DBTY Help!

[Annachering]

Tl;dr
- WG vs platinum for a DBTY necklace...pros/cons, opinions?
- Where should I get a custom DBTY and why (considering diamond quality, bezel quality, price, etc)?

Long version:
I have been wanting a DBTY necklace for years, and feel like the time is right to take the plunge. I have scoured the boards looking for pictures and reviews and opinions, but I have more questions I hope you lovely people may be able to weigh in on.

Specs: 9 evenly-spaced 15-pointers (I wouldn't say no to larger but don't want to go under 15) on a 16 inch chain. Thanks @orbaya, @ac117, @diamondseeker2006, @RunningwithScissors (though I know you have 20 pointers!) for their pictures and reviews, because I basically want what you've all got (and it's not lost on me that they're all from the same place)!

Questions:
1) This seems like a dumb one, but WG versus platinum? I know that WG can yellow over time but I've never noticed that with any necklace I've ever had (though I certainly see it with some rings I own, especially when worn in a stack with platinum).

2) The biggest question of all...where to purchase? WF, BGD, IDJ...somewhere else?! I reached out to WF and have a quote, but perusing the other designers' sites as well as other PS posts discussing DBTYs suggest that their quotes may be significantly lower. For example, IDJ has a similar necklace (not exact...theirs is 7 20-pointers as opposed to 9 15-pointers) for almost half the price of WF's. I suspect the price difference is going to come down largely to the ACA melee in the WF necklace, but are stones this small going to visually perform THAT much better than the other designers'? Does anyone have photos or experience with respect to these designer's bezel work in comparison to each other (@Bliss does have a post about loving her IDJ DBTY replacement after accidentally throwing away her WF DBTY, but states she likes the thicker bezels but I'm hoping for dainty/fine bezels; I haven't seen any pictures of bezels compared).

 

[ac117]

Hi! Exciting project - my WF DBTY is such a staple in my collection and I still love it to this day! I went with 18k wg bc I wanted shiny white metal and not the patina/grey that platinum turns over time. I’ve had my necklace now for 7 years and it has not discolored or anything, and I’ve gone through periods where I’ll where it 24/7 for weeks/months at a time.

At the time that I got my necklace, I could tell you that I compared lots of different bezels and went with WF as the safe route as I liked theirs the most (thin/dainty and small, flat parallel ears). However, since then I know that IDJ now makes the same kind of bezels as WF and I’m not certain I’d make the same choice given the price difference and size of the stones. I would of course specify to IDJ that I would want PS quality or H&A stones and would pay extra for that, but it would still be less than WF. However the safe route is still WF so it’s up to you whether it’s worth it to pay the premium if you don’t want to leave anything up to chance. BGD also did nice bezels but they were more expensive than both WF/IDJ at the time.

Good luck and I’m excited to see what you end up with!

 

[RunningwithScissors]

Hi, yay, this is going to be a fun project for you!

I absolutely love my DBTY and wear it often. I chose platinum because most of my "cool metal" jewelry items are in platinum, so I wanted to keep my pieces as harmonious as possible in terms of color and finish/patina.

I get so much wear out of my DBTY I'm planning to have more of them made, especially a 16" YG one (to wear with my other YG jewelry pieces). When I have the YG one made, I'm going to adjust the spacing of the diamonds a little bit, and NOT have them all evenly spaced.

My original platinum necklace has even spacing, but the culets poke the back of my neck and irritate me a little -- but they only poke at the BACK of my neck. So for the new necklace, I'm not going to have any diamonds on the three-inch length along the back of the neck, which will not only eliminate poking, but will also allow more diamonds to show, and reduce spacing between the diamonds, on the front and sides of the necklace.

This adjustment is going to be very minor, because it is only the very back of my neck affected (the area where the necklace gets smooshed against my skin when I'm wearing a jacket or cardigan sweater.)

Other things to consider: you get to select the type of clasp you want, large, small, lobster, ring, etc etc. I like a slightly larger clasp because my up-close vision isn't great, so want the necklace to be as easy as possible to put on.

I personally think WF's melee is fantastic. My husband, sitting across from me at dinner, often tells me my DBTY sparkles and flashes as much as my e-ring.

 

[Tartansparkles]

With regards to WG v platinum - I have the platinum DBTY bracelet from WF and if I could choose again, I'd probably go with the WG. Platinum was my choice but without summer sunshine, it is a bit dull and I feel the WG would be more attractive all year round.

 

[Annachering]

Hi! Exciting project - my WF DBTY is such a staple in my collection and I still love it to this day! I went with 18k wg bc I wanted shiny white metal and not the patina/grey that platinum turns over time. I’ve had my necklace now for 7 years and it has not discolored or anything, and I’ve gone through periods where I’ll where it 24/7 for weeks/months at a time.

At the time that I got my necklace, I could tell you that I compared lots of different bezels and went with WF as the safe route as I liked theirs the most (thin/dainty and small, flat parallel ears). However, since then I know that IDJ now makes the same kind of bezels as WF and I’m not certain I’d make the same choice given the price difference and size of the stones. I would of course specify to IDJ that I would want PS quality or H&A stones and would pay extra for that, but it would still be less than WF. However the safe route is still WF so it’s up to you whether it’s worth it to pay the premium if you don’t want to leave anything up to chance. BGD also did nice bezels but they were more expensive than both WF/IDJ at the time.

Good luck and I’m excited to see what you end up with!

This is great information. I’m happy to hear that the WG apparently hasn’t changed color with age! I mostly have WG but I didn’t want to worry about having to have a necklace redipped often since I expect to wear this necklace daily. I’ve since reached out to BG and it turns out your experience is still the case…the quote was higher than WF. I really appreciate your help!

 

[Annachering]

Hi, yay, this is going to be a fun project for you!

I absolutely love my DBTY and wear it often. I chose platinum because most of my "cool metal" jewelry items are in platinum, so I wanted to keep my pieces as harmonious as possible in terms of color and finish/patina.

I get so much wear out of my DBTY I'm planning to have more of them made, especially a 16" YG one (to wear with my other YG jewelry pieces). When I have the YG one made, I'm going to adjust the spacing of the diamonds a little bit, and NOT have them all evenly spaced.

My original platinum necklace has even spacing, but the culets poke the back of my neck and irritate me a little -- but they only poke at the BACK of my neck. So for the new necklace, I'm not going to have any diamonds on the three-inch length along the back of the neck, which will not only eliminate poking, but will also allow more diamonds to show, and reduce spacing between the diamonds, on the front and sides of the necklace.

This adjustment is going to be very minor, because it is only the very back of my neck affected (the area where the necklace gets smooshed against my skin when I'm wearing a jacket or cardigan sweater.)

Other things to consider: you get to select the type of clasp you want, large, small, lobster, ring, etc etc. I like a slightly larger clasp because my up-close vision isn't great, so want the necklace to be as easy as possible to put on.

I personally think WF's melee is fantastic. My husband, sitting across from me at dinner, often tells me my DBTY sparkles and flashes as much as my e-ring.

I really appreciate your thoughts! That’s a great reason to opt for platinum. My engagement/wedding rings are platinum but otherwise my daily jewelry is just earrings (either pearls or various Tiffany silver posts) so my tones are perhaps not quite so harmonious. But I certainly appreciate the appeal of the clean, cool platinum tone!

The experience of your daily use is very helpful for design purposes. I was leaning towards shifting things slightly forward, so this is a great piece of information. If you happen to want to sell your original neck-poking, sparkly beauty, I’d buy it in an instant!!

I know how fantastic WF’s melee is…and ALL of the necklaces I listed in my original post (including yours!) are WF so I think it might already be clear what I should do??

 

[Annachering]

With regards to WG v platinum - I have the platinum DBTY bracelet from WF and if I could choose again, I'd probably go with the WG. Platinum was my choice but without summer sunshine, it is a bit dull and I feel the WG would be more attractive all year round.

It’s definitely more expensive to go platinum, though I would if it was clearly a better fit for me. But it’s helpful to hear information like this, I appreciate it!

 

[donnabrsd]

I recommend 18K white gold. None of my recent 18K white gold items have changed color. I've only notice yellowing of one or two 14K white gold items that I've owned.
Vendor recommendation would be David Klass. He made my DBTY necklace and I am very happy with the workmanship. He used my diamonds.
In regard to 15 point diamonds from David Klass, I find them to be super sparkly. I requested VS G color on earrings they made for me. WF made same earrings using F/G ACAs and I honestly preferred the diamonds on the DK earrings.
Lastly, DK's price for same earrings was lower.
I'll try to post photos later.

 

[donnabrsd]

Here are photos of DK's bezels with my diamonds that I recall were about 25 points each and earrings showing DK's 15 point G VS diamonds.

 

[RMOO]

I recommend 18K white gold. None of my recent 18K white gold items have changed color. I've only notice yellowing of one or two 14K white gold items that I've owned.
Vendor recommendation would be David Klass. He made my DBTY necklace and I am very happy with the workmanship. He used my diamonds.
In regard to 15 point diamonds from David Klass, I find them to be super sparkly. I requested VS G color on earrings they made for me. WF made same earrings using F/G ACAs and I honestly preferred the diamonds on the DK earrings.
Lastly, DK's price for same earrings was lower.
I'll try to post photos later.

Hi @donnabrsd ! I too am looking into having a dbty by David Klass. Would you mind sharing with me the width of your chain? And what size clasp did you specify?

 

[donnabrsd]

Hi @donnabrsd ! I too am looking into having a dbty by David Klass. Would you mind sharing with me the width of your chain? And what size clasp did you specify?

@RMOO I requested a 1.5mm chain. I actually requested no clasp since I place it over my head but they added it on accident. Attached is a photo. I don't have measuring tools so I'm not sure of the size.

 

[RMOO]

@RMOO I requested a 1.5mm chain. I actually requested no clasp since I place it over my head but they added it on accident. Attached is a photo. I don't have measuring tools so I'm not sure of the size.

Thank you !