L
Lula
Guest
I''m a little depressed today -- I decided to return my ring to the vendor and start my search for an anniversary ring all over. My experience may help some other newbies in their search for the perfect ring.
Here''s the recap:
I''ve been looking for a diamond ring for our anniversary. My husband has no interest in shopping or jewelry, so we set a budget and I started looking in March. I found Pricescope and quickly became addicted
I posted some Idealscope images and numbers and got great feedback from Storm, Lorelei, Ellen, KC, Jet, John Pollard, Garry -- among others. This feedback was invaluable and I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart!
I found a diamond and a setting I liked at James Allen. I worked with Darin -- great guy; great customer service. Here''s a link to the diamond and the setting:
diamond
setting
The ring arrived a few weeks ago - it was stunning! It was bright and white, and on the day I opened the box, which was overcast, the diamond just shimmered! The .45 size so looked much larger due to the great cut and the bezel setting. The next day the sun was out and the diamond threw off amazing fire outside in my garden. In diffused sunlight I could see pastel colors and silvery arrows -- even in the under 1/2 carat size! Sounds great, you''re thinking -- why would she send it back!?!
Well, a couple things just didn''t work for me -- and this is where I have to say I am so glad that Pricescope vendors have such great return policies and that they all believe that you have to see a diamond in person to make sure it is the one for you.
After I received the ring, I went to Jared''s (oh, noooooo!) to look for ideas on wedding bands and that was an interesting experience. The sales staff was skeptical when they heard where my ring came from, though they were polite. I asked to see my diamond under a microscope and they set it up and after we all looked at the ring under the scope, I could see the two SA''s looking at each other in disbelief. One of them blurted out -- "this ring would sell for at least $3000 in our store!" I paid about half of that. Long story short, the bezel design is very nice, but no wedding rings fit with it and I felt that it looked too "engagement ring" on my hand without a band - not the look I wanted, considering this is an anniversary present! I considered the WF Danielle eternity ring (I worked with Juli at Whiteflash, who was great, too) but the height measurement of that band was too low for the bezel band.
Also, the diamond because it is a D and it is cut with long lgf''s -- 80% -- is very bright and lively and has a bit of a splintered, princess cut look to it. This was gorgeous -- if it''s what you''re looking for. The longer I wore the ring, the more I knew it just wasn''t "me." I considered getting an emerald cut and e-mailed Darin about that. He was great and very accommodating. I changed my mind and decided it would be too hard to give up my sparkly .45 and that I wanted an RB (I have an emerald cut sapphire and get my step cut kicks from that ring!). My sister saw the .45 for the first time this weekend and almost fell off her chair when she saw it and she thought I was crazy when I told her I was thinking of sending it back. I posted a few questions about the IS on Pricescope this weekend (I was trying to understand how the IS corresponded to the IRL appearance of my ring)
Idealscope questions post
The answers I got to this post, along with John Pollard''s brand new article on "what the lab reports don''t show" really helped me understand how the IS corresponded to the visual qualities of the diamond IRL. I made the decision to return the ring because it''s just not the look I want in a diamond. I better understand how to translate what I''m seeing in IS, ASET, H&A images, along with the key numbers like Crown angle, Pavilion angle, and lgf % into what the stone might look like IRL. It turns out I like larger facets like OEC''s and Emerald cuts, and RB''s with shorter LGF''s and lower PA''s - which I would have never known if I hadn''t seen a stone with the exact opposite personality in person.
There''s not a lot of inventory in the .45 to .49 carat size, so I started looking for stones in the .50 - .60 range. I also decided to lower my color range to include H, I, and J''s, something I would have never considered before finding Pricescope. There are many great stones in this size and color range at WF, GOG, JA. I found a few nice .50 - .60 stones on the James Allen site and on the Whiteflash site. Then I remembered I had bookmarked an Infinity stone on Wink''s site awhile ago, but I had decided against it because it was a J. Foolish me! I went back on the site and -- whew! -- it was still there.
Infinity diamond
I sent Wink an e-mail -- this was on Memorial Day, my family thinks I''m nuts because I''m on the computer on a holiday -- and a few minutes after I sent the e-mail Wink calls me! On a holiday! So we had a nice long chat about diamonds and grilling burgers and his children and grandchildren, and he says, why don''t I send it out to you so you can take a look? So now I''m waiting to receive the Infinity.
Stay tuned for updates when I receive the stone!
What have I learned from this experience that I can pass on to other newbies?
1. Pricescope is truly the best resource out there for honest advice, pictures, education, etc. There are so many people on here that devote large amounts of time to answering questions from newbies (the same questions over and over, too!) who are so patient and so kind -- thank you for your efforts.
2. Pricescope vendors are incredible. If you are worried about buying a diamond online, a few hours on this site will set your mind at ease. Where else can you get the opinions of educated consumers, vendors, cutters, and other experts on one forum? This site is a rarity in the business world, I believe.
3. Trust your gut -- trust your gut -- trust your gut. Not all well-cut diamonds look the same -- there are amazing personality differences between stones and you need to see the stones in person. I found this to be the most difficult part of the process. When you go to a store like Jared to look at their ideal cut (Peerless) selection, the lighting in the store makes it pretty hard to assess color, clarity, etc., because the stones are sitting under that $$####!!!!!))))@@@@@ jewelry store lighting, and the SA''s are only are allowed to take out one stone at a time so it''s not easy to compare. I decided I''d rather deal with Pricescope vendors and take the risk of ordering a stone and maybe having to send it back if it''s not what I''m looking for. If you''ve done your research, you''ll probably be okay when you see the stone in person. But if it''s not what you were looking for (like me) you can still send it back.
4. Be flexible on color and clarity. I went in thinking all I''d like was D color and VVS1 or 2 clarity, and there''s a whole other (less expensive but very nice) world out there below those numbers.
5. Be patient. This process may take longer than you think!
6. And, finally, if you''ve read this far, you are addicted to Pricescope!
Here''s the recap:
I''ve been looking for a diamond ring for our anniversary. My husband has no interest in shopping or jewelry, so we set a budget and I started looking in March. I found Pricescope and quickly became addicted
I posted some Idealscope images and numbers and got great feedback from Storm, Lorelei, Ellen, KC, Jet, John Pollard, Garry -- among others. This feedback was invaluable and I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart!
I found a diamond and a setting I liked at James Allen. I worked with Darin -- great guy; great customer service. Here''s a link to the diamond and the setting:
diamond
setting
The ring arrived a few weeks ago - it was stunning! It was bright and white, and on the day I opened the box, which was overcast, the diamond just shimmered! The .45 size so looked much larger due to the great cut and the bezel setting. The next day the sun was out and the diamond threw off amazing fire outside in my garden. In diffused sunlight I could see pastel colors and silvery arrows -- even in the under 1/2 carat size! Sounds great, you''re thinking -- why would she send it back!?!
Well, a couple things just didn''t work for me -- and this is where I have to say I am so glad that Pricescope vendors have such great return policies and that they all believe that you have to see a diamond in person to make sure it is the one for you.
After I received the ring, I went to Jared''s (oh, noooooo!) to look for ideas on wedding bands and that was an interesting experience. The sales staff was skeptical when they heard where my ring came from, though they were polite. I asked to see my diamond under a microscope and they set it up and after we all looked at the ring under the scope, I could see the two SA''s looking at each other in disbelief. One of them blurted out -- "this ring would sell for at least $3000 in our store!" I paid about half of that. Long story short, the bezel design is very nice, but no wedding rings fit with it and I felt that it looked too "engagement ring" on my hand without a band - not the look I wanted, considering this is an anniversary present! I considered the WF Danielle eternity ring (I worked with Juli at Whiteflash, who was great, too) but the height measurement of that band was too low for the bezel band.
Also, the diamond because it is a D and it is cut with long lgf''s -- 80% -- is very bright and lively and has a bit of a splintered, princess cut look to it. This was gorgeous -- if it''s what you''re looking for. The longer I wore the ring, the more I knew it just wasn''t "me." I considered getting an emerald cut and e-mailed Darin about that. He was great and very accommodating. I changed my mind and decided it would be too hard to give up my sparkly .45 and that I wanted an RB (I have an emerald cut sapphire and get my step cut kicks from that ring!). My sister saw the .45 for the first time this weekend and almost fell off her chair when she saw it and she thought I was crazy when I told her I was thinking of sending it back. I posted a few questions about the IS on Pricescope this weekend (I was trying to understand how the IS corresponded to the IRL appearance of my ring)
Idealscope questions post
The answers I got to this post, along with John Pollard''s brand new article on "what the lab reports don''t show" really helped me understand how the IS corresponded to the visual qualities of the diamond IRL. I made the decision to return the ring because it''s just not the look I want in a diamond. I better understand how to translate what I''m seeing in IS, ASET, H&A images, along with the key numbers like Crown angle, Pavilion angle, and lgf % into what the stone might look like IRL. It turns out I like larger facets like OEC''s and Emerald cuts, and RB''s with shorter LGF''s and lower PA''s - which I would have never known if I hadn''t seen a stone with the exact opposite personality in person.
There''s not a lot of inventory in the .45 to .49 carat size, so I started looking for stones in the .50 - .60 range. I also decided to lower my color range to include H, I, and J''s, something I would have never considered before finding Pricescope. There are many great stones in this size and color range at WF, GOG, JA. I found a few nice .50 - .60 stones on the James Allen site and on the Whiteflash site. Then I remembered I had bookmarked an Infinity stone on Wink''s site awhile ago, but I had decided against it because it was a J. Foolish me! I went back on the site and -- whew! -- it was still there.
Infinity diamond
I sent Wink an e-mail -- this was on Memorial Day, my family thinks I''m nuts because I''m on the computer on a holiday -- and a few minutes after I sent the e-mail Wink calls me! On a holiday! So we had a nice long chat about diamonds and grilling burgers and his children and grandchildren, and he says, why don''t I send it out to you so you can take a look? So now I''m waiting to receive the Infinity.
Stay tuned for updates when I receive the stone!
What have I learned from this experience that I can pass on to other newbies?
1. Pricescope is truly the best resource out there for honest advice, pictures, education, etc. There are so many people on here that devote large amounts of time to answering questions from newbies (the same questions over and over, too!) who are so patient and so kind -- thank you for your efforts.
2. Pricescope vendors are incredible. If you are worried about buying a diamond online, a few hours on this site will set your mind at ease. Where else can you get the opinions of educated consumers, vendors, cutters, and other experts on one forum? This site is a rarity in the business world, I believe.
3. Trust your gut -- trust your gut -- trust your gut. Not all well-cut diamonds look the same -- there are amazing personality differences between stones and you need to see the stones in person. I found this to be the most difficult part of the process. When you go to a store like Jared to look at their ideal cut (Peerless) selection, the lighting in the store makes it pretty hard to assess color, clarity, etc., because the stones are sitting under that $$####!!!!!))))@@@@@ jewelry store lighting, and the SA''s are only are allowed to take out one stone at a time so it''s not easy to compare. I decided I''d rather deal with Pricescope vendors and take the risk of ordering a stone and maybe having to send it back if it''s not what I''m looking for. If you''ve done your research, you''ll probably be okay when you see the stone in person. But if it''s not what you were looking for (like me) you can still send it back.
4. Be flexible on color and clarity. I went in thinking all I''d like was D color and VVS1 or 2 clarity, and there''s a whole other (less expensive but very nice) world out there below those numbers.
5. Be patient. This process may take longer than you think!
6. And, finally, if you''ve read this far, you are addicted to Pricescope!
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