What color metal to emphasize color change?

[chloeishere]

Hello everyone!

So, while I'm trying to patiently (patiently!) wait for my boyfriend to propose, I've decided maybe I should go ahead and get started with another project into which I might funnel my (impatient) excitement!

I have been really excited about this project for months, but I wanted to wait until after we were done with the engagement ring search to get it set. I think now is the time.

But, first, I'm going to introduce the stone!

I've had this stone far longer than the engagement stone, actually-- I got a very good deal on one of Dan Stair's ebay auctions for a untreated color change... sapphire. (I know, another sapphire-- sorry! At least it's a color change? That's different than most of the current sapphire threads). I wanted to see if I liked color change stones in real life, and I do! It's very cool, with a very noticeable and distinct color shift (I think it's enough of a change to qualify as a color change, but I'm not an expert). I think it was so inexpensive because it's a triangle shape, which aren't as popular, I've noticed.

The Stats:
STONE: Sapphire
WEIGHT: .84 Cts.
CUT: Barion Cushion Triangle
DIMENSIONS: 5.49 mm
ORIGIN: Tanzania
TREATMENT: None
COLOR: Pastel Blue-Purple
CLARITY: Very Good (Slight Inclusions, Generally Eye Clean)

It's got a little silk that's very visible under my 60x loupe, but it looks eye-clean to me.

In incandescent light it's a slightly pink lavender shade. In sunlight, it's a very pale icy pastel blue. Under the LED flood light in the bathroom, it's silver. It's got a lot of dispersion in bright light (A LOT) and it's very reflective and well polished, which means it is very difficult to photograph and it reflects back absolutely everything. The color change makes it even more difficult to photograph.

So, after 8 months of trying to take a decent picture of this stone, I've pretty much given up on getting an accurate picture. Dan's picture is pretty accurate, and I'm incredibly impressed that he got it to show both the blue and lavender colors in one picture. (You can also see the silk in his picture, but I absolutely can't see it no matter how I try with my unassisted vision).



These are the two best pictures I could get of the two colors. Both are a wee bit darker in comparison to what I really see, but the closest I could get.



Here's a picture of the silver/ reflective color I see in LED light (which I really won't see much unless I'm staring at my ring in the bathroom). This picture is taken in daylight, where it doesn't photograph as blue as it looks.


More coming in the next post! Since I'm trying to get a feel for what metal would best suit this particular stone, I thought it was best to focus on the sapphire first.

 

[chloeishere]

One more stone picture, and then I'll move on to the setting.

This stone is so reflective, it's ridiculous. Almost like having a tiny mirror on the hand, but more sparkly.


So, I love Patrick Irla's settings. Especially this one: http://www.etsy.com/listing/61175487/tiny-hydrangea-and-pink-sapphire-ring I've got a thing for nature-inspired rings anyway, and his beautiful work with hydrangea blossoms really hits me right (Especially after I saw Freke's beautiful ring by him, with a pink-peach spinel).

Not to mention, hydrangea blossoms have the unique property of changing color depending on the pH of the soil (Is my chemistry geek showing?)-- from pink to blue. Rather like my stone! And the triangular shape of the three-petaled blossoms I thought would very nicely compliment my triangular stone. It seemed like the perfect setting for this stone (I'd like it prong set, maybe with 3 sets of double prongs but I haven't contacted Mr. Irla yet to ask him about the feasibility).

Hydrangeas! http://www.flickr.com/photos/photofarmer/5888804015/lightbox/

I'm planning on having the band made in sterling silver to keep costs reasonable, but I'm not sure what color metal to use for the blossoms that will bring out the colors best, and that's why I'm turning to pricescopers!

The pink-lavender color, to my eye, is much more visible/ more saturated than the blue (which is very pale and icy/ with some gray), and I really want to emphasize both colors as much as possible, to emphasize the color shift in different light.

I actually don't own any yellow gold jewelry or rose gold, which makes it difficult for me to tell what suits... but I do have a very inexpensive (25 cent-- from a vending machine) titanium ring that is anodized yellow-- when I try it on next to the stone, I think it does emphasize the blue (but I couldn't get a good picture with the ring and the stone to show it). I couldn't really tell what it did with the lavender color.

Any advice? Thank you for reading this novella!

 

[Blue-Seeker]

It's really pretty, Chloe, and I love the shape. I, too, own a color-shift sapphire. Mine shifts from deep blue-violet to deep red-violet. It also has copper inclusions that give the stone a warm ginger tint at the edges of the stone in certain lights. I had a really hard time figuring out how to set it, and I didn't want to spend a lot of cash on the setting.

I considered having Patrick set my stone. I really like his work, and I love the comparison of your stone to hydrangeas! That's a perfect analogy. The mix of colors in the stone make metal choices a challenge. As I think TL has mentioned, white metals can bring out the grey undertones in many colored stones. I ended up going with a local jeweler for the setting, and I chose a rose gold for the head, mounted on a brushed sterling silver band. I found that yellow gold looked great with the purple, red, and violet colors in my stone, but did not bring out the copper colors. So I went with rose gold, which I think flatters all of the colors in my stone.

Your stone has a softer look, and no copper, and also has a distinct silver look to it in certain lights. I think 18 kt yellow gold may overwhelm your stone. I think rose gold would be lovely and highlight blues and lavenders in your sapphire. I'm also wondering if Patrick can cast the petals in green gold, which would be a perfect choice for the "leaves" and would be such a nice contrast with both the soft blues and purples in your sapphire. The color of 18 kt gold really varies from goldsmith to goldsmith. I've also read -- I think on PS somewhere? -- that 14 kt rose gold looks very different from 18 kt rose gold, but I can't remember exactly how it looks different. Sorry!

 

[LD]

Ok - I'm confused! What colour do you see in daylight and what colour do you see in incandescent light? I can't gauge from your photos what the two colourways are! I think from your description that it's pale blue and lavender? The photos however don't show that at all but I'm not surprised because anything that has a colour shift is a nightmare to photograph accurately!

What I can tell you is that this is a colour shifter - not colour changer. A colour shifter is when a gem shifts from one colour to the next colour on the colour wheel (or nearby to it). A colour changer is a gem that jumps from one side of the colour wheel right across to the opposite side i.e. red to green. Colour shifters are much more common than changers and you see lots of varieties that have blue/purple/pink in them.

I am fascinated by colour shifter/changers and I've probably got more of them in my collection than anything else! Finding the right colour gold to set them into is really personal choice as they tend to look good in both. I think your gem has cooler colours and so I'd play up the ice cool look by setting it in a white metal. However, if you want it to look warmer, it would probably work in yellow too. It depends what look you're going for.

 

[T L]

If you want to bring out the grey in the stone, then use white metal.

If you want to demphasize grey in the stone, then use rose gold or yellow metal. I don't think either of these metals will impede the color shift on the stone.

 

[chloeishere]

Thanks for the input!

The color in daylight is pale blue (a very pastel blue with a bit of gray, and it seems like a very small amount of green or yellow, too). The color is probably closest to what I see in the picture where it's reflecting the tree branches, if you look to the sides of the stone where there is no reflection.

The color in almost all artificial light is a pinkish lavender (I actually considered it totally pink for several months, than realized that it was a very cool pink and decided it was more lavender than pink.


The other color that I very rarely see (under the LED flood light in the bathroom, or I suppose LED flashlights or LED headlights, LOL) is silver. I think it's actually a combination of the purple and blue colors sort of "canceling out." But I could be wrong, as they aren't exactly opposite on the color wheel. (Pictures in LED light don't show the color I see, it looks pinkish in pictures. It looks like the silvery/ final picture taken in daylight in the first post).

I guess what I am hoping for is a metal color that would emphasize the DIFFERENCE in the two colors, but maybe that's not possible, since probably any metal color that brings out one will somewhat de-emphasize the other.

Since the blue is, to my eyes, less obvious than the lavender shade (which is reasonably vivid for the light tone of this stone), if I can't get a metal color that will emphasize both colors, I guess I would prefer a metal color that emphasizes the blue rather than the pink/ lavender-- so it will be more obvious that it is a color shift stone, rather than just the lavender color becoming desaturated in sunlight.

Would yellow or rose gold be better for that, or silver? My concern with rose gold is that it might de-emphasize the lavender color, since it's also in the pink-ish color family. My preference is for a metal color that will emphasize the blue without de-emphasizing the pink-purple.

Clear as mud?

 

[LD]

Right! Ummmm, well ............ I'm still a bit confused but if I'm reading your post correctly you want something to bring out the blue more?

White gold will bring out the steel/silver/grey of the blue - how do you feel about that?

Rose gold will contrast (or clash depending on your point of view) and will certainly emphasize the different in colours but I'm really not convinced it will make the blue more blue or that it would be a good choice. Maybe TL has an example she can show you.

Yellow gold will certainly make the blue look bluer I think and should work with the pale pink if it's not too high a karat gold.

Do you have a white gold ring and a yellow gold ring and maybe a penny that you can sit the stone next to to see what works best? I had a terrible time deciding on the colour gold for my chameleon diamond and the only way I sorted it out was by putting it next to the colours of gold, photographing it and then coming back to look at the photos a few days later. Doing that, I immediately saw what was going to work best - how about doing something like that?

 

[chloeishere]

Sorry LD! I go on for too long when I'm typing. I have a tendency to over-explain.

So you are saying white metal would emphasize the gray/ silver tones. That is NOT what I want (that's probably the opposite of what I want, as it's already not a very saturated stone, and I want to emphasize the color).

I don't have any yellow gold at all, not necklaces or rings. (I know that's kind of crazy-- I don't wear a lot of jewelry, and I don't have any non-costume jewelry currently available).

I tried the stone with a silver ring I own turned around, and I think that color doesn't emphasize either the pink/lavender or the blue, so that's out. I suspected that anyway.

I put the stone on a penny (good suggestion!) and I liked the color in daylight-- it really emphasized the slight green hint to the stone, rather than specifically the blue though, to my eyes. I love blue-green shades, though, so that's not a negative. The penny looked really orange next to incandescent light/ with the pink/lavender color change, I feel like the eye was drawn more to the penny than to the color of the stone (which looked relatively colorless in comparison.

These pictures are terrible, but maybe better than nothing?

Incandescent-- I think this picture is actually pretty close to the color I saw!


Daylight-- not really close. The color looked considerably more saturated in real life, it looks almost white here. (Sorry about the gigantic tilt window, I should have rotated it so the crown was facing the window instead of away).


The titanium ring I have that is anodized is more like the copper color than yellow gold, so I don't really have a good comparison for yellow gold here.

So maybe a lower karat yellow gold is the way to go?

 

[LD]

Actually I like it on the penny! It looks good with both the blue and also the pink colourways.

 

[chloeishere]

I think I agree, LD! I was originally focusing on how pastel the stone looked in comparison to the metal... but it's a pastel stone, so it's going to look pastel no matter what metal is around it!

I do wish I could see it against yellow gold, just to know. Maybe I'll just ask Patrick Irla to look at it once I've got the go-ahead to send it, and see what he thinks (about rose vs. yellow).

Does anyone else have an opinion they'd like to share?

 

[LD]

Sorry, me again! I also think it would work with yellow gold (after seeing it on the penny) so if I were you, I'd choose what you will be more comfortable wearing and combining with other jewellery. One of the reasons I'm not wildy keen on rose gold (which is why I shocked myself saying it would be good for your stone ) is that I like to co-ordinate. So if I'm wearing yellow gold, it all has to be yellow. If I'm wearing white gold, it has to be white. If I'm wearing rose gold ......... it's a very unusual day!

 

[chloeishere]

I very much appreciate your input, LD! I didn't mean to imply that I didn't want your input, it's been very, very helpful. I just wanted to know if anyone else had an opinion one way or the other, as that might help with my decision.

I'm pretty set on either yellow or rose gold for this stone, and I don't own anything in either color, so it won't coordinate either way with what I currently own. That's okay though, it will be my first right hand ring (RHR), and at this point, I don't see wearing more than one ring per hand. I think the coordination aspect is why almost all my jewelry is silver/ white gold, but I think it's time for me to branch out.

I do have a 6 mm mint garnet round that I someday intend to set, probably (maybe? I really haven't decided yet, it's on the back burner) in rose gold. But, again-- it'll probably be a RHR and I don't think I'll be wearing two at once. So I don't really need to coordinate those two, either.

I feel like I *might* prefer yellow gold for this one, but I'm not sure, especially since I don't have any way to see how it looks to my eyes in real life. Which is why I was hoping others might be able to come in with an opinion.

The blue color is not dissimilar to an (not-too-saturated) aquamarine, I think-- maybe I'll try to find some yellow gold aquamarine pictures on here for comparison purposes.

 

[deorwine]

A lovely stone! (And YAY for another triangle lover and another color-shifter lover! There aren't enough of us!)

My vote is for yellow gold, which I think wouldn't bring so much attention to itself as rose gold kind of does with that stone, if you see what I mean, but will still pull out the blues and purples... do you have anything made out of brass, say? (A brass doorknob, even?) Just to get an idea of the color? Or maybe Patrick Irla can take some pics for you if you don't have any gold-colored metal?

When you say it has high dispersion, do you actually mean that it has high brilliance? (Brilliance refers to the light return, whereas dispersion refers to the rainbow colors you get off of e.g. diamond.) I'm just wondering because I don't see dispersion in your photos, but I do see a lot of brilliance, and sapphires in general are a fairly low dispersion stone (though I'd love to see an exception).

 

[chloeishere]

Hi deorwine!

Thank you for the compliments, I really like the stone (and color shifters in general)!

I'm still not sure about rose vs. yellow gold, but I'm going to keep thinking about it. I do agree, I'm worried the rose gold will be too eye-catching, instead of drawing attention to the stone... but it does seem to emphasize the colors. I might agree with the yellow. I DO think we have some brass around here somewhere, great suggestion-- I'll look around tonight!

It's pretty much impossible to catch in photos, but I did mean dispersion (though quite high brilliance, as well-- it's a flashy little guy).

That's another reason I posted the reflecting tree photo, you can see a few rainbows coming off the side of the stone. As I recall, I think my engagement ring stone has more dispersion than this one (I think due to the cut), but this one has quite a bit, I was very surprised!

 

[deorwine]

Ah, I see (I think I thought they were prongs or something the first time through) -- that's so cool!!

 

[chrono]

I think a "soft" colour like yellow gold or a "soft" rose gold will be perfect. It'll bring out the cold silvery blue with its contrast and enhance the peachy lavender side of the sapphire.

 

[chloeishere]

Thank you Chrono! I think I agree...

I have a major problem with the setting, now. I contacted Patrick Irla soon after starting this thread, and he says he no longer works with customer's stones, especially for unique, irreplaceable stones like mine, due to liability reasons. He also won't make the setting and have it set by someone else, as he wants to be certain the stone would fit perfectly into the setting (especially since it's an unusual cut), and he can't guarantee that a different setter would set it the same as he would.

So, I'm back to the drawing board. I wish I had contacted him right when I got the stone, as I'm pretty sure his policy was different at that time. I was trying to focus on finding *the* engagement ring stone at the time, though.

I really love the hydrangea idea with the color shift, and I don't want to give up on it yet. I guess I'll start looking around, maybe there's something similar on etsy or elsewhere.

Any suggestions for a setting, oh wise pricescope gurus?