Shallow, but not windowed sapphire?

[tangodoc]

Hi, I've been reading this forum for a couple months and am hoping for some help finding a stone. I am looking for a non-heated oval blue to purple color change sapphire for an engagement ring. I want to make the ring have a low profile and therefore need a relatively shallow stone. An ideal size would be 1 to 2 carats, around 5x7mm. I'm not sure how shallow the stone can be without being windowed if I am looking for a very saturated stone. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you so much!

 

[FrekeChild]

A stone that's 5x7 will probably have a depth around 4mm. That's really not that high. Also, in a sapphire that should weigh closer to 1ct.

Color shifting sapphires are hard to come by and carry a premium.

 

[chrono]

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a 7 x 5 mm 1 carat sapphire isn't windowed. I've seen plenty of deep cut stones that exhibit a window. It is far easier to have a low set stone in a low design setting than to look for a shallow, yet not windowed sapphire if you aim for a very well saturated stone. Often times, a gem needs a good bit of depth in order to preserve good colour.

 

[tangodoc]

Thank you both very much.

Chrono, do you have any comments on this stone? I really like the colors in the pictures. I was wondering if the depth of 83% is larger than it needs to be, or if I will be able to find anything around that size less deep than 4.19mm.

http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/12743/15878

Thanks for your help!

 

[chrono]

83% is on the deep side so it faces up a bit smaller than it should. I am more concerned with 2 other issues:
1. I would follow up on the colour change. The change seems rather weak in the pictures but this could just be his photography.
2. Extinction or dark areas. Very strong lighting is used so I am concerned the stone will have more dark areas than seen. Perhaps that darkness is the camera obstruction but it is best to verify.

Other than the 4 mm depth, do you have further concerns? I have set such deep stones before, accepting the trade off for fantastic colour. AfricaGems is the only other vendor that might have a few cc sapphires off the top of my head.

 

[mochiko42]

What is your budget?

Gemfix has a few cc sapphires but none in blue-purple ovals at the moment. You might want to check it out though; http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_blue.html

You could also try Jeff Davies. Personally I have had mixed results when ordering from him (for me, his stones seem much darker than in the photo) but others have had great results using him, and nobody disputes that he has a generous refund policy and very good customer service. He tends to have a few cc sapphires and spinels which you could look at: http://www.pinterest.com/jeffdaviesgems/sapphire/

Also, Gary looks like he has a cc sapphire for $600. "1.07 ct Burmese Color-change Sapphire -- 1.07 ct, 6.0 x 5.6 x 4.1mm, VVS clarity. This one has a strong and deep blue-to-purple color shift in viewed in incandescent and fluorescent lighting. An AGL ID report shows no evidence of heat or any other treatments." I'm not sure if it may be too dark, though?

He also has a larger one @ $1450, which looks less dark and more promising even though it seems a little more sleepy/silky (at least to my inexperienced eyes!).
"2.36 ct, 8.1 x 7.3 x 4.8mm, VS clarity. A big and beautiful color-change sapphire from Burma, this has a strong shift between deep blue in daylight and deep purple in incandescent lighting. An AGL report shows no indication of heat or any other treatments. Big and beautiful."

There's also this native cut cc Madagascar sapphire from Dana which may be a bit small at .99 ct but it is a 7x5.5 x 3.1mm oval. It *does* have a slight window "that may close upon setting" but the price is really cheap ($150) if you're on a tight budget.