Earring questions

[GShock]

Two questions:

1. Are there any guidelines for selecting stones for stud earrings? (i.e., how close should the measurements be? are some measurements more important than others?)

2. Has anyone used an internet vendor to select stones for earrings and been satisfied with the vendor''s selection? Any referrals would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NewYorker]

That is really up to how particular you are. If you have perfectly matched studs no one will know but you.

 

[Mara]

If you buy the studs pre-matched in a B&M or similar, chances are they will be around the same size (e.g. one may be .49c and one may be .51c--no visual difference), they will be around the same color (e.g. maybe one color grade off G/H or the same color), and same or similar clarity (e.g. VS2 VS1 and SI1 or VS2).




Most pre-matched studs if you don't take care to buy them from a reputable dealer or one that knows what they get in for stock may just sell you crappily cut stones that match color, clarity and size but the cuts are horrible. Too deep...etc. Or they may say they are VS when they are SI. Alot of times you don't get certs on the stones, so you don't really know what you buy (this happened to us). Or you may get offered studs that are colored I or J and SI2 in clarity. That is pretty typical for pre-matched since hardly anyone would feel the need to get anything over that for something that someone wears on their ears. Plus it's cheaper to go that route.




My two cents is...build your own! You can choose your own color, clarity and most importantly, cut...and have two amazing earrings that make a great set. I love that our new earrings are alot better cut than the old ones, you can really see a difference. Plus depending on what size you get, each stone may come with its own GIA cert or similar. I know that WhiteFlash sells AGS certed stones from .20c up and I think some of the other vendors sell smaller certed stones like GOG etc.




You won't pay hardly any more (if any at all) for building your own and you know what you are getting. That would be my main reason for doing it, esp having done the pre-matched route. Plus I'm just a cut geek

Good luck!!

 

[Mara]

Just as an example...




I found the following stones on the 'cut quality' search on Pscope. They are both under 2.0 on the HCA, certified H&A, and AGS 'ideal'.




.50c I SI1 H&A AGS 0 $1035


.50c I SI1 H&A AGS 0 $1041




Those are loose stones, so add something like $200-300 for the white gold 4 prong settings depending on your vendor. Your total is $2275-2300 depending on tax charged in your area, shipping, etc.




Then I went onto an online vendor, Blue Nile, where they sell tons of pre-matched earring sets. For general consumers.




They have 1ctw earring sets so estimate around .50c each. The color is I, clarity is SI2. No information on cut at all. No certifications on the stones. Definitely not H&A. The cost is $2300 for the stones set into 3 prong white gold, not counting tax and shipping etc.




Compare that to the 'build your own set' where you have $2275-2375. Compare that to the Blue Nile set for $2300.




Hearts and Arrows on the ears for the same price as randomly matched Blue Nile stones? Definitely.




This is just one scenario...I have seen tons of pre-matched sets online that are I SI2 or similar...not bad at all esp for earrings, but it never says anything about the cut. Whether the stones are on your ears or not...cut still matters even if they don't need to be 'ideal'. At least know what you are buying!

For this reason...I would definitely do a 'build your own' in the future...and it's more fun too. More personal.




Best of luck!

 

[GShock]

Thanks for the quick responses. I really appreciate the time and effort folks here take to answer newbie questions (even when they've been asked a million times before).

Mara--I read your previous posts in the archives about your experience with the previous stones not being what you had been originally sold. I was very glad to hear that the vendor did right by you.

I actually went to a B&M today and was very frustrated with my experience. I had provided some loose guidelines before I went in so that they could arrange to have stones available. The two stones I was initially presented struck me as clearly not the same spread. Now as Tanya points out, they will be on opposite sides of my wife's head, so perfect matching is not mandatory. But I got a little skeeved when I immediately noticed the different spread. Thinking about them appearing side-by-side in the box when she opens it was enough for me to ask the salesperson for another stone.

She brought out another stone which clearly was a better match, and explained that she hadn't presented this stone originally because she had wanted to "save me money" and this stone was more expensive. I appreciated her attentiveness to my budget, but I was more concerned with having stones that looked relatively similar. To be fair, that's just as much my fault for not communicating my preferences.

I just got more frustrated from there as only one of the stones was certified (an EGL cert at that), and when I asked about obtaining measurements, she said she would guarantee the carat weight, color, and clarity. I didn't feel that her answer was responsive.

I asked about a Sarin report and she looked at me like I'd grown a 3rd eye.

Mara-thanks for the heads-up on the "search by cut quality." I had been doing searches on "search by quality" and not necessarily getting the info I needed. I notice that in the two examples you provided, measurement information isn't available. I guess I'm just nervous about ordering without some idea as to how they may look side-by-side.

After my experience today, I definitately will be "building my own." I was just curious as to what size factors should be considered.

Again, thanks for the help.

 

[Mara]

For the two examples given, those stones are brokered by GOG (www.goodoldgold.com). I would give Jonathan a call and see what the measurements of the stones are. I bet they will be very similar. For what its worth, from what I have seen, spread only makes a difference when the stones aren't cut well. If two stones are the same carat weight and one looks significantly bigger, then either the smaller one is cut too deep, or the larger one is cut too shallow. Or maybe both! But if you have excellently cut stones then your measurements should be almost spot on or at least should be visually the same to your eye.




For comparison's sake...I ran a quick search on WhiteFlash.Com where they have 'super ideal' branded H&A's. Pretty. Anyway...here are two other stones that are almost identical in cctw, color and clarity, and are excellently cut. They also come with AGS certs. They are more pricey than the brokered GOG stones--so I'd do your research on pricing and figure out what you want to pay.




To see these stones with details and pictures of the H&A, closeups and AGS certs...go to whiteflash.com and run a search for their 'A Cut Above' line and put in similar measurements as below.




.51c G SI2 5.16-5.18 x 3.15 $1285


.51c G SI2 5.16-5.18 x 3.14 $1285




Yes those are two different stones, look at their different AGS certs & #s (on the website). That is a comparison of two excellently cut stones that match almost perfectly. Not all stones are going to match that perfectly, you may see a spread of something like 5.12-5.17 and one with a spread of 5.15-5.21 or similar, but that is visually non-perceptible...not like the ones you saw in the store which were most likely horribly cut. Keep in mind measurements are also ranges..you just don't want to see huge gaps in the range or the stones be really different (e.g. 5.04-5.08 for one and 5.15-5.21 for another...then your eye may notice a difference).




So I'd look for similar measurements, and don't work with someone who thinks you have a 3rd eye. Ask for measurements, its your money you are spending here!

I like the earring questions because of our own experience and also what I've learned here! Shop educated and then you can't second guess your purchase...we all know that one!

Good luck!!

 

[GShock]

Thanks Mara--that's precisely the information I needed. Someone should offer you a job as an online advisor. Very valuable stuff . . .

 

[sneakyp]

i recently gbought diamond studs from GOG and found jonathan to be helpful in picking a matching pair of studs. i would agree with the other posters that you build your own dynamite set of studs. though i did not buy from whiteflash i have seen many good references to them as well.

 

[Mara]

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On 9/18/2003 9:34:53 AM GShock wrote:





Thanks Mara--that's precisely the information I needed. Someone should offer you a job as an online advisor. Very valuable stuff . . .
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Thanks but NAH...then'd I'd *have* to respond to people...and that would take all the fun out of it...like a real job.

Good luck with the search, its so much fun....