Show Me Your Blue Sapphire Rings: PS Addition

[Lentibulariaceae]

I’m so sorry…this is the last one!

My camera finally picked up the color fairly accurately

Holy wow! That color is just unearthly!

 

[Dr_Diesel]

Holy wow! That color is just unearthly!

It really is. It reminds me of why I paid such a stupidly high price for that sapphire

Honestly, I wasn’t even looking. It just fell into my lap. I dropped by a trade show that was passing through Bangkok while I was in town.

I was pretty firm with myself about not buying anything (best laid plans and all that…)

I was just there because it’s a great opportunity to catch up with friends from all over the globe.

…and then one of my Sri Lankan friends reached into his bag and said “bro, you gotta see this.”

 

[Begonia]

It really is. It reminds me of why I paid such a stupidly high price for that sapphire

Honestly, I wasn’t even looking. It just fell into my lap. I dropped by a trade show that was passing through Bangkok while I was in town.

I was pretty firm with myself about not buying anything (best laid plans and all that…)

I was just there because it’s a great opportunity to catch up with friends from all over the globe.

…and then one of my Sri Lankan friends reached into his bag and said “bro, you gotta see this.”

The story is as good as the stone.
(I've come to btw)

 

[Avondale]

Time for me to add my blues to this thread as well. Nothing particular happened. It was just a sunny day and I took some pretty pictures and now I’m itching to show them somewhere.



Kitty wanted to see what I was doing so there’s also a complimentary photo with whiskers in the frame.

 

[cushioncutnut]

Time for me to add my blues to this thread as well. Nothing particular happened. It was just a sunny day and I took some pretty pictures and now I’m itching to show them somewhere.



Kitty wanted to see what I was doing so there’s also a complimentary photo with whiskers in the frame.

Eeewwe! Gorgeous blues!

 

[Catmom]

Time for me to add my blues to this thread as well. Nothing particular happened. It was just a sunny day and I took some pretty pictures and now I’m itching to show them somewhere.



Kitty wanted to see what I was doing so there’s also a complimentary photo with whiskers in the frame.

Now those are some gorgeous blues!!!

 

[Dr_Diesel]

Time for me to add my blues to this thread as well. Nothing particular happened. It was just a sunny day and I took some pretty pictures and now I’m itching to show them somewhere.



Kitty wanted to see what I was doing so there’s also a complimentary photo with whiskers in the frame.

Those are all incredible! The intensity of the one on the center is jaw-dropping!

…and the one to the far right has an almost Kashmir-like hue,

Can you tell us more about these stunners?

 

[Avondale]

Those are all incredible! The intensity of the one on the center is jaw-dropping!

…and the one to the far right has an almost Kashmir-like hue,

Can you tell us more about these stunners?

You want me to talk about my sapphires?





The left one is a preloved treasure I scored from fellow PSer ilovegemstones. Unheated and at just over a carat, I never would've been able to afford it brand new. It's a fascinating gem - it's always blue aside from the times it shifts towards violet. It fluoresces red all throughout. It's also crazy photogenic.

The right one I bought from nutellakitty. It loves the sun. In shade you can definitely see the stone looks teal in one corner under a specific angle, and if you look through the pavilion the colour zoning is obvious. It's less than a carat. But it has a nice cut that maximises its good qualities so it looks like a million bucks, plus the flower setting has a firm grip on my heart. Genius design from nutellakitty.

The one in the centre is my soulmate, if such a thing were to exist in gem form. My husband spotted it at one of the local jewellery stores. Tricked me into going to see it (he promised we were going shopping for ingredients for chicken curry). And I could not unsee it.

You see, I'm sure you've often experienced how phone cameras help the blues. People like blue skies in their photos, after all, so everything blue gets a bump in saturation. This one sapphire doesn't get that. There isn't any more saturation to add to it. Back at the store, you put it next to any of the other sapphires and they just stop existing, they pale in comparison. Bought the other two sapphire rings after this one - both were met with initial disappointment because I was so used to seeing this crazy saturated blue, and had to give them a couple of days to develop my full appreciation for them.

It's a little over 2ct, heated of course, and with a bit of a darker body tone so it's more of a moody blue in low light. My HG blue sapphire would be something similar to this one, with colour saturation to match, and just a lighter blue. I'm not sure I'm ever going to find it at a price point I'm able to afford though. This one, I realise now, I was crazy lucky to find and get.

 

[Dr_Diesel]

You want me to talk about my sapphires?





The left one is a preloved treasure I scored from fellow PSer ilovegemstones. Unheated and at just over a carat, I never would've been able to afford it brand new. It's a fascinating gem - it's always blue aside from the times it shifts towards violet. It fluoresces red all throughout. It's also crazy photogenic.

The right one I bought from nutellakitty. It loves the sun. In shade you can definitely see the stone looks teal in one corner under a specific angle, and if you look through the pavilion the colour zoning is obvious. It's less than a carat. But it has a nice cut that maximises its good qualities so it looks like a million bucks, plus the flower setting has a firm grip on my heart. Genius design from nutellakitty.

The one in the centre is my soulmate, if such a thing were to exist in gem form. My husband spotted it at one of the local jewellery stores. Tricked me into going to see it (he promised we were going shopping for ingredients for chicken curry). And I could not unsee it.

You see, I'm sure you've often experienced how phone cameras help the blues. People like blue skies in their photos, after all, so everything blue gets a bump in saturation. This one sapphire doesn't get that. There isn't any more saturation to add to it. Back at the store, you put it next to any of the other sapphires and they just stop existing, they pale in comparison. Bought the other two sapphire rings after this one - both were met with initial disappointment because I was so used to seeing this crazy saturated blue, and had to give them a couple of days to develop my full appreciation for them.

It's a little over 2ct, heated of course, and with a bit of a darker body tone so it's more of a moody blue in low light. My HG blue sapphire would be something similar to this one, with colour saturation to match, and just a lighter blue. I'm not sure I'm ever going to find it at a price point I'm able to afford though. This one, I realise now, I was crazy lucky to find and get.

It really was an incredible find! The stunning purity and saturation of that color comes through so clearly in the photos - and in a way that just cannot be faked. It also seems to be beautifully cut and well-proportioned. You hit the jackpot!

The task of even sourcing material like that is like searching for a needle in a haystack - and this is coming from someone who frequents trade shows, lives part of the year near Bangkok’s gem district and has Sri Lankan friends in the sapphire trade!

… but even if you could find a color like that, affording it nowadays is a different matter entirely.

Such a gift to be able to treasure what we already have and the things that just kind of fall into our lives!

on a side note, one of my furballs also gets very curious about gems

 

[Avondale]

@Dr_Diesel You're too flattering. The way you write this, one's gonna think this is the sapphire to rule all sapphires. It's not that spectacular. And I can promise the cut isn't at all perfect - I've added a backing to the setting to hide the window.

But you're also scaring me a bit with this talk. I don't see myself as being done buying blue sapphires. Not in the immediate future, I have some big expenses coming up over the next year, but after that... I do intend to hunt for that velvet blue. Surely it can't be that impossible to find it.

on a side note, one of my furballs also gets very curious about gems

This is an adorable furball! And yeah, I totally get that, mine also want to eat the gems for whatever reason. Especially the young one, he likes glittery things and will play with my jewellery if I don't put it away in boxes. And then next morning I find a random necklace on the middle of the living room floor.

 

[Dr_Diesel]

@Dr_Diesel You're too flattering. The way you write this, one's gonna think this is the sapphire to rule all sapphires. It's not that spectacular. And I can promise the cut isn't at all perfect - I've added a backing to the setting to hide the window.

But you're also scaring me a bit with this talk. I don't see myself as being done buying blue sapphires. Not in the immediate future, I have some big expenses coming up over the next year, but after that... I do intend to hunt for that velvet blue. Surely it can't be that impossible to find it.

I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to have that effect!

From the way you described it, the stone really captivated you. Based on the photos, I can see why. I was just hoping to convey the notion that we are fortunate when such things find their way into our lives.

As far as sourcing new Sapphires, it’s getting more challenging all the time. My friends in the trade tell me that they continue to pay higher and higher prices to replenish stock because that’s all that’s available. I often go to their offices, just to see what they have and play with their stock, but I rarely see anything that makes me feel like I want it.

I actually just went by the jewelry trade center yesterday and poked around to see what they had available.

Right now, if you bargain, the lowest you can typically get is about $1300 per carat for clean, heated blues with decent (but not great) color and cutting in the 1+ct range.

Only 2 of several hundred held my attention long enough to even register. Upon closer examination, they were less impressive.

This one was the best of the bunch IMO. The dealer was asking $1600/ct and bargaining bottomed out at $1300/ct.

1.62ct = $2106 for the stone. The trouble is, it really didn’t “wow” me at all. I felt nothing when I saw it and ultimately didn’t really want it.

The prices go up substantially at the 2 & 3 ct marks for heated material. Assume about double for unheated Sri Lankan material and much more for Burmese Origin (which are hard to source at all, especially in decent quality).

…but again, these prices are for the “nothing special” color grades.

Well-cut and eye-clean Intense cornflower blues and super-saturated Royal blues (by my personal standards) are things I might see once every 2 years or so if I hit 2 trade shows per year.

If you’re looking for velvet blue or peacock blue (per Lotus labs definition)… they are unicorns.

I’m always looking for them, but I’m not sure that I’ve ever actually found any for sale outside of auction or with private collectors who aren’t selling them.

The ones that come anywhere close are typically unheated and have price tags so high, that I think I have a slight seizure when I hear them. I say that because I can’t actually remember any figures. I just walk away with the sense that the prices are far higher than anything I could ever consider paying.

In any case, what you already have is truly special and not easy to obtain. Enjoy that!!!

Her’s a comparison:

I know which one I prefer!!!

In any case, I hope that using actual data and hard numbers was more useful than the impressionistic report that I gave in my last post.

 

[Avondale]

From the way you described it, the stone really captivated you.

It does! I'm just being realistic - as much as I love it, it's far from perfect. Now, your stone, the one in the black rhodium setting - I'd love to own one like that, someday. Maybe. If I'm lucky.

In any case, I hope that using actual data and hard numbers was more useful than the impressionistic report that I gave in my last post.

Data and numbers are always welcome (in fact, would you mind if I got hold of you on insta for future references and brain-picking?), but you should know that your impressionistic report made my husband swell up like a puffer fish for scoring the find.

 

[Dr_Diesel]

It does! I'm just being realistic - as much as I love it, it's far from perfect. Now, your stone, the one in the black rhodium setting - I'd love to own one like that, someday. Maybe. If I'm lucky.



Data and numbers are always welcome (in fact, would you mind if I got hold of you on insta for future references and brain-picking?), but you should know that your impressionistic report made my husband swell up like a puffer fish for scoring the find.

As well he should! Give him a high five for me!

…and of course! Hit me up any time!

 

[Dr_Diesel]

Regarding Sapphire prices, I now have a little insight as to why the prices have gone crazy.

I’m aware of two factors:

(1) Chinese buyers with a lot of money are going straight to Sri Lanka and paying absurdly high prices for good stones, particularly unheated Royal Blues

(2) Exchange Rate!

Now this is a factor that I didn’t even consider until a friend pointed it out.

I the past 2 years, the USD to Sri Lankan Rupee has become less favorable.

In January 2023, 1 USD would buy 360+ LKR. Today, you would need $1.23 to buy the same 360 LKR.

Thats a 23% price increase based on exchange rate alone

So a $4000/ct stone less than 2 years ago would be $4920/ct today - even if the price in Sri Lanka hasn’t changed at all.

If that’s a 5-ct stone, the price tag in Sri Lanka would be 7.3 Million LKR.

2 years ago, you could exchange $20k and get that 7.3M

Today, you would need to trade $24,600 to get the same 7.M LKR.

Does that make sense?

 

[Heathcat24]

Regarding Sapphire prices, I now have a little insight as to why the prices have gone crazy.

I’m aware of two factors:

(1) Chinese buyers with a lot of money are going straight to Sri Lanka and paying absurdly high prices for good stones, particularly unheated Royal Blues

(2) Exchange Rate!

Now this is a factor that I didn’t even consider until a friend pointed it out.

I the past 2 years, the USD to Sri Lankan Rupee has become less favorable.

In January 2023, 1 USD would buy 360+ LKR. Today, you would need $1.23 to buy the same 360 LKR.

Thats a 23% price increase based on exchange rate alone

So a $4000/ct stone less than 2 years ago would be $4920/ct today - even if the price in Sri Lanka hasn’t changed at all.

If that’s a 5-ct stone, the price tag in Sri Lanka would be 7.3 Million LKR.

2 years ago, you could exchange $20k and get that 7.3M

Today, you would need to trade $24,600 to get the same 7.M LKR.

Does that make sense?

This is so interesting, @Dr_Diesel ! Thank you for posting! My husband bought me a Sri Lankan unheated sapphire from Jeff White a couple of years ago for a birthday, which I had set into a CVB ring.

This past July, I decided I wanted a smaller "sister" stone for a pendant project I am working on, so I contacted Jeff White. He had one stone that would work for me, and I could NOT believe the price per carat price increase! I'm normally over in RockyTalky and I was FLOORED!

I did order it and now I'm glad I did as I don't think I could afford it later! Lol. It is supposed to be ready mid-October, but I am unsure if Helene affected that timeline...

Here is my CVB ring. I don't think I ever added it to this wonderful thread!

 

[cushioncutnut]

This is so interesting, @Dr_Diesel ! Thank you for posting! My husband bought me a Sri Lankan unheated sapphire from Jeff White a couple of years ago for a birthday, which I had set into a CVB ring.

This past July, I decided I wanted a smaller "sister" stone for a pendant project I am working on, so I contacted Jeff White. He had one stone that would work for me, and I could NOT believe the price per carat price increase! I'm normally over in RockyTalky and I was FLOORED!

I did order it and now I'm glad I did as I don't think I could afford it later! Lol. It is supposed to be ready mid-October, but I am unsure if Helene affected that timeline...

Here is my CVB ring. I don't think I ever added it to this wonderful thread!

That is so gorgeous and unique

 

[Catmom]

This is so interesting, @Dr_Diesel ! Thank you for posting! My husband bought me a Sri Lankan unheated sapphire from Jeff White a couple of years ago for a birthday, which I had set into a CVB ring.

This past July, I decided I wanted a smaller "sister" stone for a pendant project I am working on, so I contacted Jeff White. He had one stone that would work for me, and I could NOT believe the price per carat price increase! I'm normally over in RockyTalky and I was FLOORED!

I did order it and now I'm glad I did as I don't think I could afford it later! Lol. It is supposed to be ready mid-October, but I am unsure if Helene affected that timeline...

Here is my CVB ring. I don't think I ever added it to this wonderful thread!

What a gorgeous sapphire!

 

[Heathcat24]

What a gorgeous sapphire!

Thank you! The amazing folks in the Colored Stones forum helped him pick it out! It was a complete surprise!

 

[Dr_Diesel]

This is so interesting, @Dr_Diesel ! Thank you for posting! My husband bought me a Sri Lankan unheated sapphire from Jeff White a couple of years ago for a birthday, which I had set into a CVB ring.

This past July, I decided I wanted a smaller "sister" stone for a pendant project I am working on, so I contacted Jeff White. He had one stone that would work for me, and I could NOT believe the price per carat price increase! I'm normally over in RockyTalky and I was FLOORED!

I did order it and now I'm glad I did as I don't think I could afford it later! Lol. It is supposed to be ready mid-October, but I am unsure if Helene affected that timeline...

Here is my CVB ring. I don't think I ever added it to this wonderful thread!

That looks like something royalty might wear. So beautiful and so timeless! I can’t wait to see the next one!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@Crimson please show me your latest property????? Plzzzzzzz

Giving some airtime to the lighter sapphires:

 

[cushioncutnut]

@Crimson please show me your latest property????? Plzzzzzzz

Giving some airtime to the lighter sapphires:

THUD!! I just love the way the marquise are set in a halo around it too!!

 

[RRfromR]

@Crimson please show me your latest property????? Plzzzzzzz

Giving some airtime to the lighter sapphires:

I love love this unusual halo. I'm brainstorming ideas for a halo for my sapphire and like this a lot.

 

[lavenderdragonfly23]

What a great thread! Blue sapphires are a stone I am drawn to, again and again. It’s a grey day here, so not sure new photos will add much, but I am going to try To find archived ones.

Here are my 3 Kashmirs, one with a dress change, a Madagascar and a color change.
All are no heat with AGL certificates.

I know I’m late to the party… but oh my, this is my dream pendant… an antique pear, and Kashmir AND TIFFANY …. And if that’s an adorable old mine above it I might die of jealousy…

 

[Crimson]

@mellowyellowgirl I was trying so hard not to post my new rings i am feeling quite sheepish after getting 4 rings and one pair of earrings in the last month. I feel if I don’t post or wear them I will feel as if I bought them over months instead of in one month (silly, I know…)
Here is the 4ct unheated cornflower blue sapphire, which is currently locked away.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

@mellowyellowgirl I was trying so hard not to post my new rings i am feeling quite sheepish after getting 4 rings and one pair of earrings in the last month. I feel if I don’t post or wear them I will feel as if I bought them over months instead of in one month (silly, I know…)
Here is the 4ct unheated cornflower blue sapphire, which is currently locked away.

Oh my she’s beautiful!!!!!! Absolutely gorgeous! She’s very vivid!!!

If it makes you feel any better, I bought 3 rings in the space of 2 weeks!

Haha I’m doing the opposite and wearing them lots so that I can bring down my cost per wear!

By the time cost per wear is $2, I figure that’s practically a free ring since you can’t even buy a coffee for $2 in Australia.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I love love this unusual halo. I'm brainstorming ideas for a halo for my sapphire and like this a lot.

If it helps they are 0.1 marquise diamonds

 

[Crimson]

Oh my she’s beautiful!!!!!! Absolutely gorgeous! She’s very vivid!!!

If it makes you feel any better, I bought 3 rings in the space of 2 weeks!

Haha I’m doing the opposite and wearing them lots so that I can bring down my cost per wear!

By the time cost per wear is $2, I figure that’s practically a free ring since you can’t even buy a coffee for $2 in Australia.

Maybe I should just wear everything then
@mellowyellowgirl you and I are full of mischief.

 

[Dr_Diesel]

Oh my she’s beautiful!!!!!! Absolutely gorgeous! She’s very vivid!!!

If it makes you feel any better, I bought 3 rings in the space of 2 weeks!

Haha I’m doing the opposite and wearing them lots so that I can bring down my cost per wear!

By the time cost per wear is $2, I figure that’s practically a free ring since you can’t even buy a coffee for $2 in Australia.

Brilliant idea!!!

 

[Dr_Diesel]

@mellowyellowgirl I was trying so hard not to post my new rings i am feeling quite sheepish after getting 4 rings and one pair of earrings in the last month. I feel if I don’t post or wear them I will feel as if I bought them over months instead of in one month (silly, I know…)
Here is the 4ct unheated cornflower blue sapphire, which is currently locked away.

What are the stones on your index & ring fingers?

 

[cushioncutnut]

@mellowyellowgirl I was trying so hard not to post my new rings i am feeling quite sheepish after getting 4 rings and one pair of earrings in the last month. I feel if I don’t post or wear them I will feel as if I bought them over months instead of in one month (silly, I know…)
Here is the 4ct unheated cornflower blue sapphire, which is currently locked away.

Oh never be shy about posting your jewels! These are all gorgeous!! You bought some amazing pieces in a big way!! Good for you!!