It's all beautiful and fun and my wallet hates me, haha. Can't wait to see what yours look like.
I haven't read all 17 pages but based on my experience I second the comments about middling workmanship and lackluster cut of at least the OEC stones.
I've ordered one thing from Tianyu and it also resulted in overall disappointment. I'm considering placing another order though, because the price was unbeatable for custom. If I do I'll stay simple with a prong-set solitaire. I won't include any challenging features like: milgrain, sharp angles/symmetry, dainty or thin elements, anything that requires a high level of precision and fidelity to design.
That's not Tianyu's fault, and we should all be aware that we're not going to get [popular vendor's] level of craftsmanship at those rock bottom prices.
Price
I was quoted ~$365 for a 14k rose gold size 4 bezel-set ring with a 7.5mm GH OEC moissanite. Shipping via DHL express was another $38 or so. I paid via alibaba's paypal integration.
Communication
A mixed bag. Ella's speed to reply was amazingly quick, and I was communicating via gmail not wechat. However, I also felt rushed to provide approval at each critical step where I asked to pause and confirm details or correct/make changes.
Just one example: I was shown CADs, and being unfamiliar with the custom order process I asked whether the bezel could be made thinner per the inspiration. Ella replied promptly with basically- CADs and the finished ring will look different, but not to worry things will look exactly right once produced. (spoilers: things did not). I should've gone with my gut and pushed further to get what I knew I wanted, lesson learned.
Material Quality
No complaints here. The ring itself is nice and hefty, as I stated was my preference. I couldn't detect any color in the GH moissanite
Craftsmanship
I'm just going to do a rundown of the things that I took issue with.
The setting
The stone
- Milgrain is bigger and clumsier than I asked for. It looks fine from the distance most people view another person's ring, but I like to really get up close and examine all the details.
- Stone started rattling in the bezel the day I received the ring. It's still secure but not tightly secured.
- There are a few tiny crater-like indentations on the shank that I assume was due to a not highly quality-controlled casting process (air in the metal?)
- My biggest gripe is the dead spot in the table facet. Viewed straight-on in LED lighting which is what's in my house and my office, the center seems to suck all the light in and not reflect any of it back. I sent several photos and video clips demonstrating this. Ella insisted that it was not a manufacturing defect and "just the angle". I took this to mean that it's their standard stock OEC cut, so potential buyers beware.
- The faceting pattern overall didn't wow me either. 7.5mm is big enough to be able to pick out the petals in an OEC and Tianyu's weren't very distinct or crisp. Instead of thinking "ooh, how pretty" (which is what attracted me to OECs in the first place) my reaction was more like, "eh, it's white and sparklyish."
- The cut is nice and precise! All the meets that I could see on the crown were spot-on. I don't know whether Tianyu is using machines or humans to cut these but they did a great job.
In the end I was offered two options. Ship the ring back and switch the stone out, or a 15% partial refund on the stone itself which would've amounted to ~$17. After sitting on it for a couple of days, I decided to keep the ring and not take either concession. I got desensitized to the dead spot and overall it was a nice enough everyday piece for an unmarried woman in her late 20s. I also didn't want to come off as "nickle and diming" them in case I wanted to do another project in the future.
Hope this helps one of you decide whether or not to engage with Tianyu, and if you do how to navigate the ordering process to arrive at a happy result
Pics
Dead spot
A particularly bad shot of the light-sucking black hole
The clearest, most flattering pic I could take. You can see that the faceting pattern is... indistinct, for lack of a better word.
@Lucky_Rabbit for the whole ring, including the stone
It is somewhat ambitious, but based off the feedback here, bezels and milgrain are not their strength, so I made sure to avoid both.
I haven't really seen a halo yet so it will be interesting to see how this comes out. Two things that I wanted to point out but these are personal preferences. I like my rings to have a thickness at 1.8 mm. This seems to be a standard thickness for a sturdy ring but it is all about personal preference. The other thing is the halo airline. It drives me crazy when I can see a gap and I made this mistake on my first halo, which was a round in a cushion halo. I don't like my center stones to lay flush with the halo. I can see the gaps in the corners and they would always fill with dirt. I prefer the halo to almost be tucked under and very tight so you don't see that airline. This is about personal preference but I always like the idea of the setting being built around the stone rather than the other way around. If you have an opinion on this, I would bring it to their attention so there are no assumptions.Anyone better at reading CADs have any suggestions on this befor I approve the pics?
Here is the inspiration:
Here is the CAD
Based off my last experience, I told them no milgrain
and selected a design without any bezels. It looks close to me but I’d love another set of eyes on it before I approve
I haven't seen one in person. I don't know if my ACC being an actual antique from the late 1800's would be a fair comparison to an AVC. Though mine is extremely well cut for being an antique, it is not a precision cut like the new ones. But I love it. I don't wear big stones enough to justify buying another large diamond and am happy with mine. Probably never upgrade either. I can have fun with a few fashion pieces though. My next big diamond purchase will probably be a single cut band from Victor to go with my ACC halo.
Thanks for all the helpful feedback. I just sent them the notes. I feel bad making so many changes, but I'd feel worse if the ring was finished and didn't turn out well.
I'll post revised CADs when they come.
Yes there is!Oh Redwood66, there's something so incredibly romantic about the fact that your diamond is from the 1800s.
I made an inquiry- I was told all their hearts and arrows rounds should have visible arrows but the difference on this was the fat griddle. I didn’t end up ordering it and got a loose hearts and arrows round. I have to say, the most recent loose stone they sent me had some very nice arrows that were easy to spot even in their gem mailer.
New CAD is here already. I think this looks good? Pic is bigger if you click on it.
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