Single Stone Visit!!!

[LLJsmom]

Hi Everyone,

I was down in southern Cal, and had to stop by Single Stone. It's my first visit ever, and I was sooooo excited. And trust me, this beautiful store did NOT disappoint. I had my eye on an eternity band and of course I wanted to see some serious OECs and OMCs in real life. I haven't found a store in Northern Cal Bay Area that carried a large selection. And just let me say there are soooo many beautiful pieces here that my pics don't even cover 1% of what is shown at this store. If you are in southern Cal and want to see some drool worthy stuff, you have to stop by. Heather is amazing and sweet and helpful. She even recommended a vendor in SF that carries their pieces, so I am sure I will drop by. Lastly, please ignore the UGLY hands. I promise to put on lotion hereafter. And the pics are from an iphone, so really they do not do the pieces justice. The store has tons of natural sunlight, and just imagine these babies throwing fire like crazy!!

Anyway, without further ado, there are the pics.

3+ carat OEC, J, VS1 - My heart stopped. And honestly, felt soooooo good on my finger.


1+ carat OEC, Bezel - Always wanted a bezel...


1.55 carat OEC, just for size comparison's sake


2.5ish carat rose cut - Super cool, huh? Great for a right hand ring.


4-5 carat (I forget.) Rose Cut, super white E, VS. OMG.


I have more, but will try to load this now. Will load more tonight! Have the eternities to go...

 

[LLJsmom]

Single Stone Visit!!! - MORE!!

My favorite, 2.38 carat, OEC, N, VS1. I could not believe how white this stone was. And I am super color sensitive. My MRB is an F. But I LOVED this N. So much fire and flashing colors, and still white. OMG!! I die!!!!

 

[blingymo]

What fun! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see the rest.

 

[starrynight]

Gorgeous gorgeous! Thanks for sharing

 

[tyty333]

What a fun trip! I bet you were like a kid in a candy store! Thanks for the drool worthy pics!

 

[missy]

Re: Single Stone Visit!!! - MORE!!

My favorite, 2.38 carat, OEC, N, VS1. I could not believe how white this stone was. And I am super color sensitive. My MRB is an F. But I LOVED this N. So much fire and flashing colors, and still white. OMG!! I die!!!!

Ooh, gorgeous-all of the pieces you shared are TDF!
I would love to visit Single Stone one day-they have amazing pieces, they really do.

And I love it when someone who isn't an OEC person sees them and realizes how white many of them face up. It's crazy isn't it? I am very color sensitive as well and you just cannot judge the old cuts color by its cert. You really need to see each individual old cut in person to realize it's true (to you) color.

Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. And your hands are lovely btw.

 

[SB621]

Oh so beautiful- especially the rose cuts! I'm super jealous!

 

[rochelle]

Re: Single Stone Visit!!! - MORE!!

My favorite, 2.38 carat, OEC, N, VS1. I could not believe how white this stone was. And I am super color sensitive. My MRB is an F. But I LOVED this N. So much fire and flashing colors, and still white. OMG!! I die!!!!

Gorgeous pieces! I can't believe that's an N!

 

[Enerchi]

Beautiful!! I think you have LOVELY hands --- I don't even notice them actually --- I'm blinded and in love with all you are posting!!! The rosecuts are incredible!!

I'm excited to see the eternities...

 

[msop04]

OH. MY. GOD. I die.

I seriously do NOT need to step one foot into Singlestone. Glutton for punishment to the extreme!!

 

[vinjewels]

Wow! Lucky lady. I would love to visit someday. I think my brain would overload with all that bling! Thanks for sharing! Hopefully you have more pics.

 

[Rosebloom]

My idea of heaven!

 

[LLJsmom]

Close up of the 3+ carat. It is soooo beautiful. Inspires me to plan for my future... Wish I had a spare $73K sitting around...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wow!!!! I am not sure I could go in there without going bankrupt!!! How fun, though!!

 

[LLJsmom]

Hi Ladies (and if I am making the wrong assumption about anyone, please forgive me),

I definitely felt I was being indoctrinated into the beauties of old cuts. I know many PS'ers have already seen how beautiful these are in real life, but I haven't, and thus have been dying to see them. Honestly, if I had known how beautiful these are in real life, I would have reconsidered buying a MRB. But I am very happy with my stone. I am just befuddled by the unique beauty of these old cut diamonds. I wonder why anyone would have decided to change the cutting and how MRB became the norm? They could have easily standardized a cut for the OEC style...

Thanks to all PS'ers for sharing their thoughts and stones so that I could become exposed to these beauties. Now, I am just torn. What would you do? Save up to buy a 2+ carat OEC (or similar) or scratch the itch and get an eternity sooner?

 

[Ashleigh]

Re: Single Stone Visit!!! - MORE!!

My favorite, 2.38 carat, OEC, N, VS1. I could not believe how white this stone was. And I am super color sensitive. My MRB is an F. But I LOVED this N. So much fire and flashing colors, and still white. OMG!! I die!!!!

LLJ, thanks for the pics. I love this 2.38ct OEC. Did you view it in different lightings? Did it appear white even in other lightings? I'm surprised that it's so white. Do you remember the price? Thank you.

 

[LLJsmom]

Re: Single Stone Visit!!! - MORE!!

My favorite, 2.38 carat, OEC, N, VS1. I could not believe how white this stone was. And I am super color sensitive. My MRB is an F. But I LOVED this N. So much fire and flashing colors, and still white. OMG!! I die!!!!

LLJ, thanks for the pics. I love this 2.38ct OEC. Did you view it in different lightings? Did it appear white even in other lightings? I'm surprised that it's so white. Do you remember the price? Thank you.

Girl, you are serious!! This is just for you because in my dreams I wanted this BADLY...

I looked at it toward the inside of the store and walked over to the window for natural light. The store is well lit in general. I looked white to me toward the inside of the store. Like a wedding dress white, not like a D colored stone. But even the whiteness of an OEC is different from a MRB. When I took it to the window, that is when I saw a ton of pastel colors flashing, in addition to the white.

Let me upload more pics of the side views of the setting. I gotta be honest. I'm not a huge fan of super antique-y settings, but this one WORKED for this stone. And, the underside of the setting is NADA. Nothing. All the light gets through all the time!! Sorry, will stop talking. Here is the price. Which to me is really comparable to the MRBs. Without taking the color into consideration, an MRB VS1 2+ carat will run you at least $30K, G and above.

 

[LLJsmom]

Ashleigh,

Here are some side views that they sent me. Gives you a better view of the setting. Like I was saying, there is NO metal under the stone. All the solitaire settings I looked at were the same. So there is no obstruction to light getting through the stone. I think that makes the stone reflect it's true color versus having a ton of metal under the stone, which is common for most MRB settings.

If you want any other pics, I can email Heather to request them. Or I can even connect you to her.





Seriously, this stone faces up big. I did not ask them the size, but just compare it to my 2.59 MRB, which measures 8.9mm. It looks just as big, if not bigger.

 

[Laila619]

How FUN!!! They are all beautiful!

 

[junebug17]

Oh boy, these are all so gorgeous...drooling over the 3 carat and the 2.38, how beautiful Thanks so much for the pics, really fun!

 

[Ashleigh]

Thank you, LLJ, for the additional pics and color description. The lowest color I've seen irl for MRB is O and it was yellower than what your pics showed. Never seen an OEC irl though. Gotta mull over the color a bit.

 

[pandabee]

mmmmmm I love that N!!! and everything else!!! what a fun visit

 

[GemFever]

What fun! Beautiful pieces. Thanks for sharing!

 

[LLJsmom]

Laila, Junebug, Gemfever, pandabee, I am more than happy to share. I am just so happy that you all enjoyed the pics. I just wish I could make another pilgrimage to take even more pics. This time, I will be awake, and aware. I think the first time, I was just in complete AWE...

 

[OCgirl]

Omg the 3 ct made my heart skip a beat. I'm in SoCal... Now I want to stop by SS to take a look at that beauty. Absolutely gorgeous.

 

[backwardsandinheels]

Lucky!! I just told my husband he can forever pick out anything from Single Stone should the opportunity to get me a gift ever again presents itself. Of course, after this upgrade, I'm sure I am now in the jewelry desert

I did everything online. I cannot imagine the beautiful stuff you saw! My K stone amazes with whiteness, so crazy isn't it? I would love to see more their yellow and rose gold things too. Thank you!

 

[LLJsmom]

Lucky!! I just told my husband he can forever pick out anything from Single Stone should the opportunity to get me a gift ever again presents itself. Of course, after this upgrade, I'm sure I am now in the jewelry desert

I did everything online. I cannot imagine the beautiful stuff you saw! My K stone amazes with whiteness, so crazy isn't it? I would love to see more their yellow and rose gold things too. Thank you!

Hi Backwards, I saw your ring, and your rock seriously looked huge, and white. I thought for sure it was over 3 carats on your finger. And now that I have seen the real stuff in the store, the ring totally looks like something that was from them. I am soooo impressed that you bought the whole thing online. You knew there stuff would be that beautiful! I had to see it for myself. Your stone is amazing. K, VS1, I loved that they polished it and had it regraded by GIA. Can I ask who handled that for you? Did SS send it out and tell the stone cutter what to do, or did you and your husband manage that?

I am so very very happy for you. That is a ring to be proud of.

I also posted this on your thread so you don't have to answer here. Whichever...

 

[LLJsmom]

Omg the 3 ct made my heart skip a beat. I'm in SoCal... Now I want to stop by SS to take a look at that beauty. Absolutely gorgeous.

OCgirl, if you go, you have to take tons of pics for us!!. Don't zone out like me...