my very first Pad...

[BWise]

mochi, please tell me this is priority #1 on your setting list!!!

How can you ever lock up such a beauty in a box? BTW you are one fascinating photographer! (

)

 

[klewis]

Mochi, some your pics are so beautifully taken, they look so interesting and perfect in the natural environment you place them in. It''s as if you have the painters eye.

 

[icekid]

pretty stones, mochi. I especially love the cushion. You ladies are killing me (with envy) with your quickly growing collections

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Lovely photos!!!

Yeah, one of the reasons I decided on an unheated pad from nsc was because I didn''t want to pay 260 to certify a $400 stone, but i couldn''t stand not knowing for sure either! But I have the certificate that it''s unheated so I know by default that it''s not BE treated, just because the curiousity would kill me, lol.


But treated or not, those colors are delicious!

 

[mochi]

Date: 3/14/2009 8:52:53 PM
Author: yingh
mochi, please tell me this is priority #1 on your setting list!!!

How can you ever lock up such a beauty in a box? BTW you are one fascinating photographer! (

)

I''m not sure what I''m going to next. I''m still waiting for my WF ring so until then, I have to hold off (and resources are on the low side at the moment)..

Thank you for your kind words!

 

[mochi]

Date: 3/14/2009 9:11:31 PM
Author: klewis
Mochi, some your pics are so beautifully taken, they look so interesting and perfect in the natural environment you place them in. It''s as if you have the painters eye.

Oh, thank you klewis!!

 

[mochi]

Date: 3/14/2009 9:44:51 PM
Author: icekid
pretty stones, mochi. I especially love the cushion. You ladies are killing me (with envy) with your quickly growing collections

Thank you icekid. I love your ring, I know I said it before.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 3/14/2009 9:54:54 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Lovely photos!!!

Yeah, one of the reasons I decided on an unheated pad from nsc was because I didn''t want to pay 260 to certify a $400 stone, but i couldn''t stand not knowing for sure either! But I have the certificate that it''s unheated so I know by default that it''s not BE treated, just because the curiousity would kill me, lol.


But treated or not, those colors are delicious!

MTG, it wouldn''t have cost that much, as AGTA has a scale based on carat weight, from what I gathered.

Mochi, as I said, those colors are lovely. Having seen a similar color, I can personally tell you that in the end I didn''t care WHAT it was...it was so pretty to look at. Unforunately, bottom line is that I had to care because we are talking a fair amount of money paid for these things, and the premium paid is because it''s called a pad.

Take a good look at your stones from the side and check out the symmetry. My fake stone was very well cut...everything looked "even" and proportioned. If you go to NSC''s website, you''ll see that a lot of their unheated and low heat pads (which is all they sell anyway, no Be stuff) is cut "wonky". That''s because the cutters are trying to preserve the carat weight of the stone. With a fake or Be treated pad, I am guessing they have less concern with cutting away the rough since it''s not worth that much anyway, thus the stone turns out much better proportioned. There''s no scientific evidence to back this up...this is based on my own observations from looking at NSC''s website and some ebay stones. And this is NOT to say that if it''s well cut, that it''s fake or Be diffused!

I hope you do get to set them - I would love to see what you decide!!

 

[mochi]

Date: 3/14/2009 9:54:54 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Lovely photos!!!

Yeah, one of the reasons I decided on an unheated pad from nsc was because I didn''t want to pay 260 to certify a $400 stone, but i couldn''t stand not knowing for sure either! But I have the certificate that it''s unheated so I know by default that it''s not BE treated, just because the curiousity would kill me, lol.


But treated or not, those colors are delicious!

MTG.. live and learn, I guess. But you know, I don''t have certificates on any of my stones. Oh will, still love them just the same.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

No worries, they are still drool worthy! You''ll be turning heads left and right with those beauties when you get them set!!

And ps is a great place to learn, you guys are great!!

 

[chrono]

Date: 3/14/2009 10:12:23 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 3/14/2009 9:54:54 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Lovely photos!!!

Yeah, one of the reasons I decided on an unheated pad from nsc was because I didn't want to pay 260 to certify a $400 stone, but i couldn't stand not knowing for sure either! But I have the certificate that it's unheated so I know by default that it's not BE treated, just because the curiousity would kill me, lol.


But treated or not, those colors are delicious!

MTG, it wouldn't have cost that much, as AGTA has a scale based on carat weight, from what I gathered.

Mochi, as I said, those colors are lovely. Having seen a similar color, I can personally tell you that in the end I didn't care WHAT it was...it was so pretty to look at. Unforunately, bottom line is that I had to care because we are talking a fair amount of money paid for these things, and the premium paid is because it's called a pad.

Take a good look at your stones from the side and check out the symmetry. My fake stone was very well cut...everything looked 'even' and proportioned. If you go to NSC's website, you'll see that a lot of their unheated and low heat pads (which is all they sell anyway, no Be stuff) is cut 'wonky'. That's because the cutters are trying to preserve the carat weight of the stone. With a fake or Be treated pad, I am guessing they have less concern with cutting away the rough since it's not worth that much anyway, thus the stone turns out much better proportioned. There's no scientific evidence to back this up...this is based on my own observations from looking at NSC's website and some ebay stones. And this is NOT to say that if it's well cut, that it's fake or Be diffused!

I hope you do get to set them - I would love to see what you decide!!

TGal,
It's not just the vendors getting tricked but the cutters too. Some rough suppliers likes to slip in a couple of synthetic "rough" with the parcel and take pains to make them look "out of the ground" and sometimes an inexperienced cutter is unable to spot the clues that it isn't real. Your unfortunate experience really gave me a scare and I'm even more cautious about treated and synthetics now. I'm insisting on lab certs for all my gemstone purchases above a certain dollar value.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 3/14/2009 10:27:16 PM
Author: Chrono

Date: 3/14/2009 10:12:23 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 3/14/2009 9:54:54 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Lovely photos!!!

Yeah, one of the reasons I decided on an unheated pad from nsc was because I didn''t want to pay 260 to certify a $400 stone, but i couldn''t stand not knowing for sure either! But I have the certificate that it''s unheated so I know by default that it''s not BE treated, just because the curiousity would kill me, lol.


But treated or not, those colors are delicious!

MTG, it wouldn''t have cost that much, as AGTA has a scale based on carat weight, from what I gathered.

Mochi, as I said, those colors are lovely. Having seen a similar color, I can personally tell you that in the end I didn''t care WHAT it was...it was so pretty to look at. Unforunately, bottom line is that I had to care because we are talking a fair amount of money paid for these things, and the premium paid is because it''s called a pad.

Take a good look at your stones from the side and check out the symmetry. My fake stone was very well cut...everything looked ''even'' and proportioned. If you go to NSC''s website, you''ll see that a lot of their unheated and low heat pads (which is all they sell anyway, no Be stuff) is cut ''wonky''. That''s because the cutters are trying to preserve the carat weight of the stone. With a fake or Be treated pad, I am guessing they have less concern with cutting away the rough since it''s not worth that much anyway, thus the stone turns out much better proportioned. There''s no scientific evidence to back this up...this is based on my own observations from looking at NSC''s website and some ebay stones. And this is NOT to say that if it''s well cut, that it''s fake or Be diffused!

I hope you do get to set them - I would love to see what you decide!!

TGal,
It''s not just the vendors getting tricked but the cutters too. Some rough suppliers likes to slip in a couple of synthetic ''rough'' with the parcel and take pains to make them look ''out of the ground'' and sometimes an inexperienced cutter is unable to spot the clues that it isn''t real. Your unfortunate experience really gave me a scare and I''m even more cautious about treated and synthetics now. I''m insisting on lab certs for all my gemstone purchases above a certain dollar value.

Chrono, I agree. I don''t know enough about other stones, but I have done a decent amount of research on pads and have become a bit skeptical of them in general. They are such pretty stones but there seems to be a lot of room for shenanigans.

Mochi, apologies for the threadjack and I hope I have not dampered your enthusiasm for your lovely stones. I guess I went through a pretty icky 2 months during my search and just want to help protect other PSers in what limited way I can.

 

[mochi]

Date: 3/14/2009 10:40:41 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 3/14/2009 10:27:16 PM
Author: Chrono

Date: 3/14/2009 10:12:23 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 3/14/2009 9:54:54 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Lovely photos!!!

Yeah, one of the reasons I decided on an unheated pad from nsc was because I didn''t want to pay 260 to certify a $400 stone, but i couldn''t stand not knowing for sure either! But I have the certificate that it''s unheated so I know by default that it''s not BE treated, just because the curiousity would kill me, lol.


But treated or not, those colors are delicious!

MTG, it wouldn''t have cost that much, as AGTA has a scale based on carat weight, from what I gathered.

Mochi, as I said, those colors are lovely. Having seen a similar color, I can personally tell you that in the end I didn''t care WHAT it was...it was so pretty to look at. Unforunately, bottom line is that I had to care because we are talking a fair amount of money paid for these things, and the premium paid is because it''s called a pad.

Take a good look at your stones from the side and check out the symmetry. My fake stone was very well cut...everything looked ''even'' and proportioned. If you go to NSC''s website, you''ll see that a lot of their unheated and low heat pads (which is all they sell anyway, no Be stuff) is cut ''wonky''. That''s because the cutters are trying to preserve the carat weight of the stone. With a fake or Be treated pad, I am guessing they have less concern with cutting away the rough since it''s not worth that much anyway, thus the stone turns out much better proportioned. There''s no scientific evidence to back this up...this is based on my own observations from looking at NSC''s website and some ebay stones. And this is NOT to say that if it''s well cut, that it''s fake or Be diffused!

I hope you do get to set them - I would love to see what you decide!!

TGal,
It''s not just the vendors getting tricked but the cutters too. Some rough suppliers likes to slip in a couple of synthetic ''rough'' with the parcel and take pains to make them look ''out of the ground'' and sometimes an inexperienced cutter is unable to spot the clues that it isn''t real. Your unfortunate experience really gave me a scare and I''m even more cautious about treated and synthetics now. I''m insisting on lab certs for all my gemstone purchases above a certain dollar value.

Chrono, I agree. I don''t know enough about other stones, but I have done a decent amount of research on pads and have become a bit skeptical of them in general. They are such pretty stones but there seems to be a lot of room for shenanigans.

Mochi, apologies for the threadjack and I hope I have not dampered your enthusiasm for your lovely stones. I guess I went through a pretty icky 2 months during my search and just want to help protect other PSers in what limited way I can.

Oh, no apologies, please. I find this very interesting.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 3/14/2009 7:10:33 PM
Author: mochi

Date: 3/14/2009 6:18:07 PM
Author: Harriet
Mochi,
Kawai. Joking! They are beautiful. Please do follow Loving Diamond''s advice though. I hope that they are indeed the real thing. I missed the appearances of Art Nouveau and Widgets'' Pads, and am thrilled that we are finally getting to see lovely specimens.

konbanwa, Harriet-san!! And thank you. I take in alot of information and learn so much from you guys..

What does "konbanwa" mean? You are a bad girl. I''ve been thinking about Pads for the last couple of hours.

 

[chrono]

Konbanwa is good evening. I''ve been learning Japanese for a while now but it''s rusty.

 

[Harriet]

Ah. Selamat pagi?

 

[chrono]

It's selamat malam right now unless you're halfway around the globe.

 

[babysteps]

More beautiful stones, more great pictures!!! Those are lovely, I love the colors and especially how they glow in some of your photos - enjoy!

 

[Harriet]

Date: 3/14/2009 11:32:33 PM
Author: Chrono
It''s selamat malam right now unless you''re halfway around the globe.

Haha.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 3/14/2009 11:36:39 PM
Author: babysteps
More beautiful stones, more great pictures!!! Those are lovely, I love the colors and especially how they glow in some of your photos - enjoy!

I hope Mochi''s are the real deal. They are saturated and have no icky brown secondary.

 

[LD]

T/Gal - unfortunately cut isn''t an indicator of whether a stone has been diffused or not. Many many many diffused stones are cut poorly. The majority of Pads on the market (not sold by reputable dealers who specialise in rare/great stones) are diffused unfortunately.

I''m also seeing more and more diffused Rubies. They look stunning with great rich red colour and superb clarity BUT they''re still diffused.

 

[chrono]

Date: 3/15/2009 12:06:23 AM
Author: Harriet

Date: 3/14/2009 11:36:39 PM
Author: babysteps
More beautiful stones, more great pictures!!! Those are lovely, I love the colors and especially how they glow in some of your photos - enjoy!

I hope Mochi''s are the real deal. They are saturated and have no icky brown secondary.

However, hers are heated so they would be cheaper and of course, would have better colour. It''s really hard to tell but as with you, I hope they are real too.

 

[cushioncutnut]

Beautiful pictures and beautiful stones! I especially love the cushion. I do hope that they are the real deal, however, if you did not break the bank in purchasing these, I say wear them and enjoy them. No one will ever know otherwise!!

 

[mochi]

Date: 3/15/2009 11:28:26 AM
Author: cushioncutnut
Beautiful pictures and beautiful stones! I especially love the cushion. I do hope that they are the real deal, however, if you did not break the bank in purchasing these, I say wear them and enjoy them. No one will ever know otherwise!!

Thank you so much, CCN!! You''re right about that!

 

[Harriet]

Date: 3/15/2009 10:16:56 AM
Author: Chrono
However, hers are heated so they would be cheaper and of course, would have better colour. It''s really hard to tell but as with you, I hope they are real too.

Mochi doesn''t mind the heat, neither do I. I''m a colour first girl.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 3/15/2009 6:29:33 AM
Author: LovingDiamonds
T/Gal - unfortunately cut isn''t an indicator of whether a stone has been diffused or not. Many many many diffused stones are cut poorly. The majority of Pads on the market (not sold by reputable dealers who specialise in rare/great stones) are diffused unfortunately.

I''m also seeing more and more diffused Rubies. They look stunning with great rich red colour and superb clarity BUT they''re still diffused.

Interesting...I guess there''s just a lot of diffused stuff out there. I think when it can pass as a really great pad color, maybe they do their best to make them look like the creme de la creme of the real thing?

I would be interested in seeing a diffused one. If I could buy it as diffused and pay what it''s worth, I think I would enjoy them because the colors seem like they can be pretty. I don''t mind heat treated stones too - but there is something cool about seeing something that''s a great color and knowing it was born that way.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Very pretty, they look like they glow

 

[Linda W]

Date: 3/15/2009 4:31:32 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 3/15/2009 6:29:33 AM

Author: LovingDiamonds

T/Gal - unfortunately cut isn''t an indicator of whether a stone has been diffused or not. Many many many diffused stones are cut poorly. The majority of Pads on the market (not sold by reputable dealers who specialise in rare/great stones) are diffused unfortunately.


I''m also seeing more and more diffused Rubies. They look stunning with great rich red colour and superb clarity BUT they''re still diffused.

Interesting...I guess there''s just a lot of diffused stuff out there. I think when it can pass as a really great pad color, maybe they do their best to make them look like the creme de la creme of the real thing?


I would be interested in seeing a diffused one. If I could buy it as diffused and pay what it''s worth, I think I would enjoy them because the colors seem like they can be pretty. I don''t mind heat treated stones too - but there is something cool about seeing something that''s a great color and knowing it was born that way.

I agree T-Gal. Just looking at them has me in awe. What Mother Nature can do, has me shaking my head in amazement.

I would also be interested seeing a diffused stone.

 

[innerkitten]

Really stunning! Great color.

 

[LD]

These are being openly sold as Padparadscha COLOURED Sapphires (i.e. diffused). Thought you might like to see the colour range. There are videos that go with some of these and some have a mix of pink/orange which is difficult to see from the photos: