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Periwinkle blue Montana sapphire engagement ring!

chloeishere

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
189
Hello everyone! :wavey:

I decided I need to start a thread on my sapphire so I won't keep posting pictures in other threads, and unintentionally threadjacking. It's poor etiquette!

So, I started out on Pricescope way back in January 2010, posting about a sapphire that was purchased on ebay for my engagement ring. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/hi-would-you-look-at-a-sapphire-with-me.156194/ Unfortunately, it didn't look like the picture, and we sent it back.

Then I looked around the internet for months and months, trying to find a sapphire that I liked within budget (we had a small budget-- I was aiming for $500 total. This is discussed a bit more in the original thread). I specifically did not want a darker true sapphire blue, but a stone with light or light-medium hue, with either blue-green or blue-purple tones, and was okay with a color shift or color change stone. I also didn't mind a little gray-- I like icier blues as well. Finally, I wanted a round cut stone. Not that I'm particular, or anything. :oops:

Long story shorter, I conversed extensively with Dan Stair of customgemstones.com (and he is a great guy, totally recommended), but he didn't have rough that was the color I wanted.

Gene Flanigan (of precisiongem.com) posted a stunning Montana sapphire that sold very quickly, but I contacted him to ask if he had any similar colored rough-- he did, but I didn't clarify that I wanted a stone that was light or light to medium in tone, so he had to cut one more (he didn't have any problem selling the other stone, though! :naughty: ). And, after close to nine months of looking, we had the sapphire I'd been dreaming of! My tip for others looking for "off-color" engagement rings-- I wish I would have contacted more precision cutters initially-- I was shy about doing so. The search would have gone much faster.

Okay, back story done. On to the stone!

The stone is a 1.15 carat Montana sapphire, 5.65mm "face" (I'm not sure how deep, but probably deeper than a round brilliant because it has a fairly high crown), a light blue/ lavender color (which I call periwinkle), heated. This stone was cut in Gene's Jua round design, and has a lot of sparkle and fire. I seriously LOVE it.

He cut it for me, but I asked him how he would rate the stone on his site (he didn't put it up for public sale):
Color: 8/10
Clarity: 9/10
Brilliance: 5/5
TQR: 9.0








Warning: Pictures will continue in next post!

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I LOVE the color!! :love:
Very happy for you on finding THE ONE! :appl:

Well done!
 
I tried to warn you! The pictures will continue! :mrgreen:

I ran out of good pictures, but here's some more of my favorites.

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Last picture, at least for now. The rest are absolutely abysmal.



So, the stone is actually set! I don't have any pictures because he hasn't proposed yet... and he hid the ring, who knows why? :saint: I did try it on, and it's lovely. I can't wait til I can wear it!

I don't want to totally spoil the setting, but it is a custom version of a standard ringfrom an etsy seller. We had a wonderful experience with her, so I am comfortable mentioning who it is, though it is a bit of an unusual style, even for pricescope! http://www.etsy.com/shop/esdesigns She took longer then her estimate to make the ring (six weeks instead of three), but shipped the ring one-day express, to make up for it (and, to be fair, I did have a very specific list of what I wanted). The workmanship is absolutely gorgeous, and she was very good about contacting me back very quickly! She also gave me a very reasonable quote (we ended up a bit under $100 "over budget", which is reasonable), and was willing to make the ring in 950 palladium or palladium white gold (we went with 950 palladium)-- this was important to me because I can't wear conventional white gold due to a nickel allergy.

The reason I've been delaying posting this is because I wanted to wait until I was wearing it and could include pictures of the ring, but I kept posting pictures anyway... so here it is!

I will add pictures of the stone set once we're official!

Thank you for taking a look!

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It's so beautiful. The cut really compliments the color of the sapphire. I can't wait to see it in the setting you chose. Any idea how long you have to wait for the proposal?

P.S.Blue and green stones are really tough to photograph. So I think your photos are pretty good!
 
Wow. the cut is fabulous! Looking forward to seeing it on your finger!
 
So glad you started a thread on this stone because I LOVE IT!!!
 
Oh :love: :love: :love: :love: !! What a beauty -- the cut is TDF. I can't wait to see it in its setting. Hurry!!

--- Laurie
 
Beautiful! I love the color, and I love the cut. What a gorgeous ring this is going to be. This is exactly why I am so fond of Montana sapphires, because at their best, they are just amazing.
 
That is one gorgeous stone! I am so glad you found one you loved. I love my bluish-green Montana, but did do some serious lingering
over others more the color of yours. Congratulations! Can't wait to see your ring.
 
I love your stone, and I adore the designs of the etsy seller who made your setting, so I can't wait to see the completed thing!
 
i so love those bottom heavy stones! the color and cut for this stone are WINNERS!
 
Looking forward to seeing the finished ring. It's always interesting when someone bucks the latest trends in favor of something that truly is about them as an individual. And when you can do what you want on such a small budget . . . all the better!

Your sapphire is a beautiful stone, and palladium is a great choice in metal. My DH's band is palladium and has held up very well with everyday wear.
 
happybear|1325293018|3091865 said:
I LOVE the color!! :love:
Very happy for you on finding THE ONE! :appl:

Well done!

Thank you so much happybear! It was really exciting to get it, and look at it, and in every light I thought, "Wow, I LOVE this stone." Pictures don't do it justice.

Blue-Seeker|1325296463|3091913 said:
It's so beautiful. The cut really compliments the color of the sapphire. I can't wait to see it in the setting you chose. Any idea how long you have to wait for the proposal?

P.S.Blue and green stones are really tough to photograph. So I think your photos are pretty good!

Thank you blue-seeker!

I have no idea how long I'll be waiting for the proposal. He just keeps telling me there are "machinations" in process. I think he knows how he wants to do it, but there's something that has interfered... but I have no idea what, how, or when he's going to do it. I did gently let him know that I'm ready, you know, any ol' time now! (I was kind of hoping he'd do it before Christmas, we got the ring December 3rd or 4th I think (wow! No wonder it feels like it's been a while), but when that didn't happen I thought it might be a few more weeks or months. I hope not. But, we'll see.

You haven't seen all the bad pictures of the stone-- it is very hard to photograph (and I have a RED camera! I really regret not going for a silver one now, tons of pictures that would have been nice look bizarre with red reflection coming off the stone).

Here's an example. Shows the cut well, but the color is bizarre, and not true to life, thanks to the red camera.


artdecogirl|1325305050|3092051 said:
Wow. the cut is fabulous! Looking forward to seeing it on your finger!

Thank you artdecogirl!

TL|1325305273|3092054 said:
So glad you started a thread on this stone because I LOVE IT!!!

Thank you so much, TL! Your enjoyment of the stone convinced me that I should start a thread on it, even though the whole project (including actually getting to wear it) isn't finished yet.

JewelFreak|1325331542|3092190 said:
Oh :love: :love: :love: :love: !! What a beauty -- the cut is TDF. I can't wait to see it in its setting. Hurry!!

--- Laurie

Thank you, Laurie! Believe me, if I were setting the speed, I would already be wearing it and there would probably be at least another 10 pictures in this thread. I made the majority of the choices for the engagement ring (I did make a few compromises to his taste, but I chose the stone and the type of setting), so I thought it would be fair to let him choose the timing and the proposal. Of course, it was a lot easier to think that before I knew the ring was in the house! Argh!

Aoife|1325339453|3092205 said:
Beautiful! I love the color, and I love the cut. What a gorgeous ring this is going to be. This is exactly why I am so fond of Montana sapphires, because at their best, they are just amazing.

Thank you so much Aoife! I really love it too, and the non-traditional sapphire color. I only became a fan of the "traditional sapphire color" after coming to pricescope and seeing so many beautiful examples! Prior, I'd only seen the navy-black mall store "ideal sapphire color", which is obviously not ideal at all. :blackeye: I appreciate a beautiful ideal sapphire color now, but I'm always going to be a sucker for those stones that aren't a straight, medium-to-dark saturated blue.

Mrs. Bojangles|1325354406|3092334 said:
That is one gorgeous stone! I am so glad you found one you loved. I love my bluish-green Montana, but did do some serious lingering
over others more the color of yours. Congratulations! Can't wait to see your ring.

Thank you Mrs. Bojangles! I absolutely ADORE your stone, too. At the time we were looking, I just could not find any cutters with blue-green stones in the hue level that I wanted, and I didn't want to trust an e-bay seller with my engagement ring stone after my first bad experience. I love mine, but I would have been very happy with a blue green stone too. I just love the Montana look!

distracts|1325357229|3092367 said:
I love your stone, and I adore the designs of the etsy seller who made your setting, so I can't wait to see the completed thing!

Thank you so much, distracts! She does really exceptional work, I'm so happy we went with her. I gasped when I saw the ring in real life, it's even better than I had imagined. I really like the "nature inspired" ring settings, and she did an absolutely wonderful job.

movie zombie|1325357544|3092370 said:
i so love those bottom heavy stones! the color and cut for this stone are WINNERS!

Thank you movie zombie! Gene's is such a talented guy. The high crown really seems to make the stone especially lively, and there is a lot of dispersion. I wanted a sparkly stone, and he definitely delivered.

HollyS|1325358571|3092377 said:
Looking forward to seeing the finished ring. It's always interesting when someone bucks the latest trends in favor of something that truly is about them as an individual. And when you can do what you want on such a small budget . . . all the better!

Your sapphire is a beautiful stone, and palladium is a great choice in metal. My DH's band is palladium and has held up very well with everyday wear.

Thank you HollyS! Seeing all the beautiful rings on pricescope really helped to educated me, and helped me figure out what I was looking for. For a while, I was thinking of something pretty different from my original intentions, but I decided that I could always get some beautiful right hand rings later, and what I wanted for the engagement ring was something that really reflected myself and my BF.

I'm hopelessly practical, and I wanted something that would be durable, and not require much maintenance outside of cleaning (and I will be removing it for dishes, house cleaning, and other things that are likely to damage the stone or setting). I wanted a band that was wide enough that it should be unlikely to break or bend (but I do like narrower bands in general, due to my short fingers). I wanted a setting that would not snag latex gloves (I work in scientific research), and that would not interfere much with my left hand, since I'm left handed. I was originally going with a very simple, classic setting, but that's where my boyfriend came in and said he wanted something more unique, and I think the ring is a great reflection of our style and us as a couple. It's a bezel-set solitaire, and with no accent stones. I am positive I will never see another one like it in real life! :lol:

I'm glad to hear your feedback about palladium, too-- there's a lot of mixed reviews. Most of the negativesI've seen are that it hasn't been using for rings as long or as regularly as platinum or gold (and so there isn't as much known about long term wear), rather than that the metal is unsuitable or not durable enough for daily-wear rings. It was a budget friendly choice, and a nickel-allergy friendly choice, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it wears. Beth (the jeweler) thought it was a really good choice, and she was very honest with me about pros and cons of designs and materials throughout the process.

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I really like it too, and think that you have found a light but fairly saturated stone (I know an oxymoron). I really like it for its slight touch of violet. Mostly, I love it when folks find THE ONE and it appears that you sure did!
 
What a lovely lovely stone! That is probably my favorite shade for a Montana. How exciting!! Can't wait to see it in its new home! :appl: And congrats!
 
Gorgeous stone!!!
 
I adore the periwinkle color! It's gorgeous and will make a stunning and unique ering...congrats!
 
I love the delicate shade that still packs such a presence!
 
minousbijoux|1325368048|3092496 said:
I really like it too, and think that you have found a light but fairly saturated stone (I know an oxymoron). I really like it for its slight touch of violet. Mostly, I love it when folks find THE ONE and it appears that you sure did!

Thank you so much, miousbijoux! It is definitely THE ONE for me (just like my guy).

Novel|1325480349|3093306 said:
What a lovely lovely stone! That is probably my favorite shade for a Montana. How exciting!! Can't wait to see it in its new home! :appl: And congrats!

Thank you, Novel! I can't wait to see it (again) in its new home, too. I really love the color! I've been looking through my pictures to remind myself what it looks like.

tuffyluvr|1325524053|3093486 said:
Gorgeous stone!!!

Thank you tuffyluvr!

jezebelle|1325529228|3093538 said:
I adore the periwinkle color! It's gorgeous and will make a stunning and unique ering...congrats!

Thank you jezebelle! I started talking to a friend the other day about how I used to tell people, when I was a kid, that periwinkle is my favorite color, just because I loved saying it. (It's such a fun word!) Then I realized before posting this thread, that it's a really good descriptor for the color of this sapphire... I googled it, to be sure. :naughty: http://www.crayola.com/colorcensus/americas_favorites/display.cfm?color=268

MakingTheGrade|1325541683|3093649 said:
I love the delicate shade that still packs such a presence!

Thank you, MakingTheGrade! I'm a pretty pale person, so I wanted to go with a shade that wouldn't wash me out. I think we go very well together!


Still no ring pictures, sorry. He told me again on new year's that he was hoping he would have been able to propose already, but something is interfering with his plans-- I have no idea what. He said if things don't seem to be working out, he'll come up with a new plan. So... the waiting continues. It's not bothering me much, right now.
 
Chloe, I have been anxiously waiting your engagement ring :) I love that blue and as you might know, am waiting for a similar (possibly more medium) one. Can't wait to see the setting, I hope what's holding him up isnt too big a deal :)
 
maebelle|1325553613|3093770 said:
Chloe, I have been anxiously waiting your engagement ring :) I love that blue and as you might know, am waiting for a similar (possibly more medium) one. Can't wait to see the setting, I hope what's holding him up isnt too big a deal :)

Thank you maebelle! Yes, I remember that you have similar stone tastes.

I hope so too! ;)) But no updates, yet.
 
Long time no post! My fiance was waiting on the weather (he was waiting for a snow to propose-- so it didn't snow this winter) but we were officially engaged during a trip in April!

I also was traveling for work right afterward, so I didn't have time to post pictures, and then I saw some posts that made me question whether I wanted to share pictures of my ring (that I adore) on this forum... but I decided that pricescope was so important in helping me and my fiance understand what we wanted and what we could get, that it just wouldn't be right not to share. So at long last, I return with pictures!

Photo bombing. I hope no one minds!








A few pictures of the setting coming up in the next post!

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More!









And that's all the pictures I'm sharing, folks. :D Thank you for all your assistance during the ring finding process! :appl:

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Congratulations to you both!

The ring looks fantastic! The stone is fantastic. That is a great engagement ring!
:appl:
 
I adore your ring - the Montana sapphire is a beautiful periwinkle and so lively, and I've long been crushing on that bark-style band solitaire bezel setting! Congratulations to you both on your engagement!
 
Simply stunning. It's one of the nicest Montana sapphires I've seen in a while and the beautiful design and cutting just made it spectacular. Even bezeling it did not damper the sparkle. Lovely simple and practical setting which is great for all phases of your future lifestyle. Thank you for coming back to share your joy.
 
I'm so happy you're back! I have always loved your sapphire, and that ring absolutely does it justice! I love its sleek, clean lines, and its simplicity in an original way, if that's possible. It would be pretty but a bit mundane if it were it to be another bezel with a plain shank, but the shank makes the ring! Simply gorgeous! Congratulations - despite no snow - and feel free to provide new wonderful pics whenever you want! :bigsmile:
 
I usually don't come over to the colored stones. I should! Because your ring is beautiful! I love the way your sapphire is cut! And that color! Yummm!
 
Oh, I'm so glad we got to see the finished ring! It is beautiful! That color is so pretty, and sparkles that faceting throws off must be amazing. I love the organic band + bezel. Congratulations on your engagement!
 
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