Montana Sapphire Pictures - Daylight vs. Indoor Light

[wllfthn]

I am very interested in purchasing a Montana sapphire. Was wondering if any of you who might have one could post pictures comparing the stone in direct sunlight to indoor light. I've heard that these stones tend to shift to gray in brighter light settings, just want to see how dramatic that change is. Thank you!

 

[chrono]

Montanas love strong diffused sunlight (shaded outdoor) best.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/to-buy-or-not-buy-a-silky-sapphire.205515/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/to-buy-or-not-buy-a-silky-sapphire.205515/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/looking-for-a-blue-green-sapphire-what-about-this-one.192139/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/looking-for-a-blue-green-sapphire-what-about-this-one.192139/[/URL]

 

[deskjockey]

I find this doesn't photograph very well. Mine is a pretty dark silvery-teal color. In direct sunlight to me it actually looks darker and greener. In diffuse light (overcast) it is at its best and very green-blue. In our household lighting it is a greyish blue, in our bathroom lighting it is almost pure silver. They just replaced our lights at work to some different temp flourescents, they're cooler/bluer than the old ones, and the stone looks more blue in here now. Under the LEDs in the bathrooms it looks forest green. It's a wacky stone, but I think it's something you really have to see in person to get a feel for. The best I can do with photos:

Bright day in the shade:


Bright day, direct sun:


Indoors, warmer temp/yellowish flourescents:


Overcast day (set):


Indoors, cooler temp/bluer flourescents:


I don't think any of these are in focus, sorry about that.

I love love love my stone but I love it because I feel like it has character. I wish the changes photographed a bit better but they don't. I think in many ways the shift may be more about how your brain perceives different light than anything, since the pictures don't show it real well.

 

[wllfthn]

Thank you for the responses. To expand a bit on my question..

Are there any characteristics that I can look for that will help in keeping the stone more colorful under varying light. Saturation, cut, certain colors vs. others, etc?

Thanks again!

 

[chrono]

I don't think so; each stone's behaviour is individualistic so it is on a stone by stone basis.

 

[T L]

Thank you for the responses. To expand a bit on my question..

Are there any characteristics that I can look for that will help in keeping the stone more colorful under varying light. Saturation, cut, certain colors vs. others, etc?

Thanks again!

Cut helps with return of light, and sometimes a deeper cut helps with saturation, or not (depends on how dark the tone is). However, I think some metal colors emphasize various colors vs others.

For example, rose and high karat yellow gold tend to bring out blues more.

White metal (silver, platinum, palladium, white gold, etc. . . ) tend to bring out grey more.

To double check, I always ask people to put their stone on a copper penny vs. a white nickel to see the differences.

 

[wllfthn]

The coin idea is a great one! Thanks for sharing. I guess I'm just struggling to find the right balance here. I'm not opposed, at all, to colors shifting to a grayer palette. I am looking for more of a pastel colored stone, but wonder if I should try for a more saturated one in order to combat losing much of the colors. I'm sure I'm not speaking in the correct terms or lingo, so I hope I'm not just confusing the issue.

Sounds to me like my best bet, after taking a look at multiple photos in varying light situations and not coming to a total understanding of how the stone will look, is to pull the trigger and take a look at it in person. Gemfix has a 7 day inspection period, so it's nice to know I'm protected.

Would you guys mind taking a look at the 4 stones I'm deciding between and give me your thoughts on the stone that would best achieve what I'm looking for? To expand a bit on that -- I want something that's predominantly soft blue with some greens/aquas. This will be used in an engagement ring and I chose these colors as they match our daughters eye color.

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

Order/Stock Numbers:
sapphire_montana_521
sapphire_montana_495-This is my favorite currently. What is a negative crystal? Not sure if I should worry about that..
sapphire_montana_507
sapphire_montana_475

Thanks!

 

[chrono]

Since they are all from the same vendor, why not ask Andrew these same questions you posted as he has all of them on hand?

 

[SparkliesLuver]

From the four you listed, my two personal favorites are 495 and 507. Seeing that you're looking for something lighter, I'd probably go with 495. 507 is beautiful but darker and deeper and maybe more green than you're ideally wanting?

The hand shot of 521 just doesn't do much for me at all. Doesn't seem that lively or something. 475 seems too silky and "lifeless," especially compared to 495.

But I'd also second what Chrono said.

 

[wllfthn]

I've been leaning towards 495 for a couple of days now. I've reached out to Andrew and will wait to hear back from him. Any comments on the negative crystal? I'm not sure what that is? Do I need to worry about integrity?

 

[chrono]

A negative crystal is a specific type of inclusion; it is generally a cavity within the crystal. Sometimes it contains a liquid, gas or another crystal.

http://www.palagems.com/inclusions.htm
https://crystallography365.wordpress.com/2014/11/28/surreal-microscopic-environments-negative-crystals/

 

[LoversKites]

I've been leaning towards 495 for a couple of days now. I've reached out to Andrew and will wait to hear back from him. Any comments on the negative crystal? I'm not sure what that is? Do I need to worry about integrity?

Not a problem. It's quite clean if that's the only potentially eye visible inclusion. As Chrono's picture shows they can look very cool. I doubt you'd notice it unless you look closely for it, or look with a loupe.

 

[makeable]

Were you able to get in touch with Andrew? What did he say about the stones?

 

[wllfthn]

I didn't speak to him directly, no. I reached out via email and was contacted by Laura. She was more than accommodating when it came to my questions and put helped me to sift through the options to find the stone that best fit what I'm looking for. I ended up ordering #495. I am waiting for the tracking info to be sent. I have already found the setting I'll be using for the ring, so once I get everything, I'll snap some photos and post them here.

Thanks to all who helped and gave me advice!

Here's the stone I chose!

 

[LoversKites]

I didn't speak to him directly, no. I reached out via email and was contacted by Laura. She was more than accommodating when it came to my questions and put helped me to sift through the options to find the stone that best fit what I'm looking for. I ended up ordering #495. I am waiting for the tracking info to be sent. I have already found the setting I'll be using for the ring, so once I get everything, I'll snap some photos and post them here.

Thanks to all who helped and gave me advice!

Here's the stone I chose!

Great, I hope it's a winner!

 

[makeable]

Very pretty, I hope it meets all of your expectations!

 

[ipodobe]

Since they are all from the same vendor, why not ask Andrew these same questions you posted as he has all of them on hand?

I do have a question about photos on the gemfix website. His hand is different colored in all of those photos- does this have something to do with the lighting or something else? Just makes me wonder what color the stone is exactly. Almost like there is a filter or something.

 

[wllfthn]

I can't say for sure. It may not be the same hand/same person in all of the photos. Could have something to do with lighting, I believe all of the hand shots are taken at various times between 11am-2pm in front of a north facing window, so that might cause some of it. And as you said it could be photo manipulation.

I live in Ohio though, and their shop is in California. So my only option was to have them send it and I'll see how it looks here. His return policy is fair so I'll have some time to see it in most light settings.

We'll see!

 

[chrono]

It appears that Laura is now intimately involved in the business so there could be 2 sets of hands photographed now. I guess we'll know more about the accuracy of their photography when wllfthn receives the sapphire. It seems spot on at times and vastly different at other times.

 

[wllfthn]

I received my tracking information and expect to receive the stone tomorrow. I will admit that I'm a tad bit nervous as I've probably let myself become a little too attached to this particular stone. Very anxious to see how to looks!

 

[makeable]

Did your stone arrive? If yes, what are your thoughts?

 

[wllfthn]

It has arrived! I haven't had a lot of time to spend with the stone, but my initial opinion is a great one. The stone is absolutely beautiful. It has the perfect balance of dark blues, light blues, faint aquas and the common gray modifier. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was looking for something that looked extremely blue and colorful in some light settings and had a much more "washed out" appearance in others. My daughters eyes behave the same way -- extremely blue in bright day light and more gray-blue in low light. This stone represents it perfectly.

Laura at Gemfix has been nothing but a pleasure to work with and her answers to my questions about the stone were all very accurate. I have nothing but good things to say about her and Andrew. I would certainly buy from them again in the future.

I have not had a chance to snap any photos with a nice camera. I did take a few with my cell phone to show you guys though. Let me know what you think!

I love it! Thanks for all your help! You've been great, here!

First, the dealer photo


And now three of mine

 

[chrono]

It seems to fit what you are looking for. Have you had the chance to view it under different lights yet? Do be extremely careful when carrying a loose stone around.

 

[wllfthn]

I must have done something wrong attaching those. There are a couple pictures there twice. Sorry!

Also, these pictures do the stone absolutely no justice. It's really true what you all have said, still photos are incapable of capturing the true beauty of these stones!

 

[deskjockey]

I'm so excited that you're happy with it so far

 

[wllfthn]

I have had a chance to see it in a lot of light. Direct sunlight brings out the lightest blues. It's very pretty. A shaded area outside on a sunny is the most beautiful I've seen so far. It has so many different colors. Indoors the color varies from rich blues all the way down to an almost clear light gray depending on the time of day. I'm extremely happy with it!

While I admit that I am not expert on the cut, it seems to have been done very well. Andrew does great work as far as I can tell!

 

[LoversKites]

Glad to hear you got what you wanted!

 

[makeable]

Fantastic! It's great that the vendor took such good care of you. From the photos and your description of it in different lighting situations it seems like a very nice stone.

 

[wllfthn]

Hello all!

I thought I would drop by and show you guys how everything turned out with the stone/engagement ring.

I had it set in a simple diamond halo setting. It turned out beautifully. I don't have many pictures as of now. Once I ask her, I'll take a few more photos and share them. These four photos were taken with my cell phone in a moving car, so don't mind if they're a little blurry!

Wish me luck! I'll be asking in a couple of weeks

 

[deskjockey]

Looks like it came out beautifully, I bet she will love it!