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»  » Dirt Cheap Diamonds, Dave Atlas, Martin Fuller (LONG)
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| Pages: 1 of 2: [1] 2 > |
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Dirt Cheap Diamonds, Dave Atlas, Martin Fuller (LONG) |
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| P: 1/4/2005 11:34:23 PM | |
princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
So, finally, here's my little (read: long!) story of our purchase from Dirt Cheap Diamonds. My fiancee and I had been looking for my princess cut engagement ring for some months, and wherever we looked, we always got back to DCD. Their prices were unbeatable, and the reviews always positive. We (I) had settled on one stone, but by the time I got in touch with Josh, it had already been sold. So he suggested 2 other alternatives. One was in their Signature Series, and another was at the vendor's. Since we are located in Toronto, we wanted to have the stone shipped to Martin Fuller for examination, since he had been very helpful in my e-mail enquiries, as well as having an impeccable reputation! But since I couldn't make up my mind about the two different stones, Josh discussed it with Jim (the owner)and they said it would be hard to have 2 stones sent to an appraiser without me being there. So they had the one stone sent in to their office so they could run a sarin and take some pictures for me and compare the two visually. I talked extensively with both Josh and Jim (hassled them is probably more like it..  ), and after looking at the pictures and numbers on both stones, I asked for Jim's opinion. He told me they were BOTH beautiful, and even though one was $1000 more he said he couldn't really see a difference in the brilliance and fire, but the more expensive one was bigger (1.16 as compared to 1 ct), and also a little cleaner SI1 ..I also thought the ideal scope image looked better, plus the colour was a G instead of an H.I had actually written a post here on Pricescope about my princess ideal scope image, and was so nervous when I read the replies...Many suggested it would be a total "dud" because there was more leakage on one side than the other. Some suggested it was because the pavillion has an excessive bulge on one side, which would make the stone have a dull patch on one quadrant. I frantically wrote to Dave Atlas (the BEST source of information out there for consumers buying fancy shapes!..  )He told me to wait till I saw the stone, since a pattern like the one on my ideal scope picture could actually ADD to the scintillation (which I definetely think is the case with mine!!). So, I asked Jennifer at the office to make sure the setter would send the ring to a FedEx location in Buffalo so it was there on the 18.th of December, since thay was the only time we could pick it up. But since the jeweller was very efficient, he sent it too early, and it was there already on the 9.th. Since FedEx only hold packages for 5 days I was VERY nervous, but Jennifer called them and made sure they would hold it till we got there. So on the 18.th we made the trip across - except they wouldn't let me in to the US since I have a Norwegian passport (SEE, Barry (from Superbcert) - I am NORWEGIAN, not TEXAN!  ), which is not machine readable...My then boyfriend had to leave me on a Tim Horton's on the Canadian side, while he went to pick it up. After 2 hours he came back and looked to be in a really sour mood...He told me they had returned it back to the sender that very morning! I was sooooo upset I started crying as soon as we came into the car! I was swearing the wonderful people at Dirt Cheap Diamonds up and down (Sorry!!!)...My mother was coming over from Norway for Christmas, and we really wanted to surprise her with the engagement, and now the plans were all falling apart. My boyfriend told me we would have to stop off in Niagara Falls to get something to eat, and see if the light show would be something to take my mother to see. I wasn't really in the mood, but thought it best he didn't drive home without any food... After dinner, we went out to the falls, and he looked at me and said "Should I put you out of your agony?" Then he dropped down on one knee and asked me to marry him!! I was all tears, and full of relief! Now, to the ring! The stone sparkles like CRAZY!!! I went into a jewellery store here in Toronto and pretended to be interested in an upgrade - to compare the stones they had...The girl in the store told me to forget about the upgrade - she had a 1.5ct princess cut, but said it was "only" a good cut, and was not nearly as beautiful as the one I have! She asked all the sales people in the store to come and look at my wonderful, sparkly princess cut! They were all stunned when I said it was a "G" - they all said it looks completely colourless. In another store the sales lady grumpily told me it looked very big for a 1.16 - I told her maybe it was because it has better spread than the commercial cuts, since it is not as deep. Then she told me it must be a bad cut then, because it would be too shallow...well, it's 72.1% - not at all shallow!.. As soon as I got it I took it to Harold Weinstein - known to be a very strict appraiser here in Toronto, and they confirmed the GIA cert, but added that the culet was a tiny bit off center (she said it probably wasn't enough for GIA to remark, that they may not even have seen it - hence the VG symmetry). Other than that, the cert matched perfectly. And when I asked her about the high appraisal amount, she told me she never gives inflated appraisals, and that in the Canadian market, if I paid anything less than the appraised amount I had done well. When I told her that DCD had sent an appraisal with the ring that was $1500 LESS than theirs, she was VERY surprised! She said it's very normal for a vendor to give an inflated appraisal, but that in this case they had been very modest... I see all rainbow colours in this stone - sometimes I look down and there's this amazing deep red coming from the pavillion or the crown, and I am just taken aback! So, all in all - huge thank you's to Josh, Jim and Jennifer at DCD - I know I was a pest, but we were soooo nervous about buying a diamond on the internet, and we totally shouldn't have! Jim - what they say about you is true - you are one of the lastfew HONEST salespeople! Dave Atlas - you were so generous with your time!! Even wrote me back on a Sunday! You're a great asset to consumers out here... Martin Fuller - sorry it wasn't feasible to have the diamonds sent to you for inspection, but many many thanks for being so kind and helpful! And thanks to everyone else here on Pricescope for caring! (Barry, you could probably do with some manners, though!) And here are some pictures of my ring (Phew, finally...eh....): |
| Posted: 1/4/2005 11:34:23 PM | |
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There are 34 replies to this message. There are 30 replies on this page. |
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| P: 1/4/2005 11:42:40 PM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Arghhhhh...can't upload the pictures! Any advice?..
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| Posted: 1/4/2005 11:42:40 PM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 12:09:11 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Her's one! Finally figured it out!...More to come
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 12:09:11 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 12:12:28 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
another...
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 12:12:28 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 12:25:03 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
another...sorry for the bad picture quality - I lost the best ones trying to resize them...
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 12:25:03 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 12:27:58 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
another...
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 12:27:58 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 12:31:47 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
look at the colours through the pavillion! Hopefully they'll come out in the pic...
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 12:31:47 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 12:35:20 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Last one....
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 12:35:20 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 12:39:52 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Ok, couldn't help myself - here's another one. Anyone got any advice on taking pics of diamonds?..
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 12:39:52 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 12:58:43 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
guess I'm the only one who's loving my ring!...Well, I think it's wonderful!..
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 12:58:43 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 1:04:38 AM | |
ForteKitty Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,414 Last Post: 8/6/2009 Member Since: 10/7/2004 |
Date: 1/5/2005 12:58:43 AM Author: princesslover guess I'm the only one who's loving my ring!...Well, I think it's wonderful!.. Nope, you're not the only one.... I think it's GORGEOUS!!  I love princess cuts but almost never see really nice ones. Yours is stunning! Congratulations on your engagement!!
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 1:04:38 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 1:53:15 AM | |
katrina_33 Cut Rock Total Posts: 445 Last Post: 7/30/2008 Member Since: 6/8/2004 |
And it sure does look a lot bigger than a 1.16! It looks really sleek and pretty in that setting. Great ring!
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 1:53:15 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 6:12:21 AM | |
DiamondLover23 Cut Rock Total Posts: 154 Last Post: 12/26/2008 Member Since: 12/12/2002 |
I think it is a lovely ring!
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 6:12:21 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 7:02:05 AM | |
sevens one Ideal Rock Total Posts: 9,537 Last Post: 9/8/2009 Member Since: 4/14/2004 |
Sounds like DCD did another outstanding job. I'm not surprised. Beautiful ring. Your fiance should be slapped for putting you through such agony.  Thanks for sharing. The princess is so lovely.
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 7:02:05 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 8:23:17 AM | |
windowshopper Ideal Rock Total Posts: 2,023 Last Post: 7/25/2006 Member Since: 7/11/2004 |
ITS A BEAUTY! AND A GREAT STORY TO BOOT!
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 8:23:17 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 8:41:59 AM | |
Libster Ideal Rock Total Posts: 998 Last Post: 9/18/2009 Member Since: 10/21/2004 |
Beautiful RING I love the proposal story Niagara Falls is such a beautiful...magical...placeCongratulations and post more pics when you can......the more the better 
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 8:41:59 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 9:07:35 AM | |
HK20 Rough Rock Total Posts: 74 Last Post: 6/11/2005 Member Since: 11/18/2004 |
Congratulations Princesslover!! Your ring is STUNNING and your hubby-to-be was so clever with that proposal!! anna
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 9:07:35 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 10:40:52 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Just wanted to show the light return...again, sorry for the poor picture quality...
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 10:40:52 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 10:44:14 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Date: 1/5/2005 7 Sevens one, 25 AMAuthor: sevens one Sounds like DCD did another outstanding job. I'm not surprised. Beautiful ring. Your fiance should be slapped for putting you through such agony. Thanks for sharing. The princess is so lovely. Thanks! Can't say enough praise about DCD - they stuck with me even though I was a maniac at times!.. It worked out great that they didn't lt me through the border, cause my fiancee wanted to surprise me with the proposal, since the ring was already picked out by me. He's great!...and it was really romantic!
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 10:44:14 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 11:02:08 AM | |
Ivy Cut Rock Total Posts: 244 Last Post: 7/27/2005 Member Since: 5/18/2004 |
I'm loving it! That has to be the prettiest princess I've seen. OK, now... I'd love some stats on that baby and what size is your finger? It does look bigger than a 1.16. You did a fabulous job picking your princess. Wonderful proposal. I'm sure you're glad you were surprised. Congratulations and all the best to the both of you.
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 11:02:08 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 11:14:16 AM | |
belle Ideal Rock Total Posts: 10,287 Last Post: 4/3/2008 Member Since: 11/19/2004 |
 wow!!!!!!
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 11:14:16 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 11:14:53 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
I also wanted to add another thing about my purchase. When I was looking at stones, I got LOTS of great information from here and from Diamond Talk. Probably too much! Josh told me something I have found to be very true - you CANNOT judge just by paper - and people these days almost always do! And I was so freaked out when people told me the ideal scope picture showed that it has big dull spots. I actually asked the appraiser about that, and she said:" Can you see any dull spots in this diamond?". She said "They don't exist!" I am really happe Dave Atlas set me straight, and told me it's not always black and white! I think what he said is true, it's added to the beauty in other ways! It's great to have a stone with lots of white light return, but without the scintillation it also looks dull!... Just a thought for those who are considering buying a diamond unseen...Ask the vendor, if it is a reputable one, like DCD...
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 11:14:53 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 11:24:06 AM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Date: 1/5/2005 11 Thanks! I'm so happy people like it as much as I do!..28 AMAuthor: Ivy I'm loving it! That has to be the prettiest princess I've seen. OK, now... I'd love some stats on that baby and what size is your finger? It does look bigger than a 1.16. You did a fabulous job picking your princess. Wonderful proposal. I'm sure you're glad you were surprised. Congratulations and all the best to the both of you. My finger size is 4.75, and here are some stats: 1.16 5.77 * 5.74 * 4.14 table 69% depth 72.1% girdle: medium - thk. culet: none polish: excellent symmetry: very good Color: G Clarity: SI1 Flourescence: none The OGI report done on it from DCD shows the culet to be off center 1%, but I guess that's why GIA went down from EX to VG on the symmtry(?). It is also completely eye clean! I KNOW where the inclusion is, and I can't for the life of me find it on the diamond!
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 11:24:06 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 11:32:02 AM | |
Kaleigh Ideal Rock Total Posts: 25,920 Last Post: 11/24/2009 Member Since: 11/18/2004 |
Congratulations on your enegagement!! Your princess cut is stunning, so brilliant and sparkly!!
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| Posted: 1/5/2005 11:32:02 AM | |
| P: 1/5/2005 11:32:28 AM | |
canuk-gal Ideal Rock Total Posts: 9,195 Last Post: 11/19/2009 Member Since: 4/19/2004 |
HI: Great story and wonderful ring! Congrats  cheers--Sharon "People who possess great qualities, do not need to show off". |
| Posted: 1/5/2005 11:32:28 AM | |
| P: 1/6/2005 10:24:02 PM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Ok, I know you guys are probably sick of seeing this ring now.....but I just can't HELP myself!! .....
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| Posted: 1/6/2005 10:24:02 PM | |
| P: 1/6/2005 10:25:15 PM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
!
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| Posted: 1/6/2005 10:25:15 PM | |
| P: 1/6/2005 10:27:36 PM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Ok, that's the last - I PROMISE!! I really should get a life...
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| Posted: 1/6/2005 10:27:36 PM | |
| P: 1/6/2005 10:32:39 PM | |
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princesslover Rough Rock Total Posts: 73 Last Post: 4/24/2005 Member Since: 11/29/2004 |
Arggggh.... Somehow my pictures are soooo clear before I resamle them, and then when I attach them here, they turn out all blurry...
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| Posted: 1/6/2005 10:32:39 PM | |
| P: 1/7/2005 9:02:12 AM | |
moremoremore Ideal Rock Total Posts: 6,825 Last Post: 2/9/2009 Member Since: 3/15/2004 |
Congrats!!! It's clear that that is a very well cut stone!!!! Great job!!!!!
______________________________ Stewart says: I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggon'it, people like me. |
| Posted: 1/7/2005 9:02:12 AM | |
| P: 1/7/2005 9:18:01 AM | |
pearcrazy Ideal Rock Total Posts: 1,438 Last Post: 11/27/2008 Member Since: 5/16/2004 |
Very pretty ring! Congratulations!
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| Posted: 1/7/2005 9:18:01 AM | |
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