Torn between CBI and ACA, help please...

[diamondseeker2006]

So glad you were able to compare them and feel more certain that size is the most important factor for you! I don't see much difference in the colors. I am sure it will be beautiful! Come back with pictures of the finished ring!

 

[whitewave]

I got pictures and video from WF comparing 2.6 I and 2.88 J.
I think the color difference is not worth the size sacrifice, so I’ll go with the J. And for CBI, because it has 0.10mm differences I also don’t think it worth the sacrifice. As for the color, I’m completely aware that J would be outside my comfortable range but I know thats the best I can get with my budget at this time because I prioritize the size. I’ll just make a peace with it. So I’ll quietly waiting my ring to be shipped to me next week. Thank you all for helping me making decision!!!!!

here is the youtube link:

It’s going to be amazing!! Come back with hand shots!

 

[caf]

No, although I have searched online, I have yet to find actual details and/or legal filings relating to the Paul Slegers / CBI / HPD legal dispute. I wish PS would provide links to reputable third-party sites to give PSers/consumers more information on this situation.

I am hesitant to rely 100% on HPD's statements concerning the matter since (1) HPD is a named party to the dispute and (2) HPD's success depends on continuing sales/upgrades.

I have bought diamonds from WF, BGD, and CBI ... I will say the CBI diamond is outstanding yet my preferred vendor is BGD as personally, overall, I have had better customer service experiences with BGD. That said, if I had a better sense of what is happening with the Slegers/CBI/HPD situation, I would be proceeding with a CBI upgrade.

I do encourage you to go with your gut with respect to vendor, and then find the diamond.

YMMV.

Diamond Studs - $50k Budget

I really appreciate all of the great information. I think I am finally starting to feel more comfortable with the process and how I should approach it. I am going to talk to HPD, BG, and WF and see what feels right. Another subjective question for the group - is getting a G color a bad decision...

www.pricescope.com

Wink says “dispute” in his letter. Not legal or litigation. It seems that if Paul S really has an ownership interest in HPD, he’d be interested in bolstering HPD and its sales rather than causing problems for it on PS. Just my two cents as a lawyer.

 

[marymm]

^ that is what Wink says.

This is what PS said:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/update-regarding-high-performance-diamonds-inc.262116/

HPD has a vested interest in presenting the situation as a lowkey dispute.

PS however removed HPD as a featured sponsor "due to legal disputes surrounding High Performance Diamonds."

If Paul Sleger does have an ownership interest in HPD, freezing the HPD inventory pending resolution may be in his best interest.

I do wish there was access to reliable information on this situation.

 

[caf]

^ that is what Wink says.

This is what PS said:


https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/update-regarding-high-performance-diamonds-inc.262116/

The vendor (HPD) has a vested interest in presenting the situation as a lowkey dispute; PS however removed HPD as a featured sponsor "due to legal disputes surrounding High Performance Diamonds."

I agree with you, I’d like if PS would give us more information so that we can determine for ourselves what risks there are to consumers. It is unusual that there is no record of the “legal dispute.” But maybe PS is not referring to a filed lawsuit. I hope we will learn more in time.

 

[munchee]

Hi PSer, lets do blind vote, from this side by side picture, A and B diamond have $9500 price difference. Do you think its worth to pay $9500 extra? Or should I get the cheaper one? I know with your experienced eyes you’ll know which one is $9500 more&less.


Which one will you vote:
1. Have to be A
2. Have to be B
3. Whichever cheaper


Btw, CBI is out of the picture now, because with CBI I have to sacrifice 0.10mm for both I & J color and size is my priority. If I want at least 9.2x9.25 diamond I need to go up to 3ct because they don’t do 2.9ct, I asked the 3ct price and it is wayyyyyy beyond my budget, if I can get 3ct I-color for 34k I’ll take CBI but unfortunately its way more than that.

 

[SimoneDi]

OP, you are going down a really slippery slope. No one can tell you, yes $9.5k extra is worth it to go over the 3ct threshold and a color up. People pick what they pick based on their own personal wants and means. For what’s worth, I still think you made the right choice with the 2.8 J SI1.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Diamond A looks cleaner to me. Is it higher in color and clarity? I think that was your original WF stone as far as I can tell. B might be the same color but a little larger??? I have no idea which costs more unless one is over 3 cts and the other is under 3 cts. They both look like SI1 clarity, and close to J color.

You said on the other page your absolute max was about $25,750. So unless that has changed, I think you do need to stick with the 2.88 J SI1. Maybe you can upgrade size or other specs later?

If you are looking at higher priced stones, I wonder if this one is better than the one on the right? It looks a little cleaner to me and maybe whiter.

Diamond | 3.058 ct I SI1 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4219825

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 3.058 carat I color SI1 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4219825

www.whiteflash.com

 

[munchee]

OP, you are going down a really slippery slope. No one can tell you, yes $9.5k extra is worth it to go over the 3ct threshold and a color up. People pick what they pick based on their own personal wants and means. For what’s worth, I still think you made the right choice with the 2.8 J SI1.

Thank you for the reminder!!!

Diamond A looks cleaner to me. Is it higher in color and clarity? I think that was your original WF stone as far as I can tell. B might be the same color but a little larger??? I have no idea which costs more unless one is over 3 cts and the other is under 3 cts. They both look like SI1 clarity, and close to J color.

You said on the other page your absolute max was about $25,750. So unless that has changed, I think you do need to stick with the 2.88 J SI1. Maybe you can upgrade size or other specs later?

If you are looking at higher priced stones, I wonder if this one is better than the one on the right? It looks a little cleaner to me and maybe whiter.

Diamond | 3.058 ct I SI1 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4219825

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 3.058 carat I color SI1 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4219825

www.whiteflash.com

Yes circumstances have change, I got additional fund available, lets just say something like winning lottery? Or Christmas gift from Santa? One that doesn’t come from our bank account.

You’re right, A is my original pick, B is actually the same diamond you link. I thought B has better cut so overall it’ll be better, bigger and higher color, but I don’t know if I can justify almost 10k price difference. If I go with B I need to change the setting to a classic solitaire to minimize the cost.
I’m asking around because usually other people have more reasonable judgement than the one who’s purchasing it, I asked my family and all of them said to get whichever cheaper because the difference is not that much...

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Honestly, I can’t see a major difference between the two unless I really, really squint, so I would stick to the original or price out a bigger stone in the original colour (J) to see if you can sort of “split the difference” cost-wise (but I am not colour sensitive).

Since it is WF, you can upgrade in the future if something does pop up, so I would get the setting and the stone you want now, IF upgrading the stone in the same setting is possible down the road (ie if you just need to swap out the head). If it will be more difficult to change settings later (you will need to scrap this setting and pay for a new one) I would get a soli setting until you have the stone you want unless you’ll use this setting for a different ring in the future. I would only get the setting once I had the stone of my dreams and no plan to upgrade, but that’s me.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, since the financial situation is better, I'd have them pull these two:

Diamond | 2.961 ct I VS2 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4338508

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 2.961 carat I color VS2 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4338508

www.whiteflash.com

Diamond | 2.968 ct I VS2 A CUT ABOVE® Hearts and Arrows Super Ideal Round Cut Loose Diamond AGS Certified | 4140155

This Whiteflash A CUT ABOVE® super ideal cut hearts and arrows 2.968 carat I color VS2 clarity loose diamond is graded by the American Gem Society (AGS) Laboratories. | 4140155

www.whiteflash.com

They are both just under 3 cts giving you one step up in color and clarity without the price premium at 3 cts. I'd choose either of these over either of those other two stones. I'd really want VS2 clarity in a stone this size, and I think I color is much better considering you have much higher color studs already. Many people here have upgraded color on J color stones, so I just hate to see you start at a place you will likely want to upgrade eventually. I thought the J SI1 was good when your budget was $25k and you wanted that size. But again, I'd rather have either of the stones above if the color can be confirmed higher than the J. It definitely would be worth the extra cost if I could afford it.

 

[munchee]

@diamondseeker2006
I’ve considered those 2 too, but somehow the 57.2 table on 2.961ct bothered me. I want it to be lower than 57 if I’m paying almost $10k extra. And for the 2.968 it seems like it’ll be a high I color to me.
And honestly, I really want to get a hand on CBI simply because I owned 6 ACAs and none of CBI, their customer service is really good and also 80% buyback. My guts telling me that I get it from WF I’ll regret it this time? That’s why everytime I put CBI to bed then the next day I still can’t let go? Its like when you don’t get it you’ll be always curious about it and at the end it’ll lead to regret? But with CBI that means I need to let 0.10mm go which I still can’t, yet....
I’m confusing myself, how is it so hard? Its so hard when I don’t have money and its still hard when I got more money???? The problem is me, not the money

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Obviously I can't tell you what table size to like, but I actually think the one with the 57.2 table as a nice bright center which would be very appealing to me. I also agree that it looks like a whiter I color, although I think they need to be pulled and compared to be sure.

It does seem like you are having difficulty coming to a decision even though your budget isn't the problem it was before. There are multiple options at WF. I personally wouldn't buy from HPD until there is a complete explanation about what is going on, and I'd like to know who will own it after Wink retires due to there being zero guarantee that a new owner will honor the trade-in policies that were in place under a previous owner. Do you have stones on hold there? You must because I see none that are even close to what you are looking for.

 

[xxxxxx]

Obviously I can't tell you what table size to like, but I actually think the one with the 57.2 table as a nice bright center which would be very appealing to me. I also agree that it looks like a whiter I color, although I think they need to be pulled and compared to be sure.

It does seem like you are having difficulty coming to a decision even though your budget isn't the problem it was before. There are multiple options at WF. I personally wouldn't buy from HPD until there is a complete explanation about what is going on, and I'd like to know who will own it after Wink retires due to there being zero guarantee that a new owner will honor the trade-in policies that were in place under a previous owner. Do you have stones on hold there? You must because I see none that are even close to what you are looking for.

Will Wink retire? And are the Whiteflash owners still very young? (: I find the upgrade policies and their intricacies very interesting.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Will Wink retire? And are the Whiteflash owners still very young? (: I find the upgrade policies and their intricacies very interesting.

Pretty sure Wink is probably close to 70, and maybe he will work until 90! I did see him say once that there is a plan in place for the business to continue (which I believed was true), but the situation now makes one wonder what is going on.

Whiteflash owner is 60ish and has a close relative who is probably in his 30's in a high level operating position in the company. I met these people when I visited a few years ago. So the future leadership is already in place at Whiteflash.

 

[munchee]

Hi, update from couple days ago.
So, couple days ago, I asked WF to get a side by side picture of 2.88 J Si1 and 2.961 I VS2. I was told that it would provide the same visual appearance as the 3.058ct. While they’re happy to provide the picture, it may delay the ship date of my order. So I decided to not get the picture.
But on Wednesday, I was told that my ring shipment would be delayed, instead of getting it on Saturday (today) I’ll get it on next Wednesday. While I was thinking this whole time that J color might be too warm and I was thinking of canceling it, then this news came, that I need another week to get it, I just decided to cancel it. I was contacted by different person from WF and she encouraged me to just take a look of it and short story, I got it today in different setting to try on.
About this particular J color stone, I’ll say normally it looks white, not as much tint as I thought, as long as you don’t get it side by side with D-G color diamond, you won’t notice the color, my mistake is that I put it side by side with D color at the first look.
Under indirect light its super white, it doesn’t looks yellow at all. But under direct light I can see a little bit of tint, in my bathroom I can see more tint.

I have a question, why is it go dark under my yellow kitchen light? Does anyone have the same experience? Is it normal? I saw pictures of CBI stones going dark like this too. Is it a thing with Super Ideal cut? Because our pupil can not process it? Or is it just this particular stone? Is CBI stone also going dark like this in real life or is it only in the picture? Because this one also look like this in real life

Conclusion, I will return this stone and continue looking with open mind, I was only looking for ACA but now I’m also looking for VC and CBI stones, but with CBI is too much uncertainty, as I don’t know when will I get the rocks that they can make for me, how much is the final price,etc. I might ended up with VC now as I love certainty and options laid in front of me. I decided to go with higher color but much smaller stone. Maybe 2.5ct G Si1 or 2.8-3ct H/I VS2/Si1.
Oh, about the inclusion of this stone, its completely eyeclean. So I’ll keep looking for Si1 coz its really a deal!
If my budget stays the same (under 25k) I definitely will take this one! Its not bad at all, its just I can afford higher color now, so I’ll get higher color even if that means I need to go smaller.

 

[munchee]

more hand shot



with this setting now I know I definitely like Micropave setting better or halo not a solitaire.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, I am very glad you saw the stone in order to determine your preferences! I had a feeling you wouldn't love J color, and with the increased budget, it does allow you to go higher in color! Good luck with finding a stone you love!