Are you guys still buying from WF?

[Phoenix]

Not to be confrontational or making trouble of any kind, I swear!!

Ever since I saw the thread that Brian started and then *nothing* , no update for several days or shall I say several weeks now (unless I am wrong, in which case can someone pls correct me), I've been wondering. Coupled to that is the fact that WF has not reduced any of their prices, at least on not the ACAs and ES (not sure on their other lines - not personally interested), whilst the whole world is going to be pieces (oh ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, BUT I *will* tell you this, BN has definitely dropped their prices and JA *may* have too at least on some of their pieces). Then you read so many articles, both on the news and on this very forum abt people trying to dump their diamonds and that there's an oversuply of diamonds (meaning there are more sellers than there are buyers) around the world.

There's also a question mark about the exactness or standards to which ACA's have been known for. Sure, the cook is gone and the recipe is still with WF, but as a pretty good cook myself(

), the success of a dish is so predominantly reliant on the cook, not so much on the recipe. Sure, you can pass recipes down from one person to the next, or even from one generation to the next, but talent - *that* is irreplaceable, IMHO.

So is anyone of you still buying from WF and on what are you basing your comfort? Previously, it seemed to me (rightly or wrongly) that incoming PSers came on to PS and kind of relied on previous PSers' experience and advice to go buy from WF. There was/ is the lifetime upgrade policy and there were Brian and Lesley who were top management at WF. Who's ultimately responsible or genuinely interested in looking ours - the consumers' - interests

now?

With all these taken into consideration, I could be totally wrong here (and again this is not mean to be a slurr on WF, just sone Q's from a genuinely interested customer), is any of you continuing to buy / upgrade with WF and on what are you basing your comfort (especially given the fact that WF is charging a premium, which is even more noticeable now, now that prices are continuing their decline elsewhere)? I wouldn't even know who to go to should things not go according to plan? I feel that sometimes talking to the Sales Reps does not get you very far (again, no disrespect here, but if I am about to drop a bunch of my hard-earned moohlahds, I'd like to know where the buck stops, so to speak).

Just interested in what you guys are thinking or rather doing?

 

[AmberGretchen]

Well, I''ve never dealt personally with Brian or Lesley, but have had really good experiences with Bob and Vera, the two main people I have dealt with. I still think that the stones are beautiful (i.e. the ACAs in my new ring, which I realize were probably cut to Brian''s specs, but WF retains those specs). And as long as I continue to get honest, excellent customer service and a superior, reliable product, I see no reason to change, unless, as sometimes happens, Whiteflash doesn''t have the exact item I am looking for and is unable to reproduce it at a cost that seems reasonable to me.

 

[geckodani]

If finances allow I will keep buying from WF, based solely on the level of customer service I received. They've been nothing but helpful in several of my jewelry searches - including the custom projects that I didn't end up pursuing. (I've never spoken with Brian or Lesley either - all my communication has been through Jamie, Vera and recently Debi).

That said... pricewise - I may have to go elsewhere. But this does not mean that I will not continue to work with WF, finances willing!

I've also seen evidence that they are working to make sure that they are meeting the needs of their consumers. I wouldn't be surprised to see changes coming.

ETA: Scratch the part about going elsewhere due to price. If I want something from WF - I'll wait until I can afford it!

If I find something I love elsewhere - well then great, LOL.

 

[Lord Summerisle]

There is still Debi Wexler who started Whiteflash alongside Brian - she is still there, and still commited to the same values as before. the Cutters in Antwerp are still the same, cutting to the same standards.

So i wouldnt worry there.


I suspect the reason we havent heard from Lesley or Brian as yet on Pricescope, i remember when John Pollard parted ways with WF a year or so ago he made mention so as to not cause confusion he would step away from the forum for a period of time and would perminantly retire his username ''JohnQnoix'' On his return had a new user name. The same may be true of Brian and Lesley - they need to have a period of rest from the forum, and also register with new user accounts. they will also be busy in setting up their new venture, what ever that is.

Last time is spoke to Lesley she said they had enjoy a very relaxing christmas period catching up with family.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Well, personally, my DH have been discussing making a large diamond purchase...and I had, at the time, begun looking around WF...then, Brian started his thread about leaving WF and I just got a "weird" feeling about the whole thing...

I know WF is one of the mainstream jewelers used on this site and well respected, however I considered it unprofessional that they opted to air their business laundry for us all to see. So no, I will not be making my purchase thru WF based on that. It's not personal, obviously, just made me feel weird and I moved my search along to other vendors. It had nothing to do with their prices (which are moderate IMO)...it's more along the lines of business.

 

[neatfreak]

Yes, and I have no problem with it. Brian and Lesley are a married couple that appears to simply be taking a different course with their careers. Nothing weird or shady about that IMO. If I see something different or changing in the future, I will reevaluate, but there is no reason to freak out now.

And FWIW they are restocking their ACA diamonds very soon, so maybe we will see a price drop there...

 

[Steel]

I am not in the market right now for aything

.

Buuut, even if I was I would not like to be ''the first'' to buy after the reshuffle. I know many folks have bought from WF since this kicked off, so construe my ''first'' very broadly. I am certainly keeping my eyes and ears open. I noticed a difference in WF in the last 2 years and hope that things are on the rise up once again.

 

[Sizzle]

Date: 1/13/2009 12:40:23 PM
Author: neatfreak
Yes, and I have no problem with it. Brian and Lesley are a married couple that appears to simply be taking a different course with their careers. Nothing weird or shady about that IMO. If I see something different or changing in the future, I will reevaluate, but there is no reason to freak out now.

And FWIW they are restocking their ACA diamonds very soon, so maybe we will see a price drop there...

I did NOT put two and two together! I had NO IDEA Brian and Lesley were married!!!!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 1/13/2009 2:26:40 PM
Author: Sizzle

Date: 1/13/2009 12:40:23 PM

Author: neatfreak

Yes, and I have no problem with it. Brian and Lesley are a married couple that appears to simply be taking a different course with their careers. Nothing weird or shady about that IMO. If I see something different or changing in the future, I will reevaluate, but there is no reason to freak out now.


And FWIW they are restocking their ACA diamonds very soon, so maybe we will see a price drop there...

I did NOT put two and two together! I had NO IDEA Brian and Lesley were married!!!!

Yup. Not that it''s really our business but it makes it seem much less odd that they both are leaving at the same time IMO.

 

[strmrdr]

Interesting question.

I am not more nor less willing to buy from WF than I was in Nov. of last year.
I think as with any major change there are going to be some missteps along the way as the business evolves into the post-Brian period.
But overall I think Debi is capable of keeping WF around and the getting the right people and the right procedures in place to deliver quality products and services in the long term.

As far as telling people here the damage would have been severe if they hadn''t been open about it.
They handled it the only way they could.

I think I will actually miss Lesley even more than Brian there as she was a tremendous resource on the rare occasions there was a problem and worked very hard to make WF what it is today.
That level of dedication is harder to replace than a diamond expert.
Someone will have to step up with that level of dedication and authority to keep WF what it was and finding the right person and putting them in the right position is hard.

 

[Efe]

Date: 1/13/2009 4:14:05 PM
Author: strmrdr
Interesting question.

I am not more nor less willing to buy from WF than I was in Nov. of last year.
I think as with any major change there are going to be some missteps along the way as the business evolves into the post-Brian period.
But overall I think Debi is capable of keeping WF around and the getting the right people and the right procedures in place to deliver quality products and services in the long term.

As far as telling people here the damage would have been severe if they hadn''t been open about it.
They handled it the only way they could.

I think I will actually miss Lesley even more than Brian there as she was a tremendous resource on the rare occasions there was a problem and worked very hard to make WF what it is today.
That level of dedication is harder to replace than a diamond expert.
Someone will have to step up with that level of dedication and authority to keep WF what it was and finding the right person and putting them in the right position is hard.

Amen to this!

 

[bee*]

If I had the money and was in the market for something, I would still buy from them. I''ve seen so many beautiful items that they''ve sold that I''d definitely buy something.

 

[Bliss]

Sorry to hear you had issues with them. I''ve been corresponding with Sheerah and she is THE PRINCESS OF POWER, just like She-Ra the cartoon!

Sheerah! The Princess of Power!!!!! LOL.

She''s been SO fantastic, I''m hooked on WF for life now!

 

[Bliss]

ETA:

Call Sheerah! She''s The Princess of Power!

Sheerah is so fast, so courteous and answered like 100 questions.

A joy to work with! I don''t call her The Princess of Power for nothin''!

 

[MonkeyPie]

LOL She-Ra. Omg, I have to work with this woman now.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I''ve considered upgrading my pendant, and if I do so, I''ll for sure work with WF again. Other than that, I''m pretty much set on diamonds and if I decided to buy another other stones, my focus would be an OEC or an antique ring.

 

[Maisie]

I felt some concern when it was announced that Brian was leaving. Then I realised that the upgrade policy doesn''t matter so much to me because I will never change my diamond. Then I felt a bit better!

I would still buy from Whiteflash. I still need a wedding band to go with my ering. I wonder when I will ever get round to sorting that out! I don''t think they will change that much as a company. As someone already pointed out, the specs for the ACA diamonds will remain the same and the cutters will continue to use those specs.

As for the pricing, I don''t know. I haven''t been looking for a new diamond so I wouldn''t know how the prices are comparing at the minute.

I think my main worry is that Whiteflash will disappear completely. That would be awful considering they are my favourite vendor. They have put up with a lot from me yet would still work with me. They must be saints!

 

[EricaR]

I will be buying my wedding band from them sometime in the next month or so and I''ll do it without hesitation. Not all change is bad, and I will be eagerly awaiting what Brian and Lesley are doing now.

 

[iheartscience]

Hahaha, Bliss, I love Sheerah too! I would still buy from WF if they were competitive for what I was looking for.

I do think they''re a bit expensive on certain things, though. But I''m excited to see the new site and to see what they added. Honestly, so far I''m not super impressed with all the weird illusion set halo type rings they added, so I''m hoping they''ll add more stuff that I actually like!

 

[Sizzle]

Date: 1/13/2009 3:36:04 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 1/13/2009 2:26:40 PM
Author: Sizzle

Date: 1/13/2009 12:40:23 PM

Author: neatfreak

Yes, and I have no problem with it. Brian and Lesley are a married couple that appears to simply be taking a different course with their careers. Nothing weird or shady about that IMO. If I see something different or changing in the future, I will reevaluate, but there is no reason to freak out now.


And FWIW they are restocking their ACA diamonds very soon, so maybe we will see a price drop there...

I did NOT put two and two together! I had NO IDEA Brian and Lesley were married!!!!

Yup. Not that it''s really our business but it makes it seem much less odd that they both are leaving at the same time IMO.

Actually that does make a big difference to me! I thought maybe WF was going to be another "sinking ship" and the two most popular got out while they could! The married thing makes more sense. Lesley was wondeful to me and I will keep up with their blog to keep abreast of what''s going on when considering diamond purchases in the DISTANT (I''m trying to cut spending on bling) future. Someday I want a big ole ACA round from WHOEVER''s cuttin!

 

[honey22]

I read in another thread that Brian is starting his own business? Try a google search for brianthecutter.com

 

[Kaleigh]

I wish WF all the best.

 

[luckystar112]

I don''t own anything from WF, and I''m not sure I ever will. Granted, I live in TX (about 25 miles from their office, actually) so it would mean a huge 8.25% tax on anything I buy. And since I consider their prices to be a tad high compared to other pricescope vendors, it just isn''t worth it to me in the end, no matter how pretty the piece.
However, I would be more than willing to receive a WF gift of any kind.

 

[sparkles]

Hi Lien,


I feel that because we both live in the same city and I visited WF that I would make some comments.

I do understand you may be concerned about the time lapse coupled with the current WF reshuffle that things may not be going well.

Lien, Debi has expressed her continued commitment to both WF and its clients here on pricescope. I have had the chance to meet Debi and found her to be a smart, strong lady with high integrity and a innate business sense. It was essentially Debi who sold me the 5+ct stone.

I would imagine that when Debi co-founded WF with Brian, it made sense to have him highly visible because of his technical expertise. I would imagine that this same business sense would make her aware of the void left by Brian and she wouldn’t be resting on her laurels to address this.

I think that everything in relation to suppliers and the ACA line remains status quo with WF. Realistically Brian wasn’t the only one at the helm and the cutters, suppliers etc would know this.

With references to prices. I don’t think I would be taking one vendors price drop as an indication to where diamond prices are headed. We can speculate that BN or whoever have got themselves into a situation of being overstocked and had to move goods quickly. We really need to look at the current diamond benchmark to get an idea of prices.

I have bought ACA’s and other non-branded diamonds from WF. I appreciate that the selection criteria for TRUE ACA’s result in them falling out of the sky even less than non branded diamonds. I find WF prices have always been moderate. I also feel that I am probably paying less for an ACA than say a Lazare or a Gabrielle cut with an added bonus of an upgrade. I hate the B&M’s sales pitch and have appreciated the level of service WF has given me.

Lien, you are buying big stones. As far as I can see here in Asia – there ain’t no fire sales yet. People are weathering the storm across the board and have not taken to the possibility we may have problems for an extended period of time. Most of the people who are considering selling large stones know their value and will most likely hold onto them rather than sell them at a bargain. You may be lucky to find jewelers around town selling on behalf of their clients. But I don’t think you are going to find an ACA equivalent for a bargain and it won’t be upgradeable to boot.

Lien, I feel that Debi is a very approachable person and you could always give her a call directly.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 1/14/2009 3:14:13 AM
Author: sparkles

Lien, I feel that Debi is a very approachable person and you could always give her a call directly.

I have to agree with this. I have been working with Traci at WF on my PS gift over the past few weeks. I also just had twin boys. Traci told Debi about their birth and Debi sent me a personal email congratulations. I thought that was very sweet considering I am sure she is a busy woman and is someone that I had never met nor had any interaction with personally.

 

[Phoenix]

Thanks, everyone, for your input and comments.

I have to say I agree with Storm (as I usually do - you''re a wise dude

). Passion, dedication and integrity are much more important than everything else. That, IMHO, is what makes a person or a business. I have tremendous respect for Lesley and Brian and wish them success in their future endeavour.

Thanks also to everyone else, particularly Sparkles (still LOVE that monstrous 5 carater, btw) for taking the time to write your detailed response. I feel that you especially know where I am coming from since we live in the same country.

It''s great to also know that Debi is taking care of things in WF. I wish them luck also.