atp223
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 290
To the more seasoned members of pricescope and newbies alike - how did you find pricescope? Or maybe, more specifically, when/how/why did you start caring about the cut of a diamond?
Just thought it would be an interesting discussion.
I will go first and see if anyone wants to play!
I had always wanted diamond earrings, and finally could afford my first not-tiny pair a few years ago. So, I bought them from a local B&M store, and was very impressed at how they looked in the store, but was underwhelmed after taking them home. I chalked it up to diamonds just being more sparkly in particular types of lighting. I actually had a theory that based on the diamond's refractive index and cut - for my job I write patent applications about glass composition and coatings and the reflection, refractive index, etc. of the articles - there were particular wavelengths of visible light that produced the most sparkle, and that jewelry stores had figured out what this wavelength was and made sure all of their light sources emitted that particular wavelength...haha.
Anyway, then one day I was running on the treadmill at the gym in my apartment building, and was literally (proper use of the word!) temporarily blinded by a flash of light from a girl stretching against a wall about 20 feet in front of me. After recovering from the temporary blindness, I squinted and realized the flash had come from an engagement ring. At that point, I was hooked on the idea of having a super sparkly diamond!
A couple years later, when we started looking for rings, I expressed this desire to my now-fiance. We noticed that a lot of stores advertise having "ideal cut" diamonds, and throw a percentage at you (the cut is in the top 1% or 3% of all diamonds, etc.). However, when we went to see these "excellent ideal" cut stones in person, these stones weren't wowing me. I was very perplexed - I knew cut was important, and knew I wanted a truly ideal cut diamond, but had no idea how to find one and make sure it really was cut well. My fiance, also being a science person, liked the challenge. I honestly feel like he was ok spending more than he initially wanted to on the ring when he realized we were choosing a stone based on numbers/formulas.
I turned to the internet. I learned about the Tolkowsky ideal cut. I found Whiteflash (their website or websites discussing them mention "super ideal" cut diamonds somewhere), and found it promising. And then finally Pricescope...then learned all sorts of super fun things about a diamond's cut. And now when people tell me my engagement ring is the sparkliest one they have ever seen, I silently gloat as I try to modestly and humbly explain to them the importance of both the cut of the diamond and keeping it clean!
Anyway, that is my story...I would love to hear other people's stories!!
Just thought it would be an interesting discussion.
I will go first and see if anyone wants to play!
I had always wanted diamond earrings, and finally could afford my first not-tiny pair a few years ago. So, I bought them from a local B&M store, and was very impressed at how they looked in the store, but was underwhelmed after taking them home. I chalked it up to diamonds just being more sparkly in particular types of lighting. I actually had a theory that based on the diamond's refractive index and cut - for my job I write patent applications about glass composition and coatings and the reflection, refractive index, etc. of the articles - there were particular wavelengths of visible light that produced the most sparkle, and that jewelry stores had figured out what this wavelength was and made sure all of their light sources emitted that particular wavelength...haha.
Anyway, then one day I was running on the treadmill at the gym in my apartment building, and was literally (proper use of the word!) temporarily blinded by a flash of light from a girl stretching against a wall about 20 feet in front of me. After recovering from the temporary blindness, I squinted and realized the flash had come from an engagement ring. At that point, I was hooked on the idea of having a super sparkly diamond!
A couple years later, when we started looking for rings, I expressed this desire to my now-fiance. We noticed that a lot of stores advertise having "ideal cut" diamonds, and throw a percentage at you (the cut is in the top 1% or 3% of all diamonds, etc.). However, when we went to see these "excellent ideal" cut stones in person, these stones weren't wowing me. I was very perplexed - I knew cut was important, and knew I wanted a truly ideal cut diamond, but had no idea how to find one and make sure it really was cut well. My fiance, also being a science person, liked the challenge. I honestly feel like he was ok spending more than he initially wanted to on the ring when he realized we were choosing a stone based on numbers/formulas.
I turned to the internet. I learned about the Tolkowsky ideal cut. I found Whiteflash (their website or websites discussing them mention "super ideal" cut diamonds somewhere), and found it promising. And then finally Pricescope...then learned all sorts of super fun things about a diamond's cut. And now when people tell me my engagement ring is the sparkliest one they have ever seen, I silently gloat as I try to modestly and humbly explain to them the importance of both the cut of the diamond and keeping it clean!
Anyway, that is my story...I would love to hear other people's stories!!