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Help needed! Many question regarding diamond and ring purchase!

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sbarlin78

Rough_Rock
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May 17, 2008
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Hi,

me and my BF are about to buy an E-ring.
From the beginning we had decided on a Cartier 1895 Solitaire .5. Now I have been hanging out on PS and been doing lots of research and now I feel it would be better to buy the Fine line by Lee from Whiteflash. I have been in contact with White Flast- and they can make the width of the band to 2 mm which would make the ring even more similar to the Cartier.

The reasons for this is that then I can get a diamond a little bit bigger for the same price and even a better quality, another reason is that I tend to change my mind A LOT and at the moment I want to have a small diamond .5-.8 but I am afraid that in the future I would like to have an upgrade. Cartier does not have a policy for upgrades. I am european and in Europe everything above .5 is considered quite big...... but when I read the posts on PS I realize that it is a bit different in the US.....

So now to my questions:

1.) What would you choose: Cartier or White Flash? And why? Have anyone purchased the fine line by Lee and is happy with it? Is it a close replica of the Cartier or what differs?
2.) When I select the diamond what should I think about considering that I want to have a rather small diamond? I mean what is more important to look at: Clarity or Colour? Is an S1 ok if it is a small diamond? What would you rather go for; a better Clarity or Colour value?
3.) Could the WF diamonds be clarity enhanced? Is it a risk that they have been clarity enhanced? I have read that you cannot determine that from the GIA reports.
4.) Are the rings from White flash just as beautiful as they look like on the website or is there a risk to get disappointed when the ring arrives?

I would be soooo happy if someone could help me with my questions.... or some of them.....

Thanks!
 
Hi sbarlin78

in response to your questions

1.) What would you choose: Cartier or White Flash? And why? Have anyone purchased the fine line by Lee and is happy with it? Is it a close replica of the Cartier or what differs?

Personally I would probably go WF because I would be able to maximise the stone for my budget.

2.) When I select the diamond what should I think about considering that I want to have a rather small diamond? I mean what is more important to look at: Clarity or Colour? Is an S1 ok if it is a small diamond? What would you rather go for; a better Clarity or Colour value?

I prefer higher colour (between D-F) and a mid-range on the clarity, if you decide to go into SI clarity just check with the vendor that the diamond is eyeclean to YOUR standards :).

3.) Could the WF diamonds be clarity enhanced? Is it a risk that they have been clarity enhanced? I have read that you cannot determine that from the GIA reports.

I am fairly certain they are not clarity enhanced

4.) Are the rings from White flash just as beautiful as they look like on the website or is there a risk to get disappointed when the ring arrives?

I have not bought a diamond from WF but I have seen many stunners here :) they have a 10 day return policy so you can always return it if you do not like it :D
 
Date: 6/5/2008 6:07:04 AM
Author:sbarlin78
Hi,

me and my BF are about to buy an E-ring.
From the beginning we had decided on a Cartier 1895 Solitaire .5. Now I have been hanging out on PS and been doing lots of research and now I feel it would be better to buy the Fine line by Lee from Whiteflash. I have been in contact with White Flast- and they can make the width of the band to 2 mm which would make the ring even more similar to the Cartier.

The reasons for this is that then I can get a diamond a little bit bigger for the same price and even a better quality, another reason is that I tend to change my mind A LOT and at the moment I want to have a small diamond .5-.8 but I am afraid that in the future I would like to have an upgrade. Cartier does not have a policy for upgrades. I am european and in Europe everything above .5 is considered quite big...... but when I read the posts on PS I realize that it is a bit different in the US.....

So now to my questions:

1.) What would you choose: Cartier or White Flash? And why? Have anyone purchased the fine line by Lee and is happy with it? Is it a close replica of the Cartier or what differs?
2.) When I select the diamond what should I think about considering that I want to have a rather small diamond? I mean what is more important to look at: Clarity or Colour? Is an S1 ok if it is a small diamond? What would you rather go for; a better Clarity or Colour value?
3.) Could the WF diamonds be clarity enhanced? Is it a risk that they have been clarity enhanced? I have read that you cannot determine that from the GIA reports.
4.) Are the rings from White flash just as beautiful as they look like on the website or is there a risk to get disappointed when the ring arrives?

I would be soooo happy if someone could help me with my questions.... or some of them.....

Thanks!
Welcome! I will try to help you as best I can!

1) I am not familiar with the differences between the two settings, if the Cartier name matters to you, then maybe that is the way to go. However WF are an excellent company, and as you may want to upgrade later, that might be the best option. Their settings seem to be well regarded.

2) When selecting your diamond, the most important factor for beauty is cut quality. Without a great cut, even a D IF diamond could look like a chunk of glass. Online vendors such as WF make finding a great cut easy, as they not only have in house stones, but they have also done the cut analysis on the stones in many cases. They also have their own brand of hearts and arrows cut which you may or may not be familiar with, called A Cut Above or ACA. These diamonds are cut to the strictest standards, have the coveted AGS0 cut grade and should offer superb performance - or sparkle! Also worth considering can be the Expert Selection diamonds, sometimes they have missed the ACA standard by a hair, or they are well cut stones which offer great value for the money. Your rep at WF can advise as to what might be a good choice for you out of their diamonds.

So as we know cut should be a high priority, then we can look at colour and clarity, as you know what carat size you want. SI1 clarity can be an excellent choice if eyeclean, some prefer VS but others have no issue with SI if it is eyeclean to their standards. Your rep again can advise you on the ' eyecleanliness' of any diamond you are considering. Colour - that again is a personal preference. If you aren't sold on a D or E colour for example, you could pick a middleground as some do, of F G or H colour, which should still face up plenty white.

So it is up to you how you feel you can prioritize, cut being high on the list of course, then perhaps colour then clarity.

3) There is absolutely no risk that any diamond you buy from WF could be clarity enhanced. WF are run by a team of experts who work hard for and value their excellent reputation, so you have no need to worry.

4) WF has many happy clients here, you can use the search tool above to read others experiences with them regarding their rings. I have purchased an eternity band from them and it is absolutely beautiful - even more so than the pic on their website. I think you may have others chime in to reasssure you, but do try the search in the meantime to read more.

I hope this helps!

Here is an example of what you could get. http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-191605.htm#
 
Hi,

I posted on a different thread also about the cartier 1895 and getting a replica and I will post pictures as soon as I figure it out. I wanted a Cartier ring but the prices are rediculous (and I do own other pieces by them) because you are paying for the name. Go with a diamond from elsewhere and have the setting made. While an outside jeweler cannot copy the setting exactly they can do a pretty good job. Mine actually went to Cartier to really check the ring out and my setting is wonderful and I ended up with a stone .5 carats larger than what I would have gotten at Cartier.

Good luck!
 
WHITEFLASH would be my choice. Their stones regularly get sent to appraisers around the US and we''d hear about it on PS is they ever came back clarity enhanced. They all come with AGS or GIA certs. WF is very honest in describing their stones and between the photos and their verbal description you would know exactly what to expect. Color and clarity are person preferences.

I have seen their ACA stones and the photos on the internet hardly do them justice. The ACAs are spectacular--any size.

Your budget should be your guide as far as size, color and clarity goes. There should be little compromise on the cut, though.
 
Thanks a lot!

After the answer I think that I will go for Whiteflast- it really seem to have a lot of advantages!

SBA771- I would love to see photos of your ring!
 
I want to post pics but it isn''t letting me- if you know how pass it along!
 
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