Possible Cushion Brilliant for my E-Ring! Thoughts??

[cinnamongurl]

We are currently getting ready to go see the diamond today!!!!

The jeweler called this morning to say that it was in, and is AMAZING!!! She said it''s extremely brilliant, and looks closer to a VS2 than an SI1!

Now for the bad parts...
The price...it''s the cost of my sweetie''s entire budget for the ring...which was already tripled from the price he "thought engagement rings cost". So...since I want a platinum setting, which costs more, I''ve offered to pay for the setting. I''ve told him that if we go see it and he still doesn''t feel comfortable spending that much, than we can keep looking. He just says, "If that''s what you want, then we''ll get it."

Now for the other annoying piece...We came in to Pittsburgh to see this diamond, which I mentioned before is my boyfriend''s hometown. So, we''re staying with his parents for the weekend. He told his dad the reason we were coming in, and he seemed ok with it. (He''s a very mellow, sweet man) Then, this morning as I''m in the shower, and the boyfriend is downstairs, his mom brings up the fact that we are going to look at rings today and begins preaching to him about how much he should spend. (She doesn''t have a diamond, because she didn''t want one and thinks they''re a waste of money). Basically, she made my boyfriend feel terrible, and she doesn''t even know how much it is costing. *sigh*

This is supposed to be a really happy time, but now I feel like we''re both going to go to the jeweler today, worrying about how much this symbol of our love is going to cost! I''ve already told my boyfriend that I will never upgrade, and can''t wait to wear this ring forever. We''re bringing the boy''s digital camera (it''s old) and will try to take lots of pictures!!! I''ll see if I can post some later tonight. Wish me luck ladies, and here''s hoping some people will actually be happy for us at some point!

 

[bebe]

Can''t wait to see this stone - it looks so pretty and on fire.

Phooey on his mom. I hope she doesn''t spoil your day.

 

[Deelight]

It is a happy time and I say this from experience ignore the negitive nancy''s and just enjoy this time between you both , the good news is you have a large community here who will get excited with you and for you both which makes it better especially when those IRL just want to pull you down.

The diamond looks beautiful good luck today please take plenty of shots I hope it is your one .

 

[geoffreysnow]

don''t let the mom spoil your excitement! maybe approach her and let her know how important this is to you.

 

[cinnamongurl]

We put a deposit on the diamond!!!!

Our jeweler will find out about the setting on Monday, and let us know next week what the cost will be for that. i offered to pay for the setting, because the diamond took up my sweetie''s entire budget!

Unfortunately, I didn''t get to take any pictures. It all kind of happened so fast, and my boyfriend forgot his camera... We did get a copy of the GIA report, which I will post the information from later.

Can''t wait! We are very happy and excited... we''re looking forward to it all being finished and on my finger!

 

[pixley]

That''s fantastic! I''m thrilled for you and can''t wait to see your new ring! You and your FI sound like a great team, already.

 

[Deelight]

fantastic congrats , be sure to post handshots when it is all yours

 

[MikeRato1]

congrats! did you go to the clark building or somewhere else? lots of great jewelers in this area

 

[rainierinspring]

I was wondering that as well. I would love to know where to go in the Pittsburgh area to see some great cushions!

 

[cinnamongurl]

We worked with Grafner Brothers (used to be downtown, but has now moved to Wexford). Our jeweler Deb actually found our stone in California and had it shipped in for us to look at. They will be creating our platinum solitaire setting. Deb is extremely helpful, honest, and will do her best to find you what you want!

I can''t wait for handshots either. We''ll get the quote and information about having the setting made next week...then hopefully they can get started and have it done by Easter (that will be the next time the boyfriend will be in town). Then...we probably won''t be engaged until May, I''m thinking.

I''ve heard good things about Henne Jewelers in Shadyside, and we went to Trinity Jewelers as well, but they weren''t able to locate a Cushion Brilliant for us. They did have some very pretty Modified Brilliants, but they just weren''t what we were looking for.

Don''t you just love Pittsburgh?! We''re hoping to move back here once we''re finished with graduate school and ready to buy a house.

 

[tyty333]

Congratulations on finding your diamond! It was so beautiful in the pictures that I could only imagine how it would look in real life...and
it must have been as pretty as I imagined! Ignore the future MIL...and in the future limit what you tell them

...it may be the only way
to keep them out of your business

. Something that is a priority to one person may not be a priority to another (and it is your money).
Enjoy this time! Cant wait for the hand pics...in the mean time use some of YOUR money and buy a better camera so you can get some
good pics!!!

 

[MikeRato1]

Date: 3/14/2009 2:13:44 AM
Author: cinnamongurl
We worked with Grafner Brothers (used to be downtown, but has now moved to Wexford). Our jeweler Deb actually found our stone in California and had it shipped in for us to look at. They will be creating our platinum solitaire setting. Deb is extremely helpful, honest, and will do her best to find you what you want!

I can't wait for handshots either. We'll get the quote and information about having the setting made next week...then hopefully they can get started and have it done by Easter (that will be the next time the boyfriend will be in town). Then...we probably won't be engaged until May, I'm thinking.

I've heard good things about Henne Jewelers in Shadyside, and we went to Trinity Jewelers as well, but they weren't able to locate a Cushion Brilliant for us. They did have some very pretty Modified Brilliants, but they just weren't what we were looking for.

Don't you just love Pittsburgh?! We're hoping to move back here once we're finished with graduate school and ready to buy a house.

congratulations, i bet it will be perfect
pittsburgh is a great city, especially during this st patties day madness!
p.s. orrs in squirrel hill is really good too, but i heard grafner brothers awesome

 

[rainierinspring]

I am so happy for you! Believe it or not, Wexford is pretty close to where I live! I am currently going crazy trying to figure out if I want a cushion like yours or a round brilliant. I have not been able to see one. Do you think it would be possible (if the stone is going to be at the store for a little longer) for me to see it?

It would be a HUGE help to me. I do realize that they are making the setting, so I don''t know if they are sending the stone out somewhere right away.......or doing it in house. If you would rather I didn''t, it''s okay I understand.

 

[cinnamongurl]

Deb won''t be talking to the setting guys until Monday, so it is still there.

Deb will try to talk you into a Round Brilliant, so unless you really, truly know you want a cushion, she will encourage you to get a round. Once she knew how much it meant to me to get a cushion, she worked so hard to find exactly what I wanted (8 main, cushion brilliant, chunky facets) and in our budget (which was tough).

I know she has an example of a Modified Cushion set in a very ornate halo setting. It''s either a 1 carat or 1.5 carat.

They have really beautiful rings there, and the rounds are beautiful. I would definitely go check it out if I were you!! Our friend recommended them to us, now we can pay if forward and recommend them to you! Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

 

[rainierinspring]

Thank you! I might try to get there Monday morning if I can. It would be great to see both types of cushion along with round brilliants. Isn''t this forum great?

 

[kcoursolle]

Congratulations on finding your stone, it''s truly a beauty! How awesome your bf was so great about the budget and let you buy the setting (we did something similar at the time). I don''t think you''ll regret sinking most of the money into your beautiful and one of a kind stone! I can''t wait to see some pics when you are all finished, start practicing with the macro button!!

 

[cinnamongurl]

Thank you all for all of the sweet comments! I can''t wait to have this beauty on my finger and be engaged to the most wonderful guy! Here is a picture of us, and from the picture you can tell how much we love Pittsburgh - especially it''s sports teams!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Congrats! The diamond is a beauty.

PS: You look a lot like Eva Langoria to me

 

[Rock_of_Love]

Yay, Cinamongurl!! Congrats!! That stone is sooo pretty and I''m glad it measured up in person.

Would love to hear/see more...you mentioned you have the cert? Can you post? Also, do you have info about the source in Cali? Curious minds want to know!!

Sucks about MIL, but glad you didn''t let it ruin your day. Hopefully, this isn''t a reflection of what''s to come...wedding plans, etc.!! Good luck!!

 

[Kelli]

I''m no cushion expert but it looks gorgeous to me!

 

[noneek]

The more cushion I see the more I want a cushion. This cushion is so gorgeous. Congratulations!!!

 

[cinnamongurl]

Thanks for all of your nice comments. I think it was Pixley that said Cushions will make you lose sleep over, and she was right!!! I am so excited about this diamond and ring, yet there are still times I wonder if this is 100% the right one...could we find better? But, I just don''t want to wait, and pass this one up, when it is great!! I tend to be very picky in all aspects, so I needed to be OK with this purchase.

We have a scanner, however it is not working correctly right now, so I will type the information that is on the GIA certificate. When the scanner is running again, I will scan and post if for you all. Also, my jeweler told me that we should have a CAD image of the ring shortly (within the next week or two), so I can attach that as well when I get it!

Date on GIA report: January 5, 2009

Cushion Brilliant
Measurements: 7.41 x 6.83 x 3.97
1.53 carat
H
SI1 (My jeweler says it looks like a VS2, and it was VERY hard to see the cloud and crystal that is in the diamond with a scope)
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good
Fluorescence: Faint
Crown angles are greater than 40 degrees

Table %: 57
Depth %: 58.1
Slightly Large Cutlet
Medium-Thick Faceted Girdle

I will also try to get the contact info from my jeweler for those of you interested. Thanks again for all of your kind comments - this was so stressful, and a big purchase for us, so it''s always nice to have people telling you that you have a good buy!

 

[rainierinspring]

I went to see your diamond today! It is gorgeous!

I think it swayed me to look for something very similar. Deb was very nice, but did of course recommend staying away from online venders.

I just have to decide if seeing one stone at a time locally would be adequate to make a decision vs. seeing several (even in a video) at the same time. I know Mark and Jon are experts at picking cushions. What I don''t know is if I would be paying a premium to work with them that would negate the benefit of going online.

especially for the new signature cushions Jon is working on. They may be higher priced and make my dream diamond out of reach.....

Any thoughts???

 

[cinnamongurl]

Rainier...I''m glad you got to see it! It definitely looks different in person!

I worked with Mark for a little bit as I mentioned, and he was only able to find one cushion brilliant in the 1.5 range, and then one in the 1.3 range. Both were I''s...the 1.5 was beautifully cut, but I wanted to see it in person. We planned on meeting one weekend, and before we could go, someone bought it from the website. I felt betrayed, because we had planned on seeing it for about a week. But, it may have meant it wasn''t the right one for us. The 1.3 was too yellow in my opinion. Mark just said it''s so hard to find these stones, and because of the economy, there just isn''t much coming in. After that, I was still in contact with Mark, but nothing was coming up. He just sent me an email to check in, which was nice. I hated saying that I found one, because I know he has the best eye for cushions, and would have eventually found one for us. I just couldn''t keep waiting...

The new cushions from Jon look AMAZING, but may be pricey, I''m not sure. I would just say keep looking, and when you find one, snatch it!

Good luck!

 

[cinnamongurl]

It''s been awhile....but I received CAD images today, and I''m not too pleased....

Now, they are the "beginning renderings" so I''m sure I can suggest changes, but it just doesn''t look like what I had envisioned or have based my search on (aka boston_jeff''s ring!)

Here is an example of a CAD image I received today:

 

[cinnamongurl]

I emailed back and thought the double-claw prongs are so harsh...they just kinda go up and across the stone...unlike Boston_Jeff''s masterpiece, where the prongs are smooth and curved gently over the stone. I also thought the ring seemed really chunky and rigid, instead of delicate. Is this just because it''s a computer image or is it me??!


Now, keep in mind, my jeweler did contact Leon, but based on his price and they way he treated her over the phone, she thought it would be best to go with another jeweler designer that she''s worked with before, and has won national awards. His price is less than Leon, but not a ton less.

Anyways...I emailed my jeweler back with more pictures of my inspiration ring and tried to describe that I wanted the prongs to be more curved, and the band to be thinner/more delicate and rounded. What do you all think? I really want to get this ring started, because it''s been months of trying to find the diamond, and now get the ring made. I just want to be engaged already!!