Pic heavy! Ready to make my band with blue diamonds. Advice please!

[KirstLWA]

My trouble with deciding on metal is based on the platinum costing $900 more than WG!

Is it worth it! I’d love platinum but at what cost

 

[KirstLWA]

Cads are in. Would love your thoughts. Obviously I need to extend the blue band diamonds to 3/4 to match up with the princess cut band. Am using whites to extend the diamonds as I can't afford the extra blues to go 3/4 and they don't have any so don't want to order more that might not match.

They've had to beef up the underside of the band so that it sits at the same height as the princess band.

Can you see anything that raises any alarms?

Thanks.

 

[pinkjewel]

Sure- here are a couple of photos. Ring is platinum including the prongs on the diamond. The metal surrounding the pinks is 18kt rose gold.

 

[MissGotRocks]

That's great that they built up the blue diamond band so it won't get lost under the princess set band!!

 

[SimoneDi]

I am coming late to the party, but as others have said - lovely blues and a lovely project!

My initial thought was to keep the princess cuts in a more delicate channel setting, but the CAD of the ring looks nice. I do not think that the two rings will be the same height however and that may cause the blue diamond "eating" the princess u-prong setting. Perhaps a tiny spacer can fix that..I will let others chime in as I am not that experiences in CAD analysis

 

[KirstLWA]

Thanks all for your kind words!

My Jeweller is doing cads then once approved a wax mold so that we can see how it will all sit! Then they are hand forging the ring, not casting from the mold. They’ve invited me to come in whenever I like to view the process and watch them being made.

I’m really happy with the lengths they are going to, to get this right and make sure all the heights work etc!

 

[KirstLWA]

That ring is amazing pinkjewel! The colour did the stones are beautiful! Hand shots???

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If they are handforging these, I am very surprised they aren't recommending platinum. Did you mean $900 more for each ring or both rings total? I'd for sure pay the $900 more if it's for both. And be sure they are talking about either 900 platinum/100 iridium or 950 platinum/50 ruthenium as those are the more durable platinum alloys.

Here's what Victor Canera says about platinum versus gold and he does all handforged work:

https://www.victorcanera.com/education/jewelry/platinum-vs-gold

 

[KirstLWA]

Thanks DS, I got the final price today and it’s $1200 for both rings extra for platinum. They’re happy to do either. I’ll check the mix they use for plat as well, thanks for the reminder! They have gone through the pros etc but I don’t think they wanted to push me to spend more!

I’m leaning towards platinum, I’ve just got to get my head around the added expense!

 

[elle_chris]

Ok, I really don't want to sound snobby, and I don't mean it to be, but here's my thoughts. Since you're doing a blue diamond band which is already high end jewelry item, I would just bite the bullet and go for platinum.
It won't yellow and doesn't need to be plated. It also just feels right- Blue diamonds with platinum - perfect match!

Whatever you choose though, looking forward to seeing the end result.

 

[pinkjewel]

That ring is amazing pinkjewel! The colour did the stones are beautiful! Hand shots???

ugh- I hate my hands since they are old and wrinkly now, so try not to post hand shots- but here you go.

 

[SimoneDi]

@KirstLWA $1200 sounds like a lot more for plat my custom setting was only $300 more for plat vs WG...can you negotiate with them a little bit?
I am all for plat otherwise, but that sounds like more than what it should be..

@pinkjewel gorgeous ring! What beautiful fancy color diamonds!

 

[yssie]

Either platinum or palladium-WG will be white white - no rhodium required.

I guess I'll be the odd one out... and say that I don't love the two white melee flanking the blues. A 3/4 eternity is going to spin, and this means that at some times you'll see the lineup of
[plain metal]-[white melee]-[blue melee]
Which, visually, seems like an unnecessarily large departure from the "usual" homogenous look.

I personally don't think the manoeuvring to ensure the smaller band is a 3/4 eternity to match your princess band is at all necessary!! I think an all-blue half eternity would be a stunning complement.

 

[motownmama]

VERY exciting!! Love those blue diamonds. I really prefer platinum. I also was worried about the diamond girdles rubbing....
Can’t wait to see what you decide!

 

[mrs-b]

Cads are in. Would love your thoughts. Obviously I need to extend the blue band diamonds to 3/4 to match up with the princess cut band. Am using whites to extend the diamonds as I can't afford the extra blues to go 3/4 and they don't have any so don't want to order more that might not match.

They've had to beef up the underside of the band so that it sits at the same height as the princess band.

Can you see anything that raises any alarms?

Thanks.

Hi @KirstLWA -

This is a great project, but I have to be honest, I'd be going a different route.

I think adding white diamonds on the end will look odd; they'll look very disconnected and they'll just be dangling out there on their own.

I'd be doing a 3/4 eternity, alternating blue and white diamonds. Or do a shorter all-blue band; there's no reason it has to be as long as any other band you have.

As for platinum - absolutely. This is a high ticket item - skimping here would be a mistake.

With blue diamonds, I'd be making the most beautiful ring I possibly could. You almost certainly will never see a ring like this again in your jewelry box, so I'd be hitting it hard to get a unique forever ring.

Good luck!

ETA If you *must* do extra diamonds on the end - do pink. At least they'll look 'intentional' and a nice accent.

 

[KirstLWA]

Ok. So have decided will go platinum.

Onto the white sides...

I thought I would go 3/4 with the blues as the engagement ring and wedding ring will both be 3/4 so thought the blue would look odd sitting in the middle only 1/2.

I think that in most lighting situations, the blues are going to look a blue/white, rather than a bright blue, which was why I thought I could get away with the whites, as the colour difference would be subtle. I agree the 2 look silly on each end but there will probably be 6 all up on each side.

In some photos I have taken, the blues are barely blue. Another decision to make!!!

I did think about alternating but decided against it as it loses a bit of the specialness (is that a word?) I think.

At least I have decided on platinum.

 

[Dancing Fire]

One more question...were you able to see the blue stones in person before committing to them? That picture above appears to have blue lighting shining on the stones, and the stones' body color looks more gray to me. But if you have seen them in person and they really appear blue, then the picture may be a bad one.

I agree with you DS. I just don't see these as blue diamonds from the photo. Maybe jeweler meant "blue fluor"?

 

[kenny]

I agree with you DS.
I just don't see these as blue diamonds from the photo.

I'll third that.

As always nobody can grade diamond from pics, but sometimes certain clues help a bit.
For instance if the original background can be assumed to be white (typical gem box foam) but the foam has a yellow cast in the pic it's pretty sure the whole pic (including the gems) are shifted towards the yellow hue.

The background doesn't have to be white to judge a pic's color believability.
Human skin is never blueish, well, if the owner is alive.



In the posted pic it looks like the original foam was white foam.
In the pic there is a faint bluish cast to the foam, but not enough to make the diamonds look much bluer than they'd be in person.

The table glare on a diamond on the right has a substantial blue cast, but it is not from:
1. The mismatch of the camera's white balance to the light source.
2. The body color of the diamond.

I suspect the blue glare is either some secondary light source, perhaps some sky blue from a skylight or something else in the room.
It could be reflection of a hand-held LED flashlight (which is more bluish than the main light source) which was used to add some fire to the diamonds.
I suspect this because, when macro-photographing diamonds, I've done this myself.

The only way to be as certain as possible of the hue of an FCD is to read it from a GIA report.
Anything else is speculation and wishful thinking on the part of the seller and/or buyer.
But at $98 each who is going to pay $1,568 for 16 GIA reports for 3-point diamonds?
GIA will grade FCDs as small as one point but it's not worth it unless the FCD is Red, Fancy Vivid Blue, Pink, Orange, Violet, or Green.
Here's a 4 point that was worth the report fee, since the gem costs $2,500.
https://www.leibish.com/pink-diamonds/fancy-vivid-pink-marquise-28944



There's nothing wrong with ungraded diamonds.
They are just a risk because without knowing the true grades you can't know a fair price.
You don't even know if they were grown in a lab instead of being mined from the earth, and you know know if the color was lab-created.
As with all gambling the odds are with the house.

FCD hue being called something more expensive than what GIA would grade them is common, but a controversial and sensitive topic.
It's a free country and anyone can call anything anything they like, and of course hope springs eternal.

However on a diamond education forum it's understandable that something apparently misnamed will be duly noted; considering the forum's main purpose doing so is not unkind.
In the long run the kindest thing we can do here for all visitors is educate them on these specialized topics.
I've already stated the caveat that you can't grade via pics, but I believe GIA would grade the hue Gray, possibly Bluish Gray.

Pricescope has another forum, "Show Me the Bling" where the custom is to offer only compliments for items already purchased.
But this is Pricescope's Rocky Talk forum, a forum to educate diamond shoppers.

 

[yssie]

@kenny OP explained earlier in this thread that these melee come from a parcel with an Argyle lot number. Visually-perceptible colour may be up for discussion but authenticity and guarantee of origin are not.

 

[kenny]

@kenny OP explained earlier in this thread that these melee come from a parcel with an Argyle lot number. Visually-perceptible colour may be up for discussion but authenticity and guarantee of origin are not.

Thanks Yssie.
I just reread all the OP's posts in this thread.
Nowhere is there mention of an Argyle lot number.
Even if there was, any seller can claim anything.
GIA is an independent body that is the most-trusted consumer-protection entity in the FCD market.
A trusted competent entity like GIA weighing in on what you are buying is important if you don't want to be ripped off.
And in the FCD world you can get WAY more ripped off than in the white diamond world.

I see FCD threads as an opportunity to address the main issues/concerns I see in the FCD market.
Even if these 16 stones were claimed by the OP in this thread to have an Argyle lot # (which is not enough to get this FCD collector to wire the funds - I'd need verification from a qualifying third party, but have no idea who that would be since I'm not buying I won't spend the time) everything I've written is still legit for FCD shoppers.

People vary, some don't care about what GIA has to say when FCD shopping.
Some people just trust whatever a seller says, especially if the price is low and the word ARGYLE BLUE is thrown around.
That's fine, as long as they make their decisions after doing tons of homework.
On the other hand, some just wanna believe what they believe.
That's their business ... but this is a diamond education forum where they are putting themselves and their purchase under a public microscope.

My posts are for the visitors who will be shopping for FCDs.
Again, Pricescope's compliment-only forum is Show Me the Bling.
Rocky Talk's main mandate is diamond education.
I try to do that.

 

[KirstLWA]

Thanks for your concern.

I took the photo with my phone in the showroom and perhaps it’s not the greatest but I am confident and happy that these are blue diamonds.

As previously mentioned, this Jeweller has a 50 year reputation to protect and I doubt he would risk his reputation on lying about this. It’s just not worth it. I’ve spoken to him in person and believe him. Sometimes you’ve got to trust your instincts and I’m happy to.

The paperwork all says Argyle. I’m not as educated as alot of you but I am satisfied with my purchase.

Thanks again for your concern

 

[kenny]

Thanks KirstLWA.

So be it.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You did concern me a little when you said a few posts above that in some photos, the blues are barely blue. Just be sure this very slight color is worth the price to you. You've seen them and we haven't, but the pics don't look blue to us. I would definitely not put white diamonds on the blue diamond band. I totally missed that part. I don't think that will look right at all. Stick with all blue (or all white) regardless of how wide the diamonds will be on the band.

In any event, I am glad you are doing platinum.

 

[KirstLWA]

I do have a video of them which shows the colour retained as I move the box but I can’t post it here as it has the vendors name on it! That might be better to show the blue and that it’s not fluorescence but blue diamonds??

 

[kenny]

I do have a video of them which shows the colour retained as I move the box but I can’t post it here as it has the vendors name on it! That might be better to show the blue and that it’s not fluorescence but blue diamonds??

The way I understand PS video posting policy, it doesn't matter who made the video.
If the video is hosted on a vendor's account you can post it here, even if it has the vendor's name on it.
If it's hosted under your private personal account, you can't.

Reportedly, there is a way to look up someone if you know their video-hosting account.

 

[KirstLWA]

No, it’s just a video I took when I was looking at them, it’s not on the vendors site unfortunately.

 

[KirstLWA]

I’m not sure this is a better photo but at least the glare isn’t evident on this one!

 

[kenny]

Thanks for posting.
Yes, less glare ... but the pic doesn't cause me to change anything I've posted.

I do wish you well on your project.

So, is your desire to keep private the name of your vendor?
No problem if that's so, just curious and trying to understand your posts.

 

[KirstLWA]

So Kenny what do you think they are then? White diamonds with fluorescence or grey diamonds, or something else? I’m curious!

And will be asking more questions tomorrow as now you’ve put doubts in my mind

 

[kenny]

So Kenny what do you think they are then? White diamonds with fluorescence or grey diamonds, or something else? I’m curious!

And will be asking more questions tomorrow as now you’ve put doubts in my mind

The only way to completely remove doubts is to get 16 GIA reports.
16 appraisals from the best FCD appraiser would still leave doubt compared to GIA reports.
Sorry, but that IS the FCD world.
But, as I've said people vary; some are not concerned with FCD grade certainty ... and ungraded diamonds SEEM to be less expensive. (though I suspect often they are more expensive since the seller can claim anything and some customers will believe them)
Sellers know what they have, yet some sellers hope buyers don't.
Sellers KNOW when they can make more money selling with a GIA report, or without one.

I think you said you took the pic at the vendor.
Unless you actually held a UV light over them (which I can tell you didn't because the background is not all violet; it's nearly white) then any blue visible is NOT from fluorescence.
And it's nearly a mathematical impossibility that 16 diamonds would have the same amount of fluor.

Nearly everyone on PS will only say nice things.
If you call them Blue nearly everyone will be nice and go along with what that.
Only 3 of us spoke up to challenge the "Blue" claim.

That said, GIA truly IS ... uhm ... generous when grading Blue.
Perhaps because nature is so stingy with that hue.

To repeat ... nobody can't grade diamonds from a pic.
But given the considerations I've already posted, I'd guess GIA would grade the hue Gray or maybe, but only maybe, Bluish Gray.
I would not guess which of the 9 saturation levels GIA would assign since saturation is even more 'all over the map' in pics than hue is.

Not being a gambler I have never bought, and will never buy FCDs without GIA reports, but if I inherited these I'd call them Grays, not Blues ... but then I haven't seen them in person so that's not firm.

But again, everyone is free to call them anything they want; You won't go to jail.
It's just that the better-informed FCD people will know better.
Often the first question will be, "Do they have GIA reports?".
Notice how certain posters here ask that immediately when a poster claims they have an FCD of an expensive hue.
When you answer, "No my blue diamonds do not have GIA reports." they likely will just keep quiet and let you believe what you want to believe.
In real life that's being nice and is what I'd do, but on a diamond education forum, it can be perpetuating the misinformation that is so rampant in the FCD market.