NYC vendor recommendations

[giamari23]

Hi all,

First time poster, and as most, long time lurker. I came across pricescope some months after the purchase of my engagement ring and wedding band. I got married in September of 2016. My now husband and I actually booked a venue before the engagement, as the engagement was hurried by the health issues of my grandmother (who is now doing ok) so I did not really get to dedicate time to this then.

I am looking for recommendations for vendors for tomorrow (very short notice, and if I can't accomplish it, no problem as I would take them for the future). I have had a bad run of health myself for the last 7 months and my husband surprised me with a NYC trip for my birthday this weekend, as this site was the only thing that occupied when I was in pain and sick for the umpteenth time.

Again I know it's short notice, but in any event here's the list. We will be in the city from tomorrow the 7th until late afternoon on the 9th. I would take recommendations for browsing or getting the lay of the land.

I am looking to start researching the following:

A. a pair of diamond studs between 1.5 and 2 carat total weight. I am between bezel set (and was pleasantly surprised when I tried them on a set in bezel with 1.5 cttw and they looked great) and a regular basket setting (open to possibilities there).

B. I was going to do a separate post for this but my mom who is the most generous woman ever and any money she had always went to me and my sister, is the owner of a respectable looking .50 carat stone. I would really like to surprise her this year with an upgrade in the range of 1 carat to a little over. I am hoping to be around 4 to 5k there for the stone.

C. The cost to increase from a 1.5 round brilliant anywhere between 2 carats or under in a g-h on color, VS2 preferred but would look for eyeclean SIs, and an excellent cut. I have a stone now, and ideally I would trade in to increase and i know normally the best place to start is with the vendor who sold it to us, but am open to possibilities and would consider seeing what the long term cost would be to just upgrade without trade in. I am not as comfortable with our previous vendor in MA. As my husband has noted after my complaints, "you need a new jeweler."

I realize the project list is long and it's not all getting accomplished or looked into this weekend but I am dealing with complications from sickness again and am determined to power through this weekend. Again, pardon any ignorance in terms of the likelihood of getting appointments but I figure last ditch is worth asking.

Please be gentle!

So if anyone has recommendations on vendors and/or on any of the projects. If I am missing any info please let me know.

Thank you for any help ahead of time.

Gia

 

[SimoneDi]

Call ID Jewelry in NYC and make an appointment. Ask for Yekutiel, he will be able to help you with your inquiries,has a great eye for diamond and provides unbeatable prices. Not sure about the trade-in options, but you can certainly ask!

I hope you get better soon and enjoy your trip to NYC!

 

[Queenie60]

Call ID Jewelry in NYC and make an appointment. Ask for Yekutiel, he will be able to help you with your inquiries,has a great eye for diamond and provides unbeatable prices. Not sure about the trade-in options, but you can certainly ask!

I hope you get better soon and enjoy your trip to NYC!

I completely agree - Yekutiel at ID Jewelry. He is open on Friday's however, closed on Saturday. I would suggest you contact him today for an appointment. ID Jewelry is a full service jeweler - very honest and easy to work with. I have purchased several pieces from him via telephone and have been pleased with each one. I will be meeting him in person in October when I go to NYC with my husband. Good luck you're in good hands with Yekutiel.

 

[giamari23]

SimoneDi

Call ID Jewelry in NYC and make an appointment. Ask for Yekutiel, he will be able to help you with your inquiries,has a great eye for diamond and provides unbeatable prices. Not sure about the trade-in options, but you can certainly ask!

I hope you get better soon and enjoy your trip to NYC!

Thank you so much, the well wishing is much appreciated and I'm excited to see this. I'm going to give him a call in the next few minutes. Thank you! I've always heard such good things about ID from around here!

 

[giamari23]

I completely agree - Yekutiel at ID Jewelry. He is open on Friday's however, closed on Saturday. I would suggest you contact him today for an appointment. ID Jewelry is a full service jeweler - very honest and easy to work with. I have purchased several pieces from him via telephone and have been pleased with each one. I will be meeting him in person in October when I go to NYC with my husband. Good luck you're in good hands with Yekutiel.

Queenie60: Thanks for the additional recommendation. I'm so happy to hear that you were happy with flexibility to feel comfortable purchasing by phone, I like to settle in once I find someone i like. Enjoy your trip in October and thank you again!

 

[giamari23]

Just called him, all set for tomorrow, seems incredibly sweet. Thank you you guys!

 

[SimoneDi]

Just called him, all set for tomorrow, seems incredibly sweet. Thank you you guys!

So glad to hear that! I hope you have a great in person experience.

Come back and let us know how everything went after your return from the big apple!

 

[LLJsmom]

Yes please let us know how it all goes. We would love an update.

 

[giamari23]

Oh absolutely I will let you guys know!
I'm excited about a lot of this stuff, but I have to tell you I am most looking forward to this surprise project for my mom. So I may come back to get people's opinions generally, but definitely on that. I will probably run a new post as I get info for that...there will be questions re: settings and stone specs I'm guessing I'd want advice on.

Do you guys have any recommendations re: what I should be looking at in terms of cut, labs, and table and depth specs for:

1. the 1.5 carat earrings
2. the 1+ carat RB for my mom
3. on a 2 carat RB upgrade

Someone posted a fantastic guide ones and I can't seem to find the post where they recommended their preferred specs for a specific RB size? Almost like an ideal guide for specs for a RB 1 or 1.5 (can't remember which it was, i lost my tabs recently).

I thought it was on here, but if not no big.

Thank you again and I'll be sure to update, hopefully with pictures!

 

[Queenie60]

The following was posted several times by our expert - Gypsy. She has now joined the trade and no longer posts as a prosumer. Here is what Gypsy advises for modern round brilliant diamonds:


The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only. EGL is a bad option: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.

 

[giamari23]

The following was posted several times by our expert - Gypsy. She has now joined the trade and no longer posts as a prosumer. Here is what Gypsy advises for modern round brilliant diamonds:


The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only. EGL is a bad option: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.

*****
Queenie: Thank you so much, i was going crazy. I knew I read a few guides over time but foolishly lost all my bookmarks. This is precisely what I was looking for. OK, this makes me feel so much better. I had read a few post with people giving their recommended specs on table depth, etc. And thank you to Gypsy for leaving something so well broken down.

Perfect! I can't wait to report back to you all.

 

[Queenie60]

Yes, and please tell Yekutiel that Queenie said hello!

 

[giamari23]

You guys! I cannot say thank you enough. I had a glorious birthday weekend and so much fun at IDJ.

Queenie Yekutiel says a warm hello! He also sends his regards to everyone.

So I waited until the pieces arrived but that weekend I walked away with 2 things on my list!
First a 1.01 carat excellent cut I color SI2 eye clean gia RB for my mom. It dances like craaazy. I had it set as a solitaire because I am hoping to have fun with her and buy her whatever setting she wants for her birthday or christmas or whenever. It was her 40th wedding anniversary last year and all she got was helping to pay for my wedding. She always is so giving, I am so excited to give her the ring. One thing I will say is i think it seems it was accidently set in white gold instead of yellow but i am going to contact Yekutiel and see what we can do about that. My mom's set is in yellow. I am not posting pics until we give it to her. I want her to have whatever she wants because she literally never does ANYTHING for herself, it always goes to my family first.

THANK YOU GUYS FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE. It means so so much. And a think

The other thing i walked away with is a 4 carat tennis bracelet. I did not intend on this at all but it was too beautiful. The stones are 8.5 points each, PS quality thanks to you guys and definitely Queenie's awesome reputation! It's a three prong setting which I really like. Before this I would try on bracelets and none of them ever looked that good. Yekutiel had me try on a 5 carat first with larger pointers, not sure on the size as I was so overwhelmed with all the commotion and excitement. I had previously thought a 5 ct was the way to go for my wrist size. I want people's opinions on the 4 carat I got if they think the stones look too small or if it hits the right balance.

IDJ is very dangerous in that everyone is so nice, Yekutiel's taste and help is impeccable and coming from this community really garners some very very nice service. I told him once i feel comfortable I bring my entire family with me ...and my in laws live not far from the city sooooo I have a feeling a lot more trips in my future!

Here are some pics of the tennis bracelet. I am definitely no jewelry photography pro:
the first is from the store itself
and the second is from it's arrival at home as I had it shipped.


Again I cannot thank you guys enough. Also more updates after we give the ring to my mom, I cannot wait to see the range of emotions I think we will get.

 

[SimoneDi]

Awesome!! So glad to hear you had a great experience with IDJ and a lovely time in NYC!

Your purchases are gorgeous and I am sure hay your mom will be very touched by your kind and very generous gesture!

Your bracelet is exquisite! Wear it in good health for many years to come!

 

[tyty333]

Beautiful bracelet! Sounds like you had a successful venture...looking forward to pics of your Mom's ring. You are so very sweet to get this for her!

 

[giamari23]

Beautiful bracelet! Sounds like you had a successful venture...looking forward to pics of your Mom's ring. You are so very sweet to get this for her!

Hey Ty! Thank you, oh man...thanks but I could fill up like 90 threads with everything she's done and she was the one who taught me to buy jewelry...so its her blessing and her curse!

 

[giamari23]

Awesome!! So glad to hear you had a great experience with IDJ and a lovely time in NYC!

Your purchases are gorgeous and I am sure hay your mom will be very touched by your kind and very generous gesture!

Your bracelet is exquisite! Wear it in good health for many years to come!

Simone thank you for your input before too. I'd be remiss for not saying.
I will say the health part galvinized part of that purchase, I had a lot of nights reflecting on how important it is.

Thank you so much

 

[BlingDreams]

What a beautiful bracelet!! I love the size of it; it fits you perfectly.

And what a wonderful tribute to your mother. I know she's going to just cry when you give her the ring!!!

 

[giamari23]

What a beautiful bracelet!! I love the size of it; it fits you perfectly.

And what a wonderful tribute to your mother. I know she's going to just cry when you give her the ring!!!

Thank you! What a rush in every sense when planning this way. Thank you for the kind words all around. I hope she does! in the best way possible!

 

[ac117]

Loveeee your new bracelet!!! And you're a wonderful daughter - I'm sure your mom will be THRILLED with her new stone. So thoughtful that you will let her choose her own setting, too! Can't wait to see what that is!!

 

[giamari23]

Loveeee your new bracelet!!! And you're a wonderful daughter - I'm sure your mom will be THRILLED with her new stone. So thoughtful that you will let her choose her own setting, too! Can't wait to see what that is!!

Thank youuuu! I am having a lot of fun with it.

I figured the real fun is the setting for her I think and i already have machinations about diamond upgrades and/or resetting her stones to make a three stone ring for her someday...i will definitely share updates with you guys!

 

[PintoBean]

I'm glad you had such a fun shopping spree at IDJ! I swear their diamonds are like potato chips - you can't go in there and only have one lolololol !

Beautiful bracelet and your rings are beautiful tooz

 

[giamari23]

I'm glad you had such a fun shopping spree at IDJ! I swear their diamonds are like potato chips - you can't go in there and only have one lolololol !

Beautiful bracelet and your rings are beautiful tooz

hahahaa. i've followed a few of your threads and I hear you. Thank you re: the rings. They were a source of great....contemplation for a while. I definitely checked out your bracelet for comparison and inspiration ! Beautiful stuff all around lady!

 

[PintoBean]

hahahaa. i've followed a few of your threads and I hear you. Thank you re: the rings. They were a source of great....contemplation for a while. I definitely checked out your bracelet for comparison and inspiration ! Beautiful stuff all around lady!

Awww shucks thank you!

 

[giamari23]

Here is another thing I learned, so I tried on stones to compare to my current engagement stone which is 1.5 I tried on a ring that was a round halo around an RB a little over 2 carats. I was not a fan, I am color sensitive and it was too yellow. To be fair I limited what he could pull because i wasn't willing to put in enough money into where I need to go. But the thing that surprised is...I do not think I can part with my current engagement stone. My mom and sister helped me pick it out and my husband proposed with it in a pokeball with a jazz band playing my favorite jazz song...so...there's no trading in for me I don't think. So any upgrades would have to be a new stone...and that'll be a while.

The more you know

 

[giamari23]

Follow up post!
So my mom, true to form went through her own version of happiness. She is very very happy with the stone, after some guilt about the sentimentality of her original .50 carat engagement stone she bought with my dad about in the 70s, I think she is leaning with creating a RHR.

One idea that seems very satisfying to her is a setting similar to this:

https://www.bluenile.com/platinum-b...MvAGXkB1Dccr_B4aAsU-8P8HAQ&click_id=424296391

Then she starts lamenting that her stone should really be able to shine on its own....I feel VERY satisfied.

She now has managed to make herself a yellow and white gold wedding sets. I have to say when I was shopping for my own ring I couldn't not find a solitaire setting that did anything for me, and ever since the cathedral solitaire setting he picked out for this ring for my mom, I have to say I'm really into it! Intrigued....and thinking about it for future upgrades.

I'll probably only post these for a short while since she's very sensitive about the internet!
I am only including pics of the ring on my hand as my mom is definitely internet shy and/or would kill me otherwise



I cannot say enough good things about Yekutiel for the absolute generosity of his time and impeccable taste and working with my very tight budgets. The entire staff is so so helpful, it's a wonderful place and I know I will be going back for years now.

If anyone knows from past experience any good place to write reviews for IDJ I would love to brag about how awesome they are, especially Yekutiel.

Thank you to you guys for lending your insight and good names for helping me with this project.
It's been awesome to watch her get more attached and more excited, especially as she has been handling the lion's share of some family obligations that leave her with no time for herself.

love to you all!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The ring is lovely and that was so sweet of you! That was a great idea to keep her yg set and now have a wg set! I actually came here originally looking for a new diamond and white metal setting for an anniversary. I was tired of my yg (also from the late 70's) and felt that white metals looked better with my coloring. I never wear my original set anymore, but I did keep them for sentimental reasons!

(I wouldn't worry about taking down your pictures. There are probably a million diamond solitaires posted on this forum!)

 

[giamari23]

The ring is lovely and that was so sweet of you! That was a great idea to keep her yg set and now have a wg set! I actually came here originally looking for a new diamond and white metal setting for an anniversary. I was tired of my yg (also from the late 70's) and felt that white metals looked better with my coloring. I never wear my original set anymore, but I did keep them for sentimental reasons!

(I wouldn't worry about taking down your pictures. There are probably a million diamond solitaires posted on this forum!)

Thank you so much for the kind words, also re the pics: haha it's not me, just out of respect to her.
But i appreciate you making me feel better!!

I like the idea of having two sets set in two different golds. I think it's a beautiful idea. I love hearing the histories behind rings and jewelry. My mom got me into the tradition of picking out a piece for each birthday. Those keepsakes me so much more as time passes.

What do you think you'll go with? What does your original set look like?
Originally I wanted to use my budget for my own rings to get the biggest best stone I could but then I ran into the issue of a solitaire doing nothing on my finger...that was of course PRE-Pricescope and PRE- figuring out that I love cathedral settings. So I told my mom I am toying with upgrading my stone in the future and getting a solitaire.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh, I came here 11 years ago looking! I originally had a 1 ct stone. Then the diamond we bought after coming to PS was 1.6 cts. I traded that for a similar stone (mainly because I was able to sell the 1.6 at a profit because diamond prices went up and found a lower cost stone), then I finally realized I loved antique cuts and went for a 2.3 ct newly cut Old European cut called an August Vintage round (AVR) from Good Old Gold. It's really a little too big for me, but there was only a very small inventory of those stones so it was my best option at the time. PS is dangerous because we see so many gorgeous things posted, and it caused me to change my preferences over time!!! My diamond is the one in my avatar picture, and it is in my previous platinum solitaire setting until I decide on an antique style setting to reset it. I wear it with a diamond band with a milgrain edge.

I do think it would be nice for your mom to eventually add .25-.30 side stones to the new 1 ct diamond. I think a three stone would be so pretty in those sizes!

 

[Queenie60]

Your bracelet is beautiful. And thank you for the very nice compliments. I look forward to meeting Yekutiel in October. Main reason for my going to NYC!!! Enjoy your lovely bracelet for years to come. You're a wonderful daughter to purchase a stone for your mother.