e2the3rd
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2018
- Messages
- 563
After 13+ years married and a few (mostly moissanite) e-rings, I'm so happy to have my first big diamond solitaire!
1.67ct E SI2 MMD from Distinctive Gem, reset in my custom platinum 6-prong knife edge solitaire by David Klass.
I had DK make my (favorite) wedding set in 2016. The solitaire previously held an 8.1mm / 2ct equiv moissanite - which I found too large for my taste most of the time, never experienced DSS! The fishtail / French pave diamond wedding band in pictures is also in platinum and made by David Klass - the .35cttw G VS stones were previously in a palladium band with a sort of saw blade edge design. I love both of these rings so much, they're timeless but to me they also have a little edginess.
I recently got the itch to find a diamond to replace the large moissanite in the solitaire. I realized very quickly I couldn't afford a natural diamond in the size/specs I could live with, and fortunately had just seen a story on tv about lab grown diamonds - I'd been previously ignoring them as I thought the prices weren't much different, boy was I wrong.
First I searched Rare Carat for days on end, trying to find the right size/price/specs I'd seen here - and finally ordered a beautiful stone from one of their vendors, Ascot jewelers. It was a G color and I thought I saw some tint, as well as darkness in the center, and worried I wouldn't be able to handle it. It may have been perfectly fine once set, but I just couldn't tell for sure. It was a stunning cut and received great feedback here when I posted about it, so a tough decision but I returned it after finding an E at Distinctive Gem for not much more $. The new 1.67 E was also a bit larger at 7.67mm, which was a big plus - I wanted to go smaller than my moissanite but larger than 7.5mm like the one from Ascot. It scored a .5 on the HCA, Ex Ex Ex and got a "looks big".
Jonathan at Distinctive Gem (formerly August Vintage) was so great. I loved his enthusiasm. He did a thorough inspection of the stone once it arrived to him, with a video presentation just for me, ASETs and Idealscopes, the works... at the end of his report he gave it two thumbs up. He assured me the main needle inclusion was safe and not visible, so an eye-clean SI2, which made the price SO much nicer than a VS grade. I can't see the inclusion and do not care one bit that it's there!
After a quick viewing of the stone when it arrived, I sent it off to David for the reset the next day. I was glad to not sit on it for weeks like I did the last stone, and happy with Jonathan's approval of the stone and the fact that it would not have any tint whatsoever. David had it back to me so fast. I'm in love!!
I will say - this stone is NOT photogenic. The previous one that I returned photographed great, but photos made it appear even more beautiful than it actually was in person. It took me a gazillion attempts to get some good shots. I'm guessing because of the E color ? it's just so white, and perhaps less contrast so it's more difficult for the camera to capture ? idk
Fortunately, I have this fantastic video from Jonathan to show the sparkle:
sparkle video
and another video in regular lighting:
video
Jonathan's scans/pics
Comparing the loose stone to my moissanites (diamond is in a stone holder on my middle finger)
and more pics of the reset!
1.67ct E SI2 MMD from Distinctive Gem, reset in my custom platinum 6-prong knife edge solitaire by David Klass.
I had DK make my (favorite) wedding set in 2016. The solitaire previously held an 8.1mm / 2ct equiv moissanite - which I found too large for my taste most of the time, never experienced DSS! The fishtail / French pave diamond wedding band in pictures is also in platinum and made by David Klass - the .35cttw G VS stones were previously in a palladium band with a sort of saw blade edge design. I love both of these rings so much, they're timeless but to me they also have a little edginess.
I recently got the itch to find a diamond to replace the large moissanite in the solitaire. I realized very quickly I couldn't afford a natural diamond in the size/specs I could live with, and fortunately had just seen a story on tv about lab grown diamonds - I'd been previously ignoring them as I thought the prices weren't much different, boy was I wrong.
First I searched Rare Carat for days on end, trying to find the right size/price/specs I'd seen here - and finally ordered a beautiful stone from one of their vendors, Ascot jewelers. It was a G color and I thought I saw some tint, as well as darkness in the center, and worried I wouldn't be able to handle it. It may have been perfectly fine once set, but I just couldn't tell for sure. It was a stunning cut and received great feedback here when I posted about it, so a tough decision but I returned it after finding an E at Distinctive Gem for not much more $. The new 1.67 E was also a bit larger at 7.67mm, which was a big plus - I wanted to go smaller than my moissanite but larger than 7.5mm like the one from Ascot. It scored a .5 on the HCA, Ex Ex Ex and got a "looks big".
Jonathan at Distinctive Gem (formerly August Vintage) was so great. I loved his enthusiasm. He did a thorough inspection of the stone once it arrived to him, with a video presentation just for me, ASETs and Idealscopes, the works... at the end of his report he gave it two thumbs up. He assured me the main needle inclusion was safe and not visible, so an eye-clean SI2, which made the price SO much nicer than a VS grade. I can't see the inclusion and do not care one bit that it's there!
After a quick viewing of the stone when it arrived, I sent it off to David for the reset the next day. I was glad to not sit on it for weeks like I did the last stone, and happy with Jonathan's approval of the stone and the fact that it would not have any tint whatsoever. David had it back to me so fast. I'm in love!!
I will say - this stone is NOT photogenic. The previous one that I returned photographed great, but photos made it appear even more beautiful than it actually was in person. It took me a gazillion attempts to get some good shots. I'm guessing because of the E color ? it's just so white, and perhaps less contrast so it's more difficult for the camera to capture ? idk
Fortunately, I have this fantastic video from Jonathan to show the sparkle:
sparkle video
and another video in regular lighting:
video
Jonathan's scans/pics
Comparing the loose stone to my moissanites (diamond is in a stone holder on my middle finger)
and more pics of the reset!
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Love it, and love it in that mounting (I've recently become obsessed with that tab claw)! 
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