Hi all,
I wanted to share my stellar experience with purchasing an engagement ring from Victor Canera. Very early on, my (now) fiancée and I decided that we would select the diamond and design the engagement ring together, as I wanted to make sure she would really love it. My fiancée did a lot of research on jewelry and the importance of cut quality for a beautiful diamond. Her research (most of it on PriceScope—thanks everyone!) led us to "super ideal" diamonds and Victor Canera. We aren’t local, but we set up an appointment and flew to LA early this year for a chance to sit down with Victor in his studio, and see his work in person.
During the meeting, we were able to try on some of the many different ring designs that he had on hand. We also had a chance to closely examine the loose diamonds (his signature H&A “Canera Ideal Hearts” diamonds) that he had available for viewing. Victor was even nice enough to walk downstairs with us to the ground level, with a bunch of loose diamonds, to see how they perform in daylight. They were all absolute sparkle bombs—neither of us had ever seen diamonds perform like that before.
We spent a long time comparing a wide range of colors, sizes, and clarities, and found that neither of us are very color sensitive, but we both wanted an “eye clean” white diamond around the 2 carat mark. Because we had such a hard time telling apart a G from an I (and we really tried, under fluorescent lighting, in outdoor lighting, right side up, upside down, against the white table…thanks Victor for your patience!), but we wanted to stay in the upper half of the “near colorless” scale (for “mind clean” reasons), we decided that our ideal diamond would be an H color VS2 or SI1 diamond.
At that point in time, Victor’s inventory didn’t include a 2ct H-VS2 or SI1, but a couple of weeks after our meeting, Victor e-mailed us to let us know that one was in the pipeline, and we quickly jumped on it. Since I still had a long time until the planned proposal (a trip 5 months away) and I wasn’t in a rush, I decided to use their layaway program. It was a nice way to lessen the shock of all the funds leaving my account at once (lol), but in general, it seems like an easy way to purchase a diamond in instalments without finance charges, if that’s something you’re specifically looking for.
A little over a month before our trip, I received the completed ring. It was a struggle keeping it a surprise, but we had agreed that she wouldn’t see the final product until the actual proposal. On the big day, she said “yes” at sunset in Santorini, and she finally got to see the ring in person.
The ring is absolutely spectacular. Victor managed to take our phone and e-mail conversations about different design elements, and bring our vision to life. We designed a solitaire with pave and milgrain on the band, double claw prongs, a cathedral, and scalloped pave basket. The center stone is a 2.07ct H-SI1 Canera Ideal Hearts diamond, and the cut quality is really amazing. We’ve both inspected the ring in a number of different lighting environments, and no matter where it is, it’s fiery, bright, and does not disappoint. And beyond that, the level of intricate detail Victor has managed to include on this ring is impressive.
We’re both so happy with our selection of ring and diamond, and it makes it even more special for us that we selected the ring together. We’re not sure yet if we’ll ever want to upgrade, but we like having the peace of mind knowing that with Victor it’s always an option. We both wholeheartedly recommend working with Victor Canera if you’re in the market for an engagement ring!
Now for some pictures...
I wanted to share my stellar experience with purchasing an engagement ring from Victor Canera. Very early on, my (now) fiancée and I decided that we would select the diamond and design the engagement ring together, as I wanted to make sure she would really love it. My fiancée did a lot of research on jewelry and the importance of cut quality for a beautiful diamond. Her research (most of it on PriceScope—thanks everyone!) led us to "super ideal" diamonds and Victor Canera. We aren’t local, but we set up an appointment and flew to LA early this year for a chance to sit down with Victor in his studio, and see his work in person.
During the meeting, we were able to try on some of the many different ring designs that he had on hand. We also had a chance to closely examine the loose diamonds (his signature H&A “Canera Ideal Hearts” diamonds) that he had available for viewing. Victor was even nice enough to walk downstairs with us to the ground level, with a bunch of loose diamonds, to see how they perform in daylight. They were all absolute sparkle bombs—neither of us had ever seen diamonds perform like that before.
We spent a long time comparing a wide range of colors, sizes, and clarities, and found that neither of us are very color sensitive, but we both wanted an “eye clean” white diamond around the 2 carat mark. Because we had such a hard time telling apart a G from an I (and we really tried, under fluorescent lighting, in outdoor lighting, right side up, upside down, against the white table…thanks Victor for your patience!), but we wanted to stay in the upper half of the “near colorless” scale (for “mind clean” reasons), we decided that our ideal diamond would be an H color VS2 or SI1 diamond.
At that point in time, Victor’s inventory didn’t include a 2ct H-VS2 or SI1, but a couple of weeks after our meeting, Victor e-mailed us to let us know that one was in the pipeline, and we quickly jumped on it. Since I still had a long time until the planned proposal (a trip 5 months away) and I wasn’t in a rush, I decided to use their layaway program. It was a nice way to lessen the shock of all the funds leaving my account at once (lol), but in general, it seems like an easy way to purchase a diamond in instalments without finance charges, if that’s something you’re specifically looking for.
A little over a month before our trip, I received the completed ring. It was a struggle keeping it a surprise, but we had agreed that she wouldn’t see the final product until the actual proposal. On the big day, she said “yes” at sunset in Santorini, and she finally got to see the ring in person.
The ring is absolutely spectacular. Victor managed to take our phone and e-mail conversations about different design elements, and bring our vision to life. We designed a solitaire with pave and milgrain on the band, double claw prongs, a cathedral, and scalloped pave basket. The center stone is a 2.07ct H-SI1 Canera Ideal Hearts diamond, and the cut quality is really amazing. We’ve both inspected the ring in a number of different lighting environments, and no matter where it is, it’s fiery, bright, and does not disappoint. And beyond that, the level of intricate detail Victor has managed to include on this ring is impressive.
We’re both so happy with our selection of ring and diamond, and it makes it even more special for us that we selected the ring together. We’re not sure yet if we’ll ever want to upgrade, but we like having the peace of mind knowing that with Victor it’s always an option. We both wholeheartedly recommend working with Victor Canera if you’re in the market for an engagement ring!
Now for some pictures...
. Congrats! 
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