What do I need to know about sapphires as sidestones?

[Smooth]

First off, I am a newb as you can see, so ''hello'' to all!

I''m going to be buying an engagement ring in the not-too-distant future.
I feel like I''ve done enough reading on the ''net to know what I''m looking for in a diamond.

However, my girlfriend has repeatedly hinted that she wants sapphires incorporated into the ring.

What I''m curious about is how sapphires will affect the look (as far as visible color) of the center diamond. I''ve done some searching here and on other forums and I''ve seen a few posts about this, but they seem to conflict (some say the sapphires contrast against the diamond and make it look whiter, some say the blue "brings out the yellow" in the diamond).
Additionally, the ring will be either white gold or platinum.

My budget has me leaning towards an H-I color diamond... will that be OK, or do I need to go whiter (and smaller) because of the sapphires?

Also, are small round sapphires going to be significantly more expensive than other cuts? I would like to do a three-stone setting with a round diamond and two round sapphires, but I know my gf likes some other cuts as well.

Thanks for any help!

 

[winyan]

Just out of curiosity, what is your budget set at? Reason I asked is cause MooseJaw has a gorgeous diamond/sapphire ring going for a song. I wish I had the 5.xk he is looking for, I'd buy it like, today!

Sapphires, btw, in the cornflower blue color, (Ceylon) are a bit more expensive than other sapphires. I don't believe the cut makes that much difference for side stones. They are an 8, I believe on the Mohs scale, and a diamond is a 10. However, they are *not* contraindicated for a ring, they are hard enough to take a bit of punishment.

As far as color goes, it depends on your color 'vision'. Personally I find the combination pleasing to the eye, enhancing the diamond's whiteness.

win

 

[Smooth]

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On 7/2/2003 winyan wrote:

Just out of curiosity, what is your budget set at? Reason I asked is cause MooseJaw has a gorgeous diamond/sapphire ring going for a song. I wish I had the 5.xk he is looking for, I'd buy it like, today!
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Just checked out his thread. I'm 99% certain my girlfriend would not like the filigree work on the ring, it's just not her taste. Very pretty ring though. Thanks for the other tips!

 

[Moosejaw]

Thanks for the plug winyan.

I read the topic he posted and thought the same thing, but I guess if the filigree is the deal breaker thats too bad.

.

Smooth, I dont know what your budget is, but the Rap sheet on my diamond alone is about 6000 or so dollars, plus the price of the type of sapphires is another 1000.00. The setting is basically free.

Anyways its too bad.

Take care,
G

 

[dimonbob]

Welcome to the Forum Smooth,

If your GF wants sapphire side stones, I strongly suggest you get her sapphires. That said, you need to find the best looking sapphires possible.

The shape of the sapphires are up to you, or her, but there is a larger selection of rounds than other cuts. They need to match in size and color. You also need to know that a .25ct sapphire is actually smaller than a .25ct diamond.

Color and brightness. It is difficult to convey color in words but here goes. intense medium slightly dark blue
The idea is to get a sapphire that has little or no gray or black. The color should be bright. A good comparison is the Internet Explorer "e" or the Microsoft Word "W". They are different color blue but anywhere between these two colors would be very nice. I hope I am making sense here.
One other point, make sure the diamonds are not diffusion treated. Get it in writing.

 

[winyan]

Aw, that's too bad, that ring is a great deal. Oh well, maybe I'll win the lottery and get it myself!

win

 

[Smooth]

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On 7/2/2003 dimonbob wrote:
If your GF wants sapphire side stones, I strongly suggest you get her sapphires.
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Believe me, I never considered otherwise!

 

[Smooth]

Anybody else have an opinion on whether (quality) sapphire sidestones make a diamond look whiter or not? I'm still not 100% clear on this.

 

[Kamuelamom]

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On 7/10/2003 12:44:46 AM Smooth wrote:

Anybody else have an opinion on whether (quality) sapphire sidestones make a diamond look whiter or not? I'm still not 100% clear on this.

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For whatever my opinion is worth, here's my thought. What *would* help your H/I stone look whiter is to assure it is extremely well cut. Then go from there. I've seen some great sapphire/warm color diamond rings in plat or white gold on Faycullen. While H/I is certainly not in the warm scale, it would give you an idea of the combination.

JMHO.

 

[Kamuelamom]

something like this?

 

[Kamuelamom]

or maybe this?