Veltiesmom
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2015
- Messages
- 165
* Leave it to me to post this in the wrong forum! Having it moved now...
It took nearly a year (!!) but my 10 year upgrade project is finally done.
The details are endless and I won't bore you with the nitty gritty, but suffice it to say I purchased and returned 9 (no that is not a typo) OECs before finally changing gears and deciding on an MRB. I never thought I'd end up with a modern round - I love the charm of antique cut stones and was sure I would go that route. But in the end I had trouble finding my "holy grail" OEC - higher color, 3+ carats, flowery patterning, minimal obstruction, AND on budget - and the search was starting to consume far too much time and energy. So I ended up changing my search to an MRB hunt, and I'm so glad I did! The various OECs I owned were all lovely and charming, but none WOWed me almost all of the time the way this stone does. Hooray!
The specs:
3.23 J VS2 MRB
GIA Ex-Ex-Ex
Strong Blue Fluorescence
9.46 - 9.50 x 5.86 mm
Depth 61.8 %
Table 56 %
Crown Angle 34.5°
Pavilion Angle 40.8°
A few much-deseved thank yous before I get to the photos:
Adam at Old World DIamonds I'm not sure I've ever encountered customer service (in ANY aspect of my life) like that which I received from Adam at OWD. Suffice it to say that I drove poor Adam absolutely INSANE with emails and calls for months trying to find the perfect stone. He was always gracious, patient, kind, and responsive. And funny! Adam sent nine. Yes, NINE. Different stones across the country for me to try out. And was always good-humored and understanding each time when I inevitably called and said, "Sorry, not the one for me!" When (after MONTHS of obsessive OEC searching), I decided to switch my search to an MRB, he didn't blink an eye - he just said, "sure, let's do it." (I'm not sure it's well-known around here but Adam has access to an inventory of modern stones as well as antique diamonds.) When none of his in-house modern rounds fit the bill, he went searching elsewhere to find me a diamond with the exact specs I was looking for. This guy is the real deal! I couldn't recommend Adam more highly. I wish Adam could also be my dentist, my car mechanic, my insurance broker and my lawyer; life would be so much more pleasant that way!!! Thanks Adam!
Erica from LAD and Caysie from CvB I had in my head that I wanted to set my MRB in a 5-stone ring with traps and bullets. The inspiration came from a Leon Mege 5 stone ring (set with a cushion cut center) and from Erica's absolutely drop dead asscher 5-stone ring. However, I could find almost NO examples of round diamonds set with traps and bullets. I was discouraged from pursuing the combination because "rounds look better with rounded side stones" and was told I should consider setting it with half moons or round side stones instead. Those combinations have never appealed to me, but I did doubt myself for a bit. However, I kept coming back to the idea. Some may not like the combo, but for me, it's the shape contrast - rounded center versus wide angular traps versus thinner angular bullets - that makes the ring. After one PS vendor I contacted told me I should consider another design, I decided to contact Caysie and Erica with my idea. To my surprise, they responded almost immediately and were as excited about the concept as I was. After that it was smooth sailing. Both ladies are so lovely to work with. I had the most direct contact with Caysie, and I can say that in addition to being just a lovely human being, she has an amazing eye and is so dedicated to and enthusiastic about her work. She's really a joy to plan a project with. The ring itself took 7 or 8 weeks to execute once the design was final, but the end result is impeccable and was well worth the wait. The custom cut traps and baguettes that Caysie used are absolutely perfect and really make the ring - I'm so glad she suggested going that route. Thanks Caysie and Erica!
Diamondseeker! Jan AKA DS is a saint! She's so knowledgeable about, well, pretty much everything diamond and jewelry-related and she helped me so much with this project. She's also a lovely person. Thanks DS, could never have done it without you! The same is true for this forum in general - I just love you PSers.
Here is the thread with the CADs and design inspirations to the extent it is of interest to anyone ... https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cad-help-5-stone-ring-rb-w-traps-and-bullets.221642/
Photos to follow...!

It took nearly a year (!!) but my 10 year upgrade project is finally done.

The specs:
3.23 J VS2 MRB
GIA Ex-Ex-Ex
Strong Blue Fluorescence
9.46 - 9.50 x 5.86 mm
Depth 61.8 %
Table 56 %
Crown Angle 34.5°
Pavilion Angle 40.8°
A few much-deseved thank yous before I get to the photos:
Adam at Old World DIamonds I'm not sure I've ever encountered customer service (in ANY aspect of my life) like that which I received from Adam at OWD. Suffice it to say that I drove poor Adam absolutely INSANE with emails and calls for months trying to find the perfect stone. He was always gracious, patient, kind, and responsive. And funny! Adam sent nine. Yes, NINE. Different stones across the country for me to try out. And was always good-humored and understanding each time when I inevitably called and said, "Sorry, not the one for me!" When (after MONTHS of obsessive OEC searching), I decided to switch my search to an MRB, he didn't blink an eye - he just said, "sure, let's do it." (I'm not sure it's well-known around here but Adam has access to an inventory of modern stones as well as antique diamonds.) When none of his in-house modern rounds fit the bill, he went searching elsewhere to find me a diamond with the exact specs I was looking for. This guy is the real deal! I couldn't recommend Adam more highly. I wish Adam could also be my dentist, my car mechanic, my insurance broker and my lawyer; life would be so much more pleasant that way!!! Thanks Adam!

Erica from LAD and Caysie from CvB I had in my head that I wanted to set my MRB in a 5-stone ring with traps and bullets. The inspiration came from a Leon Mege 5 stone ring (set with a cushion cut center) and from Erica's absolutely drop dead asscher 5-stone ring. However, I could find almost NO examples of round diamonds set with traps and bullets. I was discouraged from pursuing the combination because "rounds look better with rounded side stones" and was told I should consider setting it with half moons or round side stones instead. Those combinations have never appealed to me, but I did doubt myself for a bit. However, I kept coming back to the idea. Some may not like the combo, but for me, it's the shape contrast - rounded center versus wide angular traps versus thinner angular bullets - that makes the ring. After one PS vendor I contacted told me I should consider another design, I decided to contact Caysie and Erica with my idea. To my surprise, they responded almost immediately and were as excited about the concept as I was. After that it was smooth sailing. Both ladies are so lovely to work with. I had the most direct contact with Caysie, and I can say that in addition to being just a lovely human being, she has an amazing eye and is so dedicated to and enthusiastic about her work. She's really a joy to plan a project with. The ring itself took 7 or 8 weeks to execute once the design was final, but the end result is impeccable and was well worth the wait. The custom cut traps and baguettes that Caysie used are absolutely perfect and really make the ring - I'm so glad she suggested going that route. Thanks Caysie and Erica!

Diamondseeker! Jan AKA DS is a saint! She's so knowledgeable about, well, pretty much everything diamond and jewelry-related and she helped me so much with this project. She's also a lovely person. Thanks DS, could never have done it without you! The same is true for this forum in general - I just love you PSers.

Here is the thread with the CADs and design inspirations to the extent it is of interest to anyone ... https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/cad-help-5-stone-ring-rb-w-traps-and-bullets.221642/
Photos to follow...!