After spending the last month following the forum, I had to let you all know what you have done for me. This past Xmas I purchased a pair of "Leo" 0.5C earings for my wife. I was so tantalized with their apparent quality and finally sold on the extra eight facet cut pitch. The Leo''s were far better looking than the others shown at the mall store for comparison. I still think they''re OK and look great. This started my obssesion with diamonds.
I have purched several rings, pendants, and other types of diamond jewelry in the past but had always bought the most C''s for the least C''$. The Leo''s were the first with any type of certification (IGI). I got home with them and immediately went on line and started looking for information on the Leo''s. All searchs brought me to forum''s such as this. And most talked about better for less.
After a couple of weeks of following the discussion on Pricescope, learning the 4 C''s and checking out all of the available tools I realized that I had''nt really seen "good" quality. With an aniversary (#23) comming up Feb 16th, a budget of 3-4K and the need to fullfill my newfound "expertise" I began looking for the right gift.
My wife had talked about a 3 stone ring before Xmas so I first went to Mall Store to look at the Leo 1.0 CTW - $3,999. It looked better than the 1.0 CTW standards for $1,500. I then checked loose prices on the web and came up with a plan for a 1.0+ CTW 3 stone within the same budget. I went to a local jeweler who I trust with repairs and cleaning and had him order two sets of stones one SI1,G-H and one VS1,G-H. He had them in two days and must have had Mara on the mind. The SI1 were Ideal cut and the VS1 were just at the limits but not considered Ideal (Table 60.5% Depth 57.7%) Same Price. The SI were 1.01 CTW and the VS1 1.13 CTW with Mara''s top heavy look. They all looked great but the shallow VS1''s stood out by there appearant size, clarity and brilliance. I bought the VS1''s. When I picked the ring up I was astounded by the 12.5 MM strip of fire and ice on this ring. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My wife will be thrilled.
I have purched several rings, pendants, and other types of diamond jewelry in the past but had always bought the most C''s for the least C''$. The Leo''s were the first with any type of certification (IGI). I got home with them and immediately went on line and started looking for information on the Leo''s. All searchs brought me to forum''s such as this. And most talked about better for less.
After a couple of weeks of following the discussion on Pricescope, learning the 4 C''s and checking out all of the available tools I realized that I had''nt really seen "good" quality. With an aniversary (#23) comming up Feb 16th, a budget of 3-4K and the need to fullfill my newfound "expertise" I began looking for the right gift.
My wife had talked about a 3 stone ring before Xmas so I first went to Mall Store to look at the Leo 1.0 CTW - $3,999. It looked better than the 1.0 CTW standards for $1,500. I then checked loose prices on the web and came up with a plan for a 1.0+ CTW 3 stone within the same budget. I went to a local jeweler who I trust with repairs and cleaning and had him order two sets of stones one SI1,G-H and one VS1,G-H. He had them in two days and must have had Mara on the mind. The SI1 were Ideal cut and the VS1 were just at the limits but not considered Ideal (Table 60.5% Depth 57.7%) Same Price. The SI were 1.01 CTW and the VS1 1.13 CTW with Mara''s top heavy look. They all looked great but the shallow VS1''s stood out by there appearant size, clarity and brilliance. I bought the VS1''s. When I picked the ring up I was astounded by the 12.5 MM strip of fire and ice on this ring. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My wife will be thrilled.