sapphire Archives - Page 3 of 3

Heat Treated Sapphires: What You Need to Know

If a gemstone has been heat treated, it simply means it has undergone some type of thermal process in order to alter or improve its appearance. In this modern era, nearly 95 percent of sapphire gemstones are heat-treated for several important reasons. Given this widespread practice and the number of questions we’ve received about it, Knox Jewelers has decided to write up a special report to educate our valued clients about the process of heat treating sapphires and how these processes can best be utilized for maximum effect and benefit. There exists a wide variety of heat treatments available on the market today, and these treatments – depending upon their quality levels – can affect the price and value of sapphires in different ways.

The Heat Treatment Process

A small percentage of sapphire crystals naturally occur in the deep, vibrant shades we most desire. Heating can take a lack-luster gemstone and transform it’s color into a beautiful rare hue. The gemstone industry utilizes heat treating in order to develop or intensify a given sapphire’s natural color and texture. It can also be used to improve the clarity of a particular sapphire by removing, or at the very least reducing, inclusions. The idea behind this process is to mimic the natural processes of the earth by simulating how a sapphire might have turned out if that particular specimen had been discovered near a thermal vent in the earth.

If you have safety concerns about the heat treatment process, you can put your fears to rest. The modern heat treatment systems used by the industry are completely safe and use no radiology or chemical based techniques. All in all, it’s one of the safest, most cost effective ways to improve the color and overall visual appearance of a particular sapphire stone.

The History Behind Heat Treating

For countless centuries, the human race has utilized heat treatment to improve the quality and appearance of gemstones. Although the techniques used in the past were generally unreliable and may not have always resulted in a good result, the past 100 years has seen a rapid growth in the development of these important techniques, and today they are entirely reliable and guarantee a fantastic visual result. Heating can lighten, darken, deepen or completely change a gemstone’s color. Treatments can vary from simple, like holding the gem over an open flame, to complicated processes involving furnaces controlled by computers.

Shopping for Sapphire Jewelry

There are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for sapphire jewelry. There can often be major price differences in two gemstones of the same carat weight and color if one of them has undergone a heat treatment process. There are two ways to look at the heat-treatment/stone value situation. Treatment could transform a cloudy sapphire into a much more desirable gemstone, dramatically increasing its appeal but remaining near the same value. On the flip side, the absence of treatment in naturally colored gemstones makes them much more valuable than treated stones. This is because fine colored, untreated stones are rare in comparison.

Creating Your Sapphire Heirloom

At Knox Jewelers, we’d love to share our experience and knowledge of sapphires with you. Let’s get started today with your very own sapphire heirloom or engagement ring! We’ll work closely with you to design and craft a unique, personalized piece of jewelry that truly embodies the special meaning you desire to imbue within it. We hope to hear from you soon!

Wide Wedding Bands – Boldly Beautiful

What do you think about wide-banded rings and wide wedding bands? Most commonly, our customers at Knox Jewelers order wide bands for use in wedding rings or as anniversary bands. But, these rings are starting to evolve in terms of their function. Today, it is not uncommon to see individuals wearing a wide band for no other reason than “just because,” and that’s great news! When our designers have the opportunity to work with a wide band, they can incorporate far more creative ideas and visual motifs into their designs than when they do not have has much real estate with which to work. When it comes to ring design, every millimeter counts, and wide wedding bands give us a huge canvas from which to craft something truly amazing. But, don’t just take our word for it – let’s have a look at some of these magnificent and unique wide-band design styles.

Organic
These elegant styles capture some of the beauty of nature. Flowing vines are adorned with leaves and flowers that have been fashioned out of precious metals and gemstones.
Some of these bands feature free-flowing borders, while others are framed with bands of micro pave.

Contemporary
Minimalistic designs that highlight brilliant, dazzling diamonds, and lustrous high polished or satiny brushed metal. These rings also often feature geometric elements or movement in the band to create dimension.

Mokume Gane
The stunning wood grain patterns of these designs are created from scratch each time, so every ring is truly one-of-a-kind! These bands are easily customized with different color combinations and the addition of diamonds or gemstones.

Hand Engraved
The breathtaking patterns shown are all hand-carved into the metal of these rings with a sharpened steel tool called a graver. When the jeweler creates these intricate designs, they must be very precise with each and every line they make. Changing the pressure and depth of their strokes as they carve into the metal produces dimension when the light hits the engraved design.

Filigree and Scroll-work
Filigree curls of all shapes and sizes create a beautiful movement within a design. These scrolling lines can easily add vintage inspiration to a ring. Many times the sweeping line of metal is accented with diamonds or gem stones, hand engraving, and a beaded milgrain texture.

Two Tone
A great way to create a unique ring is to incorporate two different colors of metal. These two tone designs showcase how much different parts of the design can be highlighted simply by

Like What You See? Get in Touch!

At Knox Jewelers, we’re here to help you design the custom wide wedding band of your dreams. Or, if you are not currently looking for a wedding band, we can help you to design the perfect ring for any context. Any of our pieces can be created with or without a center stone. If you have any questions about the process, or if you just want to get in touch with us, please contact us right away. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have.

Ring Styles from The Great Gatsby: Daisy Buchanan Engagement Ring Inspirations

Did you happen to spot the stunning diamond ring poised elegantly on Daisy Buchanan’s ring finger in The Great Gatsby? The beautiful cushion cut center surrounded in a halo of diamonds has certainly captured the attention of many. The influential attributes of the roaring twenties was portrayed in a lavish display of platinum and diamonds in Daisy’s engagement ring.

carey-mulligan-great-gatsby-dancing-300x225 Unique Engagement Rings — Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby follows a cast of characters during the summer of 1922 in a prosperous town located on Long Island. The setting of the story was at the cusp of the Art Deco period where society embraced symmetry and bold geometric shapes. This portrayal of the American Dream depicts the transformational shift in culture of economic prosperity and exuberance.

Daisy’s glamorous ring showcases a cushion cut diamond which captures the timelessness of an old mine cut and the sophistication of a modern round brilliant. An old mine cut has an unmistakable vintage appeal with individual hand cut facets and a proportionate shape to its original rough form. The modified square shape of a cushion cut combines the essence of a bygone era with the sophistication of modern technology. The cushion cut is a contemporary diamond shape that embraces the romantic allure in one of the first diamond cuts in history.

2271_3_image Unique Engagement Rings — A Beautiful 2.20 ct Cushion Cut Diamond

The Great Gatsby story paints a picture of an American ideal where freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and social mobility. Luxurious parties, expensive cars and platinum jewelry were a symbol of wealth and success. Daisy’s elegant platinum band was a statement of high societal standing.

This classic look was featured in a beautiful U-cut style setting. U-cut is hand created pave where each prong is cut out by hand and the metal area around the prong. The U-shape pattern is formed when a jeweler carves the metal where the diamond is placed. This design technique allows diamonds to be set closer together, giving the ring more sparkle.

The U-cut method can only be crafted in platinum due to the metals superior strength. With platinum’s durability, less metal is needed to give the appearance of an endless row of diamonds. With less metal covering the diamonds, Daisy’s ring glimmers from across the room a t every angle.

2393_1_image1 Unique Engagement Rings — Knox Jeweler's Sarah Ann: Platinum U-Cut

To complete the historical look, Daisy wore a matching U-cut wedding band with micro-pave diamonds. Pave, is a French word meaning ‘paving a street.’ Her ring was paved with smaller diamonds to showcase her cushion cut diamond.

Another way to display a cushion cut diamond in platinum is a V-cut pattern. In this approach, the jeweler forms an angle on each side of the metal where it meets at a point, forming a V-shape. Like the U-cut, this technique can only be custom created in platinum. Showing less metal from the prongs and more of the micro-pave diamonds will maximize the radiance of the ring.

2383_5_image Unique Engagement Rings — Knox Jeweler's Venita: Platinum V-Cut

The Art Deco ring by Knox Jewelers represents The Great Gatsby period stylistically with bold geometric shapes. Clipped corners of a rectangular halo compliment the sharp, symmetrical lines of the emerald cut center diamond. To portray the fashion of the Great Gatsby era, two raised rectangular accents are parallel to the center halo.

1025_1_image Unique Engagement Rings — Knox Jeweler's Art Deco: Emerald Cut Diamond

Another common jewelry style for the era, the combination of diamonds and sapphires. Sapphires add a rich blue color to emphasize the beauty of the center diamond. This velvety blue fashion statement is a chic way to enhance the white luster of platinum.

2224_2_image Unique Engagement Rings — A Knox Jeweler's Minneapolis Custom Design

At Knox, we carry an entire collection of antique inspired styles in platinum or gold. As a custom design jeweler located in Minneapolis, we can create a design with or without a halo. Add surprise diamonds around the crown of the center diamond or build a halo around the diamond shape of your choice including cushion, round, oval or princess. Wear a Great Gatsby inspired ring of a timeless era, crafted with a contemporary appeal.

Sapphire Engagement Rings

At Knox Jewelers, we have been creating more and more Sapphire Engagement Rings in many design styles.

Click here to see our Sapphire Engagement Rings

Corundum, the stone that is commonly called sapphire, comes in every color of the rainbow except red, as red Corundum is called Ruby. There is also a white sapphire that when well cut, can look very much like a diamond.

Here are a few photos of some very unique sapphire engagement rings we have made. We can build these designs around any shape or size sapphire or diamond. So follow the links or click on the photos if you’re interested in more info.

Blue Sapphire Engagement Rings

Here is a custom version of our “Caledonia” design with a remarkable 3.60 carat blue cushion cut sapphire.

: Blue Cushion Cut Sapphire in Knox Heirloom Band (Caledonia)

Check this link to see other versions of our “Caledonia” Knox Heirloom Band. – Caledonia Custom Designs

Here is one of many of our “Cushion Barcelona” engagement ring designs. This is shown with a blue cushion cut sapphire. The hand done filigree and hand engraving make this design truly unique.

Here is a link to other versions of our Barcelona engagement ring. – Barcelona Engagement Rings

Our “Bezel Elegante” design is shown here with a beautiful bezel set, blue princess cut sapphire.

Check this link to see other versions of our “Elegante” engagement ring. –Elegante Engagement Ring Designs

Here is a very classic design with a blue emerald cut sapphire, beautifully accented by two tapered baguette shaped diamonds. Notice the elegant claw prongs holding both the side baguettes and the center sapphire.

Here is an Emerald cut blue sapphire in our “Art Deco” engagement ring.

: Emerald Cut Blue Sapphire Art Deco Engagement Ring; Check this link to see other Art Deco designs on our website. – Art Deco designs

Here is a Bezel Set Emerald cut blue sapphire engagement ring with hand done filigree.

: Bezel Set Emerald cut blue sapphire engagement ring with filigree.; Here is our “Seville” design with a rich blue diamond cut sapphire. This is a very unique engagement ring with the hand engraving and hand done filigree accent.

Purple Sapphire Engagement Rings

This purple sapphire engagement ring features our “Seville” design again, with hand engraving and hand made platinum filigree.

: Purple Sapphire in Knox Seville Design

Here is a link to all of versions of our “Seville” design throughout the website. – Seville Engagement Rings

Here is a recent three stone engagement ring design with a purple sapphire. The design features a near eternity diamond band and also beautiful hand engraving.

Three Stone Engagement Ring Design with a purple sapphire.

Here is our “Lotus” halo style engagement ring, shown with a bright purple sapphire.

: Lotus Halo Engagement Ring with Purple Sapphire

Yellow Sapphire Engagement Rings

This sapphire engagement ring features a low set cushion cut yellow sapphire mounted around diamonds, hand engraving, and yellow gold filigree. This is a custom version of our “Cushion Barcelona” engagement ring.

Here is a link to other versions of our Barcelona engagement ring. – Barcelona Engagement Rings

Here are two custom versions of our “Fireworks” engagement ring with yellow sapphires.

: Yellow Princess Cut Sapphire in a very unique engagement ring

: Yellow Round Cut Sapphire in a very unique micro pave engagement ring

Green Sapphire Engagement Rings

Here is a fabulous green cushion cut sapphire engagement ring. The sapphire is surrounded by a halo of diamonds. The hand engraving and hand done filigree are what make this unique engagement ring a work of art.

Another beautiful green sapphire engagement ring. This is a version of our “Amante” halo design, customized with hand done filigree filling the gallery.

Orange Sapphire Engagement Rings

Stunning orange sapphire engagement ring. Based off of our “Contour Trellis” three stone engagement ring.

: Stunning orange sapphire engagement ring

Here is a custom version of our “Cushion Barcelona” design with an vivid orange square cushion cut sapphire.

: Orange Square Cushion Cut Sapphire in Custom Cushion Barcelona Engagement Ring. Hand Engraved with Filigree.

Here is a link to other versions of our Barcelona engagement ring. – Barcelona Engagement Rings

Pink Sapphire Engagement Rings

Here is a beautiful 1.84 carat cushion cut pink sapphire engagement ring in a micro pave style.

: 1.84 carat cushion cut pink sapphire engagement ring

Check this link to see other versions of our “Adriana Sophia” ring. – Adriana Sophia designs

Here is a Pink Cushion Cut Sapphire in a split shank micro pave engagement ring.

: Another Pink Cushion Cut Sapphire in a split shank micro pave engagement ring

Check this link to see other versions of our Cielo design. – Cielo Engagement Rings

Click here to browse our Sapphire Engagement Rings