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#JOTW Salute to the Craftsman Who Made My Diamond Necklace

FancyDiamond

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I was not planning to do a review or show & tell thread, because it takes a lot of work to prepare. I skipped my other purchases before. This time, however, I feel obligated to do one, because the craftsman who made my diamond necklace really did a superb job. My necklace reflects his talents, skills, and passion. It will be a shame not to share this beauty on Pricescope. Make sure you pay special attention to the details of the necklace, especially the dbty’s. The necklace is platinum, and there are not many skilled craftsmen who can work on platinum and produce such fine quality product.

A little background – Years ago, Bob from Whiteflash showed me a photo of a lady wearing her gorgeous, long dbty necklace of 36-inch length with sparkling 16x0.16ct dbty melees (2-inch diamond spacing). The image stuck to my mind ever since. However, the daintiness of my short dbty necklace (one with pear pendant) makes me wonder about the “thin” chain. Besides, the price of 16 diamond (F color, VS clarity) ACA stations can be prohibitively high. Thus, I had given up the idea of the long necklace for a long, long time.

One day while I was organizing my old (pre-PS) jewelry, I found two 18-inch, platinum necklaces (my wedding gifts) sitting around unloved and neglected. The chains have the thickness that I prefer. I thought they could be used to make a long necklace. To match the thick chains (also thick bars), I would need larger diamonds than 16-pt. I found a 0.385ct (AGS ideal) diamond from PS’s Pre-loved Section. Then, I proceeded seeking out to Whiteflash for this necklace project.

At first, I had planned to have nine stations with 2.5-inch spacing (minimal number of diamonds for cost savings purpose). Then, I found a 0.35ct GIA ExExEx diamond from Blue Nile, and remembered a 0.62ct diamond that my mother gave me for my wedding. Although the 0.62ct diamond is poorly cut, it does hold special meaning to me. By placing it in the center would make my necklace special and can forever remind me about my mother. At the end, I increased the number to thirteen total, so as to make the necklace less scattered and maintain a diamond spacing closer to 2 inches.

I placed the order late last year. At the time, Whiteflash’s inventory was very limited due to the holiday buy. Originally, I wanted to get I or J color diamonds to keep cost to a minimum. The lack of available diamonds in the 30-some-pt range forced me to settle on colors ranging from G to I. At the same time, I had to consider non-ACA diamonds. Still, I ended up with all AGS ideal zero ACA and ES diamonds. Vera told me that Leon was very confused when he saw my list of diamonds being all over the place.

Although Leon and Vera did not say anything, I bet they frowned upon the thick metal bars in my chains. I am sure they had doubt about the proportions and the uniformity appearance (e.g., metal bars being too distractive). Even my diamond friend voiced her concern about the metal bars destroying the dainty and elegant look of a dbty necklace. Yet, I was not getting a dbty necklace, I argued. I just wanted a multi-station, diamond necklace. To make matter worse, I asked WF to put three U-bars on the back side of the settings to protect the cutlet. Well, you know the story about what happened after I posted the question on Pricescope.

Anyway, once again, I am pushing the envelope by challenging Whiteflash with a “new” “dbty” necklace that employs diamonds larger than the usual range of 7-pt to 20-pt. Last time, I challenged Whiteflash with my huggies that contained 30-pt+ diamonds (while the largest were 20-pts). Well, my huggies turned out perfect, and I find myself wearing them more often than I expected. This time, Whiteflash rose up to my challenge, AGAIN. I must say, the long necklace is very, very lovely and elegant. I think I’ll be wearing it very often.

Don’t mean to sound like a broken record; I really, really appreciate Whiteflash’s staff for making this long necklace a great reality from a crude idea in my head and my rough drawing/sketch.
 

FancyDiamond

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My original platinum chains. One has rectangular metal bars, and the other has irrregular shaped metal bars.

platinum_necklace_1.jpg

platinum_necklace_2.jpg
 

FancyDiamond

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My diamonds and chains. The three diamonds in the photo are the largest in the necklace. Can you picture disaster from the photos regarding the chains with thick bars being used for dainty looking dbty's?

my_diamonds_and_chains.jpg
 

fiona00004

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Wow!! That came out really amazing! Did you do this remotely or did you meet Whiteflash in person? It is amazing how they used your existing chains.... just WOW. Props to Whiteflash for pushing the envelope!
 

FancyDiamond

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fiona00004|1363038914|3402273 said:
Wow!! That came out really amazing! Did you do this remotely or did you meet Whiteflash in person? It is amazing how they used your existing chains.... just WOW. Props to Whiteflash for pushing the envelope!
yes, remotely. In fact, I have never visited Whiteflash and met any Whiteflash staff all this time. Amazing, isn't it, to be able to do custom work this way?

Now, it is time for my own photos.

img_4054.jpg
 

FancyDiamond

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Closeup photo. Pay attention to the fine details of the wormanship.

img_4050.jpg
 
D

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Your thread came at the perfect time!! I love your necklace! I love the thickness of the chain and the amount of diamonds and that special .62 at the very bottom.

I want to get my SIL a 32-34" dbty for her birthday but was afraid that the length wouldn't work very well with the dainty chain. Your necklace is perfect!
 

FancyDiamond

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I kept the 3-U-bars in the center, 0.6ct diamond, because 1. I want to keep it from flipping, and 2. I want to protect the cutlet as the diamond is too big (faces up like a 0.7ct). Leon specially put the ears at 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock positions, to help prevent flipping.

I wore the necklace Friday night to a dinner party. Indeed, the center diamond never flipped.

img_4063.jpg
 

FancyDiamond

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YT|1363039801|3402294 said:
Your thread came at the perfect time!! I love your necklace! I love the thickness of the chain and the amount of diamonds and that special .62 at the very bottom.

I want to get my SIL a 32-34" dbty for her birthday but was afraid that the length wouldn't work very well with the dainty chain. Your necklace is perfect!

The chain is from my own, and it is definitely much thicker than the chain used for dbty's. Make sure you check out the chain and confirm that it is acceptable to you before committing.

My necklace is 33.25". I have a 2.5-inch extender made with the excess metal bars bars, chains, and clasp. Originally, I specified the necklace to be 35.25" with a slightly longer diamond spacing. Glad that the craftsman made the necklace 33.25" with 2-inch spacing.
Depending on your SIL's frame and preference, you need to determine the best necklace length.
 

MissGotRocks

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It is beautiful but you know we need neck shots to get excellent size perspective!
 

FancyDiamond

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This photo may be a bit silly. I just want to show you how I store my necklace with drinking draws to prevent diamonds and metal from scratching one another. I find it helpful to cut drinking draws into short sections so it is easier to bend, curve, and store. Furthermore, I slit open the entire section, so I need not unhook/untie the necklace to thread the necklace through the straw sections. I simply press open the slit and place the chain inside the straw section.

Got the idea about threading necklace through drinking straw from another PSer. I simply modify method.

img_691.jpg
 

FancyDiamond

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MissGotRocks|1363040498|3402313 said:
It is beautiful but you know we need neck shots to get excellent size perspective!

I normally refrain from posing in public forum. This time, I make an exception, because I want to show appreciation to the craftsman.

long_1.jpg
 

pandabee

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It's beautiful! How wonderful that they were able to work with your existing chains and create a look just for you. The 3 large stones at the bottom look fabulous. Your modeling shot shows that the bars definitely don't distract from your DBTY look!
 

diamondseeker2006

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Oh, my!!!! :o What an amazing necklace!!!! :love: :love: :love: I LOVE it!!! And it is even more amazing because you already had those chains that you could use!!!! Great job as usual, WhiteFlash! :appl:

FD, truly, you have one of my favorite collections on PS! You have lovely classic and timeless pieces. I know you don't like posting here, but those of us who love fine jewelry certainly appreciate having the opportunity to see your new items! I really would like a long necklace, and this has certainly given me some new ideas! (Oh, and you are a genius with your straw protectors! :bigsmile: )
 

Enerchi

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Good HEAVENS!!! Fancy Diamond - that it out of this world amazing!!! What a gorgeous GORGEOUS necklace!! Oh, I just ADORE the chains - so unique and how perfect to repurpose them like that!! The workmanship that WF did to fit a bezel diamond in between the bars--- INCREDIBLE!!!

:appl: :appl: :appl: :appl: :appl: YAY Whiteflash!!!! :appl: :appl: :appl: :appl: :appl:

Gorgeous, it looks AWESOME on you! I really adore your pear DBTY, and this is just another beauty that I shall covet openly!!! ;)) Fantastic!!
 

m-2-b

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It looks amazing on you, FD! Thanks for all the latest pics! BTW, how heavy is it and does it get caught on hair at all?

Didn't you have a diamond studs project in the works, also?
 

imspecializd

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Wow, such a beautiful diamond station necklace!!! I love the size of the stones and the bars really add to it! Love it!
 

ooo~Shiney!

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Oh, Sweet MAMA !!!!!! :love: :love: :love: :love:

I just don't even know what to say right now ......

That DBTY is just sublime ~ (and I also love the picture of you that you posted.
It is so nice to see that beauty being worn, especially against the red dress......
Thank you so much for all the pretty pictures....)
 

charleston1

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I absolutely love it :love: The real life photos are fantastic for seeing the beauty of it and the substance. It really stands out and is stunning. Great job by both you and the craftsman. :appl:
 

derbygal

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Stunning. Love that your idea is now a gorgeous reality.
 

MissGotRocks

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Thank you for the pictures - it is stunning! I just can't believe how well these stones were incorporated into those chains. It is just wonderful and looks superb on you! Thank you very much for sharing!
 

Dancing Fire

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WOW :!: ,beautiful necklace!!... :love: :love: congrats :!:
 

SB621

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Oh the necklace is stunning and certainly makes me think of how I should not be writing off a long DBTY. It is classic and elegant. I love that it is also versatile for day or night. Just gorgeous!

I do hope you continue to post when you can. Your collection is inspiring and I personally would love to see more pictures.
 

bluemoon2

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It's simple gorgeous! :love: :love: :love:
You and your DBTY/COL pendant look amazing together.
The WF workmanship is super!

I am now having hard time to find an ACA in 0.45 range. Soon ACA in 0.30-0.40 will run out too ....
 

stci

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Absolutely fantastic! Congrats for this new baby in your collection! :appl: :love: :appl:
 

FancyDiamond

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Thank you all for your kind words. Hope this thread helps you in case you want to get yourself a long dbty necklace.
 
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