mall sapphire v. quality sapphire

[beaujolais]

I know little about quality colored stones. I like sapphires but the ones I have are just mall (maul) quality. They are very dark and you can''t see into them, almost, at all.

Can you tell me what a nice sapphire is like, compared to mine?

Thanks.

 

[Pandora II]

Go and have a look on either www.palagems.com or www.naturalsapphirecompany.com and you''ll see what sapphires are meant to look like.

Personally I would touch anything that didn''t have:

Good colour
Great cut
Great clarity.

TBH I don''t know how mall stores have the nerve to sell all the black opaque looking sapphires they seem to get away with!

 

[Pandora II]

Here''s a gorgeous one:

 

[Pandora II]

AMAZING kashmir sapphire - if I recall correctly it was around $90k

 

[Pandora II]

In different light - I think this one was on www.cherrypicked.com

A GREAT sapphire will cost a lot more per carat than a diamond, as diamonds aren''t rare whilst great sapphires are very rare.

 

[beaujolais]

Thanks. They are Gorgeous.

But, I''m still so uneducated at this that I still don''t really get it.

O.K., so for starters they are really not supposed to be dark navy, right? You should be able to see into them , yes?

---

Now, what is the preferred shade - is it a med. blue, lighter blue, blue with some purple?

I''ve also heard that some diamond accents around the sapp. shows off the sapphire best?

Oh, also, do sapphires just give off blue or do they give off any different colored fire, as diamonds do?

Thanks again.

 

[beaujolais]

Oh, and what is that lovely green stone in your avitar? Edit: just saw your thread on it. A-w-e-s-o-m-e.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 2/2/2008 10:34:39 AM
Author: sonomacounty
Thanks. They are Gorgeous.

But, I''m still so uneducated at this that I still don''t really get it.

O.K., so for starters they are really not supposed to be dark navy, right? You should be able to see into them , yes?

---

Now, what is the preferred shade - is it a med. blue, lighter blue, blue with some purple?

I''ve also heard that some diamond accents around the sapp. shows off the sapphire best?

Oh, also, do sapphires just give off blue or do they give off any different colored fire, as diamonds do?

Thanks again.

Sapphires absolutely should not be really really dark navy and yes you should be able to see though them (unless for some strange reason, you like them that way

)

Preferred shade is totally subjective - whatever speaks to you. The stones I have posted are the ''most desirable'' colour and command a very big price-tag as a consequence. That doesn''t mean that they are the ''most desirable'' to you - just to the market as a whole.

My personal weakness is for the bluey purples - I like the ultraviolet glow.

Sapphires don''t give off fire - they sparkle if they are cut properly and even more so if you have a concave cut (not my personal taste but I like looking at them!).

You won''t get fire and sparkle like a diamond from a sapphire. Yellow sapphires look more sparkly to my eyes.

They come in all shades of the rainbow - rubies are the same material (both are forms of corundum). Red sapphires are called rubies, pink rubies are called pink sapphires. There are some differences though - rubies tend to be much more included than most sapphires.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 2/2/2008 10:37:20 AM
Author: sonomacounty
Oh, and what is that lovely green stone in your avitar? Edit: just saw your thread on it. A-w-e-s-o-m-e.

Thanks

Tsavorites are amazing stones and have a lot of sparkle and green fire.

I''m totally addicted to them!

 

[marcy]

There are many wonderful colors or sapphire but the navy opaque ones they have at the mall are awful. I like royal blue the best but as mentioned above it''s all what you personally prefer. If you have a Shane Company in your area go ask to look at their loose stones. I have some gorgeous royal blue sapphires from them - they are very clear, well cut and sparkle like crazy. I love them. I can''t wait to see what you get.

 

[Missrocks]

Date: 2/2/2008 10:25:40 AM
Author: Pandora II
AMAZING kashmir sapphire - if I recall correctly it was around $90k

Pandora,
COULD this be the stone off of Palagems website I was drooling over yesterday?? I am so in LOVE.

It looks the same to me. But it didn''t have pricing on the site.

http://www.palagems.com/gem_news_2007_v1.htm#featured_jan

 

[Missrocks]

Date: 2/2/2008 10:34:39 AM
Author: sonomacounty
Thanks. They are Gorgeous.

But, I''m still so uneducated at this that I still don''t really get it.

O.K., so for starters they are really not supposed to be dark navy, right? You should be able to see into them , yes?

---

Now, what is the preferred shade - is it a med. blue, lighter blue, blue with some purple?

I''ve also heard that some diamond accents around the sapp. shows off the sapphire best?

Oh, also, do sapphires just give off blue or do they give off any different colored fire, as diamonds do?

Thanks again.

Color is almost a preference. Some like more violet, I prefer electric blues with maybe just a hint of violet.

I personally really like my halo, as it acts a a "crisp" white backround (almost like a color tray) to really show of my sapphires color.

 

[Missrocks]

They have a "fire" of their own, even though its unlike a diamonds (which is made up of different spectoral colors)
I guess a sapphire's "fire" is all those multi tone and shade "pieces" of blue you see

 

[enbcfsobe]

the gems Pandora posted are fabulous. I would take a look around on some of the recommended websites that folks here have used and just see the wide variety of colors, cuts and shapes for sapphires. If you like colors that aren''t necessarily in the "most desirable" range -- like some of the lighter blue Montana sapphires or just lighter (often called less saturated) shades, you don''t have to spend a fortune. Neatfreak has a beautiful sapphire bezel necklace that is a medium blue -- since it has a good cut it really sparkles (and isn''t opaque!). When you see some things you like, try posting them here and the experts (of which I am not one!) will give their opinions.

 

[Missrocks]

Date: 2/2/2008 12:50:39 PM
Author: enbcfsobe
the gems Pandora posted are fabulous. I would take a look around on some of the recommended websites that folks here have used and just see the wide variety of colors, cuts and shapes for sapphires. If you like colors that aren't necessarily in the 'most desirable' range -- like some of the lighter blue Montana sapphires or just lighter (often called less saturated) shades, you don't have to spend a fortune. Neatfreak has a beautiful sapphire bezel necklace that is a medium blue -- since it has a good cut it really sparkles (and isn't opaque!). When you see some things you like, try posting them here and the experts (of which I am not one!) will give their opinions.

Yes, Neatfreak's is a gorgeous example of something of medium blue...mmmm.. the color really gives this cut sooo much depth.

Neatfreak, I hope you don't mind me posting this, but it is just so beautiful, I had to share.

 

[surfgirl]

Sonoma, it''s not that the navy colored stones are "bad", it''s just that they come from different areas of the world, and that affects their color, IIRC. For example, nearly all Thai and Cambodian sapphires are of the navy hue, with the occasional ultramarine color, but mainly varying degrees of navy (someone here recently showed what they said was a Cambodian sapphire but I dont think it comes from there because it was way too much into the cornflower blue territory). That''s mostly what you see in the mall stores. However, old Kashmir (really no longer available) is very deep, sleepy, velvety royal blue, almost electic underneath...While Ceylon sapphires are more of varying degrees of cornflower blue - some with varying amounts of violet undertones which make them more like the old Kashmir stones. The ones posted above are the Kashmir, and you can see the similarity of the high quality Ceylon stones as well. Then, there''s the issue of heat treating and what that does to shift colors. I have no idea if one can gauge the outcome of heat treatment based on the original color (but if they did, I''d love to know what Missrocks stone looked like originally because her color now is to die for!).

Does that all make sense? It''s really just a matter of color preference. I''ve seen very gorgeous stones of Thai sapphires that are amazing, though I myself prefer the Kashmiri/Ceylon color.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 2/2/2008 12:36:37 PM
Author: Missrocks

Date: 2/2/2008 10:25:40 AM
Author: Pandora II
AMAZING kashmir sapphire - if I recall correctly it was around $90k

Pandora,
COULD this be the stone off of Palagems website I was drooling over yesterday?? I am so in LOVE.

It looks the same to me. But it didn''t have pricing on the site.

http://www.palagems.com/gem_news_2007_v1.htm#featured_jan

That''s the one - I can''t remember how I know the price. I think someone called Pala to find out and then posted it on PS. But I may be wrong. You could buy it or a small house basically!

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 2/2/2008 2:05:06 PM
Author: surfgirl
Sonoma, it''s not that the navy colored stones are ''bad'', it''s just that they come from different areas of the world, and that affects their color, IIRC. For example, nearly all Thai and Cambodian sapphires are of the navy hue, with the occasional ultramarine color, but mainly varying degrees of navy (someone here recently showed what they said was a Cambodian sapphire but I dont think it comes from there because it was way too much into the cornflower blue territory). That''s mostly what you see in the mall stores. However, old Kashmir (really no longer available) is very deep, sleepy, velvety royal blue, almost electic underneath...While Ceylon sapphires are more of varying degrees of cornflower blue - some with varying amounts of violet undertones which make them more like the old Kashmir stones. The ones posted above are the Kashmir, and you can see the similarity of the high quality Ceylon stones as well. Then, there''s the issue of heat treating and what that does to shift colors. I have no idea if one can gauge the outcome of heat treatment based on the original color (but if they did, I''d love to know what Missrocks stone looked like originally because her color now is to die for!).

Does that all make sense? It''s really just a matter of color preference. I''ve seen very gorgeous stones of Thai sapphires that are amazing, though I myself prefer the Kashmiri/Ceylon color.

I''m not sure if you are talking about the inky-blue stones - that can be very beautiful; or the black can''t see any colour in them at all cheapy stones?

 

[Linda W]

Then we have my personal favorite the Padparadscha Sapphire. They are the rarest of the sapphire family. They are best defined as the marriage between a yellow sapphire and a ruby. I own many of them. They are so gorgeous..

 

[enbcfsobe]

I do love neatfreak''s new sapphire...i was actually thinking of the one she modeled in this thread https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/revisiting-pendant-setting-for-pale-mint-tourmaline.64436/

 

[Missrocks]

l

Date: 2/2/2008 3:59:28 PM
Author: Linda W
Then we have my personal favorite the Padparadscha Sapphire. They are the rarest of the sapphire family. They are best defined as the marriage between a yellow sapphire and a ruby. I own many of them. They are so gorgeous..

Linda,

Yes, I LOVE pads. Definetly on my wish list. Is the one in your avator yours? If so do you have a larger pic you could share with us, pretty please? Since this is a sapphire discussion and reference materials are needed...

 

[beaujolais]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I''ve learned so incredibly much here. I do have to say that the way you put together stones & settings is absolute ART. And, the above assher takes my breath away.

The blue/violet, (med. - lighter) ones are working the best for me. They go best with my coloring. I don''t know if I''m ready to buy anything yet- moreso just exploring my thoughts for now and learning. However, a small pair of blue/violet round studs (with jackets) is affordable for now.

Thanks again.

 

[Hest88]

Great advice here. I just want to point out, though, that although your color preference *is* subjective, it's very, very important to know what the most desirable shades are so you don't overpay. Some people really do like the blue-black stones you see in mall stores. That's totally fine if that's what speaks to you, and in some ways even better because you can save money, but there will be plenty of mall stores (and non-mall stores, and so-called "wholesellers" etc.) who might try to charge as much per carat for one of those deep navy stones as for the finest Kashmir blue.

Looks like you've made a great start here!