Have you "Drank the PS Kool-Aid?"

[Futurmrss]

Date: 12/21/2009 12:08:23 PM
Author: brellymom
Had an uncerted 1 ct, upgraded to 1.6 certed ct on my own. Then one year later, I found PS, now I have a much better certed 2.39 G VS2. And trying to tell myself that the D 2.49 SI2 wasn''t what I wanted. Sigh. I''m not good at taking pics, so forgive the poor quality - the stone is gorgeous!!

Your stone looks like a winner!

 

[pinki]

I''ve drank it and it must have been cold because I''m experiencing shrinkage. I have a 1.5c G VS1 Asscher set in a halo with 2 trapezoid diamonds (3tcw) and I feel like its so small! Of course I get compliments on it being HUGE all the time (I live in the midwest were its not as normal to have anything over 1c) but I''m already wanting to upgrade to 2+.

Cj

 

[Laila619]

I went from a .98 carat diamond that faced up like a .80 to a nearly 2 carat upgrade! So yes I would say I have.

I also used to like a bit chunkier of a setting, but now I love thin pave settings.

 

[Callisto]

Before PS I wanted a .5 carat princess from **gasp** Robbins Brothers... but I''m now looking for a .8-1 carat GOG OMC.

I also want studs sooo badly... And a big peridot pendant... and pearl earrings... and an eternity band... and a champagne diamond haloed three stone rhr...

I think I''ve been guzzling PS Kool-Aid.

 

[omieluv]

Yes and no. I ended up with roughly the same size diamond that I wanted before finding PS, however, I changed my mind on the type of setting I wanted several times. After about a year, I realized I gravitated toward vintage/antique style settings, which is what I ended up with. Thanks to drinking the kool-aid, I ended up with a fantastic stone and setting.

However, my ''bling'' wish list has expanded quite a bit since discovering PS!

 

[vespergirl]

I actually found PS years ago, and used to look at pictures of asscher diamonds, but I never read Rocky Talky or learned about specs - I just liked the pictures

So, when I got engaged, DH let me pick out the ring, and I was hell bent on getting an asscher, even though DH wanted to get me something more like a 1.5 - 2 ct round. I had tried on 1.5 ct rounds, and liked that size on my hand. When we went shopping I asked to try on 1.5 ct asschers. My DH kept telling me that they looked really small, but it was hard to tell with unset diamonds. He wanted something bigger, so he got me a 1.64 ct asscher.

However, once he picked up the ring in the setting, it looked smaller to both of us than we remembered the 1.5 ct round looking. We didn''t realize that different shapes faced up smaller, and the jeweler didn''t mention that to us. People kept asking me if my stone was "almost a carat," and that was disappointing because it was so much bigger.

So, that''s when I got on PS and started doing research - not only did I get an asscher, the shape that faces up smallest, but I got a very deep one - it was 75% depth. I traded up to a couple of different asschers, but was never happy with the fact that they faced up small for the weight.

So, after we were married for about a year and a half, I finally traded up to the 2 ct round that DH had originally wanted to get me (I got to go a little bigger since I went with an eyeclean SI1 - before PS I didn''t want anything lower than a VS, until I saw all the beautiful SI rings on here).

So, PS has been good and bad for me - good because I finally have my dream diamond, which I love, but bad because I see all the beautiful rings and can''t decide how to set it!

 

[Haven]

Oh gosh, yes, DH and I definitely drank the PS Kool-Aid.

I originally wanted a yellow cushion sapphire in a halo setting.
I ended up with a 2.01 ct white cushion diamond on an eternity band.
Big difference, but I love it!

 

[jewelz617]

It''s not so much I was influenced to get something bigger, but I definitely got more creative with my ideas. Before I pretty much thought engagement rings were solitaires, end of story. Since discovering Pricescope, I''ve learned about the wonderful world of settings, diamond buying, gem cutting, color subtleties, everything!

Now I''m building the engagement ring I''ve always wanted AND working on another ring for my right hand! It''s not because of influence, I''m just so much more aware of all the beautiful possibilities for my jewelry, and the magical world of custom design

 

[septembergirl]

Guilty!

About a decade ago, I knew nothing about diamonds. In 1999, husband #1 gave me a .86 round brilliant set with two round side diamonds, all in platinum. Fast-forward to 2006 and my engagement ring got upgraded, along with an upgrade in the husband department (might be TMI, but the marriage to the first husband lasted less than 2 years and since then I met and married a wonderful man). In that decade's worth of time, I learned so much about diamonds and loved the educational information behind it... I started drinking the kool-aid!

When my husband proposed in '06, we waited half a year before making the engagement ring purchase because he wanted me to be happy with it and we wanted to make sure it was a solid and smart purchase. I love my engagement ring, a Ritani Endless love, and it's a 1.4 in a halo setting. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank him for being the man of my dreams and for giving me the ring of my dreams.

 

[AmberGretchen]

I think PS drove me to go *slightly* bigger than I would have otherwise (1.12 ct vs 0.86), but I am honestly glad - with DSS, I am kind of hoping for an upgrade

 

[butterfly 17]

When I got married in 1993, we didn''t have much money so I didn''t get a ring. i waited until our 10th for my DH to purchase a diamond ring for me.

Now, 16 years later I have over 2 carats, so yes, I have happily drunk the PS Kool-Aid and am very happy that I have!

 

[Winks_Elf]

Mmmm, fruit-punch Kool-Aide!

Just got engaged in October. Fi and I could not decide if we wanted to do custom, a three-stone (Either a nice solid beefier setting or the delicate three-stone Swan pave I love so much), or do something else. The influences here are just "aweful!" It''s bad enough I work with so much jewelery that I couldn''t make up my mind! So, we decided to do a temporary setting. I went with a gorgeous Roseco micropave solitaire, hearts-on-top prongs, and am finding that I''m afraid to wear my ring on a daily basis because of the delicate shank (and the fact that I have four children, am rather hard on my hands, etc.), so while I''m at home my pretty ring sits on a shelf or in the jewelry cleaner.

Sooo, I have been researching settings that would be more "bomb-proof" for me, and came up with two possibilities...either a semi-bezel wider band for my round or the setting of my dreams...a gorgeous three stone ring with halos, all low set. It''s not the most important thing right now to me, as the wedding is in October. Yes, I''d love to change my ring but I did tell Fi I want to wait til after the wedding to settle on the forever ring.

Sometimes I think a tatoo on my finger would be the most practical thing!

 

[cakegirl]

I had picked out an eternity band for my e ring. My fiance was going to order it January (we are eloping, so i can''t wear it until the summer even though we are engaged) After I came on here, I started looking at a bunch of new possibilities-an asscher in a pave setting, antique jewelry-I was a bit obsessed. But then after looking at everything else, I realized why i had picked the original ring.
I really love it and that is what i am going to get. But, my wishlist for other jewelry has definitely grown!

I can''t wait to post pictures of the eternity in a month or two-you guys will be the only people I can show it to!

 

[KawaiiMira]

I am currently sipping on the cherry flavored kool-aid.

Before PS, I had no clue about rings, let alone the 4 C''s. I purchased my engagement ring at a local mall store thinking I got a really good deal. After informing myself through PS and various other websites..... I knew the deal was not as good as I thought. After my mall ring snapped and cut my finger one evening, I decided that I wanted it replaced. My fiancee joked that my ring snapped because I had bought it myself (instead of leaving it up to him to pick it out).

Har Har.

So now we are looking into JamesAllen.com for my new ring..... and this time he gets to help

 

[Lady_Disdain]

O yes! Let''s see what the PS enablers have done:

- diamond studs
- OMC diamond pendant
- OMC solitaire (badly in need of a reset, since the stone was just jammed into an ill fitting ring)
- way more coloured stones that I would care to count (including the spinel, Gene ruby, russian demantoid, etc)
- 4 LoGR settings waiting for my setter to return from his holiday

Ouch!

 

[Rhea]

I''ve always been into jewelery.

I bought two pairs of diamond earrings (1/5 carat from Kay''s, and 1/3 carat from an estate sale) that I wore for a long time. I always wanted bigger earrings and I think PS helped me make the best choice for me. The size of them is very reasonable, about 2/3 carat tw, but I''m finding myself wanting bigger earrings just because right now. So yeah, I''m drinking it!

I think I''m pickier about what I have now too.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Date: 12/21/2009 12:05:37 PM
Author: Futurmrss
Well, if my post seemed harsh, I am sorry. I guess we all see different Kool-Aid here.

I think the original poster was talking about the Kool-Aid of seeing really incredible jewelry and starting to develop tastes that maybe exceed the budget. Then in this case, I guess I am sometimes guilty.

The Kool-Aid I am talking about is this attack on local B&M stores. I somewhat agree that On-line buying allows people to get more value for their buck, but many times when someone is getting a good deal locally many of the PSers (and mostly it is people who seem to be in the profession) go crazy planting seeds of doubt.

While people need to be careful, I just don''t like the attitude of ''Oh you should run away from your local dealer because any good deal is not to be trusted.''

I took it that way too.

Not in a bad way of course. I did drink the Kool-Aid. I bought more and bigger and am happy with my jewelry collection now. I am not the typical pricescope member though. I bought all my diamonds second hand, and even then the pricescope education helped me choose the most for my money.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 12/22/2009 5:42:16 PM
Author: Winks_Elf
Mmmm, fruit-punch Kool-Aide!

Just got engaged in October. Fi and I could not decide if we wanted to do custom, a three-stone (Either a nice solid beefier setting or the delicate three-stone Swan pave I love so much), or do something else. The influences here are just ''aweful!'' It''s bad enough I work with so much jewelery that I couldn''t make up my mind! So, we decided to do a temporary setting. I went with a gorgeous Roseco micropave solitaire, hearts-on-top prongs, and am finding that I''m afraid to wear my ring on a daily basis because of the delicate shank (and the fact that I have four children, am rather hard on my hands, etc.), so while I''m at home my pretty ring sits on a shelf or in the jewelry cleaner.

Sooo, I have been researching settings that would be more ''bomb-proof'' for me, and came up with two possibilities...either a semi-bezel wider band for my round or the setting of my dreams...a gorgeous three stone ring with halos, all low set. It''s not the most important thing right now to me, as the wedding is in October. Yes, I''d love to change my ring but I did tell Fi I want to wait til after the wedding to settle on the forever ring.

Sometimes I think a tatoo on my finger would be the most practical thing!

Melissa, you need a stern talking to! That is aweful to not wear your gorgeous ring! Just make sure it is insured and then wear it whenever you like and don''t worry about it!