How is this 2.6? Please help, esp. Mara!

[mrssalvo]

Date: 6/23/2006 8:16:38 PM
Author: Mara


anyway i think it''s a little silly to pass up a totally cherry, branded H&A stone because of the CERT being AGS and not GIA, but it''s not me shopping so...

it doesn''t really matter what i think. so, keep us posted on what else you find!

I totally agree. I''m actually the other way and would prefer an AGS cert. but if my stone comes in with a GIA and all the numbers are there, I''ll take it.

can''t wait to see what you end up with.

 

[Dancing Fire]

TG

off the top of my head

the following branded stones go through AGS lab.

8*
ACA
Infinity
HoF
forgot the Ben Bridge brand

 

[marriahlyn]

I''d much prefer an AGS cert too, maybe you should read some more before you make a big purchase, but then again, it''s your choice. I think the 2.57 is GORGEOUS and without TAX. If you buy localy you add the tax which can be a ton in your price range.

 

[marriahlyn]

By the way, the 8* I had did have a GIA, have they changed labs?

 

[Demelza]

I, too, would prefer an AGS stone. GIA would be fine as well, but I tend to think of AGS as the top of the heap. I actually think that AGS stones trade at a slightly higher value, but I''m not sure about that. If you loved everything else about the stone, I wouldn''t not buy it because of the cert. But the most important thing is that you''re comfortable with the purchase, so if AGS doesn''t do it for you, then you should definitely keep on looking. Good luck!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 6/23/2006 10:33:31 PM
Author: marriahlyn
By the way, the 8* I had did have a GIA, have they changed labs?

yes....i heard 8* switch to AGS now.

 

[leeenie]

Alright, thanks for the input, everyone. You''ve convinced me to reconsider the AGS, I may ask WF to ship it out (just hope it works out otherwise I''d pay shipping both ways - I know it''s not a lot compared to the size of the purchase, but I''m just like that). I''ll also have to ask about the inclusions near the girdle; I hope they''re not feathers that would compromise the structure of the stone - I can''t tell from the symbols.

Does the idealscope picture look good? The stone scores a 1 on the HCA, and I know it''s an "ACA," but is 61.1 a little on the deep side?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

No, 61.1 is not deep. I think ideals can be up to around 62.3. And it has a beautiful IdealScope!

 

[Mara]

funny story related...one of my offline gf's is getting engaged soon and she had WF ship an ACA to our local appraiser, and her and her bf checked it out yesterday. she was just RAVING to me on the phone today about the stone, she told me her bf who was a total skeptic, was so excited about it...saying 'i've never seen such an amazing sparkly stone before'...she was like 'HELLO mara's stone looks like this' and he goes 'oh i never really noticed' (der men!)...anyway she was just loving it and the appraiser also was raving about it saying how great the ACA brand was and how beautiful the stone was. they are so happy with it.

teagreen i would be shocked girl if you did not adore that stone. it looks awesome....i mean hello it's a 2.57

but above and beyond that, it looks to be superbly cut. keep us posted.

 

[leeenie]

Thanks again for the input. One more question - do you think the ACA brand is "worth it"? Could you visually tell the difference between ACAs, Expert Selections, and other stones that are neither but have good numbers?

 

[Mara]

personally no I can't tell a 'difference' between my ES and ACA...because most of the ES stones were cut to be ACA's but didn't make Brian's stringent brand grade for ACA and so they get put into ES. i love ES because they really can represent a great deal...HOWEVER it's really all about inventory for me. i have been really lucky to be able to get 2 ES's in my last purchases but if this 2.32 that i got had been an ACA...i would have paid the slight premium to buy it, because there is such a dearth of these types of stones. WF hasn't had very many 2.3c+ J stones this year at all.

so in terms of 'worth it'...i guess for me it's about the inventory, and finding a stone that i'd want to buy would be worth spending a little more if no one else had EXACTLY what i wanted. if that makes sense. but if there was another comparable stone, i'd check them both out.

 

[leeenie]

Yeah that makes sense. There really isn''t much out there! I''ve had 2 local people look for stones for me, one who went to the Vegas convention and one who called all his sources in NY, and neither could find anything closer to what I wanted than the 2.60 that I originally posted. I also just did another internet search and didn''t find anything. Maybe a suitable ES would pop up 3 months from now, but prices might be higher. But in a J/SI2 I could probably get closer to a 3.0c for my budget; do you think there''s a visual difference from a 2.575 (J VS1) (yes, greedy greedy!)?

 

[3hearts]

did you look at the idealscope of this stone? it awesome!!! I actually perfer this image vs the one that is completely red all the way around. don''t know if that makes any sense. I have been scamming WF site for a stone of this size for almost a year and they haven''t had any, so I finally decided to buy a 1.19ct ACA J/VS2 and then this stone appeared, aarrrr... one week after I received my ACA. I called WF about this stone and was told it was GORGEOUS. I was REALLY considering it because it originally posted for $19k S1, but its really $22k VS, out of my price range. Then I saw the K on their ES selection which I could not pass up, which I hope is just as beautiful. I loved my J/ACA and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Did you see the 3.12?

lord, if money wasn''t an issue, I''d be all over that stone.

keep us posted,
Lyn

 

[Mara]

LYN...did you get the 2.50 K ES stone?!?!?! It''s gone from the site now and I was hoping a PS''er got it. When that went up I went HMMMM .... hehehe....please let us know and please post pictures!!

 

[3hearts]

yes, Mara, it''s me that bought the K. Sorry to high-jack teagreen. Mara, you, Lynn B, and Sunkist were who inspired me to look at the lower color stones. I''m typically a G VS girl, but after seeing all the pics, I decided to go with the J and while beautiful, it shrank too fast. I''ve tried posting pics before, but it would not let me. When I get it, I will try again. I still can''t believe, I bought a stone without seeing it and having it custom set.

I hope I will love it as much as my J.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 6/25/2006 2:54:50 AM
Author: 3hearts
yes, Mara, it''s me that bought the K. Sorry to high-jack teagreen. Mara, you, Lynn B, and Sunkist were who inspired me to look at the lower color stones. I''m typically a G VS girl, but after seeing all the pics, I decided to go with the J and while beautiful, it shrank too fast. I''ve tried posting pics before, but it would not let me. When I get it, I will try again. I still can''t believe, I bought a stone without seeing it and having it custom set.

I hope I will love it as much as my J.

ooo, I can''t wait to see pictures

 

[Dee*Jay]

Oh yes, pictures pictures pictures!

(Mrs. S. - in your new avatar your dog looks like the Demon''s twin brother!)

 

[Mara]

Lyn congrats! I''m so excited to see your new K and teagreen''s potential new J! If you are having WF custom set it, Lyn, make sure they take some pictures before they ship, that way we crazies have SOMETHING to look at just in case!! hehee.

 

[leeenie]

Date: 6/25/2006 2:54:50 AM
Author: 3hearts
yes, Mara, it''s me that bought the K. Sorry to high-jack teagreen. Mara, you, Lynn B, and Sunkist were who inspired me to look at the lower color stones. I''m typically a G VS girl, but after seeing all the pics, I decided to go with the J and while beautiful, it shrank too fast. I''ve tried posting pics before, but it would not let me. When I get it, I will try again. I still can''t believe, I bought a stone without seeing it and having it custom set.

I hope I will love it as much as my J.

No problem. I can''t wait to see your new stone either. Please post ASAP when you get it! What kind of setting are you getting? I haven''t decided yet!

 

[leeenie]

OMG! I just made the big jump and I may be in over my head, but I''m excited...

I put the 2.575 on hold and will purchase it as soon as everything is in order, and had WF start on a custom setting. I''m hoping this stone works, because otherwise I''ll have a custom setting made for this exact stone that will need to be changed for another stone...

Mara, I asked Leon to make the head similar to yours, while narrowing the prong bases as much as possible without compromising the security. I ordered the half round shank, to be made as narrow as the base of the solstice head, which he said would be about 2.8mm. They said they would have pictures in 6-7 days - eek!

I really hope this works out! I can''t believe I went from not wanting the AGS to outright purchasing it, since it''s going in the custom setting. I''m still going to take it to an appraiser to make sure everything is as it should be. Thanks for everyone''s input!

 

[Kim N]

That''s wonderful, teagreen! Can''t wait to see pictures! That stone is terrific.

 

[mrssalvo]

Yay for you teagreen. I''m sure it''s going to be fabulous and WF will do and amazing job on the setting.

 

[Mara]

yay teagreen i can't wait to see that honker in pictures!! so you went with a stuller head and a stuller round band is that right? so they are custom putting together pre-cast and modified pieces?

that shouldn't cost TOO much so it would seem like even if you wanted another setting or more changes down the road at least you would not be out that much right? my head was very affordable because it was pre-cast and just modified in-house. part of why i wanted it!

this will be stunning with a yummy shared prong eternity band for w-ring!! yum.

 

[leeenie]

Thank you! I am breathless with excitement

I''ve been waiting for a stone for almost 2 months, but now that I know something is in the works, 2 weeks seems like a very long time!

 

[leeenie]

Date: 6/27/2006 9:35:11 PM
Author: Mara
yay teagreen i can''t wait to see that honker in pictures!! so you went with a stuller head and a stuller round band is that right? so they are custom putting together pre-cast and modified pieces?

that shouldn''t cost TOO much so it would seem like even if you wanted another setting or more changes down the road at least you would not be out that much right? my head was very affordable because it was pre-cast and just modified. part of why i wanted it!

Yep, they are using the half-round shank, narrowed to as wide as the base of the stuller head. I asked them to modify the head "like Mara on Pricescope''s," with some additional changes - haha! I emphasized the narrowing of the prongs and the small prong tips, I love your prong tips!

They will be plunking the pre-cast head onto the half-round shank, so hopefully it won''t look toooo pieced-together! The whole setting cost a little more than the standard "Platinum ''Tiffany'' Knife-Edge" which doesn''t even look like it has the stuller head. So I''m not sure what the itemized cost of just the head is - hopefully not the bulk of the setting cost, so that it can be changed without costing too much more.

I''m super excited, and I can''t wait to see it. I''m especially glad about WF''s upgrade policy, since if I had purchased locally, I wouldn''t have gotten any type of policy.

Thanks for all your help! You seriously are an enabler!!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

TG
congrats

lucky girl.

 

[Kaleigh]

Yay for you TG,
I am so late on all of this but have followed this thread from day one. I am super excited for you and so glad Mara was able to help you through it. I can''t wait for the pics. Congrats!!!

 

[Mara]

lol teagreen, diamond enabling is the BEST. i''m the little voice going ''c''mon you know you want the 2.6c!''...hehee.

 

[3hearts]

yaayyy!!! you got the stone!!! its gonna look amazing in that setting. for me picking the setting is the hardest part, cuz I change my mind by the minute. can''t wait to see pictures.

WF is going to bezel set my stone, similar to Etienne Perret (sp?) my husband is disappointed that I''m not going with the 4 or 6 prong setting, he thinks bezeling will not show the stone as much, but prongs just don''t fit my lifestyle - i''m hard on my hands.

 

[leeenie]

Date: 6/28/2006 2:16:40 AM
Author: Mara
lol teagreen, diamond enabling is the BEST. i''m the little voice going ''c''mon you know you want the 2.6c!''...hehee.

Seriously, I couldn''t help myself after seeing how huge your new one looks in all your pics!

Assuming all is well with the stone, time to obsess about the setting - I''m concerned that it might look too piece-y, like the head was just plunked down - what do you think? Anything I could tell WF to do to make it look more integrated? I haven''t seen any pics yet, but that''s just what I imagine. Actually, I really like rings with the "donut" style (tiger''s, lover in athens''s), but not sure how that works on a round rather than a cushion. I keep telling myself a band wouldn''t sit flush either.