MiniMouse
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2004
- Messages
- 1,029
Finally, I’ve come down to earth and managed to think about writing my story about how the piece of bling arrived on my finger. Sorry it''s taken me 7 weeks since returning from vacation! I was so dazzled by bling!!!
I would like to pass on my sincerest thanks to both John and Denise at Whiteflash. If it wasn’t for them, then I am sure my fiancé and I wouldn’t have managed to sort out the bling on my finger during our recent trip to the States. Also, thanks to Pricescopers who gave comments on a diamond I decided not to buy in the end, we waited and got the right one. Thanks also to all Pricescopers who have input so much information and advice on Pricescope, which helped us make a wonderful decision.
As some of you may recall, my fiancé and I work in Saudi Arabia and planned to head to the States on vacation for 5 weeks (throughout July and early August). We were anticipating difficulty in finding the right diamond and setting during the timeframes we had available to us, ie 2 days in Seattle before we traveled through Washington, Idaho and Wyoming (which was a 2,500 mile round trip) and then just a further 2 days in Seattle before heading off on a trip to Mexico and Texas. To top it all the diamond industry was having a vacation during the first 2 weeks of July!
The morning after arriving in Seattle, we headed off to Bellevue and checked out three diamonds which my sweetheart and I had chosen to look at on approval from three Pricescope vendors. The three contenders were a 1.60ct, 1.70ct and a 1.78ct, all within the D-F color range and VS2 clarity with the best possible cut, within the price range of $15,000 to $20,000. We would have considered SI1 had we had more time to pick and choose, but with our timeframe, we couldn’t afford to take the risk of it not being totally eye clean (to us).
Tom (the Gemologist) at Elliott Gem Labs in Bellevue was extremely helpful and although he was of the opinion that all three diamonds were of exceptional quality, I think we were all totally mesmerised by the intense whiteness and sparkle of the 1.60ct, D, VS2 stone that, although slightly smaller than we had wanted, really stood out from the crowd. Tom’s initial reaction to the stone was WOW. I would have liked the 1.78ct F VS2 as it was slightly larger in size, but the price difference of $5,000 was rather too much for my practical mind to accept, plus it didn’t quite have that crisp intense icy white that was displayed by the smaller D color stone. The 1.70ct was beautiful, but lacked the intenseness of the other two. Tom, the appraiser, stated that he was surprised that the 1.60ct was the cheapest of the bunch as, in his opinion, it was exceptional. The whiteness and sparkle did it for us and we decided to go with that stone from Whiteflash (chosen from their Expert Selection). Although it was the smallest stone, just knowing we can upgrade later if it becomes an issue is a winner for us.
That same day (and the following day) we checked around a whole heap of jewelers to see what type of setting I would like. We visited EE Robbins in Bellevue and Brant (the Manager) was incredibly helpful. I liked a shared prong setting with diamonds most of the way round the band, which cost approx $2,500 plus taxes for a band with 2 pointer diamonds round it (G color stones). We then checked out Tiffany’s and again liked a 2.8 pointer shared prong band, but at $4,500 + taxes for the wedding band, it seemed rather expensive. We then got in touch with Denise at Whiteflash to discuss whether they were able to provide something comparable. Sure enough, Whiteflash could come up with a similar style. We chose to go with a matching wedding band too.
The engagement ring setting is platinum with E-F color 3 pointer ACA melee and cost $1750 (a substantial saving compared to similar settings in stores, but with higher quality and color diamonds) and a wedding band with E-F color 3 pointer ACA melee at $1550 (again a substantial saving). We chose 3 pointer ACA melee diamonds because we wanted bling rather than too much metal overpowering the small diamonds. Denise recommended a spacing bar in case the rings needed resizing at a later date, I’m glad I heeded this advise because I notice that I do whack the bottom of the ring a little more than any other part of the ring, even when just grabbing a cup of tea (I’m left handed). If I did anything differently today, then I would probably opt for diamonds just 50 percent round the band, just so that none of them could ever get bashed around the palm area of my hand, but it’s not a criticism, I ADORE my rings.
A big concern I had was that I wanted the two rings to sit flush. Denise advised me that this was not going to be possible with a larger (1.60ct) diamond, there would actually be a slight gap. We were a little worried about this but decided to go ahead as Whiteflash could make up the rings in 7 days, which we thought was fantastic, especially with our totally unreasonable timeframe. Personally, I have to admit that the pictures Denise sent me of the V shaped style of prongs didn’t really appeal to me, but my fiancé really liked them, so I decided to go with it.
On July 15th my rings were delivered to Elliot Gem Labs in Bellevue. We headed over there to collect them. I was very apprehensive about opening the boxes, I seriously had the jitters. However, when we did, I was totally and utterly dumfounded. Every reservation I had about buying from Whiteflash totally disappeared. The rings were the most gorgeous rings I have ever set eyes on. The sparkle, the quality, the total look, was amazing. I tried both rings on straight away and any concern I had about the rings not sitting flush, evaporated. They sat flush enough for my liking, the tiny gap was a non-issue. Unfortunately Tom Elliott was not available to appraise the rings (he was on vacation), so we had to find another appraiser, so that we could take the rings with us on our trip to Mexico (where we officially became engaged). We rang Deborah Wieditz of Sterling Gemological Services in Everett, who (thankfully) managed to fit us in for an appraisal so we could insure the rings before we flew to Mexico on the 17th. Deborah’s reaction at both my rings was that they were fantastic quality and she was very impressed to see that the ACA melee was in fact top quality and E-F color (totally colorless like the center stone). She was very impressed with the overall quality of the settings and diamonds.
All in all my engagement and wedding band came to just over $19,000, but it was money well spent and we feel we used the right vendor. Already we are planning on buying a matching eternity band from Whiteflash during our next trip to the States (next year).
Before I forget, specs…
1.6 carat
D color
VS2
Depth – 60.4
Table – 55
Crown Angle – 34.6
Pavilion Angle – 40.8
Girdle – thin faceted
Polish – Excellent
Symmetry – Excellent
Culet – Pointed
Fluorescence – None
Measurements – 7.61–7.62 x 4.60
HCA Score = 1.2
THANK YOU once again John and Denise at Whiteflash. You made our diamond buying experience a dream come true. You will always receive our highest recommendation. I can’t wait to wear the matching wedding band on November 1st, when we get married in Bahrain and then take an hour''s flight to Dubai for 10 days honeymoon at the Madinat Jumeirah resort. My heartfelt thanks to you both.
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