Hi everyone,
I found Pricescope to be an invaluable resource in the quest for my fiance's engagement ring and wanted to share my experience with everyone (and hopefully be able to help others in the process). My fiance wanted an antique cushion center stone set in a Harry Winston halo style setting. After considering antique cushions from GOG, ERD, Perry Chen, and Victor Canera, we ended up going with a center stone from Perry (2.05 H SI1). We had Victor Canera design the ring and we are both super happy with the final product.
Center Stone Selection
My previous experience with buying a diamond was limited to rounds, which I bought off spec. After reading about antique cushions and watching a bunch of videos online, I was initially attracted to the August Vintages from GOG, and visited them first where Jonathan very patiently spent the better part of an afternoon walking me through his inventory. I walked out with a 2.20 carat J VS2 AVC, feeling pretty proud of myself and feeling like I had done a pretty good job. But after I got home and looked at the diamond again with my (now) fiance, we both agreed the diamond looked too yellow for our tastes.
So off we went to Perry (Leon Mege) and Chris (ERD) to look at more antique cushions, as well as having Victor Canera mail us an antique cushion that he recommended. My goal was for my fiance and I to select what we thought was the best diamond within our budget from all 4 vendors and pick the best from the 4. In addition, to help make the selection process easier for me (and not rely solely on a feeling or series of feelings I had about a diamond at a specific point in time, which could be influenced by a multitude of outside factors), I built a spreadsheet which measured how "efficient" a diamond was: 1) in terms of its carat weight versus how large it faced up and 2) in terms of how large it faced up versus its cost (which would obviously be impacted by color, cut, clarity, etc.)).
So in terms of the final 4:
1) GOG - 2.20 carat J VS2 AVC...since this was the first diamond I purchased, I used this as my baseline diamond versus which the other 3 diamonds would be compared against
2) Victor Canera - 2.39 carat J VS1 with strong blue fluorescence, which caused it to face up notably whiter than the 2.20 carat J AVC from GOG. However, the Victor Canera diamond was not as efficient in terms of how large it faced up vs. the GOG (the Victor Canera was only 1% bigger facing up despite being 9% bigger in carat weight vs. the GOG), nor did it have as much sparkle/scintillation.
3) ERD - At ERD, we looked at a number of antique cushions from the "A Cut Beyond" selection. ERD had a number of beautiful fiery stones which all looked very similar (very pillowy type cushions)...my fiance had an extremely hard time picking out her favorite at ERD due to the similarities. I ended up selecting a 2.01 H VS1, which measured out to 8% smaller in terms of how it faced up versus the GOG (and was also about 8% smaller in carat weight, so about equal in terms of face up "efficiency").
4) Perry - We went back to Perry twice, as he was able to bring in new inventory the 2nd visit. I ended up really liking a diamond he brought in for the 2nd visit, a 2.05 carat H SI1. The SI1 measurement initially scared me, but the main grade setting inclusion turned out to be on the bottom part of the diamond near the girdle, so not visible once the center stone was set. This diamond was also super efficient in terms of how it measured up versus its carat weight, it actually measured up 2% bigger vs. the GOG, despite being 7% smaller in terms of carat weight. More importantly, my fiance, who came in later than me on the 2nd visit, selected the exact same diamond with zero input from Perry or me. And most importantly, my fiance also chose Perry's diamond as her favorite out of all 4 vendors.
I have to mention that I really liked working with Jonathan at GOG...he was very patient in working with me for the better part of an afternoon, putting his inventory under all of his different instruments, etc. My fiance and I both also really loved working with Perry...he is such a cool, laid-back, patient guy that really lets his inventory speak for himself (we did the final 4 comparison in Perry's office and he never said a single negative word about any of the other diamonds). Outside of the AVCs (which are specific to and available only to GOG), I believe Perry had the best access to antique cushions at what I personally found to be at the most competitive prices. Finally, I believe that for antique cushions, you really have to compare them face to face...taking photos and videos were definitely not enough for me.
Ring Design
In terms of ring design, I initially considered Leon Mege, Steven Kirsch, and Victor Canera. But after coming across Frankie's posting on her experience with all 3 designers, her side by side photos of all 3 designers' final products, and how happy she was in the end with Victor (and not coming across a single negative or neutral review on Victor Canera), I decided to go with Victor for the ring design.
I initially wanted Victor to do an Emilya Halo with flush fitting stems and both of our birthstones as surprise stones inside the band. However, after finding out that you can't really put pearl and opal on the inside of a band, I pitched a couple of variations of the Emilya to Victor. I settled on the Emilya Halo with donut and a fleur-de-lys + single bezel diamond at the top of the fleur-de-lys between each stem which was supposed to represent a flower. (As I am writing this, I just went to Victor's website and found that he posted our ring design, which is so exciting).
Victor was soooo incredibly patient with me and just a dream to work with throughout the ring design process. I am a pretty anal guy when it comes to large purchases (as evidenced by the spreadsheet I built) and I called/emailed Victor with questions, suggestions, modifications so many times and he was always wonderful and easy to deal with. I can't recommend him highly enough. I think Victor is absolutely the best. And Frankie, thank you so much for your post in leading me to Victor.
So without further ado, here are the photos of the final product! Please also google "Emilya filigree" to view Victor's photos/videos of the engagement ring he designed for us, which are much better than the ones I took
I found Pricescope to be an invaluable resource in the quest for my fiance's engagement ring and wanted to share my experience with everyone (and hopefully be able to help others in the process). My fiance wanted an antique cushion center stone set in a Harry Winston halo style setting. After considering antique cushions from GOG, ERD, Perry Chen, and Victor Canera, we ended up going with a center stone from Perry (2.05 H SI1). We had Victor Canera design the ring and we are both super happy with the final product.
Center Stone Selection
My previous experience with buying a diamond was limited to rounds, which I bought off spec. After reading about antique cushions and watching a bunch of videos online, I was initially attracted to the August Vintages from GOG, and visited them first where Jonathan very patiently spent the better part of an afternoon walking me through his inventory. I walked out with a 2.20 carat J VS2 AVC, feeling pretty proud of myself and feeling like I had done a pretty good job. But after I got home and looked at the diamond again with my (now) fiance, we both agreed the diamond looked too yellow for our tastes.
So off we went to Perry (Leon Mege) and Chris (ERD) to look at more antique cushions, as well as having Victor Canera mail us an antique cushion that he recommended. My goal was for my fiance and I to select what we thought was the best diamond within our budget from all 4 vendors and pick the best from the 4. In addition, to help make the selection process easier for me (and not rely solely on a feeling or series of feelings I had about a diamond at a specific point in time, which could be influenced by a multitude of outside factors), I built a spreadsheet which measured how "efficient" a diamond was: 1) in terms of its carat weight versus how large it faced up and 2) in terms of how large it faced up versus its cost (which would obviously be impacted by color, cut, clarity, etc.)).
So in terms of the final 4:
1) GOG - 2.20 carat J VS2 AVC...since this was the first diamond I purchased, I used this as my baseline diamond versus which the other 3 diamonds would be compared against
2) Victor Canera - 2.39 carat J VS1 with strong blue fluorescence, which caused it to face up notably whiter than the 2.20 carat J AVC from GOG. However, the Victor Canera diamond was not as efficient in terms of how large it faced up vs. the GOG (the Victor Canera was only 1% bigger facing up despite being 9% bigger in carat weight vs. the GOG), nor did it have as much sparkle/scintillation.
3) ERD - At ERD, we looked at a number of antique cushions from the "A Cut Beyond" selection. ERD had a number of beautiful fiery stones which all looked very similar (very pillowy type cushions)...my fiance had an extremely hard time picking out her favorite at ERD due to the similarities. I ended up selecting a 2.01 H VS1, which measured out to 8% smaller in terms of how it faced up versus the GOG (and was also about 8% smaller in carat weight, so about equal in terms of face up "efficiency").
4) Perry - We went back to Perry twice, as he was able to bring in new inventory the 2nd visit. I ended up really liking a diamond he brought in for the 2nd visit, a 2.05 carat H SI1. The SI1 measurement initially scared me, but the main grade setting inclusion turned out to be on the bottom part of the diamond near the girdle, so not visible once the center stone was set. This diamond was also super efficient in terms of how it measured up versus its carat weight, it actually measured up 2% bigger vs. the GOG, despite being 7% smaller in terms of carat weight. More importantly, my fiance, who came in later than me on the 2nd visit, selected the exact same diamond with zero input from Perry or me. And most importantly, my fiance also chose Perry's diamond as her favorite out of all 4 vendors.
I have to mention that I really liked working with Jonathan at GOG...he was very patient in working with me for the better part of an afternoon, putting his inventory under all of his different instruments, etc. My fiance and I both also really loved working with Perry...he is such a cool, laid-back, patient guy that really lets his inventory speak for himself (we did the final 4 comparison in Perry's office and he never said a single negative word about any of the other diamonds). Outside of the AVCs (which are specific to and available only to GOG), I believe Perry had the best access to antique cushions at what I personally found to be at the most competitive prices. Finally, I believe that for antique cushions, you really have to compare them face to face...taking photos and videos were definitely not enough for me.
Ring Design
In terms of ring design, I initially considered Leon Mege, Steven Kirsch, and Victor Canera. But after coming across Frankie's posting on her experience with all 3 designers, her side by side photos of all 3 designers' final products, and how happy she was in the end with Victor (and not coming across a single negative or neutral review on Victor Canera), I decided to go with Victor for the ring design.
I initially wanted Victor to do an Emilya Halo with flush fitting stems and both of our birthstones as surprise stones inside the band. However, after finding out that you can't really put pearl and opal on the inside of a band, I pitched a couple of variations of the Emilya to Victor. I settled on the Emilya Halo with donut and a fleur-de-lys + single bezel diamond at the top of the fleur-de-lys between each stem which was supposed to represent a flower. (As I am writing this, I just went to Victor's website and found that he posted our ring design, which is so exciting).
Victor was soooo incredibly patient with me and just a dream to work with throughout the ring design process. I am a pretty anal guy when it comes to large purchases (as evidenced by the spreadsheet I built) and I called/emailed Victor with questions, suggestions, modifications so many times and he was always wonderful and easy to deal with. I can't recommend him highly enough. I think Victor is absolutely the best. And Frankie, thank you so much for your post in leading me to Victor.
So without further ado, here are the photos of the final product! Please also google "Emilya filigree" to view Victor's photos/videos of the engagement ring he designed for us, which are much better than the ones I took
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