Searching for a 2ct+/- brilliant sky blue-corn flowe blue sapphire for minimal setting E-ring

[kitoto]

Hi everyone,

I just got engaged! My fiancé and I are searching for that special E-ring yet not much luck with local jeweler.
We want a brilliant sparkle light blue sapphire (icy, sky blue, light cornflower blue) about 2ct+/- on a solitaire white gold/platnum, tension/suspension setting. This is no easy task.
But we have time! And we are patient! Please give us some input and suggest reputable loose stone dealers.
Thanks!

 

[Burberrygirl]

The Nature Sapphire Company has beautiful loose stones and jewelry. What is your budget (if you don''t mind me asking)?

 

[chrono]

Have you thought about whether you want it unheated or gentle heating?
Have you decided on a budget (one for the stone and one for the setting)?
Have you thought about the mm size you want? 2 carats for gemstones can give you many different sized sapphires because they are all cut differently.


Here are some of the usual sapphire vendors that are recommended. Sometimes, not everything is on their website so you might have to email the vendor.
www.TheNaturalSapphireCompany.com
www.SimplySapphires.com
www.AwesomeGems.com
www.atggems.com
www.thegemtrader.com
www.diamondexpert.com
www.ajsgems.com


Those below are cutters so it is best to email them:
www.whitesgems.com
http://www.precisiongem.com/index.html
There is also Peter Tocarra but I don’t know his contact email.
The same goes for Michael E.
I’ve also heard good things about Rick from www.ArtCutGems.com

 

[kitoto]

wow! thanks soo much! I definately found something great in The Nature Sapphire Company! However, seems lilke our budge for the ring (/www.pricescope.com/idealbb/images/smilies/8.gif[/img]
Just the stone itself is~3000. I am afraid that adding the custom setting the price would be >5K.

is there some other creative ways? I am very new to purchasing loose stone online... Is there room to haggle without being rude?

 

[kitoto]

Forgot to answer some questions... I'd like to have something that's 7mm +/-, open to shape options but I think there is limitation for tension/suspension setting.
And I'm open to heated/unheated stone as well. I think unheated=natural, and heated enhances the color (also cheaper?).

 

[MonkeyPie]

Show us the one you liked on Natural Sapphire Company and we can look around for better prices in that color

 

[kitoto]

Okay, with everyone''s help so far I found 3 puppies that I really like on The Natural Sapphire Company. These are the comparison of the COLOR AND CUT that I like just to give an idea. Only the cousion one fits into the 2ct+/- weight, others are too big. Let''s see if we could found something similar with a better deal.

 

[MonkeyPie]

The cushion looks AWESOME.

 

[Tropicmaster]

Date: 7/31/2009 1:38:54 PM
Author: kitoto
wow! thanks soo much! I definately found something great in The Nature Sapphire Company! However, seems lilke our budge for the ring (<5K) is at the low end

Just the stone itself is~3000. I am afraid that adding the custom setting the price would be >5K.

is there some other creative ways? I am very new to purchasing loose stone online... Is there room to haggle without being rude?

Less than 5k is not only VERY doable, but you can do it with a better looking stone than the ones you posted below. NSC is on the upper end of pricing, and unless you are dead set on unheated I really suggest you spend some time looking around other vendors. There are some spectacular Sapphires out there that are considerably lower priced than anything you are showing us from NSC. The stone in my avatar is an unheated 7mm that went into my wifes E ring. Even set in a high end designer setting it was well under 5K. If an oval is ok with you Gary @ Finewater has a color change light blue that is to D_I_E for. I saw it in person last week and it will blow you away IRL. His per carat price is way under the ones you have searched out so far. That is by the way how you should be evaluating stones as far as price. Compare carat prices rather than total prices.

Here is the link to Gary's site
Sapphire - Finewater Gems

 

[kitoto]

Tropicmaster, your puppy is amazing! could you post a picture of your wife''s E-ring?

I really like the color changing stone, it''s so pretty but unfortunately a lot smaller than what I want. Does anyone see something like this in a 2CT+/- range?

 

[D&T]

I''m not quite sure what shape you are after, but here are just a couple from palagems however, you will need to have a dealer/resaler (jeweler) to call in for a price quote though

http://www.palagems.com/php/db_search.php?action=gemdetail&inventory_number=16677

http://www.palagems.com/php/db_search.php?action=gemdetail&inventory_number=16678

 

[D&T]

Date: 7/31/2009 4:05:01 PM
Author: MonkeyPie
The cushion looks AWESOME.

ditto to MP

 

[kitoto]

D&T,
thanks! they are beautiful and HUGE! I think I''ll check out the website for something that''s ~2ct+/-.

 

[D&T]

and here is another, you might have already seen this or not? maybe a little over budget though?
http://www.simplysapphires.com/html/imagesblue2006/bluecgs470-sm.html

 

[sleepyspinel]

Thats a great stone D&T, and all the better for being untreated I have seen other pics of that stone and it has a very serene cool blue.

Date: 7/31/2009 11:58:05 PM
Author: D&T
and here is another, you might have already seen this or not? maybe a little over budget though?
http://www.simplysapphires.com/html/imagesblue2006/bluecgs470-sm.html

 

[sleepyspinel]

A tension setting has certain limits as far as how deep the stone is since the part of the ring that clamps on the girdle of the stone needs to be at least a bit thicker/taller than the stone and most sapphires are cut rather deep to maximize stone color. Personally, I''d go for the best stone you can get and shoot for a simple solitaire as an initial setting with a possible upgrade in the future to celebrate an anniversary or something.

According to this well written reference:
"The main point when selecting a sapphire of two or more carats, regardless of its color tone or country of origin, is an attractive mosaic pattern. [facet pattern]

For smaller stones, choose one with a lighter color rather than an overly dark stone. For pieces used and worn in jewelry, the stone should be brilliant under various types of lighting.

Large sapphires with a somewhat light color are recommended, as they will be both beautiful and affordable. "

I am 100% in agreement with this thought since the lighter toned, yet decently saturated, stones will always appear blue even in dimmer lighting situations (like at night) instead of "blacking out"; also the lighter tone helps to accentuate the facet pattern and light return. The trade off is a stone that can be a bit washedout by the brilliance in bright light situations, but if people can see the stone from a distance because of its brilliance... it is a trade off I am THRILLED to make

One other thing, I and several others on this board have had a good experience with Simply Sapphires, if that is helpful.

-SS

Date: 7/31/2009 1:41:23 PM
Author: kitoto
Forgot to answer some questions... I''d like to have something that''s 7mm +/-, open to shape options but I think there is limitation for tension/suspension setting.
And I''m open to heated/unheated stone as well. I think unheated=natural, and heated enhances the color (also cheaper?).

 

[Tropicmaster]

Date: 7/31/2009 10:07:23 PM
Author: kitoto
Tropicmaster, your puppy is amazing! could you post a picture of your wife''s E-ring?

I really like the color changing stone, it''s so pretty but unfortunately a lot smaller than what I want. Does anyone see something like this in a 2CT+/- range?

Here is a link to a thread with several pics of her E ring.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/sapphire-ering.99325/


I am also including a link to a size chart so that you can see what different millimeter sizes look like in different cuts. You need to be looking for the size in millimeters that your setting will accept, rather than a carat weight. For example my wifes setting would accept anything between 6.8 and 7.1 mm. If you print the chart what you see on the paper will be life sized for that MM.

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/nscnet/linkinfo/actual-diamond-size1.pdf

Our stone ended up weighing 1.98 ct but there was a wide range in the stones we looked at within the 6.8-7.1 mm category. One 7.1 we looked at weighed 1.6 and one 6.92 weighed 2.18. Some were cut shallow and some were cut deep. Native cut stones tend to be cut for weight, and will not have as large a face up size as something precision cut here.

 

[PinkTower]

Can colored stones be set in those settings? I don''t know. The very name, "tension" scares me. That seems like a nice way of saying "pressured", or "compressed". I would not want my colored gemstone subjected to that.

 

[D&T]

Date: 8/1/2009 7:52:25 AM
Author: Pink Tower
Can colored stones be set in those settings? I don''t know. The very name, ''tension'' scares me. That seems like a nice way of saying ''pressured'', or ''compressed''. I would not want my colored gemstone subjected to that.

I think when it is done correctly it is fine like this example below.. beautiful.

You can also do a faux tension with a cross bar underneath which then becomes more a channel and no pressure many still want to call them Tension even though it really isn''t but looks great though

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/got-my-blue-sapphire-stone.94901/

 

[kitoto]

Thank you guys so much! I''ve emailed most of the websites, asking for a 7mm. Here is the Stuart Moore setting that I want. I think for the suspension I need to get a stone that doesn''t have a fat belly.

 

[sapphire.panda]

How about this 4.83 carat puppy for $3600 from Gemline?

link: http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6638

I bought my sapphire from Michael, he was very easy to work with.

 

[sapphire.panda]

another picture...

 

[D&T]

Date: 8/1/2009 10:17:43 PM
Author: sapphire.panda
another picture...

thats a pretty color

 

[chrono]

Date: 8/1/2009 10:16:35 PM
Author: sapphire.panda
How about this 4.83 carat puppy for $3600 from Gemline?

link: http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=6638

I bought my sapphire from Michael, he was very easy to work with.

Link fixed.

 

[sapphire.panda]

Thanks Chrono! How do you post links so they work?

 

[Upgradable]

Date: 8/1/2009 10:17:43 PM
Author: sapphire.panda
another picture...

SLURPITY SLURP SLURP!!

 

[kitoto]

Hi everyone,

Thank you soooooo much for all your input

I kind of set my mind on 2 stones from NSC, based on the exact color and size that I want. And I was thinking:

1. They are freaking expensive!!!! For>$1300/ct I guess their stones have extremely high quality? I am a serious buyer yet I am also a newbie. Do people pay full price for what the website list for? Is there anyroom to haggle? Is it rude to do so?

2. The setting.... I know the round cut would fit perfectly on the Stuart Moore suspension setting, but that stone is also ~1000 more than another one. Could someone give me some ideas for the cushion cut''s minimal/suspension setting? I prefer no prown. I will want to wear it with my wedding band and do not want to live with a challenging set for the rest of my life.

Thanks!

 

[sapphire.panda]

The NSC stones are pretty and if unheated/untreated is important to you, they have a large selection, but...their stones are not as well cut as American precision cut gemstones, and they are very expensive. For a similar per carat price, you could get something from Richard Homer (www.concavegems.com). Another option would be a custom cut gem from Dana Reynolds (www.mastercutgems.com). Dana recut my sapphire from Gemline, and he did a fantastic job!

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 8/3/2009 10:06:25 PM
Author: sapphire.panda
The NSC stones are pretty and if unheated/untreated is important to you, they have a large selection, but...their stones are not as well cut as American precision cut gemstones, and they are very expensive. For a similar per carat price, you could get something from Richard Homer (www.concavegems.com). Another option would be a custom cut gem from Dana Reynolds (www.mastercutgems.com). Dana recut my sapphire from Gemline, and he did a fantastic job!

You are looking for something around 7 mm. Here is a 6.9 mm from Richard Homer for $1,960. This leaves a bit of money for the setting. Richard's concave cuts are amazing.

 

[kitoto]

Sapphire Panda and Fly Girl, I LOVE YOU TWO!!!

The one on Richard Homer''s website is AHHHMAZING! I''m very interested in it

I also found one on Dana Reynolds'' website... It''s kind of like a color changing stone (blue/green)... I really love it because I have been wearing my grandma''s really light green jade bracelet for many years (it''s almost impossible to take it off now as I grown up) and the color of the gem definately matches it.

Here''s then my question:

WHY ARE THE PRICES SO DIFFERENT, LIKE in extreme, 10X DIFFRENT?
I am not saying that me and my fiance are super filthy rich, but, why the prices from these two master cutters are dramatically cheaper than NSC?

Richard Homer''s stone that we looked at is heated. HOW BAD IS IT comparing to unheated?
The only concern I have is that the stone will be mount on a tension/suspension setting, and it needs to be very strong, so overtime it won''t wear off and fell off.

Dana Reynolds'' stone is natural (unheated), but 10X cheaper for a comparible price.
NSC''s is Perfect loop clean really worth 10X than Dana''s VVS-VS?

Thanks again everyone!