non-DeBeers diamonds with info?

[chialea]

I just wanted to thank you upfront for being so helpful to me to begin with. Now I have a slightly different question to ask:

I know I''m interested in a ~.75ct diamond, in round or princess cut (depends on the setting), with colour F-H and clarity at least VS2 (in case we decide to go tension-set, which seems unlikely, since they seem to big for my tiny hands). The carat weight is quite negotiable, I can afford "whatever I want", it''s just a question of it looking too big or getting in my way. (This is just another way of saying "nothing I want is out of my budget, but I don''t see any reason to throw a huge amount of money at the problem".)

Now, I have three concerns:
1. DeBeers pisses me off. I would prefer not to throw money in their direction.
2. We''d like to find someone to put together a ring without too much shipping hassle (since we''re grad students, getting shipments is a pain).
3. I''m concerned about some of the jewelers in Pittsburgh. I''ll be in SF for the summer, though, and we can always go to Toronto in the fall to visit friends.

#1 seems to leave me with canadian, gemesis, and estate. I''m unlikely to find a suitable art-deco platinum ring that my SO likes, so that seems out.

We also haven''t found candian stones online with much info (and the place that has some has *cough* overly modern settings for my taste).

If it helps, we seem pretty agreed on a platinum setting like either Vatche''s "Royal Pave X-Prong" with a round brilliant, or a platinum setting (with the thinnest band we can get) with either two trills and a princess or two pears and a round brilliant.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Are the usual suspects able to find good Canadian stones upon request?

 

[Nicrez]

For Canadian stores, do a search on this site, this has actually been discussed a lot. I know Martin at USACerted (who is a vendor here) actually is based out of Canada, thought I am not sure where...

Also, do you want round or princess. To me the SETTING depends on the stone, and not vice versa. Each stone has it's own unique look. A round stone has the optimal sparkle factor, whereas a princess has a certain "look". It's shaped and can have smaller surface area than the round stone, at the same carat weight.

So, deciding you want a round or princess, then figure out color and clarity levels you are comfortable with. My suggestion is that if you are students (execpt if you are trust fund babies), I suggest getting a stone that's .75 carat or so. Color could be G-I, and VS1-SI1 (if it is eye clean). If you don't want "size" and money is not object, you can always go up in color, and keep the clarity at VS1 or VS2. That way you have the slight benefit of a whiter stone. Honestly, seeing an H next to a D there IS a difference, but for the cost, it truly wasn't worth all that. It's more a bragging right or for the truly anal or color obsessed (like moi)...

So, go into some stores here or in Canada. See round and princess. See different colors and clarities and determine your thresholds first. THEN go online and check prices in your carat range and specifications. THEN, start shopping around for a stone.

Don't enter a store to buy until you have a handle on what you are looking for and how much it retails for, or you may end up coming back here with a stone you paid too much for...

 

[niceice]

We carry Canadian Diamonds sourced through Rio Tinto which operates the Diavik Mine in the Northwest Territory in Canada, but they are not distinctly marked in our inventory because let's face it, we have two many columns describing our on-line inventory as it is

But we can source a Canadian diamond for you if you let us know what your parameters are... We are also an authorized representative for D. Vatche. We know that a few other vendors here on PS carry D. Vatche, but we don't know who else has access to the Diavik production so we're not making any suggestions along those lines - those of you who know us know that we usually would, so hopefully Leonid will forgive us taking the plunge and offering to source a Canadian diamond for you outright on the forum... However you should contact us directly if you wish us to do so and not expand your parameters here.

Shipping... It would probably be easier and far more secure to send the package for Station Hold at your local Fed Ex station so that you could pick it up at your convenience. The station would hold the package for up to three days.