Which would you choose?

[Shijitake]

Which of these stones would you choose based on these pictures? Pictures of sapphires from GIA. They're almost the same price so just wondering if the imperfections on the first stone would make you choose the other stone. Its clarity is supposed to be VVS.

 

[MollyMalone]

It's very difficult to judge from posted pics because we have no idea how accurately the photos depict what we'd see if we had the stones in hand. Even if the original photos conscientiously reflect what the photographer sees on their end, there's no way of being sure that our computer/device screens are in sync with the photographer's color calibration. Photos also are inherently static, cannot possibly replicate 3-dimensional viewing under various lighting conditions. Plus, colors don't all "register" with everyone the same way. All of this is why I enter into the online purchase of a colored gem fully expecting I will return it, and so won't buy from vendors with a short return-refund policy or where it would be a pricey PIA to send back the stone.

Having offered those caveats, I will say that even if the 1st stone had no inclusions, it wouldn't appeal to me because of the brown modifiers; it appears muddier than would be my own preference.

 

[Shijitake]

I didn't even notice the brown modifiers! I thought it was just orange color. This is what they look like from the vendor sites.

 

[voce]

The second one has more vibrant color, and I've always been drawn to the pink rather than peach in padparadschas, so I'd pick the second one. Why are you looking again? Did you decide to return the one you had?

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

From the first set of pictures, I much prefer the second stone, but because of the color, not the inclusions. The peachy one looks kind of muddy or dull compared to the pink one. From the second set of photos, I actually like the peachy one better. It just feels more unusual or special. They both look quite clear to me, considering how magnified they are. Have you seen them in real life?

 

[Shijitake]

I really like the one I bought but the perfectionist in me keeps saying that it's just over half the prices of these sapphires and if I save up I can get one without an off-center culet. But these are far out of my budget. They are lighter in color too.

Another part of me says the color is great and the off-center culet is not so bad, I just have to keep it at the right angle. I still have five days on the return window so I'm still shopping around.

MissyBeauCoup, I haven't because the sellers are far. I wish I could though. I can't buy and return since that already cost a lot to do that with the pear sapphire.

 

[Shijitake]

MollyMalone, do you see any brown in mine?

 

[voce]

I really like the one I bought but the perfectionist in me keeps saying that it's just over half the prices of these sapphires and if I save up I can get one without an off-center culet. But these are far out of my budget. They are lighter in color too.

Another part of me says the color is great and the off-center culet is not so bad, I just have to keep it at the right angle. I still have five days on the return window so I'm still shopping around.

MissyBeauCoup, I haven't because the sellers are far. I wish I could though. I can't buy and return since that already cost a lot to do that with the pear sapphire.

Did you hear back from Gemart yet? Recut=off-center culet is gone, cut is perfect! I would take that over doubling the price I have to pay for another stone any day, if cut is my concern rather than color or size.

 

[Shijitake]

I emailed them but I'm not 100% on it. I like to leave things be and it feels like a shame to lose some parts of the sapphire. I'll think about it when I hear back though.

 

[qubitasaurus]

This is not a fair game as the two stones come from diffetent vendors (unless I am very much mistaken) and thus the photography styles will be different and direct comparison of the photos will leave something to be desired.

The first stone has been bought, photographed and posted to this forum in the last 6 months. You can go backwards opening old threads till you find it. Or you can be more open (as they are both well known popular vendors and most people here will know exactly where to find those two stones anyway, so it isnt something you can easily conceal anyway) and hope someone will point you to the right thread

 

[dk168]

Second stone based on the colour alone, as I cannot wear brown myself.

DK

 

[Shijitake]

Found it qubitasaurus, thanks! Got a real good view of close to what it looks like in person. Also aware of the different photography styles, that 's why I used photos from GIA.

Thanks, DK. Looks like the obvious choice is the 2nd one. I also heard back from GemArt and he said it's possible and easy. He quoted me $120-150 or 200 for a more ideal cut. I'll also be 10-30% carat loss I'm going to think it over. I wish I can have both! Thanks again for input everyone!

 

[Shijitake]

[QUOTE="Shijitake, post: 4412528, member: 104950"

[/QUOTE]
Btw does anyone see Brown modifiers in the one I bought? I don't but I'm not sure.

 

[MollyMalone]

@Shijitake I'm thinking you should return the lozenge/oval. It's not making your heart sing: you've waffled back-and-forth quite a bit about it in the 10 days since you received it, so that suggests to me that it's not a "keeper." Plus with a price tag of $4000 (IIRC), it's not an inexpensive "starter stone."

 

[qubitasaurus]

[QUOTE="Shijitake, post: 4412528, member: 104950"

Btw does anyone see Brown modifiers in the one I bought? I don't but I'm not sure.[/QUOTE]

Clearly the first stone posted to this thread has a fair bit of brown in the gia report. Yet the vendor photo is not showing any of it. If you had just shown me the vendor photo I would have said there wasnt any brown -- probably the lighting source used in the vendor photos showed the gem at its very best. Sapphires shit a bit depending on the lighting, some sapphires shift a lot.

Asking us to look at the NSC vendor photo and work out if there is any brown in the stone is a bit nonsensical. You have the stone in hand, you need to look at the stone and work it out (and then repeat in lots of different light conditions). Nothing else will really work. So if this matters a lot to you, then you need to make sure you can spot the brown yourself in person. More importantly you need to decide whether you like it. If you cant get passed these points, then you may need to spend more time at gem fairs looking at stones and specifically reading this forum (put your effort into reading everyone elses posts, even if they are not buying sapphires the skill of looking at something and deciding if the colour is saturated and the cut is good is transferable. You wont learn it by writting multiple threads about indecision, but you will learn it with time reading others threads and seeing stones in real life. Unfortunately it takes time.).

I am beginning to think you may need to go back to square one, you really care about optimizing the parameters here (youll make a good pricescoper ). But I dont think your currently able to write down what these parameters are, and you cant rank stones relative to each other in each category. I think this will drive you nuts -- so probably go back and start from the beginning. It takes time.

 

[Shijitake]

MollyMalone, I'm just really indecisive. I've mulled over the littlest things. Even playing card games. It drives people crazy That red sapphire that I thought I was ripped off, took me a while to love. Same with antique rings I've been given. I'm sorry I brought it here Thanks for your patience

qubitaurus, I've tried searching how to spot these colors (brown, grey, even fluoresence in diamonds). I can't see any of it But I will try in different lightings tomorrow with a loupe. But I didn't see it in the GIA photos so I don't know what I can do. I've tried reading some old posts in this forum but I don't really have a lot of time. I'm insanely new to this. I thought there was the 4c's and that's it, boy was I wrong! So much to learn.

 

[Shijitake]

"(youll make a good pricescoper )"

Also, thanks, I take that as a compliment

 

[MollyMalone]

* * * qubitaurus, I've tried searching how to spot these colors (brown, grey, even fluoresence in diamonds). I can't see any of it But I will try in different lightings tomorrow with a loupe. But I didn't see it in the GIA photos so I don't know what I can do. I've tried reading some old posts in this forum but I don't really have a lot of time. I'm insanely new to this. I thought there was the 4c's and that's it, boy was I wrong! So much to learn.

But the good news is that you do have time... because you don't have to buy a sapphire (or any gemstone) right now or even in 2 years. Since you're not "in the trade", your livelihood does not even remotely depend on your acquisition of one or more gems; gemstones are not a prerequisite to keeping a roof over your head, food on the table, and clothes on your back.

My suggestion would be that you try to relieve the pressure you seem to be placing on yourself. Give yourself permission to take, say, the next 6 months to: hang out here with us on PS; continue to explore what's out there, at what price levels; and, as was most recently recommended to you by @qubitasaurus above, develop a more informed basis for deciding what you really like.

E.g., some years back, I purchased a Madagascar sapphire from Dana Reynolds (Master Cut Gems). It's doubtlessly too dark for many people's tastes (and I myself wouldn't choose it as my one-and-only colored gemstone ring). But I love the teal color, the fine cut; the price tag pleased me greatly; it "winks" brightly at me no matter what the lighting & I find that quite endearing. I.e., we all don't share the same priorities and tastes & that's A-OK. The world would be a boring, monotonous place if we all wore the same clothes... and jewelry.​

I personally wouldn't buy anything from the Natural Sapphire Company. But it has a large inventory & you apparently live close enough to NYC that you could go there -- more than once (but go without your credit card/checkbook, so you won't be able to cave into on-the-spot sales spiels) -- to clarify for yourself what you prefer by by doing in-person comparisons. You may end up deciding you don't give a rat's ass if there's a brown modifier in a Pad or Pad-like sapphire because those look quite nice on your hand due to your skin tone!

OR... by virtue of being exposed here to more kinds of gems, you may decide you'd rather have a few, less expensive gems of different kinds, colors, and/or cuts than a single Pad that's within your "frivolities" budget range.

 

[qubitasaurus]

"(youll make a good pricescoper )"

Also, thanks, I take that as a compliment

You'll make a great one, you have the passion for it and the desire to learn (which are probably the 2 qualities you most need).

It took me several years to be able to spot grey/brown/secondary colours/etc. And for the first 6 months I just lurked and read everything. I didnt even create an account till I ran out of long-subsisting threads to read (I read all the 50+ page threads in excrutiating detail, read everything currently on CS and then read old/long dead threads as well -- would have been better off going to some more jewlers and jewlery fairs but oh well. Luckily its a hobby there is no way to do it wrong if youre having a good time.). I honestly think youll only learn by investing the time and being paitient. It will take a while.

 

[Shijitake]

MollyMalone, it's because Princess Eugenie's stone is a pad that I'm rushing. If the popularity goes up, the prices go up with it. Gems are already too expensive. NSC's not the best, but has the most pads out of all the other vendors I checked. JupiterGem is a close second but theirs has such terrible windows. If I had a larger budget and lighter skin you can bet that 2nd one would be mine! Maybe if I send mine to GemArt then it will really be my ideal.

qubi, I'm seriously thinking of going into jewelry making and maybe even gemology. Jewelry making is a long time dream. But my current career trajectory is already shifting to something else atm. I feel like I'd be too sad at jewelry fairs because I can't afford anything

 

[Shijitake]

I hate to bring this back up and hopefully this is my last question about my pad. But I looked carefully at NSC's and GIA's pictures and looked at the stone itself, and I think there are no or very little brown modifiers. Can I just get a confirmation on this? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[minousbijoux]

Brown is a lack of intensity of hue in warm colored stones. From the photo, the stone looks fairly low in saturation, and as a result, I would describe it as a padparadscha with a brownish component to its coloring. But you have it in hand and say it looks different than the photo, so go by your eyes, not opinions from those of us who haven’t even seen it in person!

 

[Shijitake]

It's very pink in person. I can't tell the brown very well from the orange. Even in person and magnified. That's why I ask

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

MollyMalone, it's because Princess Eugenie's stone is a pad that I'm rushing. If the popularity goes up, the prices go up with it. Gems are already too expensive. NSC's not the best, but has the most pads out of all the other vendors I checked. JupiterGem is a close second but theirs has such terrible windows. If I had a larger budget and lighter skin you can bet that 2nd one would be mine! Maybe if I send mine to GemArt then it will really be my ideal.

qubi, I'm seriously thinking of going into jewelry making and maybe even gemology. Jewelry making is a long time dream. But my current career trajectory is already shifting to something else atm. I feel like I'd be too sad at jewelry fairs because I can't afford anything

I may be off base with this, as no one can predict the future. It’s not that I think padparashas will go down in price. They are already very popular in Asia. There is a current boom in them because of Princess Eugenie. You might also conclude that we’re in a price/popularity spike and that it might be easier to find a nice one later when the demand cools a little.

Let’s be honest. Pads don’t always look good on every skin tone, though a nice halo helps. There’s a confusion that is hard to answer: is it an icky brown undertone or a pretty pale orange? Maybe in one light it’s one thing and in another it washes out. Ultimately you have to decide if You like it.

I don’t know you well enough to know how your indecision works. For me, if I am not happy about some characteristic of a stone, that thing will probably bother me more in time. I can accept some quirky things like inclusions or color shifts as “personality”, but a big window would bother me. I understand how much you want a pad, and I’m sorry they are so expensive, because it’s a difficult purchase when you’re still learning what your taste is. Good luck!