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Tennis Bracelet questions

ToBuyOrNotToBuy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
11
So I'm in the market for a tennis bracelet. I started talking to a jeweler on eBay and they suggested this.

They quoted me a price of 3K, which is $200 less than the listing price and also said they could go down to $2900 for 14K gold.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/142143645987
Stone Type: Diamond 100% Natural
Shape: Round
Carat: 5.00 Carat
No. of Diamond: 62 approx.
Color: G-H
Clarity: I1
Setting: Claw Set, 4 Prong

This is kind of what I was looking for, though I'm not sure if I want fewer, but larger stones.

  1. Do you think this will be pretty and sparkly?
  2. Is the price reasonable, based on the materials used and workmanship? They create these to order.
  3. Would 18K make a visual difference? I was hoping this would be more "everyday" wear than just special occasions, so 14K makes more sense for durability.

They have good reviews, but if you know of a jeweler that has something like this or can make it and know the quality is good, I'd be grateful for a recommendation.
 

LadyMCh

Shiny_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 30, 2016
Messages
318
No.
The seller lists the stones as I1 for clarity. If these are ungraded stones (meaning they guessed at color/clarity/etc), the clarity is probably even lower than that, by GIA standards.
Meaning: the stones are going to be heavily, VISIBLY included. So, not "pretty and sparkly". 14k vs 18k does not matter nearly as much as the diamond quality.
A decent quality 5ct total weight diamond tennis bracelet STARTS more around $4.5k. One of the trusted vendors on here (high quality) starts at over $7k.
Save your money! ebay is not the way to go for something like this...
 

motownmama

Ideal_Rock
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Jan 9, 2008
Messages
8,207
I Only have my own one as a rough frame of reference - it's 5ctw and was around $7K ten years ago.
I would contact Whiteflash or ID Jewelry (ask for pricescope quality). A smaller diamond weight, but higher quality diamonds is going to look MUCH more sparkly on your wrist. I'd get the best quality for your budget and see what size that gets you.
 

m-2-b

Ideal_Rock
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4,036

whitewave

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Do not buy from a seller with 49 feedbacks. That's my suggestion.
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
Hi OP - I suggest you follow the advise given here by other posters - don't buy from a seller with 49 reviews and don't buy a bracelet with I1 stones.

Contact Yekutiel at ID Jewelry - tell him your budget, you were recommended by Price Scope and you would like a tennis bracelet with PS quality stones. He's easy to work with and will do his best to make you happy.

Good luck. :wavey:
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
Don't know if all items are PS quality stones. It would be best to contact them via telephone and speak to Yekutiel - (pronounced Yek -oo-tiel) Explain to him what you're looking for. He can then work with you to make a bracelet that you will like. Good luck. :wavey:
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
6,589
Well, we are more particular than the average patron, so they will extra vet the diamonds and the prongs and the setting, etc.

Pricing is total carat weight driven, so if you opted for 8 pointers, for example, and you have a 6" wrist, that will cost less than a bracelet for a 7" wrist.

This thread has comparison photos of 3 style options I examined at IDJ - 3 prong, 4 prong, and bangle:
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/upcoming-idj-visit.221254/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/upcoming-idj-visit.221254/[/URL]

Feel free to bump it with any questions!
 

ToBuyOrNotToBuy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
11
Actually I was chatting with "Joey" who said for PS quality they have to hand select, though all of the diamonds are F-G and SI
 

ToBuyOrNotToBuy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
11
Yekutiel was busy, so Lana assured me she knew what she was doing. Just having PS point me there was help enough. You all helped get her ER.

She said getting PS diamonds for the bracelet won't make a discernable difference. I guess with the stones being so small she might have a point.

DW has a small wrist. She might be able to get into a 6.5 or even a 6 and I could carat up. I never noticed, is it common to wear two bracelets on the same hand at a time? Do different lengths matter in this situation? I was thinking this is going to be an everyday piece, so loose might not be the way to go.

Now I have to find a way to measure her. She's a light sleeper.
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
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6,589
I'd try measuring any bracelets she has and try to narrow the length down based on what she owns.
 

ToBuyOrNotToBuy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
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Ugh. This reminds me of the engagement ring search all over again. I'm about to just buy something from ID, with letting ID know she may swap it out. Though I'm sure she would like to keep my purchase to humor me.

I do have a question about ID vs WF. I purchased the wedding set from WF, with PS hand holding me all the way. I would think their prices would be competitive with each other. Oh, wedding set for your amusement...

MrHandA3.jpg


So in terms of carat, here are the closest bracelets I could find between WF and ID

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamond-bracelets/three-prong-diamond-tennis-bracelet-509.htm

http://idjewelry.com/four-prong-tennis-bracelet-lb-126-4-13-w.html

4 vs 4.15, yet the WF is close to twice as much. Now the WF is using ACA diamonds and ID uses F-G SI1-SI2. Based upon the engagement ring above, I know "hearts and arrows" makes a big difference, but how far off do you think the "standard" diamonds ID uses would compare to their PS diamonds. I'm still waiting on a quote to get a better comparison.

Oh, does WF offer a discount for return customers? I suppose it's hard to go wrong with either store, but if you have a preference would you mind sharing why? FWIW I was really happy with WF service.
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
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I have an IDJ tennis bracelet.

I have BGD melee huggies, BG Blue solitaire, my mom has 3 rings from BGD with BGD melee. BG of BGD was previously part of WF before he created BGD, so the melee from both WF and BGD have standards that are comparable.

I am VERY happy with my IDJ melee in comparison with the BGD jewelry in the family. Also, bracelets can get banged against surfaces - (one reason why I opt for half eternities as opposed to full eternity rings), so I'd rather take the significant savings afforded by purchasing from IDJ if I have to gamble that whichever Tennis bracelet I get, I may damage a stone or two.

Also, IDJ tennis bracelets are upgradeable - the stones, but not the bracelet setting. If I ever want to go bigger than what I currently have (10+ pointers), I can go back and upgrade. Does Whiteflash also have this policy for their tennis bracelets?
 

WillyDiamond

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
1,452
I bought a 4 carat diamond tennis bracelet for my wife from BGD. Fantastic quality. Call Leslie at BGD.
Good luck
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
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Messages
6,589
One thing - since ctw determines price, have you confirmed what size would be needed for her wrist? 6", 6.5", 7", etc?
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
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58,547
Well, ideally, since you bought her a Whiteflash engagement ring, gorgeous, by the way, I'd go with a WF bracelet if you can. It's worth twice as much because the diamonds cost twice as much due to better cut and clarity (and maybe color)! If the WF one is too high now, I sincerely would just wait and for an anniversary get her one that is a size she can wear forever.

That said, if you tell IDJ you want excellent cut melee and VS2-SI1 totally eyeclean stones (and mention PS), there have been many happy people here with theirs, too.
 

Bron357

Ideal_Rock
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Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
6,532
Hi, I buy a lot on eBay and eBay can be a good place to buy jewellery. Firstly, you want "real photos" not stock photos or generic photos. You need to see the actual item in good lighting. Secondly, do not expect to buy "new" from a "store" seller and get good value for money. The best value purchases will be secondhand and, for whatever reason, someone needs to sell their jewellery, but even then you don't want to buy from someone with less than 100 feedback.
If the seller has a return policy and good and a high number feedback score, you can be confident buying. You will be out of pocket the shipping costs but if it doesn't meet with your satisfaction, but you can return it and get a refund.
I can almost guarantee you that that particular bracelet will be disappointing. Even from the rubbish eBay photos the diamonds are more white opaque than clear and sparkling. A good seller, and I sell a little, puts up 12 photos or more, including close ups, in natural lighting, being worn etc and that what you want and need before making a decision to purchase.
And seriously I2 diamonds are rubbish, really just junk. Save up your money a little longer and buy a better quality diamond Tennis bracelet that you will be very happy with and love and have the security of knowing that if you ever need to resell you have an item that is resaleable.
 

ToBuyOrNotToBuy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
11
Ok, I couldn't decide so I bought two. Personally I can't tell the difference in sparkle factor. Here are two videos, with and without flash.

Do you have a preference? The left one is 4ctw and the right is 3ctw.

**edited by moderator, please upload photos. no links to personal hosting sites for everyone's protection**

Both come from jewelers with a good PS reputation. Which one should I keep? And "both" is the wrong answer.
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
Not everyone has a dropbox account - I am not able to sign in. Can you just take a photo of each with your phone and post them on here? Anxious to see both.
 

ToBuyOrNotToBuy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
11
Ugh. Pricescope needs to fix their BBCode settings to allow external sites

**edited, we do not allow this, please read our policies**

photo_nov_18__17_18_24.jpg

photo_nov_18__17_17_13.jpg
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
I like the top bracelet best. Looks like a three prong? Both look good!
 

ToBuyOrNotToBuy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
11
Both are three prong. The top one is 3cwt and the other is 4cwt. The stones are the same, with the 3cwt being PS quality, but the 4cwt is "almost" PS per the mfg. I spent 30 minutes looking at them and can't tell the difference in terms of sparkle or color.

The kicker is the the 4cwt is is almost 25% less and this is after I negotiated the price down. Bigger and cheaper vs slightly different setting.
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
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58,547
I don't love the setting on the 4 ct one. It looks like it has a lot of extra metal. But for me, I would choose the one with the higher quality diamonds, aside from the setting issue. I would not want SI2 (or lower) clarity stones and I would only want excellent cut melee. Those are my minimum requirements regardless of the vendor.
 

m-2-b

Ideal_Rock
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Mar 1, 2011
Messages
4,036
IMHO the bottom bracelet metal setting is bulky/hinges are too prominent.
 
Q

Queenie60

Guest
I agree with other posters - the bottom bracelet has more metal. I would go with the smaller, better quality stones. The top one it is!! :wavey:
 

SpencerDane

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
33
I love the top bracelet as well. The other one just seems too chunky with metal. You may be getting less carat weight of the diamonds with the top bracelet, but at the end of the day, I'm sure you will prefer the most beautiful bracelet.
 

ToBuyOrNotToBuy

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 27, 2016
Messages
11
So we finally went with the IDJ (thanks Joey and Euektal) who made a custom 6.5 bracelet in a 3-prong setting. By far the better value of the two companies we were looking at. FWIW, the stones in these are indiscernible to the naked eye as compared to the hearts and arrows diamonds. Perhaps because the stones are much smaller than an engagement ring.


brace2.jpg
brace1_0.jpg
 

PintoBean

Ideal_Rock
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Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
6,589
It is so beautiful and elegant on her wrist! :love:
 
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