kcoursolle
Super_Ideal_Rock
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Help me pick my cushion!!
- Thread starter dasman08
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sunnyd
Ideal_Rock
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- Nov 5, 2007
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Thanks for the kind words - I''ve been beating myself up a good bit and that made me smile
One more variable I haven''t mentioned - my GF is Indian with medium to dark skin tone. I read that some warmer stones are complimented by darker skin tone, so...maybe that would actually help? Agh this is stressful, lol. Being the obsessive soul that I am, I''ve uploaded a pic of my GF''s long-fingered hand.
Sorry if I''m beating a dead horse, heh. I''ll probably ask her to take some pics with the stone on her hand when she gets home - something tells me she''ll be looking for the stone before her keys hit the counter
One more variable I haven''t mentioned - my GF is Indian with medium to dark skin tone. I read that some warmer stones are complimented by darker skin tone, so...maybe that would actually help? Agh this is stressful, lol. Being the obsessive soul that I am, I''ve uploaded a pic of my GF''s long-fingered hand.
Sorry if I''m beating a dead horse, heh. I''ll probably ask her to take some pics with the stone on her hand when she gets home - something tells me she''ll be looking for the stone before her keys hit the counter
pixley
Brilliant_Rock
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- Nov 12, 2007
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If she loves it, that's really all that matters! It's a rare and beautifully cut antique style cushion and I think it's going to look incredible in a Maytal setting. I find Mark to be honest and experienced when it comes to colour judgment. When I was looking for cushions, he had a G and was upfront about it being a solid G - not anywhere on the low or high ends of the spectrum. I happened to be looking for an F stone, so I appreciated his honesty. Seeing what I've seen on PS, I could easily go into the near colourless range and be ecstatic, but at the time, I wanted an F. If she loves it and is over the moon (and who could blame her?), you may not need an independent appraisal unless you want to document the condition of the stone pre-setting, which is something that my jeweler incorporated into the cost of my setting - and perhaps Maytal has a similar service. It's just something that pops into mind after reading posts about stones that get damaged during the setting process (not by Maytal, mind you, but sometimes cr@p happens).Date: 9/5/2008 2:06:25 PM
Author: dasman08
Thanks for the replies everyone
When I opened the package I was a bit surprised to see any color at all, and it does still nag at me a bit (though it's not nearly as prevalent as it is in these pics), but my GF is completely in love with it (she wanted to see it) and can't see any color at all.
But when it comes down to it, it's up to the GF, I knowAnd right now, she's over the moon.
ETA - your GF has such pretty hands!
icekid
Ideal_Rock
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- Nov 17, 2004
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edl
Shiny_Rock
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- Aug 26, 2008
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Just got back from the independent appraiser. She''s a former GIA employee and a GG, and it turned out we knew her son - small world! Anyway we both felt really good about her and the experience. She doesn''t use any light scopes (I''m not really a fan of them myself as they''re not representative of the real world, particularly with a fancy cut, it would seem to me, so it didn''t bother me).
She did have reference diamonds to compare the stone to, however, and while there was a clear difference between the D and the H, there was no real difference between the H and G (bearing in mind that her stones were round, and much smaller). She does a blind grading, and before she saw the cert, she said she would actually grade the stone as a G, rather than an H. That was kind of surprising, but encouraging
. She seemed *really* surprised that I was concerned about the color at all, for what it''s worth, and asked if I was looking for a reason to NOT keep the stone.
She also showed us the 2 inclusions that set the stone as an SI1 (one cloud and one feather), showed us the stone under UV (nada), etc.
She did comment that girdle was a *little* thin (it''s listed as thin-medium), and that *could* be a concern for breakage. Has anyone else had experience with this? Just curious. It didn''t seem to bother her much.
The stone appraised at about $4K more than what I paid for it. I also managed to find the exact stone listed on WF this weekend still, for a good bit more than what we paid, so that was a nice feeling. After an exhaustive weekend search at ERD, GOG, WF, JA, and BN, we found a whopping grand total of 2 stones that came close to matching our specs (none that matched the price), and maybe half a dozen that *kind of* matched the specs but were G rated - all were $4-8K more and many were not eye clean as far as we could tell.
So. I guess that leaves me leaning towards keeping the stone. Hopefully I''ll make a decision soon, and then try to leave you all alone until we get the setting back from Maytal.
If anyone is interested, there are some more pics up here: http://gallery.me.com/diovoce/100018 - several of them are on my GF''s hand, and I figure with it being directly on her brown skin here, that''s about as "warm" as it''s ever going to look.
Thanks again everyone
She did have reference diamonds to compare the stone to, however, and while there was a clear difference between the D and the H, there was no real difference between the H and G (bearing in mind that her stones were round, and much smaller). She does a blind grading, and before she saw the cert, she said she would actually grade the stone as a G, rather than an H. That was kind of surprising, but encouraging
She did comment that girdle was a *little* thin (it''s listed as thin-medium), and that *could* be a concern for breakage. Has anyone else had experience with this? Just curious. It didn''t seem to bother her much.
The stone appraised at about $4K more than what I paid for it. I also managed to find the exact stone listed on WF this weekend still, for a good bit more than what we paid, so that was a nice feeling. After an exhaustive weekend search at ERD, GOG, WF, JA, and BN, we found a whopping grand total of 2 stones that came close to matching our specs (none that matched the price), and maybe half a dozen that *kind of* matched the specs but were G rated - all were $4-8K more and many were not eye clean as far as we could tell.
So. I guess that leaves me leaning towards keeping the stone. Hopefully I''ll make a decision soon, and then try to leave you all alone until we get the setting back from Maytal.
If anyone is interested, there are some more pics up here: http://gallery.me.com/diovoce/100018 - several of them are on my GF''s hand, and I figure with it being directly on her brown skin here, that''s about as "warm" as it''s ever going to look.
Thanks again everyone
dani13
Ideal_Rock
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stone_seeker
Shiny_Rock
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- Jul 30, 2008
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Dani - we''re going to borrow from Addlepated and have Maytal make one very similar to the one she made for her:
here is her original post
Addlepated - if you ever read this - thanks a lot!
here is her original post
Addlepated - if you ever read this - thanks a lot!
dani13
Ideal_Rock
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Date: 9/8/2008 1:13:07 PM
Author: dasman08
Dani - we''re going to borrow from Addlepated and have Maytal make one very similar to the one she made for her:
here is her original post
Addlepated - if you ever read this - thanks a lot!
Oh...that''s gorgeous!!! Please post pics once you get it!!!!
CharmyPoo
Ideal_Rock
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- Dec 10, 2004
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Congrats on your purchase!
We also purchased a cushion diamond from Mark and we are sending it to Maytal for a similar design. I was debating between Leon and Maytal but at the end .. it is up to my boyfriend. I also wish I had lots to chose from and got everything I wanted but I don''t think it exist. I had a whooping selection of 1 diamond choice although Mark has found many other diamonds with my boyfriend''s first set of specs.
We also purchased a cushion diamond from Mark and we are sending it to Maytal for a similar design. I was debating between Leon and Maytal but at the end .. it is up to my boyfriend. I also wish I had lots to chose from and got everything I wanted but I don''t think it exist. I had a whooping selection of 1 diamond choice although Mark has found many other diamonds with my boyfriend''s first set of specs.
pixley
Brilliant_Rock
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- Nov 12, 2007
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Yay, I''m glad the appraisal went well. The stone looks more colourless in your second round of photos, so perhaps it was pulling in colours from the room in the first round. At any rate, I do hope you keep it. It''s such a pretty cushion.
If the girdle is a concern, just make certain that it''s properly insured from the get-go. Great choice on the setting too. Addlepated''s ring is dreamy-dreamy.
If the girdle is a concern, just make certain that it''s properly insured from the get-go. Great choice on the setting too. Addlepated''s ring is dreamy-dreamy.
sillysweetie
Rough_Rock
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CharmyPoo
Ideal_Rock
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Well I am happy to report that Maytal loves the stone, and confirmed that it does face up as a G. So we''re good to go, once she gets back in town! Whew...what a stressful experience!
Now I just have to plan the perfect engagement.....
Thanks again for everyone''s help and patience...I''ll report back when I''ve more news and/or the ring!
Now I just have to plan the perfect engagement.....
Thanks again for everyone''s help and patience...I''ll report back when I''ve more news and/or the ring!
stone_seeker
Shiny_Rock
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CharmyPoo
Ideal_Rock
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Gorgeous stone and I absolutely can''t wait to see your setting. Maytal is going to be making lots of split shanks. We are sending our stone to her as soon as we get it appraised (my bf is keeping it hush - he keeps saying he didn''t get the cert yet but I think he is hiding it from me to add suspense!).
sillysweetie
Rough_Rock
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