Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

How did you find your diamond?

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
summertime

summertime

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
207
As I start the whole process of finding a diamond, I am wondering how many of you who successfully found the *perfect* one went about it - did you ask a vendor like WF or GOG to find one to fit your specs, or did you just keep searching their inventories online and through the PS search until you found one?

Also, what''s the story of your setting? Did you fall in love with one or have one custom made?

Now, having done these things, anything you would''ve done differently? Any pitfalls to avoid?

Thanks for sharing!
26.gif
 
Not sure what shape stone you are looking for but this is a nice short cut and I select Excellent Excellent for cut http://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx
Pearlman''s and Solomon Brothers has many ideas for settings; I looked at those site for the ring and found mine w/SBros. I bought my stone from Whiteflash, I choose WF based on their upgrade policies (similar to Good Old Good). I am not sure on the other vendors upgrade policy but I would look into them which was a deciding factor to me.
1.gif
Solomon Brothers set my stone and they were great to work with as well as WF.

Summertime welcome to Pricescope! What shape of stone are you looking for? I would keep in mine that anywhere from $1000-$3000 for the setting unless you go for a tiffany setting so you can plan your budget accordingly.
 
This is a long story and it''s not over yet!

When I started my upgrade process (to celebrate 15 years of marriage and graduating from college), I bought a .76 ct. emerald cut from BlueNile to set into my existing yellow gold setting. I had started out looking for ovals, pears, and emeralds, but I thought that an emerald cut would make a nice contrast to my antique-style setting. I had it set into the ring but did not really care for it. Having passed the return period of my emerald, I decided that I would just have to spring for another diamond so I googled "oval cut diamonds" and found GoodOldGold.com.

Long story short, I fell in love with their 1.05 ct. H/SI1 Jubilee diamond, but it was WAY out of my price range. They only had one in stock at the time, but I decided to go for it. I had it set into my ring but suddenly the setting looked old and worn out, so I decided I needed a new setting too and wanted to go all out for a true wedding set (my previous ring had my diamond set into a wide diamond band and had no wedding ring with it). I also upped the ante by deciding that I wanted platinum.

At this point, I am several months past my 15th anniversary, with no ring to wear at all. So, with a Jubilee diamond in my possession, I started shopping all over town and online for the perfect setting. Soon after, I found a shop called Collections Fine Jewelry that carried a lot of the designers that I liked. I drove the saleslady crazy calling & asking for pricing on many different rings that I saw online that I liked. She was very patient with me (her name is Shawna). The shop was 42 miles from my house, but I finally bit the bullet and drove out there to see what they had in stock.

I looked at several things in their cases when a Tacori wedding set caught my eye. It had everything I wanted--it was platinum, it had a separate wedding band that could be worn alone (no notches or contouring), it had trillions (which I love) on each side of the center stone, and it had baguettes (which I also love) in the bands, all surrounded by milgraine. To top it off, the ring had a head for a 1 ct. square stone just the right size for my Jubilee, so I figured out that that was The One!

I also figured out that I could not buy the set without selling my emerald-cut diamond, which I did, and used the proceeds to pay for the wedding band so I would have something to start wearing right away. The engagement ring is still on layaway, due out in a few weeks. My 16th anniversary came and went, but I will have my completed wedding set on my finger just 5 months shy of my 17th anniversary! I don''t know how many people take that long to accomplish something like that, but that is what I had to do for the perfect ring.

So, in answer to your question, for me it started with The Diamond for which I had to find The Setting. A lot of people do it in reverse, but I have a cut-corner square diamond, and most stock settings are made for 1 ct. rounds, so it was harder for me to walk into a store and find something in stock. Custom is hard because you might not even like what you end up with. That is why I was glad I found something in a store that I could actually try on. Would I have done anything differently? No way, but I won''t ever go through this process again. Unless I go temporarily insane!
9.gif
 
Thanks for the references Skippy! I will definitely check them out. I''m looking for an AGS0 princess of .8-.95 ct, H SI1. I was hoping to spend no more than $3,500 on the diamond and no more than $2,500 on the setting. I hope this works out, but I haven''t quite been able to determine if it will. I really want a platinum (because I don''t plan to upgrade) setting with either pear or bullet side stones, and a plain platinum wedding band. I haven''t been able to find one at a vendor that I like, so I was considering having it custom from WF, though I''m not sure how that''ll affect the budget. Anyway, thanks for your help!
1.gif
 
Date: 12/7/2008 5:24:33 PM
Author: NeverEndingUpgrade
This is a long story and it''s not over yet!

When I started my upgrade process (to celebrate 15 years of marriage and graduating from college), I bought a .76 ct. emerald cut from BlueNile to set into my existing yellow gold setting. I had started out looking for ovals, pears, and emeralds, but I thought that an emerald cut would make a nice contrast to my antique-style setting. I had it set into the ring but did not really care for it. Having passed the return period of my emerald, I decided that I would just have to spring for another diamond so I googled ''oval cut diamonds'' and found GoodOldGold.com.

Long story short, I fell in love with their 1.05 ct. H/SI1 Jubilee diamond, but it was WAY out of my price range. They only had one in stock at the time, but I decided to go for it. I had it set into my ring but suddenly the setting looked old and worn out, so I decided I needed a new setting too and wanted to go all out for a true wedding set (my previous ring had my diamond set into a wide diamond band and had no wedding ring with it). I also upped the ante by deciding that I wanted platinum.

At this point, I am several months past my 15th anniversary, with no ring to wear at all. So, with a Jubilee diamond in my possession, I started shopping all over town and online for the perfect setting. Soon after, I found a shop called Collections Fine Jewelry that carried a lot of the designers that I liked. I drove the saleslady crazy calling & asking for pricing on many different rings that I saw online that I liked. She was very patient with me (her name is Shawna). The shop was 42 miles from my house, but I finally bit the bullet and drove out there to see what they had in stock.

I looked at several things in their cases when a Tacori wedding set caught my eye. It had everything I wanted--it was platinum, it had a separate wedding band that could be worn alone (no notches or contouring), it had trillions (which I love) on each side of the center stone, and it had baguettes (which I also love) in the bands, all surrounded by milgraine. To top it off, the ring had a head for a 1 ct. square stone just the right size for my Jubilee, so I figured out that that was The One!

I also figured out that I could not buy the set without selling my emerald-cut diamond, which I did, and used the proceeds to pay for the wedding band so I would have something to start wearing right away. The engagement ring is still on layaway, due out in a few weeks. My 16th anniversary came and went, but I will have my completed wedding set on my finger just 5 months shy of my 17th anniversary! I don''t know how many people take that long to accomplish something like that, but that is what I had to do for the perfect ring.

So, in answer to your question, for me it started with The Diamond for which I had to find The Setting. A lot of people do it in reverse, but I have a cut-corner square diamond, and most stock settings are made for 1 ct. rounds, so it was harder for me to walk into a store and find something in stock. Custom is hard because you might not even like what you end up with. That is why I was glad I found something in a store that I could actually try on. Would I have done anything differently? No way, but I won''t ever go through this process again. Unless I go temporarily insane!
9.gif
Click to expand...

I can understand the feeling of never wanting to go through the whole process again! It''s definitely a daunting task, even though I am just getting started. Glad to know you found something you love though! That makes me hopeful!
21.gif
Good point about not liking a custom piece, I hadn''t really considered that, just assumed I''d love it. Anyone know Whiteflash''s return policy on custom pieces?

On the upside, I''m glad I have several months to figure this all out. Makes it a little less stressful, as I see it can take a while! Thanks for your story!
1.gif
 
Date: 12/7/2008 6:01:26 PM
Author: JulieN
Hope it''s ok for me to post these here...since it''s sort of off-topic.

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1204621.htm#

http://www.diamondexpert.com/diamonds/dbs.cgi?sf=detd.setup.cgi&active=active&stock=PR40007801&submit_search=1

http://www.niceice.com/certcopies2007/ags0008841802/index.htm
Click to expand...

Thanks Julie!
36.gif
I have never searched at diamond expert or nice ice, so I will have to keep that in mind! Those options do give me hope that I can find an excellent cut for less than $3,500, and I don''t feel like I''m sacrificing too much on the color or clarity with an H and SI1, as long as it''s eye-clean. Now to see if I can afford platinum....
40.gif
Any suggestions for getting the biggest-looking diamond for a carat weight of .8 - .95? Does it all have to do with depth?
 
unfortunately, no. With the carat range you're looking at, most AGS princesses will fall between 5x5 to 5.3x5.3, give or take.

The best thing you can do is line up several well-cut princesses that meet your criteria and budget, and then look at the size. Depth is not a good indicator of spread.
 
We asked Mark at Engagement Rings Direct to find ours for us.
 
Date: 12/7/2008 6:01:20 PM
Author: summertime

I can understand the feeling of never wanting to go through the whole process again! It''s definitely a daunting task, even though I am just getting started. Glad to know you found something you love though! That makes me hopeful!
21.gif
Good point about not liking a custom piece, I hadn''t really considered that, just assumed I''d love it. Anyone know Whiteflash''s return policy on custom pieces?

On the upside, I''m glad I have several months to figure this all out. Makes it a little less stressful, as I see it can take a while! Thanks for your story!
1.gif
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know, you would assume that. I had one custom job that was awful. Very expensive mistake. But I''m not trying to scare you away from custom. I would definitely use someone like Leon Mege, Maytal Hannah, Knox Jewelers or Quest just to name but a few. And you might have an awesome custom jeweler in your town.
 
I read about Dimend Scaasi here on PS & we went in to check out their inventory & settings. While we were there, we were shown a Crafted by Infinity diamond, but they were out of our price range. Months later, after lots & lots of searching of all the companies that are recommended here, we came across exactly what we were looking for- at Dimend Scaasi! I think we just got lucky...it was better specs AND an Infinity & it just happened to fit in the budget. I think finding a diamond is much like finding your mate...you could settle for something less, but it''s worth the wait to let the right one fall into place!

We saw a few settings that we liked but ultimately decided to have Maytal Hannah custom make one so that it would truly be one of a kind, something we will hand down to our children.

I haven''t received our ring yet, but according to my DBF, it is "stunning, better than expected, worth all the wait & every penny spent!" I''m just a *teensy* bit excited.
2.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top