Thoughts on white sapphires?

[vinkalmann]

Hi,

My fiance and I are looking at wedding bands that incorporate blue sapphires and white sapphires. The band would be the same as the one in topic:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/settings-from-the-natural-sapphire-company.55668/
https://www.pricescope.com/idealbb/files/1pictureeternityband.jpg

Except it would have alternating blue and white stones. Does anyone have feelings on white sapphires to share? Ie do they have similar properties to diamonds where the reflect out a lot of the absorbed light?

Do white sapphires have a similar rarity level to diamonds but they are priced lower since they aren''t marketed as much?

 

[T L]

Be leary of synthetic white sapphires, and they do not have the same appeal as diamonds IMO. They simply lack the fire and dispersion of a diamond, and they are less durable. They're priced lower because they're

1) Not as desirable
2) Diamonds have their own controlled pricing structure

 

[vinkalmann]

Date: 12/18/2009 4:27:57 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Be leary of synthetic white sapphires, and they do not have the same appeal as diamonds IMO. They simply lack the fire and dispersion of a diamond, and they are less durable. They''re priced lower because they''re


1) Not as desirable

2) Diamonds have their own controlled pricing structure

Great thanks for the info. I didn''t think they had the same fire as diamonds and it''s good to have this confirmed. I''ll definitely steer clear of synthetics.

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 12/18/2009 4:43:50 PM
Author: vinkalmann

I didn''t think they had the same fire as diamonds and it''s good to have this confirmed. I''ll definitely steer clear of synthetics.

Sapphires of any kind, natural or synthetic do not have the same fire and durability as diamonds. Natural white sapphires can be attractive, but they don''t look anything like a diamond. White sapphire melee really don''t have much to recommend them except that they cost about 1/2 of comparable diamond melee. If you want the ring to have some ZIP to it I would suggest using sapphire for it''s color and diamond for it''s sparkle and fire.

 

[chrono]

Large well cut white sapphire looks lovely with a nice brilliance but it still will not have the fire of a diamond. In a smaller size, the difference between the two will be even more obvious.

 

[vinkalmann]

Oh that''s interesting! I would have guessed (wrong) that in a smaller size that they would look more similar. Maybe I will opt for diamonds for her ring but not for mine.

I was looking at white sapphires to go with the blue for a few reasons:

1. She likes the alternating colors
2. They''re half the price of blue sapphires of the same size
3. I wanted to stay with the all sapphires motif since I think it''s a little less mainstream.

Of course if they aren''t going to look good, maybe I should steer away from them entirely. One part of me thinks that either way it will look good since the main sapphire in the engagement ring is such a show stealer.