phoenixgirl
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2003
- Messages
- 3,390
The last few months have seen my love of diamonds go from fantasy to reality. First, after a bit of a husband-related debacle, I got a new diamond wedding band in August to replace my plain band. It seems, however, that you really can teach an old dog new tricks.
One night at dinner I tried to explain why I love diamonds so much to DH. I explained how I always loved gems as a little girl and how both of my grandmothers, now deceased, are connected to my interest in them. Then I told him how much I enjoy scouring the PS listings and using the HCA to calculate light return. I am always looking for a, sorry for the lame pun, diamond in the rough . . . something that is just low enough in color and clarity and perhaps even cut (at first glance) to make it really affordable. Somehow that seemed to make sense to DH, that I enjoyed the idea of the hunt as much as the ability to wear the jewelry.
I began making Wish Lists at various sites, with DH seeming amenable to logging in and picking things out off of them for presents (the last time he picked out a diamond for me, he proudly announced that it was a special diamond known as "champagne"). And then as I was making it a hobby to keep my lists updated, I realized that this pair of diamonds I had found was just what I was always looking for. And even though I didn't really have an excuse to buy them now (anniversary is six weeks away), I suddenly became desperate at the thought that somebody else would buy them. I was afraid to post about them lest others think the same thing I had thought: "Whoa, these diamonds will look so big and sparkly and are super cheap! I have no choice but to buy them!"
So anyway . . . on to the diamonds.
Diamond #1
0.36 K SI1 for $357
4.64-4.70x2.72
depth 58.2%
table 60%
crown 33
pavilion 40.2
HCA 2.0 gd, ex, ex, ex
GIA cut grade: very good
Diamond #2
0.36 K SI2 for $324
4.63-4.68x2.76
depth 59.3%
table 61%
crown 33
pavilion 40.8
HCA 1.7 vg, ex, vg, ex
GIA cut grade: very good
So I told DH that I really wanted them for our anniversary/Christmas and was afraid that they'd be bought before then, so how about I get them now? They were (and still are) listed through several vendors, but I went with the least expensive (Mondera) and had them set in 18Kyg screwbacks for $831 total. Ordering was not the smoothest process. The website said the order wasn't processed and that we would have to call, so DH called in the order in the morning. The representative had to switch computers and call him back to place the order. Then they called and left a message on our home phone with an out-of-order, long-distance number for us to call back. They also sent me an email telling me that surely I realized that they couldn't hold the diamonds for me without payment and that they hoped to resolve the "credit issue" ASAP. That really blew me over the top, so I wrote back a nasty email about how we had been trying our darndest to give them our credit card and that it wasn't our fault that their website and phone number didn't work. Finally the card was confirmed and the diamonds were set on Monday, shipped on Tuesday, and arrived yesterday.
And I love them!!! They both have arrows, although one is more uniform than the other. They look huge to me (will shrinkage set in? I hope not!). I also had my eye on the 0.392 and 0.397 J SI1 ACA's, but they would have been nearly double the price. These stones spread nearly as large, are only color grade lower, and ended up having arrows (although obviously not the exquisite exactitude) to a degree anyway. I really feel like I found my perfect pair!
OK, pictures:
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