Confused in the Carribean

[Chesapeake]

duuuhhhh, Chesapeake??????? (Hope you have a sense of humor)

 

[JulieN]

Bill at www.icemine.com is in the DC area... you can tell him what you're looking for.

 

[Chesapeake]

Thank you Julie. I was reading some of the other postings and have a couple more questions. I''ve figured out was ACA is however, what is HCA? Is PA, pavillion? Could you give me a quick lesson on pavillion percentages and there impact on the stone? BTW, I''m traveling to New York City in a couple weeks, any places that might be worth going to that you''re aware of?

 

[JulieN]

HCA: http://diamonds.pricescope.com/ideal.asp
Crown and Pavilion: http://diamonds.pricescope.com/crn_pav.asp
HCA is used to check that the crown and pav angles "work" together.

Mark at Engagement Rings Direct is on 47th Street.
Good Old Gold at Massapequa Park

Call ahead and tell them what you are looking for so they can get them for you. (people don't usually have two carat Ds just lying around.)

 

[Chesapeake]

Ok, thanks (again). My husband heard from the ST jeweler today. They dropped the price to $61K and said they aren''t making much on it, they just want me to have the ring so bad! My hubby, who understands less than me which makes it about, zip, told him that one of the main cut issues we had was with the crown. He meant with the girdle. The jeweler said that it was so minute that it wasn''t even represented in the total depth percentage? My husband also told him that we could buy a ring with much better stones for $50K. The guy didn''t believe him. Oh well. I''m sending my letter to the cc company tomorrow.

 

[JulieN]

Date: 5/9/2006 7:21:17 PM
Author: Chesapeake
The jeweler said that it was so minute that it wasn''t even represented in the total depth percentage?

Such lies...

 

[Chesapeake]

What is your feeling regarding the clarity I should be requesting? Also, there are so many different cut descriptions, how do I begin to communicate the cut I''m after?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Chesapeake, to be very honest, if I were getting this ring knowing I could go up to $70,000 but wanting to get good value and actually pay less than that, I''d personally go for:

Cut: GIA Excellent or AGS Ideal

Clarity: for my dream ring, a minimum of VS1 and VVS1 or 2 would be lovely as well

Color: I would not pay the extra for D since you really can''t look at one and know a D from an E or F, so I''d personally look for F since they are all considered colorless (But E is very nice if you want to pay for it).

Then after choosing the diamonds, I''d send them to Mark Morrell to set for me!

(Or, I''d look on Pearlman''s website and buy a Beaudry ring without having to pick individual diamonds at all!

http://www.pearlmansjewelers.com/jewelry-designers/michael-beaudry-jewelry/rings/38B1/0/this-stunning-platinum-michael-beaudry-ring-features-a-4.08ct.-rectangular-center-diamond-with-a-rad/

 

[JulieN]

I'm thinking D/E, VS2/SI1 for the sides, and VS1/2 for the center, ideal cut, of course.

since you're going to NY, perhaps you could get an appointment with Leon Mege. His website is www.artofplatinum.com

 

[widget]

Wow...so many ideas flying around! Chesapeake...I hope you're not getting overwhelmed!

I have a couple of thoughts...If I were you, I'd shop for a vendor first. Some highly thought of ones are often mentioned on this site. I'd talk to a few, and choose the one who sounds the easiest to work with. Then I'd let him do the work of finding likely candidates for you to consider, and to educate you and your husband about what you're considering.

I'm sure you could find fabulous, well-cut stones that are FAIRLY priced.

Most of the people who hang out at site like this are diamond nuts. They LOVE studying the minutia: percentages, angles, light return, etc etc etc..

If you don't want to go that way, there are other avenues...some top designers insist on choosing the stones to be used in their designs, and I'm sure they choose beautiful ones. Beaudry and Scott Kay come too mind. Then of course there are the "big names" like Tiffanys, Harry Winston, etc etc.

These last ideas of course mean paying a hefty premium...worth it to some who want top quality with the least amount of 'work' on their part.

Whichever way you go, I think you're much better off without that overpriced generic ST ring. I do hope you're successful in getting that deposit back!!

Just a few more thoughts to throw into the mix!

widget