Gemstone Collection
- Thread starter shaezie
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Hello! Here's my padparadscha sapphire ring that I designed with my mom. Got this back in 2018 and I usually wear it on my index finger.
I commissioned a new ring from my usual jeweller in Hatton Garden and it’s just arrived today. I’m absolutely in love with it. It’s a 1.01 carat pear Padparascha sapphire with 0.30 carats F VS1 diamonds set on a half eternity rose gold band.
I can foresee that I’m going to be wearing it obsessively for a while since I just got it!
I can foresee that I’m going to be wearing it obsessively for a while since I just got it!
Admiring the Padparascha sapphire in daylight… I am obsessed! 
Hi everyone. Been so very busy that I am seeing your lovely pieces just now. Also just want to share my small rainbow sapphire half eternity ring that I love using at the moment.
My latest addition and enjoying its warmth. Yellow sapphire. 10 year wedding anniversary gift. feeling very spoiled this year ! x
Hi there, I would love to find out more about your thoughts or any other TPFers's opinions on yellow sapphires.
I am contemplating getting a yellow gemstone ring commissioned, but I am still torn between going for a canary diamond or a yellow sapphire.
Part of me feels like the yellow sapphire is a much more value-for-money proposition in comparison to a canary diamond. But at about 1-1.5 carats, would there be a significant difference appearance-wise in getting a sapphire instead of a diamond? Are there any compelling reasons to spend a whole lot more for the diamond, or am I being brainwashed by "Big Diamond" in thinking that nothing else would suffice?
I think canary yellow diamond is rarer and may even be more sparkly than sapphires. But if budget is an issue than yellow sapphire is also good enough. Its also rare on its own. Especially if its untreated. Between a yellow diamond that has been treated over an untreated yellow sapphire, id go with the latter.
It really comes down to preference. Sapphires don’t have the same brilliance as diamonds, which will become more apparent with consistent wear as sapphires need to be cleaned frequently to sparkle. I personally don’t mind it because my priority is color saturation, but if you want sparkle, go for a diamond. One other note is sapphires weigh more for their size, so for a 1 - 1.5 carat diamond, a 1.5 - 2 carat sapphire would be the approximate equivalent.
Yellow diamonds (diamonds in general) are very rarely treated. Yellow sapphires are routinely heated. That being said, yellow sapphires will usually be more vivid in color, and can also exhibit more of an orange hue. (Orange or orangish diamonds are much, much rarer and more expensive.) But yellow diamonds exhibit more fire and sparkle. You won’t get that same brilliance or play of colors with sapphires — which present a bit more dark and monotone.
Having seen both, I think it’s relatively easy to tell which is which. Not that I have a strong preference for either. If you want something that will photograph well, a yellow sapphire will probably do the job better. It costs a lot less per carat, the color is much bolder, and you run into less issues with the facets being overexposed in a picture.
If you want a certain type of cut or effect, like the appearance of crushed ice in a cushion shape or the hall-of-mirrors effect in a step cut, you’re not going to see that with a yellow sapphire. That being said, if you want a certain shape — such as round, marquise, or heart — that’s probably going to be mush easier to find in a yellow sapphire. Yellow diamonds are overwhelmingly going to be cushion or oval. (I’ve seen some pear, less radiant, and even less emerald-shaped yellow diamonds, though they do exist.) Your options with yellow diamonds are just going to be a bit more limited.
I think my preference for one over the other depends on my budget, and how big I want the stone to be. If I were looking at a festoon necklace with gems in each garland, I’d probably go with yellow sapphires, because I think it would balance out the cost with the wow effect, and also because I want more contrast with the white color of diamonds with the yellow color of sapphires. In a solitaire ring or pendant, I might prefer a yellow diamond, since that’s all that’s being looked at. But then again, that all hinges on how big I want the center stone to be. If I wanted something that’s 4 carats that will show up in a full-body photo, I would probably go with yellow sapphire.
Anyway, I don’t own yellow sapphires, and I only have a few small yellow diamond pieces, but I think the primary difference really boils down to cost. First, ask yourself, “If this ring came in both yellow sapphire or yellow diamond, but were otherwise identical, which stone would I choose if they both cost the same amount of money?” I think most people would choose a yellow diamond if the price were the same.
And then ask yourself, “At what amount of a price discount would I pick the yellow sapphire?” If it’s only $100 cheaper, maybe you’d still go with the yellow diamond. But if it’s $18,000 cheaper, maybe then you’d choose yellow sapphire.
Thank you all so much for your insights and advice!
I went to see my jeweller today, and he showed me the selection of gems he had. I almost pulled the trigger on one of the yellow sapphires he had, but still hemmed and hawed as it was an oval-shaped gem, which wasn’t really what I had in mind.
Then he threw a spanner into the works, by showing me a lovely champagne diamond (pic below), in a radiant cut, he had which he would sell to me at a very competitive price, at around just £250 more than the yellow sapphire.
I’m going to sleep on it, but now I am even more indecisive, as I hadn’t considered champagne diamonds at all, nor a radiant cut stone (I normally favour pear cuts, but would have considered a cushion cut for this new piece).
