Another Pad Thread - E/Ring

[goldnsilver]

I enquired on the one suggested at Jupiter Gem and have had a response.. it is still available.
Here are some further vids and details.

Rotating, under natural light -

Rotating, under incandescent light -

On hand under natural light -

Described as "Very eye clean, under 10x magnification VVS clarity. Excellent cut, good luster"

Looks good to me? is this the one?

I like the colours as presented in the photo and videos. I can see peachy flashes while the overall pink looks pastel and fresh. It doesn't seem too orange, which I feel tends to "disappear" on most skin tones unless in halo settings. Personally I'm not put off by the windowing on this particular one, as I too often like seeing some quirks in gem cuts if the colour and clarity are good (do check out this new thread on "windowed beauties" for some examples if you haven't already - https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/show-me-your-windowed-beauties.262542/). I wish the vendor had photos/videos of it in north-south orientation, though, so you could better see how the tilt window might affect it when it's set in a ring in that direction. May be worth it to request that or order it and see it in person? Looks like JupiterGem has a pretty reasonable return policy?

Also I think the elongated cushion shape would look super on her hand, so that's a plus for this stone. I would suggest looking at marquise/navette cuts as another possibility, since she has lovely slim fingers that can carry them off. My fiancé considered choosing a marquise cut for our engagement ring, but I had to dissuaded him as my fingers were more on the medium/stubby side (he went with an oval which was much more suitable for me). Although, judging by the way her nails are done in the photo, an elongated cushion or step cut may be the best fit...

Yes, honey just wants a ring on it! Thank-you, so it isn't all bad!! I think that particular muted pink could've worked with a narrow gold band but as others have mentioned the cut isn't the best and there is a big window. A little more saturation would be great.

I will go back to the drawing board and see what I can find, I think she would prefer bit more pad like colour in honesty, although I'm sure she will be happy either way if you know what I mean. I will attach a photo of her hand to help identify skin tone. As she has slim fingers I thought a longer oval shape or emerald style would compliment. Let me know if you have any additional thoughts.

Such a pretty hand! The lighting looks a bit warm, but I think she has more or less a neutral skin tone? A peachy pink stone should look stunning on her. And I love the idea of pairing it with a gold setting - I see her watch is gold and it looks good.

Really hoping you'll find the perfect stone. As a huge fan of coloured stone engagement rings (mine was a wine red garnet paired with pale green peridots, in a yellow gold setting), I get super excited seeing unique e-ring projects. And pink is just wonderful and romantic - darn, if I had to redo my own engagement ring now, a light pink would definitely be a strong contender.

 

[JS5]

First of all I would like to say a big massive happy new year to everyone here, I wish you all the best, health and happiness for the new year ahead. I cannot thank-you all enough for your feedback some of the replies are above and beyond what I would have expected.

Yesterday evening before close of day I struck a deal with JupiterGem who were very professional from my initial enquiry and swift with responding. They confirmed I have a 2 week period to consider and I’m confident they will honour this if necessary backed up with RFisher’s experience. Elvira also took off a smidge over the 25% discount to close the deal.

I absolutely agree with where you mentioned its hard for you guys to judge completely until you see them in person hence my drive to order a solid example such as this one and see if it fits the bill. I will post a few more videos once it arrives in different lighting and hopefully assess if its worth the price tag and if I’m happy to use it but its promising to hear and see a bunch of you appreciating native cuts and windows to a certain degree.

I’m super excited after 2 years of ‘window’ shopping and in pretty much 3 days of posting here I will have something on order. Yes her skin tone is more or less neutral and that is a rose gold

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

First of all I would like to say a big massive happy new year to everyone here, I wish you all the best, health and happiness for the new year ahead. I cannot thank-you all enough for your feedback some of the replies are above and beyond what I would have expected.

Yesterday evening before close of day I struck a deal with JupiterGem who were very professional from my initial enquiry and swift with responding. They confirmed I have a 2 week period to consider and I’m confident they will honour this if necessary backed up with RFisher’s experience. Elvira also took off a smidge over the 25% discount to close the deal.

I absolutely agree with where you mentioned its hard for you guys to judge completely until you see them in person hence my drive to order a solid example such as this one and see if it fits the bill. I will post a few more videos once it arrives in different lighting and hopefully assess if its worth the price tag and if I’m happy to use it but its promising to hear and see a bunch of you appreciating native cuts and windows to a certain degree.

I’m super excited after 2 years of ‘window’ shopping and in pretty much 3 days of posting here I will have something on order. Yes her skin tone is more or less neutral and that is a rose gold

Back at you @JS5 Wonderful news! And a deal was had? Best thing there is.
I think it's going to be beautiful- but if by chance it isn't quite right- we'll help you select the next one.

 

[Rfisher]

First of all I would like to say a big massive happy new year to everyone here, I wish you all the best, health and happiness for the new year ahead. I cannot thank-you all enough for your feedback some of the replies are above and beyond what I would have expected.

Yesterday evening before close of day I struck a deal with JupiterGem who were very professional from my initial enquiry and swift with responding. They confirmed I have a 2 week period to consider and I’m confident they will honour this if necessary backed up with RFisher’s experience. Elvira also took off a smidge over the 25% discount to close the deal.

I absolutely agree with where you mentioned its hard for you guys to judge completely until you see them in person hence my drive to order a solid example such as this one and see if it fits the bill. I will post a few more videos once it arrives in different lighting and hopefully assess if its worth the price tag and if I’m happy to use it but its promising to hear and see a bunch of you appreciating native cuts and windows to a certain degree.

I’m super excited after 2 years of ‘window’ shopping and in pretty much 3 days of posting here I will have something on order. Yes her skin tone is more or less neutral and that is a rose gold

Any updates yet?

Signed
antsy pantsy impatientsy

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Any updates yet?

Signed
antsy pantsy impatientsy

Yeah, x 2!

 

[JS5]

Ok so a small update, the pad was despatched promptly by JupiterGem and is currently with FedEx customs in the UK. I just need to clear an additional payment with them (UK Tax @ 20%) and a small handling fee to clear for onwards delivery. I would have received today but the email went to my junk I’ll clear first thing tomorrow and hopefully receive by Thursday.

All in this one comes to around 4120 USD / £3000 including tax and insured delivery. Too much or about right? The market for these seem to vary a lot and I’ve seen many so called pads in basic settings for much more and on the flipside some users getting top quality bargains here but having to do a lot of digging and with potential higher risk shipping direct etc.

Most importantly I’m in budget and now looking for a local’ish UK jeweller to give their opinion and get an idea of cost to set this in 18ct Gold / Rose Gold.

I also just dropped JupiterGem a message to clarify it’s position on Sri Lanka origin as stated on their website as I couldn’t see this mentioned on the AIGS certificate. Should have checked this before !! anything to be concerned about?

I’ll definitely try my best to get some pictures / videos of it in north-south orientation as suggested by @goldnsilver and any other requests. Aslong as its not a big no-no from yourselves and I’m happy with it in person I’m hoping it will be ok

In the meantime here’s a video of mine with a much pricier 2.09 ct pad.

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

Ok so a small update, the pad was despatched promptly by JupiterGem and is currently with FedEx customs in the UK. I just need to clear an additional payment with them (UK Tax @ 20%) and a small handling fee to clear for onwards delivery. I would have received today but the email went to my junk I’ll clear first thing tomorrow and hopefully receive by Thursday.

All in this one comes to around 4120 USD / £3000 including tax and insured delivery. Too much or about right? The market for these seem to vary a lot and I’ve seen many so called pads in basic settings for much more and on the flipside some users getting top quality bargains here but having to do a lot of digging and with potential higher risk shipping direct etc.

Most importantly I’m in budget and now looking for a local’ish UK jeweller to give their opinion and get an idea of cost to set this in 18ct Gold / Rose Gold.

I also just dropped JupiterGem a message to clarify it’s position on Sri Lanka origin as stated on their website as I couldn’t see this mentioned on the AIGS certificate. Should have checked this before !! anything to be concerned about?

I’ll definitely try my best to get some pictures / videos of it in north-south orientation as suggested by @goldnsilver and any other requests. Aslong as its not a big no-no from yourselves and I’m happy with it in person I’m hoping it will be ok

In the meantime here’s a video of mine with a much pricier 2.09 ct pad.

I'm excited to see how you feel in person. Sorry about the delay because of email. My diamond was delayed a day because I was 2 blocks away and the mail lady was 10 min early. 'Bout killed me! Lol

 

[JS5]

I'm excited to see how you feel in person. Sorry about the delay because of email. My diamond was delayed a day because I was 2 blocks away and the mail lady was 10 min early. 'Bout killed me! Lol

Yes the postman/women always tend to come at exactly the wrong time!

A little anxious but more excited to have it in hand after looking at the same photos and videos countless times. A big ‘A-ha! This is it’ moment would be great!

 

[goldnsilver]

Ooh looking forward to the arrival of the stone and hearing what you think of it. Hoping it'll be stunning, and in any case it's a step forward!

All in this one comes to around 4120 USD / £3000 including tax and insured delivery. Too much or about right? The market for these seem to vary a lot and I’ve seen many so called pads in basic settings for much more and on the flipside some users getting top quality bargains here but having to do a lot of digging and with potential higher risk shipping direct etc.

Most importantly I’m in budget and now looking for a local’ish UK jeweller to give their opinion and get an idea of cost to set this in 18ct Gold / Rose Gold.

I feel the price is all right if it looks good to you in person, considering the size and it being an unheated sapphire. 18ct gold or rose gold will be gorgeous!

 

[JS5]

Ooh looking forward to the arrival of the stone and hearing what you think of it. Hoping it'll be stunning, and in any case it's a step forward!



I feel the price is all right if it looks good to you in person, considering the size and it being an unheated sapphire. 18ct gold or rose gold will be gorgeous!

Yes definitely, I’m eagerly anticipating delivery as I don’t want my girlfriend who is working from home to beat me to the door!! I usually get it anyway mind. Tracking originally stated before 12 but now updated by the end of day.

I did say I ordered something for my car to divert interest in the package - should work like a charm

 

[minousbijoux]

Frankly, $4,120 for an eye clean, 2.02 unheated padparadscha (which has a reputable lab report labeling it as such) is a great price.

Recently, it seems, we have gotten super aggressive about what constitutes a "good price" for sapphires, especially blues and padparadschas. I also do not put such weight on it being Sri Lankan - if I come across an unheated pad of identical or better quality from another location, say Madagascar, I'd be quick to jump. Here's to hoping it is as lovely as you imagine and it is "the one!"

 

[JS5]

Frankly, $4,120 for an eye clean, 2.02 unheated padparadscha (which has a reputable lab report labeling it as such) is a great price.

Recently, it seems, we have gotten super aggressive about what constitutes a "good price" for sapphires, especially blues and padparadschas. I also do not put such weight on it being Sri Lankan - if I come across an unheated pad of identical or better quality from another location, say Madagascar, I'd be quick to jump. Here's to hoping it is as lovely as you imagine and it is "the one!

Thank-you.. I can confirm I took delivery earlier today - without detection! I managed to get a few videos and photos discretely and will post them and thoughts shortly..

 

[motownmama]

Hurry up!

 

[Ionysis]

Waiting too!

 

[JS5]

Sorry guys struggling to get any space with her keep checking what I’m up to .

First impressions are definitely positive, I’m very happy with it and love the colour and shape. It certainly feels special and 100% happy with choosing a pad. There are some question marks I have which you may able to clear up regarding the side window and off centre culet.

I’m going to pop out tomorrow during the daytime to see how colour holds up and will update with a few more photos.

For now I’ve attached some videos taken on iPhone which does saturate it a touch more than what you see in person

 

[JS5]

Youtube yet to update these in HD - quality should update itself later as all shot in 4k iPhone

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

It is beautiful. I think the color is gorgeous, and of course already mentioned I like native cuts. In the gem jar it does seem to have a bit of a window, but the hand shots look better. I think in the right setting it will allow the beautiful Pad color to take center stage.
A precision cut equivalent would be difficult to find and probably more cost. This shape will look gorgeous on her beautiful hand. She could be a hand model!

Good luck with your decision.

 

[goldnsilver]

I think it's beautiful, too. Just got a chance to view the videos on the computer screen, and the colours are lovely. I can definitely see the flashes of peach as promised on the listing. I don't think I was observing the cutlet being off-centre as you mentioned (the gorgeous colours are very distracting), so I'm trying to figure that out and having another look at the photo on the website - is the cutlet closer to to one of the "longer ends"? If so, it looks all right and still symmetrical to me. Noticeable off-centre cutlets usually do bother me on modern round cuts, but not so much when it comes to other shapes. So I think it really depends on whether you think she would enjoy it?

 

[JS5]

Thank-you for your thoughts. I must admit, I’m not 100% sure and could go either way, in question is the cut / window. I have uploaded a few more daytime clips. The colour in daytime is pastel / less saturated which I do enjoy, I really like the luster around the sides edges and want to see more on the top, or is it nornal not too? How much will the setting help? The photo and clip below is more colour accurate for daytime / dull day.

Here is the culet

I also spotted this small ‘inclusion’ or line you may be able to spot. Its on the underside so doesn’t bother me.

I guess what I need to consider is if I can do better for the same value. Some more thoughts would be great, I’m sure you wouldn’t but please don’t be afraid to be honest if you would keep / return.

 

[Rfisher]

Knowing how hard these buggers are to photo- I can imagine it is pretty lovely. Out of curiosity-
Is it appearing more pink and less orange on your monitor, than to what your naked eye sees?
I think if you are wishing it had more luster on the top (sparkle/brilliance/scintillation?) as compared to the sides - that’s the crux of a pad in this size/price range unless you are willing to go less storefront/more IG based seller like some others here have done. It’s the window and tilt window.
Too bad most of the Jupiter discount went to pay for tax.
I think you should get your partners input on this more. It’s nice to be a surprise - but the trade offs in a pad are pretty individualized and varied of what one wants and will trade off on. Especially for an engagement ring?

 

[Rfisher]

Also- is the crown uneven/girdle wavy?
If it is - it’s going to be harder for a bench to set and not actually accentuate that wonk. It’ll be easy for the jeweler to blame the stone for any setting issues, if they don’t have the will/desire/experience to work with the stone.

You did question a mounting helping mask a window. It does and can happen, but I don’t think there’s a hard and set guidelines of what absolutely works and what doesn’t.

@natasha-cupcake has two threads about her gorgeous pad (same vendor!) and she describes her tilt window deceased substantially with her setting she has

 

[Arcadian]

Lovely stone! and it was priced very well!! I'm one that dosen't give a fig about location, and location can cost you way more (more than it should). I care much more what the report is saying about the actual stone itself.

I agree with @Rfisher, you gotta find someone very experienced with setting this one and, I would be sure she's OK with the color as well. She might have a different color in her head when it comes to pads.

 

[JS5]

A precision cut equivalent would be difficult to find and probably more cost. This shape will look gorgeous on her beautiful hand. She could be a hand model!

Thank-you, funnily enough she was approached to do some hand modelling work a long time ago when working in the marketing team with cosmetics gaint COTY, I recall her doing a couple of impromptu shots but nothing serious.

Knowing how hard these buggers are to photo- I can imagine it is pretty lovely. Out of curiosity-
Is it appearing more pink and less orange on your monitor, than to what your naked eye sees?
I think if you are wishing it had more luster on the top (sparkle/brilliance/scintillation?) as compared to the sides - that’s the crux of a pad in this size/price range unless you are willing to go less storefront/more IG based seller like some others here have done. It’s the window and tilt window.
Too bad most of the Jupiter discount went to pay for tax.
I think you should get your partners input on this more. It’s nice to be a surprise - but the trade offs in a pad are pretty individualized and varied of what one wants and will trade off on. Especially for an engagement ring?

Also- is the crown uneven/girdle wavy?
If it is - it’s going to be harder for a bench to set and not actually accentuate that wonk. It’ll be easy for the jeweler to blame the stone for any setting issues, if they don’t have the will/desire/experience to work with the stone.

You did question a mounting helping mask a window. It does and can happen, but I don’t think there’s a hard and set guidelines of what absolutely works and what doesn’t.

@natasha-cupcake has two threads about her gorgeous pad (same vendor!) and she describes her tilt window deceased substantially with her setting she has

Yes Incredibly hard to replicate the colour without editing. Yes showing more pink than orange. I assumed having the latest iPhone model it would have pretty good colour accuracy out the box but definitely saturated somewhat - perhaps this explains why purists can easily spend x000's on photography equipment to get this kind of thing right. It also deems anything else I look at now questionable to some extent without seeing 'in hand.' Jupiter Gem did a good job in there clips but could vary with other sellers.

I've just re-read this thread from the beginning and picking up on so many more points from everyone second time round bearing in mind I have no prior experience with gems, I understand so much more after having a stone in hand. I find it interesting that you considered this one prior. Any idea how long it's been on the market? It is certificated in 2017 so I do wonder if it was listed for long or simply one that went back in the market.

Unfortunately her father's not well at the moment hence not the best time to bring this up, I'll pick the stone however despite having my own ideas for setting, I am considering a temporary one or no setting so perhaps she can be involved with the whole CAD design stage? Difficult to see anyone as all the stores are currently closed in the UK (Lockdown closures) so most goldsmiths are operating via video call etc at the moment. The crown / girdle doesn't look obviously uneven to me so hopefully not an issue, a positive of going down the shared design route is that I will have more time to pick out someone with more experience and perhaps go in person?!?! if normality ever resumes.

Lovely stone! and it was priced very well!! I'm one that dosen't give a fig about location, and location can cost you way more (more than it should). I care much more what the report is saying about the actual stone itself.

I agree with @Rfisher, you gotta find someone very experienced with setting this one and, I would be sure she's OK with the color as well. She might have a different color in her head when it comes to pads.

I shot off a couple more enquires to random sellers on instagram to get numbers on pads, some users barely respond and I had a couple of prices more than this on lesser quality stones with dubious certificates. Nothing out there too exciting that I'd consider swopping or paying double for as I have to be realistic with my budget. Im certain she will like this she doesn't know too much about all the details with the padparadscha classifications, which deserves some sort of educational qualification of its own!

It really is a nice stone and finding this shape is pretty rare so I'm really pleased with it. After my initial excitement, followed by some concern and doubt, I have been doing more thinking and have formed habit of a bond with it so I'm just about certain I'll be keeping it and presenting it in all its pretty 'raw' like native cut glory!!

 

[TreeScientist]

It's a nice stone. And the price is fair for the apparent quality from the videos, although only you, the buyer, can ultimately be the judge of what "worth it" means to you.

...But can we please stop using the term "native" cut? It implies that there's some ignorant simpleton hacking away at the rough with a caveman-esque grinding wheel in some backwoods hut. As if these cutters have no knowledge of critical angles and/or refractive indices...

...which couldn't be further from the truth in modern times. The truth is that some of the absolute best cutters in the world hail from Lanka and Thailand, and you can be sure that any lapidary allowed to touch a piece of rough that will sell for over $1k/ct in its final faceted form is going to be an expert with several years (and more likely several decades) of experience.

This stone doesn't have a large window and uneven pavilion due to haphazard cutting by an inexperienced and ill-equipped "native" lapidary. You can be sure that if a pricey stone with a window ends up right above the magic 2 carat mark, then it was a highly intentional, calculated attempt to save weight and/or face up size while minimizing the window as much as humanly possible.

It's actually much, much harder to figure out the best cut for a shallow piece of rough to minimize that window while keeping it above a "magic" carat weight than it is to cut a precision-cut stone from rough where weight-saving doesn't matter. Any imbecile can enter rough dimensions and gemstone I.D. into a software like Gem Cut Studio and let the software tell them exactly what cuts to make in order to create the optically-perfect gemstone. It takes decades of experience to know where you can "cut corners" (pun intended) to keep a shallow piece of rough like the OP's example above 2 carats while still creating an attractive final product. I guarantee you that if you had told the lapidary who cut the OP's gemstone, "Cut this stone to optimize color and light return. Staying above 2 carats doesn't matter" then he/she could've easily produced a "precision-cut" stone of around 1.6-1.7 carats with a lot less effort than he/she probably expended on this 2.02 carat cut. But unfortunately, do to consumers' obsessions with the "magic" carat weights, lapidaries would never cut a pad in such a manner.

So please, let's do away with the term "native cuts" and call them what they really are: Weight-saving cuts. (Face-up-size-saving cuts would also apply, but that's a bit long-winded and thus doesn't really roll off the tongue)

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

@TreeScientist ,

Thanks for another term to use instead of native. I may have been the one to start using it in this thread, but I certainly never meant it as disrespectful to the cutter. I know you are very right about the skill and the desire to maintain weight and or size in the decision to cut it the way they do. There was a recent thread about a precision recut on another valuable stone that I encouraged the owner not to do for the very reasons you stated. I would also add to your thoughts that often color is also included in how to cut as well. I've seen some recuts be detrimental for color as well.

 

[Rfisher]

I am sorry, @TreeScientist for my participation in this thread with flippant usage of the term ‘native cut’. I didn’t mean it as derogatory, but I can see where one other could.

@JS5
I’m sorry to hear of your girlfriend’s father. Hope he gets better soon.
I do not know how long yours has been on Jupiter’s site- I could be confusing it with another stone - I do know I gaze at their offerings often and have been doing so for 2-3 years. I wouldn’t think about it/ worry at all about the possibility of it ‘hanging around’ as it could be considered a ding towards your stone.
I think it’s a good thing for you to have looked around further to scope out vendors and stones. It helps make a decision and not have ‘what if’s’ hanging above.
sounds like the stone you have is a keeper - it is lovely!
And I think it’s great to include your girlfriend in the creation of the setting Either presenting loose or in a temp. I would lean towards loose. No need for a cheapo setting that the cost can be put towards the ‘real’ setting and its in less setters hands.