Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out :(

[chroman]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Yeah, I'd make some inquiries on that Kingstone.

To me, the kingstone and multicolor stones are both have similar low tones, but from the pics the multicolor appears to have higher saturation. But the kingstone has a better cut.. It might be worth also asking about the multicolor, and see if you can get more pics. Its hard for me to tell if in the multicolor pic there is a window or if its just a reflection of the surrounding.

But both, being so dark, I would be slightly wary of them being overly dark in most lighting situatuons. If you can get additional pics that could be useful.

The other two stones on my 'short list' would be the gemfix (which might be my favorite color wise, but those inclusions could be a deal breaker) and the 1.14 cushion from NSC (nice cut, decent saturation, but a slightly different hue than the others).

I would be hard pressed to rank them based on *my* preferneces (I've tried.. And I keep changing my mind!!)

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

lovedogs, thanks for the rec! I just sent Doug a request for pricing info, and more photos if possible. *fingers crossed*

chroman, I definitely seem to gravitate toward greater saturation—medium dark seems about right, as long as it's also sparkly. "Juicy" color, as I think one vendor called it.

I agree about the Gemfix stone — the color is very nice, yet the inclusions make me wary. For me, I think the NSC stone seems a little too pale, pink, and small, especially considering its higher price. As you suggested, I just emailed Multicolour to see if I could get more pix of that stone. It's a very decent price, and maybe we'll see why.

 

[chroman]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Another option if your hunt is still not turning up *the* stone is to try and get something custom cut in your desired shape. You might try checking with some of our usual vendors (who cut stones) to see if either they have some suitable rough (maybe, maybe not, but leave no stone unturned!) or if they are going shopping for sapphire rough (or recut stock) in Tuscon (that big gem show).

There's a bit more risk in this than getting an already-cut stone, so I'd still suggest reaching out to vendors who also deal frequently with cut stones to see what they might be able to turn up.

Doug (of Kingstone) would be on a list of vendors who cut stones, so if you are already chatting with him.. Roger Dery (http://www.spectralgems.net), Gary Braun (http://www.finewatergems.com), Jeff Hapeman (http://www.earthstreasury.com), or Jeff White (http://www.whitesgems.com/index.html) come to mind as folks in this category (there's more, of course, and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone..)

 

[chroman]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Dan Stair (http://www.customgemstones.com) posted this on facebook a while back.. Its a pile of Montana sapphire rough. Now, its smaller stones, and Montanas are usually on the less saturated side, but there's some purples in there. Might be worth checking on as well.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

I second the Jeff White mention. His last GemScoop had a very pretty purple sapphire cushion. He might possibly have more rough. Worth an email!

 

[Bron357]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Hi, I just wanted to add this.
Hardness in gems relates to their ability to withstand scratches, not necessarily chipping or cracking if "whacked" hard enough. Many people with diamonds have found, to their great upset, that even diamonds do indeed chip if hit hard enough.
If you are hard on rings with your activities, any gem with an exposed edge could be damaged. You therefore might be best choosing a low, flat full bezel setting to protect all sides of the gem. Another advantage of bezel setting is an accidentally knock does harm to a prong. Another cause for great upset is the lost gem due to a damaged prong that enable the gem to fall out.
I have a diamond, a ruby and a sapphire hardness 10, 9 and 9 which all have chips in them because I am rough on rings. And my gold rings are all scratched up as well (though this can be polished out). So I have learnt the hard way that no gem is "that tough" and I now take my rings off before cleaning the house, gardening, working on the car etc. enjoy your searching because that's part of the fun. Congrats and best wishes.

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Hey, thanks for all the good advice, everyone! Sorry I've been so slow to reply — family illness, so we flew out to help and are away from home.

I didn't hear back from Doug of Kingstone, but it was the holidays, so it'll be worth another contact. A custom cut is an interesting idea, and one worth looking into. I signed up for the Jeff White's Gem Scoop, so thanks for that lead. Will follow up with other possibilities when back from the trip.

I heard back from the Etsy seller and one of the two purple sapphires she had was a great color, but I'm checking with her to see if it's actually square. She couldn't find the square sapphire from the original listing, so that's on hold.

I asked for a handshot of the Multicolor one, though it no longer shows on their site and is probably sold. Does this sapphire have a big window?

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Oh wait, I did just find the original Multicolor listing: http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-984732909

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

I would definitely classify that as a large window.

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Yay, I'm learning, then! *kicks the Multicolor one off the list.*

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Found this one on eBay. Not quite as saturated as I'd like, but not terribly light, either. There's a video in the description area, but I could only view that in Firefox — it didn't appear in Chrome, Opera, or Safari.

Thoughts?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/172470357261

 

[sydneyatl]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Ooh, it's pretty. The auction looks like it's over - did you get it?

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Sadly, no. I guess someone else got the pretty!

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Just got more pics of the Etsy stone (https://www.etsy.com/listing/288795321/a-beautiful-naturalsapphire-163-purple).

What do you think?

https://img0.etsystatic.com/142/0/34642735/icm_fullxfull.108119202_a5o6360tvz4g0wckowgc.jpg
https://img0.etsystatic.com/145/0/34642735/icm_fullxfull.108119208_pg1etjowgxwgoc88owss.jpg
https://img0.etsystatic.com/146/0/34642735/icm_fullxfull.108119210_9googavtbl8ok0488gsw.jpg

 

[chroman]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

From its stats, its not quite square. But because of the perspective of those photos, you don't get that impression.

Have you reached out to vendors about hunting in Tuscon?

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

From its stats, its not quite square. But because of the perspective of those photos, you don't get that impression.

Very true about square, though I read somewhere that a ratio of 1:1.05 or less will be seen as square by the eye. This is a shade less than 1.02 (6.59 x 6.72), so the dimensions should work nicely. The one at Shane was 1.013 (6.05 x 6.13) and looked square ta me.

Can anyone think of anything else pro/con to note about the Etsy stone? Any flaws or potential cutting issues, any other questions I should ask the vendor or any photo shot requests?

The original listing seemed more of that fuschia-amethyst purple I like than these somewhat more violet/grape colors from the new photos, though I know the photo lighting has a ton to do with it, so it's hard to be sure. At any rate, I do like these colors, and this stone is darker than the Shane stone, which color-changed to a pale blue in daylight. This one's also $400 less, albeit with more risk.

I haven't reached out to any vendors since before the holidays, but that's on the to-do list. When does that Tuscon event take place?

 

[chroman]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

It does look much more like the color you're looking for, though I agree its hard to tell exactly what the color is since it varies between photos. That might be due to a white balance difference?

In the original etsy photo, it looks like the pavillion is off-center. See how all the facets don't converge right at the center, but off to one side a bit? That's another example of a wonky cut How big a deal that makes is a personal thing.

Also, on the original etsy listing it says there are 2 available.. Whats up with that? Not knowing the vendor I'm not sure if thats a typo or a red flag..

Things in Tuscon get rolling around the end Jan (like the last day) and the start of Feb. Its actually a bunch of individual events, some of them public and some trade only.

Here's a post on the event from a vendor that several folks here have worked with:
http://cecileraleydesigns.blogspot.com/2017/01/tucson-how-to-shop-wisely-at-gem-show.html

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Here's a post on the event from a vendor that several folks here have worked with:
http://cecileraleydesigns.blogspot.com/2017/01/tucson-how-to-shop-wisely-at-gem-show.html

Wow, that blog post was fascinating! This is an entire world I never knew about. Almost makes me want to go to Tuscon myself, though being so wet behind the ears, there wouldn't be much point. And I might want all the pretties.

Hmm, end of Jan/early Feb is not so far away if I can find someone to hunt for me...

You brought up the possibility of an off-center pavilion. Thanks for explaining it — I do see what you mean. Is there a standard way to photograph gems? I guess I'm wondering if the off-centeredness might be because the camera wasn't dead square above the stone, but if there's a standardized kind of photography, that would nix the possibility.

 

[chroman]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

In case you are still looking..

Jeff White posted this photo of a sapphire parcel he acquired at the show. Looks like there could be several stones in your color range. I'd send him an email quickly to investigate!

 

[pregcurious]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Wow, those are some nice purples.

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Wow, chroman, those are gorgeous! Drool-worthy. They'll make some sweeeeeeet pieces. If I had more money, I'd want them all, the preciousssss.

So, an update from me: we took a chance and bought the stone and custom rings from the Etsy seller in Israel. (I know, but wait, don't throw your tomatoes yet!)

I loved the color of that stone from the moment I spotted it — which was literally a minute after I walked out of Shane as I Googled for purple sapphires. After looking online for two months and thinking about it all, I went back to something I'd written down when I was first posting here — the right color is the key for me, more important than other sapphire factors. I'm aaaaaall about the color, and so little of what was for sale ANYWHERE was right for me.

We'd already told Shane that the stone we had on layaway wasn't saturated enough, so they searched their 20 other stores for me — found one the right shape and size, but it was too pink for my taste. And after two months of searching online repeatedly at 40+ vendors, I realized again that it is damn, damn hard to find something the right shape AND size AND color. (I've said this before, but when I started this search, I had NO idea how few sapphires meet my quirky criteria. )

I very seriously considered asking someone to gemhunt for me, particularly in Tucson, or custom-cutting something for me — both terrific suggestions. But then I got paralyzed by the idea of a stone that was close but not-quite-right, particularly in color . . . and how long the hunt could take, and what it could cost, and what other factors I might not be able to control, when meanwhile the color of the Etsy stone was the one I was measuring everything against anyway . . .

So after asking for and receiving many more pictures, checking Etsy's policies, and reading through every last one of the 165+ reviews left for the Israeli seller by Etsy buyers over the last 3 1/2 years (which helped Fretful Me feel better about the seller's track record), I placed an order. It's a bit of a "gulp" moment to buy something this way, but, well, crossing fingers. They're working on the rings and we're awaiting news of the shipment soon. And once they arrive, I've tracked down a well-respected GIA graduate/AGS-certified appraiser to make sure we're getting what we've paid for. Worse comes to worst, there are safeguards in place with Etsy and by using the credit card we did. So I'm . . . cautiously giddy? Anxiously hopeful? Yeah. *gulp* *bites nails*

 

[chroman]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Phew - what a journey! I hope you love it when it arrives!

Of course, we'll want pics

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

And of course you shall have pics. I hope I'll be squeeing with joy over them instead of being or

Just got an update on production — the shipment should go out early next week, so with luck and good Customs progress, it'll be in our hands in about two. *more nailbiting*

 

[sydneyatl]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

I still remember very clearly the day my purple cushion sapphire showed up, after two days of anxious nailbiting and watching it bounce along from country to country on the way over from Thailand. I waited until then-Boyfriend got home to open it and we were kind of bummed at the color in the lousy kitchen lighting of our little apartment. The next morning I got up early and took it out in the morning sun - and it was a gorgeous deep rich purple! I fell in love with it instantly and still admire it every day when I'm driving to and from work.

I hope your story is just as happy - can't wait to see picture!

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

I HAVE PICS!!!

sydneyatl, I've been bouncing around myself, waiting for these to arrive from Israel. Even though I had a tracking number, it never worked (I'll have to see if a digit was typed wrong) — but the package showed up today, as promised.

I shrunk the file sizes a bit. Tried different kinds of lighting, obvs. Purples aren't easy to photograph, the buggers!









More in a sec.

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out





I'll be able to get to the appraiser next week (it's a half-day drive each way, we live in the sticks of the sticks) to make sure my rings are as advertised.

They were custom-made, and I have just two little niggles. One is that there's an extra twist — the Shane rings had five twists plus two half-twists, and this has 6 + 2. So it's a tighter look overall, and I preferred it looser. That said, the symmetry of 6+2 will mean the rings can nestle together better around the bump of the sapphire, since there's a dip exactly halfway across the ring instead of a twist.

Second, as you can see from my previous post on my thumb, we also got a ring for Hubby-to-be, modeled after the ring he'd picked out at Shane. He may remember better when he gets a chance to handle the ring later, but to me his ring feels too light. The strip of gold is narrower, and there's a concavity on the inner surface so there's much less heavy gold. So that's a bummer. Then again, it cost a third less, so... Overall, we saved $1500+. (Presuming, again, that all the stones and metals are as advertised.)

The last photo has a lil' bonus stone I bought on eBay for $20. Purportedly a sapphire. Seller assumed it wasn't natural (hence the price), though I never came across non-naturals this color. Maybe it's glass or something otherwise funky. For $20, didn't care, loved the color, and it will sit in my little bowl of pretty stones and happy things.

 

[TheElms]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

It looks wonderful! The purple is fantastic!! I hope the appraisal comes out well.

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Thank you!! Am loving the purple. In certain kinds of light it can be a smidge cooler/bluer than my ideal, but in a nice incandescent or in sunlight, it's that lovely amethyst color.

Was so excited to get the rings. The jewelry box my rings came in has a little spotlight that comes on when it opens. Not surprisingly, I keep opening it. Even though our engagement isn't official yet, the rings just keep ending up on my finger somehow. (Ahem)

I hope the appraisal comes out well.

ME TOO!

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Happy news on my rings! (Mostly.)

I took my engagement ring and wedding band and my groom-to-be's wedding band to a reputable independent appraiser. Turns out my ring and band are exactly as they're supposed to be — the purple sparkly is the sapphire I paid for, the white sparklies are all quality diamonds, and the craftsmanship of my rings as a whole was rated very good. The appraiser even mentioned several times how beautiful the sapphire was. Bottom line: I'm thrilled with the rings! Soooooo pretty, and my sapphire is exactly the color that I'd been searching for. Makes my heart sing! And all the research worthwhile.

That said, there were two issues.

First, the appraiser found that my sapphire had a wee chip on the edge. This was not disclosed in the text of the original listing. The chip is, however, visible in the original photo, once we knew to look for it.



Left side, about a third of the way down. See it?

The good thing is that the appraiser said the ding won't hurt the sapphire's durability, and given the scarcity of purples and the difficulty of replacing them, it doesn't really affect price. So I've decided to just roll with that one.

Second, he said that the ring for my groom-to-be — which was supposed to emulate a particular ring at Shane, but felt too light, and the gold band within the ring too narrow by comparison — was likely to have been mass manufactured rather than custom-made. There was a small brand mark on it which was not on my custom rings, and the appraiser feels it's unlikely to have been made by the seller. Given that we weren't happy with his ring's look and weight anyway, plus hearing that it's unlikely to have been custom made as was agreed upon, we've asked to return it for a refund.

Back on the good side of things, bonus news from the appraiser: My $20 eBay purple sapphire IS an actual sapphire, not an amethyst, or glass. Yay! As I suspected, it's unlikely to be natural since it's flawless, and that's kinda weird for sapphires. Still, it's a very pretty fuschia sparkly baby that makes me happy to look at, which is why I bought it in the first place.

All in all, my purple freak-ness has been happily satisfied! For now. Because of course there's more purple bling to come in the future, if I have my way.

 

[klessa]

Re: Want square purple sapphire, cushion cut—I'm bombing out

Update: The Etsy seller has made it easy to get the refund for the groom's band. *thumbs up*