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Diamonds ( why do we like one better then the other)

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spectre686

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
13
Hello All,

So long story short I almost got ripped off at first. Luckily I took the ring/diamond back. What i found it is the place that I got the diamond from throws away the reports no matter where it comes from and then grades it in house.. (Of course they say it is because the grades are too lenient LOL). Anyways what happened was once the ring got a little bit dirty my Fiance could see the inclusions and I could as well at that point. Well long story short I decided to get educated and that is where I'm at.. I basically want to be totally happy with the stone this time.

So I have looked all over town and probably will end buying online anyways but here is what we have liked. (It is a joint project now)

For some reason we always have liked the diamonds that are branded Tokowsky ideal cut. I thought maybe it was just the name but we liked it at both Kay jewelers and at a local diamond seller. I also at a local dealer took an Ideal cut (EGL) put it next the Tolkowsky (GIA excellent cut) and my fiance was able to pick it out right away as the one she like better. Obviously here locally it seems overpriced by a fair bit. (They are asking $7700 for this stone) Here is the link to the report:
http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?rep...ename=GIA/Dispatcher&c=Page&cid=1355954554547


We found another we liked but there is just something about this other one that we don't like as much so before we buy online we are trying to figure out why we like the Tolkowsky branded one so much better so we can look for that.

This one is an EGL-USA diamond and the hearts and arrows seem to be good on this as well.
But it seems almost dead to us. It does have some flash but it just doesn't make use feel something like the other stone does.
(I'm trying to make sure it is not just a preception thing)

other diamond :
http://www.eglusa.com/oresults/SearchPage.php?st_num=907835361D
This one is a lot cheaper at around $5400.


What I'm trying to figure out is why we like the other diamond so much more so we know what to look for online.. Maybe it is all in our heads because the brand and the price difference?


Thanks for any feedback!
 
Re: Diamonds

Oh so I guess if someone wants to recommend some stones as well.
Here is where we are at:
Our budget is 5500 to 6500ish for the stone.

I think we want like SI1 and probably an H or better in color.
Size .9 to whatever we can get that is nice.

Thanks for any help!
 
Re: Diamonds

It's a common sales tactic to compare an ideal branded diamond to one of lesser quality, to try and make it seem that you won't be happy with any other diamond than the more expensive one. In your case, they showed you an EGL, which has consistently been shown to grade much higher than other labs like AGS or GIA. I had this tactic tried on me with Hearts on Fire diamonds.

The EGL one is cheaper because if it were to be sent to GIA/AGS, it could very well be an SI2 I color.

I'd suggest going back to the dealer and ask for a comparison with the Tolkowsky and an AGS-0 or another GIA excellent cut.

I'm not familiar with the Tolkowsky brand and I'm not sure if it can be put into the HCA calculator, but it scored a 3.9, which is higher than the optimal 2.0 or lower PSers look for
 
Thanks.

Part of the problem is that these diamonds at different stores.
I wanted to look at stones in person to see what we like.

I also put the EGL diamond in the HCA and it was like a 2.3

Also we did look at the EGL in a device that shows hearts and arrows and it looked pretty good.
(It is device used to demonstrate the Hearts on Fire diamonds)
And we looked at the Tolkowsky branded one in an AGS asset thing and it seemed very very clean according to the asset chart.

Now i'm wondering if just the lighting difference of the two places is the key. (My fiance says that she liked all the diamonds better at the other place)

The goal here is to determine what we like so we can start looking online for where we should be.
 
spectre686|1365386039|3422330 said:
Hey everyone.

I have been looking at diamonds and ran across this one.
We can for sure go to 7000.

This one kind of stands out to me what is everyones opinion on it:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2805419.htm#
Click to expand...

You have a good eye! This is an excellent choice for a stone. WF's expert selection stones offer great value on well cut stones! If you are really interested in it, put it on hold!
 
So we sent the link to this stone to a local jewler (Who will probably make the setting). They wanted to see what we are looking at and why we didn't like their diamonds (Part of the reason is all of theirs are EGL rated) They said that the cutlet on this stone is an issue. How big of issue is a pointed cutlet?

This exactly what they said:
"Initially everything seems to check out, however after closer inspection there is a pointed culet. If you look at the picture right in the center where it looks like a dark spot and you can see through to the bottom of the stone. You don't want a culet on a round brilliant. This is the reason why this stone is less money."

(also see the other diamond we are potentially looking at)
Thanks
 
You should let them know that a pointed tip is the same thing as no culet, because culets are flat... and then have Whiteflash make your setting.
 
Of the 2 white flash diamonds, I would go with the bigger one if you could afford it. Ditto what JulieN says... You should just have whiteflash set the stone for you! Why use two vendors if you don't have to?
 
Hi, I am spectre686's fiancee. The reason we are thinking about having the stone set at the local jewelers is because I found a setting there that I really like, but they are going to make some tweaks to it for me. See this thread: https://www.pricescope.com/communit...low-profile-bead-set-solitaire-e-ring.187807/

There were no settings on whiteflash I fell in love with. I'm search through what they have again though, because I agree, it would be much, much simpler to get everything done at one vendor!
 
whiteflash does custom work. Unless your local jeweler already has some setting that you are perfectly in love with, definitely get the setting made by Whiteflash.
 
lunemo|1365448514|3422717 said:
Of the 2 white flash diamonds, I would go with the bigger one if you could afford it. Ditto what JulieN says... You should just have whiteflash set the stone for you! Why use two vendors if you don't have to?
Click to expand...
IS there is a specific reason for the bigger one? Just size?
 
swooshbug|1365448951|3422725 said:
Hi, I am spectre686's fiancee. The reason we are thinking about having the stone set at the local jewelers is because I found a setting there that I really like, but they are going to make some tweaks to it for me. See this thread: https://www.pricescope.com/communit...low-profile-bead-set-solitaire-e-ring.187807/

There were no settings on whiteflash I fell in love with. I'm search through what they have again though, because I agree, it would be much, much simpler to get everything done at one vendor!
Click to expand...

I don't think I've seen both FIs with separate accounts on the same thread before lol. Welcome :wavey:

The one thing I'd caution about having the local jeweler set the stone is that it's highly recommended you have the loose stone insured before it's set, just in case anything goes wrong. I can't imagine the hassle it would be to get the jeweler to pay for a stone damaged while setting (if they would even pay at all). I agree with the others, ask WF about the custom making the setting. It doesn't hurt to ask for a quote, and that way you might even be able to pick a favorite alloy (if you want to get that picky)
 
hawk25|1365449597|3422736 said:
swooshbug|1365448951|3422725 said:
Hi, I am spectre686's fiancee. The reason we are thinking about having the stone set at the local jewelers is because I found a setting there that I really like, but they are going to make some tweaks to it for me. See this thread: https://www.pricescope.com/communit...low-profile-bead-set-solitaire-e-ring.187807/

There were no settings on whiteflash I fell in love with. I'm search through what they have again though, because I agree, it would be much, much simpler to get everything done at one vendor!
Click to expand...

I don't think I've seen both FIs with separate accounts on the same thread before lol. Welcome :wavey:

The one thing I'd caution about having the local jeweler set the stone is that it's highly recommended you have the loose stone insured before it's set, just in case anything goes wrong. I can't imagine the hassle it would be to get the jeweler to pay for a stone damaged while setting (if they would even pay at all). I agree with the others, ask WF about the custom making the setting. It doesn't hurt to ask for a quote, and that way you might even be able to pick a favorite alloy (if you want to get that picky)
Click to expand...

HI!.. Yeah we do pretty much everything together so why not get the ring Jointly too!
AFter I made such a goof on the first diamond I thought it better to get her involved. She is more ... Well "discerning" to put it nicely :P (Love you Swooshbug.)

Do they do a wax mold if you do custom work online? Swooshbug is very visual and probably will want a mold for the physicality of it.
 
spectre686|1365377605|3422228 said:
Now i'm wondering if just the lighting difference of the two places is the key. (My fiance says that she liked all the diamonds better at the other place)
Click to expand...

It really could be the lighting.

I made the mistake of buying a really yucky diamond at the mall one time because it looked fabulous in the store. When I took it out into the real world it was dead and lifeless. Now I ask if I can view any potential diamond in fluorescent lighting (since that's what is in my office and where I spend the majority of my time) and in daylight. It makes a huge difference.
 
spectre686|1365449189|3422730 said:
lunemo|1365448514|3422717 said:
Of the 2 white flash diamonds, I would go with the bigger one if you could afford it. Ditto what JulieN says... You should just have whiteflash set the stone for you! Why use two vendors if you don't have to?
Click to expand...
IS there is a specific reason for the bigger one? Just size?
Click to expand...

I am not a round diamond expert at all and they both look good to me. I guess perhaps you should ask whiteflash if the bigger one is completely eye clean? If it is and you can afford it, I would go for it, and yes, for the size.
 
Hello All,

So new update.

Went back to jeweler who had diamond we didn't like as much as the tolkowsky. He said what will it take to get your business and we showed him the Diamond we liked on white flash. They mostly sell EGL-USA diamonds but he said if he can get us a Triple 0 AGS certified diamond and sell it at the same price (the price with pricescope discount and bank wire price) with exact or very close specs if they would get our business. I said yeah probably. So he is out on the lookout and will call me when he finds one. So there is no loss on our part and we will get to see it in person. He sent the link to the owner (Who is also the diamond buyer) .

I'm trying to think if there is anything I should be wary of. I feel like if they can get it in person and the AGS certificate is good then I confident that I'm not getting ripped off like the first time.
 
Hey spectre,

Interesting story. I'm familiar with Tolkowsky's line. He does pick out some very nice crystals but I would never make a blanket statement regarding *all products* in a particular brand as each diamond will stand or fall on it's own merits. Having said that however there could be a number of reasons for your preference. Some have mentioned the lighting but it could actually be issues with the diamond crystal itself. Issues that are impossible to see on paper. I say this because the numbers you state are very similar. 35/41 combos which are good but aren't necessarily the best within modern round brilliant diamond cutting unless they have really precise Optical Symmetry.

What is good is that they are willing to bring in actual AGS Ideal's for you to compare. It'll be interesting to hear your opinion after you've made these comparisons. Good luck and all the best. Keep us posted.

Rhino
 
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