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Disappointed in the new Tiffany Novo cut

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Madam Bijoux

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I saw 12 of them yesterday in the 5th Avenue store. They're similar in shape to the Lucida, and they are dull. The Lucidas I saw had more fire and life than the Novos. The salesman said that the Novo is basically a round brilliant with square corners. If that's what they were really trying to do, they've made the tables too large. Don't know why Tif's bothered with this cut.

On the brighter side, Cartier has a magnificent 19.03 carat D color internally flawless pear that's well worth the trip to see. They're asking about 3 1/2 million for it.
 

Dee*Jay

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Oooh, that IS disappointing! I finally managed to get my hands on a Blue Book and it looked nice in the picture.
 

Madam Bijoux

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Hi, Dee*Jay! The picture in the Blue Book makes it look livelier than it looked in person. It has some fire around the outer edges, but it looks dark in the middle. I remember when the Lucida first came out, they only had 2 or 3 cutters doing them and the quality of the cut was uneven. After they trained more cutters, a lot of the Lucidas started looking better. I hope the same thing happens with the Novo.
 

finerthings

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Wow, that is too bad, it looks so lovely in the Blue Book. I didn''t realize that the diamond was going to be introduced in North America sooner than the January 2007 date, about 5 months after the Japanese rollout. Do the settings look the same as the book, ie diamond stones inset all around the band? I would love to see it set as a simple solitare. What were the carat weights of the diamonds you saw? Thanks for posting your impressions.
 

Madam Bijoux

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Finerthings, all of the rings I saw had micropave on the shank. One of the larger Novos had small square emerald cuts on the shank.
 

sistagrl2004

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Where can I see them online? they are not on the tiffany Site. I didn''t get a blue book this year!!
 

kcoursolle

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Bummer, that is disappointing. Although, I''ve never been super impressed with any of the cuts at tiffany''s. There always seem to be better cut diamonds out there. On the other hand, I''m quite impressed with quality of their settings and their design choices.
 

:)

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That is too bad - it really did look nice. I am surprised that they would roll out something that they haven''t perfected yet, but I guess they figure some people will buy it just because they want to have something from Tiffany - you mentioned the large table, was it mostly brilliant without fire?
 

Madam Bijoux

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It didn''t look all that brilliant to me, and it only had fire around the outside edges. The centers of all the stones looked dark. The Novas were next to some Legacy cuts, and even the Legacies looked livelier.
 

Kaleigh

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That is a bummer MB, if anyone can spot a nice diamond it''s you. But hey that pear must have made up for it, hehe.
31.gif
 

finerthings

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MB, do you remember the approximate carat weights and the prices?
 

Madam Bijoux

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Kaleigh, I thought they would have to carry me out of Cartier. I couldn't move away from the display case!
35.gif
Finerthings, the carat weights looked like they ranged from about 1/3 carat to about 4 carats. I didn't try any of them on or ask the prices.
 

jenniegirlm

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Did T&Co post the novo cut diamonds online yet?
 

Garry H (Cut Nut)

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Date: 11/30/2006 11:11:52 AM
Author:Madam Bijoux
I saw 12 of them yesterday in the 5th Avenue store. They''re similar in shape to the Lucida, and they are dull. The Lucidas I saw had more fire and life than the Novos. The salesman said that the Novo is basically a round brilliant with square corners. If that''s what they were really trying to do, they''ve made the tables too large. Don''t know why Tif''s bothered with this cut.

the reason is likely economics - Tiffany have started to do some of their own cutting now and they have Lucida which gets great weight return - and just average beauty, so maybe they have designed a cut for flat rough and larger table sizes???
I think it is sad that tiffany has become so coporate and profit focused.
I think they are at risk of milking their brand dry.

If any of you are game to try to become saviour activists - take your ideal-scopes and ASET scopes into their stores and let their staff know (and see for themselves) when their diamonds are under par. I am sure if a few hundered people let the staff see so so quality and performance form their diamonds the company would take notice.

It took a long time and a lot of effort and work to develop their ''name'' and it is not good for any part of the industry when flagships loose their way.
 

Madam Bijoux

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Sistagirl and Jenniegirlm, there aren''t any pictures on Tif''s website yet. GarryH, I would love to see someone do that!
 

diagem

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I just listened to Tiffany''s 3rd. quarter conference call on the internet, and it was said that the Novo collection is beeing launched in Japan, and will be in for the US market by early 2007....

Are you sure it was the Novo you saw in NY?
 

Madam Bijoux

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DiaGem, it was definitely the Novo. The salesman gave a little talk about it to several of us who were gathered around the display.
 

diagem

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Weird, Tiffany''s conference call came out 2 day''s ago....
 

Cehrabehra

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Date: 12/1/2006 7:24:48 AM
Author: DiaGem
I just listened to Tiffany''s 3rd. quarter conference call on the internet, and it was said that the Novo collection is beeing launched in Japan, and will be in for the US market by early 2007....

Are you sure it was the Novo you saw in NY?
maybe they''re introducing it in particular markets one at a time so that all markets will carry it BY 2007!
 

Berry79

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Hello,

This is my first time on here so forgive me if I am missing some part of this thread where these questions were addressed. As far as the Novo in America, it is only available in NYC at the 5th Avenue store. It is rolled out to the others next year I guess. It was rolled out on 5th Avenue on November 19, 2006.

I tried on the Novo on November 18th (the lady had to go into the back where her desk was to get it because it was not even out yet). The one I tried on was definitely not the highest quality stone but it was absolutely gorgeous. It was sparkly and gorgeous. I am a big fan of the micropave and the Legacy isn''t for me (I dislike bezel) so I am probably more keen to like the Novo but I thought the cut was beautiful.

I missed the Cartier 19 carat but I did try some rings on there and I was incredibly unimpressed with their "service." We ended up falling in love at Harry Winston...

I must''ve gotten lucky on the Novo and seen a better cut stone (it was the color that wasn''t great) because I definitely thought it was sparkly and gorgeous, but I am not a big fan of Tiffany''s because it is so corporate now.
Good luck!
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Madam Bijoux

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Welcome, Berry. The best cushion cuts I''ve seen were at Cartier - sorry you didn''t get good service there. I''ll be in NY again on Dec. 20, and I''ll take another look at the Novo.
 

starryeyed

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Hi Madam. I saw that 19 carat pear! in that divine purple black room on the way to watches on the first floor. They had some killer pieces in there! I'm so glad your tongue was working enough to ask the price - mine was hanging out of my mouth! Did you see that massive square emerald tennis bracelet? I don't remember the carat weight, just that it was the most gorgeous bracelet I've ever seen in my life!

Berry 79, I would agree with you about the Cartier service at the 5th Ave store. The "museum" room was fun and they were pretty nice in there, but the saleswoman who "helped" us in the front room was awful. If I lived in NYC, I'd leave the city just to go to a Cartier where they were more pleasant!

I had called 2 weeks in advance to make an appointment to see 2-carat rings and was told they have plenty of stock. When we arrived the salesperson said she didn't have much to show me and acted like we were bothering her. When I told her about the phone call, she acted huffy and said I should decide whether Cartier was where I wanted to buy. Then she said if I was sure I wanted to buy at Cartier, I should decide on a setting and they can source a ring/stone. I asked to see a few settings for a 2 carat and she again acted bothered, like I should know the settings already and it was a huge inconvenience to open the case. She would hardly let me see anything and quickly grabbed the rings out of my hands, before I was finished looking.

It was so miserable and I felt so badly. I was embarrassed that I brought my fiancee-to-be into this store. I've bought quite a few things from Cartier (in other locations) in the past and the 5th Ave. store was by far the worst experience I ever had.
 

Madam Bijoux

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Starryeyed, I''ve been dreaming about that ring and bracelet!! It''s a shame the salesperson treated you so badly. Don''t they realize how many commissions they cheat themselves out of by acting that way? If a salesperson does that to you again, you could say "If it''s too much trouble for you, let''s get your supervisor out here and we can all discuss it."
 

starryeyed

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We should all get together in some sort of fractional ownership program and share the ring and bracelet. With my portion, I could afford to wear it for like 5 minutes a year!

I agree with you Madam. If that salesperson had been nicer to me, I probably would have bought a necklace from them that day. I''ve been obsessing about the Love Y-shape necklace in WG, so I was ripe for sure. Too bad she didn''t see that!
 

erica k

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Here''s the Novo engagement ring

http://www.tiffany.co.jp/expertise/diamond/rings/engagement_novo.aspx?

novo1.JPG
 

erica k

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another view

novo2.JPG
 

erica k

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the side views seem a little aggressive, top-heavy and too much metal on the head? i really like chunky rings, but the proportions seem off on this one. maybe it would look better with a smaller diamond?

novo3.JPG
 

diamondfan

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the stone shape is okay, I do not like the prongs on the head. Too heavy.

If salesgirls are rude, just say, smiling, "I realize it might be too much, asking you to do your job, so I will get your supervisor so as not to trouble you". Watch the attitude change right quickly. I had a salesgirl be rude, and then when I started to walk away, and she realized she might not make a sale, she had the nerve to ask if something is wrong. YES, I said. YOUR attitude. This is your job, you work here, please do your job in a pleasant way or I will make sure next time I get saleshelp who is happy to be helpful". This girl apologized all over herself.
 

Miranda

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I was at the South Coast Plaza store on Friday and didn''t notice this new cut...Maybe it hasn''t made its way out west yet. I was busy with the ovals and shared prong bands, though, so it is very possible that I missed it. Too bad it doesn''t look nicer. Thanks for the report Madam Bijoux.
 
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