What do you think of a big pastel blue sapphire?

pwsg07 · Jul 20, 2019

icy_jade said:
You summed it up really well.

I was analyzing my analysis-paralysis and I think it’s because it’s my first blue sapphire? Now I don’t know if I will/should stop at one (blue sapphire) so I keep thinking it’s got to be PERFECT.

If I plan to get multiples, then this is a winner from a size perspective as I know I cannot afford a large cornflower blue sapphire. So far it sounds like quite a few PS-ers have multiples?

Can you pls share/post pics of your sapphire? Thanks so much.

What color is your sapphire? Regarding the color I asked and my jeweller is very honest to say it’s pastel. We were looking at it together with his friend and we concluded it’s velvety pastel if that makes sense.

This pic probably makes it look better/more blue but you get a sense of the slight velvety-ness. And size. It’s a total giant next to the 1.4? Pink sapphire lol.

The actual cornflower blue sapphire on the Lotus colour chart.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cornflower-blue.250030/

Do you have a thread for the pink sapphire? I cannot find the thread. So pretty

qubitasaurus · Jul 20, 2019

icy_jade said:
I think so, for various reasons... but I think there is a good chance I’ll continue to look for big sapphires if I get a 3 ct cornflower blue anyway simply cos I like bigger stones.

When you say saturated stone, do you mean you expect the stone color to be stronger? Do you have any examples?

Hmm... I’ll also go and do more reading in a while.

That’s Spider-Man! My nickname for that stone/ring. I actually really like the color. If it was unheated I would have gotten it long ago. But it’s heated so... anyway Spidey is sold (and not to me)... so can’t go and admire it any more.

Can you pls share pics of your sapphire ring? Thank you.

Erm so you think shouldn’t buy?

Haha yes it does look like a spider. I actually really do prefer the current one you are looking at, it seems more likely to command attention as apposed to having the setting steal the lime light.

chrono · Jul 20, 2019

Colour is so personal it’s hard to say whether to get it or not. I like light blue, but with more intensity. Not everyone likes the same. The question is how much is it “worth it” to you?

icy_jade · Jul 20, 2019

Ok hope this works. This is a short video that I took yesterday...

Using an iPhone which I feel amps up the blue/color a bit.

Woke up and was still thinking about it hahahah

arkieb1 · Jul 20, 2019

shinyrocks said:
The important question is "do you like it?" It looks like a very pretty color to me! But that is a very personal thing. Also, I disagree with the color chart you posted, with regard to what "cornflower" blue is. That is an often abused term. Cornflower blue is lighter than what most people think. The original intent of that term was to describe sapphires that looked like actual cornflowers. Do a google image search for "cornflowers," and you might be surprised by what you see. What they are calling "cornflower" I would say is closer to royal blue than actual cornflower blue.

While real cornflowers (the actual flowers) are lighter in colour we are talking about what Lotus in Thailand (the lab owned by Richard Hughes) and other labs classify as "cornflower" to them it's a darker vivid yet still bright blue that is much darker than the flowers. But if you have seen a lot of sapphires what Americans call Royal (and what you describe as cornflower) isn't royal at all, royal blue is that really dark dark blue. And there are lots of shades of blue in between.

I think you have to see a lot of sapphires and understand what colours the labs themselves class as specific colours to understand, which I admit is difficult because even Sri Lanka dealers themselves have a different view of describing blue sapphires to most of the labs....

I've found most people on here have a different view of what "cornflower" is to what the labs do, so everyone gets confused.... This stone (which has been sold) came back from Lotus as "medium" and "cornflower" yet by the standards of everyone here and by the photo above you can see it is no where near the colour of real "cornflowers"

icy_jade · Jul 20, 2019

Bluegemz said:
Sure..here it is. Ranges between these shades. Forgive but I’m not a great photographer and my pics tend to always upload looking less saturated, but I hope it the pics give an impression. In office lighting, it looks less saturated and more lavender ish, but doesn’t go dark.

Unheated Sri Lankan, around 5 carats. It has sustained a lot of abuse over the years. I’ll need to get some of the micro abrasions polished out some day. But it’s like an old friend at this point.

It’s beautiful!! And round (which is so hard to find). You have an amazing collection! Thanks for sharing your pics. Does look more saturated than the one I’m considering? Doesn’t seem like it goes gray.

marymm said:
My go-to for discussion of color gemstone saturation is GemLab - https://www.gemlab.co.in/what-is-gem-color-saturation/

Thank you. Ok I think I shouldn’t get so hung up over designations after reading all your posts. Plus I’m actually slightly confused by all the terminology after reading.

T L said:
I think it would really pop in rose gold.

It will have to be in white gold. I only wear WG as rose blends into my skin and yellow just looks awful on me.

arkieb1 · Jul 20, 2019

Are you going to get it?

icy_jade · Jul 20, 2019

Using my iPhone so can’t type too much at a go in case anyone is annoyed with my numerous posts.

fantapanda said:
some pictures to show paleness. the cut makes it sparkly but the color is definitely pale and very far from ideal (your sapphire looks more saturated in color than mine).

(indoors without any artificial lights)

few photos indoors without any lights to show the darkest it can get.

how it’s like indoors usually

and in indirect sunlight

you’re right - i likes the sapphire when i got it from gary but wasn’t wild about it like i expected to me. after setting it, i liked it much more. same with the grossular garnet i got from mastercut. the color wasn’t green enough for me to be chartreuse and it wasn’t a vivid yellow. after setting it in rose gold, with the white diamonds around it, it made the stone look much better.

FWIW, the picture of your stone in the setting (next to the pink) is to die for IMO. but i’m a fan of pale stones.

Thanks for all the pics! Your ring is beautiful!

Glad I’m not the only one who feels that way about stones with/without settings. Hehe. Yours is precision cut so probably much more sparkly than the one I’m considering which is native cut.

AV_ said:
I agree with @chrono that saturation is not the highest of the high, not least because of the silk that might make things a little worse in low light & better in direct sunlight. I like what I am seeing, whether I'd buy is another question - I think I am very monogamous about satones (one at a time) and this is not my ideal sappire colour (neither is the standard). The stone is memorable as it is - for its subtle colour to play with, beautiful shape.

2p

digressing ... I see sapphires erring violet out of blue exactly as cornflowers do - getting violetish with age & sunbleach, which is their typical look ...

I’ve never seen a cornflower irl!

Oh hmm. I suppose from an overall scheme of things considering how many rings I have now I’m not monogamous that way.

I mean, ideally if I can have one mind-blowing blue in the right color and size that is the most ideal - that’s what I meant by a category killer (and then I would be totally monogamous to that blue sapphire) but realistically my budget won’t allow me to get one in the color and size like that.

AV_ said:
... not unless they want to sell five sapphires each year world-wide.

Hahahahaha

Random thought. One of the vendors did tell me that different markets have different color preferences, and maybe to do with the typical lighting in that region and/or cultural differences.

I live on the equator so the sunlight is probably as strong as it gets all year round.

icy_jade · Jul 20, 2019

dk168 said:
I would not consider the colour as pastel, more cornflower myself.

If I were to ask Jeff White to cut me one of his signature Asscher cut, this is the kind of colour I would go for, so that I could see the windmill.

DK

Thank you. Really so nice to hear that.

pwsg07 said:
The actual cornflower blue sapphire on the Lotus colour chart.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cornflower-blue.250030/

Do you have a thread for the pink sapphire? I cannot find the thread. So pretty

Omg you have THE sapphire on the chart?

That’s amazing. I feel like I have a celebrity friend.

If you don’t mind can you pls post some pics of the stone in different lighting? Thanks so much.

It’s an unheated pink sapphire that I just got. My jeweller will set in my old engagement ring setting. Don’t have many pics of it. Just snapped a few yesterday as was more focused on the blue sapphire.

It was a fairly quick decision. Very pink, sparkly, unheated, round, fits my setting and good price. Ok buy.

qubitasaurus said:
Haha yes it does look like a spider. I actually really do prefer the current one you are looking at, it seems more likely to command attention as apposed to having the setting steal the lime light.

I usually like elaborate halos but I draw the line at having a spidery one on my finger.

My jeweller did say it’s not easy to source all those diamonds for the setting. It’s super eye catching for sure.

icy_jade · Jul 20, 2019

chrono said:
Colour is so personal it’s hard to say whether to get it or not. I like light blue, but with more intensity. Not everyone likes the same. The question is how much is it “worth it” to you?

I know what you mean about the intensity. Plus we all see colors differently anyway right?

Still thinking...

arkieb1 said:
While real cornflowers (the actual flowers) are lighter in colour we are talking about what Lotus in Thailand (the lab owned by Richard Hughes) and other labs classify as "cornflower" to them it's a darker vivid yet still bright blue that is much darker than the flowers. But if you have seen a lot of sapphires what Americans call Royal (and what you describe as cornflower) isn't royal at all, royal blue is that really dark dark blue. And there are lots of shades of blue in between.

I think you have to see a lot of sapphires and understand what colours the labs themselves class as specific colours to understand, which I admit is difficult because even Sri Lanka dealers themselves have a different view of describing blue sapphires to most of the labs....

I've found most people on here have a different view of what "cornflower" is to what the labs do, so everyone gets confused.... This stone (which has been sold) came back from Lotus as "medium" and "cornflower" yet by the standards of everyone here and by the photo above you can see it is no where near the colour of real "cornflowers"

I’ve seen a lot of cornflowers that look dark to me, and dark blues that are royal. Some of the labs are more relaxed about classification (I heard some Thai/Sri Lanka labs) and will easily indicate cornflower for non cornflowerish colors. So yeah ultimately is still whether the color is nice irl.

These would pass as cornflower to me:

They have that velvety blue - took these pics off my jeweller’s fb. So probably my idea of cornflower is a touch lighter than the stone you showed.

arkieb1 said:
Are you going to get it?

I don’t know! Haven’t decided. But after seeing everyone’s opinion at least if I do get it I won’t feel like I got a total dud.

pwsg07 · Jul 21, 2019

icy_jade said:
Thank you. Really so nice to hear that.

Omg you have THE sapphire on the chart?
That’s amazing. I feel like I have a celebrity friend.

If you don’t mind can you pls post some pics of the stone in different lighting? Thanks so much.

It’s an unheated pink sapphire that I just got. My jeweller will set in my old engagement ring setting. Don’t have many pics of it. Just snapped a few yesterday as was more focused on the blue sapphire.

It was a fairly quick decision. Very pink, sparkly, unheated, round, fits my setting and good price. Ok buy.

I usually like elaborate halos but I draw the line at having a spidery one on my finger.

My jeweller did say it’s not easy to source all those diamonds for the setting. It’s super eye catching for sure.

That sapphire is not mine. I just found the photos on the Facebook.

The colour of your pink sapphire is so intense. Another beautiful stone in your collection

icy_jade · Jul 21, 2019

pwsg07 said:
That sapphire is not mine. I just found the photos on the Facebook.

The colour of your pink sapphire is so intense. Another beautiful stone in your collection

Thanks! I love bright hot pinks. Two other new pinkish stones...

Fluorescent lighting

mellowyellowgirl · Jul 21, 2019

Omg those are amazing @icy_jade

That oval

icy_jade · Jul 21, 2019

pwsg07 said:
That sapphire is not mine. I just found the photos on the Facebook.

Oops yeah. Don’t know how I read thread yesterday. Must have been too sleepy.

mellowyellowgirl said:
Omg those are amazing @icy_jade

That oval

Thanks. That’s a spinel (I hope). Being certified. The other is a tourmaline with an almost neon color.

voce · Jul 21, 2019

Of the two, the trillion looks more spinel-like and the oval looks more like tourmaline, imo
You're a lucky lady to have so many potential buys coming your way

icy_jade · Jul 21, 2019

voce said:
Of the two, the trillion looks more spinel-like and the oval looks more like tourmaline, imo
You're a lucky lady to have so many potential buys coming your way

In person the spinel is more sparkly. But you are right, the tourmaline has an unusual color. I actually walked around with it at the local show to look for another with the same color.

Lucky and unlucky sort of. Haha

LilAlex · Jul 23, 2019

Wait, are we still on that original unheated blue? I really like it. Yes, it is a little undersaturated -- and even a tad grayish in low light -- but I think it's killer, overall. I did not see size, price, etc., but read some references above to its being fairly priced. I agree with others who say that if you will only own one (!) and this is not your ideal color, then maybe pass. I bet it would look great on an overcast day -- and I see a lot of those.

icy_jade · Jul 23, 2019

LilAlex said:
Wait, are we still on that original unheated blue? I really like it. Yes, it is a little undersaturated -- and even a tad grayish in low light -- but I think it's killer, overall. I did not see size, price, etc., but read some references above to its being fairly priced. I agree with others who say that if you will only own one (!) and this is not your ideal color, then maybe pass. I bet it would look great on an overcast day -- and I see a lot of those.

Yeah. Got distracted but yes still on the unheated blue which I will see again tomorrow. Price is less than 6k.

He’s also sent me some videos of a 9 carat

and 4 carat GRS certified cornflower sapphires that I can’t afford, lol.

mellowyellowgirl · Jul 23, 2019

Excited to see what you decide Icy! Do snap pics of goodies for us when you're there!

icy_jade · Jul 23, 2019

mellowyellowgirl said:
Excited to see what you decide Icy! Do snap pics of goodies for us when you're there!

What do you want to see?

mellowyellowgirl · Jul 23, 2019

icy_jade said:
What do you want to see?

Pinks and pads please!!! But anything to perve at will be good.

icy_jade · Jul 23, 2019

mellowyellowgirl said:
Pinks and pads please!!! But anything to perve at will be good.

Perv, hahaha

I don’t rem any new pads but he always has pinks. I can let you perv my new pinks too? Hahaha

mellowyellowgirl · Jul 23, 2019

icy_jade said:
Perv, hahaha

I don’t rem any new pads but he always has pinks. I can let you perv my new pinks too? Hahaha

I'm so in love with your spinel. Like you don't know how much!!!!! I want 5 billion pics of the thing when you set it!!!!!

We're coming back to Singapore next year! During the jewellery fair!!!!!

icy_jade · Jul 23, 2019

mellowyellowgirl said:
I'm so in love with your spinel. Like you don't know how much!!!!! I want 5 billion pics of the thing when you set it!!!!!

We're coming back to Singapore next year! During the jewellery fair!!!!!

Haha ok but maybe not so soon as not sure if cert is done by tmr. Actually the spinel isn’t really orangey color but the tourmaline is SO pink it makes any pinkish stone with other tones look more orangey/reddish if it makes sense.

In July? The Oct show is much smaller.
What will the boys do while you go shopping?

mellowyellowgirl · Jul 23, 2019

icy_jade said:
Haha ok but maybe not so soon as not sure if cert is done by tmr. Actually the spinel isn’t really orangey color but the tourmaline is SO pink it makes any pinkish stone with other tones look more orangey/reddish if it makes sense.

In July? The Oct show is much smaller.
What will the boys do while you go shopping?

Yes July!

Haha the reason why the boys wanted to go back is because they want to hit ALL the water parks. There was one in a suburb near Changi that we didn't go to.

Might go to Sentosa too as we didn't last trip and Hubs and I went to Sentosa about a billion years ago.

icy_jade · Jul 23, 2019

@mellowyellowgirl

There’s a great water park in Sentosa - Adventure Cove. And also go to Universal Studios, or Kidszania. The boys can entertain themselves for a day in any of these I think. Maybe two days for more time for you to shop hahahah. The public swimming pools can be good too. You may be surprised. https://www.timeout.com/singapore/sport-and-fitness/the-best-public-pools-in-singapore

Lisa Loves Shiny · Jul 23, 2019

Color is personal and I agree only you can decide if the price is reasonable. I like the stone. It will be shifty from blue to greyish blue- just like the sky when rain is coming your way.

qubitasaurus · Jul 23, 2019

mellowyellowgirl said:
Excited to see what you decide Icy! Do snap pics of goodies for us when you're there!

Yes ditto to the pictures, especially if there are more blue stones -- he seems to have exquisite tastes in picking them

.

icy_jade · Jul 23, 2019

LisaRN said:
Color is personal and I agree only you can decide if the price is reasonable. I like the stone. It will be shifty from blue to greyish blue- just like the sky when rain is coming your way.

I’ll have a second look today and then decide... not sure how I’ll go. Could be either way.