channel set platinum band-- looking for highest quality diamonds

[bockee]

New to forum... I've been browsing for a while and would like to throw a question out to the crowd.

I have a confession-- when I was younger I saw a channel set platinum diamond ring at Stuart Moore in SoHo, designed Henrich Denzel. It was something along these lines:

http://henrich-denzel.de/bilderdatenbank/details.php?image_id=56&sessionid=3=8760_4651118_692281_3514_331_0_31372_-1_0

The diamonds were tiny and modest but gorgeous with magnificent sparkle.

I have since been looking for something similar for a wedding band. I don't need the designer name. I know a friend of a friend diamond dealer and I told him what I was looking for and he said russian cut, top quality .2 diamonds he could get at $1,700 a carat. .15 at $400-500. That's for "common" color and clarity, I believe he said f-g-h- color, vs1 clarity. He did not mention any of the other metrics and said that diamonds this small did not get a certificate.

Now to my questions--- is that accurate? Such small diamonds don't get a certificate? Are those prices reasonable? Does a channel set downplay the sparkle? What should I expect to pay for a 7 1/2 platinum channel set band? $1,200-$1,500? Where can I find such small diamonds with the best sparkle? Any suggestions?

I found this site on the chat room-- and this ring looks very nice. I think round diamonds sparkle the most. Is 950 platinum good? Are the diamonds on this site high quality (they seem to be): http://www.thefacetscollection.com/item.cfm?item_id=415

Lastly, I'm willing to read and educate myself. If you were me what would you suggest I do?

 

[SeaOats]

Welcome to PS!

I can't possibly answer all your questions...but I can say that the link you provided (Signed Pieces/Facets) has very good reviews here on PS. Do a search and you can see pics and reviews. They use premium to ideal cut stones and in most rings, you can choose the color of the stones you would like.

Also you can contact www.whiteflash.com. They have some great reviews on custom work (again search PS for reviews and pics of some of their work). They also have a branded cut for round brillants called "A Cut Above" or ACA. There are tons of pics on this site of their ACA stones.

Also, the size stones you are talking about using in a channel setting do not come with reports. After you receive the ring, you can have it appraised by an independent appraiser to make sure the quality and color are as promised.

To educate yourself more on diamonds, go up to the top of the page to "Knowledge" and click on the tutorial.

 

[bockee]

Thank you so much for your reply!

I''m having difficulty understanding how to compare the quality of the cut between distributors for the smaller, non-certified diamonds.

For example, the facets collection
http://www.thefacetscollection.com/item.cfm?item_id=415

has ideal/premium cuts.

The woman at whitefish (very helpful thus far) is going to quote me on something similar, and they will custom make it using ACA diamonds.

http://www.whiteflash.com/Wedding_Bands/Styles/Diamond/Full-Eternity-Diamond-Band_S12

(this one at 1.5ctw.)

If they had certifications I could make an educated guess aboutt the quality of the cut-- but without what do you suggest? Word of mouth?

Thanks!

 

[SeaOats]

WF''s ACA are ideal cut diamonds (that are branded H&As).

SP''s rings have a mix of ideal to premium cut diamonds. Honestly, I''m not sure your eye will ever tell the difference between premium and ideal.

Either way, both companies have an excellent reputation and believe me, you will be getting exactly what they promise.