Setting a Sapphire

[TiCoyote]

My girlfriend and I are moving towards engagement, and we''re thinking about a sapphire rather than a diamond for a variety of reasons. If I buy a loose sapphire, can I have it set in an engagement ring intended for a diamond? Can a good jeweler make the ring fit the stone? Can I buy an antique setting without a stone and have the sapphire set?

I''m thinking about a platnum setting.

-Jamie

 

[geckodani]

Date: 1/12/2009 8:48:47 AM
Author:TiCoyote
My girlfriend and I are moving towards engagement, and we''re thinking about a sapphire rather than a diamond for a variety of reasons. If I buy a loose sapphire, can I have it set in an engagement ring intended for a diamond? Can a good jeweler make the ring fit the stone? Can I buy an antique setting without a stone and have the sapphire set?

I''m thinking about a platnum setting.

-Jamie

Hi TiCoyote!

Yes, a jeweler can set a sapphire in a setting intended for a diamond - settings are universal for the most part. If you buy an antique setting, just make sure that the sapphire is of the proper dimension to fit - your jeweler could help you with that.

 

[brendaman]

When we were shopping around for sapphire and diamond e-ring, we found that there just weren''t that many out there good enough to be an e-ring. It was then recommended that we choose a setting for a diamond e-ring and have a sapphire rather than a diamond. Most of the good jewelers said they could do this for us, as well as source the sapphire. We were asked to select the sapphire first with a setting in mind. Then the sapphire would be sent to the designer/manufacturer to be set.

In the end, we ended up getting a ring custom made. Sometimes, this can end up costing as much or a little over some of the designer settings. We aslo encountered some jewelers who had benchmen who could set the sapphire in-house.

 

[Pandora II]

If you want a particular setting, then you will need to know the dimensions in advance so you can buy a stone that will fit.

Otherwise try and buy a stone in a calibrated size.

It''s not always simple to alter a ring to fit an oddly sized stone.

 

[T L]

I think knoxjewelers (knoxjewelers.biz) of MN can customize many of their settings for various stone sizes. It costs more, so if you want to save, it''s easier to get a more calibrated size. I always plug that store because I love their settings and there is so much variety.

 

[laurel25]

Date: 1/12/2009 1:41:56 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
I think knoxjewelers (knoxjewelers.biz) of MN can customize many of their settings for various stone sizes. It costs more, so if you want to save, it''s easier to get a more calibrated size. I always plug that store because I love their settings and there is so much variety.

The do have a lot of really nice settings and they are very helpful, but they can be VERY expensive on custom work - even just modifying one of their settings to fit a different sized stone. Many of their settings are also very similar to designer settings and I found that I was able to get the designer setting cheaper than what Knox could do their replica version.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 1/12/2009 4:11:52 PM
Author: laurel25

Date: 1/12/2009 1:41:56 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
I think knoxjewelers (knoxjewelers.biz) of MN can customize many of their settings for various stone sizes. It costs more, so if you want to save, it''s easier to get a more calibrated size. I always plug that store because I love their settings and there is so much variety.

The do have a lot of really nice settings and they are very helpful, but they can be VERY expensive on custom work - even just modifying one of their settings to fit a different sized stone. Many of their settings are also very similar to designer settings and I found that I was able to get the designer setting cheaper than what Knox could do their replica version.

I noticed that too! Very odd.

 

[shinyrocks]

Yes! You most certainly can use a setting made for a diamond, as the others have mentioned. Quite a few on this forum have done that very thing. Just be careful that the sapphire is well-proportioned, as a "heavy" bottom can cause some setting problems.

Welcome to the addictive world of colored gems!