Pad sapphire experts

[joy2theworld]

Okay, I''ve succumbed to their beauty, but still don''t know how to spell the word correctly without looking it up each time. However, I''m looking to find one for a ring. I think either round, oval or cushion cut around 1.5 ct. I think, but I''m open to any that might be a beautiful stone. Can you please give me some places to start besides the Natural Sapphire Company?
By the way, did anyone see the one page spread of jewelry made from Pads in Town & Country recently? Most of the ones I''ve seen on here have been prettier than the ones they featured!

 

[chrono]

Padparadscha. Are you looking for something heated or unheated? With all the BE stones everywhere, I would not touch one without a lab cert. They aren''t common so you may have to contact vendors to find something for you.
Wink at www.winkjones.com
TGal found a good one from Richard Wise.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

There's this one from Jeff White
http://www.whitesgems.com/gems/SAP029.htm

And Wild Fish has some unheated ones too (they're pretty pricey though)
http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/searchresults?s=Padparadscha&ss=Padparadscha&n=335841

John at GemRite has been cutting some too, but they're smaller than what you're looking for (up to .9ct), and not from Ceylon (which some argue makes it not a "real" pad)

And of course, you can always contact vendors to keep an eye out for you.

 

[m76steve]

these are padparadsha sapphires-several are ceylon and the rest are african-fairly good examples of the material-most of these are heated or treated in some way-enjoy...

 

[T L]

lembeckgems.com has some super pricey ones, but they''re really nice!

 

[joy2theworld]

Thank you for the links. If I''m not mistaken the one on Jeff White''s site is the one a few of you have purchased, but said there was too much purple. I like the little lighter color stones, but not ones that are too pale. I would obviously prefer unheated, but would take heated if it was a beautiful stone. I''m not impressed by any on Wildfish gems. I''ve looked at that site before and I don''t know if it is the photos, but the stones just don''t look cut that well in my opinion. I like stones that really sparkle!

 

[chrono]

In that case, it sounds like a job for the vendors. I would contact them, give them your specifications and let them do the legwork.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Yes, Jeff White''s was the one that Linda and Tgal thought had too much lavender/purple. But it is certified as a pad (so it''s "officially" a pad), so it''s more of whether you like the lavender in it or not, some people probably like the touch of lavender in it, others may not. If you''re going for sparkle though, I''m sure it holds its own since Jeff has a great reputation as a cutter

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/28/2009 9:28:26 PM
Author: joy2theworld
Thank you for the links. If I''m not mistaken the one on Jeff White''s site is the one a few of you have purchased, but said there was too much purple. I like the little lighter color stones, but not ones that are too pale. I would obviously prefer unheated, but would take heated if it was a beautiful stone. I''m not impressed by any on Wildfish gems. I''ve looked at that site before and I don''t know if it is the photos, but the stones just don''t look cut that well in my opinion. I like stones that really sparkle!

My pad doesn''t sparkle...it kind of glows and shimmers. That''s what I didn''t like about it at first, but now I like it. I figure because it''s an oval, it''s less brilliant all at once.

What is your budget. I''d think that 1.5 unheated of good color/quality would be somewhere in the 5-10K range.

I would agree - call some vendors and tell them what you are looking for. Geez, mine is still sitting here unset and with the way the economy is going, I should offer to sell you mine!

 

[DianaBanana]

The Jeff White is a beauty....here is his studio shot....I''ll dig around and see if I can find the ''natural light'' photos he sent....

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Haha, tgal, it''s mean to even joke about possibly selling yours!

My little pad is extremely sparkly, probably due to shape and cut, and I love how delicate the color is. Happy hunting!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/28/2009 10:57:07 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Haha, tgal, it''s mean to even joke about possibly selling yours!

My little pad is extremely sparkly, probably due to shape and cut, and I love how delicate the color is. Happy hunting!

Rounds have more brilliance, so that makes sense.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 4/28/2009 11:00:10 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 4/28/2009 10:57:07 PM

Author: MakingTheGrade

Haha, tgal, it''s mean to even joke about possibly selling yours!


My little pad is extremely sparkly, probably due to shape and cut, and I love how delicate the color is. Happy hunting!

Rounds have more brilliance, so that makes sense.

Yup, and it''s a mixed portugese cut (I think) so it has a lot of discrete sparklies

Would love to see more pics of your pad Tgal!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/28/2009 11:45:38 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade

Date: 4/28/2009 11:00:10 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 4/28/2009 10:57:07 PM

Author: MakingTheGrade

Haha, tgal, it''s mean to even joke about possibly selling yours!


My little pad is extremely sparkly, probably due to shape and cut, and I love how delicate the color is. Happy hunting!

Rounds have more brilliance, so that makes sense.

Yup, and it''s a mixed portugese cut (I think) so it has a lot of discrete sparklies

Would love to see more pics of your pad Tgal!

I''ll get around to it at some point. I need to take pics of my kid first, otherwise that just cements that my priorities are out of whack. (Although I fully understand that PS priorities are wanting to see pad first, kid [distant] second!)

 

[TravelingGal]

Here''s a 1.64, heated, sri lanka. $4100

http://www.paraibainternational.com/product_info.php?product=1943

 

[Linda W]

Hi Joy,


I do hope you will be able to find a pad. They are such beautiful stones and so darn addicting.

T-Gal is correct, they glow and shimmer. Now the two smaller ones that I have unset, glow, shimmer and sparkle HA. I am simply in love with pads.

Yes, you are correct. Although Jeff''s pad was beautiful, it had too much lavender for me. I like my pads to be strictly orange/pink, or pink/orange.

I lucked out, as my pads were purchased from The Natural Sapphire Company.


Linda

 

[joy2theworld]

I do like the color of the Jeff White one, but it doesn''t look like the lovely ones that I''ve really enjoyed seeing on her. I''m not a "peach" color person, but some of the ones I''ve seen with diamonds that are lighter just seem to glow and I do love that. As long as it has sparkle too!

 

[joy2theworld]

One thing some of you might be able to help me with is trying to figure out if 1mm more is worth about 2k more. There are some beautiful smaller stones that I''ve come across that are about 1mm smaller than the one Jeff White has listed for instance. Obviously, like most of you, I like bigger stones, but if it is in a halo or something how much will it really matter?

 

[chrono]

It''s all about colour. If the smaller stone has better colour, I''d prefer that over the larger one with mediocre colour.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/29/2009 9:46:18 PM
Author: Chrono
It''s all about colour. If the smaller stone has better colour, I''d prefer that over the larger one with mediocre colour.

Ditto.

 

[Linda W]

Date: 4/29/2009 11:40:45 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 4/29/2009 9:46:18 PM

Author: Chrono

It''s all about colour. If the smaller stone has better colour, I''d prefer that over the larger one with mediocre colour.

Ditto.

Double Ditto.

 

[T L]

Date: 4/28/2009 10:19:30 PM
Author: DianaBanana
The Jeff White is a beauty....here is his studio shot....I''ll dig around and see if I can find the ''natural light'' photos he sent....

I''m probably going to get whacked on the head for this, but I can''t keep it in any longer since I''ve seen this picture floating out and about the forum for ages. To be honest, I am not crazy about this picture at all. I never was. It reminds me of an ordinary spinel with grey undertones here and dull color. Jeff needs to retake this picture.

Sorry.

 

[Linda W]

Date: 4/29/2009 11:51:04 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 4/28/2009 10:19:30 PM

Author: DianaBanana

The Jeff White is a beauty....here is his studio shot....I''ll dig around and see if I can find the ''natural light'' photos he sent....

I''m probably going to get whacked on the head for this, but I can''t keep it in any longer since I''ve seen this picture floating out and about the forum for ages. To be honest, I am not crazy about this picture at all. I never was. It reminds me of an ordinary spinel with grey undertones here and dull color. Jeff needs to retake this picture.


Sorry.

TL, you crack me up, in a good way.

 

[T L]

But I feel so much better now that I got that off my chest!!

 

[Linda W]

Date: 4/30/2009 12:09:51 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
But I feel so much better now that I got that off my chest!!

ha ha ha, I bet you do

 

[loriken214]

My teeny little pad beauty came today and it was love at first sight.....

Lori

 

[DianaBanana]

Date: 4/30/2009 12:08:01 AM
Author: Linda W

Date: 4/29/2009 11:51:04 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 4/28/2009 10:19:30 PM

Author: DianaBanana

The Jeff White is a beauty....here is his studio shot....I''ll dig around and see if I can find the ''natural light'' photos he sent....

I''m probably going to get whacked on the head for this, but I can''t keep it in any longer since I''ve seen this picture floating out and about the forum for ages. To be honest, I am not crazy about this picture at all. I never was. It reminds me of an ordinary spinel with grey undertones here and dull color. Jeff needs to retake this picture.


Sorry.

TL, you crack me up, in a good way.

Whack....Whack!!

Ha ha...just kidding.

You''re right, it isn''t a great picture. The natural light ones were beautiful but I''ve already nuked them out of my inbox. I hope it finds a good home someday soon.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/30/2009 12:08:01 AM
Author: Linda W

Date: 4/29/2009 11:51:04 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 4/28/2009 10:19:30 PM

Author: DianaBanana

The Jeff White is a beauty....here is his studio shot....I''ll dig around and see if I can find the ''natural light'' photos he sent....

I''m probably going to get whacked on the head for this, but I can''t keep it in any longer since I''ve seen this picture floating out and about the forum for ages. To be honest, I am not crazy about this picture at all. I never was. It reminds me of an ordinary spinel with grey undertones here and dull color. Jeff needs to retake this picture.


Sorry.

TL, you crack me up, in a good way.

I wouldn''t whack you because I''ve seen the stone. It looked quite different IRL. In some ways it''s prettier, in other ways it''s not. It''s the right stone for someone looking for a salmony stone with a lavender flower inside it.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/30/2009 12:48:38 AM
Author: DianaBanana

Date: 4/30/2009 12:08:01 AM
Author: Linda W

Date: 4/29/2009 11:51:04 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 4/28/2009 10:19:30 PM

Author: DianaBanana

The Jeff White is a beauty....here is his studio shot....I'll dig around and see if I can find the 'natural light' photos he sent....

I'm probably going to get whacked on the head for this, but I can't keep it in any longer since I've seen this picture floating out and about the forum for ages. To be honest, I am not crazy about this picture at all. I never was. It reminds me of an ordinary spinel with grey undertones here and dull color. Jeff needs to retake this picture.


Sorry.

TL, you crack me up, in a good way.

Whack....Whack!!

Ha ha...just kidding.

You're right, it isn't a great picture. The natural light ones were beautiful but I've already nuked them out of my inbox. I hope it finds a good home someday soon.

That's too bad...I would have loved to see what the natural ones looked like compared the ones I took.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/30/2009 12:45:48 AM
Author: loriken214
My teeny little pad beauty came today and it was love at first sight.....

Lori

Photos??