What makes these sapphires look so different?

[LuluDivine]

Hi all!

So, I'm woefully ignorant about nearly everything about sapphires, except for the fact that some make me go "oooh, pretty!" Which puts me in a pretty bad position to be trying to understand the difference in sapphires I'm choosing from for a new ring. Maybe you all can help me out a little?

These two stones look wildly different - but is it a difference in color? Cut? Transparency? Just a weirdness of the lighting? Impossible to know?

Really appreciate any insight you can give, even if it's just a strong hunch.

 

[LoversKites]

Differences in tone. The left one is darker than the other.
Read this: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/[/URL]

 

[LuluDivine]

Is that really all it is? Fascinating!

The reason I wondered is because I've seen some stones that I could easily identify as simply being light in color - they looked more...watery? But this one seemed different from those, and I just wasn't sure why.

 

[LoversKites]

The saturation could also be different but its hard for me to tell with the tone difference.

 

[LoversKites]

Is that really all it is? Fascinating!

The reason I wondered is because I've seen some stones that I could easily identify as simply being light in color - they looked more...watery? But this one seemed different from those, and I just wasn't sure why.

I can't edit my last post and I want to add, it's easy to get mixed up between saturation and tone -- I do it often. If you post a pic of the watery sapphires you describe we could tell whether they have low saturation, i.e are greyish, or are simply light in tone.

 

[T L]

Is that really all it is? Fascinating!

The reason I wondered is because I've seen some stones that I could easily identify as simply being light in color - they looked more...watery? But this one seemed different from those, and I just wasn't sure why.

I can't edit my last post and I want to add, it's easy to get mixed up between saturation and tone -- I do it often. If you post a pic of the watery sapphires you describe we could tell whether they have low saturation, i.e are greyish, or are simply light in tone.

Tone and saturation are also tied together if a stone is very dark in tone or very very light, as the extinction, or lack of color, affects saturation. In the middle tones, saturation can have more levels.

 

[partgypsy]

The left one may have a better cut. It's hard to see with a single photo sometimes, what the issue is.

 

[T L]

The left one may have a better cut. It's hard to see with a single photo sometimes, what the issue is.

Could be that it's cut deeper as well, which also affects tone. That's why it's nice to have a side shot. I think the one on the left is more prone to extinction than the lighter toned one on the right, which seems a lot brighter.

 

[chrono]

Could be that it's cut deeper as well, which also affects tone. That's why it's nice to have a side shot. I think the one on the left is more prone to extinction than the lighter toned one on the right, which seems a lot brighter.

Difficult to say definitely based on a single static picture; it could be that the light was hitting both stones just right so that the one on the left looks darker whilst the one on the right is "lit" up. That said, I agree that with only this photograph to go by, the one on the left looks to be darker in tone.

 

[T L]

Could be that it's cut deeper as well, which also affects tone. That's why it's nice to have a side shot. I think the one on the left is more prone to extinction than the lighter toned one on the right, which seems a lot brighter.

Difficult to say definitely based on a single static picture; it could be that the light was hitting both stones just right so that the one on the left looks darker whilst the one on the right is "lit" up. That said, I agree that with only this photograph to go by, the one on the left looks to be darker in tone.

Good point. This thread also makes for a good argument why multiple photos are best when reviewing a gem online.

 

[LoversKites]

Is that really all it is? Fascinating!

The reason I wondered is because I've seen some stones that I could easily identify as simply being light in color - they looked more...watery? But this one seemed different from those, and I just wasn't sure why.

I can't edit my last post and I want to add, it's easy to get mixed up between saturation and tone -- I do it often. If you post a pic of the watery sapphires you describe we could tell whether they have low saturation, i.e are greyish, or are simply light in tone.

Tone and saturation are also tied together if a stone is very dark in tone or very very light, as the extinction, or lack of color, affects saturation. In the middle tones, saturation can have more levels.

Heh, I was reading an old thread today and you made the exact same point about middle tones incidentally being capable of higher saturation, and it was sort of a moment of realisation for me

I thought that extinction was a lack of colour in a certain area because of cut/angles/shape. So you're saying it affects the saturation of the whole gem? How? I didn't know that.

 

[T L]

I thought that extinction was a lack of colour in a certain area because of cut/angles/shape. So you're saying it affects the saturation of the whole gem? How? I didn't know that.

"Extinction" are overly dark areas in the gem, where light, or very little light (and hence color) is not returned to the eyes. This is either due to cutting and/or dark tonality of the gem itself. If a stone is very very dark in tone, most of the stone will be extinct. Extinction can also be more present in certain lighting as well. Some tourmaline for example, can show more extinction in sunlight. A little extinction in order to show a robust facet pattern is not a problem for me. It only becomes a problem when the stone lacks performance in light, or its annoying, like a bowtie in a pear shaped diamond for example, or some elongated cuts with the half/half extinction problem. Some people can tolerate the latter.

 

[LoversKites]

I thought that extinction was a lack of colour in a certain area because of cut/angles/shape. So you're saying it affects the saturation of the whole gem? How? I didn't know that.

"Extinction" are overly dark areas in the gem, where light, or very little light (and hence color) is not returned to the eyes. This is either due to cutting and/or dark tonality of the gem itself. If a stone is very very dark in tone, most of the stone will be extinct. Extinction can also be more present in certain lighting as well. Some tourmaline for example, can show more extinction in sunlight. A little extinction in order to show a robust facet pattern is not a problem for me. It only becomes a problem when the stone lacks performance in light, or its annoying, like a bowtie in a pear shaped diamond for example, or some elongated cuts with the half/half extinction problem. Some people can tolerate the latter.

Alright, I get what you meant now. Thanks for explaining.