- Joined
- Jan 11, 2006
- Messages
- 58,547
The monetary value of the stone is not relevant here. She is NOT selling the diamond! I went from 1 ct to .80 which would also mean monetary loss. But when it is a stone you are keeping forever, what difference does that make???
There have been some good posts since I last posted. But the fact that your mom is clearly not in love with the diamond or the setting says to me that she is ready to start over. Be sure she does see an ideal cut diamond in person before the decision is made. Then, I agree about considering a transitional recut rather than Towlkowsky ideal cut. But, here are things you need to know about that. I love Yoram and have a ring cut by him and his team (Good Old Gold AVR), so I know the level of cut perfection that he can do. But he is expensive...a good bit more than the $350 a carat that BG charges. So you do have to factor that into this equation. Ari at SS has adapted a MRB to a transitional before, but that person was also buying a setting from him, and he may not do it otherwise. I can't recommend SS for settings anymore, because they are priced much too high and others have the skill to produce antique style settings such as CVB/LAD who have already been mentioned. So while I love the idea of maybe retaining a little more weight by cutting to a tranny or OEC, it is likely going to involve more money spent to do it, and it still might lose a fair amount of weight.
So, really, if your mom likes modern ideal cuts, then stick with BG. But if she'd like an older style cut, then you will likely be looking at a higher cost to do it, probably. Settings are easy, look at CVB Inspired Design on FB for lots of photos and Beverely K is a brand of nice quality antique style settings. I wouldn't overwhelm her with too many brands (because some of us are prone to analysis paralysis), but those two sources are good. Greenwich Jewelers has some good BK photos on their site (a little better than the BK site), but you can buy BK from Pearlman's and GOG.
There have been some good posts since I last posted. But the fact that your mom is clearly not in love with the diamond or the setting says to me that she is ready to start over. Be sure she does see an ideal cut diamond in person before the decision is made. Then, I agree about considering a transitional recut rather than Towlkowsky ideal cut. But, here are things you need to know about that. I love Yoram and have a ring cut by him and his team (Good Old Gold AVR), so I know the level of cut perfection that he can do. But he is expensive...a good bit more than the $350 a carat that BG charges. So you do have to factor that into this equation. Ari at SS has adapted a MRB to a transitional before, but that person was also buying a setting from him, and he may not do it otherwise. I can't recommend SS for settings anymore, because they are priced much too high and others have the skill to produce antique style settings such as CVB/LAD who have already been mentioned. So while I love the idea of maybe retaining a little more weight by cutting to a tranny or OEC, it is likely going to involve more money spent to do it, and it still might lose a fair amount of weight.
So, really, if your mom likes modern ideal cuts, then stick with BG. But if she'd like an older style cut, then you will likely be looking at a higher cost to do it, probably. Settings are easy, look at CVB Inspired Design on FB for lots of photos and Beverely K is a brand of nice quality antique style settings. I wouldn't overwhelm her with too many brands (because some of us are prone to analysis paralysis), but those two sources are good. Greenwich Jewelers has some good BK photos on their site (a little better than the BK site), but you can buy BK from Pearlman's and GOG.