Choose a sapphire for me?

[gailrmv]

sorry, that didn't attach. It is just sitting in a mounting, it's not set. ETA Yikes, that's blurry too. Sorry guys. I take horrible pictures and my computer is not working very well right now (nor is my brain, evidently!)

I'll stop posting horrible pics now, maybe I will try again to get some better ones. I was trying to keep the flash off because I think if the flash is on the sapphire will look a lot better than it does IRL, and I'm trying to show it as it really appears in normal lighting conditions.

 

[innerkitten]

Well it looks good in that mounting. Maybe it has a touch of gray in it and it''s making it darken in certain light? Or maybe it''s the cut? Perhaps you can find something similar in color to this 2.10 trilliant at the bottom of the page. Seems like it might hold up better under different lighting.
http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_blue2.html

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/7/2008 10:08:46 PM
Author: innerkitten
Well it looks good in that mounting. Maybe it has a touch of gray in it and it''s making it darken in certain light? Or maybe it''s the cut? Perhaps you can find something similar in color to this 2.10 trilliant at the bottom of the page. Seems like it might hold up better under different lighting.

http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_blue2.html

Hi Innerkitten - the one in the mounting is a different stone. I posted it to demonstrate the color that I really like! I wish this one that I have now were that color, it would be a done deal.

I returned the one in the mounting only because I am trying to find something bigger! It was just a carat, I''m trying to find 1.5 to 2.0.

Thanks for posting though, I''ll check out that trilliant.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Yeah....it is 817 . I saw that too about the dark thing after I said something about it.

Is that your stone in a setting, the sparkle is amazing. I can see where you would not like the color though. I sent my first sapphire back for the same reason. You can read that old post from and see I was where you are at.

Here is the thing. We are used to round diamonds that are easy to find. Diamonds are not rare, the trade just wants us to think that. So we can usually find what we want. Sapphires are more rare than diamonds. And they are cut overseas. It makes finding the right stone harder.

Here is my thought on what your husband said. Do I think you are being too picky, no! Look at all us the people on here who had sent back sapphires, it happens much more than diamonds. However, I did realize if I was going to get something I was going to have to be more flexable in some areas. I do not think you should give on color and sparkle. But think about the other elements of the stone. Can it be round? Can it be an oval? Can it be 5.5-6mm instead of 7? I think you would make you budget much easier with that size. Also think about your setting. A legacy setting is going to darken a stone more than a setting with a more open bottom, kind of like the ritani endless love. Getting a slightly darker color could help you make you budget, if you thought about changing the setting a little to make it work for that kind of stone.

In the end, when I found my stone, I loved it so much, I knew on the first look. There was not much anyone could say to talk me out of it. That is how you should feel. I will write another post about things I would have done differently.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/7/2008 10:18:34 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker
Yeah....it is 817 . I saw that too about the dark thing after I said something about it.


Is that your stone in a setting, the sparkle is amazing. I can see where you would not like the color though. I sent my first sapphire back for the same reason. You can read that old post from and see I was where you are at.


Here is the thing. We are used to round diamonds that are easy to find. Diamonds are not rare, the trade just wants us to think that. So we can usually find what we want. Sapphires are more rare than diamonds. And they are cut overseas. It makes finding the right stone harder.


Here is my thought on what your husband said. Do I think you are being too picky, no! Look at all us the people on here who had sent back sapphires, it happens much more than diamonds. However, I did realize if I was going to get something I was going to have to be more flexable in some areas. I do not think you should give on color and sparkle. But think about the other elements of the stone. Can it be round? Can it be an oval? Can it be 5.5-6mm instead of 7? I think you would make you budget much easier with that size. Also think about your setting. A legacy setting is going to darken a stone more than a setting with a more open bottom, kind of like the ritani endless love. Getting a slightly darker color could help you make you budget, if you thought about changing the setting a little to make it work for that kind of stone.


In the end, when I found my stone, I loved it so much, I knew on the first look. There was not much anyone could say to talk me out of it. That is how you should feel. I will write another post about things I would have done differently.

Hi Ltlfirecracker,
Thanks for ALL your help so far.

It's not my DH who said I was being too picky. He's been really helpful, actually getting very interested in the process and offering his input but really all he wants is for me to be happy. The comment was from a professional who was in a position to really help me with this process, but I don't want to elaborate. (not my appraiser, either.)

The way you said you felt when you saw your stone - that's how I want to feel. I have had a couple of almosts and a couple of nos. This was an almost.

The one shown in the mounting is what I want my stone to look like. it's one that was sent to me, that I loved, but it was smaller than I wanted so I returned it in hopes of finding something larger. Maybe I should just see if it's still available and buy it if so - it's the best I've seen so far, also the first. It was WELL under budget (like half) and it looked a bit small compared to what I wanted, so I figured I should try to go bigger. Since then, I've realized that the 7mm ish size really suits me. You are right though, something is going to have to give, I guess. What's funny is that I just don't see a lot of what I want. It's not that it's a little over budget - it's that it's not there, at all (at least in my searching.) You are right, it's not like round diamonds that are plentiful and also that are graded in a uniform way so it's easier to know what to expect.

I'm pretty much positive I am going to go with the Endless Love setting, so that will help a lot with the darkening issue, but it is still a halo.

Not sure what I'm going to do next. At least there's no deadline!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

What I would have done differently. I am a numbers and data person. I wish I would have gotten that stuff before hand. I was too nice, I should have been more streight with the sales lady and asked her to find that stuff out for me before I paid for it.

My stone was less expensive than the one I was looking at before I found the feather. It was also bigger, better cut, and equal color. So I asked her why the price difference. She looked at it under a loup and said there is some zoning and a cloud, she did not think they would be eye visable. I put it under the 40x microscope, looked at it. Looked at it by the window, under the spot lights. It looked fine. I bought it. I told you already about that one inclusion, that really is no big deal with the prongs. But 2 weeks after the ring was set, I in the car with my BF and had the ring slopping up on my knee. I found out that that inclusion is just the tip of the cloud that was now saying "hi" to me. I was pretty upset. I was really hoping for a stone with better clarity than that. Now yes, I am probably being obsessive, the inclusions are pretty much only visable to me. And my boyfriend stresses my stone has a nicer color than 90% of the sapphires we looked at and that I did as well as I could with my money. In a way it is good, it is a nice stone and I would have passed it up if I had known. And why should I expect a product of nature to be so perfect?

So next time, I will ask for as much data as I expect when I buy a diamond. And I will shine my pinlight though the back. But this is the learning process right?

ETA: Sorry about saying it was your husband, I read to fast sometimes

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/7/2008 10:32:02 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker
What I would have done differently. I am a numbers and data person. I wish I would have gotten that stuff before hand. I was too nice, I should have been more streight with the sales lady and asked her to find that stuff out for me before I paid for it.


My stone was less expensive than the one I was looking at before I found the feather. It was also bigger, better cut, and equal color. So I asked her why the price difference. She looked at it under a loup and said there is some zoning and a cloud, she did not think they would be eye visable. I put it under the 40x microscope, looked at it. Looked at it by the window, under the spot lights. It looked fine. I bought it. I told you already about that one inclusion, that really is no big deal with the prongs. But 2 weeks after the ring was set, I in the car with my BF and had the ring slopping up on my knee. I found out that that inclusion is just the tip of the cloud that was now saying 'hi' to me. I was pretty upset. I was really hoping for a stone with better clarity than that. Now yes, I am probably being obsessive, the inclusions are pretty much only visable to me. And my boyfriend stresses my stone has a nicer color than 90% of the sapphires we looked at and that I did as well as I could with my money. In a way it is good, it is a nice stone and I would have passed it up if I had known. And why should I expect a product of nature to be so perfect?


So next time, I will ask for as much data as I expect when I buy a diamond. And I will shine my pinlight though the back. But this is the learning process right?

Thanks. That helps me, a lot. I will be sure and get all my questions answered before. Sometimes I feel bad badgering people for the information that I want, but it is a lot of money, and it saves everyone time in the end I think.

For what it's worth, I've looked at your photos a zillion times and all I see is a BEAUTIFUL sapphire. I don't see any clarity issues at all in the pics, to be honest! Still, I understand how you must feel being a science and numbers person. I think a lot of us find PS because we are interested in diamonds and we tend to get really into the cut. From what I'm learning in the colored stones world, color is the key. So if you are happy with the color of your stone (it sounds like you are) it sounds like you've accomplished the most important thing.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/7/2008 10:32:02 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker


ETA: Sorry about saying it was your husband, I read to fast sometimes

No problem, I do the same thing sometimes!

I am so glad that you're on here and have taken the time to share your experience. I feel like you really know what I'm going through since you just went through the same thing, and we seem to have really similar jewelry taste too, and similar budget for this project. Wish we could go sapphire shopping together! Many thanks, again.

Everyone has been so helpful - Frekechild, Harriet, Innerkitten, Linda, just to name a few! Many thanks to you all.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

No problem, its fun to talk about. I think you are my jewelry twin, we like the same things!

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/7/2008 10:47:57 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker
No problem, its fun to talk about. I think you are my jewelry twin, we like the same things!

Yeah, definitely! What else is on your wishlist? I keep saying I''m done after this project, but I think DH and I both know that is not true. I think I want to start collecting colored stones next!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 7/7/2008 10:52:54 PM
Author: TanDogMom

Date: 7/7/2008 10:47:57 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker
No problem, its fun to talk about. I think you are my jewelry twin, we like the same things!

Yeah, definitely! What else is on your wishlist? I keep saying I''m done after this project, but I think DH and I both know that is not true. I think I want to start collecting colored stones next!

An aqua, a "night stone" for low light settings

a ruby (I see this being a long time from now)

Something from Richard Wise (I love his book and website)

As for diamonds, I want to upgrade my erings to 1 tcw, but not anytime soon.

I am thinking about collecting stones too .

Me and my BF also need to make some big dicisions in the next 6 mo to 1 yr. I am going to be moving in a year, he has already told me he wants to come with me. If things go well, that may influence the jewelry I get in the future

but I try not to think about that so much because we are not quite there yet.

What elce do you want?

 

[gailrmv]

That's awesome about your boyfriend - I hope everything continues to go great, and you can make that special piece of jewelry happen when the time is right.

Me too on the earrings - would love to have .50 or .60 in each ear.

I wouldn't mind having some antique jewelry someday, or antique replica. I'd love to have stackable RHRs, some with gemstones. I'd love a tennis bracelet although I don't know if I'd actually wear it. I'd also like some fun, unique, bold silver pieces. And, if I ever manage to get this sapphire ring to happen, I'd love to get earrings to match. Not even sure what I'd want to collect loose stone wise, but maybe some garnets of different colors, an aqua for me as well, and tourmaline... and probably some cool stuff that I don't even know exists yet. I found a really cool italian designer Marco Bicego, and would love to have one of his yellow gold and briollette gemstone necklaces... Oh and how could I forget, diamond hoops of course. The list goes on and on. I won't be getting anything for a VERY long time after this sapphire ring though, unless I win the lottery!

ETA the big thing is that I'd love to have an ideal cut diamond for my e-ring. I don't think we are going to change mine though. If only we had known then what we know now... oh well! Maybe a blingy eternity band? A girl can dream!

ETA again: I hope I don't sound horribly materialistic having such a long wishlist.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/8/2008 12:34:00 AM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 7/8/2008 12:18:55 AM

Author: TanDogMom


You're not honey.. we all have wish lists.. A girl has the right to dream, doesn't she??

Thanks SDL - that's what I think!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 7/8/2008 12:45:51 AM
Author: TanDogMom

Date: 7/8/2008 12:34:00 AM
Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 7/8/2008 12:18:55 AM

Author: TanDogMom


You''re not honey.. we all have wish lists.. A girl has the right to dream, doesn''t she??

Thanks SDL - that''s what I think!

Oh I think we are all like that, I could list way more things I want

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/9/2008 12:07:59 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker

Date: 7/8/2008 12:45:51 AM

Author: TanDogMom

Date: 7/8/2008 12:34:00 AM

Author: SanDiegoLady

Date: 7/8/2008 12:18:55 AM


Author: TanDogMom



You're not honey.. we all have wish lists.. A girl has the right to dream, doesn't she??

Thanks SDL - that's what I think!

Oh I think we are all like that, I could list way more things I want

Thanks, I felt kind of bad reading my post when I listed that I wanted so much...I hope to have keep building my collection but honestly, if I never get any jewelry after this sapphire I will not be upset - I have a nice collection already and I'm really appreciative of that

So I really appreciate you saying that I should think about relaxing some of my parameters but not sacrificing cut and color. The Simply Sapphires stone went back. I've gotten back in touch with the first vendor I was working with and asked them to take another look and explained my parameters that I want and what I am more flexible with. You are right I was trying to have it all within my budget, and something may have to give. I've decided that I like ovals and rectangular cushions not just square. I am sure they will be able to find me something good!

 

[FrekeChild]

Lol TDM-did you see my wishlist??

I''m betting it''s longer than yours!!! Don''t feel materialistic at all!! After all, we''re all right there with you!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Well, I think it will work out for you. Keep us up to date on what you find.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Hey, I don''t know if you have been on artcutgems lately. But there are two really nice sapphires. My favorate color wise is the 1.43 oval. There is a discount, so that may help you out. There is also a killer cushion on the next page, but over budget

 

[gailrmv]

Thanks, Ltlfirecracker! That oval is gorgeous and so is the cushion. It''s out of budget, but maybe not by tooooo much... hmm! I was pretty sure I wanted to get heated for the cost savings, but those are very tempting! Do you know much about the vendor? I have heard their name mentioned but can''t recall much else about them.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I only know about them from online references, but they seem to be very good. I don't think those stones were there when I was looking or elce I would have considered them. There have been other people on here who have bought recently (but not sapphires). They would be better references.

 

[gailrmv]

Thanks - I should do a search! Those are very pretty stones. I''ve got a vendor looking on my behalf, so I want to give them some time to see what they can find before I start ordering more on my own, but I will CERTAINLY short list these. (I asked my vendor about the Palagems stone you suggested too, I think it was number 817 - thanks very much for that! Still waiting to hear on the price of it.)

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Cool, options are good

ETA: The fact that they are "royal blue" probably brings down the price on these, which is not a bad thing (assuming you are ok with royal blue). All the unheated stones I looked at this size were more expensive

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/14/2008 12:42:34 AM
Author: LtlFirecracker
Cool, options are good

ETA: The fact that they are ''royal blue'' probably brings down the price on these, which is not a bad thing (assuming you are ok with royal blue). All the unheated stones I looked at this size were more expensive

So, ''royal blue'' is not so great? I like a lot of different blues, so I''m pretty flexible there, but it is hard to find the right words to describe what I want. I don''t care for the really light ones (for this project) or really dark (especially since I plan to set in a bezel halo), but most anything in the middle is nice. I like purplish blues, pure blues, medium-light blues, even some greenish blues. I especially like when they throw off some red sparkles.

My vendor talked to Palagems, and I found out that the 817 is right within budget (thanks again for that tip!) but is too dark for my preferences. That''s OK, it is good to know and it certainly looked like a good possibility in the pics. Finally I feel like the process is getting fun again (a few weeks ago when I started this thread I was feeling stressed out!)

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Actually, I may have been mistaken. They are not the typical "cornflower blue." But royal blue was the standard color for Burmase sapphires. The color description I have is primary blue with 10-15% purple. That seems pretty good to me! When I was looking for ideas my BF took me to Rodeo Drive after only spending an hour at a really dissopointing gem show we drove 2 hours for. He took me to Cartier (I had never been in one). I think all the sapphires on display were royal blue...they were breathtaking. I also saw a big time movie star trying on jewelry for the Oscars!

I would call about the stones. Ask about brillancy (I would aim for 70-80%), those stones have promise from the pic. I would also ask about saturation and tone, and let them know you are looking for a stone that will not black out in a bezel setting.

You are really staying patient with the whole process, that is a good thing!

 

[LostSapphire]

I don''t know if this helps at all, but:

When I was trying to describe the colour blue I wanted, I e-mailed this website link to Jeff White:

http://crossjewelers.com/sapphire/HowToBuyAsapphire.htm

So when he had a stone in his hand (and they all photograph differently in differentl light so that makes it hard to buy online), he''d try and tell me where on this scale the colour landed.

Then we could pre-filter out the ones that didn''t fall between my desired colour range of "Camelot Blue" and "Royal Blue".

It just kind of narrowed things down without him having to send me stones all the time....

Good luck with this TanDogMom: it is really worth the hunt!

LS

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/15/2008 8:04:35 PM
Author: LtlFirecracker
Actually, I may have been mistaken. They are not the typical 'cornflower blue.' But royal blue was the standard color for Burmase sapphires. The color description I have is primary blue with 10-15% purple. That seems pretty good to me! When I was looking for ideas my BF took me to Rodeo Drive after only spending an hour at a really dissopointing gem show we drove 2 hours for. He took me to Cartier (I had never been in one). I think all the sapphires on display were royal blue...they were breathtaking. I also saw a big time movie star trying on jewelry for the Oscars!


I would call about the stones. Ask about brillancy (I would aim for 70-80%), those stones have promise from the pic. I would also ask about saturation and tone, and let them know you are looking for a stone that will not black out in a bezel setting.


You are really staying patient with the whole process, that is a good thing!

Hi Ltlfirecracker! So, where do you find out the color description with the 10-15% purple? That sounds very helpful. I wish I had a better handle on what exactly cornflower refers to. Can most vendors tell you about the % of brilliancy? I have not come across that yet from any vendor or website. Does it refer to the amount of white sparkles coming off, like a diamond - or what exactly does it refer to? It would be great if I could get more quantitative info. I am a numbers person too.

I am glad you had fun on Rodeo drive! Thats very cool that you saw a movie star in there!!! I love going to the high end jewelry stores too even though I feel out of place sometimes. DH and I spent a very boring for him/exciting for me day in the diamond district and then the big stores on 5th avenue in NYC a few months ago. I was just starting to learn about sapphires then, so I was concentrating more on the style of ring/setting that I liked. Now I wish I had concentrated more on the sapphires themselves! Sorry the gem show was disappointing. I've been to a few locally, and never bought much either. I didn't feel very confident in my ability to choose a good stone or detect a good or bad price. Maybe I will know more this year.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 7/15/2008 8:39:03 PM
Author: LostSapphire
I don't know if this helps at all, but:


When I was trying to describe the colour blue I wanted, I e-mailed this website link to Jeff White:


http://crossjewelers.com/sapphire/HowToBuyAsapphire.htm


So when he had a stone in his hand (and they all photograph differently in differentl light so that makes it hard to buy online), he'd try and tell me where on this scale the colour landed.


Then we could pre-filter out the ones that didn't fall between my desired colour range of 'Camelot Blue' and 'Royal Blue'.


It just kind of narrowed things down without him having to send me stones all the time....


Good luck with this TanDogMom: it is really worth the hunt!


LS

Lost Sapphire,
That helps a LOT actually. Thank you for sending it. Going from the chart, my preferred color range is the same as yours - camelot blue or royal blue would be great with me. I am still trying to chase down the elusive "cornflower" blue that everyone keeps talking about - I wonder where that falls in the spectrum. I'm also OK with some purple. Gemstones are hard to shop for, aren't they?!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

You know, I thought I saw the discription online somewhere, but I couldn''t find it. So I went to my richard wise book, and he happened to define it. Wildfish gems and Cherrypicked are the only sites I know that really gives you numbers about the stones. But the stones that you would want are kind of pricy. But other good vendors should beable to give you that information.

Instead of asking for "buzzwords" on sapphires ask about the primary and secondary colors. For example, my apprisal report states that my sapphire is mostly blue with some purple.

Here are some great references for learning Saphire grading 101

GIA color wheel

Gotta go to work!