Radiants Hard to Find?

[gardengloves]

Faluzure,

I'm so glad you are going to have your girlfriend look at the videos and involve her in the process. I have a Radiant and love it. With all the options presented in this thread that will take her within the realm of what she wants its worth getting her input. It's really important to make sure the stone is what she wants. My radiant is very sparkly and bright, I also get large flashes from some of the broader cuts, and the pinwheel sparkles from the smaller cuts. It's a delight- like sunlight dancing on a still summer lake, and at night a burst of moonbeams and fireworks.

I also had my heart set on a squarish cut corner stone with a certain look and when we got engaged my husband gave me a round, because he thought it was a better cut and value, maybe it was, but the heart wants what the heart wants. I was grateful and humbled by the efforts he put into my ring, but my heart still wanted my square- loved the guy and never said a word - many moons later, we moved to the radiant and we had a joyous process selecting the stone together.

People have suggested great options on this thread that fall within range of your girl's ideal. Please keep us posted.

 

[Faluzure]

Date: 4/23/2010 4:24:21 PM
Author: clgwli
LOL, I had a ring pop a few years ago when I was being nostalgic. It was good

The broad flashes are caused by what you said as the large facets. So when you are looking at a stone and see some light, how big is this flash of light? Radiants and Princess cuts to me are more about the pinfire and the old vintage cushions are more about broad flashes. That was very quick, but did that make sense?


To me the the Jubilee and Princess of Hearts are not at all like a radiant or a cushion. At least not to me. They look like a squared off round with the facet structure. They are not my favorite, but I do prefer them over rounds. If you look at still pictures you will see the arrows like in a round. To me a modern cushion is more like a rounded princess in feel to me. But it is hard to classify.


But good luck this weekend looking! I hope she can make up her mind. Even I have a hard time doing it myself

clgwli: Thanks for the response! That does make sense because I''ve seen what you''re describing from my sister-in-law''s princess diamond and videos from GOG. Personally, I don''t like the tiny flashes and am wondering if my girlfriend will like the same. Specifically though, ChunkyCushionLover provided a video with 4 different radiant cuts. If you just watch the first 30 seconds of the video, the 1st diamond is shown to have broader facets than the others. What is your opinion on that 1st diamond because to me it looks like a cushion. The video is here: http://www.vimeo.com/6421361 I''ve seen the radiants of all the types listed in the video (except diamond #3 & #4 look the same to me in terms of facets). I think the 2nd one looks too much like a princess. If she were to prefer the 1st diamond, should i just go Cushion all the way or try to find a Radiant like that?

gardengloves: Your situation is exactly what I want to avoid. My girlfriend isn''t very involved (at least in the aspect of what kind of diamond she wants). She told me she has no preference, but everyone has a preference. I told her exactly what you said. I want her to not regret that she got a diamond when she would have wanted another style. I think the same rule applies for anything that someone purchases that costs more than a $1,000. If you''re going to spend money like that, you should go out of your way to get what you want. Thanks for confirming that.

 

[gardengloves]

Date: 4/23/2010 4:57:40 PM
Author: Faluzure

Date: 4/23/2010 4:24:21 PM

Author: clgwli

LOL, I had a ring pop a few years ago when I was being nostalgic. It was good

The broad flashes are caused by what you said as the large facets. So when you are looking at a stone and see some light, how big is this flash of light? Radiants and Princess cuts to me are more about the pinfire and the old vintage cushions are more about broad flashes. That was very quick, but did that make sense?



To me the the Jubilee and Princess of Hearts are not at all like a radiant or a cushion. At least not to me. They look like a squared off round with the facet structure. They are not my favorite, but I do prefer them over rounds. If you look at still pictures you will see the arrows like in a round. To me a modern cushion is more like a rounded princess in feel to me. But it is hard to classify.



But good luck this weekend looking! I hope she can make up her mind. Even I have a hard time doing it myself

clgwli: Thanks for the response! That does make sense because I''ve seen what you''re describing from my sister-in-law''s princess diamond and videos from GOG. Personally, I don''t like the tiny flashes and am wondering if my girlfriend will like the same. Specifically though, ChunkyCushionLover provided a video with 4 different radiant cuts. If you just watch the first 30 seconds of the video, the 1st diamond is shown to have broader facets than the others. What is your opinion on that 1st diamond because to me it looks like a cushion. The video is here: http://www.vimeo.com/6421361 I''ve seen the radiants of all the types listed in the video (except diamond #3 & #4 look the same to me in terms of facets). I think the 2nd one looks too much like a princess. If she were to prefer the 1st diamond, should i just go Cushion all the way or try to find a Radiant like that?


gardengloves: Your situation is exactly what I want to avoid. My girlfriend isn''t very involved (at least in the aspect of what kind of diamond she wants). She told me she has no preference, but everyone has a preference. I told her exactly what you said. I want her to not regret that she got a diamond when she would have wanted another style. I think the same rule applies for anything that someone purchases that costs more than a $1,000. If you''re going to spend money like that, you should go out of your way to get what you want. Thanks for confirming that.

Faluzure,

I''m not sure what made me so silent about stating my preferences while DH was shopping, but I can relate to your girl. It''s humbling to know a loved one is going to make such a large purchase, I was overwhelmed, I had never had a diamond until that point, and was awed by the prospect- but let me say I did have my own little research projects underway, bridal mags, websites, store windows, girlfriends.. and was developing preferences, but said NOTHING - ... so talk to her, let her know its OK to share her unabashed preferences... she sounds very sweet, but she has ideas -- you two are in this together, and it''s about both your happiness. - ultimately you have to look at it and say oh wow this is great!

 

[gardengloves]

Date: 4/23/2010 4:02:43 PM
Author: Faluzure

Date: 4/23/2010 11:50:11 AM

Author: Lorelei

Date: 4/23/2010 11:45:13 AM


Author: Faluzure


I''m going by memory here... but ChunkyCushionLover provided great videos. The first video he linked me, http://www.vimeo.com/6421361, displayed 4 very different radiants diamonds. So different in fact, I didn''t even know they could be that different.



CharmyPoo: The 1st diamond in that video is very different. I think it almost looks like a cushion (to me). The 2nd diamond looks to me like a princess cut. The last 2 (to me) look like your normal radiant. Would you agree to what I said? What is it about the radiant do you think is ugly? Just trying to get a grasp of the differences, especially when I thought the 1st radiant in the video looked like a cushion.




Also, I looked at the Jubilee and think that looks nice as well. From what I''ve read, it''s a modified square brilliant cut, right? But then you have the princess of hearts, which is also kind of similar... but so is the cut corner square brilliant. But then when you compare the cut corner square brilliant (which I thought was a radiant) to the radiant itself, they look different on GOG''s website. So now I''m really confused...




Lorelei: Right.. but the only place that shows differences is Good Old Gold. Whiteflash just categorizes it as ''Cushion'', so I don''t know if I''m going to be getting a modern or traditional cushion unless I look at each individual diamond. I''m just wondering if there''s a better/easier way.



I thought I had the shapes down pat, but then Good Old Gold messed me up again.... like Calculus back in College.

Have you changed your mind and now decided to buy a cushion? If so make absolutely sure your GF is ok with that especially as she has specifically said she does not like rounded corners, thats what you will get with the majority of cushions.

Lorelei & clgwli:No... not yet on deciding on the cushion. I am going to have the girlfriend look at the videos on GOG. I didn''t realize he moved them all to Vimeo.com and was wondering why none of the links worked. I know most cushions have rounded corners, but aren''t there those that have cut corners? Everyone talks about ''broad flashes'', but I''m not 100% sure what they mean by this. I''m assuming this is caused by the larger facets normally found on a cushion?


So aside from the shape, would it be safe to assume the following: ''Old cushions have the largest facets. Modern Cushions have large facets. Radiants have smaller facets.''


Also, isn''t the other name for radiant ''cut corner modified brilliant''? So all the other ones that people have mentioned, such as the Jubilee & the Princess of Hearts diamond. Aren''t they more related to the radiant than a cushion would be?


Before the end of this weekend, I''m going to get my answer from her. Otherwise she''ll get a big ring called a Ring Pop instead.

In fairness, I am going to add one more thing. I am no expert, but my Radiant is fairly large, 3 carats- so I have a few large facets that provide large flashes along with the pinwheel smaller pinpoint lights. So please view these videos carefully to determine your preference, the facets may be compressed on a smaller stone, the cushions may give more of a big light show

 

[clgwli]

Date: 4/23/2010 4:57:40 PM
Author: Faluzure

Date: 4/23/2010 4:24:21 PM
Author: clgwli
LOL, I had a ring pop a few years ago when I was being nostalgic. It was good

The broad flashes are caused by what you said as the large facets. So when you are looking at a stone and see some light, how big is this flash of light? Radiants and Princess cuts to me are more about the pinfire and the old vintage cushions are more about broad flashes. That was very quick, but did that make sense?


To me the the Jubilee and Princess of Hearts are not at all like a radiant or a cushion. At least not to me. They look like a squared off round with the facet structure. They are not my favorite, but I do prefer them over rounds. If you look at still pictures you will see the arrows like in a round. To me a modern cushion is more like a rounded princess in feel to me. But it is hard to classify.


But good luck this weekend looking! I hope she can make up her mind. Even I have a hard time doing it myself

clgwli: Thanks for the response! That does make sense because I''ve seen what you''re describing from my sister-in-law''s princess diamond and videos from GOG. Personally, I don''t like the tiny flashes and am wondering if my girlfriend will like the same. Specifically though, ChunkyCushionLover provided a video with 4 different radiant cuts. If you just watch the first 30 seconds of the video, the 1st diamond is shown to have broader facets than the others. What is your opinion on that 1st diamond because to me it looks like a cushion. The video is here: http://www.vimeo.com/6421361 I''ve seen the radiants of all the types listed in the video (except diamond #3 & #4 look the same to me in terms of facets). I think the 2nd one looks too much like a princess. If she were to prefer the 1st diamond, should i just go Cushion all the way or try to find a Radiant like that?

You know I actually very much agree with how you are comparing the stones. The first to me is not what I would call a more traditional facet look of a radiant. It does remind me of a chunkier cushion cut in everything but the shape. The 2nd stone I thought was a princess at first glance though it was not very bright as I have seen many to be. It would be my least favorite. I would guess if she doesn''t like princess cuts (recently decided I wasn''t a huge fan myself) she wouldn''t like that.

If she does like the first one though, do show her the over all shape of a cushion cut like that. Make sure she likes the round corners. I would also try to find out what kind of setting she might like. I think a cushion in a round cornered squarish shape (hope I explained that all right) looks beautiful to me. But if I were looking at a solitaire type or a 3 stone, I would still go for a radiant. But that is all preference, however should be kept in mind when creating a ring for her. Doesn''t give you a cut answer does it? So sorry if it didn''t help much.

My personal preference in a stone is to have a more squarish radiant like #4 in that video. That would be my absolute pick out of those 4 if I had to choose. #3 is just not quite as bright to me as #4 is but they were relatively the same. They are both more of what I envision when I dream of a radiant. Some day though, I hope to own one in a pale yellow shade, so I look at them often and dream.

I wish you well looking this weekend and look forward to seeing what she might decide on.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I hope this helps you see and compare the various square cuts. I tried to select top quality examples for each of these shapes in a close to 1.0 ratio. I took most of the photos from GOG to keep it consistent. The exceptions are the 8 main cushion and the modified cushion (bad example but I couldn''t find a good one).

 

[Faluzure]

Oh man oh man... where to begin. Weekends are not long enough and definitely shouldn't be stressful. Well on Saturday I made my girlfriend promise to sit down with me to look at the different videos that Good Old Gold offered. She was quite reluctant to do so, but I made her promise me 30 minutes of her time. Didn't go very well...but I did get my answer. I thought picking out stuff like this was supposed to be pleasant. Anyway, it went down like this...

I sat her down and started showing her the first video that ChunkyCushionLover gave me. She of course, thought it was ridiculous that there are videos out there but I explained to her that if she's not going to spend hours with me at a jewelry store to tell me her preference, she could at least do it in the privacy of our own place and not have any sales pressure. She of course kept criticizing the videos I showed her and kept backtracking. Then there was a little argument because she said I was making her feel stupid by me taking notes and showing her that she was contradicting herself on what she liked (she would say she liked one diamond, then not like a few minutes later). Then we argued about color, which I asked her if she liked a certain diamond and she said she didn't know anything about the color letters. It got to the point where she said she doesn't care what I pick, because it will make her happy. But then I called bull***t because she told me what she liked & didn't like in several instances before that day. Then after we calmed down a bit, she just clarified that she thinks I'm going into too much research and detail on the topic. But I think there's a reason for this. I want to get the best possible product for my money and I will do research on it, whether it be a diamond, a TV, a car, cellphone, or even something like a toolkit. So if I'm going to lay down $8000+ of my money, I better get something that reflects that, not some cheap-o mall ring. So... following the advice of every person who has responded, I am going to get a diamond that she likes & prefers...

So after about 50 minutes of the above scenario, this is what I found out. I showed her probably 10+ GOG videos. I'm going to reference the original video (http://www.vimeo.com/6421361).

* She wants a Radiant over any other stone. I showed her the jubilee, cut corner square brilliant, princess of hearts, square cushion H&A, & octavia asscher.
* She wants cut corners, not rounded.
* She prefers a rectangle shape and not a square.
* She prefers color over inclusions.
* In the video mentioned above, she prefers diamond #1 over any other in that video. She prefers the "larger facets" as opposed to the other 3. She said diamond #2's facets were too small. She said diamonds #3 & 4 looked like a mix of diamond #1 & diamond #2, but... (going onto the next bullet).
* In her words, "Diamond #1 has a uniform/organized/symmetrical pattern when looking at it. Diamond #2 has the same thing, but I don't like that kind of diamond. #3 & #4 are pretty, but looks disorganized unlike diamond #1."
* I showed her http://www.vimeo.com/6284227, which is a comparison of a chunky cushion vs radiant. She likes the radiant in that video, but prefers the diamond #1 mentioned above. She said if you could take diamond #1 and make it rectangular, then that would be a perfect diamond.

As of right now, I'm banking on:
* Radiant
* E - G Color Range
* SI1 - SI2 Clarity (Preferably eyeclean)
* 1.0 - 1.5 carat

I know GOG doesn't carry any radiants on their website except 1 (at the moment) and I do need to call them to get them to ship some diamonds in to look. However, what concerns me is if GOG can specify a certain type of radiant with larger facets (like she did), otherwise I'm going to have to have them ship a bunch in and let Jonathan filter them out for me.

 

[ChunkyCushionLover]

Date: 4/26/2010 11:30:45 AM
Author: Faluzure
Oh man oh man... where to begin. Weekends are not long enough and definitely shouldn''t be stressful. Well on Saturday I made my girlfriend promise to sit down with me to look at the different videos that Good Old Gold offered. She was quite reluctant to do so, but I made her promise me 30 minutes of her time. Didn''t go very well...but I did get my answer. I thought picking out stuff like this was supposed to be pleasant. Anyway, it went down like this...

I sat her down and started showing her the first video that ChunkyCushionLover gave me. She of course, thought it was ridiculous that there are videos out there but I explained to her that if she''s not going to spend hours with me at a jewelry store to tell me her preference, she could at least do it in the privacy of our own place and not have any sales pressure. She of course kept criticizing the videos I showed her and kept backtracking. Then there was a little argument because she said I was making her feel stupid by me taking notes and showing her that she was contradicting herself on what she liked (she would say she liked one diamond, then not like a few minutes later). Then we argued about color, which I asked her if she liked a certain diamond and she said she didn''t know anything about the color letters. It got to the point where she said she doesn''t care what I pick, because it will make her happy. But then I called bull***t because she told me what she liked & didn''t like in several instances before that day. Then after we calmed down a bit, she just clarified that she thinks I''m going into too much research and detail on the topic. But I think there''s a reason for this. I want to get the best possible product for my money and I will do research on it, whether it be a diamond, a TV, a car, cellphone, or even something like a toolkit. So if I''m going to lay down $8000+ of my money, I better get something that reflects that, not some cheap-o mall ring. So... following the advice of every person who has responded, I am going to get a diamond that she likes & prefers...

So after about 50 minutes of the above scenario, this is what I found out. I showed her probably 10+ GOG videos. I''m going to reference the original video (http://www.vimeo.com/6421361).

* She wants a Radiant over any other stone. I showed her the jubilee, cut corner square brilliant, princess of hearts, square cushion H&A, & octavia asscher.
* She wants cut corners, not rounded.
* She prefers a rectangle shape and not a square.
* She prefers color over inclusions.
* In the video mentioned above, she prefers diamond #1 over any other in that video. She prefers the ''larger facets'' as opposed to the other 3. She said diamond #2''s facets were too small. She said diamonds #3 & 4 looked like a mix of diamond #1 & diamond #2, but... (going onto the next bullet).
* In her words, ''Diamond #1 has a uniform/organized/symmetrical pattern when looking at it. Diamond #2 has the same thing, but I don''t like that kind of diamond. #3 & #4 are pretty, but looks disorganized unlike diamond #1.''
* I showed her http://www.vimeo.com/6284227, which is a comparison of a chunky cushion vs radiant. She likes the radiant in that video, but prefers the diamond #1 mentioned above. She said if you could take diamond #1 and make it rectangular, then that would be a perfect diamond.

I know GOG doesn''t carry any radiants on their website except 1 (at the moment) and I do need to call them to get them to ship some diamonds in to look. However, what concerns me is if GOG can specify a certain type of radiant (like she did), otherwise I''m going to have to have them ship a bunch in and let Jonathan filter them out for me.

Falazure,

Your post makes me laugh my wife has called me the "DiamondMunster" on several occasions and at some point YOU have to make the decision. I think you know from this point forward I wouldn''t insist on getting more input from her. I''ve never seen a women outside of Pricescope give such detailed preferences but congrats on getting such a thorough response.
Based on her preferences which are:

1) Rectangular outline
2) Cut corners
3) Medium blocky virtual facets

Well that is a tall order as that cut cornered square brilliant #1 in the video is quite uncommon and may be extremely difficult to find in a rectangular shape and to get that appearance you definitely cannot be too picky with color and clarity within a reasonably close range.

I should point out though that looking at a magnified video makes the facets look much bigger proportionally than they really are, so to be practical you are looking for as large blocky virtual facets as you can find with good edge to edge brilliance particularly along the edges.

With such specific preferences Jon at GOG is definitely your ideal choice of vendor, I''d tell him about your preference of #1 in the video and have him pull the specs on that stone and the supplier and contact them to find something similar in a rectangle if possible.

Good-luck I am really looking forward to seeing what he can come up with for you, but I am sure given this much research and effort your Fiance will be very happy with your choice.

 

[Lorelei]

I know GOG doesn''t carry any radiants on their website except 1 (at the moment) and I do need to call them to get them to ship some diamonds in to look. However, what concerns me is if GOG can specify a certain type of radiant with larger facets (like she did), otherwise I''m going to have to have them ship a bunch in and let Jonathan filter them out for me.

Thats a good plan. Give Jon as much info as possible concerning what you want and let him see what he can find. He is a great guy to deal with, put his skill and expertise to work for you.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Why can''t my fiance care this much?!?! I am the one bugging him to watch videos and tell him about this and that. He just doesn''t care

Anyways, don''t torture your poor girlfriend anymore. I think you are taking the magic out of it for her. She really just doesn''t care and you can''t make her choose. Buy whatever makes you happy and I am sure she will love it.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/26/2010 12:37:10 PM
Author: CharmyPoo
Why can't my fiance care this much?!?! I am the one bugging him to watch videos and tell him about this and that. He just doesn't care

Anyways, don't torture your poor girlfriend anymore. I think you are taking the magic out of it for her. She really just doesn't care and you can't make her choose. Buy whatever makes you happy and I am sure she will love it.

Charmy, thank you for putting that into words, that was the feeling I was getting too. Faluzure, I think Charmy might be on the money there, I definitely appreciate and understand how much work you are putting into this, but I think now is the time to say ok, I know what she wants and work with Jon to make it happen for her. Maybe she has always dreamed of being surprised with her e-ring since she was a little girl and she isn't familiar with the education and research aspect of it that many consumers adopt nowadays and that has been somewhat of a surprise to her.

But I think now you have your ' recipe,' you just need to put the dish together with the help of top chef Jon, to use food as an analogy!

 

[asforhim]

Falazure;

I was in a similar situation when searching for the stone I wanted. I wanted the HW micropave in a slightly rectangular shape and with more life and flashes than one gets with the larger faceted cushions. I looked at modified cushions, radiatns, etc. I;m guessing the stone I selected is very similar to the style your fiance desires. The only radiant I liked is the one I purchased. The facets are more irregularly arranged than most radiants. Often radiants have that triangular/architecural look to the facets (like princess cuts) or they have that ball of crushed ice just under the table with leakage around the ball of ice.

I guess what I''m trying to say is that the stone exists, it just takes lots of research. I agree that your best bet is to get a vendor to do the leg work for you and present you with a half dozen stones to look at. Clearly HW is out of your stated price range, but I''m confident you can find someone.

 

[clgwli]

Wow, you have done some great work there with her. I do agree that I wouldn''t ask her anymore about a stone. I think your best choice is to look at rectangular radiants of all sorts and then I would pick what *you* like best. I get the feeling she just likes the over all shape based on what you said (the going back and forth). I think using GOG would be very wise and just let them know you want the best looking radiant in your budget.

I really do look forward to what you may find in a stone! I also think you are awesome to go through as much trouble as you have so far to find her perfection. I haven''t used GOG for anything yet but from all I have seen they have an awesome reputation and hopefully can find you something great.

Good luck and I look forward to any updates!

 

[Faluzure]

Thanks everyone for all the supportive comments. I guess I was blind to the fact that I was taking the magic out of finding a ring. I''m sure she pointed that out to me, but being stubborn as I am, I didn''t realize it until you all mentioned it. I agree & I won''t ask her about the ring any more now that I have plenty of guidelines to go by.

I''m very excited to talk with Jonathan, but GOG is closed on Mondays!

Hopefully luck will be on my side and I''ll be able to find that diamond relatively soon. Again, I appreciate everyone''s input throughout the searching process. I''ll be sure to update you guys on when I find it... because I''m sure to ask everyone''s opinion on the quality of the stone.

 

[Faluzure]

I finally got a call back from GOG. Spoke with Marie, who said she is the best way of getting a hold of Jonathan when calling their store. She jotted down everything I mentioned in these forums and said he would get back to me in a day via e-mail.

I mentioned the video, but she said he''d know what I was talking about. She said he would look for diamonds with the specification of 1) large facets & 2) rectangular shape. I told her I wanted a color of F-G , but she said that I could even consider an H because some diamonds can appear brighter. Plus that would loosen my restrictions on such a particular stone. I told her put H as a last resort if nothing could be found. Finally I mentioned SI1/SI2 being as close to eyeclean as possible. I said if she couldn''t find an eyeclean diamond, then inclusions that were white would be preferred over dark ones. Then she asked about size & I said whatever is in the price range of $6,000 - $7,000.

I''m crossing my fingers!

 

[clgwli]

Date: 4/28/2010 3:24:55 PM
Author: Faluzure
I finally got a call back from GOG. Spoke with Marie, who said she is the best way of getting a hold of Jonathan when calling their store. She jotted down everything I mentioned in these forums and said he would get back to me in a day via e-mail.

I mentioned the video, but she said he''d know what I was talking about. She said he would look for diamonds with the specification of 1) large facets & 2) rectangular shape. I told her I wanted a color of F-G , but she said that I could even consider an H because some diamonds can appear brighter. Plus that would loosen my restrictions on such a particular stone. I told her put H as a last resort if nothing could be found. Finally I mentioned SI1/SI2 being as close to eyeclean as possible. I said if she couldn''t find an eyeclean diamond, then inclusions that were white would be preferred over dark ones. Then she asked about size & I said whatever is in the price range of $6,000 - $7,000.

I''m crossing my fingers!

Oh how exciting! I can''t wait to see what you are shown. I really do like radiants a lot and think they are beautiful. So I will be interested to see what they come up with.

 

[Faluzure]

A small update... kinda good/kinda bad. First of all, Jonathan at GOG is awesome, very courteous, knowledgeable, & helpful. The way he is helping me out already tells me that he''s earned my business... I just have to find the diamond.

Anyway, we''ve been talking for a couple weeks and he knew exactly the diamond I was talking about in the video. Here''s the bad news. He said the following about that diamond:

"That diamond is an anomaly. I say this because Radiant cut diamonds generally emphasize tiny tiny reflections and are often times watery and leaky. I looked up the data on that particular diamond and here is it’s ASET. I’ll tell you this … in my 10 years of picking diamonds for optics this is the only radiant I’ve ever seen with this ASET. It’s also an anomaly in the sense that it is a radiant that have the type of brightness and contrast that we have never seen in an radiant before."

Great! My diamond is the most rare radiant that he''s ever seen... Anyway, he said we had a couple options to go through to find that diamond.

The first option would be to have several different diamonds to be shipped in (paid by me) to try & find it. He gave me a price chart on diamond shipment and considering the rarity of my diamond, I''d be paying hundreds, if not thousands of dollars based on chance. I told him this was a no go as he said exactly what ChunkyCushionLover said... it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

The 2nd option would be to contact the cutter to see if they have anything like it. He said they took a scan of the diamond and he knows the exact dimensions, where it came from, etc. Then he could work with the cutting house to see if they could find a match compared with my specifications.

The 3rd option would be to get it custom cut to my specs...

After waiting a couple days & e-mailing back & forth, it ends up that the cutter does not have anything like what I''m looking for. Jonathan even went as far as looking at the cutter''s inventory based on similar table/depth combos to see if there was a patch. No dice there either...

Here I am and Jonathan said that options #3 is my only choice but on the flipside, he gave me 2 sub-options.
*Option 3A: is sending the specifications to the cutter "as is" and have the duplicate that diamond. Or....
*Option 3B: He will tweak the design of old diamond and take the optics to a "higher level" and then have the cutter cut it based on the new design. He said that if it comes out right, it could be the creation of a "new breed/brand" of radiant diamonds.

So obviously I''m awaiting his e-mail back to me based on details of option 3B & what it would take to get there financially & time-wise. I''m pretty excited about it. I know diamonds are already unique among each other & the diamond I originally wanted was stated to be "an anomaly" by Jonathan. Option 3B will make it even more unique.

Crossing my fingers!!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Wow - that is some progress! I have never seen a vendor do so much to help a customer find a diamond - props to GOG.

I hope you get the diamond you are looking for.

 

[slg47]

yes i hope you get it too!

I just watched that video...the first ''radiant'' (to me) does not look like a radiant at all!

 

[HopeDream]

I''m not a huge radiant fan, but mysterious radiant number one is just captivating!
I hope GOG will be able to tweak the design and offer it as a signature cut (maybe call it the Harlequin Radiant?)

I think it''s very sweet that you''re so dedicated to finding the perfect stone for your love.

Thanks for keeping us posted Faluzure!

 

[clgwli]

Wow! That is awesome that GOG is working so hard to help you out. I think no matter what you wind up with, you will have a very happy woman on your hands.

I am a lover of a lot of types of radiants so I am excited to see the final product for you!

 

[Faluzure]

It's been what, 7 months and I'm resurrecting this thread from the dead. After months of waiting and being patient, my diamond has finally been created from raw and is ready for me to purchase. Jonathan has been nothing but fantastic in this whole ordeal. He just received the diamond back from GIA grading (I was given the option for GIA or AGS) and is ready to find its partner (setting).

I have it reserved but have a week or two to find a setting for it. Else I have to buy it in full. Finding a setting is harder than the diamond!!!

Here are the GIA characteristics:
Carat Weight: 1.09ct
Color: E
Clarity: VS2
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None
Cutlet: None
In House: Yes
Width: 5.92mm
Length: 6.19mm
Depth: 3.66mm
Table Percentage: 65.00%
Depth Percentage: 61.80%

For those of you that want to look at it, he made me a video on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/17243176

While it is slightly smaller than I wanted, we had to go through the ordeal of finding a rough that would yield the characteristics that were most important to me (color/clarity). When he finally found one, I had the option of going for it or waiting. I decided to pull the trigger. In the event that it may be too small for my girl, she can upgrade for her 10 year anniversary or something.

What do you think?

 

[athenaworth]

Wow, you are an amazing husband to be for putting so much work into this stone. All that work makes it HUGE in my eyes, and hopefully it will be the same in your wife to be's eyes as well. Very exciting.

 

[LGK]

Seriously, that is one heck of a special stone. How totally awesome for her that you actually went to all that much trouble to get her exactly what she wanted! Lucky girl and good on you!

 

[slg47]

oh my gosh-WOW! I saw that video on GOG and was really impressed, that is a beautiful radiant. Is GOG going to stock those? It is so special that you got that diamond cut just for her! I hope she loves the rock and appreciates all of the work that went into making it! It really is stunning

 

[piratefan]

Just read this whole thread! How awesome is this??!! She will be blown away by how much time and effort you have put into this, even though you "tortured" her at first She will LOVE it Can't wait to see the completed ring!

 

[Faluzure]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. This has been a huge ordeal and I'm pretty sure my girlfriend knows what's that the actual proposal may happen real soon. I used to have her check my phone for business e-mails while I tend to other things around the home but for the past couple months, I won't let her touch my phone. I'm sure she's putting 2 & 2 together.

In other news, I just got the setting too. This was almost as much work as the diamond itself. I took all the rings she's showed me in the past year and a half through e-mail and took key points of what she liked/didn't like about them and presented them to GOG. They in turn took a ring that they had that was kind of similar and contacted the manufacturer about my design changes. The designer made me a CAD model with what I would like to see and are currently in the process of creating this custom ring for me.

So not only does she get a custom diamond, she gets a custom ring. As for her knowing what I went through, I didn't think (as a man) you're supposed to tell your future fiance/wife those kinds of things. Should I tell her the whole story?

oh my gosh-WOW! I saw that video on GOG and was really impressed, that is a beautiful radiant. Is GOG going to stock those? It is so special that you got that diamond cut just for her! I hope she loves the rock and appreciates all of the work that went into making it! It really is stunning

Jonathan at GOG truly believes this is a fantastic stone and is very happy with the results (apparent from the video). While the radiant I had cut is truly different than the majority of other radiants out there, the bottom line is he's not sure if people will be interested in buying this particular cut. So from a business standpoint, I'm not sure what he'll do. I can only assume he'll get another one cut just for showcasing. Bottom line is if it does become popular, he'll brand it (just like he branded his August Vintage Cushion cut). Otherwise, I'll be the only one to have this kind of chunky radiant.

 

[athenaworth]

I think you should let her read this thread after you've proposed. I'd really love to hear that my future husband worked so hard to make the perfect ring for me, and this would exemplify it perfectly.

 

[hellokitty6782]

I read this whole thread and keep checking back for updates. What an incredible story! You should definitely let her read all this, she is very lucky to have the kind of guy that does all this research and makes all this effort. Please please propose soon so you can come back here with TONS of pictures of that ring!

 

[Faluzure]

Haha, ok ok athenaworth & hellokitty6782. I'll consider showing her this thread. I was just always under the assumption that you're just supposed to give her the ring and let her enjoy it. None of my friends, both male & female, really know the backstories on their rings, so I just thought it was proper etiquette.