Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge..

[minousbijoux]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

LD,
Your stone puts this one to shame (at least in every photo I've ever seen of this famous gem ). I hate to say this, but THIS (below) is NOT what you want your sapphire to do in artificial light.

I agree, but no real comparison - when does the Diana/Kate stone not black out?

 

[T L]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

LD,
Your stone puts this one to shame (at least in every photo I've ever seen of this famous gem ). I hate to say this, but THIS (below) is NOT what you want your sapphire to do in artificial light.

I agree, but no real comparison - when does the Diana/Kate stone not black out?

I don't get it, maybe all the photos of it are just awful, or it's the most hyped sapphire in human history.

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

Nehap - how many stones have you seen in person (forgive me if you already answered this)?

 

[minousbijoux]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

LD,
Your stone puts this one to shame (at least in every photo I've ever seen of this famous gem ). I hate to say this, but THIS (below) is NOT what you want your sapphire to do in artificial light.

I agree, but no real comparison - when does the Diana/Kate stone not black out?

I don't get it, maybe all the photos of it are just awful, or it's the most hyped sapphire in human history.

I bet its one hecka saturated stone but since its medium dark - or just plain dark - we don't ever see that redeeming quality

 

[T L]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

LD,
Your stone puts this one to shame (at least in every photo I've ever seen of this famous gem ). I hate to say this, but THIS (below) is NOT what you want your sapphire to do in artificial light.

I agree, but no real comparison - when does the Diana/Kate stone not black out?

I don't get it, maybe all the photos of it are just awful, or it's the most hyped sapphire in human history.

I bet its one hecka saturated stone but since its medium dark - or just plain dark - we don't ever see that redeeming quality

If it's so dark you never see the saturation, then it really isn't saturated. Extinction and dark tone inhibit a stone from being saturated.

If someone showed me that photo, and I didn't know it was THE actual ring, I would think it was a mall store copy.

I know these are photos, and photos are not always accurate, but I have never ever ever seen a single photo of that stone that resembles what I would consider to be a fine sapphire. Maybe it just photographs terrible. I did see some glints of blue in this photo, but glints of blue does not mean that the overall body color is saturated. It just means that there was enough light shining on it to show some blue flashes. I would venture to say that Kate's stone isn't even medium dark, but just dark (one step darker than medium dark). It is physically impossible to eek out color when a blue stone is of dark tone.

 

[T L]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

Now I know this is a photo from a vendor that routinely photoshops, but it demonstrates that lighter tones can show off saturation better (if the stone is saturated to begin with, as you can have a greyish medium toned sapphire).

 

[T L]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

Here is an example of a medium to medium light toned stone that is blue, but not very saturated. It's a spinel, however, some sapphires can look like this. So to the OP, just because a stone has lighter tone, doesn't mean it will be saturated. However, you will definitely not find good saturation in a blue sapphire that is overly dark (ie Kate/Diana ring).

 

[movie zombie]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

that spinel has a very definite grey cast on my computer screen........

 

[T L]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

Yes, the spinel is very grey. That's why I mentioned it was not very saturated. A more saturated blue stone, with a similar tone, would be the one above it, in the NSC setting.

Typically, when a cool hued gems (blue, violet, purple, green, and sometimes yellow) are less saturated, they go more grey. Warm hued ones (orange, red, and sometimes yellow) go more brown.

 

[nehap1986]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

Minous - I've looked at 10-15 sapphires

 

[LD]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

LD,
Your stone puts this one to shame (at least in every photo I've ever seen of this famous gem ). I hate to say this, but THIS (below) is NOT what you want your sapphire to do in artificial light.

I agree, but no real comparison - when does the Diana/Kate stone not black out?

I don't get it, maybe all the photos of it are just awful, or it's the most hyped sapphire in human history.

............. and there you have it!

 

[T L]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

LD,
Your stone puts this one to shame (at least in every photo I've ever seen of this famous gem ). I hate to say this, but THIS (below) is NOT what you want your sapphire to do in artificial light.

I agree, but no real comparison - when does the Diana/Kate stone not black out?

I don't get it, maybe all the photos of it are just awful, or it's the most hyped sapphire in human history.

............. and there you have it!

And that's coming from a Brit!!

 

[LD]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

Minous - I've looked at 10-15 sapphires

Nehap I don't wish to depress you but that's a relatively small number of stones. Do you have a local trusted jeweller who can get in some stones for you and then you can assess them side by side? If you have, then I would perhaps print out all the colours of the sapphires you've seen and loved. That way it gives the jeweller a starting point.

Alternatively is there a gem show near to you soon?

Unfortunately, like most coloured gemstones, buying on the internet is a challenge because you only get a "feel" for the gem in a photo - and there are a huge number of vendors who routinely photoshop their gems to make them look better OR they won't tell you how a gem really performs. That's not to say don't do it because most of us do but seeing them in person gives you a better perspective on your likes and dislikes.

The only bit of advice I would give is sit back and enjoy the search but be prepared it may take a while. However once you see one that SPEAKS to you, buy it straight away and don't hesitate because if you've seen it, others will have too!

 

[T L]

Re: Help from Pandora or anyone with blue sapphire knowledge

Minous - I've looked at 10-15 sapphires

Nehap I don't wish to depress you but that's a relatively small number of stones. Do you have a local trusted jeweller who can get in some stones for you and then you can assess them side by side? If you have, then I would perhaps print out all the colours of the sapphires you've seen and loved. That way it gives the jeweller a starting point.

Alternatively is there a gem show near to you soon?

Unfortunately, like most coloured gemstones, buying on the internet is a challenge because you only get a "feel" for the gem in a photo - and there are a huge number of vendors who routinely photoshop their gems to make them look better OR they won't tell you how a gem really performs. That's not to say don't do it because most of us do but seeing them in person gives you a better perspective on your likes and dislikes.

The only bit of advice I would give is sit back and enjoy the search but be prepared it may take a while. However once you see one that SPEAKS to you, buy it straight away and don't hesitate because if you've seen it, others will have too!

If it has an accompaying lab report, as you can buy a synthetic or diffused stone without one.