Diamonds by Lauren ring??

[northstar_78]

I check in on his site every now and then and he had this beautiful yellow cushion ring!

Carat Weight
1.32 carats
Shape Cushion cut
Lab Report GIA
Setting Platinum and 18kt bezel set.

What do you think? Here''s the link in case the attachment doesn''t work. Has anyone been a customer of his? I''ve spoken to him several times and he has always been pleasant and professional. I like everything abou this ring except for the metal (its platinum and gold, I would like two-tone 18K or 14K). Its a little out of my price range but really caught my eye!

http://diamondsbylauren.com/AvailableItems/DBL_Diamond_5.htm

 

[denverappraiser]

northstar_78,

The bulk of the money is related to the center stone. If you decide you like it, they can probably arrange to have it reset into a different mounting for a pretty reasonable price. Ask ''em.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Hi Everybody!

Northstar- Thanks for asking.
In general, Neil is correct- the bulk of the price of a diamond ring usually goes to the center diamond.
In the case of stones smaller than 1.50cts, this usually menas using a less expensive type of ring.
Here, we put a nice percentage of the cost into the ring itself.
Since this type of ring is custom made, labor is a large percentage of the price of the ring. Threrfore switching to a less expensive metal would not save all that much money.
Of course destroying the platinum ring to make a gold one makes no sense either.
What we''d normally do is offer to make a new ring with different stones.

Hope this helps!

 

[northstar_78]

Thank you David for your speedy reply! The only reason why I would ask for the ring to be done in gold vs. platinum is that I''ve found platinum rings to be a bit heavy. But if I "met" your ring in person maybe I''d be tempted to change my mind. As for the size of the stone what carat size do you like for this style of ring?

 

[valeria101]

Looks like tIffany's Lucida ring (the three stone bezel) only better... If the model is repeatable with your choice of stones, I can't see any reason to refrain. To have the stones collet set, it will have to be a custom ring anyway. Gold is easier to make into this kind of ring than platinum because it can be led around the stones.

Good luck !

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

There are a couple of current threads discussing ideal-scope and other lighting issues.
This one peaks my interest too.

I have often noticed ''interesting'' features about this vendors photography - which seem to be a vital part of his marketing efforts.

I have even asked him repeatedly to describe his photographic techniques (which you will notice many other vendors are only too happy to share openly) but David has point blank refused or deflected the issue into ''humourist'' replies.

It is hard enough to represent colorless diamonds accurately - but representing colored diamonds with phtography requires a huge leap of faith.

I am no expert - but I just noticed that the fingers holding this rng are an ''odd'' color - And one shoulder diamond is very strange indeed -simply dropping the saturation makes the shoulder diamonds appear more colorless.

Ana you are pretty good with this stuff - want to have a look at his site and see what you think?

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/8/2005 3:2:52 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Ana you are pretty good with this stuff - want to have a look at his site and see what you think?

I don't think I know more than you do...

And I have no idea what skin color there should be in the background either. I would immagine that for the sake of commercial presentation, the photo could have been modified to show that yellow diamond more saturatd and/or obviate imperfectiuons. And the easy way to do that is tilt gamma away from blue or decrese blue contrast or something... and add contrast to blurr details. If anything of the sort was intended, it doesn't stand out - adjusting for skin color and what not does not make the yellow diamond look worse (IMO). It may help that I have some mental picture of "U-V" color and do not expect "intense" - perhaps a hopeful buyer would, but that is yet another problem alltogether.

There is a bit too much contrast in DBL photos (too bad... those rings have allot to show). But that's mostly about the pictures taken against dark background - this one does not suffer.

In all honesty, so much more than electronic manipulation can be done to alter those colors that gamma and lighting alteration sounds saintly sincere.

For once, I don't care what lighting and photographic manipulations sellers do. It seems to be in their interest to show things as customers want them - whatever that means. Since cameras do not reproduce reality accurately, it's up to human intervention to adjust results ex-post. I'm cool with that.

 

[valeria101]

These photos come straight from the Ebay listing of this ring. There is some clear color difference between the set and the unset stone, and that in plain view.

I could not for the life of me get the shades of yllow to match without destroying the rest of the ring photo. Besides, the info is already there - this is U-V yellow after all. It shows nicer on dark background, and that's not unlike wearing conditions or traditional gem presentation.

Tat's pretty much all I could think of about the pictures of this ring. I have no reason to favor DBL... but this is as far as my insight goes (scratching the surface, I guess).

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

Well set on the shoulders Dave. I have always been amazed by the colours on the diamonds too, Garry.

I have found that with any good photo you have to have a good jewel first. They are not very forgiving. Photoshop can do a lot, but the camerra does the most, then comes good lighting.

 

[widget]

Date: 4/7/2005 4:14:32 PM
Has anyone been a customer of his? I've spoken to him several times and he has always been pleasant and professional.

I've purchased a couple of items from David at DBL, and was VERY pleased both times....with the service AND the products!

Highly recommended!

widget

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Sorry Ana, I dont get it - are you saying that the cushion on the right = the stone in the ring?

David Lauren, would you like to join this thread?

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 4/8/2005 3

2:52 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
There are a couple of current threads discussing ideal-scope and other lighting issues.
This one peaks my interest too.

I have often noticed ''interesting'' features about this vendors photography - which seem to be a vital part of his marketing efforts.

I have even asked him repeatedly to describe his photographic techniques (which you will notice many other vendors are only too happy to share openly) but David has point blank refused or deflected the issue into ''humourist'' replies.

?

Garry,

Good photography is an important skill for the internet based vendors and I have not noticed them to be particularly forthcoming about their specific techniques. The current threads about IS photography are an exception, not the rule. I don’t think it’s unusual, unreasonable or even surprising that DBL counts their photo techniques as something of a trade secret.

I haven’t seen the item in question so I can’t comment on this particular set of pictures but I have had the opportunity to examine several other items both photographed and sold by this vendor. Their photos are certainly designed to show the products handsomely but I would expect nothing less in an advertisement. I’ve never seen anything that I would describe as misrepresenting their products. In my experience, this is a reputable vendor.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[strmrdr]

Anyone that buys anything colored, only based on the color they see in a photo on a monitor is an idiot.
It wont look the same on any 2 of them.

David has been around here a long time and I have heard very few compliants.
1 that I remember to be exact and it wasnt about a diamond color and he delt with it quickly and well.
Could his photos be improved?
Probably but so could everyone elses.
Capturing diamonds in a photo accuratly is very hard add in getting colors right and its next to impossible.

 

[webmistress]

I have left a message for David that he is being paged and he will reply.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 4/8/2005 11:17:31 AM
Author: webmistress
I have left a message for David that he is being paged and he will reply.

Welcome "Webmistress" !

I hope Pricescope will give you as much work as Diamondtalk does

 

[FireGoddess]

I just wanted to add that I have seen several colored stones of the fainter variety be greatly enhanced in appearance by the ring setting...ie yellow gold for yellow diamonds, pink gold for pink diamonds, etc. Maybe not universallly true, but I''ve seen this alot. I do believe the cushion on the right is the cushion in the ring.

 

[Kaleigh]

I agree the diamond on the right is the cushion in the ring. The diamond has been helped to appear more yellow due to the yellow gold in the setting.

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Hi Everyone!

Garry!!!! long time no speak!!!!
Thanks for getting involved!

OK- I am very proud of my photographs. Each and every one was taken by me.

I do not "give lessons" on how I use a camera- but that's all I do- simply use a camera well. For some reason, I seem to get different results than others.
I chalk this up to my vision- the way I see a diamond. Put a guitar into two different players' hands and it will sound totally different.

There's no special equipment- and this is very important- I NEVER ALTER THE COLOR OF THE DIAMONDS USING COMPUTER PROGRAMS- or any other method- except this: I photograph each diamond under different lighting sources to show the differing faces of Fancy Color Diamonds.

The photo of the cushion is indeed the very same stone in the ring.
In many cases ( not all) setting a Faint to Light Yellow in yellow gold really makes the stone look more yellow- here, with an 18karat bezel, that is the certainly the case. Sometimes faint stays faint- even after setting- like this 1.24 below. Started out U-V, ended up U-V in appearance- even after setting.

It would definately NOT be in our best interest to have the stones look "better" in the photos then they do in real life- that would simply lead to a lot of returns.
On the other hand, if a diamond photographs poorly, we can't sell it.
There are cases of beautiful stones that I simply could not capture with my camera- and for that reason alone, I had to pass, and NOT buy them.

But I've never seen a case of the opposite- a diamond which looked ugly to my eye and beautiful in my photos.

As far as photographing Fancy Colors versus white- I have an easier time with color- my luck!

In the case of U-V colors- and W-X, Y-Z, Fancy Light- even Fancy Yellow- the yellowness of the diamond is not consistent. That is to say
1) the diamond will look different loose as compared to when it's set
2) Even once it's set, there will be times it looks darker, and times it looks lighter. That's because a diamond's color is not like many other things' color.
Paint a wall yellow, and that's it's color.
Natural Yellow diamonds- except for the very darkest ones- have a lot of white in them too- and since a diamond's color is NOT like a wall's color, they look different in different situations


Neil- Thank you!
strmrdr- isn't it rude to call people "idiots?
Widget- WE LOVE YOU!!!!
Webmistress- GET BACK TO WORK!!!

 

[webmistress]

Thanks for the welcome Ana.

 

[icelady]

David,

You are a class act!!! Your response showed you to be a true professional in the face of such an accusation.

I am a Radiant and Cushion lover and really enjoy seeing your pictures of your stones and rings! Maybe one day I will own one!!!!!

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Steve- of course there's variation in monitors, etc....A photo is simply a representation. Everyone knows that. A photo is 2 dimensional, diamonds exist in 3.
Still, isn't a good, accurate digital photo better than trying to simply visualize a stone by numbers???Steve wrote:
So I use Adobe Photoshop and click on "autolevels" to let Adobe automatically adjust, color, saturation, brightness and contrast to what it thinks is the best color set..

That right there is the difference Steve.
I also crop photos- to center the diamond. I also take up to 50 shots of an item, and pick the best ( most representative) ones- but I NEVER use these "color adjustments"
With all due respect- if your photo actually looked like the subject, then why adjust color?

My photos look like the subjects therefore I do not feel the need to alter them. That's why most people do not get dissapointed upon receipt.

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Date: 4/8/2005 4:25:17 PM
Author: icelady
David,

You are a class act!!! Your response showed you to be a true professional in the face of such an accusation.

I am a Radiant and Cushion lover and really enjoy seeing your pictures of your stones and rings! Maybe one day I will own one!!!!!

You just made me feel so good, you can have one for free!!!!














IT'S A JOKE!!!!!! We never give out diamonds for people writing good things about us. We pay cash.

















ANOTHER JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!


We should all love each other- and that's NO joke.

 

[icelady]

David!!!! Be careful there!!!!

 

[valeria101]

I am trying hard to be a b*ch here, so bear with me please...

What does these three look like to you ?

They are diamonds, yellow and of unknown grades. Could you possibly get an idea from the picture only ? I definitely failed

Let's say... I would not expect pictures to convey the real deal, but this what they are meant to do, no ? So... let's give it a try, if anyone is so inclined.

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Date: 4/8/2005 5:57:21 PM
Author: valeria101
I am trying hard to be a b*ch here, so bear with me please...

What does these three look like to you ?

They are diamonds, yellow and of unknown grades. Could you possibly get an idea from the picture only ? I definitely failed

Let's say... I would not expect pictures to convey the real deal, but this what they are meant to do, no ? So... let's give it a try, if anyone is so inclined.

I'd say that this photo does not show the color of the diamonds very well- also - are there a few more? Looking at multiple images helps too.
I'm not saying it's possible grade a diamond's color- even looking at a very good photo- The fact is that Fancy Light Yellow sometimes looks quite like Fancy Yellow- in real life- I'm not talking photos. So I would not say it's possible to color grade a diamond using a photo.

Natural Fancy Colored Diamonds are just that-natural
If you photograph natural substances, they will always vary- trees, sky, land, animals- yes, even rocks never look the same in two photos - if you are sensative to the subtle things.

On our Fancy Yellow Color Grading Chart, webmistress has done a great job of selecting photos ( from literally thousands that I take) to represent the shades of U-V, W-X, Y-Z, FLY, FY FIY, FVY.
That does not mean that any photo truly captures a diamond- it simply gives you a very good idea.

Another problem is that even GIA does not always get it right- and they have the stones in their hands!

One time we had a pair for Radiant Diamonds. A good match, but one was slightly darker than the other- we figured both for intense yellow. GIA gave the darker stone Fancy Yellow, and the slightly lighter diamond, Fancy Intense Yellow.
Of course they did not examine these stones as a pair, they were submitted seperately. I was going to send them both back to prove the lighter one was Intense, but then I thought- what if they simply lower the Fancy Intense back to Fancy Yellow???
We put up and shut up.

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Date: 4/8/2005 6:14:51 PM
Author: Feydakin
''if'' I were selling color diamonds, or any color gemstones, ''and'' I were putting images on the net to help sell those stones, I would find it technically challenging to provide the exact same color information to everyone, pc, mac, linux, 256 color through 16 million color true color displays.. The best you can do is an ''aproximation'' of color with detailed grading specs ''and'' reputation for selling quality color..

Yes, there are people who will and do ''enhance'' their images in an effort to misrepresent their product, but they tend to devlop a bad reputation fairly quickly.. But not all ''enhancement'' is an effort to defraud.. In many cases it is the only way to get a reasonable representation of the real thing..

Now, if there were some mythical color standard that every video card, software, camera, and montior maker were willing to stick with (and yes there are ''true color'' CMYK displays out there but they can run thousands of dollars) I would agree that no image should be touched.. But then you have issues of lighting and just plain skill of taking a photo enter into the issue.. Some amount of ''enhancement'' has to be accepted and expected otherwise you end up with a lot of really bad looking images on the web..

Steve,
I never meant to imply there''s anything wrong with the way you do your pics. Clearly you make sure to honestly represent your goods.
I''m sure that the best known internet sellers use re-touched photos.

I honestly stepped in poop- I mean to say there was a lot of luck in the way Diamonds by Lauren came about.

I always loved taking pictures- especially close ups.
Here''s shot I took when I was 22 years old, !@#years ago.

When I started to sell on the internet, my style of photography melded with the type of diamonds I loved and Diamonds by Lauren was born- causing me to eventually close off the part of the company that sold to retail jewlery stores.

 

[northstar_78]

Wow...thanks for all of the replies!! Here''s my say for the time being as a hopeful customer.

-I appreciate the dialogue about picture quality, diamond color, lighting, fair representation etc. I would never "buy" anything that I would like to consider an investment without seeing it first. Call it due diligence, doing your homework...to be an educated consumer you have to.

-What I love about David''s ring is not only the gorgeous center stone (I like lighter colors in yellows) but the beauty of the setting. Yes the yellow bezel does make the stone "pop" but the craftsmanship of the the ring itself is a marvel to behold. I''ve been a fan of his work for some time now and never cease to be amazed.

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Steve Wrote
" When I see a picture on the internet I never think that is what it looks like in real life.. Yet many people do, and when they do see the real thing, they tend to be disappointed and think that somehow someone tried to defrauf them when that usually is not the case, it's just a limit of the technology.. I've said many times that anyone that buys color based on a picture that they see on the net is crazy.."

Steve, sure- there are many ( if not most) sellers of Fancy Colored diamonds on the web that use tricks to make the colors look better. I feel that changing the color of a diamond with the computer is misrepresentation. Just today we had yet ANOTHER case of a seller stealing one of our photos and using it to misrepresent a diamond they were claiming to be Fancy Vivid Yellow ( the photo they stole was of a Fancy Light Yellow)

We don't alter the colors, nor have we had problems of people returning items because they were diifferent form the photo

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 4/12/2005 5:38:26 PM
Author: diamondsbylauren

We don''t alter the colors, nor have we had problems of people returning items because they were diifferent form the photo

How come the background colors are often more like the color of the diamond David?

 

[diamondsbylauren]

Hey- Garry! HI- How the helk are you???

When taking, editing, or publishing photos of our diamonds and jewelry, I never use any computer program- or any method- to change any color in any photograph.

Here''s the thing. You don''t believe me, for whatever reason, that''s clear.
Since 1999 we''ve sold literally thousands of rings and diamonds based solely on my photos.
If there were any big problems with my photos, or how we handled our clients and diamonds, Pricescope would be the perfect venue to complain. Or eBay.


I''m sure folks can make up thier own minds.



PS- I''d still like to go out for Italian food one day ( A scene from the Godfather comes to mind)

KIDDING!!!!!!
No Hard feelings on my part.