Post by StarSpun » October 20th, 2006, 8:05 am
Hello everyone!

I''m new here *waves*
Been lurking for a few days....learning everything I could, but that doesn''t mean I still can''t be confusedImage

I''ve been researching hour upon hour. Last night, I dreamed all night about DIAMONDS and rings....what a nightmare! HaHa!
Bryan and I have been planning on getting married for quite some time, and recently decided to do it much earliar than planned.
This means, we need to find the perfect diamond/ring that can hopefully be available in the next 2 months or so, since our date is this coming April! Image

After much research and thought, we want to go with a Canadian diamond, for more reasons than one. I''ve been emailing every Canadian Diamond seller I can find, trying to find my perfect stone.
If anyone has more ideas of where I can order, that would be great!

I''m looking for:
-Canadian Diamond, preferably with an AGS cert as well
-0.60 to 0.80ct or so, and the more on the larger end, the better. (but under 0.90ct)
-Color D, Clarity F or IF if no external blemishes
-table between 58 -62%
-depth between 59 - 62%
-A thin girdle but thick enough to do the tension setting method

Those are the basics. I have a few questions....

I''ve been reading about the different cuts, and there are so many! Can someone explain this to me? I don''t think I understand which is suppossed to be the ''best'' if there even IS such a thing....
Ideal, Hearts and Arrows, Hearts on Fire, Eighternity, Antwarp cut/perfect cut etc? Which is the best, or your favorite?
If you can post a picture with your answer, even better!


Another question is about the tension setting. I''ve attached the file of the setting I want....
I''ve heard from one jeweller in Antwarp that despite what people say, this is a dangerous thing to do, and it''s a very high chance the stone will be lost. He also said that jewellers will only say it''s safe because they want to be able to sell you a second diamond. But as far as I can tell, doesn''t a company like Steven Kretchmer accept diamonds from elsewhere, so that would not be a motive?

Also, with this design, I''d be interested in getting two small (TINY) stones put on either end on the outside. Does anyone have experience with Steven Kretchmer in doing something custom work like this? Would also be interested in getting something engraved on the ring as well....any experiences with that on a tension ring?

Then there is the debate with titanium vs. platinum for this kind of setting. I know titanium is supposed to be lighter....is it stronger? Do they both have a different finish? (Is one shinier?) Does one last longer?

And one last question. Concerning a wedding band for this type of setting, I''ll have to get it custom! Does anyone know of a place that will do this?

Thanks so much for reading....and thanks in advance. Any help would be soooo appreciated....we''re falling short of time!


~cAt*
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