What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy french?

[GemFever]

Hi guys,

I've been a bit obsessed with french cuts, but on a budget. And I've been roaming ebay a bit too much...

Today I came across this half-eternity. The splinteriness of the blurry pics makes me think those are princesses. But the tall crowns look like french cuts. The seller called them calibre cuts and said they are close to a princess cut. I decided to buy it and see for myself (telling the seller ahead of time that I'm looking for french cuts and may return if this is too princessy), but of course I'll be dying of curiosity until it's actually in my hands.

Any thoughts from cut experts on what exactly this is?

Here's a link, the photos will be larger and easier to see there:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321062625915?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Thanks, and happy weekend!

 

[Circe]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Though those are some of the worst photographs I have ever seen ... I believe you have yourself a carat or so of french cuts!

 

[Rosebloom]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Oh GemFever I so hope they're frenchies! Seriously ridiculous pictures though!

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc



I'll try to remain calm and keep from getting overexcited. I sent the seller a photo of what I was looking for (real frenchies from my previous attempted ebay purchase that was just too expensive for me to keep), and she said "that is what they are but their culets are still on." Shall see! If I like the stones, I still have to budget to have them re-set, because this ring can't safely be sized down from 10 to 5. And maybe I could figure out a way to give them some open culets while I'm at it Ok ok, tryin' hard to not get overexcited...

 

[Circe]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Just managed to get to an actual computer to open eBay proper and its beautiful zoom function (god, how I love that thing), and I can see why you might be confused. Seriously, those photos are AWFUL.

The crowns are small enough to imply frenchies and not princesses ... and the tables are pretty explicitly octagon-shaped, which tends to indicate french cut and not princess.

But it does look like they have additional pavilion facets, like princesses do. When I posted a thread a little while ago asking if there were two kinds of french-cuts, DiaGem posted to say ... sorta, basically that cutters would sometimes get a little fancy and add another layer. Linkee: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/two-kinds-of-french-cuts.182616/ THough ... hm, I'd forgotten that he actually seemed taken aback by the pavilion faceting on one of the examples I posted, which was a modern repro from Lang. Which makes me less certain of what they are.

Hm. When you get it, post GOOD pics? Now *I* am curious!

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Circe, that's what my guess was -- that the cutter went fancy and added facets. Now maybe I can find a cutter to take some away

I will definitely post a bunch of pics as soon as I get it.

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Got the ring today. Love USPS overnight! The seller was great about shipping it out right away.

The ring is not a winner, I think. It's still kind of a mystery, because I can't tell what's up with these stones. They have nice fat crowns, but underneath that, I can't tell what's going on. I wish I had a loupe that's stronger than 30x. Maybe they are just very included?

Or maybe it's the setting, which is pretty bad. The ring is huge, and as the seller noted, there are more spaces designated for stones than there are actual stones. You can see the pre-notched spaces on the inside. But for the stones that are set, the metal hasn't been completely removed in the back, so it's like the backs are covered with tinfoil that's broken in some places. This probably hurts their performance, right? And maybe there is dirt wedged in there too... Poor stones. But I don't have the means to clean them at home besides warm soapy water, and I don't think that will do the trick.

I will probably ship it back on Monday. A part of me is curious to see what would happen to these stones if they were taken out and re-set into something decent. Little rescue stones. They do sparkle in some lights, and have a neat square look. But in other lights, they just kind of look glassy and frozen.

So, this remains a mystery. Oh, and pics were super hard to do, for some reason. I now have newfound respect for the seller's pics. I wish I had my DSLR, but it's currently at my parents house, so the phone is all I got.

Thanks for reading, and any feedback appreciated! What this cut might be, whether the setting may be significantly affecting the performance or if it's just a case of wonky cut coupled with included 2.8mm stones...

And, the hunt for the french cut continues.

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

A few more photos...

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

HA! I think I solved the mystery, and it ain't pretty.

I was browsing ebay (again), and accidentally came upon this:



This CZ wedding band happens to look exactly like the band I have with the mystery cut stones. I decided to whip out my small diamond tester, and suprise surprise! The "diamonds" do not check out. Ouch!!! No wonder it was so hard to see the exact faceting, and these stones seemed so strange and "slippery" under the loupe.

Uff. I'm hoping the return process will be quick and easy. I hope the seller didn't know what she had (or didn't have), and didn't try to intentionally mislead her buyers. She seems to have good feedback, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Yikes, that was scary! I guess if we are going to buy diamond items off ebay, we need a diamond tester! Let's hope the seller didn't know and will appreciate your information!

 

[derbygal]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Thank goodness you did more research. Hope the return goes super smoothly!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

To be safe, when you have your refund, leave feedback saying "easy return, but diamonds are CZ" so future buyers will know. Just in case the seller is not responsible.

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

DS: I hope so too! A diamond tester is useful and not too expensive on amazon. Mine takes a while to wake up & get warmed up sometimes, but it's worth the tinkering. Today I tested it on all my real stones as well as known CZs, and it gave all the ring readings. Including on the mystery ring

Derbygal: Thanks! Definitely glad I kept looking around. It was partially luck that I came across a listing with exactly the same stones that were properly identified. I was going to return the ring anyway because the "diamonds" weren't french cut, but in the back on my mind I was thinking maybe to keep them as project stones. Needless to say, I'm very glad to have discovered the mistake.

Dreamer: Great idea. I'll do that. I personally don't read too many positive reviews because they tend to say the same thing, but maybe someone will notice and be careful. And hopefully the return process will be smooth and the review will be favorable. Still waiting on the seller to email me back and acknowledge the return...

 

[ChrisES]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Diamond Tester FTW.

Sorry the ring was a fake though.

 

[Circe]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Well, your photos are a huge improvement ... but even so, looking at them, I would have wondered and dithered and cleaned the damned thing and steamed and steamed and never been clean, like some Steampunk Lady MacBeth.

Diamond tester FTW, INDEED. Well done, you, for spotting the similarity to the odd random post, and for having had the equipment on hand to be sure. And here's hoping the seller acknowledges things ASAP, and gets back to you with a refund double-quick ... relieving your anxiety about things is literally the least. Sure, PayPal/eBay will be on your side, but even if it was an honest mistake, a rapid response is the way to go on something like this ....

P.S. - Was just searching french-cuts and stumbled across this. I know you're not looking for an eternity, buuuuuuuuuuuuut ... couldn't help but make a note. One of these days, the perfect one will appear!

ETA: Gah, I do not know how this did not attach - my absent-minded fault, and apologies. A. Brandt just posted a new french-cut band, and when I saw it, I thought of you .... http://www.abrandtandson.com/Art_Deco_Platinum_Diamond_Eternity_Band_1.4ct.html#product_detail

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Ohh Circe, stumbled upon what?

 

[Rosebloom]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

That is nuts! Thank goodness for your diamond tester!

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Rosebloom: Yes and yes! Can't wait to return this poor band.

Circe: thanks! Interesting-looking ring... I am not against eternities per say, I just don't want [i.e. can't afford] to pay for the carat weight. Ideally I want just a few bigger stones... but we'll see, we'll see. This one isn't outrageously priced. Thanks for thinking of me

 

[Aerix]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Wow! I'm sorry to hear that the band is FAKE! I saw that same one on eBay and also wondered if they were french cuts, but passed on it since I don't have any extra money for bling right now, plus the absence of open culets bothered me. I poke around on eBay a lot and reading this thread makes me realize that I need a diamond tester! I've dealt with that seller before and although she sometimes has interesting stuff, I'm not sure I'd buy from her again...I bought an OMC diamond from her for a decent price but ended up sending it back because there was a fairly large chip and quite a bit of girdle wear that had not been mentioned. (I know most old cuts have wear on their girdles, but this one was pretty banged up!) I hope the return goes smoothly and good luck with your search!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Dreamer: Great idea. I'll do that. I personally don't read too many positive reviews because they tend to say the same thing, but maybe someone will notice and be careful. And hopefully the return process will be smooth and the review will be favorable. Still waiting on the seller to email me back and acknowledge the return...

I would be tempted to leave neutral feedback. I do think someone selling has a responsibility to check out/verify the goods they sell.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

I did not look who the seller was, but once Xiriah posted I thought, I wonder if its who I think it is? And sure enough, its lisssa97. You know, I also bought something from lissa87 and was not 100% happy with the whole thing. As with Xiriah, the seller left out some important details of the listing that I would have liked to know. It was not enough for me to leave negative feedback, I thought. The ring I bought from her had actually been bought by another PSer before me, and THAT PSer had a hard time with the return and refund.

She is not a seller I would buy from again FWIW.

BUYER BEWARE on ebay!

 

[GemFever]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

Xiriah, thanks for your post! I'm glad you were able to return your item.

Dreamer, you are right. In light of the info provided by Xiriah, and now your experience, I'll definitely leave neutral feedback and clearly state the problem. She's cleared me for a return, so hopefully all of this will be resolved soon.

 

[Rhea]

Re: What is this cut, high-crowned princess? Princessy frenc

I too have bought from her and not been happy. I don't remember all the details, but I bought a diamond when I was trying to make earrings and it was in much worse condition than stated. I still check out her stuff sometimes, but I wouldn't buy from her again. Fingers crossed for a smooth return for you.