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My noobie on a mission thread...

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GZeus

Rough_Rock
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Jun 7, 2007
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*** First lesson learned... don't include quotation marks in your thread title because the words won't show up an you can't edit it later! DOH! ***
*** Mods, if you get a chance, can you title this thread 'My noobie on a mission thread..' or, alternately, 'My noobie screws up his title thread..'. Thanks! ***

First off, I want to say "thanks" to everyone here - from the noobies up to Leonid and Garry, and to everyone who participates in the forums. You have already helped me a lot even if this is my first post! I have spent the last 10 days reading so much.... to quote the Pricescope 'mission statement'.... "Don't try to learn too much 'cause it is might be dangerous for your brain (and give you ulcers)." Well my brain hurts, and my stomach is not far behind.
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Anyway, my mission - same as every other noobie who wonders in - is to find the right stone and the right setting to knock her socks off so that she'll break down and agree to marry me.
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Hopefully, you can help me get this right, the first time. We did a few days of shopping together at local jewelers when I was last at home so I have a pretty good idea of what she wants. Now I just have to plan this right and take the plunge.

My plan, as of now, is to run this single thread asking for opinions and advice at each stage as I move towards purchasing in the next few weeks. Hopefully at the end, I will have a stunning e-ring and a lot more knowledge. Oh, and I also promise to post pics after its all done!

Due to work, the whole buying process will be done via the internet - I'm on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico doing oil and gas stuff and jewelery stores are rare out here. I'm comfortable with that, as I do a lot of my shopping online, but I will still want input about handling the purchase properly and safely when I get closer to the actual purchase.

Anyway, enough of the intro....

I might be doing this backwards but the first thing I want to ask about is settings. I realize that these can be purely an individual taste thing, so what I guess I'm looking for is just your humble (or not) opinion.

(1) Is it considered 'tasteful' to mount a Brilliant Round - 1.1 to 1.5 carats - on a band with channel set Princesses? I'm thinking of adding the matching band later if that affects your viewpoint.

example 1: http://www.bluenile.com/product_details.asp?oid=6906
example 2: http://www.bluenile.com/product_details.asp?oid=2691

(2) What's your opinion of Trellis settings? Does the additional 'band' joining the prongs together around the base of the diamond restrict light and detract from the impact of the stone?

(3) Is there a general consensus on 4 or 6 prongs for a 1.2 - 1.5 carat BR in a Cathedral type setting?

And a couple of general, internet purchasing questions...

(4) How often do new stones appear at the various vendors and on the Pricescope tools? Is there a particular day of the week that is 'inventory update' day for most of the vendors or is it just random? I understand that most(?) of the diamonds are not in-house, which makes me suspect that there is a traditional day when the wholesalers provide data on new diamonds to the vendors.

(5) Which internet vendors would you most recommend? The top 3 or 4 that you would send your less knowledgeable friends to shop at.


Yikes.... this is already a much longer post than I had planned. Sorry about that.
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I can get a bit verbose at a keyboard.

Thanks a bunch for all the education you've already given me and for taking the time to read my post. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!!
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Welcome to PS
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Lets see if we can spare you from having to take any more Pepto Bismol!
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1) I think the setting you have chosen is lovely and if it would accomodate a RB, it would look great.

2) I don't think trellis settings in any way block light from the diamond, personally I like them.

3) 4 or 6 prongs is a personal preference, 6 prongs are said to be more secure and give the diamond a rounder look, 4 prongs make the diamond look a little less round and show more of the diamond - some think they are not as secure as 6. So go with what you prefer.

4) I am not sure what days the databases update their inventory, probably best to check regularly.

5) My fave vendors include Good old Gold, Whiteflash, Wink Jones, James Allen, Mark at Engagement Rings Direct, Bill
Pearlman.


I take it you have read up on cut and it's importance? You probably know it is key for a gorgeous diamond. We would be glad to help you find your diamond, do you have any in mind? What are your colour and clarity requirements?
 
Date: 6/8/2007 5:18:18 AM
Author:GZeus
(1) Is it considered ''tasteful'' to mount a Brilliant Round - 1.1 to 1.5 carats - on a band with channel set Princesses? I''m thinking of adding the matching band later if that affects your viewpoint.

example 1: http://www.bluenile.com/product_details.asp?oid=6906
example 2: http://www.bluenile.com/product_details.asp?oid=2691

(2) What''s your opinion of Trellis settings? Does the additional ''band'' joining the prongs together around the base of the diamond restrict light and detract from the impact of the stone?

(3) Is there a general consensus on 4 or 6 prongs for a 1.2 - 1.5 carat BR in a Cathedral type setting?

And a couple of general, internet purchasing questions...

(4) How often do new stones appear at the various vendors and on the Pricescope tools? Is there a particular day of the week that is ''inventory update'' day for most of the vendors or is it just random? I understand that most(?) of the diamonds are not in-house, which makes me suspect that there is a traditional day when the wholesalers provide data on new diamonds to the vendors.

(5) Which internet vendors would you most recommend? The top 3 or 4 that you would send your less knowledgeable friends to shop at.


Yikes.... this is already a much longer post than I had planned. Sorry about that.
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I can get a bit verbose at a keyboard.

Thanks a bunch for all the education you''ve already given me and for taking the time to read my post. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!!
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Click to expand...
1. channel set rounds, I think. Sparklier, more classic look. But some people don''t like the holes.

2. trellis is elegant.

4. I think the database is updated twice a week?

5. Good Old Gold, Whiteflash, Infinity Diamonds (cutters,) James Allen, sometimes Blue Nile.
 
Wow, thanks for the quick responses. I guess I''m not the only one awake at odd hours.
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I''ll await more opinions on the Princess sides stones. I hadn''t really thought about it but I guess it is the holes in a round channel set that doesn''t work for me. I do like the continual look that a squarer cut gives. And, counting 2 votes for the Trellis setting.

Thanks especially for the vendor references. It''s good to have more choices. Unfortunately for me, WhiteFlash is in Texas and that would mean tax
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. I have looked around at James Allen a bit and I''m glad to hear that they are well regarded. You both recommended GOG as well. Their website is a bit sparse but I''ll give them a better look.

As for a stone, I''m trying to walk the line between size and quality. An AGS000, or close, as I can get in the 1.2-1.4 range with a total budget around $10K+, including the setting, leaving around $8K+ for the stone. I think I can find one but it may take some patience.

An example of a stone I''m interested in:
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-57876.htm

It doesn''t have to be quite so ''perfect'' - perhaps better if its not ''hyped'' that way at least - and it wouldn''t hurt if it was 15% less. That said, however, this is something I hope I buy only once, so I want to do it right. For a purchase of this importance, quality - even invisible quality - is an important factor to me.

If a stone becomes available that I''m really interested in, should I be concerned that it may not be there in a day or two?? I assume that''s true of any stone your looking at with just about any vendor - especially for stones that aren''t in-house. But how fast do good stones tend to go?

Thanks again!
 
Good diamonds can shift quickly, unfortunately, if a diamond is posted here and is given the thumbs up, sometimes lurkers snatch them
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So it can be a good thing to post the info separately and any Idealscope images etc separately rather than the link, but it doesn't happen all the time. If there is a diamond you are really interested in, you can reserve it. The diamond you posted is a beauty, I take it your preference is for VVS or very high clarity?
 
Hi GZeus,

First, I live in Louisiana and I own an ACA from Whiteflash. And I did not have to pay tax on mine and I definitely understand why you dont buy from Whiteflash, because you live in Texas. I would definitely recommend Whiteflash, but since we are alike (because I think we pay too many taxes already) then I like GOG and their reputation. Take a look at this stone:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2814/

If you stay in the VS range on clarity and H and above on these well cut diamonds, then you will be heading in the right direction.

Jonathan at GOG is well regarded here on Pricescope and plus GOG has a lifetime upgrade policy.

Also, check out GOG videos on stones. I love to see different cuts of diamonds!!!

Good Luck
MWG
 
You''ve been put in good hands with your other questions, but I will admit that I really really don''t care for the setting at all. It''s clunky and the look is very "early 90''s" to me.

I might be in the minority here, but it''s just not my favorite at all. I don''t care for the prongs or the way the channel setting looks for that particular ring.
 

Just thought I would share some pics of my rings. I have a RB with in a channel set pirincess setting that is cathedral style. I had 4 prongs with my original stone (a 1.3RB) and changed to 6 prongs with this upgrade. I have to say I like the 6 better for security reasons, but I definately see less of the diamond with the 6 so it was kinda a trade off. I have had my setting for 4 years and although I do love it I have kinda always wished that I had RB''s and not princesses. Basically for the sparkle factor and the fact I have found that I am truly a RB gal. So I am in the middle of changing my setting to RB''s right now. But just thought you might like to see what it would look like.


BTW stone size 1.76, princess are .15 each and ring size is 7.25 (I need finger lipo!!!)


Hope this helps.


KT



rbktring111.jpg
 
hand shot

rbktring222.jpg
 
I am honestly a fan of channel set rounds. If the setting is done well, the space is minimal and only exists at the "corners" where the rounds curve. Also, with the tiny rounds being so sparkly, I don''t even see the metal over the sparkle of the diamonds. I will try to attach a picture of my ring at the end of this post.

As far as 4 or 6 prong. I prefer the 4 prongs because you can REALLY see the diamond. Many many people comment of how they love seeing so much of the diamond. But it is a personal preference.

Blue Nile, GOG, James Allen, and Whiteflash are all the vendors we took a close look at while we were searching for my diamond.

Good Luck and here is my ring . . . it has channel set rounds.

PSpost3c.jpg
 
Sorry for the HUGE hand picture . . . I keep forgetting how big it shows up here . . . yikes.
 
GZeus,

I think we are in similar places. I am in the market with a similar budget to your budget. I should be buying sometime in the next six weeks. This is my first time for all of this so when I say I have no clue what I'm doing, its not an exaggeration. I just started looking seriously last week and was fortunate enough to find this website. Located in Houston my first thought was to visit local B&M's whose names I have heard my whole life. After spending serious lurking time here, I realize that's an option but perhaps not the best option.

Through this website I found WhiteFlash (among others) and I'm almost certain this is the direction I will go because I can get Internet pricing with the benefit of being able to see before I buy. I will try to avoid sales taxes by asking them to ship out of state. I'm planning to have it sent to one of my company's out of state offices and then either picking it up when I'm there or have it sent to me. It may sound like a lot of trouble but on a $10K purchase, the sales taxes are over $800!

Somewhere on this website I thought I saw that WhiteFlash offers PS readers a 5% discount if you ask for it. Has anyone taken advantage of this recently or know if this is still offered?

As for what I'm looking for, it will probably be round and whatever I can get within my budget. With settings I have no clue. My initial reaction was a traditional and simple Tiffany's style setting but now I'm not so sure. I guess this type of simple e-ring setting would match with just about any bands. I am now starting to think that I might prefer one of the sets on WF. One that has caught my eye is the U-Prong Champaigne but its hard to tell from the picture how it might look. Has anyone seen this firsthand that can comment.

I will be following this thread with great interest as it develops (and contributing what little I can) so I hope many will weigh in with their comments. Alright, I better stop here for now. Where did I put that bottle of Pepto?
 
Hiker and KitIce, lovely rings and thanks for posting them
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Date: 6/8/2007 11:32:09 AM
Author: GPG

Somewhere on this website I thought I saw that WhiteFlash offers PS readers a 5% discount if you ask for it. Has anyone taken advantage of this recently or know if this is still offered?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is still offered but you need to pay by bankwire and you need to ask for it.
 
Don't know if I'm too late but I wanted to comment on the setting. I've seen quite a few variations of the channel set princess settings and here's what I would do.

I would get the Vatche Royal Crown with channel set rounds- except I would ask vatche (who does channel set princess settings, but for square stones... so this wouldn't be a stretch for them) to channel set princesses instead. I like the taper of the royal crown because it really makes the stone pop. And I like the quality of Vatche settings. Vatche will make modifications to their settings if requested. GOG, Winkjones, and Exceldiamonds all sell Vatche.

Here is the royal crown... its a six prong, but if you want a four prong they have this setting with a trellis type head as well. the website is dvatche.com

Royal Crown Channel Set..jpg
 
Opps it didn''t attach.

Royal Crown Channel Set.jpg
 
I second Gypsy''s suggestion of the Vatche channel setting. Much more delicate and feminine looking than the Bluenile one.
 
This one is chunkier than I'd like.. it doesn't have the taper pf the Royal Crown... but it has four prongs and baguettes in the channel instead of princesses which is a different option for you.

I would ask for it to accomodate a round. I don't think they will have an issue with that at all.

Vatche Double U Bag.jpg
 
And here is an X prong. No taper at all, but it has four prongs and is still nicer than the BlueNile settings. Ask for princess channel sets instead of rounds.

Vatch Comfort fit X chan.jpg
 
*** Thanks Mods for the title change. A ''cookie'' for your time! ***

Wow, thanks everyone for all the feedback. This place is fantastic!

Thanks for the pics ''hickerchick'' and ''KtIceRN''. Those are very nice rings and its good to see real world pics as opposed to the ''idealized'' vendors pics.
It may be huge ''hickerchick'', but it really shows the round channel sets very nicely and has made me rethink my choice of sidestones.
I knew this was going to happen. Pass the Bepto.

''GPG'', you are more than welcome to tag-along as I try to wrap my head around this. Its nice to know I''m not alone. Please contribute whatever you can along the way. I''m sure you will think of some questions that I forgot to ask. As for WF and shipping out of state, I contacted them about this and they say that the tax is based on the billing address so that kind of kills it for me. That doesn''t necessarily mean I won''t buy from there, but its an added consideration.

''Gypsy'', wow, those are great settings! I was using BN as a staring point to narrow down styles that appeal... now I''m going to start looking at designer bands - starting with those Vatche''s. Really nice - especially that X-prong in your last post.


New question of the day....
Is there a suggested price ratio of stone to setting? Is a $2K setting ''appropriate'' for a $8-9K stone?

Thanks again to all!
 
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my preferences for a stone....

VVS2 and above
H and above
Cut, symmetry, polish: Excellent
$'s: $7K - $9K (for the stone only)

... and yes, I understand that I could get away with lowering both the color and clarity, but I'm not going to. The only quality standard that I'm flexible on is the polish and I'm not all that flexible on that. I'd even be willing to go as high as $10k just for the stone if it meant getting the 'right' one.
As I said, you only do this once and quality - even if it can't be easily seen - still matters to me.

Another question of the day....
How much faith should one put in the HCA tool? I understand that nothing replaces actually physically inspecting the stone, but if I find a stone that has good 'stats' on the cert and places well on the HCA (say just on the edge of AGS), how much weight should I give the HCA result? For that matter, is an HCA score of 1 a good score? it seems that the tool prefers stones around 1.3 to 1.9. Can someone enlighten me, please?
 
You''re welcome. Re: setting price. That''s your call, entirely. I think 2K is a very good budget for the type of setting you want. Depending on whether you want platinum or WG... you may find yourself paying more or less than that though. Some people pay more for their settings than their stones so... really it''s a personal choice.

Normally we advise putting as much money toward the stone as possible while getting the setting you like, or something similar to it.
 
Do NOT get VVS and above. You would be paying A LOT for something you can't see. AT ALL. H color is good. VVS is complete overkill, unless it's a cultural thing. You can safely go down to and eyeclean SI1 in a round without any loss of performance at all.

If Si1 scares you for any reason. Then go for H VS2. You will be able to get her a much bigger diamond. And BELIEVE me, when people as her about a ring... they won't be asking "Oh what clarity is that." They will say "How big is that".

ETA: I just saw what you said about clarity. Please research this a little more. I have a VS1 in a step cut (where clarity matters more than with rounds) and I can't even SEE my inclusions at 20x... let alone 10x.
 
Further to the HCA question above....
I guess that I understand that the HCA is a proportional comparison tool. I''m sure many people here can tell a lot about a stone by looking at its proportions/measurements. I''m not quite that good. (<---- massive understatement) Using the HCA has become a way for me to check that a stone is properly proportioned.

An example of what I''m referring to with the HCA....
Would this result have any affect on your opinion of an stone you haven''t seen yet?

GZ_example01.gif
 
Thanks for the reply and the advise ''Gypsy''. I appreciate the input.

However, in this case it is partially a cultural/family thing and partially a personal choice on my part.
I have been told and read many times how I can compromise on clarity and gain in size. Unfortunately(?), thats not going to be an option in this particular case.
 
Another random question...

I noticed an AGSL cert that stated in the notes section that the diamond had been inscribed "AGSL ###### H&A".
Is it now standard for AGSL to inscribe H&A on stones that qualify??
 
Date: 6/8/2007 8:29:32 PM
Author: GZeus
Another random question...

I noticed an AGSL cert that stated in the notes section that the diamond had been inscribed ''AGSL ###### H&A''.
Is it now standard for AGSL to inscribe H&A on stones that qualify??
Click to expand...
No; inscriptions are a service supplied to the buyer of the report.
 
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