dazzlerazzle
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2016
- Messages
- 130
This is a delayed post because we actually got the stone in the mail almost 2 weeks ago, the day before I had surgery. Now that I'm fairly recovered, I finally feel up to creating a thread!
Timeline:
12/28/16: We submitted the work order form available via the Good Old Gold website for a custom-cut diamond. Our desired specs: 2.0-2.25 ct, I/J, VS
2/3/17: After deliberating for a few days, we pulled the trigger on a rough that had been found in our spec range. Although I had very much wanted to hold out for rough that displayed SBF, we were told that the wait could take many more months and that we should perhaps switch tracks to a simple re-cut if I really wanted to be that particular. So we opted to go ahead with the rough, which really was perfect for us outside of the lack of SBF. At this time, we were told the cutting process would take about a month.
3/28/17: Heard spec estimates from Jon that he had gotten from the cutters. At this point, the stone was mostly cut, but still had the upper and lower half facets to be done. Jon amazingly conveyed this information to us even while on vacation.
5/3/17: Stone reached Jon, and he created a video, ran a Sarin for measurements, and took some preliminary ASET's for us before overnighting to AGS.
5/9/17: Jon got the AGS specs and conveyed them to us.
5/10/17: Stone arrived back to Jon. He created a webpage with all the pertinent information and images, we went through the final steps of "purchasing" the stone, and he overnighted it to us.
As you can see from the timeline, our expectations for how long the process would take were not managed very well from the beginning. We wish we had been told: It's variable and dependent on the cutters, and could take up to 3 months - had that been our expectation from the start, we definitely wouldn't have pestered Jon so much! As it was, when 4 weeks came and went, we were disappointed. From there, it took a while for me to realize that Jon has very little control over how long the process takes and was just as much waiting on news as we were. Once I realized that, it was easier to just sit back and wait. From submitting the work order to certed diamond in hand was 19 weeks.
As for HOW the process went - it was amazing. Jon's customer service, as always, was above and beyond. He replied to questions promptly and fully, even when away from work or on vacation. It's obvious that he loves what he does and truly cares about his customers! We felt that we were in good hands throughout every step of the process.
Now, for the stone herself!
As the heading says, she came to 2.02 I VS1, and we couldn't be happier. I was particularly worried about the faceting and almost had a heart attack when the macro video Jon sent us had the facets under the table looking "chopped off," but Jon talked me down from the ledge, explaining that was just the effect of the macro photography. And once he got her back from AGS, he took a "normal" video of the stone (and her H twin) that showed that the faceting actually couldn't be any more perfect!
My boyfriend doesn't want me to see the stone in person until he proposes with the finished ring, but he did send me videos and photos he took through the 10x loupe Jon so thoughtfully included in the package. I'll include those here.
Jon's video and images:
Standard, quick video:
Long, slow motion video:
Here is a close up that I've edited by bumping up the brightness and contrast:
And here are some unedited pics:
As for setting, the stone is with Steven Kirsch right now - I finally decided on his Destiny 2 design with G/H single cut 1.5mm melee for a total band width of 1.85/1.9mm.
He's really amazing - the day we found out the stone's stats, I called his office up after business hours intending to leave a voicemail - but he answered, and when I mentioned that I was having a hard time deciding between u-cut pave and bright-set and between single-cut and full-cut melee, he immediately offered to send me a bunch of bands of various widths and pave/melee types. So I woke up from my surgery to a package of 4 bands to obsess over all weekend! Coincidentally, the 2mm bright set band with no milgrain was actually my size and... I may have fallen in love with it and worn it the entire weekend - oops!
I plan to create another post in RT another time to show all the louped images I took of the different pave and melee. Interestingly, the single cut band seemed noticeably brighter to me than the full cut one of the same band width, and I preferred the look of the shiny walls as opposed to the milgrained walls I thought I liked. I'm so grateful I was able to compare all of the options in real life before deciding on design elements of the ring!
Timeline:
12/28/16: We submitted the work order form available via the Good Old Gold website for a custom-cut diamond. Our desired specs: 2.0-2.25 ct, I/J, VS
2/3/17: After deliberating for a few days, we pulled the trigger on a rough that had been found in our spec range. Although I had very much wanted to hold out for rough that displayed SBF, we were told that the wait could take many more months and that we should perhaps switch tracks to a simple re-cut if I really wanted to be that particular. So we opted to go ahead with the rough, which really was perfect for us outside of the lack of SBF. At this time, we were told the cutting process would take about a month.
3/28/17: Heard spec estimates from Jon that he had gotten from the cutters. At this point, the stone was mostly cut, but still had the upper and lower half facets to be done. Jon amazingly conveyed this information to us even while on vacation.
5/3/17: Stone reached Jon, and he created a video, ran a Sarin for measurements, and took some preliminary ASET's for us before overnighting to AGS.
5/9/17: Jon got the AGS specs and conveyed them to us.
5/10/17: Stone arrived back to Jon. He created a webpage with all the pertinent information and images, we went through the final steps of "purchasing" the stone, and he overnighted it to us.
As you can see from the timeline, our expectations for how long the process would take were not managed very well from the beginning. We wish we had been told: It's variable and dependent on the cutters, and could take up to 3 months - had that been our expectation from the start, we definitely wouldn't have pestered Jon so much! As it was, when 4 weeks came and went, we were disappointed. From there, it took a while for me to realize that Jon has very little control over how long the process takes and was just as much waiting on news as we were. Once I realized that, it was easier to just sit back and wait. From submitting the work order to certed diamond in hand was 19 weeks.
As for HOW the process went - it was amazing. Jon's customer service, as always, was above and beyond. He replied to questions promptly and fully, even when away from work or on vacation. It's obvious that he loves what he does and truly cares about his customers! We felt that we were in good hands throughout every step of the process.
Now, for the stone herself!
As the heading says, she came to 2.02 I VS1, and we couldn't be happier. I was particularly worried about the faceting and almost had a heart attack when the macro video Jon sent us had the facets under the table looking "chopped off," but Jon talked me down from the ledge, explaining that was just the effect of the macro photography. And once he got her back from AGS, he took a "normal" video of the stone (and her H twin) that showed that the faceting actually couldn't be any more perfect!
My boyfriend doesn't want me to see the stone in person until he proposes with the finished ring, but he did send me videos and photos he took through the 10x loupe Jon so thoughtfully included in the package. I'll include those here.
Jon's video and images:
Standard, quick video:
Long, slow motion video:
Here is a close up that I've edited by bumping up the brightness and contrast:
And here are some unedited pics:
As for setting, the stone is with Steven Kirsch right now - I finally decided on his Destiny 2 design with G/H single cut 1.5mm melee for a total band width of 1.85/1.9mm.
He's really amazing - the day we found out the stone's stats, I called his office up after business hours intending to leave a voicemail - but he answered, and when I mentioned that I was having a hard time deciding between u-cut pave and bright-set and between single-cut and full-cut melee, he immediately offered to send me a bunch of bands of various widths and pave/melee types. So I woke up from my surgery to a package of 4 bands to obsess over all weekend! Coincidentally, the 2mm bright set band with no milgrain was actually my size and... I may have fallen in love with it and worn it the entire weekend - oops!
I plan to create another post in RT another time to show all the louped images I took of the different pave and melee. Interestingly, the single cut band seemed noticeably brighter to me than the full cut one of the same band width, and I preferred the look of the shiny walls as opposed to the milgrained walls I thought I liked. I'm so grateful I was able to compare all of the options in real life before deciding on design elements of the ring!
Beautiful stone!..
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