teal sapphire photo vs in person

[Mfar]

I am looking at purchasing a teal sapphire for an engagement ring. I've read that sometimes the teal sapphires do not look good indoors. It seems buying a lighter colored one is the best bet but I still have concerns. For people that have a teal sapphire, are you happy with how it looks in different lighting? Could you post a picture of yours in different lighting? Do you have any advice judging the brilliance of a gem through photos? How much does your teal sapphire shift color? What specifically doesn't look great about it in different lighting?

 

[LIGemzGal]

Are you looking at Montana sapphires?

 

[Mfar]

I am looking at sapphires from Montana, Madagascar, and Nigeria but am open to other places too.

 

[Bron357]

I don’t have one myself but I have heard that if they have a grey modifier they can look pretty “flat” inside under artificial lights.
Also, where you live and the time of year affects the light intensity so what looks fabulous in one environment might be “meh” in your environment.
I think the main thing is to ensure that the vendor has a no fuss return policy if you are disappointed after seeing it in person.

 

[Skyjems]

In my experience, teal stones are difficult to photograph and usually look better in real life, or at least on video.

Because most teal stones have a lot of zoning, pics make them look more mottled than they are in real life.

 

[LIGemzGal]

From what I've seen, you can really get the full depth of teal stones if they're on video s opposed to photo. Of course high definition video is best. I throw them in with diamonds in terms of whats their best viewability method when not in person. I've got a teal sapphire on my short list of stones to purchase.

 

[Arcadian]

Teal is a color (of any stone frankly not just sapphires) that when viewed by an image, is largely dependent on the photographer, the monitor in which is viewed upon, and, the GPU.

I won't bore you with those details, just know that sometimes you just won't get the real picture you're expecting.

Which side of teal are you looking for, more blue or more green?

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Random pics of my Teal

The one with the Ruby is on a train with really bad light

 

[partgypsy]

I would say that is more of a peacock color, with teal being lighter

 

[Alybird]

I *love* my teal sapphire. That being said, the color does shift dramatically in different lighting conditions and does lose some of its brightness indoors. However, I like the moodiness of it and in order to preserve the integrity of its color, I am thinking of having this one set in platinum. The seller that I got this from sent me a video of this stone so I could get a feel for how it reacts to light and provided both indoor and outdoor shots as well.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kevin Bryant]

I have always found teal hard to capture photo wise, also teal sapphires tend to show different levels of color depending on light, in natural lighting this one sets more blue then teal but in doors it has am amazing teal look to it, This is unheated material from Kenya 1.00 cts

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

I don’t have a good picture of mine but it has really cool color zoning of blue and green. It is from Kenya. It is very pretty in the sun or bright light but it is too dark indoors. The vendor photos were flooded with light and that gave me a great first impression. I think it is common that teal sapphires run a bit dark, so be sure to check that.

 

[elrohwen]

My Montana sapphire is a bit more blue than teal, but does go teal under certain indoor lighting.

I think it’s important to ask the vendor about color shifts. A lot of them have some gray and some go very gray indoors. I specifically asked for a stone that didn’t go totally gray and showed some color in all lighting conditions.

I don’t have any indoor shots but it does go fairly flat in low indoor light unless I angle it just so for the facets to catch the light (and then it’s bright and sparkly again).

 

[elrohwen]

Here are some indoor shots with poor lighting. Th first is directly under kitchen lighting. Then the others are various places in my dark house. Under kitchen light it looks the most green, and in lower light conditions it goes the most gray. And in one pic it just looks dark because of where the light is coming from. At work under certain lights it looks a little purpleish even though I did request a stone that didn’t go purple at all.

 

[Mfar]

Thank you all so much! I am thinking of going with a teal that is a bit more blue and a bit lighter to allow it to shift darker and still be pleasant to look at!

 

[elrohwen]

@Mfar One thing I realized when buying is that cut matters a lot for these stones, at least in my opinion and for my preference. They aren't usually super glowy bright saturated colors like some gemstones, so you need that good cut to bounce as much light around as possible. I love my stone but without as nice of a cut I don't think it would be that exciting. I ordered 3 from the vendor and didn't like the cut of two of them as much as the one I kept, even though I kind of liked the color of the other two better.

 

[mrs-b]

@elrohwen - I love your new ring. Just wanted to pipe up and say so.

 

[elrohwen]

@elrohwen - I love your new ring. Just wanted to pipe up and say so.

Aww thank you! I'm super happy with how it turned out.