truelaostha
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2014
- Messages
- 15
WF Contemporary Six Prong Solitaire 1.025 G VS2 ACA H&A (Tiffany Replica)
Price Scope,
First I just want to thank everyone in helping me with the diamond ring I ended up buying. I was on this forum for countless hours, researching, reading, and everyone’s input was so helpful.
I wanted to share my experience in hoping I can help the next lad that comes across this forum and has the same questions as I did. This is going to be a long post so enjoy the read.
The Story
Setting:
We are from Calgary, Canada. We first went to all the brick and mortar here in Calgary including Tiffany’s, Birks, and all the local jewelry. First, she really liked the Tiffany Classic with the 6 prong and knife edge but didn’t care for the name at all.
Tiffany Classic:
http://www.tiffany.ca/Engagement/Item.aspx?groupSKU=GRP10001
Because she didn’t care for the Tiffany brand, I started my search online to see if I can a ‘Tiffany Replica’.
I came across the following top replicas based on people’s response:
Vatche U113:
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/6-prong-solitaire-engagement-ring-by-vatche-1778.htm
Comments: This was the top contender and everyone spoke very highly of the Vatche since it was the closest to the Tiffany setting. The proportion, height, and crown looks almost identical in pictures. The issue was it was the most expensive.
WF Replica:
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/classic-tiffany-style-knife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-713.htm
Comments: This was a close first but in pictures it appeared more squatty and the portion was a bit off. However, what was important is I found pictures where the portion seemed to be fine and the basket looked very tall and not squatty at all.
BDG Replica:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/six-prong-solitaire-14k-white-gold-5351w14
Comments: At first glance, the prongs of the basket were straighter and this was confirmed with their consultant. I was looking for something with more curvature so this one didn’t make the list.
After shopping around some more, my FI started to like a pinched shank rather than the knife edge shank like the Tiffany’s. But she still liked the shape of the basket on the Tiffany’s with the curved prongs.
I contacted GoG that also sells Vatche and they said they can custom make so it has a pinched shank. I also contacted WF because they already had the WF Tiffany Replica but with a pinched shank (which is the WF Contemporary 6 Prong Solitaire)
WF Contemporary 6 Prong Solitarie:
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/contemporary-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-1416.htm
I didn’t know what to do. From looking at pictures, I really liked the basket of the Vatche but was uncertain what the end product would look like with the pinched shank. The WF had everything the final product so when looking at pictures I can see how the ring will end up looking like but was worried that the basket was too squatty.
DECISION: I ended up going with the WF Contempoary 6 Prong Solitaire and Becca Eastman helped me throughout the entire process (I will discuss later about buying online but she was FANTASTSIC!). She sent me pictures of the WF Contemporary and Vatche side by side and explained to me that the WF Contemporary didn’t look at squatty and short in pictures as it does in real life. I was personally more comfortable buying something that was a finished product and it was half the price. I was also able to “semi-custom” it making the prongs more thinner, and rounding the base of the basket because the original was more square. She assured me that it’s not squatty and short at all and told me that some rings may look more short and squatty because the diamond used is a lot bigger making it look more wider - which makes sense to me. The end result was amazing. It does not look short and squatty at all. The prongs are beautifully curved, portions are right and it looks pretty close to the Tiffany’s basket in my opinion. I’m really happy with my choice.
Even looking at the images of the actual ring below it still looks short and squatty to me. The prongs also doesn’t look that curved. But in person, it has the elongated look, tall, thin profile, the prongs are nicely thinned and doesn’t look chunky at all.
Diamond
My budget was somewhere between $10-15K CDN for the diamond and setting. The range I was looking was at least 1.0 ct; E-G color, VS1 – VS2, excellent/ideal cut. I initially was looking at SI1 but couldn’t find any eye clean from all sides (top and side view) so to make my life easier I went ahead and only looked at VS2 or higher.
I looked at diamonds at the popular vendors here including GoG, WF, BDG, and James Allen. I looked at pictures and prices and they were pretty all comparable. I narrowed my choices to Hearts and Arrows because I wanted that premium cut. Every vendor was great to deal with, I emailed them asking questions and they were all helpful. I choose WF because they had the diamond I wanted, the price range was there, I was already getting the setting there so it was just easier.
I contemplated between an ACA H&A or an Expert Selection (which could have saved me a few thousands of dollars). I decided to go with an ACA as it was a ‘mind issue’ for me and it was within my expected price range. After a while I realized I wanted a VS2 because for myself I didn’t need to go to VS1. For color I wanted a G rather than a higher color because I couldn’t actually tell a difference. I didn’t want to go lower to an H because I wanted a G as it was the “top” in the second bracket of DEF GHI. To be honest, color and clarity is down to the individual and it’s whatever you can live with. I knew I wouldn’t be happy knowing I got anything lower than a G VS2 and anything higher seemed like it wasn’t worth the cost for me.
I ended up with the following:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3114532.htm
1.025 ct G VS2 ACA H&A (HCA score of 1.6 with Excellent for light return, fire, scintillation, and Very Good for Spread)
Depth % 61.8
Table % 56.5
Crown Angle 34.9
Pavilion Angle 40.8
Crown %15.1
Lower Girdle %77.0
Florescence Negligible
Ring Size: 3.75
There was some slight leakage at one of the top upper girdle but I was able to live with it just having one. There were other diamonds (ES) with two leakage at the top upper girdle and cheaper but again I wanted an ACA even though you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference just looking at it. The ES I was looking missed being an ACA by 0.3% on depth. It was the exact same clarity and color, carat was almost the same. The ES was the obviously the best bang for its buck but it wasn’t an ACA.
Online Experience
I was reluctant at buying the ring online because you can’t see the ring and I never actually saw an H&A in person. Just saw pictures online. Let me tell you right now, pictures cannot capture the beauty of the ring in real life, it just sparkles all the time. I was so happy with the ring when I got it and it met or exceeded all of my expecations.
Becca Eastman, from Whiteflash, was so helpful. She answered all my questions via emails and phone calls very quick (less than a few hours usually). I would ask some questions over and over again just to confirm I was hearing the right things. I never felt pressure to buy anything. During the entire process, they were always keeping me up to date on the progress of the ring, payment going through, shipping and they were very accommodating on waiting for my finances to get be finalized. I would not hesitate to recommend others to buy from WF and I would buy from them over and over again. Overall, A+++ for customer service.
I know this post is quite long but I just want to share my experience and thoughts. Thank you everyone again!
Price Scope,
First I just want to thank everyone in helping me with the diamond ring I ended up buying. I was on this forum for countless hours, researching, reading, and everyone’s input was so helpful.
I wanted to share my experience in hoping I can help the next lad that comes across this forum and has the same questions as I did. This is going to be a long post so enjoy the read.
The Story
Setting:
We are from Calgary, Canada. We first went to all the brick and mortar here in Calgary including Tiffany’s, Birks, and all the local jewelry. First, she really liked the Tiffany Classic with the 6 prong and knife edge but didn’t care for the name at all.
Tiffany Classic:
http://www.tiffany.ca/Engagement/Item.aspx?groupSKU=GRP10001
Because she didn’t care for the Tiffany brand, I started my search online to see if I can a ‘Tiffany Replica’.
I came across the following top replicas based on people’s response:
Vatche U113:
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/6-prong-solitaire-engagement-ring-by-vatche-1778.htm
Comments: This was the top contender and everyone spoke very highly of the Vatche since it was the closest to the Tiffany setting. The proportion, height, and crown looks almost identical in pictures. The issue was it was the most expensive.
WF Replica:
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/classic-tiffany-style-knife-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-713.htm
Comments: This was a close first but in pictures it appeared more squatty and the portion was a bit off. However, what was important is I found pictures where the portion seemed to be fine and the basket looked very tall and not squatty at all.
BDG Replica:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/six-prong-solitaire-14k-white-gold-5351w14
Comments: At first glance, the prongs of the basket were straighter and this was confirmed with their consultant. I was looking for something with more curvature so this one didn’t make the list.
After shopping around some more, my FI started to like a pinched shank rather than the knife edge shank like the Tiffany’s. But she still liked the shape of the basket on the Tiffany’s with the curved prongs.
I contacted GoG that also sells Vatche and they said they can custom make so it has a pinched shank. I also contacted WF because they already had the WF Tiffany Replica but with a pinched shank (which is the WF Contemporary 6 Prong Solitaire)
WF Contemporary 6 Prong Solitarie:
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/contemporary-tiffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-1416.htm
I didn’t know what to do. From looking at pictures, I really liked the basket of the Vatche but was uncertain what the end product would look like with the pinched shank. The WF had everything the final product so when looking at pictures I can see how the ring will end up looking like but was worried that the basket was too squatty.
DECISION: I ended up going with the WF Contempoary 6 Prong Solitaire and Becca Eastman helped me throughout the entire process (I will discuss later about buying online but she was FANTASTSIC!). She sent me pictures of the WF Contemporary and Vatche side by side and explained to me that the WF Contemporary didn’t look at squatty and short in pictures as it does in real life. I was personally more comfortable buying something that was a finished product and it was half the price. I was also able to “semi-custom” it making the prongs more thinner, and rounding the base of the basket because the original was more square. She assured me that it’s not squatty and short at all and told me that some rings may look more short and squatty because the diamond used is a lot bigger making it look more wider - which makes sense to me. The end result was amazing. It does not look short and squatty at all. The prongs are beautifully curved, portions are right and it looks pretty close to the Tiffany’s basket in my opinion. I’m really happy with my choice.
Even looking at the images of the actual ring below it still looks short and squatty to me. The prongs also doesn’t look that curved. But in person, it has the elongated look, tall, thin profile, the prongs are nicely thinned and doesn’t look chunky at all.
Diamond
My budget was somewhere between $10-15K CDN for the diamond and setting. The range I was looking was at least 1.0 ct; E-G color, VS1 – VS2, excellent/ideal cut. I initially was looking at SI1 but couldn’t find any eye clean from all sides (top and side view) so to make my life easier I went ahead and only looked at VS2 or higher.
I looked at diamonds at the popular vendors here including GoG, WF, BDG, and James Allen. I looked at pictures and prices and they were pretty all comparable. I narrowed my choices to Hearts and Arrows because I wanted that premium cut. Every vendor was great to deal with, I emailed them asking questions and they were all helpful. I choose WF because they had the diamond I wanted, the price range was there, I was already getting the setting there so it was just easier.
I contemplated between an ACA H&A or an Expert Selection (which could have saved me a few thousands of dollars). I decided to go with an ACA as it was a ‘mind issue’ for me and it was within my expected price range. After a while I realized I wanted a VS2 because for myself I didn’t need to go to VS1. For color I wanted a G rather than a higher color because I couldn’t actually tell a difference. I didn’t want to go lower to an H because I wanted a G as it was the “top” in the second bracket of DEF GHI. To be honest, color and clarity is down to the individual and it’s whatever you can live with. I knew I wouldn’t be happy knowing I got anything lower than a G VS2 and anything higher seemed like it wasn’t worth the cost for me.
I ended up with the following:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3114532.htm
1.025 ct G VS2 ACA H&A (HCA score of 1.6 with Excellent for light return, fire, scintillation, and Very Good for Spread)
Depth % 61.8
Table % 56.5
Crown Angle 34.9
Pavilion Angle 40.8
Crown %15.1
Lower Girdle %77.0
Florescence Negligible
Ring Size: 3.75
There was some slight leakage at one of the top upper girdle but I was able to live with it just having one. There were other diamonds (ES) with two leakage at the top upper girdle and cheaper but again I wanted an ACA even though you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference just looking at it. The ES I was looking missed being an ACA by 0.3% on depth. It was the exact same clarity and color, carat was almost the same. The ES was the obviously the best bang for its buck but it wasn’t an ACA.
Online Experience
I was reluctant at buying the ring online because you can’t see the ring and I never actually saw an H&A in person. Just saw pictures online. Let me tell you right now, pictures cannot capture the beauty of the ring in real life, it just sparkles all the time. I was so happy with the ring when I got it and it met or exceeded all of my expecations.
Becca Eastman, from Whiteflash, was so helpful. She answered all my questions via emails and phone calls very quick (less than a few hours usually). I would ask some questions over and over again just to confirm I was hearing the right things. I never felt pressure to buy anything. During the entire process, they were always keeping me up to date on the progress of the ring, payment going through, shipping and they were very accommodating on waiting for my finances to get be finalized. I would not hesitate to recommend others to buy from WF and I would buy from them over and over again. Overall, A+++ for customer service.
I know this post is quite long but I just want to share my experience and thoughts. Thank you everyone again!
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