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Searching for a Splendid Sapphire

T

teebz

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 6, 2017
Messages
5
Hello all,
I was wondering if I might trouble you lovely people with some advice/thoughts/feedback/help in my search for a sapphire for an engagement ring for my wonderful partner.

I’m looking at a budget of about $3000USD for the total. At this stage my preference is to spend as much as I can get away with on the stone – I am a postgraduate student, and I figure I can upgrade the setting when there is a bit more money around.

At this stage I am looking for a sky blue/Robins egg blue/or ‘peacock’ blue sapphire. I’ve shown my partners some of the gems at Earths treasury and these were the colours she liked. She loved these because they are a little bit different to what we are used to seeing. We were also looking at jewellery for fun whilst in Myanmar, and she loved this cheapy she tried on and would be very happy with something inspired by this (see attached)

Ultimately though she would like me to surprise her. I also don’t want to spoil the surprise of my proposal through talking about it too much more. I just want to give her something amazing that she loves and that she is proud of - she deserves it.

At this stage I keep going back to the Montana sapphires at Earthstreasury – ET was the first site I looked at, and with the beautiful presentation and photography I’m finding it difficult to consider other options. I don’t think this is a great idea – it’d be good to see a price comparison I suppose (ET seems a little pricier than other places), and I also haven’t found the perfect stone that just blows me away. For reference,something like this stone bought by another pricescope user would be perfect (though admittedly over budget) http://www.earthstreasury.com/product/1-85-carat-aqua-blue-montana-sapphire/

Ultimately I am hoping for a beautifully cut stone in the aforementioned colours. If anyone feels like having a gander, can advise on some good sellers to check out, or otherwise has any general feedback or advice on how to proceed during this slightly terrifying process that would be brilliant.

I should note I’m located in Australia so am hopeful of getting it right the first time as returns will be a little tough. I am also unsure on acquiring the setting/other gems, but it makes sense to pick out the centre stone first right?

Apologies for the wall of text and thank you so much for any help you can offer – this site has already been brilliant.

EDIT: To fix links and add attachment

_39004.jpg
 
 
Hi Valeria,

Thanks for your reply! I fixed the links now. That is indeed a beautiful stone, but probably a little out of price range. I actually am not bothered with a greyish colour - I think the example could also be described that way. I hope I haven't used a technical term with splendid - I was just going with alliteration because I'm silly!
 
Will look around !

See the new link in my post (edited).
 
I do like the color of the sapphire in that ring ! It certainly does not look gray to me. The sum total of the ring would be nicer with beefier diamond marquises or pears.

Perhaps even happier, summer sky blue is possible, but would not expect to find one any sooner than a reasonable sample of the other colors mentioned (a stone under 1 ct seems possible with your budget: in That spinel blue - a small-ish 'dot' does have presence, IHMO).

Do I mind some gray or some green in the light blue ? No.

Here-s a Montana. Somehow, I end up just above your quote ! Unintended ...

John Dyer 2ct 'El Dorado' sky blue


A couple of smaller sapphires from the same source might fit the bill:

https://johndyergems.com/catalog_pages/gemstone-color-Blue1.html


Good luck !
 
It sounds like you are on the right track with a montana sapphire -- I don't know a lot about montana sapphires (as they colour shift a little too much for me) but I think earth's treasury, blazengems, greenlake jewlery and I think Chrono is right gemfix can help you. The only thing is that since you are in Aus you should read everyone's shipping policies before falling in love with their stones.

edited to say this might work, but please do check people's shipping policies (as I don't know enough to be sure who will ship to you, I just know gemfix will be a problem)

http://www.torraca.net/projects/sapmt1061/
 
I would personally try to have Alistair kelsey make your ring (if possible). See if he has any sources for sapphires in your price point/color preference. He is incredibly talented and wonderful to work with!
 
I'm another one that loves Steve Wallner of Westview Gem's sapphire. Sounds like a great match from your description of what you seek?
 
Thank you for all the replies! I will have a look at Alexander Kelsey's stuff.

I like the sapphire from Westview Gems, though I did have my heart set on a round stone. I was also probably anticipating spending a bit more on the stone - $750 seems on the lower side. Is there any reason why that is seemingly much better value than the stones I'd been looking at on Earths Treasury? For instance, I quite like this one: http://www.earthstreasury.com/product/1-28-carat-peacock-blue-montana-sapphire/

Many thanks again.
 
If she likes peacock colours you can also consider looking at Nigerian sapphires from the Taraba area, some have nice teal colours.
 
teebz said:
Thank you for all the replies! I will have a look at Alexander Kelsey's stuff.

I like the sapphire from Westview Gems, though I did have my heart set on a round stone. I was also probably anticipating spending a bit more on the stone - $750 seems on the lower side. Is there any reason why that is seemingly much better value than the stones I'd been looking at on Earths Treasury?
Click to expand...

Wanting a round is helpful to know. That narrows the search.

Honestly, just because the price is lower doesn't mean it's any lesser of a stone, especially when it's from Steve. It's very well cut and it's an unheated sapphire. Every vendor has their own reasons for pricing. But if you want to spend more, I'm sure we can help you do that. haha
 
Agree with SparkliesLuver that paying more doesn't necessarily mean getting better quality. There are many variables to coloured stone pricing. You can also think of it as getting a great deal!

In any case, round it is then.
 
Thanks all for the tips.

I spoke to my partner a little more last night. She also likes the oval cuts, and her favourite stones are the peacock sort of colours. I'll keep looking and might post some I like and see your thoughts.

Thank you so much for all your posts, it is so nice to find such a helpful and friendly community!
 
Out of curiosity, have you thought about who you would like to set the stone and what type of setting she would like (stuff with more daimonds is pricier)? I ask because it might be easier to work out how much you need to put asside for the setting and import taxes then work backwards to decide on a good amount for the stone.

By the way I agree with everyone, a higher price does not neccessarily mean better. Some vendors are just really nice and pass on the discounts they get from their contacts (and old stock), others have lots of overheads which they need to cover for their buisness to stay afloat. I think it is complex. There is a good link in this blog post (which will cover how some of the vendors you are considering price their stones. I like the post because it made me aware of how complicated the process is)

https://thegemandi.wordpress.com/2016/08/06/prices/
 
I'm not too sure on who I would get to do the setting. I suppose my philosophy is to get a great stone first and adjust spend on the setting accordingly - the idea being that can always be updated. My partner likes the simple settings, perhaps with some very small diamonds in the band.

Re: money not determining the quality of the stone, that makes sense. I suppose I have two concerns after seeing that cheaper sapphire from Westview gems - 1) I don't want there to be a feeling the stone I've chosen is taking the 'cheap' option, which I know is a bit materialistic/vain and 2) the sapphires at arthstreasury seem overpriced comparatively.

In any case, I have contacted Westview gems to see if Steve has anything that might be suitable. I also really like the look of the whitesgems and precisiongem. I can see they have some Montana rough, so was considering contacting them. I'm not sure if getting a rough stone cut might be a risk option for a newbie like me?

Thanks again
 
No worries, the only thing which really matters is that she loves the ring, and that it makes you happy to give it to her. So anything which makes both of you happier, is a valid way to use the money.

The westview gems stones certainly look lovely, and look like a great place to start. A custom cut stone from whitesgems might also be a good fit. As it can be difficult to judge stones from pics alone, and montana sapphires shift colour in different lighting situations. The ability to talk directly to the cutter about what you want may actually make it easier for you. Especially since returns are tricky. The risk of a custom cut stone is that if you eventually decide not to proceed with the purchase, then some portion of the cost is non-refundable. I don't think precision gems usually takes commissions, but it never hurts to ask.

Perhaps you could try talking to a few jewelers, while you are waiting to hear more about the stones. It would be good to put aside a little money for the setting (my guess is that you will need a custom setting which is designed to fit the (non-standard) dimensions of the stone you are buying -- this shouldn't be that expensive but it is still worth budgeting for.). When I started I thought it would be easier to do things one at a time, but I actually found it easier to do everything in parallel. Once I found a great jeweler, I just felt a lot more confident.
 
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