Update & Review - we bought from Nice Ice!

[coastcat]

Hello all! You may remember this thread, where I asked you all if I should buy a .50 ct D, IF RB from Blue Nile:

Thoughts on this .50 ct IF sig Blue Nile??
Fortunately, you all talked me out of that stone... eventually I asked Sandy to marry me and she said yes! I gave her a temporary silver ring with amber stone and we proceeded to pick out the engagement ring and stone together. I am going to try to attach some pix of the diamond next to Sandy''s size 2.75 finger.

The stone is a .952 ct D color VS2 RB, AGS 0 w/ ideal sym and polish from Nice Ice. According to cert, table=57.3, depth=61, crown=34.3, pavilion=40.9. HCA of 1.5, ex-ex-vg-vg. Todd''s Sarin Diamension analysis shows slightly different measurements -- table=57.4, depth=60.8, crown=34.3, pavilion=40.8, culet-0.4... typing those numbers in HCA yields ex-ex-ex-vg. Regardless, we love it! Click below for more info.

Complete info on this diamond from Nice Ice
Sandy and I met personally with Todd Gray from Nice Ice in Seattle. Todd was great... he showed us four stones and we learned a lot about the history of the stones (thanks to Paul at Infinity wherever you are!) and the industry in general. We shared some good stories and played with the stones in a number of different lighting conditions. Todd''s approach is low-pressure, friendly and we are now thrilled with our purchase. In general, a great experience that Sandy and I will always treasure. THANK YOU TODD!

Also, Sandy and I picked out a platinum setting from Kara Lebo at EE Robbins on first avenue in downtown Seattle - thanks Kara! The setting keeps the stone fairly low and has three accent stones in E-F color on each side, totaling 10 pts. Per the admin on this site, we are not allowed to mention this specific setting vendor (we kept getting error messages when trying to post). We''ll take a pic of the ring after we get it back.

Finally, THANK YOU to all the pricesope forum participants who helped us along the way!
Ben & Sandy

 

[coastcat]

Here is another picture of the diamond... -Ben & Sandy

 

[Ellen]

Congrats! Looks like you picked a stunner, can''t wait to see the ring!

 

[ImpatientOne]

Gorgeous stone!!! I''m glad you listened to the folks here - I''m sure you fiance is glad to you did, too!!! Can''t wait to see pics of the finished product on her tiny finger

 

[strmrdr]

congrates!

 

[Skippy123]

Gorgeous stone, it is so firey! Love those shots!!!

Congrats!

 

[slmulkey]

Congrats, that''s great news. Looks great, and can''t wait to see the hand shots. Are you serious about a 2.75 finger size? That''s smaller than my pinky and I have average size hands. Your fiance must be tiny!

 

[akmiss]

First of all, Congrats on your engagement! That stunner of a stone is going to look HUGE on a 2.75 finger

I am glad to hear that you had a positive buying experience. I have never purchased from Nice Ice but I really want to purchase a setting from them. You are right, Todd is great! And how wonderful that he was able to meet you in Seattle.

 

[coastcat]

Yup, 2.75... she''s 5'' and her small hands are her greatest asset as a dentist!

All of the diamonds that Todd brought to Seattle to show us had amazing fire and life (especially when the day was clear & sunny - a rarity in the Seattle). The pix above were actually taken after Todd left and the day had become mostly cloudy... and the stone still had some decent fire. We can''t wait to get the setting back and get the diamond placed... Sandy has a great camera and we''ll take some cool shots.

Cheers and thanks all.

-Ben & Sandy

 

[Lorelei]

GORGEOUS stone, and it sounds like you had an excellent experience!! Todd is a great guy, so I am not surprised!

 

[niceice]

Congratulations Ben & Sandy, I had a wonderful time getting to know you and playing with diamonds Saturday! We compared four Infinity diamonds, all AGS graded, all center range zero ideal cut, 0.87 D, VS-2; 0.95 D, VS-2; a 1.034 carat, E, VS-1; and a 1.11 carat, D, VS-1; all of the diamonds face-up practically identical in terms of brilliance, dispersion and scintillation and there is a very slight difference in size. The thing that surprised me is that Sandy was able to barely discern the difference between the D/E options which I thought was very cool because so many people would have trouble making that distinction in normal lighting circumstances! The diamonds were placed in no particular order, side-by-side on a sorting tray, I placed them on the tray without any reference as to what the characteristics were because I wanted Ben & Sandy to consider the diamonds based on how they looked to them and not by the paper characteristics since we had the opportunity to meet face to face. In the end, it was decided that all of the diamonds were beautiful and "any one would do" but Ben is a very smart man, he said "Honey I want you to pick whichever one you want" and after all of the diamonds were placed on her hand, Sandy picked the 0.95 carat, D, VS-2.

P.S. now that we''ve seen the diamond and while we''re waiting for pictures of the ring, what we really want to see is a picture of "Boo Boo" their adorable Pug Puppy! I really enjoyed watching him study the diamonds! I think he thought they were a new kind of snack food! He kept running around trying to remind us that "this appointment is ''really'' all about me!"

 

[Deelight]

Sounds like you had a fantastic time and the stone looks amazing and I am sure once set will look even more so on your FI finger

Congrats on picking a beautiful stone together .

I would also like to see the little pug any pics?

 

[browniedds]

Hi everyone! I was just going to let Ben do this but I figure I should at least post Boo''s picture for you all. Thank you so much for all your help. Ben is definitely the research type when he does anything so it''s great that he found this wonderful site that helped him along in the process. I think I benefited the most out of it.

Ben and I really enjoyed the process of picking out the diamond and going together to look at ring setting. If anyone is thinking about proposing without the actual ring I say do it. At least, Ben can never be blamed for me not liking the ring. Haha

And a big thanks to Todd from Nice Ice, he made the process simple and stressed free. I can''t help looking at the diamond. Hehe

Here''s Boo for you all. He can be quite a rascal but yet look so darn sweet and innocent...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Aww, adorable puppy!!!

Sandy and Ben, this is one of those really happy endings! We are always a little alarmed when someone posts a .5 D IF!!!!! We know that they can get a much larger diamond that looks JUST AS GOOD!!!! My hat is off to you, Ben, for really researching and listening and then choosing to see some top quality stones from a great vendor!

Congratulations to both of you and we''ll look forward to seeing the ring!!! (Just a word of advice. When you post it, mention again that you aren''t allowed to post the setting vendor. This happened to me in the past and people kept asking in my thread.)

 

[niceice]

The Pug "Boo" is an absolute riot! The top of the coffee table is just out of his reach, so the first thing he did was stand up and grab hold of the diamond cloth and try to tug it off the table... When I moved that, he went straight for the tweezers and he tried to tug those off the table! But both were just a little more than he could grab hold of and run off with, it was very cute!

 

[Kaleigh]

Congrats on your engagement, that stone is just stunning. Your pug is adorable!! Thanks for the review, it will be helpful to many!!

 

[Babyblue033]

I just have to say, it looks like Boo is picking his own nose in that picture!

Congrats on your new stone, it looks gorgeous. I can''t wait to see it in the setting!

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Congratulations!

Diamonds AND Family Pets...a winning combination.

I also let my clients bring their dogs into the office..after all, they''re family, too.

Well done, Todd.

Jeff Averbook,GG
Graduate Gemologist/Appraiser

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[Fly Girl]

Beautiful diamond and a great story! Congratulations, Ben and Sandy! Looking forward to ring pics!

 

[iheartscience]

What a great ending! The diamond looks absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations Ben and Sandy! And Sandy, I am beyond jealous of your 2.75 fingers for two reasons:

1. The diamond will look HUGE!
2. My dentist has big dumb meaty hands and I always leave his office with the insides of my cheeks sore from him trying to jam his fingers in my mouth! (Just had an appointment a few hours ago so I''m still bitter!) I would totally go to you if you weren''t so far away!

I can''t wait to see the finished ring!

 

[Gypsy]

WOW. That is one knock out diamond. Serously. It''s rocks like your that make me want a round. CONGRATS on a great experience through and through, on your engagement, and on your ring purchase!

 

[Deelight]

Awww your puppy is just too cute I love squished little animal faces

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Hi Ben and Sandy,

Congratulations and thank you for your purchase.

Just looked up the antics of this stone, and thought that you might be interested.

The stone is out of a big parcel, that we bought to complement our stock. Generally, we avoid the rough parcels with the highest colours, since our main demand is inGHI-colour. So, all in all, a D-colour is quite rare in our production.

The weight of the rough stone was exactly 3.00 Carats. At the time of purchase, we were hoping to finish the stone as a 1.00 E-VVS, however, it turned out this stunning 0.95 D-VS2. We hope that you will enjoy it.

Live long,