Pick the sapphire's color first, then the size, the gold and the chain it hangs on
Choose the color first, because the color is what people see. Blue is the classic and the most common here, then red and pink. Then choose the size. Most of these crosses stand about an inch tall, and the minis weigh under 3 grams, light enough for a thin chain. The chain is not included unless the title says set, so plan for one.
Sapphire color: blue, pink, red and rainbow sapphire cross pendants
Start with the color you will wear most. Blue sits on about a third of these crosses, in shades the titles call ocean, mystic, celestial and water. Red is next, then pink, with a few yellow, green and purple stones, and the rainbow crosses run several colors down one cross. Pink went out far beyond its count, a quarter of the pieces bought in the year, most of them the mini pink cross. Sapphire is corundum, and so is ruby, the name the deepest reds go by, so two titles here use both words.
How big: small sapphire cross, mini cross pendant, large sapphire cross
Shop by the height and weight on each listing. Half of these crosses are one-row minis about an inch tall. They weigh 1.35 to 2.65 grams, and they took four in five of the pieces sold. The two-row crosses stand 1.25 inches with twice the color. The larger crosses weigh 7 to 15 grams, big enough to show over a shirt. The largest is a halo cross close to 4 inches tall, and it wants a strong chain.
The chain: sapphire cross necklace with chain, chain for a mini cross
A cross here comes alone unless its title says set. Four are sets: two 14K minis on a 1 mm chain and two .925 silver crosses on theirs. Each set lets you pick 18 to 24 inches. A mini sits right on a fine chain like that 1 mm one, and a thick chain would outweigh it. A few of the heavier crosses' listings suggest a rope or a Franco. The bail's opening is on no listing, so send your chain's width to the live chat, or call or text 212-872-9692 from 10 AM ET. The crosses and Jesus pieces guide covers every other cross.
Gold or silver: 14K gold sapphire cross, white gold, .925 silver
Take 14K gold, as most buyers did. More than four in five crosses here are 14K, and they took a like share of the pieces sold. Three are 10K, which holds less gold and shows a paler yellow. Four are .925 silver. Every gold cross comes in yellow, rose or white. White gold makes a blue stone read colder and brighter, and yellow gold deepens a red. The karat in each title is the karat you get.
Stones: sapphire and diamond cross, natural or lab-grown
Ask where the sapphire came from before you pay, since no listing here says whether it was mined or grown in a lab. Grown or mined, a sapphire is corundum all the same, second only to diamond in hardness, so it takes daily wear. Each diamond's origin is on its listing. Fourteen titles carry diamonds, and six more crosses add side diamonds their titles leave out. Most are natural by their details, and the two lab-grown titles carry lab-grown diamonds. Nearly every stone is prong set, and round stones lead, then princess, oval and emerald cuts.