#JOTW Help find a Padparadscha for an engagement ring.

[saracen]

Very difficult to get the right color to show in the photos, so I took a bunch. Much more pinkish in person. I took all these with sunlight. Didn't know about the inclusions show in the last pic. My girl friend loves it, but she is also worried about the height. The reason for this is because of her work and not the look. She kind of works with her hands a lot. We'll see what the jeweler says and shows us tomorrow.

Comments welcome.

 

[T L]

Post a picture on her hand, between her fingers or on your fingers. It would be easier to judge on the hand.

 

[saracen]

Post a picture on her hand, between her fingers or on your fingers. It would be easier to judge on the hand.

Will do that tomorrow. Yeah, I held it above her finger and it looked quite high. But I think the setting itself will make it look a bit lower since the side stones will be there as well.

 

[T L]

Well, that's why you should use a custom setting for it. I hope you have a good jeweler. How does it look on her skin tone. Padparadschas tend to look good on some people's skin, while they fade into others.

 

[Marlow]

It is not an inclusion - it is dirt from cutting the stone and I hate this two "naturals" on the pavillion.....

Color is uneven as expected but better in your pictures and this is the most important thing!!!

A nice gem !

 

[saracen]

Well, that's why you should use a custom setting for it. I hope you have a good jeweler. How does it look on her skin tone. Padparadschas tend to look good on some people's skin, while they fade into others.

I thought it looked nice on her. Will definitely take pics tomorrow though. At the jewelers.

 

[saracen]

It is not an inclusion - it is dirt from cutting the stone and I hate this two "naturals" on the pavillion.....

Color is uneven as expected but better in your pictures and this is the most important thing!!!

A nice gem !

Gary from Finewater said it was an inclusion. Does bother me a bit, but the girl-friend is much more forgiving. She's not paying though.

 

[T L]

It is not an inclusion - it is dirt from cutting the stone and I hate this two "naturals" on the pavillion.....

Color is uneven as expected but better in your pictures and this is the most important thing!!!

A nice gem !

Gary from Finewater said it was an inclusion. Does bother me a bit, but the girl-friend is much more forgiving. She's not paying though.

Well, do you see the inclusion from the table? If you can, and it reflects itself, that's not good, but from your photos, that does not appear to be the case.

 

[saracen]

It is not an inclusion - it is dirt from cutting the stone and I hate this two "naturals" on the pavillion.....

Color is uneven as expected but better in your pictures and this is the most important thing!!!

A nice gem !

Gary from Finewater said it was an inclusion. Does bother me a bit, but the girl-friend is much more forgiving. She's not paying though.

Well, do you see the inclusion from the table? If you can, and it reflects itself, that's not good, but from your photos, that does not appear to be the case.

No, can't see it from the face (table).

 

[saracen]

Just took this video. Sorry about the sound of the TV. Totally forgot to mute it. Also posting (again) Gary's two videos that he had taken.

View My Video

View My Video

View My Video

 

[Marlow]

The color is super - forget the "inclusion"!!!!

 

[saracen]

The color is super - forget the "inclusion"!!!!

Thanks Marlow. The videos really show the true stone. The photos don't come close to what it really looks like. My video (the first link) is a bit dimmer than it should be, because I was using the available window light. Will post more tomorrow after going to the jeweler.

 

[royalstarrynight]

I think it's rather lovely in your video!

 

[VirginiaZee]

Add me to the group who think it's so pretty in the videos.

 

[saracen]

Thanks All.

That's really what it looks like in person. The photos don't do it justice.

 

[chrono]

Looks nice; I'd love to see more pictures and video of it if you have the time again later today. It's a deep stone but since you are going the custom route, it shouldn't pose an issue.

 

[royalstarrynight]

I really wouldn't worry about the depth. It's what gives the stone the beautiful color and a stone like that deserves a custom route. Setting it lower shouldn't be a challenge.

 

[saracen]

Met with the jeweler last night. It was a good experience and nice to see the stone in settings. The height was actually not that much of an issue in the settings he showed us. I will post photos later of the way it looks on her hand.

I have one other dilemma though. He showed us a beautiful 4.32 carat (heated) Padparadscha (with GIA cert) that was only $11,500 vs the $15,000 for the one I have now. The finewater one is deeper in color but both have a nice sparkle to them. Overall that's the one we are leaning toward, but not sure the slightly nicer stone warrants such a price increase. The photo shows the Finewater on the left. Both look much more pinkish in real life than they do in the photo (As you'll see in the video).



Finewater - $15k, 3.54ct, heated, AGL Report, pinkish orange
View My Video

My Jeweler - $11.5k, 4.32ct, heated, GIA Report, pinkish orange
View My Video
View My Video

 

[chrono]

I'm sorry to trouble you further but can you put the 2 stones together in the same video? This will allow us to help evaluate the sapphires more accurately, given that both are under the same light/camera conditions. When it comes to fine gems, especially ones that are rare, slight nuances in colour can cost several thousand dollars. At first glance, the Finewater sapphire looks to have better saturation, so it isn't surprising that it costs more.

ETA
For the video, can you please:
1. Slow down the movement so that we can focus on the sapphire
2. Bring the camera much closer to the gem as I'd like to be able to make out more of the flash of the facets.

 

[saracen]

I'm sorry to trouble you further but can you put the 2 stones together in the same video? This will allow us to help evaluate the sapphires more accurately, given that both are under the same light/camera conditions. When it comes to fine gems, especially ones that are rare, slight nuances in colour can cost several thousand dollars. At first glance, the Finewater sapphire looks to have better saturation, so it isn't surprising that it costs more.

ETA
For the video, can you please:
1. Slow down the movement so that we can focus on the sapphire
2. Bring the camera much closer to the gem as I'd like to be able to make out more of the flash of the facets.

Hi Chrono,

I wish I would have done that at my jewelers. Problem is that he has to send it back today. He actually took the video for me.

Oh, and you're correct, the finewater one was more saturated.

 

[T L]

What is the treatment on the other one, per the GIA report?

 

[saracen]

What is the treatment on the other one, per the GIA report?

It just says: "Indications of heating"

 

[T L]

What is the treatment on the other one, per the GIA report?

It just says: "Indications of heating"

I would contact GIA, or look on their webpage, to make sure that's all it means, nothing else, like was it tested for diffusion?

I'm not sure, as I don't usually get GIA reports.

I really don't trust padparadschas without an AGL report, sorry. Here's another reason why.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/agl-report-vs-gia-report-different-grading-results.176603/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/agl-report-vs-gia-report-different-grading-results.176603/[/URL]

The stone that Gary sent you has everything, an AGL report with origin, and you know it hasn't been diffused. It also has better color, and in the world of colored gemstones, color is king.

The only way you could do better is to find a gem that had Gary's color with a full AGL report with origin and it was unheated. I don't know if you just want to wait it out, or if that's possible. Lots of vendors go with GIA or other labs for padparadschas. I think they're sometimes afraid of the thoroughness of AGL.

 

[saracen]

Thanks TL. I just pulled it online and it's basically all the same info. We are both leaning toward the finewater. It's just that I want to make sure the price difference is justifiable. And that I'm really comparing apples to apples here, besides the 0.8 carat difference.

Here are the two stones on my girl-friends finger.

 

[T L]

Thanks TL. I just pulled it online and it's basically all the same info. We are both leaning toward the finewater. It's just that I want to make sure the price difference is justifiable. And that I'm really comparing apples to apples here, besides the 0.8 carat difference.

Here are the two stones on my girl-friends finger.

Can you provide a more head on shot towards the table of the stone without too much camera shadow?

I actually like the color of the second stone better. It has that more delicate orange pink color to it. Not sure which stone is which though and its hard to tell from your current photos. The other stone has a darker tone, but darker tone doesn't necessarily mean better saturation. Many fine padparadschas are quite pastel in tone.

Worse come to worse, if you can't make up your mind, then you can request your jeweler send that gem to AGL.

 

[saracen]

Unfortunately the only one I took that way was the one of the finewater. I know, I suck. I should have taken many more pics, but just didn't think of it at the time.

 

[chrono]

Top hand shot = Finewater
Bottom hand shot = jeweller's

 

[T L]

Unfortunately the only one I took that way was the one of the finewater. I know, I suck. I should have taken many more pics, but just didn't think of it at the time.

Is this the new stone? It really pops on your girlfriend's finger, but if it is, I would send it to AGL. Do not spend a dime without that report.

 

[chrono]

TL,
That's the Finewater sapphire with the AGL report.

 

[saracen]

Sorry all.

Yes, Chrono is correct in all pics. The Finewater is the one in the first and last pics. The one from the top is the finewater.