Sapphire vs Diamond E-ring

[partgypsy]

I would not worry about every day wear with sapphires or rubies. They are corundum, mohs hardness 9 (diamonds are 10). There are only a handful of gemstones, natural materials harder than sapphires and rubies. The only sapphires and rubies I have seen with heavy wear patterns have been on antiques.

What I have learned from the jewelers on here; you may have to worry about wear if: you wear your rings 24/7, never taking them off. That means they get exposed to everything you do, plus the prongs will steadily get worn down from friction from the bedsheets. Take off e-rings at night! 2nd is people who never clean their rings so dirt and grime get really encased in the ring and can damage the stones. 3rd is getting a too delicate setting, like a band that is less than 2 mm, or with very dainty prongs or pave work. That will make it more likely for band to bend or get out of round, prongs loosen and lose stones. I have heard pave rings can be problematic for that.
And then there is a whole set of threads about what are the best metals for a ring!

 

[SapphireStyle]

Just chiming in to say that I wear my sapphire ring pretty much all the time, and get compliments on it nearly every time I am at the grocery store. I think you can have the best of both worlds when you have a sapphire with diamond sides or a halo - gorgeous colour and sparkle. I agree with all the earlier posters though who say follow your gut. If you love sapphires as much as many of us do, you will never look back. If you are really hankering for a diamond though - go for it! Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[MJ_Mac]

I bought my mother a ruby ring that she wore almost daily 20 years. She never took it off for any household chores that I can remember. I don't think she even took it off gardening. A couple of years ago I took it my jeweller for an inspection in order to determine if it was a candidate for re-setting. Surprisingly it had absolutely no damage except for a tiny flea bite, although it was grimy beyond believe. I don't recommend wearing it like my mother did but I just thought I'd give an example of corundum's durability. You won't be wearing your ring 24/7 because of your job so it should be fine. If it does get some facet abrasion you can have to sent off for a little touch-up. Think of it as a spa treatment for your gem .

I can't wait to see what you decide on. Congratulations on your (upcoming) engagement.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Woah that montana cushion cut at gem fix is BEAUTIFUL! I love it!

That is interesting about the wear. I thought I had read sapphires were one of the other gems that could handle daily wear. Is this not really the case? I thought diamond, sapphire, and ruby. I will say that ultimately I will probably not wear it to work much. I'm a nurse and I worry that the stone would come off in a glove or something crazy like that. It would be impossible to ever find. I know at first I'll wear it to work because I won't want to take it off but eventually I'll probably wear one of those silicone bands people who work out use. That being said I don't want to stress over damaging my ring when I do wear it.

Yes and no RNKatie. They can handle daily wear better than most colored stones but they will get those little surface abrasions or nicks over time. Even diamonds suffer from this- but I have diamonds that have been set over 100 years ago without any signs of wear when viewed with a loupe. And with that said- those tiny abrasions or chips may only be seen when viewing your sapphire under a loupe.

In my collection I have one ring with two unheated rubies side stones and I see a small chip on one ruby when viewing it under a loupe. I have a blue sapphire ring that I bought pre-loved that arrived with one facet abrasion (chip) that I can see under a loupe but not with my eyes. I have one spinel that I barely wear that has a small facet abrasion when viewed under a loupe. The fact that I can see these imperfections under a loupe bothers me enough that I don't wear my colored gems daily. I rotate them so I wear them once every two weeks at most. But my diamond E-ring I wear almost every day. I don't have any concerns over it being damaged and it is probably almost 80 years old.

 

[theRNkatie]

Thank you all so much! This is such a nice, welcoming, helpful community. I am feeling very strongly for the sapphire at this point but we have decided the next step is to go try various things on (which I am SO excited about!). I will keep all of you posted!

Thanks again!

 

[normanintheskywithsapphires]

im not going to argue with you on someone elses thread.

sorry, yes, I need to learn how to behave. Apologies.

 

[canuk-gal]

http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/2-67ct-montana-sapphire-halo-ring#.WC8skPkrI2w

 

[chroman]

I hope your hunt is going well and not too stressful!

Earlier in the thread I linked to a couple pale sapphires from one of our trusted vendors, Mastercut Gems. I noticed today that they are starting (another!) sale this wednesday. So if any of those stones appealed, you might want to check bach in a couple days to see what the sale price is. If they didn't really strike your fancy, nevermind

 

[theRNkatie]

Thanks Chroman!

 

[chroman]

And on the blue-green front, how about this?
https://www.mastercutgems.com/Produ...n_Montana_Sapphire_1_11_ct-Gem.php?FromPage=1

 

[theRNkatie]

I love that color! But I love an oval more than a round. Game plan is to go to a local store tomorrow and try somethings on.

 

[chroman]

Good luck! You know we'll want to see pics

 

[Niel]

green lake can be on the expensive side but they have a teally blue green oval

https://www.greenlakejewelry.com/gallery/stone_gallery.aspx

 

[theRNkatie]

Well we went to two different local stores yesterday. I left feeling overwhelmed and more confused than ever. My boyfriend thought we made progress though so at least one of us is feeling ok about it (basically we did at least narrow down that we both like the oval). The first place we went I felt rushed. They were really busy and I felt like the salesman immediately knew we wouldn't be buying today and sorta rushed us past some settings without letting us explore. I do have a setting in mind but I also want to see what else is out there. However this place is willing to hunt for the sapphire I desire.

The second location was more of a chain store. He took us case by case and let me try on ever single setting I pointed at as a maybe. However it didn't seem like they were as willing to do the hunting for the sapphire. It felt more like "these are the sapphires we have and you can wait to see others when we get them in". They aren't going to do anything special for me in regards to the stone.

Despite my poor experience at the first location I liked how willing they were to hunt for the perfect sapphire and wonder if I went in on a less busy day if I could explore the settings a little more.

Basically I'm needing encouragement and guidance. Where do I go from here? I have this blue/green/teal/mint sapphire in my head that I just love and desire so badly.

Hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving!

 

[Niel]

saw this and thought of you.

http://missouririversapphire.co/product/2-16ct-blue-montana-sapphire-unheated/

big poofy heart that cut

 

[lovedogs]

Do either of these at Gemfix appeal to you?

http://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-montana-863
http://gemfix.com/gems/sapphire-montana-679

Another place to ask is Blaze from BlazeNGems. His pics on the website are (unfortunately) much less beautiful than his stones are in person. Here are some ovals that might interest you, but I would email him directly describing what you are looking for and see what he has.

http://blazengems.com/retail/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83_53_55&products_id=984
http://blazengems.com/retail/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83_53_55&products_id=998


I know these are rounds, but I just thought they were worth posting because they are just freaking gorgeous.
http://blazengems.com/retail/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83_53_54&products_id=1627
http://blazengems.com/retail/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83_53_54&products_id=1630


Here's an oval already in a halo ring. Full disclosure: I don't really like the setting because I feel like it doesn't "fit" the gemstone itself, but I think the center stone is really pretty
http://blazengems.com/retail/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=86&products_id=1619

 

[chroman]

It also looks like Dana (at Mastercut) was cutting montana sapphires recently. It might be worth an email with a color refernece to see if he has any other rough that might fit

 

[Nuttz4Sports]

Mind if I give a man's perspective here. Personally, I have always liked the way Sapphires look with Diamonds. So when our 20th Wedding Anniversary came up, I thought it was time for new rings. I spoke with the wife and expressed to her my thoughts and she agreed to be open and see how it would look. We visited many stores and saw how great the sapphires looked with the diamoonds, but we couldn't find exactly what I envisioned and something that just stopped her in her tracks.......So we decided to custom design something and through that process, she ended up with a new ring set that has received many many compliments.

Here are some specifics - first she is a huge fan of the Marquise shape, so bear that in mind. So the star is the 1CT Marquise center stone (some say it looks bigger). To give more character to the ring, we went with Princess Cut Natural Sapphire stones on each side of the center stone. Then a pair of smaller round ideal cut diamond on the sides of the Sapphires. The wedding band was designed with alternating stones; using the princess cut natural sapphires and round diamonds..... Please see pictures attached. This was before they were cleaned BTW.

 

[theRNkatie]

Fairly boring update- We ended up going to store that gets amazing reviews and is actually in the square that is walking distance from our home. Great service while in the store but I gave him a bunch of pictures of the sapphires I like with the idea that he would get with his contacts to see what he could find. It's been almost two weeks (two weeks Monday) and I haven't heard anything back. He didn't set any expectation for how long it would be so maybe I'm being unrealistic but I expected to hear back with some sort of update at this point. I know this is a very busy time of year. Perhaps I'm just being impatient because I am so excited...

 

[MissouriRiverSapphireCo]

There are only a few brick and mortar stores in the US that stock Montana Sapphires. Most sell only "native cut" gemstones, as well. The color palette /cut quality you are looking for is outside of the norm so unless you are in a very large city like N.Y.C. or San Francisco it will be difficult to see a selection in person. Many online vendors have excellent return policies, and will be happy to keep sending you sapphires so that you can get a sense of what might work for you. Montana's are shifty stones and generally color varies in different lighting situations, even more so than other colored stones.

 

[partgypsy]

Yes, I am thinking that most jewelry stores are not going to stock what you are looking for, and you should probably source your stone from an outside source or from a jeweler who specializes in colored stones. And because of the color you want you really need to see it in person before you get it set. I think you have gotten a lot of good advice of vendors who specialize more in these kind of gemstones. You might have to take the leap and order and return some. What is ideal if your line of credit can handle it, is order more than 1 at a time to compare and contrast. Especially important to see how it performs in both daylight and indoor light. Another option if you are willing to wait is to visit a gem show. Then you can look at a big variety of gemstones plus their price ranges.

 

[partgypsy]

Have you looked at Natural Sapphire company? Sometimes I feel they are too expensive given that a number of their stones have windows, inclusions, but they are currently having a sale and there may be something that catches your eye. I thought this was attractive for the price

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/p-63098-oval-unique-sapphire-u6593/

 

[sydneyatl]

Fairly boring update- We ended up going to store that gets amazing reviews and is actually in the square that is walking distance from our home. Great service while in the store but I gave him a bunch of pictures of the sapphires I like with the idea that he would get with his contacts to see what he could find. It's been almost two weeks (two weeks Monday) and I haven't heard anything back. He didn't set any expectation for how long it would be so maybe I'm being unrealistic but I expected to hear back with some sort of update at this point. I know this is a very busy time of year. Perhaps I'm just being impatient because I am so excited...

We had the same issue and ended up having to order online from well-respected vendors who had good return policies.

 

[GardenLady21]

Mind if I give a man's perspective here. Personally, I have always liked the way Sapphires look with Diamonds. So when our 20th Wedding Anniversary came up, I thought it was time for new rings. I spoke with the wife and expressed to her my thoughts and she agreed to be open and see how it would look. We visited many stores and saw how great the sapphires looked with the diamoonds, but we couldn't find exactly what I envisioned and something that just stopped her in her tracks.......So we decided to custom design something and through that process, she ended up with a new ring set that has received many many compliments.

Here are some specifics - first she is a huge fan of the Marquise shape, so bear that in mind. So the star is the 1CT Marquise center stone (some say it looks bigger). To give more character to the ring, we went with Princess Cut Natural Sapphire stones on each side of the center stone. Then a pair of smaller round ideal cut diamond on the sides of the Sapphires. The wedding band was designed with alternating stones; using the princess cut natural sapphires and round diamonds..... Please see pictures attached. This was before they were cleaned BTW.

I think this set is just gorgeous!

 

[lmyracle]

My avatar is my e-ring. I wanted something different. Everyone has diamonds and while I love them, I lust after my ering and am so proud to sport something unique! I paired it with a plain 18k band (not shown).Get what you love and what sings to your heart!

 

[GliderPoss]

I would NOT rely on the jeweller to source the sapphire for you - we can help you pick one out yourself! This way you get more choice, better price (no margin) and exactly what you want. Then you can choose which jeweller to set it with in a style of your choosing, we know loads of options.

 

[motownmama]

Really old thread. She posted her sapphire ER back in 2017