1.73 Clean Origin solitaire upgrade (pic heavy) with vendor review

[Runningmama]

Specs:
1.73 ideal cut Ex/Ex/Ex
I/SI1 and completely eye clean
HCA score 1.2

I was so ambivalent about this diamond. Should I go bigger? Do I need more mind clean than SI1? Why is it so blue in the sunlight when it has no fluorescence? Should it sparkle more for being ideal cut? Then I did a little research and silenced myself. I got a great deal at $3200 for the diamond and $850 for the platinum setting. I realized there is always going to be a better looking, bigger, cleaner diamond out there so unless I want to pay for D/IF I need to accept and love my diamond as it is. It definitely eased my mind to research and realize well cut diamonds reflect the colors around them and that direct bright sunlight is not the best for ideal cut diamonds to show off under. It’s definitely a fireball and I wish I could capture it with my phone but it just does zero justice. I feel like this diamond faces up
really white for an “I” color and occasionally I see it’s moody warmer side in certain lighting. I thought I was very color sensitive but turns out I’m not.

I had the best experience with Clean Origin. Their customer service was stellar. Live chats with their team, super responsive to email (always same day, often same hour). They sometimes called me after I emailed to clarify things out loud. I cannot praise them enough. Just a phenomenal experience. My couple of critiques: their website needs an overhaul. You’d never know they have more than just eternity bands without asking. They lump their wedding bands in with their “bridal set” category of engagement rings and you have to scroll to the bottom to even see that the wedding band is available separately as well as the pricing for it. They also don’t have many “real life” photos of their rings. They don’t take photos of their pieces before shipping to customers unless the customer requests. That is super frustrating for customers who want an idea of what a piece looks like beyond the competent-generated version. They also don’t list the width of most rings/bands. I originally purchased the knife-edge setting until I inquired and learnt it’s like 4-5mm wide! Their items are hand set so there isn’t much that is customizable. Definitely a lot of room for growth but I was truly impressed with their level of customer service. I hope they develop an upgrade program down the line. They are working on something and that would definitely keep me going back. I also love their 100 day easy return policy. Overall I’m thrilled and loving my diamond more every day.

 

[Runningmama]

 

[muesli]

Congratulations! It's really pretty! Looks very nice on your finger.
Thank you for your review, it's always good to know before taking the plunge .

 

[OoohShiny]

Thanks very much for the great review!

I'm pleased that you are happy with the stone - that is always the aim of PS

It looks really good - they are always impossible to photograph well so we understand your difficulties in trying to show how good it is

As you say, there is always bigger and better out there, so one has to draw a line somewhere... lol (My bank balance does that for me... )


I'm pleased that we have a good review on an MMD vendor, thank you for taking the plunge in that respect - it sounds like they are good and have a lot more potential that could be realised, so perhaps you could/should send them your thoughts directly, if you haven't already done so?

 

[kgizo]

Beautiful solitaire and bands!! And, thanks for the detailed review.

 

[Matthewgolf34]

Great stone and great review. Thanks for the comprehensive analysis.

You also got in right before the CO price increase! Their stones are now 15-25% more expensively surprisingly enough. I really wanted to work w/them. But now the spread between BE and CO is too high to justify choosing CO now. Props to you.

 

[Runningmama]

This diamond is going back. Despite ideal proportions it looks really steep/deep in natural light and has a brown hue in many types of lighting and a milky appearance in sunlight. Despite the photo appearance the diamond isn’t dirty. It’s really just that dull and lifeless, which is so unfortunate. Hopefully the next one will be a winner. I attached some photos, let me know if I’m being too picky.


/

 

[OoohShiny]

That is a shame, I'm sorry to hear that!

While it is true that well-cut diamonds do go dark in sunlight, the brown tint does look apparent in some of the pictures and it is, of course, not to everyone's taste.

You may need to look at higher colour and clarity stones to see if it resolves the issues, but that may mean losing some size! (Or perhaps it will just be a case of waiting for a little while, if prices do come down as they are predicted to )

Have faith, we'll get there in the end and you'll have something lovely!

 

[Runningmama]

That is a shame, I'm sorry to hear that!

While it is true that well-cut diamonds do go dark in sunlight, the brown tint does look apparent in some of the pictures and it is, of course, not to everyone's taste.

You may need to look at higher colour and clarity stones to see if it resolves the issues, but that may mean losing some size! (Or perhaps it will just be a case of waiting for a little while, if prices do come down as they are predicted to )

Have faith, we'll get there in the end and you'll have something lovely!

Thanks lovey! Honestly, do you think I’m being picky? Would this bother you? Definitely going higher clarity and cut and extending the budget to $8k.

 

[OoohShiny]

Thanks lovey! Honestly, do you think I’m being picky? Would this bother you? Definitely going higher clarity and cut and extending the budget to $8k.

Some people like warm brown tint, others don't. If it bothers you now, it won't stop bothering you, I would say!

There are plenty more fish in the sea, as they say so don't hesitate to return it if it's not calling to you and mesmerising you - it's a lot of money so you should get exactly what you want!

@Matthewgolf34's price tracking is really interesting IMO - it would be useful to know if there are monthly peaks and troughs in pricing, or if there's an ongoing technique that the different companies use. If we can identify something like that, you might be able to snatch a bargain!

 

[Runningmama]

Some people like warm brown tint, others don't. If it bothers you now, it won't stop bothering you, I would say!

There are plenty more fish in the sea, as they say so don't hesitate to return it if it's not calling to you and mesmerising you - it's a lot of money so you should get exactly what you want!

@Matthewgolf34's price tracking is really interesting IMO - it would be useful to know if there are monthly peaks and troughs in pricing, or if there's an ongoing technique that the different companies use. If we can identify something like that, you might be able to snatch a bargain!

You’re definitely helping me feel less guilty! Their customer service was so great that it was definitely not easy to email to return. Even if it was an amazing performer, DSS has seriously set in. Not good for two weeks out. I feel like it looks like a good carat, but it’s also definitely deep appearing.

 

[OoohShiny]

You’re definitely helping me feel less guilty! Their customer service was so great that it was definitely not easy to email to return. Even if it was an amazing performer, DSS has seriously set in. Not good for two weeks out. I feel like it looks like a good carat, but it’s also definitely deep appearing.

I am British so never like to make a fuss but sometimes we gotta bite the bullet and make a nuisance of ourselves, especially when so much money is involved!

 

[xxxxxx]

@Runningmama I would be worried that these features are very lab grown specific (the brown tint, the cloudyness (or was that noted under the inclusions?)). So I'm excited to see your next purchase and I hope you will be happy with it!