What should I expec to pay for a 1.75 - 2 ct sapphire?

[sbuffaloe]

I am so new here it really is unbelievable. I stumbled across this site right after Christmas and I just love it! My jewelry knowledge can be summed up in what I think is pretty! But, I am a blingy girl I love, love, love blue sapphires, my original ering was princess cut diamond with matching side sapphires. I am totally in love with this wf setting and want to talk hubby into it for Mother''s Day and am dying to have a 1.75 to 2 ct sapphire. Help, where should I look, what should I expect to pay for the stone?

http://www.whiteflash.com/golden-wardrobe/gold_details.aspx?itemcode=WF-HaloPrg-Wg

 

[pamplemousse]

What you pay for that size stone is going to vary widely. I am by no means an expert, but while boyfriend and I were looking around at stones I definitely began to understand how huge the differences in price could be. I think with sapphires the color matters A LOT. Likewise clarity. We looked at several stones and paid about $5000 for "free of inclusions" and 3 carats. Then again, the same vendor has a similarly sized stone in a similar hue with "moderate" inclusions that''s about $4000 less... Meanwhile a "kashmir" toned sapphire about the same size is almost $4000 more.

Anyway... I would look around at some of the recommended sites (ajs, natural sapphire co, wildfish, cherry picked, etc.) and just do some comparisons. You''ll sort of get a feel for what you''re paying for and what you''re willing to sacrifice. We sort of decided we''d be willing to sacrifice size before clarity and color (our hearts were set on a color-changer and I liked the idea of having a "clean" stone). But everyone is different...

 

[nicholerh]

Yeah, as said above the price varies greatly depending on color and clarity and sometimes cut. I have a sapphire Ering and we were looking for one in the same carat range. Ours is a 1.9 but it was $5k. There was another one that we were contemplating that was about the same size but the coloring was less intense and it was 1k. I had seen others that were a few hundred bucks. Huge huge variation on sapphires and therefore prices. One thing you can keep in mind is you can go with a slightly lighter sapphire (save some $$) and when you set it, it''ll darken a little so it might be exactly what you''re looking for.

We tried shopping at the natural sapphire company and even had one shipped to our home to evaluate it. But they look so different in person we decided that wasn''t the route for us. We went to our local jewelry store and had them bring in a bunch of sapphires. Probably a total of 10 sapphires were brought in in the size, shape and color we specified. That''s what worked for us.

Good luck!

 

[sbuffaloe]

Would you all mind posting pics of your rings for reference? Thanks!

 

[movie zombie]

take a little investigative trip here: http://www.palagems.com/php/db_search.php?action=collectors_corner

this 3.33 blue sapphire is over $5000 per carat.

you have definitely caught on to the fact that prices for color stones are all over the place.....but so is quality. there are good books on the subject and online articles as well.

posting pictures is nice but not everyone''s camera skills are identical, lighting isn''t idenitical, and our monitors aren''t identical. and the joys of photoshop can really make it hard to discern if a stone is as advertised by an online seller.

only you can decide what you''re willing to pay for a color stone. personally, i think some of it comes down to what the stone is going to be used for: e-ring? then break the bank as much as you can afford. the stone is more important than the setting or acessory stones. and if you''re not locked into having to have the most popular color.....kashmir or ceylon blues......there are some better deals to be had by going with a lighter blue stone.

welcome to pricescope and the world of color!

movie zombie

 

[nicholerh]

Here''s my baby. It took a long time for us to pick this stone.
Just to point out the color difference, in the photos this blue has a blue "glow" to it. Very pretty. And this holds true under certain lighting. But under ordinary daily light it looks like a true royal blue. None of my pictures can seem to catch that. It''s very pretty, I just wish I could photograph it to show it

 

[nicholerh]

side view. shows the deeper blue to it.

 

[Missrocks]

Date: 2/17/2008 11:31:58 AM
Author: nicholerh
Yeah, as said above the price varies greatly depending on color and clarity and sometimes cut. I have a sapphire Ering and we were looking for one in the same carat range. Ours is a 1.9 but it was $5k. There was another one that we were contemplating that was about the same size but the coloring was less intense and it was 1k. I had seen others that were a few hundred bucks. Huge huge variation on sapphires and therefore prices. One thing you can keep in mind is you can go with a slightly lighter sapphire (save some $$) and when you set it, it''ll darken a little so it might be exactly what you''re looking for.

We tried shopping at the natural sapphire company and even had one shipped to our home to evaluate it. But they look so different in person we decided that wasn''t the route for us. We went to our local jewelry store and had them bring in a bunch of sapphires. Probably a total of 10 sapphires were brought in in the size, shape and color we specified. That''s what worked for us.

Good luck!

This is what I keep hearing a lot. I think color may be something you really have to see in person. It just doesn''t always transgress accuretly to the computer screen depending on the photographers lighting conditions, angle of stone, and the way everyone''s computer monitors display it differently.
Is there a reputable jeweler in your area that maybe can show you some sapphires with examples of different tones/ saturations to give you idea of what shade of blue you want and what pricing would be? I think that would be the best idea, as Nicholerh suggested

 

[pamplemousse]

Alas, my stone is unset.. and I don''t really have a camera... so the only photos I have are from the vendor. But now I''ve seen it in person, those are fairly accurate in terms of color. The blue is, as the caption says, a little greener than it appears in the photo. But that''s about it.

Anyway.. agreed with all of the other folks though.. you probably just want to take a look at some. I know some vendors will send stones out for viewing, but I don''t really know how that works. Our vendor also offered to take more pictures and stuff, but there''s only so much you can do.

Color depends so much on preference. My mom really wanted us to get a "pale" sapphire because she thought they were more sparkley. I was sort of on board with that but I didn''t want it to look too washed out. I was also afraid something really bright would look almost fakey to me. I think it''s totally personal preference.