Upcoming Gemfix Visit - How to evaluate lighter colors

[waitforthat]

Hi all,

Last week I got a chance to go to the Gemfix shop in downtown San Diego to look at some Montana sapphires for my e-ring! Andrew was very very nice and helpful and I had a great time! He showed me a few stones that are on the website and a few that aren't, and at the end of the visit, I was strongly leaning toward this stone

Montana Sapphire "Portuguese" Cut Round
Weight: 1.58 cts
Measurements: 7.1 mm
Clarity: VS
Origin: Montana, USA
Enhancements: Heat Only
Price: $ 950.00
Order/Stock No.: sapphire_montana_269
Description: Indigo blue, deep blue with teal undertones. Hard to find 7mm size. Clean, and well cut. (Cut by Andrew Gulij)
As well as a smaller, less expensive stone of about the same color.

When I got home I realized that - d'oh! - this is pretty dark (it's much lighter in person than in the picture though). I was so caught up in trying to figure out the right size I didn't remember to consider a bigger range of colors. It also didn't knock my socks off when I looked at it by the window, in the foggy daylight. Beautiful in the indoor lights.

So I set up another appointment with Andrew to look at some lighter colors. I am going to look at http://www.gemfix.com/sapphire_montana.html -
1) Second row, third column
2) Third row, first column
3) Third row, second column
Along with whatever else he has in stock that is relevant.

I have taken the Pricescope general consensus that a lighter stone is preferable to heart! But what, to my mostly layman's eye, is going to make them stand out? What should I be expecting or looking for? Should I expect it to perform better in the daylight than darker stones? Should I expect it to sparkle more? Both, neither?

And how do I judge the saturation of a color when it is a lighter color?

Thank you all for any advice!

 

[Aoife]

You know, I don't know that there really is a consensus that lighter is better. Lighter is....lighter. What you should be looking for in every tone (how light or dark a stone is) is one that holds it's color well in all lights. It should not go dark, show a high degree of extinction, or have a lot of grey. It should be well cut. The color should please you, in all lights. Don't judge color just by the lights in the store, because those can make even a so-so stone look good. And if it doesn't knock your socks off, don't buy it!

 

[T L]

I find that the best saturations for colored stones in general are within the medium light, medium to medium dark tones. Anything too light or too dark, will have less saturation. Blue sapphires typically have optimal saturation in the medium to medium dark tones. I prefer lighter sapphires, but that's just a preference, and not the trade preference. However, just because a stone is within the optimal tonalities (medium light, medium, medium dark) does not mean it will be saturated. A saturated stone will show very little to no grey if it's a cool color (blues, greens, purples), or very little to no brown if its a warm color (yellow, orange, pink, red). To understand how to look at saturation is to look at very fine examples of the species and color of gem that you're looking at (in this case, blue sapphire). It's more easy to see the grey if you've seen fine examples of the stone in question. Look at books, photos, pictures, in person if you can is best. Also, as Aofie said, a good stone should hold its color well, and if not, at least it should hold its saturation well if it's a color shifter.

 

[maebelle]

Please come back with pictures if you purchased the stone (I see it's pending now), I literally just got the go ahead to purchase my emgagent stone and I want to see a the gemfix stones in "real life" as possible!

 

[0-0-0]

What I like about Andrew is that he freely let you play around with the lights in the shop and even let you take the stones out to the less well lit corridor to check them out. In my experience his descriptions are much more helpful than his photos, and the ones he call intense tend to look more saturated.

IMO the difference in color saturation is relatively easy to see in person as long as you have multiple stones to compare against each other. The stones with better saturation simply pop more and grab you by your eyeballs under all lighting.

 

[chrono]

The lightness or darkness of any gemstone is the tone. It has some bearing on the saturation but is an altogether different category by itself. If you are planning to bezel the stone, then yes, a slightly lighter stone than you might have in mind, is a good suggestion.

What is going to make a stone stand out? Saturation. The more shocking and eye catching the colour, then the better the saturation. However, another very important point is to check it out under various lighting. In general, most gemstones look great under natural diffused (indirect) sunlight. They have a tendency to shift under fluorescent lighting, usually to a slight darker and grayer colour. This is what you MUST watch out for and observe. This holds true for all gemstones be it a lighter or darker toned gemstone.

 

[waitforthat]

maebelle I did decide to go ahead with the purchase and it is at the jeweler to be set! I will post some pictures when I get home today, but I am not a very good photographer. I will say, the photos on the site don't do the stones justice, they are absolutely gorgeous in person.

thbmok, you are right on point, Andrew let me look at several stones in all kinds of light and was very helpful and nice throughout the whole process.

 

[waitforthat]

Here are some pictures I took last week. As I'm sure is obvious, I am not at all experienced with photographing gemstones, and these are taken with flash. The photos really don't capture the stone to be honest; once I will take it somewhere better to photograph (I was too afraid to take it out of its case outside my house, and my house is dark, bleh).

 

[maebelle]

Thanks for posting! Can't wait to see it set. What helped you lock down that you truly wanted that stone?

 

[waitforthat]

Well, I decided that since it is relatively difficult to find sapphires that size and color in my budget, and since the setting I am planning let's in so much light, that I really had found "The One." I think my original hesitation was the common phantom buyers' remorse a lot of people get around big purchases, just a fleeting feeling that comes from spending a lot of money!

I saw it last night in it's wax form setting and it looks so fantastic! Andrew recommended a great jeweler for me and the finish product should be in my hands by Monday!

 

[JewelFreak]

Can't wait to see your stone in its new home. What a fun experience it all sounds like. I'm really glad you found one that spoke to your heart!

--- Laurie

 

[waitforthat]

Here it is! I love it so so much! These pics are...okay. I found photographing it near purple makes the color come out better on my camera, but in real life it tends to look a quite a bit lighter in the majority of lights, and in outside light it has a really strong teal undertone. This weekend I might take some more photos outside.

 

[yanaazul]

Very pretty, looks like it has great presence on your hand.

Teal and purple are such a pretty color combination, your pictures made me realize.

 

[maebelle]

Love that Sholdt (Shodt-esqe?) setting! Hoepfully you get that sun for more photos soon. I'm looking forward to the day *after* valentine's day, because Laura will be sending me some photos of what they have in my parameters; your ring is just making me more anxious

 

[T L]

Very nice!!

 

[waitforthat]

Thanks tntyau and TL!

Maebelle I hope the 15th brings you what you are looking for!!

And Ashot Zakharian at AZ Jewelery in San Diego set it for me, based on my ideas and what he thought would best suit the stone.

I finally figured out how to capture the color, but failed to take any photos from multiple angles, so I basically just have this shot a dozen times At least this captures the color it looks the majority of time, outdoors or indoors if the lighting is not dim.