newbie question

[Lorelei]

Lorelie are you sure can outdo me as far as animals go?) I better post a website of my cats... now I am a newly made dog rescuer too. I am beating myself up over that as not one person told me a puppy is harder than say ten cats. You are never bored that is for sure.

I really cannot believe how kind people are here. John thanks so very much for helping me, I must admit I am not the best at figuring out technical things but then I am a woman.) What a nice compliment about my name! I had to change it when I lived in the US but yes it is Hungarian and Hungarian is definitely not an easy language.

You are all treating me great and yes Wink knows how to treat a lady but I would not call you a grandpa Wink, you may be one but you surely do not look like one and are young in spirit.

Now you guys should tell me about these emoticons, why can't I find them on here? I wanted to see that rodent one you were talking about Lorelei, that made me laugh for hours.

Uh oh.....can I outdo you as far as animals are concerned....Maybe * flexes biceps*. 19 cats, most rescued and feral that I have tamed, only 4 chickies now ( many old PSers might remember my fondness for my feathered friends), and 3 horses. I have a couple of resident hedgehogs and their families, I think that's it for now....there might be some I missed as they keep turnin' up. That's wonderful you rescue too, I don't have a pooch at the moment but I will one day soon.

I think my favourite rat toothed emotie has gone, I remember Monnie and Marcy were also fond of it, the li'l pinkish cheeseball head with two big rodent teeth bared in a ridiculous smirk appears to have gone.... I will have to make do with this one but it isn't quite the same...

 

[proto]

Many thanks to all who responded.

Seems like the thread has taken a life of its own!

I have caught a bit of the diamond bug myself (and find myself reading these threads and posting) and cant wait to purchase another one, although I really have no (sensible justifiable) reason to do so.

Any suggestions for jewellery for men which contain diamonds?

 

[Lorelei]

Sorry about that, but thank you for being so gracious that we took over the thread!

Start a new thread in Rocky Talk and we can go over some options for you, you don't need to justify buying a diamond and I am all for the guys having a Finger Blinger or something sparkly. There are so many choices, tension set or bezel rings, earrings, pendants...the sky is the limit nowadays for men's jewellery!

 

[Sunstorm]

Haha, for the moment you win Lorelei. I was once an Aby breeder too and well known but I think even though people who truly love animals would make the best breeders, we get out because we love our animals, there are too many irresponsible people even if you are responsible and you cannot control that, losses are always too hard if you love each individual. I also rescued and placed many kitties. Ok I hope people do not judge me for this in a negative way and also we have totally hijacked this thread.) Now I have four cats left, including two rescues and the two dogs that I just rescued in January. I could tell you a lot more but we went totally off topic.

Now since I was not here when you were first here can you tell me a bit about your jewelry passion Lorelei, what gemstones you like and what kind of jewelry? I am just curious since it is also my passion. It seems that on this forum the two; gems and animals go hand in hand for many members. Those who dislike animals may not like me but you gotta be yourself first and foremost; my business was named after my cat whom I lost.

 

[Sunstorm]

Ah I was SOOO bad, my apologies OP. Yes please start a new thread, we will be there to help you. Justification is never needed although I always find one why I need to make a new piece for myself.) I was just talking with colleagues today about men's jewelry, I too think they can be really cool. My mom's husband wears a diamond ring too and I really like his ring, a bit of bling is quite nice on men.

 

[Lorelei]

Ah I was SOOO bad, my apologies OP. Yes please start a new thread, we will be there to help you. Justification is never needed although I always find one why I need to make a new piece for myself.) I was just talking with colleagues today about men's jewelry, I too think they can be really cool. My mom's husband wears a diamond ring too and I really like his ring, a bit of bling is quite nice on men.

No apology needed OVi, I am NOTORIOUS for hijacking threads and we have had some great threadjacks over the years lol!!!! I think Diamondseeker might be starting a new thread in Hangout and I can fill you in a bit. Definitely there is a connection between animal lovers and diamonds I have found here, back in the day we all knew each other's pets well and used to enquire after their wellbeing on a regular basis!

 

[Sunstorm]

It seems that I have a tendency for that too.) Please let me know when you start a new thread in Hangout.

 

[Lorelei]

It seems that I have a tendency for that too.) Please let me know when you start a new thread in Hangout.

Will do!

 

[Kaleigh]

It seems that I have a tendency for that too.) Please let me know when you start a new thread in Hangout.

This thread is awesome and Ovi, want to hear more about you too!! Will be looking forward to seeing one in Hangout!!!

 

[Tekate]

Hello, I have been here about a year.. in that time I purchased a 1/2 carat baguette style wedding band from B2C and a 1.33 carat K colored AVC from GOG.. B2C asked me if I would fill out a questionnaire for feedback and GOG asked nothing.. the only contact I had I with GOG was first with the Internet person (David) who helped and switched me over to Stephanie.. I believe Jon has mentioned me once as a thank here somewhere (forget).. I wish he would upgrade me to a 2.50 AVC F color.. I would recommend both vendors for their honesty to me. I first saw High Performance Diamonds because Mr. Wink posted a video of a ring he created.. it was the most beautiful ring I ever saw.. yellow OEC 2 carat diamond with a yellow prongs and a gorgeous white gold ring with black on it.. (I am not great at descriptions) it was simply the most beautiful thing.. I wish Mr. Wink would send me one but I do recommend him because one could easily see his quality... I hope to buy from him someday.. I sometimes talk about Victor Canera because his settings for engagement rings are beautiful.. simply beautiful.. I have seen Mr. Canera once on Rocky Talk and if he reads this ... ANYTIME he wants to set my stone in an EVELYN! with flush stems I'm ready to send him my stone.. maybe someday if I hit up the lottery and win... I bought an AVC because of what I read here.. Diamondseeker was very forthcoming in her postings.. I would love an Octavia Asscher because I have never seen something light up a video the way I saw here.. the posters here are passionate and caring.. I sometimes read some of the very knowledgeable ones and I can tell they are being a bit facetious! but it's funny.. on the downside, my engagement ring that I had appraised recently came in as an AVERAGE stone.. so now I don't like it.. although it does shine and has great fire.. but now I want an AGS 000000000 perfect optics MRB that is the downside of hanging out here.. especially what I found from the professionals who do post here is their love of diamonds, their business and a true caring of a knowledgeable buyer.. thanks EVERYONE.

 

[Lorelei]

Hello, I have been here about a year.. in that time I purchased a 1/2 carat baguette style wedding band from B2C and a 1.33 carat K colored AVC from GOG.. B2C asked me if I would fill out a questionnaire for feedback and GOG asked nothing.. the only contact I had I with GOG was first with the Internet person (David) who helped and switched me over to Stephanie.. I believe Jon has mentioned me once as a thank here somewhere (forget).. I wish he would upgrade me to a 2.50 AVC F color.. I would recommend both vendors for their honesty to me. I first saw High Performance Diamonds because Mr. Wink posted a video of a ring he created.. it was the most beautiful ring I ever saw.. yellow OEC 2 carat diamond with a yellow prongs and a gorgeous white gold ring with black on it.. (I am not great at descriptions) it was simply the most beautiful thing.. I wish Mr. Wink would send me one but I do recommend him because one could easily see his quality... I hope to buy from him someday.. I sometimes talk about Victor Canera because his settings for engagement rings are beautiful.. simply beautiful.. I have seen Mr. Canera once on Rocky Talk and if he reads this ... ANYTIME he wants to set my stone in an EVELYN! with flush stems I'm ready to send him my stone.. maybe someday if I hit up the lottery and win... I bought an AVC because of what I read here.. Diamondseeker was very forthcoming in her postings.. I would love an Octavia Asscher because I have never seen something light up a video the way I saw here.. the posters here are passionate and caring.. I sometimes read some of the very knowledgeable ones and I can tell they are being a bit facetious! but it's funny.. on the downside, my engagement ring that I had appraised recently came in as an AVERAGE stone.. so now I don't like it.. although it does shine and has great fire.. but now I want an AGS 000000000 perfect optics MRB that is the downside of hanging out here.. especially what I found from the professionals who do post here is their love of diamonds, their business and a true caring of a knowledgeable buyer.. thanks EVERYONE.

Tekate, that's so good to know you are so happy with the interactions you have had with some of the vendors and consumer posters here, it's always so helpful for experts and consumers to get a shout out now and then and to know they have truly been of help, thank you for taking the time to do that! I know what you mean about hanging out here can be a bit tempting with wanting to change stones and I am sorry the appraisal made you feel differently about your diamond but if you can perhaps give a bit more detail on your diamond and its appraisal if you would like, we might be able to give you some reassurance. Also, it depends on what you want, some won't settle for anything less than AGS0, some D IF, some size * cough* , it's a case of finding the best fit for the individual. There is of course a definite focus on cut quality here but there is a balance, sometimes a top cut stone isn't needed or desired but as long as the overall proportions work reasonably well together and the buyer knows what they want and are likely to get, there are other cut qualities out there that might work certainly.

But thank you for that very nice and detailed write up, it is very much appreciated!

 

[pyramid]

.

 

[pyramid]

Pleased to see you Lorelei

 

[Tekate]

Lorelei..thank you so much... all posters here have helped me along my way.. truthfully all posters who are learned want the best diamond for the best price.. for us all .. and we are all here because we love diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, jewels! I think anyway..... unique posters, great professionals... I have always felt the 'family' of pricescope.. .. I have learned from everyone.. as many people have said I say welcome back!!.. it seems you are treasured.. that is wonderful.. thank you so much about asking for my numbers - I will get it and look.. I went to this appraiser because she was the only AGS trained appraiser here in Austin Texas.. a lovely woman.. I love my diamond still though, my husband gave it to me after I quit smoking and I will always keep it any old way.. I think it was Mr. Pollard said numbers are like the outline of a body, but you have to see it to know it.. I thought THAT the coolest thing!

thank you again, very kind of you.

added Edit: Excuse me for not mentioning your animal.. I hope it is doing well.. I feel to know and LOVE animals is to know peace.. I do! animals give much more than they take.. (of course wild ones are scary but I would like to think I'm still smart enough to give animals the space they need.. Sincerely hoping your animal mends.


regards,

kate

Hello, I have been here about a year.. in that time I purchased a 1/2 carat baguette style wedding band from B2C and a 1.33 carat K colored AVC from GOG.. B2C asked me if I would fill out a questionnaire for feedback and GOG asked nothing.. the only contact I had I with GOG was first with the Internet person (David) who helped and switched me over to Stephanie.. I believe Jon has mentioned me once as a thank here somewhere (forget).. I wish he would upgrade me to a 2.50 AVC F color.. I would recommend both vendors for their honesty to me. I first saw High Performance Diamonds because Mr. Wink posted a video of a ring he created.. it was the most beautiful ring I ever saw.. yellow OEC 2 carat diamond with a yellow prongs and a gorgeous white gold ring with black on it.. (I am not great at descriptions) it was simply the most beautiful thing.. I wish Mr. Wink would send me one but I do recommend him because one could easily see his quality... I hope to buy from him someday.. I sometimes talk about Victor Canera because his settings for engagement rings are beautiful.. simply beautiful.. I have seen Mr. Canera once on Rocky Talk and if he reads this ... ANYTIME he wants to set my stone in an EVELYN! with flush stems I'm ready to send him my stone.. maybe someday if I hit up the lottery and win... I bought an AVC because of what I read here.. Diamondseeker was very forthcoming in her postings.. I would love an Octavia Asscher because I have never seen something light up a video the way I saw here.. the posters here are passionate and caring.. I sometimes read some of the very knowledgeable ones and I can tell they are being a bit facetious! but it's funny.. on the downside, my engagement ring that I had appraised recently came in as an AVERAGE stone.. so now I don't like it.. although it does shine and has great fire.. but now I want an AGS 000000000 perfect optics MRB that is the downside of hanging out here.. especially what I found from the professionals who do post here is their love of diamonds, their business and a true caring of a knowledgeable buyer.. thanks EVERYONE.

Tekate, that's so good to know you are so happy with the interactions you have had with some of the vendors and consumer posters here, it's always so helpful for experts and consumers to get a shout out now and then and to know they have truly been of help, thank you for taking the time to do that! I know what you mean about hanging out here can be a bit tempting with wanting to change stones and I am sorry the appraisal made you feel differently about your diamond but if you can perhaps give a bit more detail on your diamond and its appraisal if you would like, we might be able to give you some reassurance. Also, it depends on what you want, some won't settle for anything less than AGS0, some D IF, some size * cough* , it's a case of finding the best fit for the individual. There is of course a definite focus on cut quality here but there is a balance, sometimes a top cut stone isn't needed or desired but as long as the overall proportions work reasonably well together and the buyer knows what they want and are likely to get, there are other cut qualities out there that might work certainly.

But thank you for that very nice and detailed write up, it is very much appreciated!

 

[teobdl]

Thank you, Andrey and Ella, for clarifying that PS doesn't get any commissions on sales. I think this information should be made more prominent.

Pyramid--THANK YOU for asking those tough questions. I've had the same questions, and I'm sure we are not the only ones. There are thousands upon thousands of new visitors to this site every month. Of those, only a few new visitors actually post something, and at least a few of those ask an iteration of the question, "is this site for real?" each month. It's a legitimate question, along with the rest that you brought up. It's unfortunate that a few un-PC comments became so inflammatory, but it looks like some good came of it. I'm sufficiently convinced that PS is the independent site that it claims to be--at least in as much as one can be sure, without even further independent verification.

I look forward to more candid debates in future threads because everyone learns when there's civil disagreement.

 

[pyramid]

Hi teobdl

Yes I feel we need to know more than just trust when laying out this kind of money. Especially trusting an internet website.

I think the fact that Pricescope Admin responded re the banning, John Pollard replied and Lorelei herself came in does give me more confidence.

I realise people can leave and do leave but when someone like Lorelei leaves who was here everyday nearly it does make you think ...what happened!

 

[AprilBaby]

Life happens...and people pop in and out. Sometimes people get burnt out answering questions. Some people are single when they start and have a family, PS gets too time consuming. Jobs change. I come on for fun. I rarely answer techie questions. I tend to do more of the hangout stuff. That said, I have four single ACA diamonds , a cool pair of ACA cluster earrings ( thanks PS!), and an ACA eternity band since I joined! Not only am I not paid, it's costing me money!!!! (Thanks WF!)

 

[LLJsmom]

As a newbie myself, I just wanted to add that when I first found this forum, read responses posted by many, it never once occurred to me that anybody here was comped or paid. I could just tell from how passionately people responded that they just 1) loved diamonds, 2) had been a newbie at some point before, 3) hated to see people being ripped off due to lack of education and 4) genuinely wanted to help people. It was never a question to me. Maybe because I feel passionate about my jewelry, and view it through those glasses. Not everyone comes to this board with the same level of emotional investment, so I guess I can see where the question is coming from. But truthfully, we recommend all kinds of things to all kinds of people on a daily basis outside of diamonds. Do you know a good dentist. Where do you get your car fixed. What's the best kind of running shoe. I guess I'm one of those people that want to share what they know and want to help. And I love learning more and enjoy all the gorgeous bling on this website. And yes, like AprilBaby, it's costing me too.

 

[proto]

pricescope obviously do make commissions, or money from diamonds being purchased by their "preferred vendors". There are sponsored vendors and have their own discount code (at least with some vendors). This is not to say that this list is not a good one. I did a lot of searches on the internet before finding pricescope and going through the site properly.

To clarify, I think the admin meant, no posters on PS forum are supposed to be getting commission from their sponsored sites.

Many companies pay people to create posts on forums/facebook etc/write articles/reviews for "soft" marketing and to increase SEO, so its not something PS can tell, although its nice to know the official policy for the forum.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

pricescope obviously do make commissions, or money from diamonds being purchased by their "preferred vendors". There are sponsored vendors and have their own discount code (at least with some vendors). This is not to say that this list is not a good one. I did a lot of searches on the internet before finding pricescope and going through the site properly.

To clarify, I think the admin meant, no posters on PS forum are supposed to be getting commission from their sponsored sites.

Many companies pay people to create posts on forums/facebook etc/write articles/reviews for "soft" marketing and to increase SEO, so its not something PS can tell, although its nice to know the official policy for the forum.

Hi Proto. Absolutely not. Probably we should (I am a very small share holder and Director of PS) because other than pay salaries and new development costs PS is not a big profitable business and we are aware that there are some very large sums of money changing hands from affiliate sites. We have some issues with the ethics of that system. It may be OK if the products are books or other low value purchases. But diamonds are complex and the commissions paid are opaque and involve month end bonuses and all sorts of inducements that can influence the advice that seemingly affable and helpful bloggers are giving for 'free'.

Pricescope exists on listing fees and ad's. We are never told by vendors which diamonds have been sold from PS visitors. We see the clicks, and have a fair idea based on stones removed from data bases. But we get no feedback on any sales other than what you can all see on these forums. I guess the fact that some vendors have offered PS discounts or special offers over the years has led people to feel or believe there is something going on. Its not.

 

[Sunstorm]

Hmm, the last posts have raised more interesting points that I wanted to address; when I first came here a few months ago, I have no idea why only then, it never occurred to me that anyone was here for a commission. I think that sometimes you have to listen to your gut feelings about that and I know some will know scream at me and say never listen to your feelings or your heart when it comes to purchasing diamonds but I have to disagree, we are all subjective to a certain level and this trade is in a large part about trust, once you ruin it you are out, well maybe some will stay but get a bad reputation anyhow.

Me as a trade person when I was looking for wholesale cutters I could purchase my diamonds from went with the company I felt was the most ethical people I could trust (well and quality too of course). These people conversely put enough trust in me to send me stones without payment, a common thing in the trade but I was completely new to them except having met them and spending time with them for three days. I trusted them and they trusted me and we have never abused this trust, in fact I was always positively surprised about my experiences with them. I do not recommend blind buys to most people but even if you are recommended certain vendors, contact them, listen to your feelings about them, of course make educated decisions but there is always a human factor that comes into play. Do your research, have everything in place that is recommended to you on this forum or elsewhere, photos, documents, a good return policy, etc. but ultimately deal with those that you have personally contacted and gotten good service from. Deal with those that make you happy. Others can make recommendations for quality and service but ultimately you have to decide.

I think that every forum has opportunities for vendors to advertise if they pay a fee and this is not a bad thing at all after all this forum has to make money somewhere to survive too and I hope we all want it to. Posters will not necessarily recommend you only those that paid a fee to advertise, it is just easier to find them on the forum. It is clear that these vendors are sponsoring the forum for one reason or another and honestly I would not mind doing that either because this is a forum I believe in and this thread has proven that it is full of good people who care about and respect each other.

Tekate, enjoy your ring please. Where I live as far as I know no other trade person sells or has access to ideal cut diamonds and I really did not know the difference for a long time. I have diamonds that are not ideal cut, some antique jewelry and some simply good cuts but nothing like an ideal. In fact for a long time I was saying well, this must be a fashion thing in the US because I even remember when I lived there Hearts on Fire came out and I do not know of any stores in Hungary or Austria that are selling ideals so I was thinking it is mainly a hype about these super modern cuts as of course they always had their critiques too. Well, turns out that after I visited Antwerp and met my supplier my opinion has completely changed. Cut really does make all the difference. I have looked at stones, even small stones and they spoke to me, it was like wow, my heart skipped a beat and I was thinking everything else looked dead compared to them so now I want nothing less than a superb cut. That said this only means what I would buy and make for myself now, it does not mean that I will throw away my heirloom jewelry, some of which may not contain superb diamonds but mean something to me for another reason. I still love them. I have a J/K and now I would buy E/F/G but I still love my J/K. I think we all learn along the way. Also, there may be things you do not agree with the others one. I for one have loved certain I1 stones and most would advise you to never buy an I1. Well, I used to be very stringent about clarity and I still am when I am grading it but I have seen some I1s that were beauties despite the clarity grade that sounds bad. You learn and make your own choices. Now if I had to choose instead of high clarity I want a superb cut but it is easier for us trade people to make these decisions and that is where it comes down to who you deal with, ethical professionals are there for you to work with and also guide you along the way.

Now Lorelei, what happened? I am writing novels too all of a sudden, it must be your influence, please girls let me know when you have a thread up in Hangout or I will go sneeking.)

 

[Lorelei]

Sorry OVi, I was just having a little late morning Marmite,

Voila!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/welcome-back-lorelei.201965/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/welcome-back-lorelei.201965/[/URL]

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks for the welcome Garry, I missed you! I hope one day we can meet up and if I ever get to Oz, although certain tabloids have most definitely made a huge monster out of your venomous biteys, I will try not to let that put me off. Mind you, if I ever did encounter one if I was Down Under, I think English PSers would be hearing me scream....I have a huge fat spider in my office right now with big meaty legs and he is worrying me, but I am trying to pretend he isn't there....

 

[Andelain]

Life happens...and people pop in and out.

I've done that a couple times myself. People here were kind enough to be concerned about me, even though I'm not a prominent poster here.

 

[MollyMalone]

Re: newbie [

pricescope obviously do make commissions, or money from diamonds being purchased by their "preferred vendors". There are sponsored vendors and have their own discount code (at least with some vendors).

Not sure how your mind flipped "featured sponsors" on its head to "sponsored vendors", but that mistaken inversion is probably why you're having trouble letting go of your beliefs that (a) those vendors are paying a commission on diamond sales to PriceScope & (b) offering a discount to those customers who identify themselves as PS members is evidence that commissions on sales are being paid to PS.

Have you looked at the Featured Sponsors page by any chance?
https://www.pricescope.com/featured-sponsors
Brian Gavin Diamonds isn't there, and yet, BGD offers a PS discount. Moreover, BGD is recommended on RockyTalk much more frequently than, say, Adiamor.

 

[Lorelei]

''Mr.Pollard said numbers are like the outline of a body, but you have to see it to know it''

Kate, John has always come up with the perfect analogy for any situation, it is one of his very many talents! To use an analogy in a similar vein and the photo below as a perfect example , a certain set of physical proportions, hair and eye colour is not necessarily going to guarantee you this....

 

[Lorelei]

Pleased to see you Lorelei

PYRRIE!!!!!

I am very pleased to see you my old friend, how are you? I hope things are good up your way, I am looking forward to interacting with you again, I missed you! xoxoxo

 

[Sunstorm]

ROFL, Lorelei that guy really is your boyfriend? I am not surprised that you have missed him so much as to come back ...

 

[proto]

Re: newbie [

pricescope obviously do make commissions, or money from diamonds being purchased by their "preferred vendors". There are sponsored vendors and have their own discount code (at least with some vendors).

Not sure how your mind flipped "featured sponsors" on its head to "sponsored vendors", but that mistaken inversion is probably why you're having trouble letting go of your beliefs that (a) those vendors are paying a commission on diamond sales to PriceScope & (b) offering a discount to those customers who identify themselves as PS members is evidence that commissions on sales are being paid to PS.

Have you looked at the Featured Sponsors page by any chance?
https://www.pricescope.com/featured-sponsors
Brian Gavin Diamonds isn't there, and yet, BGD offers a PS discount. Moreover, BGD is recommended on RockyTalk much more frequently than, say, Adiamor.

What is the difference between a featured sponsor, and a sponsored vendor. when the sponsor is a vendor?

Just because Brian Gavin is not a featured sponsor, does not mean he is not a sponsor who may be featured at a later point in time when they wish to become a featured sponsor.

"Sponsorship is a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property.

While the sponsoree (property being sponsored) may be nonprofit (pricescope is not, and does not hold itself out as such), sponsorship is done with the expectation of a commercial return."

If there is no commission paid on sales, why does the pricescope discount exist? These things exist to track sales and usually to calculate commission on sales. The only other reason for it would be for the vendors to track (independently of pricescope), how many sales pricescope is creating, and determine how many ads they want to run on pricescope, and how much they would pay. I would say there is still a direct monetary benefit to pricescope from this form of tracking. Whether you decide not to call this a "commission" is another matter.

I was merely asking a question about forum posters on pricescope forum, not pricescope itself.

 

[Lorelei]

Re: newbie [

pricescope obviously do make commissions, or money from diamonds being purchased by their "preferred vendors". There are sponsored vendors and have their own discount code (at least with some vendors).

Not sure how your mind flipped "featured sponsors" on its head to "sponsored vendors", but that mistaken inversion is probably why you're having trouble letting go of your beliefs that (a) those vendors are paying a commission on diamond sales to PriceScope & (b) offering a discount to those customers who identify themselves as PS members is evidence that commissions on sales are being paid to PS.

Have you looked at the Featured Sponsors page by any chance?
https://www.pricescope.com/featured-sponsors
Brian Gavin Diamonds isn't there, and yet, BGD offers a PS discount. Moreover, BGD is recommended on RockyTalk much more frequently than, say, Adiamor.

I just want to say a few words to add to those of Garry and Molly, hi Molly!

People are always going to make their own minds up and that is of course, their prerogative. I am as most of you are aware, one of the real old timers of PS now, I have almost 40k posts to my name produced over almost 10 years, with a few years break in between. I can only reiterate, there is no hidden agenda from admin both present and past, Pricescope operates as it does, very successfully I might add, entirely as they say it does. Those of us here that stick around to help or return here to participate, do so because we love it, it truly is that simple. We are a group of people with a common passion and we love to pay it forward and help others. Never underestimate the joy and satisfaction someone can get from being of service. It's really no different from those that do volunteer work just because they want to, I believe the motives of the community are exactly the same.

Also, for me, getting back into posting on RT, I as I used to, will work from the whole range of vendors and my selections of what might be suitable diamonds for a poster depend on what they are looking for and if a top cut quality or branded cut is desired, it just happens that vendors such as Brian Gavin, GOG, WF, HPD and so on have all the info on their in house or branded diamonds at the fingertips. Now, I am in the process of reorienting myself so I am working hard to get up to speed on the vendors old and new, what info they all offer etc, that will take a little time. But from when I was posting regularly, I used to go through the all the listings to find diamonds that might match each poster's needs as closely as possible, and such stones could have come from anywhere from the available diamonds in house or otherwise.

For me, the rewards of helping here are immense. Here's why. You see a new post from a complete stranger that has saved up for ages to buy a nice rock for their love. They know that just going into a jewellery store, picking a ring and handing over their money isn't the way they want to proceed but they have no way of knowing how to move forward, but they have found us. They start to read and either don't have the time or inclination to process the vast amounts of information available in order to reach their goal, that's where we come in. We get to know the posters, their wants, needs, desires and budget, then we can help them to find the ring of their dreams. We go through the vendors listings and the main databases to find some potential selections for them, they then decide whether to pursue any of the options or go in another direction altogether, but the main thing is they are now informed consumers and have a much better chance of ending up with a ring they will love and can be proud of than if they had never found Pricescope and its helpful community. Those of us that help can end up being part of someone's story, a small part of some of the happiest times in their life...engagements, anniversaries, birthdays and so on. When they come back so happy with photos of their new ring, earrings, pendants - the list goes on.... and they are so grateful, that's pretty wonderful. Yes, it's really that simple and THAT'S the reward and a very nice one. The welcome back I have received has meant the absolute world to me, I am so touched by how the community has reached out and drawn me right back into the fold, that truly is special. But that's the Pricescope way. Contributing here is really no different to many voluntary activities, as I mentioned in a previous post, you will find enthusiasts all over the net ably contributing their knowledge with cars, watches, boats, stamps, books, antiques....everything under the sun in fact, just because they love it, the only payment they want is a thank you and seeing the joy of the person they helped.


I am proud of Pricescope, I always was and always will be. I knew right from my early days I had found somewhere very special and I am glad to be back and supporting the great community and website of Pricescope again. I am proud to be part of it and to be of service once more. I hope that goes some way towards clearing up any misconceptions concerning my absence or how Pricescope does business.