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WhiteFlash VS Facets? HELP ME!

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MissAva

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I have to make a decision soon… and I am really starting to freak out. I have narrowed it down to two options and I am truly torn between the two. One is the eternity mounting from Facets and the other is Tyke’s ring made full eternity.
Facets Ring Info: 1672$
The diamonds are 0.93ct total weight and they are F-G color and VVS-VS clarity. All of the diamonds are ideal or premium cuts. The ring weighs 3.5gr. The ring is 2.4mm wide and 1.9mm thick. The ring is laser-inscribed "Facets MTG", "PT950" and "D0.93ct".
WhiteFlash Ring Info:
The ring will be $1860. This includes 30 x 2.0mm aca melee diamonds.
0.90ct total weight ring will be 2.3mm wide
I have been PMing with people who have rings from both companies. How does WF quality compare to Facets? Does anyone own one of each? Any advice? I am looking at stones between 1.5-2.0 cts but I wont have any say in those and I wont know what he choose until the ring is on my finger.
Here is Tyke''s Ring
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MissAva

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And this is the Facets ring:
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Jelly

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They both sound like lovely rings! I just received my e-ring with the ACA melees and they are stunningly gorgeous! I have 12 .03cts which sounds like the same size as yours. They sparkle like there''s no tomorrow! You will NOT be disappointed if you choose the Whiteflash ring. I think it would be worth the couple hundred dollars to get the superideal melees over the ideal/premium ones for the Facets ring.

Good luck in your purchase!

Stephanie
 

diamondlil

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I honestly don''t think either choice is a bad one here. They are both absolutely beautiful and top quality workmanship. A coin toss might do the trick.
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Demelza

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Since I don''t have a ring from WF, I can''t comment on the quality of their workmanship. I can say, however, that despite the problems I''ve had with my ring (which would be the case with any shared prong ring regardless of the manufacturer), the workmanship is excellent. Eternity rings are SP''s specialty -- it''s really all they do and I think they do it well. The diamonds are extremely sparkly. According to the appraisal, most of the diamonds in my wedding band are ideal cuts. I honestly can''t tell the difference between those that are ideal and those that are premium. When they''re that small, I''m not sure it matters as long as they are well-cut. One thing that is VERY important to me is having a ring that has as close to perfect symmetry as possible. I don''t like for one prong to be slightly bigger than another, or one diamond to be a bit lower than another. My SP rings definitely hold up under close scrutiny. That''s a big deal to me. I''ve had several jewelers tell me that these rings are very well-made. I''m sure you''re well aware of the risks involved with having a shared prong set and as long as you know the pros and cons I would say that you can''t go wrong with SP.
 

noobie

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I''ve purchased two eternity from SP and think they are top notch in quality. However as good as shared prong rings look, they do present some challenges as Demelza points out. For everyday wearabilit,y I personally prefer something like Mara has. I believe the y were made by WF.
 

MissAva

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I am not fond of the four prong per stone look, my eternity band is made that way and I have seen many others and it just does not appeal to me. I am asking about the rings above only...I know the style I want. Now I need to decide whom to give my business too. I have some concerns becuase of things that been PMed to me about craftmanship. I wanted to see if people were asked directly what they would say.
 

Demelza

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One thing I will say -- if you do go with the SP rings, I would advise against havine the head notched as shown on their website, particuarly with a larger center stone. My rings almost sit flush without it and I was told by my jeweler that it is not very safe. At least check it out with your jeweler to make sure that he/she would feel comfortable setting your center stone in a head that had been notched at the base.
 

MissAva

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I have not heard all positive things about either company. Demezla has posted about her issues with her SP ring and a few people have PMed me about issues they have had with their WF rings, and their have been complaints posted publically about WF. They have always been fixed but still...it gives me alot to think about. I was curious to see if anyone had rings from both places, and if so how they felt about them in compairson.
 

mrssalvo

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I don't own both but I love my WF band. There are two sets of shared prongs that are closer to each than any of the prongs on the rest of my ring. When I first got it, it drove me nuts and I emailed seven's with a ton of questions. she and others have explained that even though the stones are the same weight they are not always the same size and the tiny prongs are there to hold the diamonds in which is why they might not always be perfectly even. I just assumed it's the nature of the style.

ETA: I did find out later that the uneven prongs/different stone sizes actually are not normal and noticed the difference when comparing my ring to the Memoire and other designer rings. i've learned that there is truth to getting what you pay for
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mrssalvo

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oh I hope noobie doesn't mind but here is a pic of his wife's signed pieces band that best shows what i'm describing. notice how the prongs are not perfectly even? nothing wrong with the band, just the nature of the style. My local jeweler looked at my band and said it was very well made, he was very impressed. anyway, i think either company would be excellent and you would be happy either way. the one thing nice about signed pieces is there return policy. I think WF refunds some but not all of your $$ if your not completely happy with a custom project.

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aggie92

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I''m in the process of purchasing a ring from whiteflash and have be extrememly happy with Leon, Brian and Jamie!

My 2 cents

Aggie92
 

Demelza

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Date: 9/13/2005 9:26:36 PM
Author: Matatora
I have not heard all positive things about either company. Demezla has posted about her issues with her SP ring and a few people have PMed me about issues they have had with their WF rings, and their have been complaints posted publically about WF. They have always been fixed but still...it gives me alot to think about. I was curious to see if anyone had rings from both places, and if so how they felt about them in compairson.

My issues were never about the workmanship of the rings. My problem has always been that the style itself is not durable AND that I was told by the company that there wouldn''t be a problem with diamond rubbing against diamond. The rings themselves are just beautiful. No complaints there. If all you''re looking for is a very well-made, beautiful shared prong ring, I can recommend SP without hesitation.
 

MissAva

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Oh I am sorry Dem! I did not mean to imply that you had an issue with quality control at SP. Your thread about the issues was about the rings rubbing each other...I am sorry if I worded that in a weird way.
Diamonds hurting diamonds was the SP/style issue.
WF says they wont have over hang and thus it wont happen but no warrenty.
Dem- How long did it take to get the head changed? Was is expensive?

I understand why those PMing dont want to post, that is like asking to get flamed...I normally would not but this something I only want to buy once and I really want to make sure that I am going to get the best one.

Mrs Salvo are the smaller close up arrow shots of the SP band? thanks!
 

Maxine

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There must be plenty of other companies out there who have similar pieces......have you come up with any other options???? Were you able to visit SP while in the city??
 

mrssalvo

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Demelza

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Date: 9/13/2005 9:52:20 PM
Author: Matatora
Oh I am sorry Dem! I did not mean to imply that you had an issue with quality control at SP. Your thread about the issues was about the rings rubbing each other...I am sorry if I worded that in a weird way.

Diamonds hurting diamonds was the SP/style issue.

WF says they wont have over hang and thus it wont happen but no warrenty.

Dem- How long did it take to get the head changed? Was is expensive?

No need to apologize, Mat. I was just clarifying. I would be very interested to see one of WF''s shared prongs without diamond overhang. If that is actually true, that might be a good solution. It''s hard to tell from the pic of Tyke''s ring if it does or doesn''t have overhang.
 

ame

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Date: 9/13/2005 9:31:51 PM
Author: mrssalvo
oh I hope noobie doesn''t mind but here is a pic of his wife''s signed pieces band that best shows what i''m describing. notice how the prongs are not perfectly even? nothing wrong with the band, just the nature of the style. My local jeweler looked at my band and said it was very well made, he was very impressed. anyway, i think either company would be excellent and you would be happy either way. the one thing nice about signed pieces is there return policy. I think WF refunds some but not all of your $$ if your not completely happy with a custom project.


melstones.jpg
I LOVE those shots on the bottom. How were those taken? Such fantastic arrow photos!

Matatora:
I think both companies do very fantastic customer service. I can understand your reservations. Does either "do it" for you more than the other one? I know SP told me no overhang when I inquired before we ordered through WF. I requested it specifically though when we went with WF.

I realize that custom isn''t going to be spot on perfect, but I expect the illusion of it under 10-30x magnification
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-meaning: almost perfect prongs that are the pretty much the same size AND shape at the same orientation, all lined up, nothing uneven, everything in a straight perfect line and all the stones perfectly aligned within the "lines" with no "girdle" overhang, even spacing between stones, brand new polish to the metal, no bubbles in the metal, porousity spots, funky digs, chips, etc.

And I have no reservations with sending it back or having them tweak before it''s shipped to me to make sure it''s just that, ask Denise and the others at WF. Just like Dave Sinclair, "if it''s not right, Ill make it right, Free." (this''''ll only be funny to the locals)

And if I can''t get you the best deal, because we own our building AND lot, Ill pull this commercial off the air and replace it with a personal apology to you.
 

MissAva

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Date: 9/13/2005 9:53:40 PM
Author: Maxine
There must be plenty of other companies out there who have similar pieces......have you come up with any other options???? Were you able to visit SP while in the city??
Yes I did visit SP...and I love the setting. But the possiblity of over hang is worrisome to me. Whiteflash seems like the obvious choice except I know my darling who is an engineer is like Ame on crack...if something is not perfect he will tweak and if something went wrong down the line...well he is a prefectionist (minus me of course) and that would not go over well with him. I am very nervous about the whole thing. But after looking around I like these two versions (whiteflash and facets) the best of all that I have seen, though I have not seen the WF in person.
 

noobie

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Well it seems like you should just go with who you feel more comfortable with. I can tell you for sure that the SP eternity ring I bought definitely overhangs and the girdles of the diamonds are a bit rough on the ring next to it. We don''t mid since our jeweler offers free lifetime polishing and plating, so we just bring it in every 6 months or so.

I don''t know if the SP wedding set is different. Their return ploicy is one of the best though. Very easy and accomodating, even with custom stuff. I have a bracelet from WF that is top notch as well.

Good luck.

On your comment about PMs and people not posting problems for fear of being flamed, I find that disappointing that people feel that way. I have stated before that some vendors are given the benefit of doubt based on past history, but that''s no reason for people to be fearful of posting their experiences. If this place is only a cheering section is does not serve the consumer at all and might as well be a paid advertisment. I hope people will openly post their feelings and experiences and I especially hope members here will treat them fairly with respect.
 

Patty

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at Ame''s St. Louis references and Matatora saying that her beloved is like "Ame on crack."
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Demelza

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Have you asked SP whether they can make the ring with no overhang? To the extent that it''s possible, I''m sure they can accomodate your request. And if the ring comes back not to your liking, you can always return it. Just a thought.
 

ame

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I knew someone would like that. The latter is my client so I love to do that.

And me on crack huh. Does he twitch too? Or just rock back and forth?
 

MissAva

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Date: 9/14/2005 12:56:13 PM
Author: ame
I knew someone would like that. The latter is my client so I love to do that.

And me on crack huh. Does he twitch too? Or just rock back and forth?
Depends on what I have just said...
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Jelly

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Hi Matadora,

Just wondering if you made a decision about your eternity ring yet?

let us know
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Stephanie
 

MissAva

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I have not, I was looking at pictures of Tyke''s ring in the J platnium thread and I cannot help but notice the the diamonds have overhang as well. Which is very
frustrating since the reason I had been looking at whiteflash is to avoid this precise issue.
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MissAva

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Jelly

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I will be getting the matching band (shared prong half eternity) from Whiteflash closer to my wedding next summer. Has anyone had this problem with their Whiteflash rings clashing together in their shared prong setting? Lynn B? Teebee? Beansie? Anyone?
 

partgypsy

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It is a beautiful design. Have you made a decision yet? I wonder if the overhang is an inherent part of the design, or can be lessened, without affecting the esthetic quality of the piece.

Maybe you could wear a very thin metal spacer band between the two, to protect the diamonds from rubbing against each other?
 

Demelza

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I have to say that I really don't think it is possible to have a shared prong setting where there is absolutely no overhang. Yes, it can be minimized by using smaller diamonds and a bigger mounting, but I don't think you would like the look of it if in fact the diamonds did not extend to the edge of the mounting. Part of what makes the shared prong style so pretty is that you see less metal and more diamond. If the diamonds are so small they they don't extend to the outer edge of the mounting, aren't you sort of defeating the purpose of having a shared prong style? Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I really don't know how to completely avoid having exposed girdles with this type of setting. I would imagine if someone could figure out a way to create the look of the shared-prong without any of the risk, he/she would be a real hero around here.
 
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