Padparadscha

[Nomsdeplume]

What do you all think of this for my E-ring? I love the shape, I''m not sure if it''s a good colour. I''m on a budget.
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Sapphire-Jewelry/Sapphire-Rings/Jewelry=J1376

Do you know of any other reputable dealers? I want to make sure I don''t get a fake!

Thanks!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I believe I actually saw that ring in person while I was picking out my pad, and for me it was more purple/pink than pink/orange, and didn't have the delicate look I was going for. It wasn't as dark as the picture is though. But as a word of caution, when I asked how they decide whether a stone is a pad or not, they said that it's judged by their employed gemologists. So there's a degree of subjectivity to it. Personally, to me, the color I saw made me doubtful as to whether that stone would be certified by AGTA (or a respected collector) as a pad sapphire.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I''ll also say that the stone I ended up picking, while a lovely color and reasonably priced, was also chipped around the girdle in various places, probably when the mounted the stone into the ring (or removed it since I bought the stone loose). I was unpleasantly surprised when I found this out yesterday while inspecting the stone, but I don''t really want to return it because it still looks very lovely with the naked eye, and the flaws can probably be covered mostly by the setting prongs.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Thanks. That''s a pity, I really like the cut and was hoping for a more pinky stone than an orange one, but obviously if there are violet tones in it it''s not really what I''m looking for.
I have my heart set on a pad but it has to be reasonably priced.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

http://gemrite.com/cubecart/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=8

I''ve never personally bought from Gemrite, but others here have.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Wow they have a wide variety. Why are they so inexpensive though?

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 3/23/2009 3:57:56 PM
Author: kribbie
Wow they have a wide variety. Why are they so inexpensive though?

That's what I wondered too, which is also why I decided not to buy from them.
It's possible that they have a stronger brown cast to them than the pictures show, I'm really not too sure. But I ultimately decided to go with NSC just because they were a bigger company with a better reputation and larger selection, which was important since color was my number one priority and I wanted to see it in person.

oh! I just thought of something If you're on a budget of about 1k, there's a jeweler that I almost ordered a ring from that was willing to sell me a lovely pad engagement ring for 1k
Here's the pic: (it's the ring and stone on the right)

The stone is .68ct and currently in a different setting, but she said she'd remount it into the diamond setting for me, the total cost was just about 1k. The pad is heated, but from Ceylon. The jeweler is very reputable and makes jewelery for a well known sapphire site And she's lovely to work with, I've heard only good things about the quality of her diamonds and her work, and her prices are great. So you could get this custom pad ring for about 1k!

Let me know if you're interested, I can write her and cc you on it to see if it's still available

 

[Linda W]

I believe those pads are from Africa. The stones from Sri Lanka have the treasured orangish/pink pink/orangish to them and they don''t have the brownish cast to them

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Despite the couple of negative things I''ve heard about NSC, they seem generally reputable. I live in South Africa, and for some reason I can''t find one here. I''m looking at a stone right now, and it''s very light but there''s something about it I really like. What do you think?

http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Padparadscha/PA91/Oval/stoneid=PA91

Sorry about all the questions, I have only recently discovered pads and have no idea what to look for.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 3/23/2009 4:08:41 PM
Author: kribbie
Despite the couple of negative things I've heard about NSC, they seem generally reputable. I live in South Africa, and for some reason I can't find one here. I'm looking at a stone right now, and it's very light but there's something about it I really like. What do you think?


http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Padparadscha/PA91/Oval/stoneid=PA91


Sorry about all the questions, I have only recently discovered pads and have no idea what to look for.

The cut is very shallow

You'd be likely to see a large window.
Also, I've found that the NSC website pictures can be mis-representative sometimes...and pads are really fickle to photograph. I posted my pad in the stone comparison thread, and you can see that in their photo the color seems more purple, and more vivid. It's much softer and peachy in real life. I'd be worried that this stone might be almost colorless, or silvery, in real life. There's probably a reason it's so discounted.

I personally like this stone by the photo, but I'm by no means a pad expert either:
http://www.thenaturalsapphirecompany.com/Sapphires/Sapphire-Jewelry/Sapphire-Rings/Jewelry=J1527

You can email them for the price of the stone itself, and maybe work with an etsy dealer to make a simple gold setting for it for 150$.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Oooh that ring you were going to buy is really beautiful! I'm definitely interested. Who is the jeweler?
I also like the colour in the other ring. Do you think they will sell just the stone?

 

[Linda W]

I agree, there is a large horrible window in the stone. You would not be happy with it at all.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

I didn''t realise it would be so hard to find a good pad.

What should I be looking for?

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 3/23/2009 4:15:50 PM
Author: kribbie
Oooh that ring is really beautiful! I'm definitely interested. Who is the jeweler?

The jeweler is Jill Underhill, who owns Color Symphony. She makes almost all the jewelery for Simply Sapphire.
I will be happy to email her and cc you if you're interested. She also has other beautiful white gold settings at great prices (she buys them below wholesale from store closures, etc).

Just let me know! She was a joy to work with, and was so patient with me about questions even though I ended up not buying from her. If you want the email, just PM me with your email address and I'll be happy to help make the connection.

Or if you like, you can contact her yourself. This is the link to the ring currently as it is
pad ring
She also has a few more heated pads as well
pad2
pad3

If you like a stone from one of the other rings better, you can ask if she can reset it into a mounting you prefer. Let me know if you decide to go with her!

Glad I can help!

 

[Nomsdeplume]

How do I pm someone? I''m techno-challenged.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Oops, I just assumed you could do it, I''ve never done it either..

Well, you can either post your email address here on the thread (or make a new email address just for this purpose)
Or I can just email Jill and let her know that someone else is interested in the ring she offered me, and send her the pictures so she knows which setting we''re talking about. And then when you email her, she''ll know where you''re coming from

 

[Linda W]

MTG, we aren''t allowed to post our email addresses here. It is against the rules.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Oh, haha, thanks for the heads up Linda!

In that case, I can just send Jill an email to expect "Kribbie", and email her the picture we're referencing
Does that sound ok?

I don't know if I can post Jills email address here either then, but it's on her website

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Okay I pick option number 2 then.

You can e-mail her and let her know what I''m talking about when I e-mail her later.
Thank you sooooo much!!!

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Linda, did you buy all your pads from NSC?

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Okey doke, sent the email. I hope it all works out for you! She''s really sweet and passionate about her work

 

[Linda W]

Date: 3/23/2009 4:44:25 PM
Author: kribbie
Linda, did you buy all your pads from NSC?

Yes I did. I also bought a sapphire and diamond ring from them too. Actually, I helped hubby pick it out, it was a gift from him to me.

All of my pads were purchased in 2006, with the exception of one I bought in the beginning of 2007.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. It would be so amazing to be able to have such a beautiful stone on my finger! Now I just have to e-mail her and then forward everything on to the man in the picture so he can sort it out. Ha ha!

 

[Nomsdeplume]

If you don''t mind me asking, how much did it set you back? And what were the details of each (carat etc)?

 

[Linda W]

I can't really quote you prices now because they were purchased a few years ago. The prices have sky rocked now, as you can tell from their website.

My first pad I bought was a .90 (ring) that started my addiction ha.

My second pad is 2.25 (ring)

My third is 1.27 (a pendant)

My fourth is 1.45 set into earings

My fifth is 1.18 (ring)

Then I have 3 loose small stones. They are .87, .60 and .70

I think with the .87 and the .60 I am going to have a three stone ring designed for a big birthday I have coming up in September.

The way those two stones are cut, they are almost identical in size.

Am I addicted to Padparadschas. You bet!

With the .70, I am not sure what I will do with it.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 3/23/2009 5:07:07 PM
Author: Linda W

With the .70, I am not sure what I will do with it.

Nose ring



Just kidding, maybe a bracelet charm?

 

[Linda W]

Date: 3/23/2009 5:11:51 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade

Date: 3/23/2009 5:07:07 PM

Author: Linda W


With the .70, I am not sure what I will do with it.

Nose ring




Just kidding, maybe a bracelet charm?

oh aren''t you the funny one today, ha ha ha ha. Not sure what I will do. I may eventually have my pendant remade and add the .70 to it.

 

[cushioncutnut]

Linda you are the PAD Queen! I love your avatar pic! I assume those are your earrings? ....and cushion cut?... SWOON!

 

[Linda W]

Hi CC, yes those are my earrings. My avatar pic makes them look like they have huge windows, which they don''t. They have little tiny ones, which I didn''t care for being they were for earrings. I don''t know why they showed up this way in the picture.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Date: 3/23/2009 5:07:07 PM
Author: Linda W
I can''t really quote you prices now because they were purchased a few years ago. The prices have sky rocked now, as you can tell from their website.

Yeah, I actually think my stone may have been priced back then since 400 for a .5 carat with nice color and cut seems to be lower than their average prices right now. It''s possibly they adjust the prices on the loose stones more frequently than the stone they''ve already set, so you might get a better price on a loose stone from a ring. Just a theory though.