Blue Glow

[wakingdreams53]

Hello all!
Well, I've officially converted! I no longer want a diamond center stone for my engagement ring, hah.
I love blues with a hint of green, but mainly I just love a glowing stone.
Gem select has some awesome topazes, but for fun I decided to look at some sapphires.


Is there any other stone that has that type of glow? Internal radiance thats just mouth-wateringly gorgeous? Do you think that stone would have much extinction, since it does have some dark spots-- I'll ask, but was wondering what the CS consensus would be.

Here's the topaz I've been admiring, but after seeing that sapphire, idk which I like more.


Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[KarenFe]

I am so new here that I don't know much at all, but I suspect the sapphire would be better as an e-ring since it's a 9 on the MOHs scale and the topaz is something less than that.

I tend to like lighter colors though so I like the lighter stone personally.

They are both pretty though.....

 

[Pandora II]

I wouldn't recommend topaz for an e-ring as it's not very hard or durable. The colour is also due to irradiation so you need to think about whether you mind having a nuked stone...

As for glow in stones, the only ones I know of that truly glow are the absolute best of blue sapphires (of the famed true Kashmir ilk) and some top quality Paraiba tourmalines.

Otherwise it depends what you mean by glow. If you want something that sparkles then a well cut sapphire is probably your best bet (althought it won't be the kind of sparkle you associate with diamonds).

I would recommend seeing as many stones in person as you can. Many look different in different lights and may not always look like they do in a photo with a certain kind of light. Not to say that they look bad, on the contrary, but you need to know how different types will perform and what is important to you in that regard.

It also depends what your budget is.

 

[LD]

I agree with Pandora that a sapphire is a much better idea for an e-ring. However, sapphires of the colour you've linked to are very difficult to find. Unfortunately what may look bright/neon in a photo may not when you get it home. You can see the one you've linked to is not dissimilar in colour to the one below, however, I can't tell you how many I saw that when they arrived didn't stand up to the Vendor's photo. Hopefully that's not the case but just wanted to prepare you. As Pandora says, you need to see quite a lot to guage the differences and some will look better than others in different lighting conditions. As a benchmark, it took me over 5 years to find the one below. The reason for this is that it holds its colour in almost every form of lighting and it literally glows.

For a real neon stone, Paraiba Tourmalines are unsurpassed but the material is exceptionally hard to find AND if you find one with good clarity/cut etc., then the price tends to zoom up.

 

[wakingdreams53]

Thank you all for your responses!!

Pandora, you're right. Well Topaz is an 8 on Moh's, I wear an emerald (although tiny) daily and it's fine. It being nuked is fine, I actually came across them when I was searching irradiated blue diamonds. So as long as its nuked but no longer emitting radiation, I'm cool with it, heh.

Wow LovingDiamonds, 5 years?! I don't have a time line/limit, but 5 years?!?!
That's a beauty you've got there! That neon glow is so mesmerizing!
I love the Paraiba tourmalines, but they're very difficult to find and I'd be afraid to wear such a gorgeous "soft" tourmaline daily.

This all started when I saw this stone: http://www.faycullen.com/Engagement-Rings/9032/
But with Fay Cullen's awful reputation and terrible refund/return policy, I started searching for a nicer, brighter, more durable stone.

I'm contacting GemSelect about that sapphire. Is $1265 an alright price for a 1.45ct (6.62 x 4.21mm) stone?

I'm embarassingly new to all of this, I live in NYC, where can I go view gemstones?

Our budget for a diamond was ~2000. Total budget is 3k and thats still pushing it. (especially since now I have my eye on a greenlake's design, which I can't afford with a CZ )

 

[Arkteia]

Heated or unheated?

If heated, I would not pay it. Unheated, I'd be deliberating, make a bookmark and search around. GemSelect is a good company return-wise and I bought several spessartites from them. They all differed in color and cut, in general, I'd day that they were more windowed than it looked in photos and slightly darker. But I never bought sapphires so I can not say how the color of their sapphires matches the reality.

On a side note - personally, I was not impressed by that Santa Maria aquamarine. Again, different vendors represent their colors differently, and I am not an aqua girl at all, but if I were, here is what I would look at.

http://www.africagems.com/aq0ca13.html

From my experience, the websites in Marc's website are true to life.

Sorry, I know you are looking for a sapphire but you gave a link to aqua and I decided to post it. He has other shapes and larger stones in discount section, too.

 

[wakingdreams53]

Crasru, it's heated. http://www.gemselect.com/sapphire/sapphire-256071.php

My only concern is that they're located in Thailand. That's what worries me about returns, but I'm glad you've had good experiences doing so. I'm enjoying Wish Fish Gem's selection, totally in love with this color: http://wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/12806 though I'm not the biggest heart-shape fan.

 

[Pandora II]

It's not just the Mohs - which only represents the ability to resist scratching. Topaz has perfect cleavage - which makes it much more fragile than emerald.

On the upside, it's cheap as chips so if you smash it it will be easy to replace.

 

[wakingdreams53]

Oh Crasru, I didn't see that you posted an aqua-- thats a really sweet color. It's not that I'm looking for a sapphire, I just want something that'll hold up to every day wear and is a glowy blue/green/teal color.

Pandora, I didn't know that about Topaz. Chipping is one thing, but more fragile than an emerald? Seems more of a "look-but-don't-touch," although I do have a topaz ring, but its in sterling silver and I don't wear it often. But still, good to know. Thank you!!

Initially I was looking at aquas, then tourmalines, then topazes, now sapphires. "Cheap as chips but severely fragile" doesn't interest me. I'd like a stone that wouldn't be too hard to replace, but not one I need to be prepared to replace... if that makes any sense.

 

[iLander]

You're in NYC and you've never been to 47th street? Seriously?

They don't just have diamonds, they also have gem stones, but it's hard to know who to trust in terms of treated versus untreated, etc. But you can definitely see a wide variety of stones there so you can see what's available.

I bought a setting from ID jewelry on 47th, and I loved it. They have stones, but nothing jumped out at me. They are trustworthy.

You might look here for a stone : http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_blue.html and then take it to ID Jewelry for the setting. They'll give you a decent deal.

 

[marymm]

Gemfix posted some new gemstones, and I'm in love with two of the Montana sapphires -- 6th & 7th rows, far right pics - on this page: http://www.gemfix.com/newest_gems.html - the blue looks like it has the intensity you're looking for, but that blue-green below it has an appealing and unusual color... (If I could afford it, I'd buy both of them, but sadly I have to put off my Montana sapphire hunt for a couple of months)

 

[tefutefu]

Ermmm... A bit off topic but LovingDiamonds...
That sapphire!!!
IMHO, 5 years was definitely worth it!!!

 

[chrono]

The Gemfix sapphire seems really expensive for a heated stone! Then again, maybe it is really saturated and thus glows. No way to tell unless you see it in person. Topaz isn't that bad for an everyday wear stone. It is easy to find, inexpensive and easy to replace since you aren't fussed on the irradiated treatment.

 

[Pandora II]

I think topaz is fine for an occasional wear ring and great for pendants, brooches and earrings - it's got a great lustre and sparkle to it. It's also oriented in such a way as to minimise the risk of cleaving during cutting. But for an e-ring I would go with something tougher.

I have a tsavorite garnet for my e-ring which is a 7.5 on the Mohs but garnets (other than demantoid) are pretty tough stones due to their crystal structure - they don't have cleavage planes. You can chip and scratch them but you won't end up with 2 stones if you whack them in the wrong place.

Also depend how you intend to wear your ring. My personal opinion is that no jewellery should be worn 24/7 - even diamonds can chip - sleeping in your rings can damage the prongs and setting and bathing in your rings results in them getting gunked up with soap. My grandmother has a sapphire in her e-ring which is 20 years old (she smashed up the original opal) - I believe it was originally faceted but it is now a cabochon due to her doing housework and gardening in it!

My e-ring lives in its box along with my w-band unless I am going out or have people round for dinner etc - even then I take it off to cook, do the dishes etc. Finding a great coloured stone can be a long hunt and they aren't replaceable like diamonds are. You can re-buy an F VS2 1.50ct rb in about 2 hours, finding an identical tsavorite to fit my setting in the same colour could take months so I baby it.

If you want to wear your ring most of the time then sapphire is the best choice if you want a blue stone. If you have a big budget you could also hunt down a blue spinel but the very blue ones are expensive and most show a lot of grey which some people like but doesn't do it for me.

 

[wakingdreams53]

Marymm, OMG, that sapphire (Montana Sapphire "Roulette" Cut Weight: 1.53 ct) is beyond perfect! Chrono's right, it is expensive for heat treatment, but the gemselect one is still more expensive by $262.06. Wowy wow is that an absolutely gorgeous stone! Thank you!

Sadly last night I found out that my search was preemtive. But nonetheless, I would still love to own a beautiful gemstone, so bf/fiancé or not, I can buy it myself.

Pandora, I totally get what you're saying. After I realized that my prongs were wearing close to non-existent ( ) I've been taking it off at night and everywhere-- so I'm much better than I used to be (I wore that ring EVERYWHERE-- beach, ocean, pool, bath, but not dishes haha-- for almost 2 years).

Again, thank you all so much! And lol, iLander, sorry, I'm embarassingly new to this, I'll visit 47th soon.

 

[FrekeChild]

It's not just the Mohs - which only represents the ability to resist scratching. Topaz has perfect cleavage - which makes it much more fragile than emerald.

On the upside, it's cheap as chips so if you smash it it will be easy to replace.

Don't let Pandora scare you off topaz too much--diamonds also have perfect cleavage!

 

[Harriet]

Brittleness and type of cleavage are different characteristics. Quartz, e.g., has indistinct cleavage but is brittle.

 

[wakingdreams53]

Freke, does that mean I have to fear diamonds too?! lol there's no winning!

I just bought this: http://www.gemselect.com/topaz/topaz-283481.php
It reminded me most of that AMAZING Montana sapphire-- since it's buy me for me now, might as well test the waters before I shell out 1k.

 

[Pandora II]

It's not just the Mohs - which only represents the ability to resist scratching. Topaz has perfect cleavage - which makes it much more fragile than emerald.

On the upside, it's cheap as chips so if you smash it it will be easy to replace.

Don't let Pandora scare you off topaz too much--diamonds also have perfect cleavage!

They do, but there is also a qualifier: ease of cleavage.

Diamonds have perfect cleavage in 4 directions - parallel to the octohedral planes - but it is a difficult cleavage. Topaz has basal cleavage - parallel to the basal pinacoid - but it has easy cleavage and is more brittle (ultrasonics and steam cleaning are not something I would personally do to any of my topaz).

The most likely time to have an issue is during cutting or setting, but you should aim for a protective setting with topaz and I still wouldn't chose it for a frequent wear ring.

In no way am I trying to say that topaz melts under your very gaze or anything of that ilk. Most gemstones take a fair amount of abuse otherwise they'd never even get through the cutting process. But, it would be a shame for someone to have a stone in their e-ring which probably holds a lot of sentimental value and not be aware of the possible shortcomings of the material.

If the OP just wanted a cocktail ring then I would say full steam ahead on HMS Topaz and save my cautions for things like peridot and sphalerite etc

Wakingdreams - Yes you can split your diamond in two if you whack it in exactly the right place - diamond's perfect cleavage and directional hardness is what makes it possible to cut in the first place. I believe that around 1% of diamonds chip or break during setting, the risk being greater with shapes with pointy corners like princess cuts.

 

[wakingdreams53]

Thank you all for your knowledgeable answers.

I've received the topaz.... but its much darker than I had anticipated... and the window bugs me MUCH more than I thought possible. I know that setting it "closes" it up a bit, but I did a temp viewing in a setting, and its just as bad.

Update: I should've heeded the warning of Topaz being soft. Never did I imagine it being softer than a CZ... which I should've. As I was taking picture of it in a temp setting, it fell.... chipped. I guess there's no returning it now. Damn. Well, this'll be my lesson #1 in topaz.

 

[LD]

Oh no what a shame. Are you going to go back to on the hunt for a sapphire?

 

[wakingdreams53]

LovingDiamonds, I think I'll stick with sapphires for my craving of blue. I'll bezel this piece (as I've realized that nonetheless, 7.59mm is too big for a round stone for me as a ring) as a pendant one day. It still has some nice blue tones in the right light.
I come back to this thread just to see your sapphire! One day I'll find a stone of that color-- and at the rate I'm going, 5 years is practically the minimum!

Although I kind of dream to one day have a true blue spinel with no grey modifiers

 

[wakingdreams53]

Q for LovingDiamonds

Hey LD, I was wondering, how big is your sapphire? And if you wouldn't mind sharing (I respect if you don't!) where did you get it?