The Jeweler's Eye
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I am a jewelry designer and gemologist. I love creating beautiful heirloom jewelry for clients all over the world. In this blog, I feature many of my designs and current projects as well as articles about colored gemstones, diamonds and antique jewelry. As a historian and lover of antique and estate jewelry, I am often inspired by jewels from the past.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Montana Sapphire


1.432 carats Hexagaonal Montana Sapphire


Montana Sapphires are a true American beauty. While they can be found in a variety of colors, most of the sapphires from this locality are in the Blue, Blue-Green and Teal hues. This 1.432 carats hexagonal shaped sapphire is a stunning example of fine grade stones from Montana. I fell in love with the unusual shape combined with the rich blue hue and masterful symmetry.




Some of the trademark characteristics of Montana Sapphires are a more crystalline appearance, high refraction and steely like blue hues. This type of grayish-Blue hue is ideal for platinum settings which beautifully compliment the cooler color of this sapphire. And the highly refractive quality of Montana Sapphire gives the gem a crisp display of spectral hues as the stone moves about freely.

I recently created a striking ring design featuring a similar hexagonal Montana Sapphire. The sapphire in this ring is a little smaller, weighing 1.08 carats and is also a tad lighter.




I call this design Winter Twilight. The focal point of this ring is, of course, this handsome steely blue hexagonal shaped Montana Sapphire.





I burnish set two tapered baguette colorless diamonds on each side to line up with the sides of the sapphire hexagon then added 12 small round diamonds along the face of the ring like twinkling stars at the beginning of the evening twilight in winter. This ring design could easily be worn by either a man or a woman.

If you prefer the more intense shade of the 1.432 carats hexagonal sapphire, it could be featured in a custom crafted ring based on my Winter Twilight design. Or, perhaps another design, like my Engraved Elegance series.






In my Engraved Elegance series, the ring is first hand crafted in platinum with a classic flat-edge design which is then hand engraved with a repeating wheat-like pattern that has always reminded me of Charles Schultz's famous bird, Woodstock's footprints in the snow.




Both the Winter Twilight and Engraved Elegance designs are great options for Montana Sapphire.


To learn more about these rings, please visit the Sapphire Ring Gallery on my website. I am also happy to create a Montana Sapphire jewel with other design elements. Just send me an email to discuss options.


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