Blue Sapphire Help

[nwcornflake]

Hi, I have been reading the forum for a while and thought I would finally post asking for some help. I am looking to purchase a blue sapphire to have set in a ring for my wife. I am not looking to spend a huge amount on the sapphire (less than $500 preferably), so just looking for a reasonably nice sapphire that is cut well. I found the sapphire in the attached pictures on one of the sites that I have seen recommended on here, and was wondering what people think of it. Thanks for any help!

 

[Pandora II]

Looks nice, what are the specs?

 

[nwcornflake]

1.13 carats, 6.7 x 4.4 x 4.1 mm deep, Clarity is VVs2, Cut is Native step cut pavilion brilliant crown, and treatment it did have basic heat (price is under $300).

I do not exactly know what is a reasonable price on a sapphire like this, I just thought it looked pretty nice and was in my price range but wasn't sure if I could find something much better or not.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I like the color but not the shape. It is a little too skinny. A fatter oval works better for a ring unless you plan to set it east-west, and then it would just depend on the setting. I almost feel like in the lower price ranges, you might come out better financially finding a ring already made since settings are so high right now.

 

[NKOTB]

I like the colour, and that vendor tends to have some of the more reasonable prices around, but I am also not crazy about the cut/shape. Then again, I'm not an oval girl.

 

[nwcornflake]

Thank you for your comments. Where would you suggest looking for an already made ring as I am not opposed to that. Ovals are one of the few shapes my wife is open to, which is why this one caught my eye, although she also likes round.

 

[NKOTB]

Mastergoldcraft on Etsy has quite a selection:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mastergoldcraft

 

[nwcornflake]

Thank you, lots of nice looking rings on there. What do you think of either of these even though they aren't sapphires? I have also asked about getting a sapphire set in one of these settings as I like the way they look.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84809167/8x6mm-094-ct-iolite-with-14-cts-of

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84809167/8x6mm-094-ct-iolite-with-14-cts-of

Thanks

 

[Aoife]

Thank you, lots of nice looking rings on there. What do you think of either of these even though they aren't sapphires? I have also asked about getting a sapphire set in one of these settings as I like the way they look.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84809167/8x6mm-094-ct-iolite-with-14-cts-of

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84809167/8x6mm-094-ct-iolite-with-14-cts-of

Thanks

I like iolite, but if you are looking for a blue sapphire, iolite is unlikely to satisfy you. They simply do not look the same IRL. In addition, the cut on these particular iolites does not look very good.

Have you looked at http://www.simplysapphires.com/index.html? They currently have a sale running.

Edta: The original sapphire you posted, IMO, is a much better bet than the iolites. In addition, in my experience, the gemstones I have bought from Dana always, always look better in person than they do in his photos.

 

[Pandora II]

Iolite is IMO not suitable for a ring - it's very brittle. I also happen to think that 99.9% of iolites are really quite icky looking.

 

[NKOTB]

I believe Stephen (I think that's his name, from Mastergoldcraft?), as well as having a large inventory of his own stones (so may have a sapphire you like) is open to setting your stone, so you could always get the stone from Dana and send it to Mastergoldcraft.