

LargosMom: That was a really nice summary of the evolution of a ring. Thanks.

 

[digitaldevo]

For sapphire in blue, yellow/gold, Orange, and Padparadschas I would demand a lab report with it as well. Far too many Beryllium treated stones out there. If unheated no worries or even lower heat but if show high heat then they need to be checked for Beryllium treatment. A good gemmo with the proper tools can ID the treatment in most cases with a good scope and immersion in methylene iodide and under high magnifications using darkfield lighting to like a 99.9999999% probability. For a definitive 100% you need a lab which can test with a LIBS or other expensive equipment though. But BE can now create any color of sapphire and most end up advertised as heated only.

Good choice on a colored stone over a diamond though. I personally find them more beautiful and they are definitely far more rare as well.

 

[tefutefu]

Thank you everyone, for your inputs! I really appreciate it Especially Laura, I feel like I have a personal consultant It's reassuring to read about other people's experience and know I'm not the only one with this kind of problems!

Maybe I should relax and enjoy more, I don't know what I'm rushing for My SO isn't being very helpful either, only saying "You choose, I pay, but within a certain budget", and left everything to me Maybe most men are like that?

I thought about what I really wanted last night after reading Laura's post, and colour came out top. I want a very beautiful pure blue sapphire, with strong saturation. I saw the colour change ones, and they do look very pretty and unique, but I just prefer the pure blue ones

Size I suppose doesn't really matter as long as it's not too big... I have a 4.5 finger, and although I read here that it's all based on personal preference and most people on PS likes it big, I do prefer a smaller one! I saw a ring with a low bezel setting, and totally fell in love! I've found someone to make our rings, but if the gem size ends up different, I can always ask my jeweler to accommodate the gem size I am very partial towards round shape gems for our rings though

I really really do want an unheated one but well, if they are way out of our budget, low heated stones are also OK I suppose! I did read about Beryllium treatment, and thought it was only used on more vivid and fancy coloured sapphires, not blue ones as well, so that came as quite a shock But if they don't affect your health and the colour doesn't change over time, what are the other bad points of Be treated stones? I mean, except the fact that some people pass it up as heat treatment only and try to rip you off

A lot of posters here seem to have a lot of wedding and engagement rings I'm beginning to wonder if I'll turn out like that too

I've sent e-mails to Dan and JW, and I'm waiting for their replies I really hope everyone can give me advice and help me choose when the time comes

 

[chrono]

Slow down and take it easy; finding the right gem takes time and for something as treasured as an e-ring stone, it is doubly important to make sure it’s THE stone. Actually, I prefer the “you choose, I pay” mentality because it gives me more freedom to select what I will be wearing for the rest of my life. What if he prefers a different blue shade? What if he doesn’t like the shape? KWIM? Personally, I prefer a pure blue with strong saturation (non colour changer) as they will always look pleasing to the eye. Finding a fine colour changer is extremely difficult because one has to make sure both the purple and the blue sides are beautiful.

BE diffusion is used on ALL sapphires; it does tend to be more prevalent on certain colours but it is also done on blue sapphires and not just on vivid stones. With diffusion, it is essentially dyeing the stone. Yes, it is still a real sapphire. However, it isn’t natural anymore as we’ve gone beyond what Mother Nature would do. Sometimes heating occurs naturally in the ground, but with diffusion, the stone has been heated to almost its melting point in order to get the beryllium to permeate the sapphire. This is my issue with diffusion but I also admit it makes some gorgeous looking sapphires extremely affordable.

 

[tefutefu]

Hi!

I don't know if this is a bit too soon but... I've finally found my main sapphire and purchased it! It's my first ever gem purchase and I really want to thank everyone for your advice and tips

It's from Dan Stair and I must say, he's very nice to work with! Very friendly and helpful I will definitely buy from him again Sad to say, I couldn't afford Jeff White's work since I have a VERY low budget - a lot lower than what most people spend on their wedding rings - but I do hope to get something from him someday I've tried asking other vendors as well, they were all very nice but most didn't have what I was looking for

I can't thank all of you enough for your recommendations

So on to the picture and specs

The stone is originally 0.63 carats, 5.25mm, eye clean, but towards the end, I noticed a black dot at the edge of the table. Dan assured me that it was eye clean in person, but since this is going to be for my wedding ring, and he didn't want it to cause me any troubles, he recut the top The stone now weighs 0.6 carats, but the dimension remains the same.

This is what Dan wrote in separate e-mails:

"The sapphire I sent the photo of doesn't seem to show any green, nor is it too light. The stone has been heated to higher temperatures though to remove the silk...the reason most sapphires are heated."

"I don't think this stone really has a color change at all. Of course, under a lot of yellowish indoor lights the blue won't be as blue as it would out in natural daylight, and ANY blue stone could show a bit of greenishness under yellow light bulbs. Also, this stone is heat treated only. No other treatments have been done to it." (When I asked about BE and diffusion)

"The sapphire does have very good saturation and also a bit of zoning, but it is not unpleasant. In other words, some areas of the stone are a richer blue than others, which is why I had originally described it as showing two diferent blues (cornflower and ceylon I think it was). It actually is very interesting in that as you move the stone around, it changes in brightness a bit, though there are no obvious big blotches or anything unpleasant."

I don't know if you can tell but I basically asked A LOT of questions... Dan was really cool about it and answered everything I asked very nicely

Sorry for the long post! I only have the picture Dan sent me but I promise I'll post more pictures once the sapphire arrives

Thanks again for everything! I am now super super excited and I can't wait to get my hands on the beautiful gem

 

[vinkalmann]

Glad you chose a sapphire! Both my wife and I have them and we LOVE them. Definitely more interesting than diamonds.

Like some others have said, take it slow and enjoy the process of finding your stone. They're all different and the selection process should be fun.

You had mentioned Blue Nile. If you're looking for a untreated sapphire, that's not the place to go. You need to do some digging on their site, but here's what they say about treatments"

"Nearly all gemstones on the market, including gemstones offered by Blue Nile, have been treated to enhance their appearance. Gemstones that have not been treated but exhibit desirable color and clarity command extravagant prices. Some enhancement treatments are almost universal, are permanent, and require no special care of the gemstone, such as heat treatment to enhance color. Other treatments are common, and may require more or less special care to avoid damage, such as infusion of colorless oil, wax or resin to improve clarity."

So, you can rest assured that a stone purchased there will be heated treated, very likely BE enhanced.

Poke around and if you see something you like, post it here, people on the board here (not me, I'm still new) are VERY helpful when it comes to giving you honest feedback.

 

[chrono]

Congrats on finding the right stone for your e-ring. The only part I disagree with Dan is that sapphires are heated with the primary intention of removing the silk. Heating is routinely done to remove modifier colours like green and gray and in general, to improve the colour of corundum. In the process of heating, the silk or rutile is melted or dissolved. Just curious but how does he know with 100% surety that the rough has not been diffused? I know Dan and have dealt with him in the past so I know he’s an honest vendor. Please don’t take this as I’m attacking him or his good reputation.

 

[tefutefu]

vinkalmann - Thanks for your advice! I've never browsed through Blue Nile but after reading your post, I think I'll stay away from them

Chrono - Thank your for all your previous posts! You helped me out a lot I do understand your concern about the rough... I think I didn't ask how sure he is that the rough didn't go through other treatments But he did write in his mails that he doesn't sell sapphires that have had any other treatment either than traditional heat. He seems honest in his mails though! Do you think I should ask him again? The sapphire is actually for my e-ring and wedding ring combined, as I'm not used to wearing jewelry, let alone 2 rings on the same finger

 

[vinkalmann]

Weird, I don't know why I thought you said Blue Nile in your post before, I must have misread it. Sorry about that!

 

[tefutefu]

But thanks to that, I now know to stay away from Blue Nile
I forgot to mention - I loveeeee sapphires, especially the blue ones And it helps that it's my birthstone hahaha

 

[Gempassion]

Congrats on finding your gemstone tetutefu! It looks pretty can't wait to see it when it is set.

 

[Largosmom]

Congrats! It looks like a very lovely stone, and Dan is a really nice guy to work with. I have a couple of stones from him and I really like the cut. His descriptions are normally spot on too.

Bet you cannot wait to see it in person!

 

[chrono]

No problem at all. It’s just curiosity on my part whenever a vendor/lapidary states that he’s sure the sapphire is heat only. If it was untreated, it’s quite easy to verify but when a stone is heated, it’s takes special equipment to detect diffusion. Considering the size of the stone, the cost of the testing versus the stone itself, it’s not something I’d pursue the issue with him.

 

[tefutefu]

My sapphire finally arrived last night and I wasted no time taking photos this morning

I LOVE it

No camera for me, just the camera function that comes with my phone I've read throughout the forum that it's really hard taking pictures of something tiny and sparkly but didn't expect it to be this hard until I took the pics myself Loads of respect for everyone on PS who takes such professional looking pictures of their beautiful gems

 

[Largosmom]

Beautiful! Looks like it's performing well in various lighting.

 

[lovemybling]

What a beautiful blue.. pretty stone can not wait to see how you set it.

 

[Novel]

Gorgeous! I love all its different colors. Looks like no blacking out and not too much purple in incandescent. What a great deal!

 

[tefutefu]

Thank you
I do love it very much
Glad I found PS too! This probably saved me from lots of future heartaches if I were to shop on my own without any advice! So thank you once again to everyone who offered me guidance
After seeing so many different types of setting on PS and looking around online, I can't seem to make up my mind on how to set it anymore lol

 

[JewelFreak]

Beautiful color!! Congratulations on having found what you want -- that looks like it will make you happy forever! From the title, I gather it's a Montana sapphire -- bluest one I ever saw! I love Montanas.

--- Laurie

 

[ooo~Shiney!]

I just love happy threads like these!
I love your stone!!!!!