Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread ; )

[michael_m]

Hello everyone!

So I'm looking for a blue sapphire engagement ring, and am pretty set on what I want (details to follow). My biggest concern at the moment is where to get it, and feeling assured that what I am getting is good quality and value.

I've actually found exactly what I'm looking for, and it's only just above my budget of $2,500. The company, Natural Sapphire Company, is well known to many of you but has received unfavourable reviews on this board. I read about all the controversy surrounding it's poor reviews online (by some) and claims by the CEO that they are false and the work of a single individual. I'm not sure what to believe. Help!

The setting I am interested in in this one: http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompan...s/Rings/MultiStone with Pave/stoneid=JS734W18 ; I haven't been able to find something very close elsewhere.

The stone I am interested in is this one:
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Blue/Cushion/stoneid=B2883 ; my girlfriend loves the look and color. What are your thoughts on this stone, both in terms of it's details and price/value?

Can I find a bigger sapphire with similar details for less elsewhere? Perhaps just get the setting from the NSC?

Any and all input would be highly appreciated!

 

[snoopkat]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

i'm an NSC customer and can only speak from my own personal experience in dealing with them.

The good - their response time is fantastic. I dealt with someone called Livia Brode and she was very helpful with all my questions and queries (and I had ALOT of questions). For me, their selection was probably the biggest I've seen on any site. Alot of the other vendor sites I've seen have smaller selection for the colour I'm after and I didn't want the hassle of asking them to email me individual stones. I found PS after buying my e ring from NSC and have read alot of posts about how the stones are overpriced. Probably fair comments, but pricing is relative and we found that it was affordable for what we wanted. Another plus point is their delivery time is amazing. I had to return the ring for resizing, it took no more than a week from when I sent the ring back to when it was returned to me. (I live in Sydney so you can see why I was impressed)

The bad - their stones are not the best quality. The stone we got was advertised as VS1 but when we got the ring independantly valued for insurance, it came back as S1. However, we live outside of the US and it wasn't possible for us to see the stone before purchasing (well we probably could've but it would've been fairly expensive) so we knew from the outset that this might happen. The original stone we had purchased was advertised as unheated but the GIA cert showed that the stone was in fact heated. NSC was very quick to offer an upgrade to a different stone of a bigger carat (which is the one I now have), readvertised the original stone as heated and dropped the price accordingly. If I had to make a purchase from them again, I would ask to see the GIA cert before making payment. It's not a huge drama because they did rectify their mistake, but something for you to consider.

Hope this helps.

 

[Aoife]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Hello, michael_m, and welcome to the Colored Stone forum.

As you can see from snoopkat's post, people's experiences with NSC have been mixed. I buy quite a few gemstones, and trusting the vendor is absolutely crucial when it comes to gemstones, especially ones that are known to be treated, and when those treatments have an impact on the value and price of the gemstone: like sapphires. Personally, I would hesitate to spend that much money with a vendor who gets such mixed/negative reviews.

There are quite a few people on CS who would be willing to help you, but some more information would be helpful. Is the color of the NSC sapphire you posted the color and shape you prefer? Are you willing to consider heated but otherwise untreated stones? Is the $2500 your total budget?

The style setting you linked to is available from other vendors, depending on how much you have budgeted for just the setting.

Lastly, are you sure that the lucky recipient of this engagement ring wants a sapphire, and do you know exactly what color is preferred?

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

@ snoopkat, thank you for that information, it is much appreciated.

@ Aoife, The color of the sapphire as pictured is the preferred choice, but slight difference would obviously be considered. It must be cushion cut, but can be square or rectangular. I would be willing to consider heated but otherwise untreated; I like the idea of natural, but have been impressed with the color of some heated ones I've looked at up close. $2,500 would be my total budget, but I wouldn't pass on something special if it costs me a few hundred more.

I'm positive my lovely gf wants a sapphire as it was her idea.

Thanks for your help!

 

[T L]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

The original stone we had purchased was advertised as unheated but the GIA cert showed that the stone was in fact heated. NSC was very quick to offer an upgrade to a different stone of a bigger carat (which is the one I now have), readvertised the original stone as heated and dropped the price accordingly. If I had to make a purchase from them again, I would ask to see the GIA cert before making payment. It's not a huge drama because they did rectify their mistake, but something for you to consider.

Hope this helps.

WOW, a bit shocked since they built their reputation on selling unheated material. Yes, this is a prime reason to always get independent reputable lab reports, especially for corundum. I'm a bit shocked that the NSC gemologists couldn't tell the signs of heat. I guess people make mistakes, but still. I'm glad you mentioned this, as it applies to not just NSC, but all vendors, and why independent verificaiton is so important.

 

[snoopkat]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

My first reaction when I saw the GIA report was intense disappointment. I had spent alot of time searching for the right stone and my non negotiable criteria was that it was unheated/untreated. The certification process took awhile to get through (4 weeks if I remember correctly) and NSC's response was that the GIA had alot of difficulty in determining whether or not the stone has been heated and subsequently decided to class it as a heated stone. I don't know enough to know whether this is a genuine response or a cover story, will leave it to the jury to decide.

Another point which I had forgotten about until now, NSC had rated the pave diamonds on my ring band to be D colour. Independant valuation rated it as a G/H. MASSIVE difference....it doesn't really bother me because the pave diamonds are too small for me to be able to tell the colour difference but it does give validity to alot of the negative posts here about NSC not being entirely truthful with the advertising of their products.

 

[T L]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

My first reaction when I saw the GIA report was intense disappointment. I had spent alot of time searching for the right stone and my non negotiable criteria was that it was unheated/untreated. The certification process took awhile to get through (4 weeks if I remember correctly) and NSC's response was that the GIA had alot of difficulty in determining whether or not the stone has been heated and subsequently decided to class it as a heated stone. I don't know enough to know whether this is a genuine response or a cover story, will leave it to the jury to decide.

Another point which I had forgotten about until now, NSC had rated the pave diamonds on my ring band to be D colour. Independant valuation rated it as a G/H. MASSIVE difference....it doesn't really bother me because the pave diamonds are too small for me to be able to tell the colour difference but it does give validity to alot of the negative posts here about NSC not being entirely truthful with the advertising of their products.

I also don't like the fact they're second guessing, without absolute proof, as to why GIA classified the stone as heated, and yes, the melee thing was a big difference in color. For the prices they charge, and how they tout the negatives of treatment, I would expect more integrity. Sorry.

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Another point which I had forgotten about until now, NSC had rated the pave diamonds on my ring band to be D colour. Independant valuation rated it as a G/H. MASSIVE difference....it doesn't really bother me because the pave diamonds are too small for me to be able to tell the colour difference but it does give validity to alot of the negative posts here about NSC not being entirely truthful with the advertising of their products.

Thanks for letting me know about that. This morning I was thinking that perhaps I'd find the stone elsewhere, and only buy the setting from NSC... now I'm thinking that may not be such a good idea considering the setting has so many pave diamonds.

I've tried searching for a similar setting elsewhere, but without luck; so if anyone can point me to something similar I'd appreciate it.

 

[motov551]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

you may also try talking to bill Kent of sapphires.ca, he deals with only unheated/untreated stones..his website may not be that great but he is quite knowledgeable and has some good collections too..so far I have had good experience.

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

you may also try talking to bill Kent of sapphires.ca, he deals with only unheated/untreated stones..his website may not be that great but he is quite knowledgeable and has some good collections too..so far I have had good experience.

Yes, his sapphires look great and I enjoyed reading his site... but I think his prices may be out of my budget; I've contacted him nonetheless.

 

[Aerix]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

I'm surprised that no one here has mentioned Simply Sapphires yet. I've only heard good things about them from here and recently purchased a sapphire from them (still waiting for it in the mail.) They're having a 25% off sale until December 1st. The 25% off code is: 25%OffNov.They're also open to offers, in case a stone is out of your budget.

Here's a link to their site: http://www.simplysapphires.com/index.html

I did a quick search, and they have quite a few blue cushion sapphires listed.
http://www.simplysapphires.com/html/cushion_search.html

For the setting, a lot of members on here used to buy from Lord of Gem Rings on eBay (also known as LOGR) and they sell a similar one to the NSC setting you like. You can also have them customize the setting to fit your own stone, just as long as you know the dimensions. I've heard that sometimes the settings run a little large, but if your stone doesn't fit, I think they're pretty good about returns and exchanges from what I've heard. (Hopefully someone will chime in since I haven't dealt with them personally.)

Here are some links to two of their cushion settings:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Diamond-7x7...33993075?pt=US_Fine_Rings&hash=item3a6cd4de73
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8mm-CUSHION...51101259?pt=US_Fine_Rings&hash=item3f0ffbd24b

You can also do a search on this board to read reviews about both the vendors I mentioned. Another trusted vendor who has a couple of cushion sapphires right now is Gemfix. There are 2 on the 2nd row from the bottom on this page: http://www.gemfix.com/newest_gems.html If you still can't find something you like, trying contacting a few vendors and let them know what you're looking for. Sometimes they'll have something not yet listed.

Best of luck!

 

[vinkalmann]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

About NSC and their certs. The vast majority of their less expensive stones only have in house certs which aren't really good since having the same people selling the stone and certing it is a no no. But, if you see a stone you like, they will send it to get certed by a 3rd party lab if you request it. It's my understanding that is offered for stones that are $1000 or more. I recently was interested in a small ruby from them and said I would purchase it contingent on it come back unheated from an outside lab. They sent it out without question and it came back fine.

What I don't know though is:

1. Whether you have to commit to buying before it will be sent out to another lab.
2. Whether you have any choice on where it goes. My stone was sent to GIA which was fine since I only wanted to know whether it was heated or not. I don't know whether they would send it to say AGL.

My wife's stone came with a GRS cert which was great. The small sapphire in my ring only came with an in-house cert and I didn't know that they would send it out at my request. The only reason I found out they would do this is I asked how much they would charge to send it to an outside lab. It would have been nice to know this before hand, but not the end of the world. I guess I could probably still do it for piece of mind, but it's more than a little scary to send your wedding ring out through the mail.

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

I'm surprised that no one here has mentioned Simply Sapphires yet. I've only heard good things about them from here and recently purchased a sapphire from them (still waiting for it in the mail.) They're having a 25% off sale until December 1st. The 25% off code is: 25%OffNov.They're also open to offers, in case a stone is out of your budget.

Here's a link to their site: http://www.simplysapphires.com/index.html

I did a quick search, and they have quite a few blue cushion sapphires listed.
http://www.simplysapphires.com/html/cushion_search.html

For the setting, a lot of members on here used to buy from Lord of Gem Rings on eBay (also known as LOGR) and they sell a similar one to the NSC setting you like. You can also have them customize the setting to fit your own stone, just as long as you know the dimensions. I've heard that sometimes the settings run a little large, but if your stone doesn't fit, I think they're pretty good about returns and exchanges from what I've heard. (Hopefully someone will chime in since I haven't dealt with them personally.)

Here are some links to two of their cushion settings:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Diamond-7x7...33993075?pt=US_Fine_Rings&hash=item3a6cd4de73
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8mm-CUSHION...51101259?pt=US_Fine_Rings&hash=item3f0ffbd24b

You can also do a search on this board to read reviews about both the vendors I mentioned. Another trusted vendor who has a couple of cushion sapphires right now is Gemfix. There are 2 on the 2nd row from the bottom on this page: http://www.gemfix.com/newest_gems.html If you still can't find something you like, trying contacting a few vendors and let them know what you're looking for. Sometimes they'll have something not yet listed.

Best of luck!

Wow Xiriah, thank you for all that info. I see a handfull of potential stones on the simplysapphires.com site. The photography isn't great, so I'll get in touch with them to see if better photos on hand can be taken.

The pricing on the LOGR settings is great, and I'd definitely be interested in the second setting you listing; not a fan of the prongs on the first. It would definitely open my budget to a larger and better sapphire. I'll do some searching on them, but if anyone has personal experience with their settings please chime in; I'd love to hear your impressions on the quality of their finished designs.

The Gemfix sapphires are also beautiful, and definitely something to be considered. Can anyone give a crtique of these stones, all thoughts are welcomed. Is Andrew Gulij (the cutter) well known in the industry? His award pieces are beautiful!

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Ok, I'm liking this Andrew Gulij sapphire the more I look at it... a little voice in my head is saying it's a little on the purple side. What are some opinions on this stone? What should I be asking if I were to contact Gemfix about it?

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

About NSC and their certs.

To be honest, I don't think I will be going with NSC for the sapphire. Prices seem high relative to other sellers; after further inspection of the initial stone I was interested in, that they are selling, it has a very dark inclusion (forgive me if thats the incorrect term), on one side that is very obvious at every angle in the video of the stone.

 

[Aerix]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Oops! Here's the same square-ish setting without prongs: http://www.ebay.com/itm/8mm-CUSHION...01369555?pt=US_Fine_Rings&hash=item56439a3ed3

To give you an idea of how a square-ish cushion (like the Gemfix one you like) would look in it, I'm attaching a couple of photos of one I used to own made by the same company (LOGR):



(For those who recognize the ring, this one used to belong to Cellentani.) I ended up reselling this ring awhile back, so I no longer own it. If I remember correctly, I think it was a size 8x8mm blue topaz cushion cut by Bob Kast. The ring was a size 7.75 and I wear a size 7.5. The melee in the ring was upgraded to VS (something you might want to consider if you purchase that ring from LOGR) and the milgrain was touched up by Quest Jewelers. Setting was also upgraded to 18kt gold. If you buy the setting, you'll probably have to take it to a local jeweler and have them set it for you. OR you could contact Quest Jewelers, Whiteflash, or Wink Jones at High Performance Diamonds, since they set outside stones and do excellent work. The only problem with working with an online jeweler is that you'd have to pay for insured shipping both ways aside from the cost of benchwork, but I think it's worth it for the peace of mind that they'll do a good job setting the stone.

I love the color of the Gemfix cushion you linked to! I don't think it's too violet. Hopefully others will chime in.

 

[Aoife]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Those are some great links from Xiriah!

If the photo on the Gemfix sapphire is accurate (always a concern with colored stones) I suspect it will seem quite violet in person. Now, for me, that would be a plus, but you are the only one who knows the exact color you are looking for. Personally, I found Gemfix to have a very good no-questions-asked return policy, so it might be worth seeing what they have to say about this stone if you think it might be what you are looking for.

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

That's a beautiful ring Xiriah, and just about the look I'm going for; thanks for sharing. I actually do have a local jeweller that my family has gone to for years, so setting the stone in place would not be a problem.

After a closer look, I did notice that the LOGR rings have a raised bevel that surrounds the stone, so the stone would be set higher than the surrounding diamonds. I would rather it be more like the NSC setting, so I will contact LOGR to see if this is something they can do. I would also be upgrading the setting to 18K, and possibly platinum depending on the price. Based on your pics and the 8mm size, it looks like the 6.7 from Gemfix would be a good fit for my girlfriends ring size of 5.5.

 

[T L]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

About NSC and their certs. The vast majority of their less expensive stones only have in house certs which aren't really good since having the same people selling the stone and certing it is a no no. But, if you see a stone you like, they will send it to get certed by a 3rd party lab if you request it. It's my understanding that is offered for stones that are $1000 or more. I recently was interested in a small ruby from them and said I would purchase it contingent on it come back unheated from an outside lab. They sent it out without question and it came back fine.

What I don't know though is:

1. Whether you have to commit to buying before it will be sent out to another lab.
2. Whether you have any choice on where it goes. My stone was sent to GIA which was fine since I only wanted to know whether it was heated or not. I don't know whether they would send it to say AGL.

My wife's stone came with a GRS cert which was great. The small sapphire in my ring only came with an in-house cert and I didn't know that they would send it out at my request. The only reason I found out they would do this is I asked how much they would charge to send it to an outside lab. It would have been nice to know this before hand, but not the end of the world. I guess I could probably still do it for piece of mind, but it's more than a little scary to send your wedding ring out through the mail.

The thing I love about AGL above all other labs are their prestige reports, which "SCIENTIFICALLY" gage hue, tone, saturation, clarity, cutting, and treatment, to come up with an overall quality. The quality is not based on flowery language that GRS uses like "royal blue" or "pidgeon blood." If buying a very expensive sapphire, and if you really want to know the TRUE quality (not some made up vendor quality rating), AGL provides the most comprehensive report by far. GIA, GRS, while good labs, do not do this. That's why vendors typically avoid AGL like the plague, because they want you to think the sapphire is often better than it truly is. I think NSC begrudgingly sends stones to AGL (they have been wishy washy about whether they would or not), and to me, that is a warning sign. The AGL fast track memo and the lesser prestige report do not provide all this information, but the top tier prestige report does.

 

[Aerix]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Hmm, I'm not sure if you can have the bezel lowered on the LOGR ring so the sapphire will sit on the same level as the diamonds... The metal that you're seeing (of the bezel) that's raised above the diamonds is what holds the stone in place. If you shave that off, well...it would be hard to set the stone in. I looked through my old photos I had and realized I took a profile shot of the ring. Hope this helps:


I'm also including a shot of the underside and gallery of the ring:


Sorry the photos are kind of big!

 

[Pandora II]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

My first reaction when I saw the GIA report was intense disappointment. I had spent alot of time searching for the right stone and my non negotiable criteria was that it was unheated/untreated. The certification process took awhile to get through (4 weeks if I remember correctly) and NSC's response was that the GIA had alot of difficulty in determining whether or not the stone has been heated and subsequently decided to class it as a heated stone. I don't know enough to know whether this is a genuine response or a cover story, will leave it to the jury to decide.

Another point which I had forgotten about until now, NSC had rated the pave diamonds on my ring band to be D colour. Independant valuation rated it as a G/H. MASSIVE difference....it doesn't really bother me because the pave diamonds are too small for me to be able to tell the colour difference but it does give validity to alot of the negative posts here about NSC not being entirely truthful with the advertising of their products.

Can happen. I bought an 'unheated' pink sapphire a year or so ago and when I had it checked out, the guy concluded that it was heated. I was there when he was looking at it, and he said it was the way the inclusions were in just one small corner that made him suspect - the rest of the stone looked totally unheated. As he was putting his name to the report he was going with heated. It took him about 3 times as long to decide on that stone as it did to do the reports on another 3 stones.

The person I bought the stone from adjusted the price accordingly - I loved the stone enough to keep it.

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Hmm, I'm not sure if you can have the bezel lowered on the LOGR ring so the sapphire will sit on the same level as the diamonds... The metal that you're seeing (of the bezel) that's raised above the diamonds is what holds the stone in place. If you shave that off, well...it would be hard to set the stone in. I looked through my old photos I had and realized I took a profile shot of the ring. Hope this helps:

I guess it is part of the LOGR design that may not be removed without significant changes; but given that my stone will be smaller than yours, the bed won't be as wide allowing the pillars to sit more vertical, reducing the need for a high bezel (if any of that makes sense ). I think I'll contact them to see if such changes could be made. I have included a couple photos of both a Tiffany Legacy and NSC setting, which illustrate the design I was hoping for.

Don't apologize for the big pictures, they're great and only have me liking the LOGR setting more. I just calculated the price of the NSC setting based on the potential Gemfix stone, and it comes to just over $1,800 ; quite a premium to pay for the bezel less design, especially when I consider the previously mentioned issue with the quality of the pave diamonds.

Tiffany Legacy


NSC setting

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

@ TL, I hate to be an annoyance but would greatly appreciate your personal opinion on the Andrew Gulij piece I've pictured above. I see other people have asked for your valued opinion, so thought I'd give it a shot.

 

[T L]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

@ TL, I hate to be an annoyance but would greatly appreciate your personal opinion on the Andrew Gulij piece I've pictured above. I see other people have asked for your valued opinion, so thought I'd give it a shot.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. If the photos are accurate, I think it's a beautiful violet blue color of medium light tone. What is the carat weight? I just got a sapphire with similar color, and I love those more light toned sapphires, because when well cut, they sparkle and scintillate a great deal. Not sure if that stone was cut by Andrew, but it appears to be a nice cut. He sometimes sells native cut stones as well.

Just curious, is it Tanzanian?

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

@ TL, I hate to be an annoyance but would greatly appreciate your personal opinion on the Andrew Gulij piece I've pictured above. I see other people have asked for your valued opinion, so thought I'd give it a shot.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. If the photos are accurate, I think it's a beautiful violet blue color of medium light tone. What is the carat weight? I just got a sapphire with similar color, and I love those more light toned sapphires, because when well cut, they sparkle and scintillate a great deal. Not sure if that stone was cut by Andrew, but it appears to be a nice cut. He sometimes sells native cut stones as well.

Just curious, is it Tanzanian?

The carat weight is 1.44, and it measures 6.7mm; depth is not listed, but I will inquire about that. It is listed as a Ceylon sapphire from Sri Lanka and cut by Andrew. Is there anything in particular I should inquire about? As with all others who have contributed to this thread, the sharing of your knowledge is greatly appreciated.

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Here are a couple quick Photoshop edits I did of the stone in both an NSC and LOGR setting.

 

[T L]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

@ TL, I hate to be an annoyance but would greatly appreciate your personal opinion on the Andrew Gulij piece I've pictured above. I see other people have asked for your valued opinion, so thought I'd give it a shot.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. If the photos are accurate, I think it's a beautiful violet blue color of medium light tone. What is the carat weight? I just got a sapphire with similar color, and I love those more light toned sapphires, because when well cut, they sparkle and scintillate a great deal. Not sure if that stone was cut by Andrew, but it appears to be a nice cut. He sometimes sells native cut stones as well.

Just curious, is it Tanzanian?

The carat weight is 1.44, and it measures 6.7mm; depth is not listed, but I will inquire about that. It is listed as a Ceylon sapphire from Sri Lanka and cut by Andrew. Is there anything in particular I should inquire about? As with all others who have contributed to this thread, the sharing of your knowledge is greatly appreciated.

If its from Ceylon, he actually recut it, and that's probably why it looks native to me. He may have done minimal cutting to reserve weight. Ceylon (Sri Lanka) doesn't export uncut rough. I would just not pay a premium because it's from Ceylon, because that color is common in Madagascar and Tanzania, which have lovely light blues like that. You could look for stones from those areas too, if you're on a budget, and he's charging a premium for the origin. I don't know if he is, just mentioning it as an FYI.

 

[T L]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

Here are a couple quick Photoshop edits I did of the stone in both an NSC and LOGR setting.

Very nice, just note, it might shift to a more purple color in some lighting. You should also ask him about the color shift.

 

[michael_m]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

If its from Ceylon, he actually recut it, and that's probably why it looks native to me. He may have done minimal cutting to reserve weight. Ceylon (Sri Lanka) doesn't export uncut rough. I would just not pay a premium because it's from Ceylon, because that color is common in Madagascar and Tanzania, which have lovely light blues like that. You could look for stones from those areas too, if you're on a budget, and he's charging a premium for the origin. I don't know if he is, just mentioning it as an FYI.

Ok, interesting points to consider... my education in sapphires continues . The price he has it listed at ($995) seemed good relative to other stones I have found thus far, but maybe I am not looking in the right places. Is there a place online in particular you would recommend me look for similar sapphires? Here is the complete listing of Andrews sapphire:

Sapphire Modified "Scissors" Cut Cushion
Weight: 1.44 cts
Measurements: 6.7 mm
Clarity: VVS
Origin: Sri Lanka
Enhancements: Heat only
Price: $ 995.00
Order/Stock No.: sapphire_blue_948
Description: (Cut by Andrew Gulij)

 

[T L]

Re: Yet another blue sapphire engagement ring search thread

That seems like a fair price.

Just get an AGL fast track memo if you can.

Occasionally Gene of precisiongem.com has lovely light blues like that, so I would email him. He gets them from Africa, and he has a very good refund policy. He may have addtional rough. Since Africa allows the export of rough, he fully cuts them.