Bill D.
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2002
- Messages
- 27
Now that the dust has settled, here''s my story:
As you must have guessed I started searching for an engagement ring quite naively.
My initial idea was to get a square diamond, due to some generic remarks from her when coming across an ad, like "this is so stylish/nice/beautiful/etc" . The whole process was planned to be a surprise so I wanted to minimize her involvement in order not to spoil things. I started searching from princess stones at local stores and on the web.
After a few weeks of searching, I realized 2 things. First, there are many things about cut that I had to understand before doing anything. Second, I would be better off buying from the internet from a place like blue nile, where they have a large stock at better prices than local stores.
I started looking exclusively on the internet after a break of a few
months due to an obligation that came up suddenly. My internet search resulted immediately in 2 events. First, I found pricescope and realized that there are other places besides blue nile where I could look for a diamond. Second, There are even more things about cut I never knew about, i.e. H&A diamonds. One may ask though why I got into this process since I was looking for a square.
The reason is that given your natural curiosity you start browsing and then you start learning new things and start making comparisons. As I was learning more about cut and checking out examples from different vendors'' inventories, I also contacted a few vendors about princesses. There were 3 stones I considered very very seriously from 3 different vendors. 1 was from GoG and the other 2 from 2 vendors that brand their princess cuts. I decided after a couple of weeks that the best cut stone was the one from GoG and the best value stone (AGA 1B instead of 1A, but a little bigger and F/VS1 instead of E/VVS1) was one of the others. It was a toss-up and would have gone in the x-prong setting that many people that buy after being motivated by the Tiffany and DeBeers ads go for. By that time though I had developed a personal preference to the round H&A cut, due to the classic shape and to my belief that its cut can be evaluated more precisely and one could make a decision more confidently. When I had mentioned this to Jonathan at GoG, who was really great about this and never pressured, he said he could put on hold for a few days a 0.90/F/VS2 that was just in (I guess he selected that from his idea about my pereferences that he got while discussing his princess stones). It was simply an amazing stone. A no brainer if were looking for a round. But since I was still in the princess buying mode, I thanked him but declined because I did not want risk creating a round/square issue since I was sure she was set on a square. This kind of dissapointed me, but I wasn''t buying it for me. The weekend that followed things changed abruptly. We decided to go and look at some rings during a weekend. It was the first time we had done that and she thought she was giving me hints to help me buy something for her by this coming winter, whereas I wanted confirmation in order to purchase. It turns out she was quite specific in her comments and said for example at Tiffany''s how much she liked the lucida setting, whereas she did think the lucida diamond looked small and that rounds sparkle more and are more classic and lasting as fashion change. Her last comment was that the real thing is quite different does than the perception you get from ads and the basic information about
cut/color/clarity. So I said the best solution is to find a nice round with a similar setting, but this would require more research which would take time.
This was a 180 degree turn towards purchasing a round. I looked at GoG''s page and was ready to call about the 0.90/F/VS2. Unfortunately, it was sold. In about 2 business days. I did not take it that hard, because I was confident that it would be relatively straightforward and quick to find a great H&A, which is probably true. However, given that I wanted to get something in the 0.9-1.0 range it turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated. Keep in mind that I had to get something that perceived on par with what Jonathan had picked out for me. So I contacted almost everybody that was highly recommended and seemed to have a strong product.
I ended up getting my stone at GoG. I had developed a good relationship with Jonathan and I was glad he quickly had something that fit the bill beautifully. It was a pleasure to work with him.
I don''t think anyone provides as much information as GoG, who also
are comfortable to be make specific comments when asked specific questions. I never got a response like the ones you get when someone wants to avoid opening up what they consider a can of worms. Examples would be "we are consistent in our cut" or "all stones look beautiful to us" or "all our stones are eye-clean", when asking "isn''t the spread a little less than your average considering the carat weight" or "which one of your 2 stones
do you think is better cut" or "should I worry about the inclusion".
Jonathan never pressured and tried to accommodate my tastes from the first time we communicated and I must admit won me over with the service he provided. When he recommended the 0.90/F/VS2 he had also a couple of others in my carat range and even though I was even less knowledable back then, he did point out to the most well cut item, saying that it was so good that it most probably will not be available after a couple of days. This attitude gives someone great credibility in my eyes.
In addition, I feel that GoG''s inventory turnaround in the range I
considered was the best from the vendors I checked out during the period of my search. Since my purchase at the end of July he has also brought in and sold quite a few great stones in that carat range, which I interpret as being very responsive to what the prospective clients are looking for and having the capability to propose great choices. In my opinion, inventory turnaround is paramount. One can''t convince me that a stone that is in inventory for around 4 months is as exceptionally cut as another that sells within 1 week. Anyway, I am very happy I found what I was looking for about 1 month after I decided to switch and get a round.
So basically, I got a 0.90 G/VS2 from GoG and got it appraised by AGA who did a great job and are highly recommended (many thanks to Chris and Dave). It is AGA 1A and scores 0.4 ex/ex/ex/ex on the HCA and a 9.8 on the Isee2. It has great symmetry and great spread. I am attaching 2 pictures of it (one loose and one set in the Vatche x-prong - many thanks to Christen and Marie). It is stunning and she was surprised by my timing and quite floored by the ring.
The size is pretty substantial on her finger and it is very noticeable. Her girlfriends'' jaws dropped as well when they saw those arrows.
I am extremely happy about the whole experience and the end result. If say I were to buy a new stone it had better be better cut than the one I got, which in my opinion will require a good search since it won''t be easy. In addition, if I were to change something in the whole process, it would probably be to get a custom setting but I don''t feel I know much to design one and since the one I got is something that she loves I am very satisfied with the finished ring.
Finally, I need to end by saying something about pricescope, this forum and the HCA. In general, I definitely feel that buying a diamond is dangerous without education. It is easy to pay way more than you should or get a lesser product. I am happy because I feel I avoided both thanks to the information on pricescope and this forum. The HCA was great help sorting out items in inventories in order to make further comparisons. I found it very useful during my search. The information I found in this forum was even more useful. I learned a lot and I hope than I have made objectively good use of it.
Take care ...
As you must have guessed I started searching for an engagement ring quite naively.
My initial idea was to get a square diamond, due to some generic remarks from her when coming across an ad, like "this is so stylish/nice/beautiful/etc" . The whole process was planned to be a surprise so I wanted to minimize her involvement in order not to spoil things. I started searching from princess stones at local stores and on the web.
After a few weeks of searching, I realized 2 things. First, there are many things about cut that I had to understand before doing anything. Second, I would be better off buying from the internet from a place like blue nile, where they have a large stock at better prices than local stores.
I started looking exclusively on the internet after a break of a few
months due to an obligation that came up suddenly. My internet search resulted immediately in 2 events. First, I found pricescope and realized that there are other places besides blue nile where I could look for a diamond. Second, There are even more things about cut I never knew about, i.e. H&A diamonds. One may ask though why I got into this process since I was looking for a square.
The reason is that given your natural curiosity you start browsing and then you start learning new things and start making comparisons. As I was learning more about cut and checking out examples from different vendors'' inventories, I also contacted a few vendors about princesses. There were 3 stones I considered very very seriously from 3 different vendors. 1 was from GoG and the other 2 from 2 vendors that brand their princess cuts. I decided after a couple of weeks that the best cut stone was the one from GoG and the best value stone (AGA 1B instead of 1A, but a little bigger and F/VS1 instead of E/VVS1) was one of the others. It was a toss-up and would have gone in the x-prong setting that many people that buy after being motivated by the Tiffany and DeBeers ads go for. By that time though I had developed a personal preference to the round H&A cut, due to the classic shape and to my belief that its cut can be evaluated more precisely and one could make a decision more confidently. When I had mentioned this to Jonathan at GoG, who was really great about this and never pressured, he said he could put on hold for a few days a 0.90/F/VS2 that was just in (I guess he selected that from his idea about my pereferences that he got while discussing his princess stones). It was simply an amazing stone. A no brainer if were looking for a round. But since I was still in the princess buying mode, I thanked him but declined because I did not want risk creating a round/square issue since I was sure she was set on a square. This kind of dissapointed me, but I wasn''t buying it for me. The weekend that followed things changed abruptly. We decided to go and look at some rings during a weekend. It was the first time we had done that and she thought she was giving me hints to help me buy something for her by this coming winter, whereas I wanted confirmation in order to purchase. It turns out she was quite specific in her comments and said for example at Tiffany''s how much she liked the lucida setting, whereas she did think the lucida diamond looked small and that rounds sparkle more and are more classic and lasting as fashion change. Her last comment was that the real thing is quite different does than the perception you get from ads and the basic information about
cut/color/clarity. So I said the best solution is to find a nice round with a similar setting, but this would require more research which would take time.
This was a 180 degree turn towards purchasing a round. I looked at GoG''s page and was ready to call about the 0.90/F/VS2. Unfortunately, it was sold. In about 2 business days. I did not take it that hard, because I was confident that it would be relatively straightforward and quick to find a great H&A, which is probably true. However, given that I wanted to get something in the 0.9-1.0 range it turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated. Keep in mind that I had to get something that perceived on par with what Jonathan had picked out for me. So I contacted almost everybody that was highly recommended and seemed to have a strong product.
I ended up getting my stone at GoG. I had developed a good relationship with Jonathan and I was glad he quickly had something that fit the bill beautifully. It was a pleasure to work with him.
I don''t think anyone provides as much information as GoG, who also
are comfortable to be make specific comments when asked specific questions. I never got a response like the ones you get when someone wants to avoid opening up what they consider a can of worms. Examples would be "we are consistent in our cut" or "all stones look beautiful to us" or "all our stones are eye-clean", when asking "isn''t the spread a little less than your average considering the carat weight" or "which one of your 2 stones
do you think is better cut" or "should I worry about the inclusion".
Jonathan never pressured and tried to accommodate my tastes from the first time we communicated and I must admit won me over with the service he provided. When he recommended the 0.90/F/VS2 he had also a couple of others in my carat range and even though I was even less knowledable back then, he did point out to the most well cut item, saying that it was so good that it most probably will not be available after a couple of days. This attitude gives someone great credibility in my eyes.
In addition, I feel that GoG''s inventory turnaround in the range I
considered was the best from the vendors I checked out during the period of my search. Since my purchase at the end of July he has also brought in and sold quite a few great stones in that carat range, which I interpret as being very responsive to what the prospective clients are looking for and having the capability to propose great choices. In my opinion, inventory turnaround is paramount. One can''t convince me that a stone that is in inventory for around 4 months is as exceptionally cut as another that sells within 1 week. Anyway, I am very happy I found what I was looking for about 1 month after I decided to switch and get a round.
So basically, I got a 0.90 G/VS2 from GoG and got it appraised by AGA who did a great job and are highly recommended (many thanks to Chris and Dave). It is AGA 1A and scores 0.4 ex/ex/ex/ex on the HCA and a 9.8 on the Isee2. It has great symmetry and great spread. I am attaching 2 pictures of it (one loose and one set in the Vatche x-prong - many thanks to Christen and Marie). It is stunning and she was surprised by my timing and quite floored by the ring.
The size is pretty substantial on her finger and it is very noticeable. Her girlfriends'' jaws dropped as well when they saw those arrows
.I am extremely happy about the whole experience and the end result. If say I were to buy a new stone it had better be better cut than the one I got, which in my opinion will require a good search since it won''t be easy. In addition, if I were to change something in the whole process, it would probably be to get a custom setting but I don''t feel I know much to design one and since the one I got is something that she loves I am very satisfied with the finished ring.
Finally, I need to end by saying something about pricescope, this forum and the HCA. In general, I definitely feel that buying a diamond is dangerous without education. It is easy to pay way more than you should or get a lesser product. I am happy because I feel I avoided both thanks to the information on pricescope and this forum. The HCA was great help sorting out items in inventories in order to make further comparisons. I found it very useful during my search. The information I found in this forum was even more useful. I learned a lot and I hope than I have made objectively good use of it.
Take care ...
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