Cross Jewelers Celebrating 100 Years in Portland Maine                    Join Our Monthly E-Newsletter
         1800 433 2988                         Cross Info               Directions               Order Catalogs             Visit Portland  

 

Home

 

Diamonds

Engagement Rings

Diamond Facts

 

Sapphire Jewelry

Sapphire Collection

How to Buy a Sapphire

 

Jewelry Collections

Inspired by Maine

Maine Tourmaline

Nature of Love

Garden Lovers Jewelry

Goddess Collection

Gold Chains

 

New Items

 

Learn - Gems/Care

 

Customer Letters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Buy a Sapphire

- Due to the infinite shades of blue the ancient Parisians believed the world rested atop

a sapphire, and its reflections illuminated the blue sky above.

Color

Blue is a color beloved by many. Our passion for blue that has resulted in a sapphire collection that spans a wide range of blue tones, from our light pastel Sweden Princess blues to the rich and velvety Royal Blue sapphires. Whatever your favorite blue, we have the shade you will love.

To the left is a tone scale for degrees of lightness & darkness. Rather than absolute starting and stopping points, the color groups overlap and can blend into one another.

We select loose sapphires individually and build a piece of jewelry around the gem. We choose sapphires that range in tone from Sweden Princess blue to Commodore blue.

The shade of navy to many people appears too dark. Our simple test is to hold a sapphire at arms length under normal lighting conditions. If it’s difficult to see the blue then it’s too dark. (these darker gems are very common in many stores)

Cut

After color cutting is the most important factor in a colored gem. When discussing cut we are not talking about shape (round, oval, etc.), but rather the proportions and angles of a gems facets. Precision cutting brings a sapphire to life.  A Royal Blue sapphire poorly cut could be far less valuable than a Prince of Wales sapphire with an excellent cut. We take great care when selecting sapphires because cutting is important. Our cut grade is determined by the brightness and evenness of the gems brilliance. The cut scale is as follows for all faceted gems:

  • Excellent

  • Very Good

  • Good

  • Fair

  • Poor

The “Cut Grade” will appear in parentheses after the color designation of the sapphire. Example: Royal Blue (Excellent) would indicate a wonderful medium to medium dark blue with extraordinary brilliance that’s evenly distributed throughout the gem. Cross only selects sapphires that are Excellent to Good in terms of cut.

If you see a design that you like, but would prefer a different shade of blue in the sapphire we would be happy to work with you to achieve a ring you'll love.

Sapphire is the second hardest gem after diamond and has long been a popular alternative choice for engagement rings.

 

   
             

Free Shipping on all Orders!

 

 

© William M Cross, Inc. 2008 - Cross Jewelers® is a registered trademark of William M Cross, Inc.

Cross Jewelers - Portland, Maine