Selecting a HPD/CBI in person (w/pics and video comparison)

[AstoriaSwan]

First of all, I’m thankful for Pricescope and all of the posters who’ve provided so much insight. I’ve been reading for a few months, but these are my first posts. I’m a research analyst, and the considered and passionate discussions have been helpful.

Summary
After searching in high end B&M stores and online for branded “superideal” diamonds, my fiancée and I selected a Crafted by Infinity diamond after seeing 6 CBIs and an ACA in person at an appraiser’s office. Having the opportunity to view diamonds in real life (in live 3D, in/on our own hands, in different lighting conditions, etc.) was what helped us feel more confident in our decision, after starting with immensely helpful the specs, AGS reports, and imaging on the respective websites. We ended up choosing this 1.87 ct F SI1 CBI.
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD10112

After selecting the diamond, we worked with Layla at High Performance Diamond to create a beautiful 6-prong cathedral solitaire setting (called “Astoria”). I’ll post that separately in the Show Me The Bling forum with additional pictures.

We couldn’t be happier with the results. Throughout this process, I’ve been fortunate enough to speak with Wink, Layla, John Pollard, as well as Brian Gavin, representatives at Whiteflash and Miriam from PGS Laboratories (appraiser). Everyone was extremely helpful, professional and operated with honesty and integrity. We got a fantastic education in diamonds throughout this journey. For us, HPD/CBI was the choice. It’s been a pleasure working with them every step along the way.

Here are a few photos the ring.


I have videos as well, but can't figure out how to load them onto the site directly. Can someone help a newbie out?

 

[AstoriaSwan]

As a first-time diamond buyer, I followed a process that is likely familiar to many people on this forum. We started visiting some jewelry stores to get an idea of ring styles, diamond size, and cut/color/clarity combinations. After that, I visited a friend’s recommended “wholesaler,” who had only a limited selection. Not satisfied, I went shopping online, and having educated myself for what specs to search for, I tried to find the unicorns from the big drop shippers. Eventually, thanks in part to PS, I found vendors who do all the vetting for me - HPD/CBI, Whiteflash, BGD, and others. I also liked their customer focused (return, upgrade, buyback) policies, and the personalized and responsive shopping experience.

We were searching for 1.7-2.1ct diamond and are fine not hitting any “magical” marks, like 2ct weight or 8.00mm spread, particularly if it meant better value. As my fiancée looked at diamonds, we discovered that her eye is attuned and quite sensitive to color and clarity. Thus we narrowed our search to eye-clean D-G color diamonds around that size.

Given Whiteflash’s relatively deep inventory with that criteria, I had initially reserved a 1.922 ct G VS2. After realizing my fiancee’s sensitivity, I switched the hold to a 1.873 ct F VS2. I was getting ready to pull the trigger on that diamond when Layla followed up with me. She convinced me that CBIs offer something unique.
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3905126.htm
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4059365.htm

While the CBIs looked promising, two of the diamonds I was considering did not have videos available online. I’d watched the ACA videos many, many times (including ones they’d made for me to compare various diamonds), but the CBIs only had ASET, H&A and Idealscope images but no video. Wink got the diamonds and made a few videos for me – the diamonds individually, side by side, and closeups under the microscope, as I was concerned about the inclusions. The 1.87 F SI1 has several twinning wisps as the grade setting inclusions, so I needed assurance that it would perform well.

At this point, John Pollard got involved in the process. We had a conference call to discuss how CBIs are sourced and cut, how to interpret images and many other topics. It was a tremendous educational experience. They took a lot of time to explain technical ideas to me in a way that I could understand. They also noted that the CBI imaging shows the diamonds in a laboratory environment and does not try to hide any imperfections. In Wink’s videos, he was straightforward in telling me what he could see with his naked eye and was not hiding any issues under magnification.

At this point, I had holds on both the ACA and a few CBIs. I needed to decide, but wasn’t sure how to proceed.

 

[whitewave]

Oh!! I saw that on IG and asked for more photos!! I love it. It’s truly gorgeous and I love the setting.

We are meeting at HPD in July. See the members only GTG forum for more details.

 

[AstoriaSwan]

John and Layla offered an elegant solution to my dilemma. The plan was to ship both the Whiteflash ACA and the CBIs shipped to an appraiser’s office, so we could see them side by side. While I had to pay for the shipping/insurance on the ACA and part of the appraiser’s time, I felt this was worth it to reduce any chance of regrets later on.

While I thought I was going to get a chance to look at the 1.87 F SI1 and a 1.80 D SI1 from CBI, John smartly sent a total of 6 CBIs for us to see – those two plus four more. The CBIs ranged in size from 1.80 to 2.13 and in color from D to I.
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9406
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD10591
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9154
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD8606
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD10400

We began the evaluation by looking at 3 diamonds at a time on my fiancee’s fingers, then another set of 3. She was able to correctly rank the warmth/color of the diamonds in the face up position for each set. In addition, she was able to some inclusions without a loupe.

from index to pinky – 1.80 D SI1; 2.07 G SI2; 2.07 H SI1


from index to pinky – 2.13 I VS2; 1.80 G VS2; 1.87 F SI1


After eliminating the diamonds that weren’t eye clean to her, she narrowed it down to two CBIs and the ACA. The size of the 2.138 I VS2 appealed to her a lot (also perhaps that it has a smaller table). Even though the appraisers had graded this as a “solid H” (better than the AGS grade), it was a little too much warmth for her liking. We then put each of them in a clip ring to see how they would look individually.

Also, even though we had access to an H&A viewer, an ASET scope, and a loupe & microscope, we did not use them much. For newbies like us, getting the alignment just right was not easy.
2.13 I; 1.87 F ACA; 1.87 F CBI

 

[AstoriaSwan]

The 1.87 F diamonds have nearly identical specs and are both beautiful. In our viewing, we thought the CBI had more life and sparkle to it. It has the edge-to-edge brightness and fire that CBI touts. In addition, even though AGS graded the ACA as a VS2, the appraiser judged it to be an SI1, as the inclusion is a dark crystal in the table. The CBI has several twinning wisps, which are visible in the loupe, but harder to see unaided. To our eyes, the CBI looked brighter than the ACA, which seemed a little darker under the office lights.

ACA near ring finger; CBI near index finger


After choosing the CBI, we wanted to sleep on it and make sure. As we were reviewing the photos, we had a few questions about the transparency issues of the CBI. We exchanged emails with John and Layla, who assured us that CBIs are screened for any issues. Fortunately, we were able to go back to the appraiser’s office and see the diamonds again. It turned out to be a cleanliness/handling issue, as we had touched the CBI during the course of seeing it.

We confirmed the choice of the 1.87 F SI1 and then set on finding the best setting for it. The story of that is in SMTB.

 

[gm89uk]

Thank you for taking the time and effort and congratulations on your engagement. I'd love to see your videos comparing them. I typically use vimeo.

 

[AstoriaSwan]

Here is the link to the ring and setting in the SMTB forum
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...aire-with-1-87-f-si1-cbi.248181/#post-4528842

 

[AstoriaSwan]

Here is a video of the 1.87 F SI1 CBI and the Whiteflash 1.87 F VS2 ACA side-by-side. The video was taken in the appraiser's office, under office lighting and with the iPhone LED flash on

 

[OoohShiny]

Thank you for the thorough and detailed review! I'm pleased that you had the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison and eliminate and doubt or worries you may have had

It looks lovely and I hope you both enjoy it for years to come!

Well, until Diamond Shrinkage Syndrome sets in and you decide to upgrade to something larger lol

 

[mk206]

Wow, thank you for taking the time to explain your process in deciding on a diamond to purchase. Your experience sounds very similar to mine + DH's, except we weren't able to see an ACA side-by-side to compare. At the time, WF didn't have any ACAs in the pipeline in the size and color range we were looking for. I really enjoyed reading through all of your notes about your journey and it was extremely helpful to see an ACA and CBI of the same color and size side-by-side in your video! I'm not sure this has been done before. Did you have to purchase the ACA and then return it in order to compare all of these at the appraiser's office?

I absolutely love your choice and love seeing the pictures in your other thread as well. What a beautiful diamond and setting. Welcome to the CBI family. Wink and his team are incredible people to work with. Congratulations, and wear in good health!!!

 

[AstoriaSwan]

Well, until Diamond Shrinkage Syndrome sets in and you decide to upgrade to something larger lol

Re: Diamond Shrinkage Syndrome, I think that gets more acute, particularly after the recent CBI price reductions... There are some really nice ones with a now lower price. But I think we'll wait.

 

[AstoriaSwan]

Wow, thank you for taking the time to explain your process in deciding on a diamond to purchase. Your experience sounds very similar to mine + DH's, except we weren't able to see an ACA side-by-side to compare. At the time, WF didn't have any ACAs in the pipeline in the size and color range we were looking for. I really enjoyed reading through all of your notes about your journey and it was extremely helpful to see an ACA and CBI of the same color and size side-by-side in your video! I'm not sure this has been done before. Did you have to purchase the ACA and then return it in order to compare all of these at the appraiser's office?

I absolutely love your choice and love seeing the pictures in your other thread as well. What a beautiful diamond and setting. Welcome to the CBI family. Wink and his team are incredible people to work with. Congratulations, and wear in good health!!!

Thank you. I'm glad you found it useful. I'm happy to be part of the CBI family and have had the chance to work with Wink, Layla, Melissa, Jamie and John Pollard.

Congratulations on your recent engagement! I remember reading your lovely story as well.

With respect to the ACA, Whiteflash actually had quite a good inventory of 1.8-2.0ct F-G ACAs in stock when we were looking in January. Instead of purchasing and returning the ACA, I decided to pay for the shipping and insurance to the appraiser's office. It might have saved a little money to do the purchase & return (and allowed me to see the ACA in sunlight), but I felt more secure with everything being done at the appraisers office. I wouldn't take a risk in case something happened to the diamond while in my possession. For the CBIs, John and Wink have known the appraiser for a while. It was like getting a showroom experience but with an appraiser, rather than a sales associate, guiding us. Miriam was fantastic.

The comparison between the two diamonds is about as close to a direct comparison as can be. The dimensions are within 0.01mm of each other and the angles are identical (0.1 table difference, with the other angles exactly the same). In addition, the appraiser judged both to be solid "F" color and both to be "SI1". The ACA has a VS2 grade but the appraiser felt like its as more of a high SI1 because of the darker inclusion.

 

[cowcow81]

Hi @AstoriaSwan, thank you for sharing your experience. Did you say you are in Chicago? Thought I heard that in one of your videos. If so, could you let me know which appraiser you used to view the diamonds? Thanks so much and congrats on the beautiful ring!

 

[AstoriaSwan]

Hi @AstoriaSwan, thank you for sharing your experience. Did you say you are in Chicago? Thought I heard that in one of your videos. If so, could you let me know which appraiser you used to view the diamonds? Thanks so much and congrats on the beautiful ring!

Hi @cowcow81,

Thank you for the kinds words. For the appraiser, we went to PGS Laboratory. They are located in the Mallers Building in the Loop. We worked with Myriam, and she was lovely - honest, educational. and patient. Apologies for mis-spelling her name in an earlier post. Hope that helps.
https://www.pgslaboratory.com

 

[hypermom]

Hi @cowcow81,

Thank you for the kinds words. For the appraiser, we went to PGS Laboratory. They are located in the Mallers Building in the Loop. We worked with Myriam, and she was lovely - honest, educational. and patient. Apologies for mis-spelling her name in an earlier post. Hope that helps.
https://www.pgslaboratory.com

I just wanted to second the recommendation for Myriam. I also viewed CBI diamonds in her office. She took the time to have me identify the inclusions in each diamond ( she had a hard time finding them herself at vs1 and vs2). She took the time to educate me and did not rush me at all. I would definitely use her in the future for any appraisal needs.

 

[cflutist]

@AstoriaSwan

Congratulations on your gorgeous CBI diamond and custom HPD mounting, we are like sisters (I have Symphonie).
F-SI1 is one of my favorite combos, colorless and eye clean.

Welcome to the CBI/HPD family and please post your ring in the SMTB CBI thread.

https://www.pricescope.com/communit...our-crafted-by-infinity-diamond.150001/page-8