Jsand
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- May 6, 2019
- Messages
- 282
I had held off creating a SMTB thread for my first two CBIs, as beautiful as they were they were also small compared to the 3+ carat diamonds of dreams around here! But now, two upgrades in I’d love to share, and it could also be useful info for newbies.
Until I discovered PS I never wanted a diamond e-ring. They just didn’t seem special or rare. I was thinking a padparadscha or something else unusual. A Paraiba tourmaline, although not sure that’s a good idea of everyday wear.
Our circumstances were such that my husband and I got married at very short notice with no proposal, so no engagement ring. We used sterling silver bands from JCPenney for the wedding, which I will treasure forever!
This suited me fine as it meant two things:
1) I got to choose my own ring!
And 2) I could always upgrade without feeling sentimentally attached to a certain stone.
I found PS by googling Paraibas one day, and somehow made it over to Rocky Talky and discovered a whole world of super ideal cut diamonds I never knew existed. These threads dispelled everything I thought I knew about diamonds: that they were dull/boring/all looked the same, everyone had one, they were overpriced and a bad investment. I had suddenly found that cut is what made diamonds beautiful, rare and special. And that to a degree they can hold their value with the right upgrade policy. One vendor stood out to me as the absolute best of the best, so with a small starter budget we got my first CBI, an H .41 VS1.
With HPD’s upgrade policy I knew for the foreseeable future I’d be upgrading my head off whenever “fun money” presented itself. I do want a big diamond, and I am useless at saving unless it’s for something responsible/important like our babies’ college funds, or the usual safety net. If a cash influx is deemed disposable then I physically cannot hang on to it!! An awful trait that I should probably work on but for now I’m enjoying a savings account on my finger in the form of a growing diamond. Anyway, on to the stones!
I got my beautiful H in a budget-friendly Ritani knife edge solitaire. I wanted unplated white gold, but upon receiving this the metal color didn’t suit me *at all.* So after a few weeks I sent it back to Wink to rhodium plate. When it arrived back, the bright white metal made the H look a bit too tinted for my taste. Once I’d seen it in the car on an overcast day, I couldn’t unsee it ever!
I had some aforementioned fun money coming in so upgraded to an E .53 SI1. I was blown away when I opened the box for this one. Totally eye clean, with insane rainbow fire/dispersion and sparkle. Beautifully bright white, frosty and crisp. I miss that diamond so much already that I am hoping to buy it back someday, and find a match for either studs or side stones in future.
I thought I’d have my E for a while longer, and upgrade around the holidays this year. But then the CBI prices dropped so I decided to have another mini upgrade. Now I have a G .70 VS1, and it’s starting to look sizeable on my hand! It’s in another basic solitaire setting, this one is from HPD and I prefer it to the Ritani.
I am loving the size increase but I do feel the rainbow flashes were noticeably broader and stronger in my smaller E. Also interestingly, the color of my new G appears to be much closer to the E than to the H. I didn’t think I’d be able to notice these nuances quite so much as I have.
Regarding settings, my plan is once I hit 1 carat to get a Mark Morrell Microburst (a more petite version of the Petite Sunburst), and then at 2+ carats (so a few years away!) HPD’s Boston Classic.
I think my forever-CBI will be E color, and have proportions as close to my .53 E as possible.
Would also like to mention, although I probably don’t need to, that the service from HPD, Wink and Melissa is just stellar. I love working with them.
Pics to follow!
Until I discovered PS I never wanted a diamond e-ring. They just didn’t seem special or rare. I was thinking a padparadscha or something else unusual. A Paraiba tourmaline, although not sure that’s a good idea of everyday wear.
Our circumstances were such that my husband and I got married at very short notice with no proposal, so no engagement ring. We used sterling silver bands from JCPenney for the wedding, which I will treasure forever!
This suited me fine as it meant two things:
1) I got to choose my own ring!
And 2) I could always upgrade without feeling sentimentally attached to a certain stone.
I found PS by googling Paraibas one day, and somehow made it over to Rocky Talky and discovered a whole world of super ideal cut diamonds I never knew existed. These threads dispelled everything I thought I knew about diamonds: that they were dull/boring/all looked the same, everyone had one, they were overpriced and a bad investment. I had suddenly found that cut is what made diamonds beautiful, rare and special. And that to a degree they can hold their value with the right upgrade policy. One vendor stood out to me as the absolute best of the best, so with a small starter budget we got my first CBI, an H .41 VS1.
With HPD’s upgrade policy I knew for the foreseeable future I’d be upgrading my head off whenever “fun money” presented itself. I do want a big diamond, and I am useless at saving unless it’s for something responsible/important like our babies’ college funds, or the usual safety net. If a cash influx is deemed disposable then I physically cannot hang on to it!! An awful trait that I should probably work on but for now I’m enjoying a savings account on my finger in the form of a growing diamond. Anyway, on to the stones!
I got my beautiful H in a budget-friendly Ritani knife edge solitaire. I wanted unplated white gold, but upon receiving this the metal color didn’t suit me *at all.* So after a few weeks I sent it back to Wink to rhodium plate. When it arrived back, the bright white metal made the H look a bit too tinted for my taste. Once I’d seen it in the car on an overcast day, I couldn’t unsee it ever!
I had some aforementioned fun money coming in so upgraded to an E .53 SI1. I was blown away when I opened the box for this one. Totally eye clean, with insane rainbow fire/dispersion and sparkle. Beautifully bright white, frosty and crisp. I miss that diamond so much already that I am hoping to buy it back someday, and find a match for either studs or side stones in future.
I thought I’d have my E for a while longer, and upgrade around the holidays this year. But then the CBI prices dropped so I decided to have another mini upgrade. Now I have a G .70 VS1, and it’s starting to look sizeable on my hand! It’s in another basic solitaire setting, this one is from HPD and I prefer it to the Ritani.
I am loving the size increase but I do feel the rainbow flashes were noticeably broader and stronger in my smaller E. Also interestingly, the color of my new G appears to be much closer to the E than to the H. I didn’t think I’d be able to notice these nuances quite so much as I have.
Regarding settings, my plan is once I hit 1 carat to get a Mark Morrell Microburst (a more petite version of the Petite Sunburst), and then at 2+ carats (so a few years away!) HPD’s Boston Classic.
I think my forever-CBI will be E color, and have proportions as close to my .53 E as possible.
Would also like to mention, although I probably don’t need to, that the service from HPD, Wink and Melissa is just stellar. I love working with them.
Pics to follow!
, Congrats!.
. We love seeing well cut stones..
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