On the first weekend in February, I'm going to propose to my girlfriend - in the land of Bjork, volcanos, geysers, and putrified shark meat - Iceland. Before I can do this, I needed the perfect piece of 'ice' to give her in the land of fire and ice. Little did I know how much of both I'd end up with..
Like every other clueless first-time groom-to-be, I was all ready to go out shopping for an e-ring after talking to my other engaged and married friends. After all, they went through it.. they must know what to do! This advice led me to a local well-known B&M store. The experience was a bit overwhelming, but I ended up finding a setting I liked and a stone that seemed pretty good. It was a .83 carat E SI2 AGS 1 cut that had very high light characteristics on a GemEx report for about $5900. I got just about every car salesman closing line in the book from the manager, but I somehow managed to walk out with nothing but a refundable down payment on the stone.
That night, I did a little web searching to see how my 'deal' stacked up. One of the sites that I stumbled onto was Pricescope - and I was amazed at the volume of information here. I ended up staying awake until 2 AM on a weeknight trying to digest it all. One thing became clear - my .83 didn't stack up too good against the deals on Whiteflash, GOG, and others. I suddenly didn't feel as good about my selection.
I filled out the price quote listing the following parameters: ~1ct, D-F color, VS1-SI2 clarity, H & A. This was about 2 AM. By 7:30 the next morning, I had a reply from Bob Hoskins (dimonBob) listing three potential stones. After talking through them with Bob and getting the Idealscope images, I finally selected the following:
1.01 ct "A Cut Above H&A"
D-SI1
6.52-6.54mm x 3.94 mm
depth: 60.3%
table: 57%
polish: ID
symmetry: ID
culet: pointed
girdle: med-thin
florescence: negligible
crown angle: 35.1%
crown %: 15.2%
pavilion angle: 40.8%
pavilion %: 42.9%
Certificate: AGS
Price: $6850 (bank transfer price)
The Idealscope image of this stone is posted below. After talking to Bob, he said the inclusions are VERY minimal and that the SI1 grading was probably a little pessimistic. This seemed like a no-brainer, so I put in the order.
After a stressful day of waiting, my package arrived on the worst icy snow-filled traffic day of the year. I had a white-knuckle journey to the freight depot to pick it up when it arrived. When I finally got to look at it, the stone was whiter than the new snow and absolutely blazed with light.
I immediately called the B&M to tell them that I wasn't interested in their stone any more, but I'd still want a setting. Though they said they'd set it, they'd really like the chance to put their stones side by side. I couldn't wait for this showdown!
The appraisal went smoothly, and the appraiser (Harry Cannon) give it all the high-marks that I expected. He also agreed that though technically it was an SI1 (as graded), it was basically as clean as most VS grade stones. He was completely dumbfounded when I told him the price - after the appraisal was done.
Later that day, I fought my way through more snow to get the ring to be set at the B&M. The store manager, when he saw Whiteflash's stone, immediately went for the top shelf. They brought out their "Crown Jewels" - their best hand picked, well-cut stones. He brought out a 1.06 D VS2 and a 1.1 E SI2 for comparison. This is where the surprise started:
"I'll match the price with the 1.06, and match the price with TAX on the 1.1. I want to win your business.". This was on stones collectively priced at $11,900 and $11,600.
By now, I had educated myself on reading certs, and the angles didn't look quite right on the 1.06. I also looked at it with an H&A viewer, and though he claimed it was an H&A diamond, it just didn't look right. The main scary part was that the florescence was "Strong Blue". I also swear it was every bit as included as my SI1 from Whiteflash! There was absolutely no comparison between their stones and Whiteflash's.
At that point, the Pepsi (tm) challenge was over - and Whiteflash's stone blew them away. I politely said I'd pass on their stones and thanked them for their time. The manager was very professional about it and admitted that I had a very nice stone and they'd be glad to set it in their settings. I have to say.. I was very impressed that they tried real hard to match an awesome price and were very professional about the whole thing.
I'm now patiently waiting to pick it up - I'm having it put in a Vatche' x-prong.
First, I'd like to give a big thank you to Bob Hoskins (dimonBob) at Whiteflash for helping me pick out a real sweet stone to give a real sweet girl on an engagement ring. I'm sure I asked enough questions to drive him nuts and he patiently and immediately called or emailed back - even after the sale.
Second, Thanks a ton to Pricescope - this place helped me avoid what could have been a big mistake.
Third, props to Harry Cannon at Cannon Gem Appraisal - very friendly and fun guy to chat with while my appraisal was getting done.
Now.. if anybody has any good Iceland proposal ideas short of keeping her out in the freezing cold until she says "Yes". There's got to be a way to ask her in Icelandic - though it probably translates into "I'd like to share whale blubber with you".
-Mark
Like every other clueless first-time groom-to-be, I was all ready to go out shopping for an e-ring after talking to my other engaged and married friends. After all, they went through it.. they must know what to do! This advice led me to a local well-known B&M store. The experience was a bit overwhelming, but I ended up finding a setting I liked and a stone that seemed pretty good. It was a .83 carat E SI2 AGS 1 cut that had very high light characteristics on a GemEx report for about $5900. I got just about every car salesman closing line in the book from the manager, but I somehow managed to walk out with nothing but a refundable down payment on the stone.
That night, I did a little web searching to see how my 'deal' stacked up. One of the sites that I stumbled onto was Pricescope - and I was amazed at the volume of information here. I ended up staying awake until 2 AM on a weeknight trying to digest it all. One thing became clear - my .83 didn't stack up too good against the deals on Whiteflash, GOG, and others. I suddenly didn't feel as good about my selection.
I filled out the price quote listing the following parameters: ~1ct, D-F color, VS1-SI2 clarity, H & A. This was about 2 AM. By 7:30 the next morning, I had a reply from Bob Hoskins (dimonBob) listing three potential stones. After talking through them with Bob and getting the Idealscope images, I finally selected the following:
1.01 ct "A Cut Above H&A"
D-SI1
6.52-6.54mm x 3.94 mm
depth: 60.3%
table: 57%
polish: ID
symmetry: ID
culet: pointed
girdle: med-thin
florescence: negligible
crown angle: 35.1%
crown %: 15.2%
pavilion angle: 40.8%
pavilion %: 42.9%
Certificate: AGS
Price: $6850 (bank transfer price)
The Idealscope image of this stone is posted below. After talking to Bob, he said the inclusions are VERY minimal and that the SI1 grading was probably a little pessimistic. This seemed like a no-brainer, so I put in the order.
After a stressful day of waiting, my package arrived on the worst icy snow-filled traffic day of the year. I had a white-knuckle journey to the freight depot to pick it up when it arrived. When I finally got to look at it, the stone was whiter than the new snow and absolutely blazed with light.
I immediately called the B&M to tell them that I wasn't interested in their stone any more, but I'd still want a setting. Though they said they'd set it, they'd really like the chance to put their stones side by side. I couldn't wait for this showdown!
The appraisal went smoothly, and the appraiser (Harry Cannon) give it all the high-marks that I expected. He also agreed that though technically it was an SI1 (as graded), it was basically as clean as most VS grade stones. He was completely dumbfounded when I told him the price - after the appraisal was done.
Later that day, I fought my way through more snow to get the ring to be set at the B&M. The store manager, when he saw Whiteflash's stone, immediately went for the top shelf. They brought out their "Crown Jewels" - their best hand picked, well-cut stones. He brought out a 1.06 D VS2 and a 1.1 E SI2 for comparison. This is where the surprise started:
"I'll match the price with the 1.06, and match the price with TAX on the 1.1. I want to win your business.". This was on stones collectively priced at $11,900 and $11,600.
By now, I had educated myself on reading certs, and the angles didn't look quite right on the 1.06. I also looked at it with an H&A viewer, and though he claimed it was an H&A diamond, it just didn't look right. The main scary part was that the florescence was "Strong Blue". I also swear it was every bit as included as my SI1 from Whiteflash! There was absolutely no comparison between their stones and Whiteflash's.
At that point, the Pepsi (tm) challenge was over - and Whiteflash's stone blew them away. I politely said I'd pass on their stones and thanked them for their time. The manager was very professional about it and admitted that I had a very nice stone and they'd be glad to set it in their settings. I have to say.. I was very impressed that they tried real hard to match an awesome price and were very professional about the whole thing.
I'm now patiently waiting to pick it up - I'm having it put in a Vatche' x-prong.
First, I'd like to give a big thank you to Bob Hoskins (dimonBob) at Whiteflash for helping me pick out a real sweet stone to give a real sweet girl on an engagement ring. I'm sure I asked enough questions to drive him nuts and he patiently and immediately called or emailed back - even after the sale.
Second, Thanks a ton to Pricescope - this place helped me avoid what could have been a big mistake.
Third, props to Harry Cannon at Cannon Gem Appraisal - very friendly and fun guy to chat with while my appraisal was getting done.
Now.. if anybody has any good Iceland proposal ideas short of keeping her out in the freezing cold until she says "Yes". There's got to be a way to ask her in Icelandic - though it probably translates into "I'd like to share whale blubber with you".
-Mark
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