Probably could only tell if comparing them next to each other with a spotlight.
Thanks for your input doberman. I'm sure it depends on the prongs (the tiffany-style prongs that lay flat against the stone may be better) but I wanted to go with a bezel just to be safe.
What line of work do you wear nitrile gloves? Scientist? Medicine?
Thank's TreeGal, that's a really beautiful ring. However, I still really like the JA bezel setting.
Unfortunately, while the settings at WF are beautiful, it looks like I won't be able to order from them. I'm having the ring shipped to a friend of mine to help with the surprise engagement, but WF won't ship to friends.
Oh the two, I'm leaning more towards the G stone (I like the slightly higher CA and lower PA combo). What do you think?
I would ask again. 
Would WF set the diamond into the JA setting? If so, you can buy the the setting have JA mail to WF. Then, they can set the WF diamond. Shipping wise, could you wire the funds to your friend and have him pay for the whole thing? My only question would be if the warranties/upgrades are transfeerable to you. I seem to recall that someone bought a preowner WF ACA and they honored the upgrade, but ask.
Did you see these two?
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...rat-h-color-vs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-3824005. Great IS and H&A. {on right}
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...at-g-color-vvs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-4284783 {on left}
Assuming size 6.5
Joseph Schubach makes a very pretty bezel called the "Boston Bezel" and last I checked they will set outside diamonds.
http://shopping.schubachstore.com/S...-Engagement-Ring-With-Leaf-Under-Bezel-Design
(Silly I know, but that's a lot of rewards points to use for airline miles!) Also, after thinking about it, the WF stone is $300 more than the one I selected from JA, and the bezel setting at WF would also be $330 more (they quoted me $1220 for a platinum bezel as opposed to $890 at JA after the $100-off coupon), so in total that would be $630 more. Not a small chunk of change. )
Just wanted to post an update here, and fully recommend JA for their customer service. Right after I placed an order for my stone, the market price for it dropped by $60 (apparently it happened right after I placed the initial purchase, so it didn't register in the system when my card was charged). They contacted me and refunded me the difference without question.
Then, this past Monday (I placed my order last Saturday) JA started their 25% off settings sale. When I was confirming the payment information on their site, I saw the banner and asked the representative if they could refund me the difference between the original $100 off coupon I used and this new sale. Again, they refunded me the $150 difference (my setting was $1000) without question.
So the diamond + setting dropped down to $4280 with these additional changes. Now I'm even more assured in my decision to go with the James Allen diamond + setting. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but good things to say about WhiteFlash as well, as their support staff was also excellent and responsive. However, I would really have a hard time justifying the $1000 price difference ($400 for the diamond and what now became $600 for the setting) for the marginal differences in cut between the ACA stone I was looking at and the True Hearts stone I ended up with.
I'll definitely post pictures of the ring once it arrives. I just got the update that it is now "in production." Getting excited to see it now!
): My plan was to allocate $4500 to the ring and $2500 to the earrings.
I came into this experience knowing practically nothing about diamonds other than that they were clear and sparkly, and with a few tidbits of information that I had extracted from my girlfriend regarding her preferences (even getting this from her without giving away my intensions was like pulling teeth
1. Platinum solitaire setting without prongs
2. A (real) diamond. Round. Not too big. But nice.
3. A pair of diamond stud earrings as well
Needless to say, that leaves a lot of room for interpretation regarding which diamond to choose. At the recommendation of a few friends, I decided that I would buy online to save money, but that left me feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the choices out there (James Allen has 100,000 diamonds listed alone!) I figured that I would turn to the internet for advice, so I Googled “diamond help forums” and up popped Pricescope. J
I set aside about $7000 for the engagement jewelry (Ring and earrings). My girlfriend’s family is Vietnamese, and in their culture they usually do earrings instead of an E-ring for the engagement ceremony (Tea Ceremony). So lucky me, I got to do both!...
After educating myself on the forums for a few weeks regarding cut, I started this thread to check on a diamond that I had found. Long story short (you can read through all the posts on here if you want the full story) I went back and forth on a couple of different stones before deciding on a .78 G/VS1, which you can see in the link a few posts above this.
I know that there’s really no “good” deal in diamonds, as IMO. anything without an intrinsic value cannot be said to be a “good deal.” But I do believe that, by educating myself and seeking advice on these forums, I got a “fair” deal, meaning that I didn’t overpay for a crappy chain store diamond, but instead paid a fair resellers markup relative to current market prices for a decent diamond and setting that met my criteria and my girlfriend’s desires. And I think that’s all anyone can ask for when buying an engagement ring: A fair deal.
Before posting the pictures, I would just like to give a shout-out to @rockysalamander, @RetroTreeGal, @Dancing Fire, @whitewave and @gm89uk for their guidance in selecting the diamond. Now that I know more about picking winners, I’ve tried to give back by guiding others on these forums who are in the same position as I was.
So, without further ado, here is the ring (I’ll make a separate post for the earrings):
These two were taken in diffuse sunlight near my parent's living room window that has excellent sunshine in the mornings. I think the diamond looked the best in this lighting and also outdoors.
Here it is in low light (same location as before, but nighttime with an incandescent lamp nearby). Even in this lighting, it still picks up quite a bit of light.
Here is the side profile. JA did an excellent job with the bezel making it even and symmetrical. I've seen some badly botched bezels (damn, that's a tongue twister) out there, so I'm glad they did a decent job in this case. If there was anything I could improve about the ring, I would set the diamond about .2-.3mm lower in the setting, as there looks to be room for lowering it a bit, but perhaps I'm being too anal here?
My best attempt at using the IdealScope that came with the ring. I know they aren't meant to be used with mounted stones, but I think it does a pretty good job of showing the H&A pattern.
And finally a video, because still images really don't capture the fire of a diamond.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L38f56UygJySgv9I9He3tlTzR7RvxNZK/view?usp=sharing
I couldn't see the photos, just the video but congrats on your pending engagement! The ring is beautiful and I love its streamlined look. The amount of care you took to pick the perfect thing for your girlfriend is lovely.
It's gorgeous Tree, you did a great job and that's a super arrow pattern, well done!
I agree with @Lorelei the arrows look amazing!!
I also hear you on the lowering of the diamond in the setting, it almost looks as if the stock setting was made for a slightly larger stone. But the way the cathedral shanks go it doesn’t seem like it could be lowered without altering the whole structure of the ring.
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