Help a newbie out with a blue sapphire purchase :)

[ChrisA222]

Airplay, Im not offended...but thanks for saying that

The Tanjik Spinel is nice too, a softer pink vs the bright neon/hot pink. Both nice, but very different. I like that you are onto Spinel (even if its not the one I posted, lol) because Its a great alternative to a Sapphire if you find the right one at a price you can work with.

 

[chrono]

A lighter more delicate pink will always be priced less than a neon pink. It doesn't mean it is less pretty though; just a different flavour. The cutting on that Tajik spinel is going to make it a dazzler.

 

[Starzin]

It also looks to be a truly beautiful lighter pink

 

[airplay355]

I just e-mailed about the lighter pink one. This might be it! It is listed as reserved so I'm going to try not to get too excited about it.

I know she loves the color of the Mahenge spinels, I don't think she would like it as much for an engagement ring. It might be too flashy for every day wear even though it's verrrrry pretty.

 

[ChrisA222]

Nice!!

The other benefit of the lighter-toned Spinels, is that sometimes you get some nice spectral dispersion. That means you will get multi-colored "fire", depending on the lighting. Spinel has much better dispersion than does Sapphire. I don't own a Neon Mahenge, so I don't know if they do this, but I do own a light-toned lavender Spinel, that does. Also my dark Violet-Purple shifting Spinel shows some dispersion which surprised me since its a pretty dark stone. I love Spinel.

You will have to check it out and let us know!

 

[minousbijoux]

Airplay, I think you've chosen well. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much more dispersion and sparkle you'll get from the spinel than from the sapphire. Personally, while I have some of each, I much prefer the pastel pinks over the neon Mahenges; with Mahenges. You primarily get vibrant COLOR, and with the subtler hues, if its a good, well cut one (like Brad's typically are), they lull you into an "Aww, that's such a pretty, sweet color, and then Zap you with all the fireworks...

 

[airplay355]

Ok, so here's the one I got now. Not the same as the one I posted before but it's larger, cheaper and more importantly available. What do you guys think?

Its a pink Spinel, 2.18ct, $436.

 

[LD]

I love it. I also think that a Mahenge for an e-ring may be ok now whilst fashionable but it may lose its appeal. This stone I don't think will. Very very pretty and I love that you can see apricots in the pink also.

 

[minousbijoux]

Hah! Its kinda funny with the name of this thread seeing what you're likely to end up with! Anyway, I think the stone is lovely. Please report in on its sparks.

 

[airplay355]

From blue sapphire to pink spinel I've learned a lot since then thanks to everyone here! I'll take pictures when it comes in, hopefully the search is over for now!

 

[chrono]

Is this bigger one on its way to you already? I was about to ask you to request that Brad photograph them side by side. Why this one over the other one?

 

[airplay355]

The bigger one is on it's way! The smaller one is in someone else's hands right now and they might be keeping it. Plus, I tricked the GF into looking at both of them side by side to see which one she liked more and she liked the peachy larger one more. She doesn't know it's the one I'm getting because I constantly show her pictures and ask for her opinion. She likes to go "shopping" together. That's perfectly fine with me because I get to find out exactly what she likes. I'll keep showing her more even though I've bought this one to confuse her further

 

[Jereni]

That's a pretty stone you found! Can't wait to see your pics of it

 

[chrono]

Ooh.....devious!

 

[Starzin]

Ooh.....devious!

Agreed

 

[airplay355]

Got the stone today. It's BEAUTIFUL! Color is just what I wanted, cut is perfect, no visible inclusions. It's definitely a keeper. Even in dark indoor lighting it stays a pretty pink. The orange only shows up in darker light and the baby pink color in bright light. When the lighting is perfect you can see both colors together and that's THE BEST. It's a deep stone so there's a tiny bit of extinction and there's a tiny little imperfection towards the edge, but that's just me being picky. For the price I paid, I couldn't expect anything better. The last stone, the more I looked at it, the more I didn't like it. With this one, the more I look at it, the more I love it. I'll take microscope pics when I can The vendor picture is very fair and accurate though. No surprises about chips/scratches or a hazy center this time!!

For a setting, I'm thinking about this one http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Mountings/Rings/Pave/stoneid=JS45PL

I decided I really want palladium for the setting. Cheaper than platinum but rarer, stronger and lighter. Thoughts?

 

[minousbijoux]

What a TEASE! Where are the photos?!!

That is great that you love it - I totally love it when you fall more and more in love with a stone the more you look at it. Congrats.

 

[Starzin]

Happy to hear it's a lovely stone and can't wait to see your pics of it.

 

[chrono]

Brad tells you as it is; both the good and bad about the stone. He's actually dissuaded me from stones before knowing it'll be too dark for me, and suggest alternatives. Congrats on finding the e-ring stone so quickly and easily.

 

[airplay355]

I didn't forget about you guys! Here are the pictures. I'm a very bad photographer but I tried I also don't have a macro lens so I'm stuck using an old dissecting microscope.

Seems like there are plenty of inclusions at 10x but I don't care much. The stone is eye clean, sparkly and a beautiful color. That's good enough for me!

What do you guys think? Feel free to voice negative opinions, I won't be offended.

 

[minousbijoux]

It looks like a very nice stone. I for one am not used to seeing stones photographed under a microscope, so its a bit hard to be sure, but I don't think I see anything that would alarm me. It looks like you have tiny negative crystals, none of which would be visible to the naked eye. The color looks great -though I can't tell if there may be zoning, but I'll assume not and that its just a trick of the closeup. The cutting looks good and you have a high crown which will make it sparkle even more. All in all, what's not to love? I think you did very well. Congrats!

 

[airplay355]

Thanks for the compliments! The color zoning effect is from having two separate light sources at different angles. The light source for this scope are adjustable fiber optic cables so the lighting is definitely not uniform. The stone is a solid rose pink color the majority of the time. I'm just a terrible photographer I tried again, using my iPhone instead of the DSLR. Seems to have worked alright.

Thanks for the compliments! I think it's a good starter stone for me and will be a great e ring. I can upgrade her to an Argyle diamond or something later on in life.

 

[chrono]

Spinels, unlike sapphires, never show colour zoning. I think what we are seeing is the effect of having 2 different types of light sources at the same time.

 

[minousbijoux]

Spinels, unlike sapphires, never show colour zoning.

Learned something new today!

 

[LD]

You may want to reconsider using palladium. I had a pair of earrings made in palladium (to keep down costs) and hate it! It's very grey looking. I've had them rhodium plated to make them whiter but they still never look like white gold or platinum. I'll never use it again.

Looking at your stone, I'm doubly sure I wouldn't go with it because you have a warm gem with a cold colour metal - not sure it'd work.

 

[airplay355]

Hmm I'll definitely consider ditching palladium. I don't like the idea of gold so much because it's such a blend of metals. I'll go with platinum if I don't like palladium. Thanks for the tip!

 

[ChrisA222]

Airplay, Platinum is a cold-colored metal too. LD means that you'd want to go with yellow gold, or rose gold, as those are considered "warm" colors for gold.

This is all pretty new to me, too!

 

[Starzin]

I think your microscope pics are confusing us all but the hand shot is lovely - pretty and sparkly. Congratulations again

 

[airplay355]

Yea the microscope pics are very crappy I'm embarrassed of my terrible photography skills. I couldn't get the camera to focus on the stone to save my life, so I just went with those.

I'm kind of put off by the gold alloys like rose gold and white gold and I we both don't like the look of yellow gold. I like the rarity of platinum and palladium and the fact that they are 95% pure. The idea is a ring like this. What do you guys think?

 

[chrono]

Of course ultimately it is your choice but like LD, I am concerned the coldness of a white metal (white gold, platinum and palladium) will take away from the beautiful soft warmth of the peachy spinel. Since you have the stone in your hand now, you can do a quick test. Nestle the spinel in a puddle of white metal necklace, then in something with yellow gold to see which one appeals to you. I understand you perfectly about 14K being so low in gold content but it is a colour more suited to the spinel.

Does anyone know the quality of NSC's settings? I have no idea which is why I am asking. Will NSC be setting your stone or a local jeweller?