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My pink sapphire hunt!

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Oh, here are the styles of ring that I''m going for:

Oval sapphire halo:

mineuv9.jpg
 
Round halo:

Moisonite ring.jpg
 
Personally I like everything about the first one, except that I prefer the color of the second one! The second one just seems out of round to me but not quite oval. That would bother me. It's also heat treated, don't know if you noticed that or not. And last but not least, it is CRAZY deep. You'd have to set that baby up very high.
 
Bezel Halo:

LovelyBezelHalo.jpg
 
Date: 6/2/2008 11:49:27 PM
Author: neatfreak
Personally I like everything about the first one, except that I prefer the color of the second one! The second one just seems out of round to me but not quite oval. That would bother me. It''s also heat treated, don''t know if you noticed that or not. And last but not least, it is CRAZY deep. You''d have to set that baby up very high.
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Thank you for replying so quickly neatfreak!

I am not sure how I feel about heat treating. To me, if I find a really nice light pink colour that fits in well with the setting, then that''s the most important thing to me. As long as I love the look of it, I don''t mind.

Are there any main issues with heat treated VS unheated sapphires that I should be aware of?

What about re-cutting options? Say, if I see something I love on NSC''s website, would I be able to get it recut? I understand that sapphires don''t sparkle the same way diamonds do, so guessing that getting one that is really well cut will help. Also, a bezel setting might not let as much light in, so that is a consideration too.

So many factors when deciding!

Still have to go see this wholesale merchant in the city with the boy soon, to see what he says. He does do sapphires, though I know he deals a lot of diamonds. Hope I don''t get any strange looks for wanting a sapphire centre stone - have had a few ''oh, can''t you afford a diamond?'' comments and it makes me feel really awkward
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Like neatfreak said, the second one is really deep. It is also not a pink sapphire. It is a Padparadscha sapphire. It is orange/pink. If it weren''t for the depth of the stone, it would make a beautiful ring. I LOVE Pads.

Linda
 
MzG- there are no issues with heat treating stones really, except that the price will usually be less. But NSC almost exclusively carries unheated stones, and it's important to some people, so just wanted to mention it. I think that with colored stones you really need to read everything you can, then buy with your eyes. You'll know when a stone speaks to you, I did!!!

You certainly can get some things recut, Jeff White is an amazing cutter. But be prepared to wait awhile AND you'll want to get in touch with a cutter before you purchase a stone to make sure it's feasible. Jeff is amazing (my sapphire is from him).

And people should push off about colored stones being less expensive and thus implying they aren't as nice, they can think what they want but a beautiful sapphire is much more rare. And believe me it will get a ton of attention since it isn't the usual inky black "maul quality" sapphire.
 
I like the first one better. A pink sapphire will be lovely in one of those halo rings.
 
Date: 6/2/2008 11:58:32 PM
Author: Linda W
Like neatfreak said, the second one is really deep. It is also not a pink sapphire. It is a Padparadscha sapphire. It is orange/pink. If it weren''t for the depth of the stone, it would make a beautiful ring. I LOVE Pads.

Linda
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Oh yes, look at your pic there! Gorgeous. Such a lovely peach colour....

Yes, I did know it was a pad, but it seems very pink! I''m more about the colour really - the colour has to be right and not too flouro/hot pink. But considering the settings I like, it will need to be a particular cut so that it doesn''t look dull, or sit oddly in the setting.

Tell me, do you think the pink sapphire in that first pic of the rings is cut poorly? The more I look at that ring, the more I wonder if that''s what a well cut oval would look like in that setting, or if it looks a bit dull because it''s not cut well.

Thoughts?

Also, really can''t decide between an oval or a round. Have looked all over Sydney (well, CBD at least!) for a ring that resembles any of these ones and so far, no luck.

:S
 
I think it's dull because it's a really really light colored stone...and also has a a pretty bad zone/window something right smack in the middle that creates a nasty dull bowtie...
 
Date: 6/3/2008 12:05:36 AM
Author: neatfreak
I think it''s dull because it''s a really really light colored stone...and also has a a pretty bad zone/window something right smack in the middle that creates a nasty dull bowtie...
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You''re right. It does look quite ''window-ish'' doesn''t it......

Just want to make sure it looks as bright as possible, while hopefully being in a bezel setting. If the person who sets it is adamant that it should be in a pronged setting, then I''ll go with that. But I love the clean look of the bezel halo.

It all depends really.

Neatfreak you have me looking down at my hand, at my (at a guess here) 20ct glass diamond ring that a girlfriend bought me from a $2 shop, to inspect for any possible windows! There are several, I had better let her know
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To me, I like the color of the first one. but that is me. I don''t care for dark pink stones. I like the more baby pink colors. Like neatfreak said, it does have a bowtie to it.

And the Pad doesn''t look like a pad to me at all in that picture or the video. Maybe it is the lighting they are using. With a few of my pads, sometimes they look all pink, until a different light hits them. That is when I see the pink/orange color. The one in my Avatar is the perfect 50/50 split. It is gorgeous in real life. It is darker then the picture shows. It is my pride and joy.

I do hope you find your ideal stone. Please keep us posted.

Linda
 
MzG: I think a bezel will darken a colored stone about 10-15% if I remember correctly, so that is something important to remember. Not a dealbreaker, but important nonetheless.
 
Date: 6/3/2008 12:24:03 AM
Author: neatfreak
MzG: I think a bezel will darken a colored stone about 10-15% if I remember correctly, so that is something important to remember. Not a dealbreaker, but important nonetheless.
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Oh really??

I guess it is going to depend on the stone we end up picking and then decide from there.

Look, if my FF (this stands for Future Fiance, right? So many acronyms on here!) and I could afford a 2-3ct diamond as the centre stone, then I would probably tell him to go for that one. But we just bought a place, so I really don''t think now is the time. To me, I need a big, flashy kind of stone and ring, because I''m used to wearing a lot of costume jewellery and am only quite young (24) and this seems like a fun style that I''m drawn to! As far as I can see, a 2-3ct sapphire is going to be cheaper than the diamond equivelant.

We''re going to make sure the side stones (the channel-like/pave-like ones) on the side and around the halo part are nice and bright ones, so offset a less sparkly centre stone.
 
Whats your budget and what specs are you wanting? We could probably help you find something...
 
Date: 6/3/2008 2:43:06 AM
Author: FrekeChild
Whats your budget and what specs are you wanting? We could probably help you find something...
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Well, from what FF has said, probably about 7k to 10k is what he has in mind. I am hoping that it wouldn''t get to that, but that''s the sort of range he has in mind.

I think white gold is fine, as long as it''s solid inside and not hollow - I''ve heard some cheaper rings are hollow inside and therefor not as durable.

What other specs do you mean?
 
Date: 6/2/2008 11:57:45 PM
Author: MzG

Hope I don''t get any strange looks for wanting a sapphire centre stone - have had a few ''oh, can''t you afford a diamond?'' comments and it makes me feel really awkward
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Trust me, a really fine sapphire can cost MUCH MUCH MORE than a comparable sized white diamond.

Plus, diamonds aren''t at all rare, whereas good sapphires are much rarer.

Take a look at www.cherrypicked.com and you will see what I mean.

I get loads of nice comments on my e-ring. I do see some people''s faces change when I say it''s a garnet as most people think of them as cheap stones in victorian jewellery. Well, if I could get them for that price I''d have a tiara, necklace, bracelets galore made of them by now. Tsavorites being 200 times rarer than emerald I don''t think that will be happening any time soon!

As long as you are happy not having a diamond then just ignore the catty comments - or fill them in on sapphire prices - there are photos of a lovely blue kashmir that is 3cts and $190k on this forum. That would buy more than 3cts of carbon!
 
I''m talking about specs like carat size, any millimeter measurements, shape, color ranges etc. Do you want a sapphire for sure or are you open to other stones?

For instance, I want a London, Electric, or Swiss Blue Topaz that is an oval around 8mm x 6mm but up to 10mm x 8mm. That''ll range around 3cts. It gets more specific than that, but you get the idea.

The ring is a whole other deal.
 
What about spinel? If you''re looking for a stone that''s going to be sparkly, my understanding is that spinel might give you more bang for your buck, so to speak, than sapphire. And because colours other than fire engine red are somewhat less sought after, you could afford to have a really beautiful one cut for you and still have tons of money left over for your perfect setting. Plus they come in pretty much any colour you''d care to name.

Here''s Jeff White''s gallery (note: these aren''t for sale, so don''t get attached) to give you some ideas. I also love to browse the spinels at multicolour.
 
Here''s a few pink spinel:

bit of a bowtie

I like the color on this one

This one is pretty too.

I know these are pretty cheap, but they are from Thailand, and that will make a large difference. They are also spinels, so they will be cheaper, but I thought that these were very attractively colored stones and fit what you were looking for...Anyway...
 
Freke, that''s exactly what I had in mind. Don''t you think that second stone would be TDF in a halo ring? (Bad pjean. No planning RHRs.
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Date: 6/3/2008 3:04:27 PM
Author: pjean
Freke, that's exactly what I had in mind. Don't you think that second stone would be TDF in a halo ring? (Bad pjean. No planning RHRs.
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Yeah pjean--that stone in particular caught my eye. I love the baby pink color and I DO think it would look stunning in a RHR.
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I'm not trying to start trouble...
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ETA:gems4all, that sapphire looks like it has a bit of a window and not a great cut with that big ol' bowtie, plus it's no where near the color the OP is looking for. Having said that, I love the color and think it's great.
 
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