blue and colored sapphire questions

[trailgrind]

Hello,
I have a couple of different questions to ask as I am new to dealing with gemstones. I am working on designing an engagement ring and have decided to go with 3 different stones, diamond (already purchased flawless .02ct 1.7mm) for sidestones, blue sapphire rounds (preferably diamond cut) for sidestones (still have to purchase), and emerald cut white sapphire (still have to purchase). my questions are in regards to quality, pricing and trustworthiness of vendors.

first, the blue sapphires. i am looking for 1.7mm stones to match the size of the diamonds i have. i want to have a vibrant blue that does not tend toward the purple or green with good clarity and as close to flawless as possible. i have found a few websites that sell a stone in my desired size, plus i can buy from rio grande. rio has an (slightly included)($2.13/stone) AA grade that is the size i am looking for but not one in AAA (eye clean)($9/stone for 2mm). I have found:

http://www.justgemstones.com/natural_sapphire.html has an AAA stone for $9.50/stone

http://www.israel-diamonds.com/product/Sapphire/sg/8289.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fCalibrated%2fSapphires%2fBlue%2fRound.aspx has
an "excellent" calibrated stone for $2.80/stone

http://www.tanzanitegem.com/pricelist/bluesapphireprices.htm has an AAA stone for $14/stone and a SUPER stone for $28/stone

Are these places reputable? I want a sapphire of equivalent quality to my IF diamonds, would any of these stones be close? I feel like $28/stone for a 1.7mm blue sapphire is probably too much. Am i right?


Next, I am trying to find an emerald cut white sapphire that is between 1.25 and 2.5 carats. I have seen prices range from $30 to into the thousands. I want the hardness of the sapphire and am not interested in some other substitute. I am willing to pay a few hundred (but not a thousand) for a truly quality stone but find it difficult to sort thru all the different vendors (including ebay) online with their varying rating systems and comparisons to diamond quality. I want to get the best value for my money (since i don''t have much of it). Can anyone give me some suggestions here?

Thanks in advance to anyone that responds,
Andre

 

[riogems]

Hi Andre -

For the blue sapphires, it sounds like you want a precision cut gem -- this is the main company manufacturing them:

http://www.signity.com/medialib/PriceListNEW/Catalogue_Gemstones_06-07.pdf

They have special machines that precision cut gems in the 1-3mm size range. You will need to find someone who is a reseller. The $28/stone is ridiculous -- that''s $700/carat for accent stones. The precision cut is about as expensive as you can get in the small size range, and they shouldn''t be more than half of that price.

Good luck with your search.

 

[partgypsy]

Who is designing your ring? It is often simpler to have whomever is making your ring also source the stones, and they can get the stones at a vendor discount.

 

[trailgrind]

Part Gypsy,
I am designing the ring. I have a fine arts degree in metal smithing but i don''t work in that field, so i do have a pretty good understanding of material not including gem stones. I have friends that i went to school with that i will have cast one of my waxes but the other i will have to find someone that does titanium casting as you need to cast titanium under a vacuum due to hydrogen contamination. SOOOO, i am doing all the design work and then sub contracting out to get the rest don''t that i don''t have the tools or knowledge to do.
thanks for your responses
Andre