Hello, PSers!
I'm a newbie to faceted sapphires and could use some advice.
I loooove rich purple, and while amethyst has that color nailed, I'm hard on my jewelry. I need sapphire hardness or better for my wedding ring to come. (We're sorta combining an engagement ring and wedding ring . . . long story.)
Hubs-to-be and I went to the local Shane and found a beautiful setting and stone, but . . . the stone is a little pale for my purple-loving perfectionism. (The stone is cupped by the prongs but is not set.)
When we walked into the room that's supposed to simulate outdoor lighting, the stone changed to a pale lavender blue — even farther from the intense warm purple I love. "Noooooo, don't do that..."
It's 6.13x6.05mm, 1.43ct, and $1825. I like the size — not tiny, not so large that it annoys me or hurts my finger when I'm wearing gloves (we live at a high elevation, so that's about half the year.) I didn't, unfortunately, look for inclusions. (But I'm learning fast, and would do so before final sale!) I do have a few other photos but didn't want to bombard you.
We put setting and stone on layaway to see if they pass the "sleep on it" test and let us do some comparison shopping. I came home, fired up the computer, and realized this shopping would be more difficult than I'd thought. I'm having a tough time finding a sapphire that is:
• 5.5 - 8 mm per side and square to the eye (I'd prefer it in the "kite" orientation)
• cushion cut (probably)
• under $2000, though could move that a bit for something amazing
• with that rich amethyst color that makes me drool.
I've already been through every one of the vendors listed in the Colored Stones forum's sticky note. Maybe it's just bad timing for me because it's holiday shopping season and stocks are low!
This is what I did find, in no particular order:
(1) Many good ratings for this vendor on Etsy, but no mention of them in this forum. (Has anyone here bought from them?) https://www.etsy.com/listing/288795321/a-beautiful-naturalsapphire-163-purple
(2) http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-2066499630
(3) A little more than we'd prefer to pay, but seems lovely... http://www.gemsny.com/loose-sapphires/2.05-Carat-Cushion-Sapphire-PUSU82530ACU/
(4) https://www.etsy.com/listing/475443257/intense-natural-certified-violet-cushion?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=&ref=sr_gallery_10
(5) More like the Shane stone in color, though at least it's less expensive: http://www.gemsny.com/loose-sapphires/1.64-Carat-Cushion-Sapphire-S68020CU/
(6) Less expensive, though I can definitely see inclusions and I'm not sure the color's much better: http://www.gemselect.com/sapphire/sapphire-448501.php
(7) Also much less expensive, but seems murky. Maybe that's just unfocused pics? https://allsapphires.com/buy/1-58ct-violet-purple-sapphire/
(
http://www.gemsny.com/loose-sapphires/1.64-Carat-Cushion-Sapphire-S68020CU/
At this point, I've decided heat treatment wouldn't bother me. Even diffusion wouldn't bother me if it leads to the right color (and bonus, it's far less expensive). Heck, I don't even need a natural sapphire but would be happy to go with a real-but-lab-created one — yet I can't seem to find the right color in those, either! Closest I got was https://betterthandiamond.com/culturedgems/custom/purplepink.php
Have I missed a stash of square purple sapphires (natural or lab-grown) somewhere? Failing that, might any of you wise ones here have recommendations on which of the above stones seem best? It's a big investment and something I'll be wearing for decades, so any help or guidance to this newbie would be much appreciated. Thank you!



I loooove rich purple, and while amethyst has that color nailed, I'm hard on my jewelry. I need sapphire hardness or better for my wedding ring to come. (We're sorta combining an engagement ring and wedding ring . . . long story.)
Hubs-to-be and I went to the local Shane and found a beautiful setting and stone, but . . . the stone is a little pale for my purple-loving perfectionism. (The stone is cupped by the prongs but is not set.)
When we walked into the room that's supposed to simulate outdoor lighting, the stone changed to a pale lavender blue — even farther from the intense warm purple I love. "Noooooo, don't do that..."
It's 6.13x6.05mm, 1.43ct, and $1825. I like the size — not tiny, not so large that it annoys me or hurts my finger when I'm wearing gloves (we live at a high elevation, so that's about half the year.) I didn't, unfortunately, look for inclusions. (But I'm learning fast, and would do so before final sale!) I do have a few other photos but didn't want to bombard you.
We put setting and stone on layaway to see if they pass the "sleep on it" test and let us do some comparison shopping. I came home, fired up the computer, and realized this shopping would be more difficult than I'd thought. I'm having a tough time finding a sapphire that is:
• 5.5 - 8 mm per side and square to the eye (I'd prefer it in the "kite" orientation)
• cushion cut (probably)
• under $2000, though could move that a bit for something amazing
• with that rich amethyst color that makes me drool.
I've already been through every one of the vendors listed in the Colored Stones forum's sticky note. Maybe it's just bad timing for me because it's holiday shopping season and stocks are low!
This is what I did find, in no particular order:
(1) Many good ratings for this vendor on Etsy, but no mention of them in this forum. (Has anyone here bought from them?) https://www.etsy.com/listing/288795321/a-beautiful-naturalsapphire-163-purple
(2) http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-2066499630
(3) A little more than we'd prefer to pay, but seems lovely... http://www.gemsny.com/loose-sapphires/2.05-Carat-Cushion-Sapphire-PUSU82530ACU/
(4) https://www.etsy.com/listing/475443257/intense-natural-certified-violet-cushion?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=&ref=sr_gallery_10
(5) More like the Shane stone in color, though at least it's less expensive: http://www.gemsny.com/loose-sapphires/1.64-Carat-Cushion-Sapphire-S68020CU/
(6) Less expensive, though I can definitely see inclusions and I'm not sure the color's much better: http://www.gemselect.com/sapphire/sapphire-448501.php
(7) Also much less expensive, but seems murky. Maybe that's just unfocused pics? https://allsapphires.com/buy/1-58ct-violet-purple-sapphire/
(
At this point, I've decided heat treatment wouldn't bother me. Even diffusion wouldn't bother me if it leads to the right color (and bonus, it's far less expensive). Heck, I don't even need a natural sapphire but would be happy to go with a real-but-lab-created one — yet I can't seem to find the right color in those, either! Closest I got was https://betterthandiamond.com/culturedgems/custom/purplepink.php
Have I missed a stash of square purple sapphires (natural or lab-grown) somewhere? Failing that, might any of you wise ones here have recommendations on which of the above stones seem best? It's a big investment and something I'll be wearing for decades, so any help or guidance to this newbie would be much appreciated. Thank you!

