Pricescope 2012 GTG and Contest!!!

[psadmin]

Diamonds, A Pricescope Love Affair--Share to Win!


Ah...the allure of diamonds! What is it about these sparkly bits of carbon that make us come back for more?
We invite you to share your personal love affair with diamonds. Was it love at first sight or a slow smoldering burn...when did you know you were in *love* with diamonds?

HOW TO ENTER: It’s simple! Just post in this thread with your story of how you began your love affair with diamonds! One entry per person, multiple entries will be removed

WHAT DO I WIN?: TWO night’s hotel stay in a hotel on the beautiful strip in Las Vegas Nevada, June 1 and 2nd 2012 to attend the 2nd Annual Pricescope Get Together On June 2nd!

Contest will CLOSE March 26th at 11:59 pm PST. Contest is open to those 18 years of age or older except where prohibited by law. Employees of Pricescope and its advertising or consulting agencies, and the immediate family members of such employees, and any persons domiciled with such employees, are not eligible. Winner will be responsible for any taxes associated with the prize. Winner will be chosen by selecting a post number using random.org and duplicate or ineligible posts will be removed.

See official rules at https://www.pricescope.com/contest/diamond-love-affair

**PLEASE NOTE A RULE ON ELIGIBILITY**

GTG Attendance Eligibility: For security purposes consumers with at least 100 posts or 6 months of membership with 50 posts as of March 15 will be eligible to win the contest. Please note that space is limited.

 

[Skippy123]

What a nice and generous contest!!! Can't wait to see who wins and read their stories!!!

 

[jetmal]

This is Amazing! Thank You PS!

 

[SweetAsscher]

Before I ever knew anything about jewelry or diamonds I always loved my mothers wedding ring. It used to belong to my grandmother. It's not large or flashy but for some reason I thought it looked like the kind of ring a medieval princess would wear. It's white gold with a tiny 15 point round in the center and tiny single cuts, one on each side. The v shaped ring guards are yellow gold, engraved on top and set with teeny tiny single cuts. I've loved her ring ever since I can remember.

 

[madelise]

The earliest memory I have of my for diamonds started from when I was about 7 years old. I remember that event vividly. My grandmother had managed to lose her diamond engagement ring, and frantically asked for my cousin and my assistance in searching throughout the front yard, back yard, and through all the nooks and crannies of the house for her beloved ring. After hours of searching, and my grandmother in tears, I sat on the carpeted floor, like most children do, ready to wave the white flag. Oh, how I chose the perfect spot to give up! I saw something glisten, and there it was, winking at me. My grandmother promised to let me have it when "I grow up". I am now grown up, and have never heard her bring that story up again, so I'm sure she forgot--- but I haven't. I started an almost unrequited love affair for anything shiny and precious-- with diamonds being my primary love. I saved all my allowance money, and purchased my first few gemstones at the gem shows I begged my mother to drive me to. They were never extravagant, usually some uncut semiprecious stones, or a small cut amethyst or other gemstone.

I babied those babies until I finally turned 21, and was presented my first real diamonds! My grandmother gifted me with her first pair of diamond earrings that my grandfather had purchased her from when she was about my age. They weren't the best quality, but it was what he could afford. She had taken the studs and purchased new earring settings for them for maximum bling-wattage, and here they were, mine. She was surprised that I almost never take them off, and is always happy to see me wear them. Once, I left them at home when I went to visit her, and she almost had a heart attack! I had to prove to her I hadn't lost them by visiting her again, with them on, the next day!

To me, diamonds aren't just beautiful-- they're incredibly symbolic. They're bits of carbon that withstood an immense amount of pressure over long, long periods of time, that result in the most beautiful organic material in the world. I often use diamonds as my own motivation to get through life's hardships and trials.. silly, I know, but hey! I'm in !

 

[Gypsy]

I've always loved jewelry but in my family the emphasis was always on gold and colored stones. My first diamond was in my engagement ring. While researching permanent settings for my diamond on PS I was invited to a GTG of local pricescopers. It was in SF and there were a lot of women there and OMG the bling! As we were sitting and waiting for our food in the restaurant everyone started passing around their diamonds and I saw the most beautiful variety of different diamonds, rings, earrings... you name it. I've been hooked since.

 

[WinkHPD]

I have an anti diamond story, it would be years later that I became a diamond aficionado.

I was in Rio de Janeiro as a Marine security guard at the United States Embassy in 1969 through 1972. At the time Brasil was the only country to have two embassies, one in Rio and the other in Brasilia.

I had gotten into the gem business, buying and selling gems as a hobby during my off hours and many of the garimpeiros would would bring me their gems when they came to Rio on a Friday evening and needed money to get through the weekend. (Garimpeiros might be miners or they might be someone working for a miner. They would bring the gems into town and seek buyers.)

I got some great buys during those days, often getting very nice amethysts for the equivalent of $0.25 per carat up to $0.50 per carat for the really nice things, and $10 - $15 per carat for nice red tourmaline, which I always thought was too expensive since it had so many inclusions. Typical Brasilian emerald was not worth buying at any price as far as I was concerned, and I still believe this to be true, although the rare exceptional stone can be incredible! I paid up to $15 per carat for nice aquamarines, man I would like to have those prices again.

On Monday morning or Tuesday I would take the parcels I bought, less the best one or two stones in the parcel and sell them to the stores, always getting my full purchase price back, and normally a profit.

One Friday night, one of my favorite garimpeiros showed up with one of his compatriots. They were desperate to raise $700 for some fantastic deal or another, but I had two problems. One, I did not have $700 available to me unless they would take my check and they wanted cash.

Two, I thought their collateral was ridiculously over priced. They had a 2.25ct diamond and they wanted $700. GET REAL!

No way in heck was I going to get succored into over paying for a stone like THAT!

Just like the bag of $20 gold pieces that I could have bought for $50 per coin back at $75 gold, I just did not know enough to know that I was getting offered, literally, deals of a lifetime.

It would be several years later, in 1975 when I attended GIA and got my gemologist's degree that I realized what a tremendous deal I had laughed at.

It would also be when I discovered that the only time I had been taken while working in Brasil would be the time I went as a translator for some American buyers and bought thirty pairs of fantastic matched round aquamarines. It was the vendors entire supply.

I sold twenty of the pairs to jewelers in downtown Rio, another eight pairs to friends in the embassy ($15 per pair to both) and kept two pairs and had a wonderful pair of earrings made by a jeweler friend of mine there. (He bought five pairs for himself.)

When I went to GIA I brought them to class one day and discovered they were glass.

LOL, in a small out of the way mining town, somewhere in Minas Gerais, literally 50 miles from any where and I buy freaking glass like a tourist in down town Rio.

Oh well, we all have to start somewhere, and Brasil was my start while I was working there as a very lucky Marine. Sweetest tour of duty I ever had and as a bonus I met my Kansas born wife who after more than 40 years together, in spite of understanding me all to well, is still with me. Some deals even a rookie can spot!

Wink

 

[SB621]

I fell in love with diamonds when I was a little girl playing dressup. I would put on my mother's heels, walk around in a long dress, and wear her jewelry. I remember if I was really good she would let me wear her diamond engagment ring. It seemed massive to me (only .25ct) and I felt so special while wearing it. My parents later on bought me a rhinestone tiara and I would wear that too going around the house making fantastic declarations to everyone. Regardless I always associated diamonds as something special and I couldn't wait to "be big" so I could own one (or more).

 

[TravelingGal]

I wish I could say I'm in love with diamonds. But I can't.

Instead I’ve fallen in love with the education. The hunt. The thrill. The fun. The community. The banter.

The MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY.

Most of all these days, I love a bargain. I came to Pricescope for that reason…because SURELY the Tiffany Lucida could be replicated with a lower price tag?

And so it began…the learning and quest to get a fair deal, if not a great deal in the gem world. Having been on Pricescope for many years, I find that I actually haven’t bought that much (for a seasoned PSer, that is, lol). Instead I find myself engrossed in more long term projects to mark events in my life.

Ultimately, I am still not in love with diamonds nor do I see myself ever being so. I like them a lot, especially for their ability to offer a brief escape ANYTIME. I simply just zone out and stare into my diamond am hypnotized by flash and fire(it works really well during boring seminars!) But love them? Not really. But I love the events that my jewelry represents. And I love that I can't take it with me...most of my stuff will outlive me and become tangible pieces of family history. That hopefully, they will adorn my daughter (or that she'll get a good price when she pawns them. )

But OTHER PEOPLE’S love of diamonds? Well, I love THAT. It allows me to very frugally enjoy gems…as long as their owners have any semblance of skill with macro photography.

 

[Amys Bling]

What a great idea and generous prize!

 

[OcnGypZ]

It's been forever it seems. As a baby, I thought Mother's engagement ring was something suitable on which to teethe. Mother's ring was a .96 transitional round, D/IF set in a wg fishtail setting, yg band. The ultimate teething ring!

Now, the ring itself has a story. Dad had borrowed the money to buy the ring from my grandmother. I always thought, in my child's mind, he borrowed it from my mother's mother. I must have thought Grandma wanted to get rid of her middle daughter!

He actually borrowed the money - it was $850- in 1953- from his own mother.

Dad purchased the ring locally. The jeweler was a native of Amsterdam who was in the Dutch underground during WWII. Unfortunately, he had been captured and to this day still bears the tattoo reminder on his forearm. What a character he was! As an older child Dad would take me to his shop just down the street from my grandmother's. Alex and I would play "match the diamonds by color". Unfortuately/fortunately I have very color sensitive eyes - which is a good thing/bad thing as the case may be.

Many years later, Dad repaid Grandma - well tried to. She didn't accept the money, but instead told Dad to put the money towards buying me a new piano as the one we had was not a suitable instrument - and he did!

I wear Grandma's engagement ring - a .60 G/VS oec in its original 1910 six prong setting every day as a right hand ring. Quite the sparkler! We assume Grandpa either bought the stone in Europe or it had belonged to my great grandmother as he presented the ring to my grandmother shortly after his return from a business trip to Europe.

Grandpa also bought some stones from Alex c 1947. A 1.08 G/VS transitional round - which went to my father. A pair of .66tcw earrings for grandmother - which she didn't wear - and a 1.5 (approx) transitional round for himself. The 1.5 was recently bequethed to me, but is still sitting in the safe deposit box until I can get down there to pick it up. It needs to be reset - but first I'll have it sent to GIA for a proper cert as we did Mother's.

Oh.. and I still have the cancelled check Dad wrote to Alex for Mother's ring!

 

[iheartscience]

I fell in love with diamonds when my now-husband and I started talking about getting married. My mother has always loved jewelry, but the bug didn't hit me until my engagement was pending. I started shopping around at local jewelers and searching online to figure out what kind of engagement ring I'd like, which eventually led me to Pricescope. I scoured the SMTR thread on Pricescope (I actually went through every single page) and began researching Pricescope vendors, because I had realized I would need to go custom to get exactly what I wanted.

Several months before my engagement, my grandmother gave me a 5 stone diamond ring that was a 25 year anniversary gift to her from my grandfather. It was in bad shape and needed all 20 prongs replaced, as well as the shank. A local jeweler repaired it for me, and when I got it back it looked like a completely different ring, and was absolutely gorgeous. Instead of tiding me over, that ring only intensified my hunt, and I decided to work with Whiteflash for my radiant diamond and custom engagement ring.

When I got engaged, my engagement ring got me completely hooked on diamonds. Since joining Pricescope 5 years ago and getting engaged, I've added to my collection with earrings from Whiteflash, a wedding band from Whiteflash, 2 Leon Mege eternity rings, and assorted other pieces. I made a recent foray into colored stones with the purchase of an opal through the Pre-Loved forum, but I'm hoping (for my bank account's sake!) that I don't catch the colored stones bug too!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

There's a photograph on my parents' mantle that everyone we know has seen, it's a black and white of them on their wedding day. My mom didn't have a diamond ring, she didn't even have a white wedding dress (she rented a pink frilly number for the photo, you can somehow tell it's pink despite the lack of color photography). Neither of those things were wedding tradition in newly communist China when they were married via a certificate signing in city hall. The 'reception' was in my dad's kitchen, he bought butter for the first time in his life and made a Western style cake himself, a rare luxury for the small, tipsy cohort that attended.

Fast forward about 15 years, they're living in a Pennsylvania suburb with a chubby middle school daughter who wears Nike shoes, consuming unhealthy amounts of butter on a weekly basis. One night my parents send me to their friend's place, and when they come back to pick me up, their faces are warped by the biggest smiles I've seen outside of cartoon characters. My mom, who never wears so much as a wedding band, is wearing a beautiful princess cut diamond ring. It's the first diamond I've ever seen up close, and the tiny twinkling facets are mesmerizing. My mom, with all the melodramatic grace of the world's biggest ham, holds out her hand for her friends to admire, and my dad the mechanical engineer is already drawing up a diagram on a piece of scrap paper to start teaching me about the angles involved in light optics and quiz me on trigonometry.

My mom wore her ring for a week straight, and then it went into the jewelry box to spend most if its life. My mom didn't often wear it, but just having it made my parents happy. My dad was proud to buy it, my mom proud to have received it,and in many ways it was a marker and milestone of achieving the classic American dream. More would come of course: paying off the mortgage, buying a jeep, finally learning to watch football...but none of these things were as symbolic or as shiny as that first diamond.

My mom told me when I got to high school that my first diamond should come from a boy, because "at least half the sparkle is from the love in his heart...so the bigger it is, the more he loves you." Part sentiment, part jest, totally my mom. But I stuck with it, and my first diamond came from my fiance in the form of my engagement ring. I emailed my mom a photo, she said "Congratulations, mine's still bigger though", so now the race is on.

 

[nickliovich]

I won't bore you with a long entry. Mine is short and to the point (I mean, how many of these things are you reading!? Have your eyes fallen out of their sockets yet?) I am not super big into expensive jewelry. I'm still not. I always knew I liked yellow diamonds though. I never really looked at other people's engagement rings with envy. I still don't. However the more I was exposed (price scope helped) I started seeing things like liked...especially step cuts. Though it has been years in the making, when it came time to pick out an engagement ring, I made the jeweler search high and low for an asscher cut yellow diamond. Success! For not being into expensive jewelry I sure picked an expensive type and not easily found stone! So much for being low-maintenance!

 

[luv2sparkle]

From the time I was born until I was eleven, my mom and I shared a home with my aunt and uncle. My aunt and uncle had no children of their own, so I was quite special to my aunt and the feeling was mutual. She was the person who was always on my side when my mom and uncle were overly strict with me. I knew she loved me unconditionally. She wore a lovely 2 carat solitaire and plan band. I would sit at the
breakfast table each morning with her eating my breakfast while she was drinking her coffee and that stone would sparkle! She would often take it off and let me put it on my small hand. She was my 'Nana' and I loved Nana's ring. I would often ask her if it would be mine
someday, and she would very gently tell me no. Before I had been born she had promised it to her only other niece. She would console me telling me that everything else she had would one day be mine. Although through her incredible mind (she was a very early computer programmer working with top secret clearance at night for the space program) she had steadily been saving and had accrued a very
tidy nest egg. I really hoped somehow that would change and I would get to own her rings.

She passed away when I was 30 from breast cancer. I took a trip with my uncle to have her ashes buried in Massachusetts, where her family was from. My uncle carried the rings including her ruby and rose gold wedding band she wore on her right hand, to the niece in
MA. He took them out for me to look at one last time on the plane. Boy, did I have a hard time seeing those rings go to her! For years,
I had been telling myself that someday I was going to buy a ring like hers and even though I couldn't have her set, I would have one like it to remind me of her.

My uncle remarried very shortly after her death much to my dismay. He married a very devious woman who very quickly made sure that
most of the estate my aunt accumulated went to her family. I did inherit a very small amount which went toward the ring I wear today.
I love the ring I wear and it does indeed remind me of hers and how much she loved it. I will always love diamonds because I loved her ring first. But the real legacy is how much she loved me. That is a gift worth far more than the price of one very lovely diamond.

 

[Skippy123]

I have always been fascinated by diamonds and jewelry. I remember being only 6 years riding my bike around the neighborhood and seeing rocks on the ground that were sparkly and wondering if the could possibly be a diamond hidden in a rock (my mom was a Science teacher so we would talk about Geology)!

I also would pay attention to what my aunts and relatives were wearing and would soak in what they told me about their jewelry. I do remember my father wearing an OEC that belonged to his father and another ring that belonged to his great grandfather so I always got the chance to admire someones jewelry. On my 18th birthday my mom gave me a diamond ring and I still treasure it to this day; I hope someday to pass on that ring to one of my boys.

 

[joyriverside]

My mother always bought my sisters and me diamond jewelry for special occasions. My favorite is a three stone pair of earrings that I've worn for many important milestones in my life. Diamonds are thus always full of memories, promises, dreams, and symbolism for me.

 

[psadmin]

Drum Roll Please.......

And The Winners Are

Click here [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pricescope-2012-gtg-vegas-winners.173544/#post-3157992#p3157992']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pricescope-2012-gtg-vegas-winners.173544/#post-3157992#p3157992[/URL]​

 

[SweetAsscher]

Congrats Thing and Gypsy!

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

In the search for my wedding set I came upon PS. How did I ever live without this site??? My love of diamonds gets strengthened every time I visit.

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

Oh hahaha I see that I totally missed this thread! Congrats!

 

[Amys Bling]

Congrats thing and gypsy

 

[bright ice]

Congrats to you ladies. OH I wish it would have been me but somehow I totally missed the contest

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Oh, gosh, I totally missed the contest part, too! So odd I didn't see that!

Congrats to the winners!

 

[mrssalvo]

I didn't see the contest either, but I've been away from PS most of March

congrats to the winners though, that is just wonderful

 

[Dancing Fire]

congrats to Thing & Gypsy..

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Wonderful & congrats!

cheers--Sharon

 

[marcy]

Congratulations to Thing and Gypsy.