- Joined
- Apr 25, 2013
- Messages
- 592
so after years of lurking and a bit of posting here and there, I finally have my (almost) dream ring.
Why almost? Well that has to do with how amazingly fantastic my local jeweler is.
Backstory- THIS IS LONG so feel free to skip to pics if you would like: when my husband and I got engaged, he was just out of school. At my engagement party (my family doesn't believe in "romantic" engagements, engagements are a whole family event!) my now husband gave me a beautiful emerald ring, a promise ring almost.
A few months before the wedding, for our "proposal" we had a .90 round (transitional) family stone re-cut and set into a custom braided setting. I loved this ring but we kind of made the best of what we had and I was never a round diamond kind of girl.
After we were married about a year, I came across a crazy good deal on a giant henri daussi ring, but it was an EGL J and I couldn't get over the color, so had to sell it. I thought I was just super color sensitive...who knows what the real color was, but looks like I wasn't sensitive to J colors (more on that in a sec), just that stone. Sold the ring and decided to start from scratch.
Cut to this valentines day. I had to go to NYC for work and decided to make a trip out of it, and took my husband along. I decided to visit some "pricescope vendors" to see if I could find a "deal" on my upgrade diamond, but decided that if I didn't it wouldn't be a big deal.
Went to IDJ as I knew they had lots of Daussi cushions and the like, and a few minutes after I gave what I thought was a laughable budget, Yekutiel pulled something out that took my breath away. It was a big (not huge, but much bigger than my stone!) elongated cushion with a fantastic mix of chunky facets and sparkle, and the price was RIDICULOUSLY low. The reason? It was a J color SI1 with SB Fluor and a not so great depth. But it.was.amazing
He offered a fairly generous amount for my original round diamond, and my husband said- do it. So I did
Ok-almost done- on to the awesome local jeweler part of the story
My husband said I could get whatever setting I wanted as this was my "forever" ring, but when we got quotes from Leon and Victor he almost choked and died. "Why can't you go with the guy you have been going to for YEARS?!?!?" he asked. I told him I wanted the best, and though I love and trust my local jeweler I thought this project would be above him. I tried to sell as many things as I had lying around to gather funds, but then tax time came around and the entire amount I had set aside for my dream setting had to go to that. Couldn't even afford an ERD setting, which was my second thought after I saw so many beautiful PS'ers rings.
At this point I said- what the hey. Went to my local jeweler, showed him multiple pricesope images of my favorite rings, went through 4 rounds of CADs, and when the time came to pick up my ring I opened the box and was floored. It was beautiful!!! But when I inspected it very closely, there were a few things I noticed- prongs were pointy but a bit thicker than I wanted. Stone was set just a MM higher than I wanted ( girdle was showing). There was a bit more metal on the lip than I wanted.
My jeweler, bless him, said to me- "wear it. enjoy. I know you have been waiting for this a long time. In the meantime, I am going to remake the setting, and keep remaking it, until it is absolutely perfect"
His price? 50% less than ERD. THOUSANDS less than one of the master jewelers. It's not hand done, and it's not the best of the best- but I couldn't be happier with my decision to work with someone i have known for years, and I know that I have MORE than gotten what I paid for.
So now some specs. Sorry that they aren't exact, it's been a long time since we picked up the stone and the GIA cert is in the bank
Stone: Cushion Brilliant
Color: J with Strong Blue Fluor. I will say I cannot see even the smallest hint of color, but it has rainbow flashes that are blinding!!
Weight: 1.57
LW: 7.6 X 6.5 (approximate, but within a few tenths of a point)
Setting: Modified Harry Winston, full eternity,1.2MM single cut melee. Unplated white gold.
All these pictures were taken with my iphone so they are bloody terrible. I need a nice camera, but oh well- no money left now! HA! In one of the pics the stone looks a bit hazy but in reality, the stone is clear as crystal. Its mesmerizing
Why almost? Well that has to do with how amazingly fantastic my local jeweler is.
Backstory- THIS IS LONG so feel free to skip to pics if you would like: when my husband and I got engaged, he was just out of school. At my engagement party (my family doesn't believe in "romantic" engagements, engagements are a whole family event!) my now husband gave me a beautiful emerald ring, a promise ring almost.
A few months before the wedding, for our "proposal" we had a .90 round (transitional) family stone re-cut and set into a custom braided setting. I loved this ring but we kind of made the best of what we had and I was never a round diamond kind of girl.
After we were married about a year, I came across a crazy good deal on a giant henri daussi ring, but it was an EGL J and I couldn't get over the color, so had to sell it. I thought I was just super color sensitive...who knows what the real color was, but looks like I wasn't sensitive to J colors (more on that in a sec), just that stone. Sold the ring and decided to start from scratch.
Cut to this valentines day. I had to go to NYC for work and decided to make a trip out of it, and took my husband along. I decided to visit some "pricescope vendors" to see if I could find a "deal" on my upgrade diamond, but decided that if I didn't it wouldn't be a big deal.
Went to IDJ as I knew they had lots of Daussi cushions and the like, and a few minutes after I gave what I thought was a laughable budget, Yekutiel pulled something out that took my breath away. It was a big (not huge, but much bigger than my stone!) elongated cushion with a fantastic mix of chunky facets and sparkle, and the price was RIDICULOUSLY low. The reason? It was a J color SI1 with SB Fluor and a not so great depth. But it.was.amazing
He offered a fairly generous amount for my original round diamond, and my husband said- do it. So I did
Ok-almost done- on to the awesome local jeweler part of the story
My husband said I could get whatever setting I wanted as this was my "forever" ring, but when we got quotes from Leon and Victor he almost choked and died. "Why can't you go with the guy you have been going to for YEARS?!?!?" he asked. I told him I wanted the best, and though I love and trust my local jeweler I thought this project would be above him. I tried to sell as many things as I had lying around to gather funds, but then tax time came around and the entire amount I had set aside for my dream setting had to go to that. Couldn't even afford an ERD setting, which was my second thought after I saw so many beautiful PS'ers rings.
At this point I said- what the hey. Went to my local jeweler, showed him multiple pricesope images of my favorite rings, went through 4 rounds of CADs, and when the time came to pick up my ring I opened the box and was floored. It was beautiful!!! But when I inspected it very closely, there were a few things I noticed- prongs were pointy but a bit thicker than I wanted. Stone was set just a MM higher than I wanted ( girdle was showing). There was a bit more metal on the lip than I wanted.
My jeweler, bless him, said to me- "wear it. enjoy. I know you have been waiting for this a long time. In the meantime, I am going to remake the setting, and keep remaking it, until it is absolutely perfect"
His price? 50% less than ERD. THOUSANDS less than one of the master jewelers. It's not hand done, and it's not the best of the best- but I couldn't be happier with my decision to work with someone i have known for years, and I know that I have MORE than gotten what I paid for.
So now some specs. Sorry that they aren't exact, it's been a long time since we picked up the stone and the GIA cert is in the bank
Stone: Cushion Brilliant
Color: J with Strong Blue Fluor. I will say I cannot see even the smallest hint of color, but it has rainbow flashes that are blinding!!
Weight: 1.57
LW: 7.6 X 6.5 (approximate, but within a few tenths of a point)
Setting: Modified Harry Winston, full eternity,1.2MM single cut melee. Unplated white gold.
All these pictures were taken with my iphone so they are bloody terrible. I need a nice camera, but oh well- no money left now! HA! In one of the pics the stone looks a bit hazy but in reality, the stone is clear as crystal. Its mesmerizing
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