Padparadscha engagment ring suggestions

[risola]

I''ve been looking at getting engagement rings for my girlfriend and decided to get something other than diamond. After doing some reading Sapphire seems to be the perfect choice since it is almost as hard as diamond, is easy to maintain, and comes in all the colors of the rainbow. My girlfriend was initial thinking about having a green stone but after looking I decided I really liked the look of the Padparadscha and now so does she. My budget for the ring is in the $3000 and less range. I''m more concerned with the quality and cut of the stone over the size.

I''ve read mostly good things about thenaturalsapphirecompany.com but have seen some complaints about their cuts being too shallow. I really like the cushion cut stones and here are a couple of stones I was looking at from them that seem to be within my budget. What do you guys think about them?

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Padparadscha/Cushion/stoneid=PA2075
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Padparadscha/Cushion/stoneid=PA2063
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Padparadscha/Cushion/stoneid=PA2127
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Padparadscha/Cushion/stoneid=PA2110

I was also wondering if white or yellow gold would look better with this type of stone my initial feeling is that it would look better with white gold.

I''ve been looking at some split shank pave settings, and I''m hoping to find something similar to these bellow but a little less expensive.

http://www.jamesallen.com/designer-jewelry/meno-collection-by-danhov/ring/item_294-2040_design.asp?module=setting
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/pave/ring/item_412-2225_design.asp?module=setting

PS How do you actually pronounce Padparadscha?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[ma re]

Regarding the stones you''ve found, I''m afraid none of them is a very good example of padparadscha. The problem is that neither shows a mix of the two colors, which is what a pad should essentially be all about. Out of these, I''d say that stone #3 is the best one in terms of color simply because it''s the only one to show both pink and orange, but it''s a bit dark to be labeled as a high quality example cause colors of pad have to be on the pastel side (lighter and more gentle looking). But since padparadscha is one of the most expensive gemstone varieties you would need a better budget for a really great stone.

My suggestion is to think about a three stone ring, if your bride to be likes that style. Stones that you''d need would be smaller and therefore easier to find in a better quality and within budget (you can either have all three pads, or one pad and two diamonds). The center stone wouldn''t have to be larger than half a carat. Another option is to look for an imperial topaz - it''s less expensive and can have a very similar look. It''s not as durable, but with a little care it can serve as a great e-ring stone.

When it comes to the color of metal, it depends on how the actual stone looks like. With stones that have more than one color (like padparadscha), the one that is dominant will bring you to this answer. If pink is the more dominant color, I''d suggest going with yellow gold since it would bring out the orange in the stone, and the other way around if orange is dominant (in which case you can also go with rose gold).

Regarding settings, I''d say wait until you actually get the stone cause it''s shape and dimensions will influence the choice of setting.

P. S. Padparadscha is pronounced the same as maharaja, but with diferent consonants.

P. P. S. Sapphire indeed comes in many colors, but with one exception - red

 

[SCineman]

I recently purchased a pad from The Natural Sapphire Company. I had it set with white gold and cz stones on the side. Only it wasn''t cushion cut.Hope this helps give you an idea of what it might look like with white gold.

 

[T L]

It seems to me that pads can vary so much in color. Some are more pink and some are more orange. Here''s two very valuable pads to give you an idea. These are both very different in color, but they are very valuable pad colors.

 

[Pandora II]

The perfect pad colour seems to be an open contest...

My own preference is for a stone that veers more towards the orange than towards the pink.

No matter what, good ones are expensive - even at source!

 

[LD]

If cut is important to you, then steer clear of #1 and #4 as neither are symmetrical. #2 imo is a nice colour but not really what I''d consider a true Padparadscha top colour.

I have Pads in both white and yellow gold and they look lovely in both so I think it''s personal choice which you go for. Sometimes, the colour of the gemstone dictates the metal required but Pads are versatile.

BTW you pronounce Padparadscha as "Pad-par-add-shar".

 

[akmiss]

This is not a pad but the color is pretty close

http://www.gemrite.com/cubecart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=196

 

[LD]

http://www.gemrite.com/cubecart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=75

Or this one which really shows the colours well.

 

[Fly Girl]

I think this sapphire is awfully pretty. Link

 

[T L]

I'm not a padparadscha expert by any stretch of the imagination. I claim to know viturally nothing about them except that they should be a combination of pink and orange. However, I think some purists, and please please correct me if I'm wrong all you pad experts out there, indicate that the only true pads come from Sri Lanka. . . or at least the only ones they'll be willing to accept. Is that true? Just wanted to point that out because there were some pads shown here from Africa.

As for the NSC stones above, from the pictures, none of them look aesthetically pleasing and I see too much brown in them. I don't think a pad should have brown undertones, but again, perhaps it is possilbe to classify a pad as a pad with brown undertones. ?????????????

 

[ma re]

A few more examples of a nice color:

#1

#2

#3

 

[LD]

Date: 12/20/2008 9:56:00 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
I''m not a padparadscha expert by any stretch of the imagination. I claim to know viturally nothing about them except that they should be a combination of pink and orange. However, I think some purists, and please please correct me if I''m wrong all you pad experts out there, indicate that the only true pads come from Sri Lanka. . . or at least the only ones they''ll be willing to accept. Is that true? Just wanted to point that out because there were some pads shown here from Africa.

As for the NSC stones above, from the pictures, none of them look aesthetically pleasing and I see too much brown in them. I don''t think a pad should have brown undertones, but again, perhaps it is possilbe to classify a pad as a pad with brown undertones. ?????????????

True (ooops I hadn''t noticed that when posting the link above)!

and

True but it''s like anything, tones can differ so you may get some with a brown tone although that shouldn''t be dominant. It''d be enough to stop me buying though!

I prefer my pads to be more pink with orange tinges than the other way round.

 

[T L]

One more thing to point out for whomever is shopping for pads. Most pad colors you see on the market are berillym diffused, which is essentially a form of dying a stone. I would be very careful whom you buy from, and I would want a lab report from a reputable appraiser or lab stating that it's not a be-treated stone. Gentle heat treatment is fine, but you don't want a be-treated stone. There's also a lot of synthetic material being sold as natural. Most of it however is a garrish orange color, but still, it's better to be very cautious when purchasing these stones.

Someone on this forum, and I cannot find the link, had the most gorgeous pad in a Michael Beaudry setting custom made for the stone. Well not everyone can afford this, but I wanted to post it

This thread goes into the specifics of pad colors and origins. I guess you can have pads from different countries according to this thread.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/yet-another-pad-sapphire.37280/

I have a tourmaline that I paid $25 that looks exactly like one of the pads in this thread. I personally would not want to be spending a ton of money on a stone that you can obtain a much less expensive version of. I think the pad color you ultimately obtain should stand in a class by itslef, or with other pads.