Padparadscha sapphire price?

[Art Nouveau]

I recently saw a very nice 4.32 ct padparadscha sapphire that I am tempted to buy, but I am not sure if the price is fair, as I have never seen one that pretty before. The color is a medium pastel peach, kind of like the color of cooked salmon. The stone is very clean and brilliant and vibrant. It flashes different colors of orange and pink when it is moved. It is certified natural untreated padparadscha sapphire from Sri Lanka. The shape is oval and is set in a simple Tiffany style mounting with round diamonds ~1.36 cts around the center stone. The color is not as intense as the one posted on Palagems. The closest one is the one linked below at Awesome Gems.

http://www.awesomegems.com/gems/gs3117.jpg

The asking price is ~$25,000 for the ring. Is this a fair price? How hard is it to find a stone like this? I saw a bigger stone ~ 7 ct few weeks ago. It was very included, and the price was $54,000. The 4.32 is a much nicer stone. Any advice will be much appreciated.

 

[valeria101]

I suppose there is a lab report for the stone ?

 

[widget]

Hi, Art Nouveau...

Have you seen this stone in person? It sounds lovely. Keep in mind that it is notoriously difficult to capture the color of a pad on film. The picture of the stone in the link looks a little too orange (to me, anyway) but then it might just be the picture.

I''d say (although I''m not an expert) that the price sounds reasonable if the stone is as lovely as described, and IF it comes with a cert from a reputable lab (AGTA, AGL, GIA) stating that''s it''s unheated, and is of Sri Lankan origin.

Interestingly, some old-school purists believe that a stone HAS to come from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in order to qualify as a true padparadscha...

You might check out www.cherrypicked.com They have a few pads for price comparison.

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[widget]

Just for fun, I''m going to TRY to post a pic of my pad next to the one you referenced above....

The padparadscha you are considering sounds considerably cleaner than mine. (Mine has a lot of visible silk...)

 

[Art Nouveau]

The pad has a report from a reputable lab. I can''t remember exactly, but it''s either Gubelin or AGTA. The color is in between the one posted by Widget and the one at Awesome Gems, but is cleaner than both. I have seen the ring in person and it''s magnificent. I just do not know if the color is saturated enough to be considered top color. I have seen a stone at another store being tagged as a pad, but the color is much pinker and darker like pink sapphire. This stone is more like what I think is a pad from the description I have read in gem books. It''s a pastel pinkish peach color. I was looking for a canary yellow diamond, but when I saw this pad ring, I am thinking I should buy this one first as there are lots of fancy yellow diamonds, but good pads are hard to come by.

 

[widget]

Well, it certainly sounds fabulous...and I agree...a beautiful pad is SO MUCH rarer and more special (IMO) than a yellow diamond. Do you mind sharing where you''ve seen it? (I live in California, too, and it almost sounds worth a road trip to admire in person!

)

If you decide to go for it, PLEASE post pictures so we can all enjoy!!

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[coolguynamek]

Hello,

One of my friend who is a gem collector has a 12 carats brilliant oval cut padparadscha sapphire. These stones are really priceless

I love collecting these gems too but its very rarely found in the market.


coolguy

 

[valeria101]

Widget !!!

Between the colors of the two in the picture, I would expect something very lovely indeed.

Not sure why those washed out, very pastel sapphires come with no treatment and Pad names. They just give you the urge to start roasting some color in them...

How bad ca it be ? The orange stone you posted as ref. is nowhere near washed out.

 

[widget]

Thanks, Valeria!

I do love my stone, rutile silk, and all!

I would LOVE to see the stone Art Nouveau is considering...it truly does sound incredible!

My pad is fun...it has sort of a glow, almost life of its own...maybe BECAUSE of the silk. I wonder if that''s the "velvet underground" I read about here recently. It has a color shift, too. Pinker, by day, more "orange sorbet" after the sun goes down. It''s native cut, and its underside is decidedly catty-wompus.

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[Art Nouveau]

I went back to look at the pad again to compare it with a photo on page 190 of my gem book "Consumer Guide to Colored Gemstones" by David Federman. It looks almost the same color. The lab report is from AGL and says "natural unenhanced classic padparadscha sapphire from Ceylon (Sri Lanka)". I snapped a couple of photos, but it''s really hard to get a good one; too bright with flash and not bright enough without. Is this a good pad?

 

[valeria101]

Well, isn't this whole exercise a bit funny ? Look below: I was just trying hard to make the background of the photo less "pad" color itself. A picture printed in a book would have went through many adjustments of this sort... and even knowing that the editor had the original thing at hand...
Could using a gem book photo as a color swatch

be any better than playing with some photo editor ?

Anyway, no matter what version of that thing is still getting a grin.

 

[Art Nouveau]

It''s interesting what you did with the photo. Did you use Photoshop? It''s a pastel salmon color. I think the white balance of my camera needs resetting. The color of the tray was actually white and not yellowish like in my photo.

 

[londonblue]

.

 

[widget]

Wow...these pictures are so interesting!...further proof of the importance of actually SEEING a stone rather than relying on a photo before committing to it!

This has got me playing with my photo editor, and now I''ve got AM/PM versions of my stone!

(Art Nouveau...are you going to get it???? It sure does look nice!)

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[canuk-gal]

HI:

Breath taking! How does it compare in color to your Imperial Topaz (from other thread)?

cheers--Sharon

 

[Art Nouveau]

The pad is lighter in tone. I would describe the color as pastel pinkish peach/apricot. The imperial topaz is darker, like reddish sherry and flashes red at the top and bottom of the stone. The pad is more brilliant and livelier. It changes color and intensity depending on the lighting and flashes different shades of pink and orange when it is moved. It is just a magnificent stone and I have seen nothing like it. I have previously seen 3 pads, but they have a lot of silk and did not look as vibrant. The ring is from a reputable estate jewelry dealer who was at a local jewelry store for a trunk show for the weekend only. I am probably crazy, but I am seriously considering buying the ring.

 

[widget]

Well....

Given your description of the stone, and its pedigree....I think you should go for it. It might be years (if ever) before you see a padparadscha like this again.

And I think (I suppose this sounds crazy, too) that the price you quoted sounds reasonable...in fact I could easily imagine the stone costing that much unmounted.

(I wonder if this could be called "enabling"???

)

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[valeria101]

Date: 12/12/2004 2:44:28 PM
Author: widget

...in fact; I could easily imagine the stone costing that much unmounted.

Just a thought, but is the pad color compensating lots for the intensity ? If there wasn't the whiff of orange mixed into the pink, 5.5k/ct would go a longer distance, IMO towards something like this:

(Id#: P253 HERE)

Another number (Id#: PA19) there reads: Natural Sapphire (padparatscha) by AGTA - meaning name based on color alone without a check of origin (correction here ?) , 5.3 cts, 4k/ct. Owner says that one comes from Madagascar. Picture seems ok.

Given this is not a diamond thread, does this even matter ? Sincerely - I am not sure at all, just wrote the Q down hoping for one more view to consider. It is not straightforward to price rare things whatever they might be ...

 

[widget]

Hi, Valeria!

I KNEW someone would think I''m crazy!

I think is that "whiff of orange mixed in with the pink" that makes these stones so special. I suspect you have to be a real gem nut to appreciate them. (I qualify.) I spend HOURS staring at mine, enjoying the nuances of the color shift, glow, etc., while I''m sure its specialness is lost on most casual observers.

I''m sure that many might actually prefer a bright, electric pink over the softer, subtler tones of a pad. But not me.

Maybe I AM crazy. I wish Richard H or Mogok or somebody would chime in here with their thoughts. Are these stones as rare and special and precious as I obviously think they are????

widget

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/13/2004 10:54:31 AM
Author: widget

I spend HOURS staring at mine, enjoying the nuances of the color shift, glow...

Surely I can simpathise. I tried deep and hard to find any pricing argument... and the result is half believable to myself. There is no aparent reason to prefer one color over the next: but everyone can name a favorite, right ? Mine is definitely not pink - it just happened that this darling was around - just an ocasional example of some other breed of fancy sapphire comparable in size and price per carat, and top class in it''s category.

Something tells me that a pad of comparable color intensity will not be easy to find even in picture. Priceless ?

 

[Sagebrush]

The key issue in the evaluation of a padparadascha can be summed up in one word, "delicate". Translated into terms familiar to the gem connoisseur this means the hue while highly saturated should be no more than medium tone (50-60&). The hue can vary from pinkish-orange through pink-orange to orangy-pink. For years, the only pad like stone available was the so-called African Padparadascha which was found in the gravels of the Umba River in Tanzania. These stone usually but not always have a distinct brownish secondary hue or mask. I have one that I wear every day. These stones can be quite beautiful but normally lack the "delicacy" of hue necessary in a real padparadascha.

As usual, I suggest that those interested take a look at the photo at the beginning of the chapter on Parparadscha Sapphire (pg. 171) of Secrets Of The Gem Trade, The Connoisseur''s Guide To Precious Gemstones. The stone pictured is a 3.09 oval mixed cut Pink-Orange of exceptional saturation and good crystal. It has a certificate indicating Ceylon origin but I suspect it may actually be a Tanzanian stone from Songea.

 

[Art Nouveau]

Thank you for your iinsightful comments. I just ordered the book you mentioned, earlier today from Amazon.com, but it won''t be delivered until January. The stone I saw looks like the photo in p102 of the hard cover version of "Modern Jeweler''s Gem Profile, The First 60". The cert is from AGL, and the color is described as "pinkish orange ''classic Padparadscha''", but tone and saturation were not graded. The origin is stated as ''Classic Ceylon''. The stone is from the 1950s, but the lab report is from this year. I would describe the color as medium tone, saturated pastel pinkish orange and the clarity as ''very clean'' . Is AGL considered a reliable lab? I have not seen another stone like this before, so I have no idea what would be a fair price.

 

[valeria101]

This is just to say thank you for the lesson... True enough, I did have the deep colored African pad in mind wren writing the above posts.

There is some premium on origin on top of what the obviously beautiful gem commands. If there is any room for bargaining here, it can't be all that much. I bet you would get a straight answer to the Q in private from an appraser ...

 

[Sagebrush]

The gem pictured in Federman''s book is indeed a classic padparadscha. Saw a similar one in Bangkok about a decade ago, sublime! AGL is a very reputable lab. The Songea stone pictured in Secrets of The Gem Trade has a more integrated hue, that is, it doesn''t show dichroic or multicolor effect to the extent that the Federman stone and it is a bit more saturated perhaps might be described as "brash" as opposed to the refined elegance of the Ceylon stone. You will also see in Secrets a good photo of the famous Morgan Padparadscha that resides in the Natural History Museum in NYC. This stone has a distinct yellowish secondary hue which, I believe, makes it a marginal member of the category. However, as any Sri Lankan will tell you, padparadscha will always have a yellow componant. In such cases, the eye of the beholder or the holder of the wallet makes the final decision.

P.S. A signed edition of Secrets of The Gem Trade with free shipping can be purchased at www.secretsofthegemtrade.com