Tanzanite engagement ring - bad idea??

[carla malin]

Hi,

I really have my heart set on having a tanzanite as my engagement ring, but am worried that it will scratch since I plan on wearing it every day and I''ve learned that it is a soft stone. I won''t wear it for gardening, sports, cleaning the house, etc. and plan as being as gentle with it as possible.

Am I about to make a really big mistake? Should choose a blue sapphire instead of tanzanite?

Do other people have experience wearing a tanzanite ring daily that hasn''t scratched or cracked? If so, does it have to be bezel set or can I set it up in a solitaire lifted type setting?

Thanks so much for you response!

Carla

 

[partgypsy]

As many here will tell you sapphire is a better choice durability-wise. Tanzanite is less than a 7 on the mohs scale, and I''ve always heard that stones less than 7 will end up showing wear and abrasions due to the fact that ordinary grit in the air and ground (maybe they are referring to quartz crystals?) will abrade it, and that those stones are better worn as pendants or earrings.
An engagement ring is not only a ring, but one that is worn ALOT (do you really want to be worrying about and taking your engagement ring off all the time?)

However it is your engagement ring, people have used many kinds of rings for engagement rings. If your heart is set on using tanzanite, a bezel setting will help protect it.

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Hi Carla

Honestly? Tanzanite was never intended to be worn in a ring...but as you know, that''s not the true picture today.

The stone will scratch with normal wear on the table and facets. A bezel will help a little.

If your heart is set on a tanzanite..that''s fine...just understand the nature of the stone.

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[diamondseeker2006]

There is such a variety of colors (shades) of blue sapphires that I'd really choose one of those if it were me.

 

[ger100]

Hi,

I bought a 2 ctw tanzanite ring from JTV a few months ago. The metal (14Kt) had light scratches, but the stone was beaten somethin'' fierce, with cracks, scratches, worn facet edges. I suspect that someone had worn the ring. How long I couldn''t say, but their return policy it 14 or 30 days, depending on price. Obviously I returned it as worn. Personally, I''d go for the sapphire. Tanazanite may be an endangered species, but find a really beautiful rich good sized sapphire, with fire and light, and you won''t mind putting your Tanzanite away in a safe place by itself. Tanzanite was introduced as a cheaper replacement for a blue sapphire, I believe. Certainly Tanzanite has its own "story" now, the stone for the ages, or something like that (from JTV).

But, as someone said, it''s your engagement ring.

BTW, sapphires were some of the very first stones used in engagement rings, by royalty eons ago! Learned that factoid from screening around the archives here.

Ger,
(newbie, but learning fast...fast enough, I hope).

PS: I''ve been looking at blue sapphires even since someone posted a pair of sapphires to surround a diamond in an engagement ring. The really nice ones are 1) not easy to find in good size, and 2) quite expensive. JTV is still selling thousands of Tanzanites, pretty much on any program of theirs you turn on. And yes, I do have "my" Tanzanite stone, a purple-blue, 2nd grade, trillion, 1.8 ctw. It''s in a glass box, and shall stay there.

Wish it were a blue sapphire instead...now...

 

[kcoursolle]

Tanzanite is pretty fragile, I''d go for something harder like a sapphire, ruby, or at least a garnet or tourmaline since they are fairly cheap and can be replaced.

 

[carla malin]

Thank you all so much for the helpful info. I guess I''ll save my dreams of tanzanite for a beautiful pair of earrings instead of an engagement ring and go for a blue sapphire instead.

Thanks again!!

 

[WTNLVR]

My sapphire engagement ring is still going strong after 17 years. You can''t go wrong with sapphire. They also come in many different colors so it doesn''t have to be blue. I got a killer yellow sapphire for my 15th anniversary. Good luck!