Mara

[Maisie]

Hi Mara

I wondered if I could pick your brains for a moment about your J coloured diamond.

When your bought it did you go looking for a J or did it grab you?
Did you actually go and see it before you got it or was it an internet buy?
Is there anything I can do or ask to make sure I can get a really good looking J?

My preferences are (in order): Cut, carat, clarity then colour. I was originally going to buy a .70 G or H but now my lovely hubby has offered me a bit more to get a bigger diamond.

I have looked at the thread about J coloured diamonds in platinum and its really got me wondering if I too can manage to get a really white looking J.

Thank you for reading!

Maisie

 

[Mara]

Hi Maisie! Of course you can pick my brain!!

Here''s some answers to your Q''s...I hope they help. Let me know if you have other Q''s!!

When your bought it did you go looking for a J or did it grab you?
--well you have to know a bit of history about me...i started out with a G then an H and then a J 1.60c. i went for the 1.60 J originally because it fit the budget. and i knew that wasn''t my ''forever'' stone so i figured it was a good way to try out a J and see if it ever really bothered me that it wasn''t more white. but it didn''t. and then when it came time to upgrade, i knew that i was okay with a J and that i could get a bigger stone with a J and that is what i was all about. when i first had my G i thought it was super white, almost too white. same with my H. i also have a darker olive skin tone and i think maybe the lower colored stones look better on me? maybe my darker hand makes the stones look whiter? it''s hard to say but when I had a G and H i honestly felt like the stone was glowing off my hand or something. it was a little TOO white for my taste. the J''s seem to work wonderfully on me.

Did you actually go and see it before you got it or was it an internet buy?
--i had already found it with WF and bought it, but i actually did go down to Texas and see it in person to have it set, and to give them my rings to have them make the switch. i didn''t really know what i would do it if i didn''t like it (return it i guess!) but luckily i loved it in person. so i got really lucky because pickins were seriously slim at that point and i would have had to wait months to find another J this size and a similar price (probably would have paid more).

Is there anything I can do or ask to make sure I can get a really good looking J?
--honestly i have really strict parameters for the cut on my stones, but in terms of color, you can ask the vendor to make sure it''s a true J rather than a J that borders on K or something similar..if you want to try to get a more white J...or one that orders on I is even better. also i would try to look for one with med blue fluor or something that might help it face up a little whiter. mine has slight fluor and while most experts would probably say it makes no difference visually, i swear i can see some sort of difference sometimes in how it looks, more bright and blue in some areas...it almost glows. but maybe it''s just mental. but i would LOVE to have found a J with fluor. it would help the diamond looking down into it, but not from the sides (important to know).

--the one thing i would say is that if i went larger, i would TRY to afford an I stone. the reason is that i''m not sure unless i found a stellar borderline I with med or strong blue fluor J that i would love seeing more tinge in a larger stone. it might depend on the stone, and maybe i couldn''t afford to get an I vs a J but it''s something i would totally consider. but in something up to like 2.5c i would buy a J hands down. in smaller stones like for pendants, i would even go to K for me...like up to a 1c K most likely for a pendant or maybe even larger.

--my girlfriend has a 1.6 K ACA stone in a ritani and honestly it''s breathtaking. sometimes i think it looks better than my diamond, she keeps it REALLY clean. and because it''s smaller, it has more tiny flashes of fire than my stone, i mean trust me my stone can bling with the best of them, but the larger the stone the larger the facets so the larger chunks of light and fire. hers is a really STUNNING stone and it doesn''t look any more ''tinged'' to me than mine does.

 

[Maisie]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! I asked you as I know you have knowledge round here!

My main problem is that I live so far away. I definitely want to use WF. Its just its such a long way for me to come to have a look at stones. ( I am in the UK). I need a representative in the States lol!!

Seriously though I am going to need some help when I come to buy my ring. It won''t be for a couple of months but I was wondering if I can call on you nearer the time to help me pick out a fantastic stone. I won''t be offended if you can''t help, it would be more like guidence than anything else - I won''t make you take responsibility for it!

Thanks again for the advice and telling me about how you chose your gorgeous ring!

Maisie

 

[Skippy123]

Sorry to Hijack your thread, but I was wondering if Jcrow would post her thought on her J. Thank you.

 

[jcrow]

Date: 1/25/2007 10:44:41 PM
Author: Skippy123
Sorry to Hijack your thread, but I was wondering if Jcrow would post her thought on her J. Thank you.

sure.

--When your bought it did you go looking for a J or did it grab you?
when i first started on these boards i was sure i wanted no less than a G and VVS2. i read and reread tons of posts here on ps. from that i decided to see for myself. when bf and i went in to wf i wasn''t sure if a J would do it for me, though i was hoping, since we could get a larger diamond. well, brian set out 8 or so stones for me & bf (now dh) to see and judge for ourselves. he didn''t tell us what was what. all i knew was that we were looking at great stones in the 2 carat range. when we saw the 2.13, we both loved it. we left wf to think it over. all i could think about was that J. I forgot the others existed.

--Did you actually go and see it before you got it or was it an internet buy?
so, yes, we did see it in person.

--Is there anything I can do or ask to make sure I can get a really good looking J?
i haven''t seen a flour J in person (that i know of) but i would be interested in seeing one.

extra thoughts - i''m happy that i found out about the fabulous J SI2 combo. yes, sometimes i wish i had better, probably for no other reason than wanting more/better. but, most of the time it''s me looking down not believing what a wonderful diamond i have.

 

[Skippy123]

thanks for your post Jcrow and I am so happy you love your diamond. Wonderful!

 

[Maisie]

Jcrow thank you so much for sharing your experiences too. I really hope that I can get a beautiful J too. Its really exciting but I still have at least two or three more months to wait.... its killing me!!!!

Maisie

 

[Skippy123]

M,
Why do you have to wait? Sorry, I might have missed another post about it.

 

[Maisie]

Hi Skippy,

My husband is getting his bonus in either March or early April and he says I can have it all for my new ring. Its a killer waiting but it will be worth it in the end!

 

[Skippy123]

Maisie,
How exciting!!! Can''t wait!

 

[sunshine14]

Hi Maisie! Good luck getting the stone of your dreams!!

I for one just picked up my J and actually had it appraised yesterday! I am absolutely in love with it!!

I had never seen an ideal cut J before either...I just bought it from James Allen, knowing that I''ve seen such amazing J''s on here. Was it a bit of a risk? I suppose, but with a great return policy, I had no issues with it. I''m glad that I love it, because it has allowed me to get a much bigger stone than we would have been able to afford otherwise.

There is no question that there is a tinge of warmth from the side, but there is nothing but white white white from the top!

I think that as long as you have cut as your first priority, and then carat weight, then a J may be a perfect combo for you!

Good luck and of course....post pictures if you get one!!

 

[Maisie]

Thankyou! I am really looking forward to this, apart from our car and house its the most expensive purchase we will make! I will definitely come back and post lots of pics and hopefully join the ''J'' hall of fame!

 

[phoenixgirl]

I have no idea what your new budget is going to be or if you could be convinced to drop to a K, but have you seen WF''s 1.12 K SI2 with medium blue flourescence? It could be the steal of the century.

I mean, seriously, I just noticed it . . . maybe I can come up with some reason why I need to buy it.

 

[Maisie]

Oooh well......... it certainly is a good price!!

My budget (to include setting too) is approx $6200

 

[Mara]

mmmm that K would make a fabulous pendant. too bad i don''t have the budget this year...wah!!!

 

[Maisie]

Mara I meant to ask you - and I''m sorry to be such a pain! - is your ring comfortable to wear? I really fancy the idea of a prong set eternity band but I''m worried the sides will rub on my other fingers.

Maisie

 

[Maisie]

 

[Mara]

Date: 1/30/2007 1:27:21 PM
Author: Maisiebelle
Mara I meant to ask you - and I''m sorry to be such a pain! - is your ring comfortable to wear? I really fancy the idea of a prong set eternity band but I''m worried the sides will rub on my other fingers.

Maisie

sorry i missed this yesterday maisie...

yes my rings are comfortable. the melee are pretty small so they don''t necessarily jab against other fingers etc. i do find that i do not find shared prong eternity to be as comfortable as prong set like mine...i have a 10 stone shared prong and it goes partially down each side of the finger and it ends up jabbing my finger way more than my prong set rings do..maybe it''s because the stones are 10 pointers or who knows. but i hardly wear it since it irritates me. also i tried on the fishtail kinda rings like lynns and i remember them being pretty comfy because the stones are so small and are set in. just make sure your prongs are flush with the stones and there aren''t any crazy sticking out kinda things because that would be what would rub against your fingers and make them irritated. but yeah i think in general smaller melee eternities are pretty comfy long-term. you will have to get used to them at first, it felt really foreign but now i honestly sometimes don''t even feel my rings on.

 

[Maisie]

Thanks for answering Mara. As always the help is much appreciated!

What is the difference between prong set and shared prong? Can you show me some examples so I can see the difference? If you don''t have time thats fine. It would just be easier for me to understand by seeing.

 

[Mara]

i don''t have any pictures handy but i know that eternity has been discussed a ton on here before...do a search for shared prong and prong set and you will find a bunch of images. but bottom line is just look at my pictures of my ring (closeups of my ring...in my thread)....and then look at something like...i think jelly has a shared prong setting, lynn''s old setting was shared prong, a bunch of people have shared prongs as well on here too. take a look at the closeup of theirs and then closeup of mine, you will see differences, its different in how the melee is set. lynn''s new fishtail is another setting option now...and then there is super fine pave setting kind of like firegoddes''s super thin halo band.

run a search on melee or pave setting differences too...you''ll find some stuff!!

 

[Maisie]

Thanks Mara - you are a star

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 1/29/2007 11:19:12 AM
Author: Mara
mmmm that K would make a fabulous pendant. too bad i don''t have the budget this year...wah!!!

HI:

Mara, you didn''t buy this on the sly did you?

I was eyeballing it myself for a pendant--maybe some other PS''er snapped it up! It''s gone.....

cheers--Sharon

 

[Mara]

Date: 2/7/2007 12:28:40 PM
Author: canuk-gal

Date: 1/29/2007 11:19:12 AM
Author: Mara
mmmm that K would make a fabulous pendant. too bad i don''t have the budget this year...wah!!!

HI:

Mara, you didn''t buy this on the sly did you?

I was eyeballing it myself for a pendant--maybe some other PS''er snapped it up! It''s gone.....

cheers--Sharon

lol i wish girl...unfortunately a new pendant is not on the list for spring2007. maybe fall.

 

[Lynn B]

Not Mara (no B-bags for me

) but I do have an AGS-0, J colored stone. It''s 2.36 and there are photos of it all over these boards (plus in my avatar).

Like Mara, I adore my stone and aspire to a 3.5''er one day... but unlike Miss Mara, I would TOTALLY consider another J stone in that size... and MAYBE even a K. No kidding! IF I thought the warmth from the side in a stone that size was a little "noticeable", then I would consider setting it in a ring with a basket type setting or some other "details" to "cover" the pavilion a bit. BUT, honestly, I think that would be unnecessary for me.

I LOVE the color of my J... no yellow at all, just a lovely, romantic, ever-so-slight creamy warmth, when viewed from the side, in front of a stark, white background. It''s a firecracker, and I get so many compliments on it. All people ever say is, "It''s so BIG!" or "It''s so SPARKLY!". No one has ever asked me, "What color is it?"

 

[Mara]

Lynn maybe I wasn''t clear in my post up above but I would definitely CONSIDER a larger 3c+ stone in a J....but if I had the funds and the right stone came up I would probably TRY to go for an I stone. But I would totally consider a J stone and if I said otherwise in another post, that''s not what I meant. I think I''d PREFER an I in a 3.5c stone if I could afford it...but who knows! At this point I wouldn''t even want to pay for a 3.5c J much less an I...lol. I adore my stone though for sure...and it may be my forever stone so that''s a good thing!

 

[Samantha Red]

Hi Maisiebelle

Where in the UK are you?

I too have been entranced by Mara''s ring, and have gone from the idea of having nothing less than a G- H colour to realising that cut is all important. My idea is that when and if I eventually get engaged to go to a local jeweller that I know and get him to get me a variety of stones to look at. As I have quite large, chubby fingers (Size 0 UK and size 7 US), I need a larger carat size, well that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

 

[Maisie]

Hi Samantha

I am in Newcastle. Are you in the UK too?

I actually considered buying my ring over here but the jewellers I spoke to really didn''t give me much confidence. The prices I have looked at here are way higher than I will be paying at WF and that includes the taxes and duty. I suppose I would rather go with someone I trust even if they are thousands of miles away.

When are you getting your ring? I have been waiting ages and I have about another month to go!!!!

 

[Samantha Red]

Date: 2/8/2007 8:33:10 AM
Author: Maisiebelle
Hi Samantha

I am in Newcastle. Are you in the UK too?

I actually considered buying my ring over here but the jewellers I spoke to really didn''t give me much confidence. The prices I have looked at here are way higher than I will be paying at WF and that includes the taxes and duty. I suppose I would rather go with someone I trust even if they are thousands of miles away.

When are you getting your ring? I have been waiting ages and I have about another month to go!!!!

Hi Maisie

I am in Nottingham. By US standards I am a virtual next door neighbour to you!

I am really interested when you say that it is still cheaper to buy from someone like WF even accounting for tax and duty. I haven''t really done any direct comparisons. A ring isn''t on the horizon for me as far as I know, I keep hinting at my boyfriend of 5 years, but he doesn''t pay any attention GRRR! I have established a bit of a relationship with a one man operation jeweller here in Nottingham and he said that dependant on budget he would personally go to Antwerp to get a diamond for a ring. He made a pair of really nice diamond studs for me last year at a very good price compared to the commercial jewellers. This website is lethal though and my expections have gradually increased to alarming proportions! What are you hoping to get and how much are you hoping to spend? Don''t answer that if you don''t want to, I am just trying to get a feel for budgets.

 

[Maisie]

I have been to Notts a couple of times, a while ago now. I knew a lovely bloke called Martin there

I don''t mind telling you what I want to spend. In english money its £3800. This will get me a 1.22 J SI-1 round brilliant. It a ACA from Whiteflash. I had originally chosen a plain platinum setting too but I am rethinking this so it may cost me a few hundred quid more. We had been looking in places like Northern Goldsmiths, Ernest Jones and Beaverbrooks but I wouldn''t be able to get anything near what I am getting from any of those shops. My biggest gripe is that none of the sales assistants know anything about diamonds! Its really strange that I know more than they do!

You are right about this site being lethal! I would have my ring by now if I hadn''t found PS! BUT it wouldn''t have been as gorgeous as the one I will end up with.

 

[sunkist]

Maisie, I''m so excited for you! You are going to love your J when you finally get one

I have a .95 K and I am taken breathless by it everyday. I bought my stone from Whiteflash without seeing it first, but I picked numbers that were an ideal cut that I felt would take care of masking color. And it totally does! Most of the time I don''t see any color from the sides. But when I do, the face of the diamond is still gorgeous and white. So, I''m really excited to see your final ring!