Which aqua would you choose?

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

I need a 9x7 stone for a specific setting, I want to use a blue or blue green stone. I don't want to spend much, so I got these 2 aquas. Both 9x7, but the darker was a bit more expensive. The lighter is light blue with a hint of green, the other is more medium blue. Not real familiar with aquas, so any opinion welcome. They are very hard to photo for sure!

 

[distracts]

I like the darker one. But since you're the one wearing it, go with the one you like more. They both look nice. My concern with lighter aquas is that a lot of times they look kind of see-through and so the stone looks smaller than it really is.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

ohhhh i like the darker one
but i know nothing so don't mind me
what do you like best @CHRISTY-DANIELLE ?

 

[arkieb1]

I also vote for the darker one as my personal preference but some people like them lighter and more greenish so really it's your own personal choice.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

I was seeking the more typical lighter blue green, but that darker one caught my eye! I should explain that ring will have paraiba and either blue or teal sapphire or indicolite halo melee. I'm trying to decide which one of these would look better with that halo combo. Will the light one stand out, or be lost? My dh likes the darker one too...

 

[T L]

The darker one. I hope it’s a trustworthy vendor as some darker aquas fade over time if they’ve been irradiated.

 

[voce]

The darker one for me as well. But regardless of which stone you choose for the center, I worry about paraiba melee drawing attention away from the center stone. Do you have the paraiba in hand and could you compare the aqua and the paraiba side by side? My fear is that the aqua will end up looking cheap next to the paraiba, because of a lower intensity color or a lower RI.

 

[dk168]

My personal preference is for the lighter one with more green for the stone on its own.

The darker one may be more suitable for the existing ring setting.

DK

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

@voce there are only 4 paraibas at NSEW points, and they are super tiny! I don't think it'll be as issue?
I didn't want to like this darker one, but I really do!
I'm thinking with white metal and the other stones being vivid, the darker will look better(?)

 

[voce]

My thought is to go for contrast. I have a CRD rosette ring with an indicolite center and sapphire sidestones. I still regret my sidestones choice because the teal Montana sapphires didn't contrast enough against the outer round royal blue sapphires.

Do you already have sidestones? Dark sidestones call for the lightest stone in terms of contrast. Although I personally favour the darker aqua, I would set it in rose gold with lighter coloured sidestones, and if you're using a white metal and dark sidestones, the lighter aqua would provide more contrast.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

I don't have melee yet, just planning. I popped in two indicolites I have just to see. I get what you're saying. But this is more medium baby blue, so maybe lighter enough?

 

[dk168]

The lighter one contrast better against the Indicolites IMHO.

DK

 

[Hounddog]

I prefer the darker Aqua of these two stones, although I love the greener Aquas a lot, but for this ring with your Indicolites etc I’d also choose the paler Aqua as I agree the contrast will be better.
Hope it all goes well and you love it.

 

[icy_jade]

I’ll go for the stone you love more and maybe change the melees. Prioritize the centre stone over side stones.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I actually have an 8x10 lighter aqua that I had bought for a setting and then found another deeper color one and set it instead. I had thought of setting it in a blue sapphire halo! I agree that there needs to be contrast. I am going to show you the color of my light aqua. I really like the color. I think your lighter one is maybe too light. The other is still not a deep aqua, so I'd probably choose it from these two. But there are plenty of aquas out there if you don't love either one. It took me a long time to find the one I eventually set in my setting.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

This is my inspiration piece for color, obviously not making this ring!

 

[IcePhoenix]

I'd normally go with the darker one. The lighter one would be better for very pale or very dark skin in my opinion, but also a better contrast to the indicolites. They both look beautiful though

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

Finally seeing stones in natural light. I still prefer the darker one!


I never considered skin tone as a deciding factor on a gem, but I guess it really is something to think about! I'm decidedly medium toned, currently with mid summer Texas tan. My wardrobe also tends toward bright colors not pastels. Makes sense!

 

[voce]

Go with the darker one then! I think it'll look gorgeous against your skin tone. I think you should do alternating blue and white "petals" around your aqua. Will try to play with a sample layout if I have time during lunch hour so that I can show you.

BTW--can you tell me what size paraiba you'll be able to get? I like to get the approximate dimensions if I'm playing with layouts.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

Thanks for offering @voce but the ring design is not flexible , just stone color choices. The melee stones are tiny, less than 2mm, some smaller than that.
Think I'm just going to play around with melee colors, although I really want to stay in varying shades of blue/blue-green.
Thank you for the help all!

 

[voce]

OK @CHRISTY-DANIELLE thanks for telling me. I really think that alternating the darker blue sapphires with white diamonds would look much better than only using blue and blue-green. Even @diamondseeker2006's inspiration didn't forego white diamonds.