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Newbie Needs Help!!

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kaydub03

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
8
Hi there, really happy I found this forum!

I've been lurking around here for a month or two and have tried to learn as much as possible. Although, it's kinda like the more I read...the more confused/lost I am. I am just terrified of being taken, and in this diamond business it seems like you gotta be on your toes.

Anyways, I have gotten to the point that I want to get more serious about making a purchase for my girl's engagement ring. We've been together quite awhile and she's the world to me. We've talked about rings and I know she LOVE'S halos. I like'em too, if they are done tastefully. Some of them kinda look clunky to me. I think they have to look delicate/balanced to really work. I am trying to keep the total cost of setting/stone under $4000

With that in mind, I have found a setting from Eternity Diamonds that i really like.....(pic below):
The Zora, it's like the Ritani Bella Vita(but that blows the budget pretty quick :tongue: )

My question is: Is it worth it to pay for the platinum vs. white gold($600 difference)?? should palladium even be a option(same price as white gold)?

Then there is the stone, I'm thinking that I want something between 0.6-0.8cts. My main preference after that is cut. I want it to REALLY sparkle. Color I'm not too sensitive, the hint of warmth of a H-J stone doesn't bother me. And clarity, I just want it to be eye-clean. I've looked around eternity diamonds and liked a few (even though I'm probably not qualified to tell you why). I definitely feel better about purchasing stone/setting from the same place. Would it be better to consider buying them from separate vendors?

Here are the stones I looked at on Eternity Diamonds: (Any feedback is greatly appreciated)
1. http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=423405
2.http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=455685
3. http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=288671
4. http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=460119
5. http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=379565
6. http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=4603029433D.jpg
 
Surprised pd is not slightly cheaper than gold?
In any case between the two I would choose gold if Ni allergies are not a concern - if they will make it in a specialty alloy that does not need replating that's even better. Pd has some advantages (no plating, hypoallergenic) but some disadvantages (hard to find jewellers who are familiar w/ working w/ it, if you need sizing/prongs redone, etc.)
GeckoDani is a poster who has a palladium Ering, if you search her posts you might find some info that sways you one way or the other..

Can definitely purchase from separate vendors, just need to be on top of things re. inspections, insurance, shipping costs. Purchasing from the same place is always preferred but if you find the perfect stone elsewhere it's not a lost cause ;))

1,2,3,4,6 - numbers fine, I like 4 best, next step is in-person or professional appraisal to ensure nothing wonky, as I don't believe eternity d will provide IS photographs?
5-v old report, if it's a trade-in it needs to be re-certed, if it's been in inventory for six years (doubtful) why?
 
As always, Yssie hit the nail on the head! Do you know about Eternity Diamonds "try it before you buy it" program? They'll send you a couple of settings with CZs in them so that you can see them in person before you make a purchase. I think that's a great idea! Lovely setting, btw!
 
Thanks for the replies! I really appreciate it...

I'm pretty positive I am gonna go with white gold over palladium. But what about spending the extra money on Platinum?is it worth it??

As for the stone, here comes a pretty naive question. How does the professional appraisal process work??? Do I request it from Eternity Diamonds? Do I just do it when I receive the ring and figure I have the window of the return policy? I'm gonna take it to a appraiser when I receive it regardless...just to make sure it matches the cert.

Yeah, Eternity does not offer Idealscope. But don't really see anyone else with a setting like that. GOG carries Ritani but the price of the setting alone is close to 3/4 my budget....

Thanks again for your time, and putting up with my ignorance. I appreciate it...
 
kaydub03|1293592307|2808548 said:
Thanks for the replies! I really appreciate it...

I'm pretty positive I am gonna go with white gold over palladium. But what about spending the extra money on Platinum?is it worth it??

depends on what you want and what you like. Both have upsides and downsides.
one thread of probably hundreds on this topic: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/platinum-vs-white-gold.147732/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/platinum-vs-white-gold.147732/[/URL]
helpful article: https://www.pricescope.com/journal/overview_common_alloys_used_jewelry

As for the stone, here comes a pretty naive question. How does the professional appraisal process work??? Do I request it from Eternity Diamonds? Do I just do it when I receive the ring and figure I have the window of the return policy? I'm gonna take it to a appraiser when I receive it regardless...just to make sure it matches the cert.

You want to choose your own *independent* appraiser - not the in-house guy at ED, and not the guy they recommend. You may have to ship out to your chosen appraiser. Some people choose to have the stone appraised loose, but it is unnecessary if A) the vendor provides more details/scans/photos of the stone, or B) they trust their eyes enough to make their own judgments on having it shipped out and seeing it in-person. Nothing wrong with the latter approach, just be sure to train your eyes well by looking at lots and lots of well and poorly cut stones in-person beforehand so you know what you are looking for, what you like to see, what your preferences are. If you have the finished ring appraised the appraiser can confirm quality, that the stone is well set without problems, etc. but will be able to tell you less about the stone itself than if it was loose. Getting appraisals done for both loose stone and finished ring can be expensive. It is a tradeoff.

Yeah, Eternity does not offer Idealscope. But don't really see anyone else with a setting like that. GOG carries Ritani but the price of the setting alone is close to 3/4 my budget....

Thanks again for your time, and putting up with my ignorance. I appreciate it...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks again!

It all seems a bit overwhelming, even the appraisal process. Are these all pretty standard requests to make of a vendor? It makes me feel like I am accusing them of being dishonest before the process even begins. I know it's all to protect myself, it just scares me.

I've looked at quite a few well-cut stones and poorly cut stones. And I can see pretty plain as day why one is good and one is bad. It's just the process of verbalizing it. So, what things should I look for that can be amiss and not show up on a GIA certed "Excellent" cut and it also falls under 2.0 on the HCA. What could attribute it to being a poor stone, or am I more concerned about it not being the stone I purchased??

OR, would it be better to sacrifice size of stone a bit and just get the actual Ritani setting from GOG? Would there be a noticeable quality difference in the Ritani setting compared to the Eternity setting?? Atleast with GOG, I can get a lot more details on the stone.Maybe with something like this???
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7854/
 
kaydub03|1293758992|2810473 said:
Thanks again!

It all seems a bit overwhelming, even the appraisal process. Are these all pretty standard requests to make of a vendor? It makes me feel like I am accusing them of being dishonest before the process even begins. I know it's all to protect myself, it just scares me.

I've looked at quite a few well-cut stones and poorly cut stones. And I can see pretty plain as day why one is good and one is bad. It's just the process of verbalizing it. So, what things should I look for that can be amiss and not show up on a GIA certed "Excellent" cut and it also falls under 2.0 on the HCA. What could attribute it to being a poor stone, or am I more concerned about it not being the stone I purchased??
to confirm it's yours - buy a 10x loupe, will set you back $10-30, and get to know your stone. This is the *only* failsafe method to ID your stone - engravings and etchings can be polished out easily enough. GIA ex is a range, some feel too encompassing. Place the stone on a brightly coloured (red/blue/green) cloth, look with one eye - do you see colour through any facet/set of facets? If so, do you dislike it? Look with two eyes, do you see colour through the stone? If so, do you dislike it? Ex GIA symmetry is a physical symmetry (facet meet) measurement - does not specify optical symmetry. Two questions to ask when evaluating any part of the stone - do you like it? do you dislike it?

OR, would it be better to sacrifice size of stone a bit and just get the actual Ritani setting from GOG? Would there be a noticeable quality difference in the Ritani setting compared to the Eternity setting?? possibly in quality, definitely some differences in design Atleast with GOG, I can get a lot more details on the stone.Maybe with something like this???
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7854/ looks good
Click to expand...
 
Thanks again Yssie! your insight is extremely helpful!!!

One more question: wouls this stone from GOG be a better value (than the other GOG stone I posted above) if it was considered eye-clean to my standards?? http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/7853/
 
Hi there everyone!

I'm still out here in limbo! trying to do right....

If I could please get you guys to give me your top 3 from this group of diamonds(not necessarily by price, strictly by the numbers), I would be very grateful.... :bigsmile:

I'm really not too concerned with size, with a Halo...pretty much anything listed will look good size on my SO's finger(size 4). I'm actually a liitle concerned of going too big with regards to keeping the ring looking balanced with the size of the two side avvent diamonds. Does that even make sense??? :?

1)0.80ct (I) VS1 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=401620
2)0.77ct (H) SI1 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=460119
3)0.72ct (F) VS1 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=470984
4)0.78ct (H) VS2 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=459490
5)0.80ct (I) VS2 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=473607
6)0.74ct (H) VS2 H&A http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=463084
7)0.90ct (I) SI1 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=397995


Thanks again for your time
Kevin
 
Hi, Kevin,
Did you decide to go for the Eternity Diamonds setting for sure? I'm just asking because I do like your idea of working GOG and getting Ritani setting with either one of those stones you posted. I've seen Ritani settings in person and they are very well-made and sparkly. Have you contacted Jonathan or his staff at GOG? I'm sure they would work with you to maximize your budget.

Eternity Diamonds has a great reputation on here, too, and you will get a larger diamond for your money if you go through them, but it does require more work since they do not provide images. Also, you really need to see the stone in person to assess clarity, too. It's hard to judge the stones' cut quality, color, and clarity just based on the GIA lab reports. Did you run the HCA scores on any of these stones? (Look under "Tools" dropdown menu on the toolbar above for the HCA).

If your girlfriend would be happy with a diamond in the .50 - .60 range, I'd definitely recommend at least talking to GOG.
 
/
Well, first, ditto Lula.

1)0.80ct (I) VS1 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=401620
2)0.77ct (H) SI1 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=460119
3)0.72ct (F) VS1 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=470984
4)0.78ct (H) VS2 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=459490
5)0.80ct (I) VS2 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=473607
6)0.74ct (H) VS2 H&A http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=463084
7)0.90ct (I) SI1 http://www.eternitydiamonds.com/diamond_detail.php?id=397995
Click to expand...

Makes things easier for us:
1 - 33.5/40.8/57/60.9/75 5.98mm 2570
2 - 34.5/40.8/54/61.8/75 5.92mm 2300
3 - 33.5/40.8/56/60.2/80 5.85mm 2965
4 - 36/40.6/56/62.9/75 5.9mm 2540
5 - 34/41/57/62/75 5.93mm 2543
6 - 35/41/57/61.9/80 5.8mm 2683
7 - 34/40.8/56/80 6.13-6.22mm 2965

VS2s are most most most likely eyeclean face-up and through crown views from as close as you can focus, clarity should not be a concern unless you want eyeclean from the side as well. Again, in this size range, once set unless you choose a very open setting like tension there won't be enough side visible to worry about IMO. SI1s - will depend on your definition of eyeclean, but again you should be fine unless you are particularly clarity-conscious and have excellent vision.

By the numbers no big red stop signs. A stone with a 33 crown will look quite different to a stone with a 36 crown, and you would likely note different nuances in performance across a variety of lighting types - say, the higher crown and smaller table and shorter lgf (depends on what it actually is, GIA rounds) may permit more coloured light output in certain lights than a shallower crown/larger table/longer lgf combo that excels at splintery "twinkly" white light return, but it is a matter of preference - one is not objectively "better" than the other.

Of the seven I like #7 the least, the variation in diametre is a bit too much for mind-clean for me, though it wouldn't be visible IRL. Ah, but you asked for top three, so first choice is (my personal preference) #4, #2, #5. But, the numbers on the cert **do not tell the whole story**. Remember, GIA rounds around 8 sections of diamond to get crown, pav, lgf, then averages those numbers and prints on the report, so they may be hiding valuable info that a look in-person or clear photos/reflector technology images will unmask.

I have a soft spot for high crown stones (with appropriately shallow pav), so that would be my choice. The slightly larger depth means you may note a slight bit more colour saturation face-up than a stone with 60% depth, but assuming both are well-cut and given the stone sizes we are talking about I think this difference is purely theoretical, and would not even be visible IRL. The extra depth doesn't have any effect positive or negative on performance by itself, the high crown is contributing to it.

You will definitely note the difference in size between #7, #6, vs. many of the others I think - usually a 0.2mm difference is noticeable, if you are short-sighted or have sharper vision you might note smaller size differences. The H&A inscription is not endorsed by GIA or Eternity Diamonds - GIA is simply noting that someone, somewhere, at some time had the letters H&A inscribed on the girdle, but as we know nothing about what that person used to determine H&A, it is a worthless notation. Vendors selling H&A branded stones will usually provide images of the hearts and arrows to impress upon you the precision of cut of their beautifully hearted stones, because the premiums from those sales are needed to offset the extra cost of manufacturing these stones!
 
Thank You Lula and Yssie!

I really haven't made up my mind on anything yet.

It's like I'm trying to convince myself that there is a way to to gurantee that these diamonds from ED are good(just by the cert., good HCA #'s, etc.) without jumping thu hoops and seeing them in person or having images. Their prices are great, and Yoni at ED has been very good the limited amount we have spoke. I'm just gun-shy because other vendors give you much more info to make an educated decision. Heck, I can drive 2-3 hours and be at WF or BGD......

I guess going through GOG for the Ritani setting is a viable option. It could work with any of these stones:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7854/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7853/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7459/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7458/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7863/

stretching it a bit with this stone
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7629/

or I could go through GOG and get this setting(which is cheaper asnd I know my girl would love too!eventhough I personally keep going back to the 3 stone ring):
1289574804_1RZ3700BRP.jpg

I mean, I know thru her friends that my girl is very fond of this WF setting(I'm just not sold on it, but I guess my main job is to make her happy).
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/amphora-diamond-engagement-ring-1039.htm

If it were completely up to my tastes, I would be going through WF and getting the Legato Sleek Line, but it's not about me...
 
kaydub03|1294872808|2821066 said:
Thank You Lula and Yssie!

I really haven't made up my mind on anything yet.

It's like I'm trying to convince myself that there is a way to to gurantee that these diamonds from ED are good(just by the cert., good HCA #'s, etc.) without jumping thu hoops and seeing them in person or having images. Their prices are great, and Yoni at ED has been very good the limited amount we have spoke. I'm just gun-shy because other vendors give you much more info to make an educated decision. Heck, I can drive 2-3 hours and be at WF or BGD......
the diamonds can certainly be just as good. You just don't have as much info to judge by.. but the diamonds are the same no matter who is selling them! (well, not branded H&As, those are often pretty vendor-specific..

I guess going through GOG for the Ritani setting is a viable option. It could work with any of these stones:
all look nice
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7854/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7853/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7459/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7458/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7863/ request hearts retake

stretching it a bit with this stone
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7629/
like the fluor on this one!

or I could go through GOG and get this setting(which is cheaper asnd I know my girl would love too!eventhough I personally keep going back to the 3 stone ring):
1289574804_1RZ3700BRP.jpg

I mean, I know thru her friends that my girl is very fond of this WF setting(I'm just not sold on it, but I guess my main job is to make her happy).
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/amphora-diamond-engagement-ring-1039.htm

If it were completely up to my tastes, I would be going through WF and getting the Legato Sleek Line, but it's not about me...

the GOG halo has the centrestone bezel-set whilst the WF's is prong-set, and the pave down the shank is different - beadset in the GOG, shared-prong w/o a channel on the WF. Some women wouldn't notice or care about the differences, but some definitely would..If you ask (or have a friend ask) what she loves about the WF and those are two things that she specifically notes and mentions that may just answer your question :))
Click to expand...
 
ok well...here's my take. if you know that she really likes that setting, then get it!
 
Any one of these diamonds could be a contender, but without images #2 is the safest bet, if you could get Idealscope or ASET images for these then that would help to narrow the field.
 
There will be an appreciable size difference between the J and the other two, but most probably also an appreciable colour difference. I strongly recommend that you go out and look at some well-cut stones in-person if you haven't already, and find out what your colour tolerances and preferences are - if you have a Jared nearby you can look at their peerless line - all AGS0 I believe.

Request hearts images for the J and the H and confirm w/ BGD that they are eyeclean to your specifications, otherwise they all look like very pretty stones :sun:
 
Pretty much came to the conclusion that it was gonna be very hard for me to pull the trigger without physically seeing the stone in person. Ended up driving down to Houston and going to BGD. All the stones were gorgeous! At the end of the day, this was the winner:

http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamond/diamond-detail/?product_id=AGS-104047963017

Special thanks to Yssie for being so helpful and patient with all my questions :bigsmile:
 
You chose a beauty! Seeing in person is the best way - absolutely no wondering what-if. Glad I could help, and looking forward to seeing it set :))
 
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