Bay Area Get Together.

[MissGotRocks]

Well, we finally get a picture of Roppongi''s ring!!!! It is a beauty - what size is your center stone?

Looks like you guys had a great time - I just love PS get togethers! Thanks for all the wonderful pictures!

 

[dbgaap]

AWESOME !!

 

[Mara]

and the last two that really came out fab....

stanford is famous for it''s beds of flowers around the property, so of course FLOWER SHOTS!!!!! kristy and snlee were the only takers...so here are the two best shots. stunning! both of them!

 

[Mara]

and snlee''s..yum! that''s all for now....hopefully others will chime in with their hand shots and closeups...i saw lots of cameras out!

 

[roppongi]

My stone looks absolutely dead in that picture....sighhh the price you pay before Pricescope. Trust me, the wheels are already spinning on what my next "project" is. My center is 3.01.

 

[CareBear]

I love these pics Mara! The full hand bling shots are awesome! Yours and Kirsty''s rings look like 5 cts on Luckyhonu''s finger! Anyways,I had so much fun meeting you gals today and trying out all your beautiful bling. Totally made my day! I''m bummed that I missed the shopping part though=( Right after I got back to work my hubby called and said "So is it time for an upgrade?"

 

[Mara]

oh my god roppongi, that is sooo not true. your ring is amazing! i kept seeing it blingety bling all over your finger while we were out walking around.

snlee, fixed it...sorry, you guys with your tiny hands, i can''t even tell them apart...hehee.

it was such a fun time!! the funniest part was when we were staging LH for the hand shot, we were all giggling and laughing and clustered around her at this small outside table, and some dude walked up behind us all and was craning his head trying to check out what was going on. it was SOOO FUNNY.

 

[MissGotRocks]

It looks like a beautiful ring. When you say before PS, does that mean you would have gotten a different stone? Pray tell . . . what is the next project?

An upgrade

?

 

[mrssalvo]

the pics are just wonderful and everyone''s rings look gorgeous

 

[roppongi]

Husband just called and he is in an excellent mood! He and our nine year old son played their first 18 holes together and my son did great. He is eurphoric.

It is a perfect time to plant the seed.

The question to go larger in a solitaire or add a few kickass sidestones will be the next project. I am thinking about doing something with my earrings. They are currently with my jeweler who is trying to figure out what to do with them. The way that I wear my hair and the way that my lobes are you can''t see the freaking things. They are too expensive not to wear and I don''t want to throw more money at earrings that will never be worn.

Absolutely I would have gotten a different stone...hands down I would have wired my money to any one of the vendors on this forum. I am not knocking it, I am very thankful that it is on my finger, I just wish....well....I DIDN''T GO RETAIL. Once you go retail it''s harder to get your money out of the stone.

God, I love this place. Where else can you say you have a sub-par 3 carat stone and not be looked at like a spoiled brat.

 

[MissGotRocks]

How big are your sidestones now? I like their size in relation to your center stone. If you are not happy with the center stone, maybe your jeweler could call in something with your specifications. I understand that we all got picky after PS, but your ring looks beautiful!

 

[belle]

oh
my
gosh......

those hand shots are amazing!

it sounds like you all had an awesome time. yay for ps!

 

[Kaleigh]

Holy mother of god. I am so speechelss right now. Hehe, that almost never happens. Glad ya all had fun.

 

[Art Nouveau]

It was a lot of fun meeting all of you! It is really great to meet 12 ladies who share the same passion that I have about jewelry. It was certainly worth taking the afernoon off. I enjoyed talkiing to everyone and looking at everybody'' s bling in person. I am glad Widget came with her fabulous collection. I am tempted to give Leon Mege a try after seeing kristydarling''s fabulous 3-stone Leon ring. I love the Asschers. If I had discovered Pricescope sooner, I probably would have bought an Asscher instead of a radiant. Mara, the hands shots are awesome. When we were all huffering over the little table while the hand shots were being taken, I am sure the people passing by must have thought we were a bunch of crazy women. I was surprised no security guard came to check on what we were doing. I''m glad those of you who tagged along with me, enjoyed the jewelry store. I hope your ''better halves'' won''t think I am bad influence. We should definitely do this again!

AN

 

[sevens one]

speechless

 

[cpster]

WOW!! All that bling in one place. Luckyhonu sure was lucky today to be able to model all of those gorgeous rings on her tiny hands.

 

[jadeleaves]

ROFL!

I had the handshot of all the rings on LH's fingers on my screen and hubby walked past and did a double take - "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!! Very P.Diddy!"

Bah! What does he know about classy bling

Everyone's rings are beautiful!

 

[sanfranciscoellen]

Ahhhhhhhhh. I feel like I need to roll over and have a cigarette after this afternoon with you ladies.

Where to start? Such a lovely bunch of ladies. My personal highlights:

1. Cymbrie''s mark morrell asscher. I wanted to climb inside it and go to sleep. It was the only jewelry I''ve ever held that I loved the feel of as much as the look....sexy. Jealous.

2. Getting to fondle people''s diamonds without feeling like a freak.

3. Telling the Gawker Man who was looking at LuckyHonu''s Bling Fingers, "Isn''t it amazing how REAL they look?" He left.

4. Widget, and Art Nouveau. Classy ladies with fabulous baubles.

5. The estate jewelry shop. The cushionsandeuropeanscutsandbrioletteearringsandtheminecutpear etc etc etc.

6. In general, meeting the giants. Giant rocks and giant personalities. Giant fun, and GIANT chocolate cake.

On the downside, my $115 babysitting bill hurt. As did my husband''s comment tonight, "I think diamonds are despicable." Sigh.

Kristydarling, Mara, and Rappongi, I am so grateful that you put this together. I can''t wait for the san Francisco version! Can''t promise the shiny sun for the ring shot, can we?

Love to you all!

 

[KristyDarling]

Shameless copying of Wallermama''s highlights format.....

1. Feeling of nerves right before I walked into the restaurant. I felt like I was going on a first date!
2. Relief at perceiving right off the bat that this was a group of kindred souls and I had nothing to be shy or nervous about!
3. The squeals that kept erupting all around the table as we passed around each other''s rings.
4. I didn''t think it would be possible, but everyone''s pieces are 100 times more beautiful IRL.
5. Jewelry is FAR more delicate in person than on-screen.
6. I want to be Art Nouveau. I want to be Widget. Or at least roll around inside their jewelry boxes for a few minutes.
7. Everyone there was super, super sweet and just as giggly and giddy as I was about being in the midst of all that BLING!
8. Art Nouveau is THE go-to person for any estate or antique-style jewelry going forward.
9. I STILL can''t believe Roppongi doesn''t have an ultrasonic. It should be a crime.
10. Why oh why did we have to wander into Darren McClurg?! (sp?)
11. Without a doubt, Mara''s set should be in the PS Hall of Fame.
12. I felt so embarrassed when I shamefully guessed Pearberry''s beautiful Tiffany solitaire to be 1.2 carats instead of 1.7. (guess I''ve been wearing this Leon ring for too long now and my perception is all screwy)
13. Seeing all the elegant solitaires made me miss mine bad.

14. We are a really nice bunch of girls and I''m so glad to have met everyone.

This was the most fun I''ve had in a really long time. When I got home there was this vague feeling of let-down....kind of like going home after a really rockin'' time at summer camp. I stepped in the door and felt reality dropping itself down heavily around my shoulders once again (whining kids, dog hair everywhere, dinner needed to be cooked, etc.). We really must do this again soon. Everyone was SOOO nice, warm, and funny. I hope Cymbrie can email us our contact list soon! (thanks for taking that on, Cym!)

 

[KristyDarling]

Mara, thanks so much for posting all the shots!!! We knew they''d turn out breathtaking!

And now I have my very own Mara flower shot. WOOHOO!!!

 

[butterfly 17]

WOW!! I wish I could have gone! But, I am here in NY, so maybe one day.

I have to say I love all the rings, but the one that really really stands out if I had to pick just one would be Luckyhonu''s.
It just looks so perfect and so delicate and beautiful.
I just love it!!!!

 

[leeenie]

Oh lordy, that hand shot with ALL the rings on it is unbelievable! Wish I could have been there to admire everyone''s beauties in person!

 

[Demelza]

WOW!! Those hand shots are REALLY something else!! Especially the ones in the sun. I''ve never seen anything quite like it!! I''m going back to look for a second or third time.

KristyD -- I just LOVE your stone! It''s such an eyecatcher and so huge! It always seems to be full of fire!

It was also really interesting to see Snlee''s SC next to the real Tiffany''s ring. They sure are a close match!

 

[snlee]

Mara, thanks for posting all of those pictures! Love the flower shots!! Thanks so much for taking some flower shots for me! A few more things I noticed… (I know it's so hard to keep the solitaires straight)…the SC ring in the comparison shot is Carebear's and on the hand shot, my ring is first then Carebear. The rest on the solitaires on the finger is correct.

roppongi, your 3 stone with your eternity band is so pretty! I kept noticing it while we were window shopping. It is majorly blingy! But I do understand wanting to upgrade to a better cut post-pricescope. Finish that earring project first.

Can't wait to see what you decide to do!

Kristy, I know what you mean! So much excitement and nervousness before today and now it's all gone. It was such a blur but so fun! We definitely need to do it again sometime soon!

 

[bookworm21]

Yes, Mara, thanks for taking and posting all the pictures for all to share! I was also really nervous before walking into the restaurant and meeting everyone. I was like, "I''ve never met these people before in my life; what the HELL are we going to talk about?" Then I sat down, and everyone was so nice and welcoming and friendly! I had so much fun trying on everyone''s e-rings, especially the Roppogi''s, KristyDarling''s, and Mara''s! Only Mara''s set would fit on my ring finger, everyone else had such tiny fingers that their rings would fit only on my skinny pinky (my left pinky, that is). LuckyHonu''s wouldn''t even go past the first knuckle on my pinky. Oh well, *sigh*.

Seeing all the asschers in person was great; Widget''s asscher was HUMONGOUS and gorgeous! Then there was Wallermama''s asscher, which was beautiful, the brushed metal really does make the stone pop. And then there was Cymbrie''s asscher. I could NOT believe that it was an I color. There was literally no perceptible difference between the I and my F asscher. Darn. Now I feel ripped off, LOL.

I really enjoyed meeting everyone in person, and we really need to do this again soon!

 

[KristyDarling]

Next GTG....Union Square, or Union St?

The South Bay girls can take the Caltrain up together and any of us could pick you up from the station downtown.

Widget, how was your overnight stay in Palo Alto? It was so fun talking with you, however briefly...you are a hoot in person just like you are online! I hope you have a safe, quick drive home tomorrow. From wine country all the way down to PA....now THAT''S Pricescope spirit!

 

[bookworm21]

Union Street!! I want to go to Dianne's, and just maybe, if I wish hard enough, I'll find something there within my price range!!! Plus, we can have lunch at Betelnut, I think that's on Union St., and I heard it's yummy.

ETA: Just realized how bratty I sound. I apologize.

 

[Mara]

LOL we are back from dinner and I couldn''t stop talking about meeting the gals today and seeing all the fab baubles....one of the people there was a newly engaged gal who was like ''oh i need to call you and find out more about this diamond forum''...hahaa. Her fiance was like THANKS MARA.

I am totally flexible on the SF gathering...you gals know the city best...I would LOVE to go somewhere that has vintage and antique stuff like the place we were at today and yummy lunch sounds fab too...just tell me when and where and I''ll catch the train if someone will pick me up in SF!

 

[bookworm21]

Mara, of course we''ll be happy to pick you up from the train station! Cymbrie and Orangevixen and anyone else too. I should be able to fit a few people in my SUV, so just let me know if you need a ride when the next GTG is planned. Strange as it sounds, I actually enjoy driving. It''s relaxing. Usually.

 

[CareBear]

I think I need to invest in an ultrasonic cleaner really soon! My ring looked so dull and dirty compared to all of yours. I was a bit embarrassed to show people. I don't think cleaning with hot water and dishwashing detergent is working that well