Blue sapphire help (where to buy and pricing)

[lostduke]

Hi
I've been lurking for some time and I've read the stickied posts, which were very helpful, but I'm still feeling overwhelmed, so I would love some direction for more research.

I'm going through Green lake jewelry works for the ring and I'm planning to get something very similar to this setting.
http://www.greenlakejewelry.com/gallery/gallery_detail.aspx?ImgID=56680

For, the center stone, I'm looking for a 5.5-6.0mm round blue sapphire. Medium tone, fairly saturated.

I went in recently to see several stones, and the one I preferred most was ~$3200, 5.98mm, and 1.1carats. I don't have any other information on the stone. What other information would be important to ask for? An AGL report?

I looked at gemfix, the natural sapphire company, and a few other places from the CS vendor list, and I definitely feel like the pricing is much higher than I would expect for what I think is a comparable stone. They do charge a setting fee, but I think it would still be cheaper to fine a stone online. Any other suggestions on where to look? I was overwhelmed by the vendor list. My budget is < $3000. Any other advice would be welcome. Thank you!

 

[NKOTB]

Gemfix's 1101 and 1106 look promising? I love that setting, love Green Lake. I thought I'd read in a past thread that they charge a lot for setting a stone, so one way to cut costs is to have someone local set it, if you know someone good.

 

[lostduke]

Thank you! 1101 and 1106 do look good. I was on autopilot and I forgot to say that I started out with 5.5-6.0mm in mind, but after seeing the stones in person, I think my ideal size would be ~5.7-5.8. I have small fingers (3.75) and I felt the 5.98mm stone was almost too big, so I wanted to search some other sites and see what other options are out there.

That's a good idea! I don't know where I would get the ring set, but I shall do some research.

 

[carmen1]

Maybe this unheated 5.7mm sapphire

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Royal-Blue-...9983?pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item1c3a0db08f

 

[pregcurious]

I would get at least an AGL GemBrief to confirm that the stone is as claimed (e.g. level of treatment). Gemfix seems to have a decent selection of sapphires, but I would also look at Mastercut Gems for their Anagee line.

 

[chrono]

$3200 for a 1 carat blue sapphire is expensive. I would find out whether it is treated and would want a lab report to prove it. In any case, I would shop elsewhere and have GreenLake set it. I think their setting fee for a single stone shouldn't be that bad ($100? $200?), given that it is a bezel setting and the fit has to be very precise, unlike a prong setting.

If you have any example pictures of sapphires that speaks to you, please post it as it would allow us to make better suggestions. I presume rounds only?

Gary Braun of Fine Water Gems - www.finewatergems.com
Andrew Gulij of Gemfix - www.gemfix.com
Constantin Wild - www.gemstone.de
Lisa Elser - www.lisaelser.com
Gem Line - www.litnon.com
Dana of Master Cut Gems - www.mastercutgems.com
David Wein of Multicolour Gems - www.multicolour.com
Roger Dery of Spectral Gems - www.spectralgems.net
Jeff Davies of Fine Gemstones and Jewelry- http://stores.ebay.com/finegemstonesandjewelry

 

[lostduke]

Thank you for the links. I'm certain now that I'm not going to get the stone through Green Lake. I am looking for round sapphires. I've attached pictures of a few sapphires that I liked. I like the color of . I like the brilliance and color of and , but I also liked glowiness of .

At the moment, I don't see any in my size range that I'm interested in on these sites. I was wondering if what I'm looking for is not too common and I need to adjust my requirements or if I should contact someone directly. I have no set timeline.

 

[chrono]

For a stone that is to be bezeled, I would not start off with a darker toned stone. "The Bomb" is a bit dark so I would presume that its little sister would also be dark and may not be a good bezel candidate. The same goes for the last stone (Blue 1145).