Earrings

[pregcurious]

I've always wanted 1 ct total weight diamond stud earrings, but I don't want the responsibility of wearing over $2K in my ears. Should I look for white sapphire? I asked about how brilliant white sapphire can be in the other gemology forum, and I was surprised to read that when cut well, they can be very sparkly.

Any suggestions on where to source round white sapphires?

 

[chrono]

Are white zircons out of the question?

 

[pregcurious]

I would prefer white sapphires because these earrings are going to be work horses. I know they're earrings, so zircons should be safe, but I imagine throwing them in my purse.

 

[marymm]

I don't think even well-cut white sapphire stud earrings will give you the performance you're looking for, if you hope to approximate diamonds. I'd go with White Zircons myself if diamonds aren't an option.

That said, neither white sapphire nor white zircons are very expensive - you could pick up a pair of both and have them set into basic stud settings, and then test out both pairs yourself. Whichever you decide you prefer, even if you have to periodically replace the stones, the settings should hold up.

 

[chrono]

White sapphires are still going to need very frequent cleaning else they look cloudy by the end of the day.

 

[enbcfsobe]

Insurance and locking earring backs? If not diamond, I'd also lean toward zircon -- if they chip they aren't that pricey to replace. Or maybe this is a good use for a lab grown stone?

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks DK, Chrono, enbcfsobe.

Has anyone tried this?

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,


I am actually glad this topic has been brought up. I gave a 6 and a half mm pr of earrings as a gift to a friend, about 4 yrs ago. She still wears them and they look very nice. Oh, they were set in 14 kt gold. Total cost under 100.00

Last nite I watched JTV, and they showed zircon jewelry in 10 kt gold for the first time ever.(Ithink) A three stone 7mm each for( 4.75 cts) 299.00.
A three stone, also 7mm, in a necklace, which I didn't care for at 279.00and best of all a pair of emerald cut earrings 2+ ctw at 139.00.

I don't understand why people don't use the white zircon as a substitute for diamond earrings. I have 2 prs of diamond earrings(not studs and when I look at the cost of 2 carat studs-my mouth drops.
Preg. Carry a small plastic bag and put it in your purse. 15 seconds to put the earrings in the bag. You can get nice big ones.

Annette

 

[pregcurious]

Smitcompton, thanks for the recommendation! I will look into JTV. At that price, it is worth taking a risk.

 

[iLander]

I just did earrings for my DD with blue sapphires.

I got the sapphires from Jerry at Gemart services (he has a bunch of pairs, different shades of blue), the pair were under $150, and then I sent them to IDJewelry to set. They set them in 14K white gold martini settings for $125.

They are gorgeous, and she wears them constantly. They sparkle, but not as much as diamonds. I think the issue with white sapphires is that they tend to have a little bit of a tint, it's hard to find a 100% clear pair.

Jerry had some white zircons on his website, beautiful shape, but they're sold. It's worth asking him if he has more rough.

 

[EvangelineG]

White sapphires are still going to need very frequent cleaning else they look cloudy by the end of the day.

This. I have white sapphire studs. I got them inexpensively off of LT to test out whether I wanted diamond studs. They are quite pretty, of course in no way approach the sparkle of diamonds, but I feel are very pretty in their own right, but they need cleaning all the time or they lose the sparkle they do have very quickly.

 

[dk168]

How about silver spinel?

Here is a pic of a single precision cut silver spinel from the pair I bought from Jeff Davies next to my near 0.5ct G/H diamond stud:



I bought the spinel pair with the intention to bezel-set them so that they can be worn with my larger diamond earring jackets, as my diamond studs at 6mm diameter in their settings are too small for them.

However, they do not go well with the jackets due to significant difference in colour and level of sparkles. They are likely to end up being side stones in a ring with a CS instead, as they are too small as earrings on their own (I need 10mm minimum as studs due to my big fat earlobes).

DK

 

[swissmiss]

another vote for white zircon. White sapphires seem to have a bit of a tint for the most part and I don't know if they're going to give you the sparkle you desire.

 

[pregcurious]

iLander and Evangeline, thanks for the tips on white sapphires.

DK, thanks for your pick. I never considered white spinel.

Swissmiss, thanks for your vote for zircon.

 

[PieAreSquared]

Another vote for white zircons!
They have a refractive index that rivals diamond.
Ditto on the little ziploc bag too.

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks Pi(r^2).

 

[enbcfsobe]

If you'd like something fancier/more protective than a ziploc maybe something like this:

http://www.jewelrydisplay.com/browse.cfm/2704p-deluxe-button-suede-pouch/4,4114.html

 

[partgypsy]

I wonder if someone has an extensive gem collection, to put
next to each other colorless/white
sapphire, topaz, zircon, and spinel. There may be more but those are off the top of my head. Personally if I didn't care about having a natural stone would go crystal for the fun/price factor.

 

[dk168]

My Jeff White 10.14mm White Topaz, most likely to end up being a single stone bangle:



I showed it to one of my colleagues and she thought it was a diamond, bless her!

DK

 

[pregcurious]

Enbcfsobe, that's a great idea!

Partgypsy, sometimes I am tempted to go the uber cheap route.

DK, that is gorgeous.

 

[texaskj]

Oh.

My.

Word.


I'm surprised all of you didn't hear the forehead slap I gave myself when I read this thread. pregcurious, I can't thank you enough for throwing the question out there about earrings. I've been wanting a martini-set pendant, figuring out what to sell to help finance it and you've all figured it out for me. A zircon would be perfect!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,


I wish to make one correction after having thought of it. One bag for the earrings won't work. The zircons will rub against each other and become scratched and abraded. So, two separate baggies, please.


Annette

 

[pregcurious]

Texaskj I'm glad this was helpful!
Smitcompton, good point! I will probably just not take them off.

I found some affordable diamond fashion earrings from Gabriel & co. I may go this route if I can keep it ~$500

 

[pregcurious]

Who ever is in charge of naming gemstones should rename zircon. I was talking to someone about my earrings and they couldn't get past zircon not being cubic zirconium.

 

[missy]

Who ever is in charge of naming gemstones should rename zircon. I was talking to someone about my earrings and they couldn't get past zircon not being cubic zirconium.

Hehe, that's ok because that leaves more of the zircons to those who appreciate them.