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Dream upgrade. Please help with my choice!

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
Hi guys,

I have no idea about diamonds and I've been reading everything available on this forum but really, a lot of it just goes over my head. I appreciate all the amazing info but I am not sure that I have what it takes to make a good decision on a diamond purchase. I need your help please!

First a bit of a background. When we got engaged we were in an entirely different life situation and any of these consideration did not enter into our thinking at all :) He went to Tiffany's, got me a a really lovely, sweet, simple ring, which he could afford at the time and that was that :) I've never had any complaints though being slightly on a more rounded side :) my fingers don't exactly look great with delicate rings ;-) Fast forward some years and as our bigger round anniversary is approaching, my husband, bless his heart, brought up a subject of an upgrade. This is when I started having headaches :)

He is an absolutely wonderful guy but won't become a geologist any time soon :) And neither am I - so I guess this marriage still works, haha :) His idea was to go to Tiffany and just "upgrade" to something about 3 - 3.5 carat, color G-H, VVS1-VVS2. Theoretically, we could go bigger...but there are more anniversaries :D and I don't wanna scratch my handbags either :D so 3-3.5 carat would be a great everyday size for me though to be completely honest something around 4 or 5 carat would probably fit my frame and finger size better. Barbie has always been a rather unattainable ideal for me :D

However, I was really curious about how this entire system works because a friend bought her ring from James Allen and I started researching it and it looks like it is such a huge price difference between anything I compare at Tiffany's and James Allen or HP-Diamonds. Why is there such a difference? What is behind it?

Since we're just not "in the know" at all, should we go with Tiffany"s recommendation just "to be safe" and forget the price difference? How complicated is it to get a "nice" ring from another vendor? Where should I start looking to try other options?

I have learned that not everything that looks great on paper looks great in real life. A really huge Tiffany ring in I color looked horribly yellow IRL so we have eliminated it completely from our choices and decided to go with G to avoid any problems with that. I still find it so hard to make judgements based on some "paper criteria". Unfortunately, we live in a town (Europe) where we have very limited choices to look at anything at all. And if you start ordering things everyone wants you to commit to something you haven't seen at all. And I don't wanna do that either.

Do you have any advice for me? It would be greatly appreciated guys! Thanks in advance for your help!
 

Snowdrop13

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
2,960
What’s your budget? Tiffany will almost certainly be more expensive than the online retailers. CBI diamonds have retailers in Europe- definitely in Belgium and the U.K.- where you could go to view any of the stones, if that would help.
 

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
What’s your budget? Tiffany will almost certainly be more expensive than the online retailers. CBI diamonds have retailers in Europe- definitely in Belgium and the U.K.- where you could go to view any of the stones, if that would help.

What are CBI retailers in Europe?

We don't really have any set budget. It's supposed to be my "dream" upgrade :D so hubby says: whatever makes you happy. But having said that, I would not go for a D, IF diamond. Even though I could clearly see a color difference between G and I (which was very yellowish), I would probably not see a difference between D and G at all. So, why go overboard? :D
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2018
Messages
3,889
I have no argument in favour of purchasing this diamond from T; perhaps the brand counts for something or other, but, how much... If you can imagine further upgrades in the future, it would be nice to have the seller's guarantee that they will take in your stone at its full value & such; several sellers do this for fine round brilliant cuts, other shapes are to ask about.

thinking out loud
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2018
Messages
3,889
CBI Europe - WWW
 

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
I have no argument in favour of purchasing a large diamond from T; perhaps the brand counts for something or other, but, how much... If you can imagine further upgrades in the future, it would be nice to have the seller's guarantee that they will take in your stone at its full value & such; several sellers do this for fine round brilliant cuts, other shapes are to ask about.

This will be fun!

thinking out loud


As far as I know, Tiffany offers an upgrade as long as the stone you purchase is not damaged and about 1.5 size bigger than the previous one. I have no particular brand affiliation. But I also have zero expertise on diamonds. I don't want to take any risks on this purchase.
 
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VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
CBI Europe - WWW


I tired clicking on the link but it just gives me an error: "This connection is not private. This website might be impersonating www.craftedbyinfinity.com to steal your personal or financial information. You should close this page."

I do not know who you or what are you trying to accomplish through this action but these problems are precisely why I prefer to go to real life stores.
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2018
Messages
3,889
There is no risk to speak of.

The link works for me [I wouldn't know what or how to steal anything ,( ]
 

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
A screen shot of what happened:

Screenshot 2020-03-01 at 19.11.41.png Screenshot 2020-03-01 at 19.11.41.png
 

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
AV_,
Then we are both flabbergasted by this. If I click on it, it's the message I get. Weird, huh?
I wonder if the website owners would know what is causing this? I am using Mac Book Air pro. Maybe it is the hardware?

I tried searching in Goodle for "Crafted by infinity Europe" and clicking on it and I got the same error message. I guess it is not available in Europe after all?
 

canuk-gal

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
25,646
HI:

I helped a friend buy her dream Tiffany ring and she could not be happier. She tried on many rings to get the right proportions for her finger. She choose a 1.80 solitaire on her 6.5 finger. Perfect.

With your budget you could fly to, say, London and look to your hearts content; gauging what "size" is right for you. From there your decision would be a little more informed cuz you know what size you "need"; then chose which vendor based on other needs/wants.

cheers--Sharon
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,023
CBI definitely is the place to go. The diamonds’ cutter actually is from Antwerp. Let me see if Layla can help with their Europe location.

This. I would go with CBI over Tiffany every day of the week. You'll get a higher quality stone and a better upgrade policy (in the case you ever want to use it). And amazing customer service.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,023
I tired clicking on the link but it just gives me an error: "This connection is not private. This website might be impersonating www.craftedbyinfinity.com to steal your personal or financial information. You should close this page."

I do not know who you or what are you trying to accomplish through this action but these problems are precisely why I prefer to go to real life stores.

I get the same weird error with the Europe link, but the link to the High Performance Diamonds website (the US vendor for CBI) has no issues. It isn't anything malicious, just is an error of some kind.

Since I know it's safe I proceeded anyway and nothing happened. The website is normal, but the security thingy expired. Here's what it says for contact info in Europe.
 

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jp201845

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 24, 2018
Messages
560
I would definitely go with a Crafted By Infinity vendor, you will get a very high quality diamond and not to mention their amazing upgrade policy ....also a buy back policy at
80 % for life. Tiffany is very well known for their brand but their quality of stones versus CBI is not equal.
 

xxxxxx

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Messages
819
In this budget range it definitely makes sense to fly somewhere to see diamonds. If that is to a CBI location in Europe or flying to the US (and making a vacation out of it).
 

daisygrl

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Messages
1,002
I just text Layla. Let’s see if we can get you in touch with their location in europe. CBI diamonds are a better cut than Tiffany’s. Then again this is just my opinion.

would you happen to know if there is a way to get in touch with Wink during the weekend? (I know their store in Idaho is closed.)
 

bludiva

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
3,076
I'd go to tiffany if i were after a special cut like the true but not for a round. for 3ct at tiffany you could probably get 4-5 ct of an equally beautiful stone elsewhere. happy hunting!
 

Sunstorm

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
1,789
Actually you can get much higher quality at much better prices elsewhere, so why not do that? At Tiffany you pay for a name but their stones are just o.k. They are not super ideals at all! It is a great idea to do your Research and listen to others about what to do. BTW, I am European, love wearing diamonds and hate the idea of overspending on something that is just totally not worth it. Also, on your finger no one can tell it’s TIFF but everyone will see the performance of a super ideal. Plus you get a bigger stone if you want. I only see it as a win-win situation.
 

new-beginning

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 20, 2011
Messages
181
somewhere there is a thread re" recommended sellers when purchasing diamonds in Europe "but I never am successful using the 'search' function here
 

Arcadian

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Messages
9,086
BTW, nothing is wrong with craftedbyinfinity.com aside from their SSL certficate being out of date. Browsers are now much more security conscous so, you'll see those types of alerts.

Subject: craftedbyinfinity.com

Issuer: Let's Encrypt Authority X3

Expires on: Dec 23, 2019


Current date: Mar 2, 2020


@Paul-Antwerp you might want to look into this/have your web person update this for you.
 

OdetteOdile

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
1,581
I'm curious if you know you want a round stone. That will have an impact on where you look.
 

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
Since I know it's safe I proceeded anyway and nothing happened. The website is normal, but the security thingy expired. Here's what it says for contact info in Europe.

Thanks. I will look it up. Have you purchased anything from them before?

Tiffany is very well known for their brand but their quality of stones versus CBI is not equal.

I am just curious, what makes the CBI stones better than Tiffany's? Someone told me that Tiffany rejects something like 99 percent of the stones offered for sale so I thought they would have an amazing quality stones.

somewhere there is a thread re" recommended sellers when purchasing diamonds in Europe "but I never am successful using the 'search' function here

I have tried looking for it but couldn't find it. If you happen to come across it again, please let me know!

I'm curious if you know you want a round stone. That will have an impact on where you look.

Yes, I definitely would like to stay with a round stone. I've got a ring and a bracelet with marquise cut diamonds and given the choice again, I would much rather get it with round diamonds. in my experience, round diamonds sparkle the most.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,023
Thanks. I will look it up. Have you purchased anything from them before?



I am just curious, what makes the CBI stones better than Tiffany's? Someone told me that Tiffany rejects something like 99 percent of the stones offered for sale so I thought they would have an amazing quality stones.



I have tried looking for it but couldn't find it. If you happen to come across it again, please let me know!



Yes, I definitely would like to stay with a round stone. I've got a ring and a bracelet with marquise cut diamonds and given the choice again, I would much rather get it with round diamonds. in my experience, round diamonds sparkle the most.

I have a crafted by infinity stone that I adore, but didnt buy in Europe since I'm in the US. I bought from high performance diamonds and had an amazing experience and ended up with a wonderful diamond that I LOVE.
 

xxxxxx

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 6, 2019
Messages
819
HP Diamonds does ship to the EU and with them zu have a great Upgrade policy.

Tiffany really is so overpriced. Just imagine how much of the dollars you pay for their diamond ends up in marketing campaigns, rent for high end retail in the most expensive cities and all those people working for Tiffany. Instead with a boutique vendor almost all your money goes to the highest quality diamond possible.
I would also give Victor Canera a look. He’s a jeweler with the most beautiful ring settings and the diamonds he sells are the same high quality as CBIs or ACAs (from the company Whiteflash).
 

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
BTW, I am European, love wearing diamonds and hate the idea of overspending on something that is just totally not worth it. Also, on your finger no one can tell it’s TIFF but everyone will see the performance of a super ideal. Plus you get a bigger stone if you want. I only see it as a win-win situation.


Where have you made your purchases if I might ask? It seems difficult to me to find a good vendor as most places near to where I live do not have anything to look at or maybe just one stone/ring but usually in a wrong color, inferior cut etc. Other places basically want me to commit to a description of a diamond on paper sight unseen - and I find it a very difficult concept. I've made mistakes before when purchasing jewerly...This time I'd like to get something that will sparkle joy every time my eye catches a glimpse of it :)

I haven't had much chance to do a lot of research during the last few days because: a. life :D, b. that pesky virus going around everywhere and making me anxious but I will look into the info about CBI you guys have recommended. What makes them better than other places?
 

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
I have a crafted by infinity stone that I adore, but didnt buy in Europe since I'm in the US. I bought from high performance diamonds and had an amazing experience and ended up with a wonderful diamond that I LOVE.


Sounds absolutely wonderful! That is exactly the kind of ring I would love to have: something that makes me smile every time I put it on. Would you happen to have a picture of your ring? I would love to see it.
 

VeryUndecided

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 1, 2020
Messages
164
HP Diamonds does ship to the EU and with them zu have a great Upgrade policy.
....
.....
I would also give Victor Canera a look. He’s a jeweler with the most beautiful ring settings and the diamonds he sells are the same high quality as CBIs or ACAs (from the company Whiteflash).


Thanks for all the ideas! It will keep me busy for a while :) especially since I know absolutely nothing about it. It's been already supper interesting and I am learning a ton from this forum! Thanks!
Most of my jewerly has been gifted to me by my husband and basically, he just went the Tiffany route. I've got a G-colour, 2.7 carat solitaire Tiffany necklace on which I get a lot of compliments but I feel like a necklace is kind of for the benefit of other people as I don't see it at all :D I'd like to finally have a very sparkly ring that I can actually see and enjoy every day :D
 
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