Please help me find my gorgeous "OMG" blue sapphire

[Lilith112]

@SparkleC if you're willing to work w/an overseas vendor, I saw this 3ct.unheated sapphire recently:



What dp you think?

 

[MainSequence]

As this is my first time buying a loose sapphire I confess I'm still learning. I thought "glowy" implied less brilliance. The vendor describes the cushion as glowy.

Yes and no? In my experience which is admittedly somewhat limited, I think glow is a factor of how much silk inclusion is in the stone, and sparkle/brilliance is related to the cut - kind of like diamonds, an emerald-cut sapphire or diamond won't have the same sparkle as a round brilliant cut. Yes, if there is too much silk to where the stone is basically a star sapphire, you aren't going to get sparkle, but you can absolutely get a slightly sleepy stone that has a glow and some silk inclusion but is still mostly transparent, and has a cut that will also flash some brilliance.

 

[SparkleC]

@ icy_jade I'll try to get some hand shots with both together tomorrow. This week is homecoming at my university and we're also having an unexpected early winter snow storm passing through. I've been overwhelmed with managing details and trying to keep everyone from freaking out! I just got home from coronation for homecoming court.

 

[SparkleC]

@Rfisher I agree...I will walk very carefully around the house! I can just imagine tripping over the dogs and the stones go flying!

And yes I agree,I'd like to smash them together.

My budget is $5K. They are within $500 of budget max.

 

[SparkleC]

@SparkleC I’ll ask the mods to remove my posts if you deem them distracting as I can’t find the backup I was looking for.

No problem. It's good information.

 

[SparkleC]

Silky/brilliance definitely depends on lighting! My sapphire looks more sparkly in artificial indoor lighting e.g office lighting, but very glowy in sunlight. There's also some lightings where it looks partially glowy and sparkly! Ideally, I like a bit of both for max performance.

Thanks. Very interesting. I'll look more closely and compare them.

 

[SparkleC]

Yes and no? In my experience which is admittedly somewhat limited, I think glow is a factor of how much silk inclusion is in the stone, and sparkle/brilliance is related to the cut - kind of like diamonds, an emerald-cut sapphire or diamond won't have the same sparkle as a round brilliant cut. Yes, if there is too much silk to where the stone is basically a star sapphire, you aren't going to get sparkle, but you can absolutely get a slightly sleepy stone that has a glow and some silk inclusion but is still mostly transparent, and has a cut that will also flash some brilliance.

That makes sense. Thank you.

 

[SparkleC]

@SparkleC if you're willing to work w/an overseas vendor, I saw this 3ct.unheated sapphire recently:
What dp you think?

Lovely stone. As this is my first foray into buying on line, I'll stick to domestic. And I really like the vendor I'm working with. I want to be fair with her.

 

[2Neesers]

@Rfisher I agree...I will walk very carefully around the house! I can just imagine tripping over the dogs and the stones go flying!

I would lay them on the palm side of your hand, instead of the back of your hand. I learned the hard way that stones can easily “jump” off of the back of your hand with even a slight twitch . I feel like they are better protected in a slightly cupped palm of the hand.

 

[SparkleC]

So sorry for the long delay. We had our first winter storm and it was homecoming week at my university. Chaos ensues! Just returned home from weekend travels and had our first sunny day in quite a while. Thank you for the great advice to lay the stones beside each other to take pictures. Now we have a true comparison in exact same light at the same time. My photography hasn't improved, I'm afraid. Here's my best efforts from the many I took today.

Here are some shots outside around 4:00 this afternoon.
























Remnants of our snow.

 

[SparkleC]

More outdoor shots

 

[SparkleC]

Some indoor shots:

In the kitchen


In the pantry with awful lighting




In the guest room. Dark room beside window in late afternoon sun.




Dining room








Low light in the living room




Under a lamp in the living room

 

[SparkleC]

I have a few videos but I can't figure out how to upload them. I use an MacBook. If anyone can let me know, happy to post.

 

[SparkleC]

I have a few concerns about the stones. What do you think?

The cushion seems to gray out. Also it appears the become almost colorless on the edges in some angles. Example:




The round looks to have some sections through the middle where it appears to black out.



Thoughts?

 

[Rad_Fan]

If you route the round, are the same areas under the table staying dark? I saw sparkle from that area on a few of the living room pictures...

Is the cushion slightly more sleepy in your opinion?

 

[pwsg07]

I have a few videos but I can't figure out how to upload them. I use an MacBook. If anyone can let me know, happy to post.

Put it on youtube or other social media then post it here

 

[lmyracle]

Which stone do YOU like more? If neither tugs at your heartstrings, keep looking. Don't settle and take your time finding the right one for you.

 

[qubitasaurus]

Wouldn't worry about either stone being see through at the edges. That'll probably change when you pop it in a setting (and if I was particularly worried I would go test this for myself with a semi mount). However if one of them goes grey and washed out in lighting you spend a bunch of time in then that one is probably a nope -- i seem to remember they're not cheap, they shouldn't be shifting to be especially greyish.

 

[SparkleC]

If you route the round, are the same areas under the table staying dark? I saw sparkle from that area on a few of the living room pictures...

Is the cushion slightly more sleepy in your opinion?

Hi Rad_Fan:

I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean by route the round? The dark line is present in different lighting conditions.

Yes, the cushion is more sleepy.

 

[NKOTB]

Does either one make you think OMG when you look at it? If not, move on. And don’t feel obliged to keep working with this vendor just because they’re nice and have given you two options. Don’t drop a pile of money so you don’t feel like you’ve wasted their time. You may buy something else from them in the future. There are other stones and vendors out there, trust me when I say you will KNOW when you see the one you want.

 

[SparkleC]

Which stone do YOU like more? If neither tugs at your heartstrings, keep looking. Don't settle and take your time finding the right one for you.

I've read this excellent advice several times here for myself and others. I have very little experience with high quality sapphires in person. I live in a very small town and the next biggest town is 3 hours away. No shops here carry anything of this quality and the non-mall/well regarding shop in the larger city didn't have any stones of quality. So part of my handicap is I don't have a lot of experience. So I think this advice becomes even more important. I have to love it because I'm going to wear it for a long, long time. I trust the vendor I'm working with so I believe that the stones I'm looking at are a good quality. It all boils down to what I love and what I can get within budget. (5K)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[SparkleC]

However if one of them goes grey and washed out in lighting you spend a bunch of time in then that one is probably a nope -- i seem to remember they're not cheap, they shouldn't be shifting to be especially greyish.

Yes, I feel like the cushion does grey out at times.

 

[SparkleC]

Does either one make you think OMG when you look at it? If not, move on. And don’t feel obliged to keep working with this vendor just because they’re nice and have given you two options. Don’t drop a pile of money so you don’t feel like you’ve wasted their time. You may buy something else from them in the future. There are other stones and vendors out there, trust me when I say you will KNOW when you see the one you want.

I want to see where the hunt will take me with this vendor. These are only the first two I've seen.

And yes, when I see the OMG stone, I will feel it and KNOW it's the one!!

 

[Rad_Fan]

I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean by route the round? The dark line is present in different lighting conditions.

I meant rotate, sorry for the typo.

 

[SparkleC]

I meant rotate, sorry for the typo.

oh of course. Sorry! Yes the line is often present in low light/dark conditions. But sometimes if I rotate it just right, it’s all sparkly. But it’s often quite a dance to rotate it just right to see the sparkle and get the line to disappear. I know it’s not a magic stone! It’s going to be affected by light or lack there of. I just need to find my comfort level with how dark I’m ok with.

 

[MainSequence]

I think I like the round better between the two of these, though they are both a bit dark. In your first post you'd said cornflower or electric blue and I think these maybe tend more towards like a royal blue? Not that that can't still be very pretty, but it does seem like these are photographing darker than you'd originally wanted to find. It's a good learning experience though, especially now since you have a baseline for this vendor's stones in person vs their glamour shots, that should help you estimate how other stones of theirs would look in person if you keep working with them online

 

[SparkleC]

@MainSequence yes! exactly. I confess I find describing color very difficult. As this is my first foray into high end sapphires, I am learning a lot and after seeing these two, I think I might actually like one a little lighter and on the sparkly side rather than glowy. Funny you should bring up the idea of seeing them in person vs the "glamour shots." That's exactly how I described it to the vendor. I didn't really understand that concept of glamour shots until I actually saw the stones in person. I sent them both back today and we're looking for a few more now that I have a better idea of what I want.

 

[minousbijoux]

It's amazing how different any stone looks depending on the light. I remember when I first started looking, falling in love with vendor photos, then buying the stones, not realizing that those shots were typically the best they'd look, and they would vary depending upon the lighting. I don't know what I was thinking - I guess I really wasn't. Now I'm practiced at discounting the vendor photos, going by the descriptions, and/or asking for additional photos on a hand. Funny how easy it's gotten.

SparkleC, sounds like you're well on your way to understanding sapphires and vendor photos.

 

[MainSequence]

@MainSequence yes! exactly. I confess I find describing color very difficult. As this is my first foray into high end sapphires, I am learning a lot and after seeing these two, I think I might actually like one a little lighter and on the sparkly side rather than glowy. Funny you should bring up the idea of seeing them in person vs the "glamour shots." That's exactly how I described it to the vendor. I didn't really understand that concept of glamour shots until I actually saw the stones in person. I sent them both back today and we're looking for a few more now that I have a better idea of what I want.

Can't wait to see pics of what you evaluate next!

 

[SparkleC]

It's amazing how different any stone looks depending on the light. I remember when I first started looking, falling in love with vendor photos, then buying the stones, not realizing that those shots were typically the best they'd look, and they would vary depending upon the lighting. I don't know what I was thinking - I guess I really wasn't. Now I'm practiced at discounting the vendor photos, going by the descriptions, and/or asking for additional photos on a hand. Funny how easy it's gotten.

SparkleC, sounds like you're well on your way to understanding sapphires and vendor photos.

Thank you, minousbijoux! Very high praise coming from you. I can't wait to see what comes next!!