Is Memoire lesser quality but more expensive than Facets???

[sparkly]

So I''m trying to decide on a five-stone wedding band and I like the Memoire Purity collection. However it costs twice as much as a five-stone ring from Facets. Can someone explain why Memoire carries such a premium? It does not appear that Memoire will provide any paperwork specifying the color and clarity of the stones, at least that''s what my local retailer told me. Facets on the other hand clearly states the 4 C''s on their website: F-G color, VS-VVS, ideal/premium cut, which sounds pretty good to me. In fact Facets sounds even better than the "regular grade" of Memoire stones, which some postings on this forum have listed as G-H, SI minimum.

So if Facets uses better quality stones, then why in the world is Memoire so much more expensive? I am puzzled here. Any insights?

 

[tyty333]

I ordered a 5 stone from Facets and though the diamonds were very sparkly I was not happy with the setting.
I found another 5 stone at a local family owned B&M which had the same specs (F/G) and lets just say the
facets stones looked more on the G side and the B&M stones looked more on the F side. I could see arrows
in some of the B&M stones. I could see no arrows in the facets stones (although they are sparkley). But my
main issue was with the band. It sets very low and made the stones look very small. I ordered the .81 ctw.
The B&M ring I compared it with had .80 ctw. I have a picture to show you the difference. Sorry I cant do
any comparisons between facets and Memiore but doesnt Memiore replace any lost diamonds at no charge
for the life of the ring? I thought I read that somewhere. Maybe someone else can comment on that?

Here is the shot of the B&M ring (that I kept) and the facets ring that I sent back. You can see how the
setting makes the stones look smaller even though they are basically the same carat weight. Not sure what
you were planning on ordering (carat wise) and you may really like the lower setting but I didnt.

Here is the side profile of my ring...it is different from the facets which sets much lower.

Here is the top of my ring...I can tell you if you like to see arrows in your stone the facets didnt show any (I''m addicted to arrows
now).

 

[mrssalvo]

memoire rings are made by special method you can read on their site. IMO they are the best eternity bands out there, but they do come with a higher price. the purity collection also comes with a lifetime warranty which is a plus. memoire also has an upgrade policy in place as well in case you ever want larger stones or a full eternity band etc.

last I checked facets rings are cast which can produce a very nice product and is a lot less expensive of a process making them less expensive. If budget is not an issue I'd choose a memoire hands down.

ETA: to answer your original question, no memoire is not lesser quality, they are considered higher quality.

 

[mrssalvo]

here''s the link to memoire''s site where it expands their manufacturing method...

http://www.memoire.com/index.aspx?par=metal#

 

[sparkly]

tyty333, thanks for the input. Your band looks gorgeous. I like a lower profile band because my e-ring is very low profile. I only wish that I could compare the Facets ring next to the Memoire ring to see if any difference is significant enough to warrant the huge premium that Memoire charges.

 

[sparkly]

Thanks, mrssalvo. I am not familiar with the manufacturing process of Memoire but the couple of jewelers I talked to seem to agree with you that their craftsmanship is top-notch. I am just a bit surprised that their standard grade is only G-H color, SI clarity. I think for the price that they charge, they should be able to offer a better color higher clarity stones.

 

[tyty333]

Hi sparkley,
You could always just order a facets ring...they have a 30 day return (no questions asked). Could you
also order a memior and just return the one you dont want? Thats sort of how it worked out for me.
For a few days I owned 2 5-stone rings. Then the dream was over and I had to send the facets back

.

tyty

 

[MissGotRocks]

Date: 9/10/2009 12:31:08 PM
Author: sparkly
Thanks, mrssalvo. I am not familiar with the manufacturing process of Memoire but the couple of jewelers I talked to seem to agree with you that their craftsmanship is top-notch. I am just a bit surprised that their standard grade is only G-H color, SI clarity. I think for the price that they charge, they should be able to offer a better color higher clarity stones.

I have a five stone Memoire band. Memoire does offer different color/clarity grades. They produce a very high quality piece but you pay for that quality. I also considered Facets but decided to go with the Memoire band. I''ve never regretted my choice even though it was pricier.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 9/10/2009 12:31:08 PM
Author: sparkly
Thanks, mrssalvo. I am not familiar with the manufacturing process of Memoire but the couple of jewelers I talked to seem to agree with you that their craftsmanship is top-notch. I am just a bit surprised that their standard grade is only G-H color, SI clarity. I think for the price that they charge, they should be able to offer a better color higher clarity stones.

I am late to this thread, but in case you''re still around, I have a Memoire band and I wanted to tell you that you have a choice of diamond quality. I chose the higher quality (meaning color/clarity). The stones are definitely well cut.

 

[D2B]

I have a facet enternity band and the stones are great and I LOVE the low profile. I think it really comes down to the setting you want as the stones are great in facets and from what I have read from the memoire the same applies.

facets has a great return policy so as long as you dont go custom, you can order and return if you dont like it.

good luck
db