shape
carat
color
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Look what I got from Wink, et. al. at HPD

Sagefemme

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
290
It's been a long time since I posted (or even looked at) anything on Pricescope, but I need to show you my recent "acquisition" from Crafted by Infinity, High Performance Diamonds, and Sholdt Jewelry. It's a long meandering story, where one thing leads to another which leads to another and before you know it you have a ring you never would have gotten from inception!!

The story begins a few years ago, when I bought a ring from website pictures, of an oval pink tourmaline from Greenwich Jewelry. The stone seemed fine, nothing super-special, but it was set in a ring I had admired previously, from Sholdt. It's from the Fern collection and is pictured here with a diamond. The tourmaline ring from Greenwich Jewelers was on sale and was greatly discounted. I don't seem to have a picture of the setting with the tourmaline in it.
download.jpeg
R538-1FF-1.jpg
So I get the ring with the tourmaline and over time I decide I do love the setting but I don't love the stone. It just was not a great color, more shrimp or salmon than pink, and a bit muddy-looking. I had started looking at CBI diamonds and High Performance Diamonds and got the idea of replacing the tourmaline with a CBI diamond. The purchase of a 1.29, J, SI1 stone went beautifully with Wink and his team and I ended up with a solitaire I loved, and wore with all different types of wedding bands and it looked great.

Fast forward a bit and the ubiquitous diamond upgrade fever overtook me.......one of my issues is that my hands, always biggish and strong (I'm a midwife by training and these hands always served me well at work), are becoming increasingly thick as my arthritis progresses. I have no pain at all in my fingers, but comparisons to sausages are sadly becoming more apt over time......... I loved the 1.29 but felt something larger would suit my size 7.5 ring finger better.

And guess what? Wink had the perfect stone for an upgrade, a 2.25, J, SI1. Wink's upgrade policy made it relatively painless (one feels one has not incurred any losses in the exchange).

But now there's a new issue (remember I said one thing leads to another). The new stone is a bit too big for the original setting. Wink and I discussed at length his bench making a larger replica but eventually he felt it best for Sholdt to make a larger version to accommodate the larger stone. I found Sholdt very easy to communicate with, but HPD did most of the logistics and eventually the new, upsized setting and the new stone are merged. Perfection, right??

I don't know how it happened, after not looking at PS, jewelry, diamonds, and the like for quite a while, but one day I noticed there was a cut-to-order diamond pending completion on Wink's website, in the 2.7 carat range, and predicted to be in the "lower" color range which is my personal sweet spot for getting more size out of my purchases. I went from thinking my jewelry life was complete to thinking, should I contact Wink? When we first talked about the stone-to-be he told me there was already a buyer for that stone. Whew, saved, I thought. But wouldn't you know, that buyer backed out and Wink made it mine. BUT NOW I REALLY AM DONE! YOU ARE MY WITNESSES! Here's the vid from Wink:



This stone and the overall ring are just as wonderful as the other two, smaller versions, of it (but bigger!). I have been wearing it exclusively since I received it in June. The bigger stone has a much bigger impact on my finger. It goes without saying, in this crowd, that a CBI diamond is a blinding, scintillating, wowing work of art, and at 2.77 carats I know how lucky I am to wear a ring of this quality and size.

I would never in my wildest dreams have purchased a such a large, valuable stone outright. But here is where the amazing lifetime upgrade policy from HPD comes in. I know, of course, that the 2.77 cost exactly what it cost. But the ability to arrive at this stone incrementally, stepwise, is what allowed it to happen relatively painlessly, for me. I don't know where else in the retail world you get full credit for a previous purchase after having worn and enjoyed it for years. It's remarkable.

But one of the most important parts of the story is the customer service piece. I know everyone here already knows this, but I'll say it again: Wink and his team are a pinnacle of knowledge, enthusiasm, attention to detail, and sincere (I mean SINCERE, you can feel it in every interaction) desire to make their customers happy. Down to the last detail. Every time. I know, because I keep going back! They simply have uber high standards and meet their own standards unfailingly, at least in my experience. Unequivocally recommended. Plus they all seem like lovely human beings.

Ok, I'll shut up now.

Here are a few pictures. I'm not much of a photographer so none do the ring justice. I'm going to try to get my husband, who has real cameras and lenses and does take great pictures, to take some better shots for me to post. For some reason he finds blue herons and bald eagles better subjects than diamond rings. Crazy, right?

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_28fb.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2903.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_285b.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2855.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2851.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_285f.jpg
 

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liaerfbv

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 16, 2007
Messages
1,348
Oh I love it!! It's beautiful and the Fern setting is TDF.
 

Tartansparkles

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 23, 2017
Messages
928
Big, bold and beautiful!
 

OdetteOdile

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
1,581
Wow - thank you for sharing your story and journey with us!! This ring is gorgeous and looks beautiful on your hand! I love that the diamond is low set and is in a setting I have never seen before. It sounds like it was a dream working with Wink and his team. On a side note, I just want to say that I admire that you trained as a midwife! I think you must be a really brave, amazing woman! Enjoy your beautiful ring!!
 

Sagefemme

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
290
OdetteOdile, thank you! I cannot wear anything high-set, I have searched high and low for low profile settings. When I talked to Wink about the Fern setting for the 2.77, my words were, I want the culet TOUCHING or nearly touching the base of the band. Not an iota higher. And thanks to HPD and Sholdt, that's what I got. It's perfect in my low-set obsessed mind!!

I don't deliver babies anymore, but I did for 25 years. The hardest, most exhausting, most amazing, most fulfilling and beautiful work one can do!
 

whitewave

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
12,331
It's been a long time since I posted (or even looked at) anything on Pricescope, but I need to show you my recent "acquisition" from Crafted by Infinity, High Performance Diamonds, and Sholdt Jewelry. It's a long meandering story, where one thing leads to another which leads to another and before you know it you have a ring you never would have gotten from inception!!

The story begins a few years ago, when I bought a ring from website pictures, of an oval pink tourmaline from Greenwich Jewelry. The stone seemed fine, nothing super-special, but it was set in a ring I had admired previously, from Sholdt. It's from the Fern collection and is pictured here with a diamond. The tourmaline ring from Greenwich Jewelers was on sale and was greatly discounted. I don't seem to have a picture of the setting with the tourmaline in it.
download.jpeg
R538-1FF-1.jpg
So I get the ring with the tourmaline and over time I decide I do love the setting but I don't love the stone. It just was not a great color, more shrimp or salmon than pink, and a bit muddy-looking. I had started looking at CBI diamonds and High Performance Diamonds and got the idea of replacing the tourmaline with a CBI diamond. The purchase of a 1.29, J, SI1 stone went beautifully with Wink and his team and I ended up with a solitaire I loved, and wore with all different types of wedding bands and it looked great.

Fast forward a bit and the ubiquitous diamond upgrade fever overtook me.......one of my issues is that my hands, always biggish and strong (I'm a midwife by training and these hands always served me well at work), are becoming increasingly thick as my arthritis progresses. I have no pain at all in my fingers, but comparisons to sausages are sadly becoming more apt over time......... I loved the 1.29 but felt something larger would suit my size 7.5 ring finger better.

And guess what? Wink had the perfect stone for an upgrade, a 2.25, J, SI1. Wink's upgrade policy made it relatively painless (one feels one has not incurred any losses in the exchange).

But now there's a new issue (remember I said one thing leads to another). The new stone is a bit too big for the original setting. Wink and I discussed at length his bench making a larger replica but eventually he felt it best for Sholdt to make a larger version to accommodate the larger stone. I found Sholdt very easy to communicate with, but HPD did most of the logistics and eventually the new, upsized setting and the new stone are merged. Perfection, right??

I don't know how it happened, after not looking at PS, jewelry, diamonds, and the like for quite a while, but one day I noticed there was a cut-to-order diamond pending completion on Wink's website, in the 2.7 carat range, and predicted to be in the "lower" color range which is my personal sweet spot for getting more size out of my purchases. I went from thinking my jewelry life was complete to thinking, should I contact Wink? When we first talked about the stone-to-be he told me there was already a buyer for that stone. Whew, saved, I thought. But wouldn't you know, that buyer backed out and Wink made it mine. BUT NOW I REALLY AM DONE! YOU ARE MY WITNESSES! Here's the vid from Wink:



This stone and the overall ring are just as wonderful as the other two, smaller versions, of it (but bigger!). I have been wearing it exclusively since I received it in June. The bigger stone has a much bigger impact on my finger. It goes without saying, in this crowd, that a CBI diamond is a blinding, scintillating, wowing work of art, and at 2.77 carats I know how lucky I am to wear a ring of this quality and size.

I would never in my wildest dreams have purchased a such a large, valuable stone outright. But here is where the amazing lifetime upgrade policy from HPD comes in. I know, of course, that the 2.77 cost exactly what it cost. But the ability to arrive at this stone incrementally, stepwise, is what allowed it to happen relatively painlessly, for me. I don't know where else in the retail world you get full credit for a previous purchase after having worn and enjoyed it for years. It's remarkable.

But one of the most important parts of the story is the customer service piece. I know everyone here already knows this, but I'll say it again: Wink and his team are a pinnacle of knowledge, enthusiasm, attention to detail, and sincere (I mean SINCERE, you can feel it in every interaction) desire to make their customers happy. Down to the last detail. Every time. I know, because I keep going back! They simply have uber high standards and meet their own standards unfailingly, at least in my experience. Unequivocally recommended. Plus they all seem like lovely human beings.

Ok, I'll shut up now.

Here are a few pictures. I'm not much of a photographer so none do the ring justice. I'm going to try to get my husband, who has real cameras and lenses and does take great pictures, to take some better shots for me to post. For some reason he finds blue herons and bald eagles better subjects than diamond rings. Crazy, right?

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_28fb.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2903.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_285b.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2855.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2851.jpg UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_285f.jpg


Wow wow wow wow wow! Gorgeous!! :love::love: You should come to Boise in July with us.
 

Austina

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 24, 2017
Messages
7,554
Stunning!
 

whitewave

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
12,331
I forgot to say I love the fern line!
 

lissyflo

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 23, 2016
Messages
1,719
Beautiful! The stone is throwing some amazing colours in your photos. Congrats and enjoy your upgrade!
 

strawrose

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
May 24, 2014
Messages
1,102
The setting is unique with the perfect stone to match.
 

Ally T

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
8,507
I have never seen this setting before & it's gorgeous! And obviously that diamond isn't too bad either ;))
 

Diamond Girl 21

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2017
Messages
2,206
Beautiful!!! Congratulations!
 

LightBright

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 11, 2013
Messages
1,563
The closeups are beautiful, but the photos of how your diamond and setting look on your hand are spectacular. This combo was meant to be on your hand! Absolute perfection! Thank you for sharing your story and beautiful photos! Congratulations and wear your ring in good health.
 

naroo_11

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 28, 2018
Messages
171
Gorgeous :clap:
 

MMtwo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
4,445
love the setting with the beautiful diamond. Lovely! Enjoy it!
 

Tekate

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 11, 2013
Messages
7,570
THAT is one home-run! the setting is gorgeous and of course CBI stones are perfection, it looks beautiful on you, and I agree, upgrade policies allow a person to buy a x$ diamond then years down the road they can get an xx$ diamond! more pix!
 

Bonfire

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
4,232
Ooh I love the Fern setting in YG! Your diamond is a sparkle bomb! Congratulations on your upgrade!
 

natasha-cupcake

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Nov 16, 2017
Messages
1,217
That is a gorgeous ring. Beautiful diamond, beautiful setting. Congratulations!
 

Rpb

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
354
Gorgeous in every manner. Congratulations on your upgrade, looks divine.
 

Sagefemme

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
290
Thank you so much, everyone, for the kind words. This really is a lovely community of jewel-lovers and I appreciate the feedback. Oh, and here are the glamour shots from High Performance Diamonds, they look amazing when opened in Preview or some bigger format. Thanks to whomever works the camera magic at HPD (I think it's Jamie, but maybe Layla?).

Sue Armstrong front view.jpg Img7728 (1).jpg Img7719.jpg
Img7711 (1).jpg Img7727.jpg
Sue Armstrong Side view.jpg Img7729.jpg
 

junebug17

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 17, 2009
Messages
14,128
It's spectacular!!! :love::love::love: Omigosh that diamond! And the setting is beautiful, you must be on cloud 9 with this on your finger!
 

gregchang35

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
3,416
Wow!!! Noice!!!!
Congrats!!
 

luv2sparkle

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
7,950
Wowsa! Gorgeous. Congratulations and I hope you love looking at it every day!
 

elizat

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
4,000
I really love that setting! It's really striking. Beautiful piece! :kiss2:
 

Sagefemme

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 8, 2015
Messages
290
Whitewave, I have no excuse for never having visited HPD (I assume that's what you mean when you mention Boise) since I live next door to Idaho (in Oregon). I'd love to pay Wink and friends a visit!
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
Very beautiful - congratulations.
 

arhzay

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 9, 2019
Messages
52
Simply beautiful- congratulations on owning such a stunning ring!
 

MissGotRocks

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 23, 2005
Messages
16,270
Your ring is absolutely beautiful! Congrats and enjoy!!
 
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