Just a back story about me...
I found this site about the middle half of last year (July) and I did a lot of research on the diamond and initially went with a 1.15J SI1 ACA (November) from Whiteflash. I was torn between a Ritani vs the Tiffany copy that WF sells (with Elaniah modifications) only to later realize that I was more drawn to the Ritani EL HALO RB. I bought the 1.15, had it shipped to me and before I could muster the courage to finally bring the diamond to the local BM - I decided at the last minute that I did not want to go with a halo since I was primarily getting it for a size booster. I decided that I wanted to go with a solitaire so I sent the 1.15 back to Whiteflash and I upgraded to a 1.508J SI1 ACA (December)!
I then received it and figured it was big enough now.
January...
I went around looking for the perfect setting (now we are in January). I considered the Ritani Setting, I also looked at Tacori and Leon Mege. I began to really like how the Tacori''s looked and was less inclined to work with Leon Mege after a few emails. I scrapped the Ritani and the Leon Mege, I decided to go with the Tacori.
The question was which one? I narrowed it down to the contemporary crescent collection: 2565 vs 2578.
I thought the 2578 was a better looking setting but I thought the 2565 was a better deal (cheaper) while being a bit more dainty.
February...
The Tacori I chose was the Tacori 2565. I debated between the white gold and the platinum metals, I decided to go with the white gold primarily due to cost and my jeweler CD Peacock convinced me that the white gold of Tacori is mixed with whiter metals (ala Palladium). I chose a setting from the display as I did not want to wait for the 6 weeks it takes for Tacori to make the ring with the diamond on hand. I gave them my 1.508 and paid for the setting (with discount of course).
March...
I got the ring back early March... I had requested the diamond be set perhaps 1mm lower but no more. Their jeweler set my diamond a good 3mm or so lower and the setting looked ODD. I did not like it at all, I did not like how the prong tips were not pointy like I asked them to make it (they were round and bulbous) and it was apparent that the jeweler was not skilled enough to set the diamond onto the 2565 setting. I figured that I probably blew it when I had CD Peacock request that the diamond be set lower - I figured that it made setting the diamond that much harder for the jeweler.
I told my salesman that I did not like it and he agreed to help me out. I told him I want a remake and this time let''s go with the stock height, stock everything. NO modifications to be made like I had requested on the first one. For some reason, we decided to have the jeweler set the stone again figuring that without any modifications to the setting, it would be an easy swap - plus it would save us 2 weeks since Tacori could get started on the ring right away without having to wait for us to ship them my stone.
So we ordered the setting from Tacori and they told them the dimensions of my stone. This time, I decided to go with the platinum metal because I realized that it would not be wise to hold back the finances on such a long term purchase... the difference between the white gold and the platinum was approximately 1000$ but it was worth it. Plus, I wanted to help out my salesman but getting him a larger commission - he was real nice to me.
April...
4 weeks passed and Tacori had finished my 2565 setting. My salesman called me in to take a look at it to get my final ok before sending the setting and my stone to the jeweler. I rushed from the hospital after a shift at the ER, it was FANTASTIC! It looked nice and was symmetrical. It had a similarly sized CZ on it and I really liked how the detailing was so meticulous and the quality and craftmanship were top notch. Most importantly, the prongs were straight and angled just right.
If you look closely at the setting, you will see that the prongs are quite difficult to set straight as it is somewhat cathedral like in height with a slight angle to each prong depending on diamond size.
I gave the go ahead and the jeweler set my stone. I got a call back a few days later, told to come in. I was excited.
I came in and took a look. Man... it was a TERRIBLE setting job!! The diamond was off to one side and the entire prong/head was deviated towards that side. The prongs had scratches on it likely from a tool that he used. It was NOT acceptable to me.
But I figured that maybe I was being too picky and I took the setting home. When I got home, I just could not warm up to the ring. It was off and I just could not muster the effort to propose with a subpar ring.
I took it back and complained. My salesman was very kind and agreed that it was set wrong. However, this was our second reset and we were burning money (their profits) with each reset. He told me that he could send it to Tacori for repair - but after reading some occurrences on PS, I declined. I did not want to risk a failed attempt to fixing the ring and the time that goes with it.... weeks! I told him that we should have gone with a full Tacori reset.... Tacori should have set the diamond onto the setting themselves.
Although he conceded that perhaps the 2565 was too difficult for his jeweler to set without being off (likely due to the high set, the prong angles, etc)... he said that it would not make good business sense to start over with another 2565 seeing as this was the second 2565 I had gone through.
I told him that fine, let''s go for a completely new setting - let''s get the one I should''ve gotten in the first place - the 2578 in platinum. It was more expensive than the 2565 plat and it had a simpler, more classic 4 prong head that NO ONE could mess up. I told him that I wanted Tacori to set the entire thing and that we send the diamond to them from the getgo. I did not want the jeweler to touch my diamond and setting, I was upset that he could not set a diamond onto a non-modified 2565 when I figured that all he had to do was pop out the CZ and pop in the stone.
My salesman agreed, he probably figured he was getting more commission and that the wedding band for the 2578 was twice as expensive as the band for the 2565... more commission for him and the CD Peacock was getting more out of me.
May...
I''m sitting here waiting for my finally completed Tacori adventure. I received a call and was told that Tacori is to finish the entire setting with the stone in place on June 4. I am ecstatic and excited!
Finally, it took some time and a few set backs but with a good salesman to help me out, it was not such a bad experience. I can say this - the setting is a far more difficult purchase to finalize compared to the stone. The stone is easy. Just go on PS, learn a little - use the Holloway Cut calculator, find the best deal and done.
The setting is much more personal and a lot trickier to navigate around!
Anyway, I just wanted to share my excitement with you guys.... June''s around the corner and I will surely post pics of my complete Tacori setting!
I found this site about the middle half of last year (July) and I did a lot of research on the diamond and initially went with a 1.15J SI1 ACA (November) from Whiteflash. I was torn between a Ritani vs the Tiffany copy that WF sells (with Elaniah modifications) only to later realize that I was more drawn to the Ritani EL HALO RB. I bought the 1.15, had it shipped to me and before I could muster the courage to finally bring the diamond to the local BM - I decided at the last minute that I did not want to go with a halo since I was primarily getting it for a size booster. I decided that I wanted to go with a solitaire so I sent the 1.15 back to Whiteflash and I upgraded to a 1.508J SI1 ACA (December)!
I then received it and figured it was big enough now.
January...
I went around looking for the perfect setting (now we are in January). I considered the Ritani Setting, I also looked at Tacori and Leon Mege. I began to really like how the Tacori''s looked and was less inclined to work with Leon Mege after a few emails. I scrapped the Ritani and the Leon Mege, I decided to go with the Tacori.
The question was which one? I narrowed it down to the contemporary crescent collection: 2565 vs 2578.
I thought the 2578 was a better looking setting but I thought the 2565 was a better deal (cheaper) while being a bit more dainty.
February...
The Tacori I chose was the Tacori 2565. I debated between the white gold and the platinum metals, I decided to go with the white gold primarily due to cost and my jeweler CD Peacock convinced me that the white gold of Tacori is mixed with whiter metals (ala Palladium). I chose a setting from the display as I did not want to wait for the 6 weeks it takes for Tacori to make the ring with the diamond on hand. I gave them my 1.508 and paid for the setting (with discount of course).
March...
I got the ring back early March... I had requested the diamond be set perhaps 1mm lower but no more. Their jeweler set my diamond a good 3mm or so lower and the setting looked ODD. I did not like it at all, I did not like how the prong tips were not pointy like I asked them to make it (they were round and bulbous) and it was apparent that the jeweler was not skilled enough to set the diamond onto the 2565 setting. I figured that I probably blew it when I had CD Peacock request that the diamond be set lower - I figured that it made setting the diamond that much harder for the jeweler.
I told my salesman that I did not like it and he agreed to help me out. I told him I want a remake and this time let''s go with the stock height, stock everything. NO modifications to be made like I had requested on the first one. For some reason, we decided to have the jeweler set the stone again figuring that without any modifications to the setting, it would be an easy swap - plus it would save us 2 weeks since Tacori could get started on the ring right away without having to wait for us to ship them my stone.
So we ordered the setting from Tacori and they told them the dimensions of my stone. This time, I decided to go with the platinum metal because I realized that it would not be wise to hold back the finances on such a long term purchase... the difference between the white gold and the platinum was approximately 1000$ but it was worth it. Plus, I wanted to help out my salesman but getting him a larger commission - he was real nice to me.
April...
4 weeks passed and Tacori had finished my 2565 setting. My salesman called me in to take a look at it to get my final ok before sending the setting and my stone to the jeweler. I rushed from the hospital after a shift at the ER, it was FANTASTIC! It looked nice and was symmetrical. It had a similarly sized CZ on it and I really liked how the detailing was so meticulous and the quality and craftmanship were top notch. Most importantly, the prongs were straight and angled just right.
If you look closely at the setting, you will see that the prongs are quite difficult to set straight as it is somewhat cathedral like in height with a slight angle to each prong depending on diamond size.
I gave the go ahead and the jeweler set my stone. I got a call back a few days later, told to come in. I was excited.
I came in and took a look. Man... it was a TERRIBLE setting job!! The diamond was off to one side and the entire prong/head was deviated towards that side. The prongs had scratches on it likely from a tool that he used. It was NOT acceptable to me.
But I figured that maybe I was being too picky and I took the setting home. When I got home, I just could not warm up to the ring. It was off and I just could not muster the effort to propose with a subpar ring.
I took it back and complained. My salesman was very kind and agreed that it was set wrong. However, this was our second reset and we were burning money (their profits) with each reset. He told me that he could send it to Tacori for repair - but after reading some occurrences on PS, I declined. I did not want to risk a failed attempt to fixing the ring and the time that goes with it.... weeks! I told him that we should have gone with a full Tacori reset.... Tacori should have set the diamond onto the setting themselves.
Although he conceded that perhaps the 2565 was too difficult for his jeweler to set without being off (likely due to the high set, the prong angles, etc)... he said that it would not make good business sense to start over with another 2565 seeing as this was the second 2565 I had gone through.
I told him that fine, let''s go for a completely new setting - let''s get the one I should''ve gotten in the first place - the 2578 in platinum. It was more expensive than the 2565 plat and it had a simpler, more classic 4 prong head that NO ONE could mess up. I told him that I wanted Tacori to set the entire thing and that we send the diamond to them from the getgo. I did not want the jeweler to touch my diamond and setting, I was upset that he could not set a diamond onto a non-modified 2565 when I figured that all he had to do was pop out the CZ and pop in the stone.
My salesman agreed, he probably figured he was getting more commission and that the wedding band for the 2578 was twice as expensive as the band for the 2565... more commission for him and the CD Peacock was getting more out of me.
May...
I''m sitting here waiting for my finally completed Tacori adventure. I received a call and was told that Tacori is to finish the entire setting with the stone in place on June 4. I am ecstatic and excited!
Finally, it took some time and a few set backs but with a good salesman to help me out, it was not such a bad experience. I can say this - the setting is a far more difficult purchase to finalize compared to the stone. The stone is easy. Just go on PS, learn a little - use the Holloway Cut calculator, find the best deal and done.
The setting is much more personal and a lot trickier to navigate around!
Anyway, I just wanted to share my excitement with you guys.... June''s around the corner and I will surely post pics of my complete Tacori setting!
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