Do yellow sapphires shine like yellow diamonds?

“My girlfriend has expressed an interest in a fancy yellow color diamond, and has indicated that she prefers yellow diamonds that are more intense in color. Naturally she wants something in the range of three carats, and I’ve noticed that what you refer to as fancy intense and fancy vivid yellow diamonds are kind of spendy! One of the women in my office showed me a magazine article about celebrity engagement rings, one of which featured a yellow sapphire as the center stone. I’m wondering whether yellow sapphires shine like yellow diamonds, and whether they are a suitable alternative to yellow diamonds for an engagement ring.”

Sapphires aren’t a girl’s best friend… (tweet this)

I don’t know for certain, but I’m guessing that Rihanna went with “Shine like a diamond” because nothing else does, and “Shine like a sapphire” just isn’t as catchy… And Marilyn Monroe never sang “Sapphires are a girl’s best friend” she went with diamonds as well, and that’s probably because nothing, absolutely nothing shines like a diamond! White, yellow, green, pink, blue, or any other color, nothing shines like a diamond.

Don’t get me wrong. I love sapphire, it’s a very pretty colored gem that is available in a variety of colors, including white, yellow, pink, blue, and green; but if you were to give me the choice between a diamond and a sapphire, well then I’m going to pick the diamond every time because the crystal structure of a diamond refracts light much better than sapphire.

White Sapphire looks like a train wreck:

Awhile back a customer purchased a diamond cut white sapphire from a vendor online, and then had it shipped direct to us to be set in a Brian Gavin Signature halo setting. We just couldn’t do it, the white sapphire looked absolutely horrible, it looked nothing like a diamond. In fact, it looked like crushed quartz, and virtually lacked any hint of life. Needless to say that the white sapphire looked nothing like the picture provided on the web site, and didn’t live up to the vendor’s description of how it looked just like a diamond… we sent the customer a photograph of the white sapphire next to one of our diamonds, and it ended up being returned for a refund.

I think that an exceptionally cut medium electric blue sapphire makes a great center stone, and colored sapphires in certain hues can look exceptional as side stones, but a yellow sapphire for the center stone in an engagement ring just doesn’t do it for me… because every time I see one, I know that the person is trying to pull off the look of a diamond, and it just doesn’t work.

This 3.04 carat, fancy intense will leave her breathless:

Understand that we’re happy to help you source a yellow sapphire if that’s what you really want, but this 3.04 carat, fancy intense yellow cushion cut diamond from Brian Gavin will leave her breathless. And believe me, the sparkle of this diamond screams D-I-A-M-O-N-D, even when it whispers softly in the subtlest of lighting environments. Which is something that you just can’t get from a sapphire.

Sure. There is nothing wrong with using a yellow sapphire as the center stone for an engagement ring. As long as you understand that a yellow sapphire looks nothing like a diamond, and it’s not going to deliver the same visual performance.

I think that the reason why some people choose yellow sapphire instead of a yellow diamond as the center stone for an engagement ring is price. The fact is that yellow sapphire costs is less expensive than yellow diamond, especially in the more intense, more vivid shades of yellow.

If you decide to go with a yellow sapphire instead of a yellow diamond, be forewarned that the color of yellow sapphires can fade with time. Work with a reliable vendor like Brian Gavin, who can provide you with information pertaining to the origin of the sapphire, and tell you whether the color is of natural origin, or whether the sapphire has been heat treated or irradiated to enhance the color.