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Please help with 1ct MMD DBTY necklace

Aquiquo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
4
Hello,
I am overwhelmed and would really appreciate any advice!
I would like to give a necklace to my daughter as a college graduation gift and don't know where to buy it.
My budget is $2,500 total and would like to have around .80-1 ct if possible.
She likes bezel setting.

Here is my experience so far.
I don't wear jewelry often and have no knowledge/experience of diamond buying, and I did not think I was picky.
I ordered a necklace online in May with a lab diamond with the best cut/clarity/color grades within my budget.
The necklace arrived, and while it was nice, it looked smaller than I expected from the carat size.
My friend has a necklace with the same size diamond, and while I did not have a chance to compare them side by side, the one I purchased looked much smaller.
The return window was 30 days, and I ended up returning it.

Attached is the report of the lab diamond I returned.
Is there an obvious reason why this stone did not sparkle very much?
The price of lab diamond was $1990.

I started to read posts on MMD forum and I just don't know where/how to buy......
The following are the options I thought of, but I am open to other vendors.

1. Brilliant Earth
It seems they are not popular on pricescope but a good thing is I could go to the shop and see different stones in person.
(Not that we know what to look for, but we will just get what we like)
Also bezel setting is reasonable.

2. James Allen
I don't know how to choose as the certificates are not available online and I feel like I will choose not-so-nice diamond again.

3. D.Nea
I read some good reviews and maybe I will just get whatever they recommend within my budget?
I exchanged a few email and not sure if I like their bezel setting options, and then not sure where to set the diamond....maybe Brian Gavin or David Klaas?
But setting at a different jeweler seems too complicated....

Any advice or recommendation of diamonds would be appreciated!

Oh and one more question. My daughter will wear this daily probably. Is it true that white gold needs to be re-plated once a year or so?
If that is the case, I might order it in platinum.

Thank you in advance for your help!
 

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Joined
Apr 22, 2020
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2,912
Just a thought, why not check out Lightbox? Their diamond quality according to all accounts is excellent and the price at $800/ct can’t be beat, really. If you’re looking for a single diamond I would get one of their 1ct diamonds (whatever shape you like / is available) and then look into resetting with either someone local or someone reasonable like David Klass (haven’t used him myself, full disclosure, but others here seem to really like him!) just make sure to not get one of the pierced Lightbox pendants, if you go Lightbox. If you want to make a DBTY necklace with multiple stones you could get a few pairs of earrings to reset. My local jeweler allows me to put settings towards scrap, not sure if yours will (when I get pieces reset). Alternately you can keep the settings and use them in the future for inexpensive projects.

Also, re: rhodium plating, I have never had to get any of my pieces replated, including those I’ve worn for years. I think it has something to do with your skin. You could get palladium WG which doesn’t require replating, but I think regular 14k rhodium plated WG is just fine for daily wear as per my experience. Maybe just ask her to take it off while showering - that’s good practice anyway, since showering with it will mean it’ll need to be cleaned more regularly!
 

123ducklings

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 10, 2020
Messages
914
@AllAboardTheBlingTrain gave great advice.

If I’m understanding your post correctly, it sounds like you want a solitaire necklace rather than DBTY. You might think about grabbing this Lightbox necklace

https://lightboxjewelry.com/collect...ire-gold-pendant-white?variant=31315851739178

If you want something fairly simple, not custom, you could take it to a local jeweler and ask if they can set it in a bezel like this (jewelers can order mountings from Stuller, if you search around the site there are lots of bezel settings, I chose the most basic one) and add a chain of your choice.

https://www.stuller.com/products/20...ionType=recommendation&recommendationId=88504

You could also contact someone like David Klass (never used him but I’ve heard great things on PS) for something more custom.

Because the Lightbox setting is gold you can sell the original setting for scrap if you don’t want it. The local jeweler might buy it or you might have to go to a pawn shop/“we buy gold” type place.

If I’ve misunderstood and you do actually want DBTY let us know and we can try to help with that too.
 

Aquiquo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
4
@AllAboardTheBlingTrain and @123ducklings
Thank you for your reply!

Yes, I am looking for a solitaire necklace in bezel setting, sorry for confusion, I thought it was called diamond by the yard.

The stuller setting looks great, and I am glad to hear about white gold from @AllAboardTheBlingTrain.
Thank you for your suggestion!

I found these on Brilliant Earth.
The first one has an HCA of 0.9 but has a dot in the middle, and I wonder if it is visible by the naked eye.

This second one's HCA is 2.3, should I avoid this?

I would try lightbox, I can even get two for the price! But it does not look like 1ct round necklace is in stock. Do you think a budget of $2000 for a man made diamond may not be much better than a lightbox necklace ($900-$1000)?

Do you have suggestions for which of the three seems best?

Thank you!
 

123ducklings

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 10, 2020
Messages
914
Hmm that’s odd — the 1ct Lightbox I linked above is in stock for me. I’m not sure what your timeline looks like but you can always order it to consider in person and then return it if it’s not for you.

If you checkout the “photos of lightbox jewelry” thread here there is lots of discussion about the quality and pictures. I don’t think the stones are cut in the super ideal range, so if that’s important to you it might be worth the extra cost of another vendor.

Unfortunately I’m not qualified/confident to give feedback on the other stones. If you let your post simmer for a bit I’m sure someone with a better eye will swing by.
 

OdetteOdile

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
1,581
The Lightbox pendant is showing up in stock for me - I am not sure why it is not showing up in stock for you? If you can get it, I think it would be an excellent option.
 

MRBXXXFVVS1

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 5, 2019
Messages
1,450
If you are looking for a DBTY necklace and the carat is total carat weight, your budget will go a long way. I would actually then look at Whiteflash's earth mined DBTY if you're OK with earth mined. Vrai is another option to consider!
 
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Aquiquo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
4
@123ducklings and @OdetteOdile
Thank you so much for your replies!!
I just checked, and I was able to order it!
(My daughter was looking earlier next to me, and she probably looked for white gold setting.)

I will report a follow-up when I receive it.
Thank you again.
 

Aquiquo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 12, 2020
Messages
4
If you are looking for a DBTY necklace and the carat is total carat weight, your budget will go a long way. I would actually then look at Whiteflash's earth mined DBTY if you're OK with earth mined. Vrai is another option to consider!

I am sorry for confusion.
I am actually looking for a solitaire ring with 1ct stone in bezel setting, not dbty with multiple stones.
Thank you.
 

OdetteOdile

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
1,581
@123ducklings and @OdetteOdile
Thank you so much for your replies!!
I just checked, and I was able to order it!
(My daughter was looking earlier next to me, and she probably looked for white gold setting.)

I will report a follow-up when I receive it.
Thank you again.

That's awesome!! So glad you were able to get one!
 
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