Santa has arrived early in Australia

[JohnQuixote]

Rhino,

High fives. It''s break time for me too - though I expect I''ll still post here some. I''ll be enjoying fun & friends at the Tournament Of Roses in Cali (go Texas) until the 3rd. Enjoy your time off, bud.

Angela - thanks again for letting us ponder possibilities in your province

 

[asblackrock]

To round off the story I was unable to upload the photos I took and John from Whiteflash sensed my frustration and very, very kindly posted them for me on Xmas morning when I emailed them to him. He titled the thread: Angela’s attempts to photograph her diamond
as I had originally intended.

Thank you John. A true gentleman to come to a lady’s aid. You certainly live up to your nom de plume!

 

[asblackrock]

I am so thrilled I just can’t keep it in. My 25th anniversary ring was finally collected today. I was counting down the hours in the end! My husband John rightly says I have zero patience. I think it is just gorgeous and can’t stop looking at it. My typing speed has now plummeted.

I want to extend a big thankyou to “cut nut” Gary Holloway (Precious Metals jewellers in Melbourne, Australia) and his staff, particularly Johnny who made the setting (a master craftsman!) and Lisa. A superb job was done setting a diamond for a very fussy client and the job was completed by the promised date (and using the softest hammer hopefully, if anyone has read SUE777’s thread recently).

The platinum setting was designed to maximize safety (my main criteria) and to minimize the amount of stone obscured from the side view while maintaining a low setting so I didn’t catch it on things. I also wanted 6 prongs to offer good security and Gary suggested aligning two prongs with the band to protect the spot where apparently a ring gets banged and where a diamond chips most often. This is a rotation of the way Tiffany & Co align their 6 prongs in the “Tiffany setting”. It will be worn constantly and I am no prima donna so safety was paramount! I have attached the photos Gary kindly took. They are a bit fuzzy (the person who usually takes photos was away), but they show details of the setting quite well.

The diamond sparkles like crazy. I think I am not going to get any work done for a while. The crown is what I call “deliciously plump”. I just LOVE the look of it and the fire it produces is just phenomenal! Thank you again to MDX (=Icestore Australia), from whom I purchased the stone.

I also need to use this opportunity to thank all the contributors to this forum. I have learnt so much over the last few months of researching, although after the initial steep learning curve, the more I read, frustratingly the more I realized how little I actually knew. Had I purchased the diamond when I first started looking (all I knew about then was table and depth %), I would not have ended up with such a gorgeous stone. Overall it has been a great experience!

Thank you also especially to everyone who took the trouble to post a reply when I originally bought the diamond and was anxiously waiting for it to arrive, wondering if I had made the right choice (eg Richard Sherwood, Belle, Fortheloveofdiamonds, Patty, Persistent, etc). It was an agonizing wait, particularly sight unseen for such an expensive purchase, so hearing from others was very comforting.

I wish everyone a very healthy and happy 2005 and may all your diamond dreams come true just as mine have.

 

[sevens one]

Angela it''s so beautiful.
You must be thrilled.

 

[chantal990]

That''s a gorgeous ring. Congratulations

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 1/17/2005 9:57:58 PM
Author: asblackrock
To round off the story I was unable to upload the photos I took and John from Whiteflash sensed my frustration and very, very kindly posted them for me on Xmas morning when I emailed them to him. He titled the thread: Angela’s attempts to photograph her diamond

as I had originally intended.

Thank you John. A true gentleman to come to a lady’s aid. You certainly live up to your nom de plume!

#1. Holy guacamole! Incredible ring and incredible photographs!!. Best not let MY Angela (gf) see this thread or the bar will be raised yet again...

#2. Thank you, dear lady, for the kind words - it was my pleasure (bowing low, hat scrapes floor)...
Say, just for that, I''ll go link your other thread to THIS one

What a great experience you have had. Congrats to you, Johan and the G-man. Great team!

 

[Kamuelamom]

Angela I can feel your excitement as if you were standing right next to me and we are very very far apart.! If I could give you a big hug for all your happiness I would. I''d at least send you a hug smiley, but we don''t have any here....

So here''s a big (((((((((((hug))))))))))) for sharing your happiness. You are so blessed with such a beautiful ring, a wonderful marriage and oooodles and ooooodles of happiness!

All the best

~kmom

 

[Mara]

Wow that ring is beautiful! Is there a link to the thread on the stone sizing and setting information? Is that the Royal Crown? It looks very fluid and that stone is perfect for it!

Shots on the hand too.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 1/18/2005 2:32:24 AM
Author: Mara
Wow that ring is beautiful! Is there a link to the thread on the stone sizing and setting information?

here

 

[Kamuelamom]

Mara, John kindly condensed all the threads here in one post to link to.

They're great reads and truly mark the spirit of this forum imo.

Edited: Looks like Ana and I were on the same track but she's faster!

 

[asblackrock]

Hi Mara
The stone's specifications are:
2.23 ct
G
VS2 (only one very tiny inclusion well below the surface)
8.29-8.35 x 5.18
Table: 54%
Depth: 62.1%Crown angle: 34.7 deg
Pavilion angle: 40.5 deg
Girdle: 1.4-1.9 (medium to slightly thick)
Culet: none (0.1%)
Polish: GIA excellent
Symmetry: GIA excellent
Fluorescence: none
H&A cut

HCA score 0.6

I was a bit worried while I was waiting for it to come that the pav angle was slightly too shallow, but when it arrived the idealscope image was excellent and the stone is a stunner in person.

I would also consider myself "colour sensitive" (I was originally looking for an E or F for an icy, icy white appearance - in the end size won!), but it looks INCREDIBLY white. As I type it also keep flashing huge streaks of red and green. I am under a halogen light and I am finding it incredibly distracting!

I do not know if the setting has a name. Perhaps Garry can comment. When I saw Garry two weeks ago to discuss the design, I tried on a ring he had which was similar, but had a much chunkier band and no knife edge. I had originally thought I wanted the classic 6 prong "Tiffany setting", but I really fell for this one with a few modifications thrown in. It looks much better on the hand than in the pictures, where it has a slightly top heavy appearance. I also just love the way I get a perfect view of the underside of the diamond when I turn it upside down.

I have started a thread called "Big thanks to Garry Holloway" and on this John from Whiteflash has again come to my rescue and linked all the old thread relating to this.



(Edited to add: Ana and Kamuelamom are obviously much faster typists, but I also have the excuse of a glass of bubbly next to me which is slowing me down!!!!!!!!!)

 

[asblackrock]

Hi Sevens One Emeraldgirl and JohnQuixote
Thank you so much for your compliments.
I am still in a state of shock!

 

[asblackrock]

Hi Kamuelamom

Thankyou for your beautiful message. I send you long distance hugs too - you are from a little town in Hawaii aren''t you?

I feel incredibly fortunate – none of this is being taken for granted! I have an adorable husband who I love with all my heart and soul after 25 years together, and I have a wonderful sister and two nephews, their partners, good friends and my good health. The material stuff including the diamond is just icing on the cake, but WOW, what icing! I just can’t wipe the grin off my face. I do feel truly blessed.

PS I love your 3 stone with the split prongs! It looks stunning.

 

[Daniela]

Your ring is positively stunning! And the stone is huge, too!

 

[Rhino]

Very nice! I think this is the first time I''m seeing a picture of Gary''s work! Nice job Gary!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Gary did a wonderful job on your ring!! It''s positively stunning!! ENJOY