- Joined
- Jul 12, 2004
- Messages
- 4,034
Many of you know Wink as the owner of High Performance Diamonds which is an authorized dealer of the incredible Crafted by Infinity Diamonds, the most precisely cut diamonds in the world. I know another side of Wink.
10 years ago in 2004 I posted on PS asking about vendors for a tennis bracelet. Wink was one of the vendors who responded. So I thought, why not? I'll give this Wink gentleman a call. We talked ... and talked ... and talked ...
I really liked his easy no pressure manner, so then I decided to order from him.
Until then, I had never bought something that expensive and sight unseen off the Internet (my previous purchases were from the Jewelry Mart in SF). I had to trust him and I am very glad that I did. He delivered MORE than I asked for. Wink created a beautiful handcrafted 6.5” bracelet made of .33s GH/VS2-SI1 diamonds that was 10.5 ctw (but would have been 11.5 ctw if the standard 7” length). They were not sold as H&A but most of the stones exhibited arrows per Wink. It had the appearance of a 3-prong but the safety of a 4-prong mounting, the best of both worlds in my opinion. I have worn that bracelet daily for the past 10 years; it has been in the shower, out camping, and even in the waters of French Polynesia (Tahiti, Bora Bora etc.)
This bracelet was discussed here:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wink-rocks-again-%E2%80%93-check-this-out.18260/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wink-rocks-again-%E2%80%93-check-this-out.18260/[/URL]
My next project with Wink was a Richard Homer recut of a “native cut” sapphire that I had purchased locally. As expected, the stone lost some weight, but the result of a Concave Faceted Cut was well worth it. Wink is so passionate about jewelry. Here is the email that I received after the recut sapphire was returned to him:
> Subject: Oh my good heck!
>
> WOW wowowowowowowwwwww!
> This is honking GORGEOUS!
> I had no idea until I came this morning to work on appraisals etc.
> This thing practically glows in the dark!
>
> Wink
Before and after pictures of this project can be found here:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/an-amazing-sapphire-recut-by-richard-homer.19311/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/an-amazing-sapphire-recut-by-richard-homer.19311/[/URL]
Fast forward to 2014 when I asked Wink about the possibility of making another bracelet, but this time with Fancy Yellow round diamonds. I didn’t realize that I was asking for the “Holy Grail” per Melissa (Wink’s Product Coordinator). “You have no idea how hard it was to source a matching parcel of rounds. I contacted about four or five different sources including two that specialized in fancy yellows; everyone told me that if you were looking for radiants we'd have no problem. I was on the phone daily trying to find them. Everyone was telling me they’d be outrageously expensive (yes, we rejected the first $50K parcel). I swear people were telling me I was looking for the Holy Grail!”
Wink persevered and did not give up.
I received an email 3 weeks later that Paul Slegers and Lieve Peeters (of Crafted by Infinity) had sourced a parcel of .20s FIY round brilliant diamonds - 45 stones, 8.94 ctw. The resulting bracelet is out of this world gorgeous and can be found here:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/19-ctw-of-diamonds-from-wink-including-a-new-fiy-bracelet.204589/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/19-ctw-of-diamonds-from-wink-including-a-new-fiy-bracelet.204589/[/URL]
Even today, I still trust this man implicitly. He asked that I fly to Idaho to view these FIYs or drive to Los Angeles to view them with his stone setter. He wanted me to be absolutely sure I would be 110% happy before I purchased the entire parcel of round FIYs (as is customary when calling in specialized goods that are as rare as these were). Nope, viewing them over the Internet with Wink at the helm was good enough for me because I trust him as a jeweler, a person, and as a friend.
Being that I have a Gemologist Diploma from the GIA, I am very picky about my jewelry, but am extremely happy with the craftsmanship and customer service that I have received from Wink. He is an extraordinary person, a consummate gentleman, and I greatly value his knowledge, honesty, and integrity. I am so fortunate to have found Wink via Pricescope in 2004. I am also forever grateful to Paul Slegers and Lieve Peeters for sourcing these beautiful Fancy Intense Yellow (FIY) round brilliant diamonds.
Thank you Wink from the bottom of my heart.
10 years ago in 2004 I posted on PS asking about vendors for a tennis bracelet. Wink was one of the vendors who responded. So I thought, why not? I'll give this Wink gentleman a call. We talked ... and talked ... and talked ...
I really liked his easy no pressure manner, so then I decided to order from him.
Until then, I had never bought something that expensive and sight unseen off the Internet (my previous purchases were from the Jewelry Mart in SF). I had to trust him and I am very glad that I did. He delivered MORE than I asked for. Wink created a beautiful handcrafted 6.5” bracelet made of .33s GH/VS2-SI1 diamonds that was 10.5 ctw (but would have been 11.5 ctw if the standard 7” length). They were not sold as H&A but most of the stones exhibited arrows per Wink. It had the appearance of a 3-prong but the safety of a 4-prong mounting, the best of both worlds in my opinion. I have worn that bracelet daily for the past 10 years; it has been in the shower, out camping, and even in the waters of French Polynesia (Tahiti, Bora Bora etc.)
This bracelet was discussed here:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wink-rocks-again-%E2%80%93-check-this-out.18260/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wink-rocks-again-%E2%80%93-check-this-out.18260/[/URL]
My next project with Wink was a Richard Homer recut of a “native cut” sapphire that I had purchased locally. As expected, the stone lost some weight, but the result of a Concave Faceted Cut was well worth it. Wink is so passionate about jewelry. Here is the email that I received after the recut sapphire was returned to him:
> Subject: Oh my good heck!
>
> WOW wowowowowowowwwwww!
> This is honking GORGEOUS!
> I had no idea until I came this morning to work on appraisals etc.
> This thing practically glows in the dark!
>
> Wink
Before and after pictures of this project can be found here:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/an-amazing-sapphire-recut-by-richard-homer.19311/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/an-amazing-sapphire-recut-by-richard-homer.19311/[/URL]
Fast forward to 2014 when I asked Wink about the possibility of making another bracelet, but this time with Fancy Yellow round diamonds. I didn’t realize that I was asking for the “Holy Grail” per Melissa (Wink’s Product Coordinator). “You have no idea how hard it was to source a matching parcel of rounds. I contacted about four or five different sources including two that specialized in fancy yellows; everyone told me that if you were looking for radiants we'd have no problem. I was on the phone daily trying to find them. Everyone was telling me they’d be outrageously expensive (yes, we rejected the first $50K parcel). I swear people were telling me I was looking for the Holy Grail!”
Wink persevered and did not give up.
I received an email 3 weeks later that Paul Slegers and Lieve Peeters (of Crafted by Infinity) had sourced a parcel of .20s FIY round brilliant diamonds - 45 stones, 8.94 ctw. The resulting bracelet is out of this world gorgeous and can be found here:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/19-ctw-of-diamonds-from-wink-including-a-new-fiy-bracelet.204589/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/19-ctw-of-diamonds-from-wink-including-a-new-fiy-bracelet.204589/[/URL]
Even today, I still trust this man implicitly. He asked that I fly to Idaho to view these FIYs or drive to Los Angeles to view them with his stone setter. He wanted me to be absolutely sure I would be 110% happy before I purchased the entire parcel of round FIYs (as is customary when calling in specialized goods that are as rare as these were). Nope, viewing them over the Internet with Wink at the helm was good enough for me because I trust him as a jeweler, a person, and as a friend.
Being that I have a Gemologist Diploma from the GIA, I am very picky about my jewelry, but am extremely happy with the craftsmanship and customer service that I have received from Wink. He is an extraordinary person, a consummate gentleman, and I greatly value his knowledge, honesty, and integrity. I am so fortunate to have found Wink via Pricescope in 2004. I am also forever grateful to Paul Slegers and Lieve Peeters for sourcing these beautiful Fancy Intense Yellow (FIY) round brilliant diamonds.
Thank you Wink from the bottom of my heart.
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