Start with the color you love, then pick the build. Blue sold most in the year, and the rings also come in pink, green, red, black and the red-to-yellow fire stones. Men's rings run heavy with big stones, and women's run slim. Sapphire is hard enough to stay on your hand every day. Ask whether a stone is natural or lab-grown before you buy, since most listings do not say.
The color: blue, pink, green, red and fire sapphire rings
Choose the color first, since people notice it across a room. Blue leads, set in more than half of these rings, and blue sold most in the year. Pink and green sit mostly on the women's side, while the fire and black stones lean toward the men's. A fire sapphire ring mixes reds, oranges and yellows in one band. Judge a blue in daylight and again under a lamp, because a very dark stone can read almost black at night.
Everyday wear: sapphire engagement rings and rings that never come off
Sapphire handles daily wear as well as any colored stone. It rates 9 on the Mohs scale, a step below diamond, and it is tough as well as hard, which is why it has long been an engagement stone. Prongs hold the stone on most rings here, so have the claws looked at once a year. A burnish setting sinks each stone flush with the band, and a bezel wraps its edge in metal, so neither snags a sleeve. Warm water, mild soap and a soft brush keep it bright.
His or hers: men's and women's sapphire rings
The two sides differ most in weight. A typical men's ring weighs about 17 grams. About half of the men's rings carry 3 carats of sapphire or more. His side holds 3x3s, brick hexagons, crosses, pinky rings and sculpted pieces. A typical women's ring weighs nearer 4 grams. Most of hers hold under 2 carats of sapphire, in flower, toi et moi, eternity and engagement styles. Nearly every women's ring is 14K or 18K gold. Five men's rings are .925 silver, and silver made up about a third of the rings sold.
Natural or lab: lab-grown, natural and heated sapphire
Ask whether a sapphire was mined or grown before you pay, because most listings here do not say. The Tony Soprano pear ring comes two ways, one titled lab and its twin titled natural, and each lets you pick ruby or sapphire. Grown in a lab or dug from the ground, a sapphire is corundum either way and wears alike. Most sapphires sold anywhere are heated to deepen or even out their color, an old and accepted practice. No listing here names a treatment, so ask what a stone has been through. Where a listing names its diamonds' origin, nearly all say natural.
Ring size: sapphire ring sizes for men and women
Measure the finger first, since the two sides run on different ranges. Most men's rings offer every whole size from 9 to 11, and many run 8 to 12. Most women's rings offer 5 to 8. Any ring sold in more than one size comes in half sizes too. Most of the eternity bands are made in a single size. A band ringed with stones leaves a jeweler little plain gold to cut. For a size the listing does not show, ask in the live chat before you buy, because a ring sized for you is final sale.