Sapphire - Round VS. Oval

[NinjaWings]

Hello! First time poster, but thanks to my frequent surfing I'm pretty familiar with these boards.

My boyfriend and I are in the process of putting an engagement ring together. I have chosen to go for a sapphire as blue seems to be a lucky color in my life and I love sapphires! We have started looking at rings and stones, and I think that finding a stone first would make choosing the mounting much easier since I've given him the liberty to make that decision on his own... he wanted to be able to add some sort of mystery to the proposal Finding the stone together makes the process even more exciting!

So far, we're leaning towards rounds and ovals stones at around 1 - 2cts (I'm a size 4). Could anyone give me the pros and cons to choosing a round or oval stone? If we did choose a round sapphire then there would be a wider choice of rings to pick from. However, ovals seem more vibrant in terms of color. The shape we choose needs to look great as a royal/dark blue stone set in a diamond halo.

 

[eac]

You've picked a very classic style, so you'll have TONS of selection. One thing that will help maximize your ring range, oval or round, is if you go for a calibrated stone - one that is, for example, exactly 7 x 5 mm. I believe you can have a 1/2 mm of variance when you're looking to fit a standard setting. (If I'm wrong, any corrections are welcome.)

With that in mind, the rest is your personal taste. Many people love the classic symmetry of round stones. I greatly prefer ovals, myself, but whenever I see an oval sapphire with a diamond halo I do think "Lady Di."

 

[tara3056]

Rounds are less plentiful than ovals, though it's still not a particularly difficult shape to find - for example, I'm not sure anyone would want a marquise-cut sapphire, but if they were dead-set on it, they may have a very long search indeed!

Ovals can look larger for their carat weight, but you can run into cutting issues which may pop up more often in ovals than in rounds, like "bowties" and half-and-half extinction (where one half of the stone looks dark as the other half has nice light return). Rounds can have cut issues, too, of course, but typically not those particular issues.

Either way, it will be possible to find beautiful examples of sapphires in either shape. If I were you, I'd not narrow it down to one shape just yet, if you like them both. Search for the best round or oval sapphire, period, and then you (or your fiance-to-be!) can worry about the perfect setting for it later!

 

[chrono]

At this point, to open up your choices as much as possible, since you like both shapes, is to look for blue sapphires in ovals and rounds. There are pros and cons to both. Ovals are more plentiful than rounds but ovals also tend to have more cut issues (bowtie and easier to spot extinction) than rounds. You are correct though that your choices of settings for rounds are greater than ovals. Both shapes look great in a halo setting and the key is to get a stone that isn't overly dark. Have you given any thought as to the particular blue you are looking for? Any example blue sapphire pictures with the colour that is IT for you?

 

[colorluvr]

Are you planning on wearing this sapphire eRing with a type of wedding band, or will it be an "all in one ring"? If you plan to wear it with a band, you may find that there is less "gap" between a round eRing and the band than with an oval unless you get a custom made set so the band sits flush (if that is what you like).

There are also some simple Tiffany Cathedral type eRing settings that allow the band to sit flush (snugs under the stone) and in that case, you can do either an oval or a round, but the oval will lap over the band more if that makes any difference to you.

 

[NinjaWings]

This is the shade of blue we are looking for (HUGE pic): http://tinypic.com/r/2lbe26r/6

I know tons about diamonds, and unfortunately when I ask about sapphires at commercial jewelers they just use the typical diamond characteristics to describe them. We went to one jeweler who said that diamonds are typically popular as round because it is the best shape to show off the fire. Was he correct in saying that sparkle isn't as important of a characteristic in the sapphires? He showed us a round stone that was extremely dull (most likely because it was cut very flat), and an oval about 2 carats bigger with a much better cut. He said it is possible to find a round one with more sparkle but that it may be a little difficult... is it really possible or can we expect ovals to always have more shine?

In terms of rings, I'm looking for one that would have a thin band. I'm most interested in Tacori. I love the intricate mountings of the rings (what future fiance refers to as a "net", so observant!). We've also been looking at Martin Flyer, but I haven't seen any oval rings yet. Both designers' rings have some room to allow for bands to sit flush regardless of shape.

I guess what I really want to know is what exactly to look out for when choosing either shape. I'm starting to see that color is a factor making these stones more complicated to find than diamonds, but so far I'm kind of loving the challenge!

 

[chrono]

The example picture you posted is to a dark sapphire, probably too dark to be a good candidate for a halo. As an FYI, the tone is darker than the trade preferred medium dark.

Colour is always the priority when it comes to coloured stones but that doesn't mean one has to accept lousy cutting (dull, opaque, extinct, windowed, etc). There are sparkly rounds and dull rounds, just as there are sparkly ovals and dull ovals.

I suggest taking a look at these:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-to-coloured-gemstone-buying-read-this-first.174284/[/URL]
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/looking-for-a-blue-sapphire-start-here.185711/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/looking-for-a-blue-sapphire-start-here.185711/[/URL]

 

[Ilovegemsstones]

Hi

Dana seems to have a bright round Sapphire almost the color you are looking for
http://www.mastercutgems.com/preview.php?cat=301&id=6808

This is a Untreated stone a added ++

 

[Ilovegemsstones]

Here is an artical regarding the correct cutting of gemstones
http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/brilliance_windows_extinction.htm

As chorno said ,there can be round dull stones and Round stones with brilliance
also vise versa on ovals

Go with your heart , If you like round go for a round , if you like ovel go for an oval

 

[Lee Little]

Rounds can be more sparkling than an oval.

 

[LD]

You've picked a very classic style, so you'll have TONS of selection. One thing that will help maximize your ring range, oval or round, is if you go for a calibrated stone - one that is, for example, exactly 7 x 5 mm. I believe you can have a 1/2 mm of variance when you're looking to fit a standard setting. (If I'm wrong, any corrections are welcome.)

With that in mind, the rest is your personal taste. Many people love the classic symmetry of round stones. I greatly prefer ovals, myself, but whenever I see an oval sapphire with a diamond halo I do think "Lady Di."

Please please please don't limit your search to calibrated stones. Finding a great stone is challenging enough without throwing that into the mix! You can always have a setting made to fit your stone.

In terms of 1/2mm variance - it depends completely on the setting. For example there's hardly any tolerance in a bezel setting. With prongs you may have more tolerance - even up to 1mm - BUT it completely depends on your stone (in particular the depth) and the setting. You can end up with airlines and all sorts of other stuff.

Find the stone you love and then worry about the setting!