My new ACA diamond (pics) and thanks to WF

[Serenity]

After weeks of deliberation, I finally bit the bullet and decided to buy a diamond from Whiteflash. I have to admit that at first, I was a bit uncomfortable about ordering a diamond from the United States (I live in Canada), much less buying one off the internet. But after hearing about WF's great reputation and reviews, I was convinced that it was the best way to go. Well, my diamond arrived the other day and I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I wanted to extend a special thanks to Bob Hoskins at WF. From the very beginning, Bob went out of his way to help me pick out the diamond and answer all of my questions. He even called me (long distance) to go over specifics and address any concerns. Now, I am a very picky person and I wanted a "eye-clean" diamond. To me, eye-clean means that when I take the diamond right up to my face and closely examine it, I don't want to see any inclusions. The funny thing is, I've seen diamond grades such as VS1 or VS2 diamonds up close where the inclusions are visible (I guess I have crazy eagle eyes). Bob examined the diamond, had a few other people look at it, and assured me that it was eyeclean, not only from the top, but from the sides and bottom as well. So I went with it and ordered it on Friday. The diamond arrived on Saturday and let me tell you, I could have not been more impressed. It is EYE-CLEAN! wow... And even under the loupe, it took me a few minutes before I could find the main inclusion (a small feather on one of the star facets). If I didn't have the grading report, it would have taken me a long time to even notice it.

Anyways, I've attched some pictures below for people to see. I tried to get the best H&A pictures I could but because the camera was a bit shaky, some of the arrows might look a tad off. Trust me - they are completely symmetrical and perfect.

Thank you Bob and everybody at WF for one of the best internet purchasing experiences I've had. I still can't believe how fast I received the diamond (even the FedEx packaging was superb) and needless to say, I'm thrilled with the diamond.

Sincerely,
-D.

 

[Serenity]

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[Serenity]

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[ello]

wow - how wonderful & beautiful! The diamond is stunning!
I''m also from Canada so it''s so great to hear about your great experience with Whiteflash. I''m sure your girlfriend is going to smile from ear to ear. Can''t wait for the hand pictures.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING!

 

[Leila]

Daniel, I''m glad you had such a wonderful experience with WF. You did very well! The diamond looks beautiful, it''s such a good pick! Now.... do you have a setting picked out? I''m looking forward to seeing the finished product!

 

[jdhunter]

Serenity,

Wow, looks like a GREAT diamond! Thanks for sharing your experience. Just out of curiosity, did you have any duty/tax issues having that shipped to Canada?



Thanks!

 

[pebbles]

What a gorgeous stone! You did good!

Your GF will be quite impressed! Also looking forward to seeing the finished product!

 

[lmurden]

Wow!

 

[belle]

awesome! congratulations

those are some really great pics. how did you get the h&a ones to come out so good? what kind of lighting did you use?

 

[portoar]

WOW! How did you take such great pictures? That diamond is absolutely stunning! If you''re like me, you''re constantly getting it out to look at it . . .

 

[dimonbob]

Daniel,

Thank you for your kind words. It was a pleasure working with you.

 

[Demelza]

Congrats!! It looks just gorgeous!!!!

 

[Mara]

Yummy stone!

 

[Serenity]

Thank you all of the kind words. It's because of this forum that I discovered Whiteflash and through all of your reviews that I came to the decision to buy from them. So I THANK YOU guys for helping make my decision easier.

Yes, I will definitely and post pictures of the finished ring when it's ready. For those of you who asked, I'm going with the Cartier solitaire design. I would have bought it from WF (their version) but because my fiancee has such small fingers (around 3.5 to 3.75), we decided to customize it in person - plus there's a few details we might tweak in person. So that should be a lot of fun.

JDHunter - yes I did pay tax on it at the border when I declared it but it was the right way to go. Of course I could have sneaked it over and saved some money, but for an item like this, you need all the documentation, particularly for insurance purposes. But thankfully, there's no duty charged on a loose diamond (only set rings) so that saved me some cash.

Belle & Portoar - I took the pictures directly with my Canon SD400 digital camera - just used maco mode and looked straight down the WF viewer. It took me a few tries before getting it right. I had to touch up the pictures a tad in Photoshop for exposure but basically, what you see is what it actually looks like.

 

[Kaleigh]

It''s gorgeous, congratulations!!!

 

[MissAva]

Great stone! And thanks for posting that bit about loose stones vs set stones!

 

[Kim N]

The diamond is gorgeous!

Congrats!

Can you post a picture of the Cartier setting you''re going with?

 

[Serenity]

Date: 12/12/2005 1:31:37 PM
Author: Kim N
The diamond is gorgeous!

Congrats!

Can you post a picture of the Cartier setting you're going with?

Hi Kim,

it's very similar to this

 

[belle]

love the setting

i''m still amazed by those great h&a pics! i have not found the trick to getting them right yet.

 

[jdhunter]

Thanks for the heads-up. I didn''t realize you didn''t need to pay duty on loose diamonds. What is the tax rate on something like that? Just GST? I am looking at rings and trying to calculate the duty/tax I''d pay.


Thanks!

 

[Serenity]

Date: 12/12/2005 2:13:49 PM
Author: jdhunter
Thanks for the heads-up. I didn''t realize you didn''t need to pay duty on loose diamonds. What is the tax rate on something like that? Just GST? I am looking at rings and trying to calculate the duty/tax I''d pay.


Thanks!

Hey JDHunter

for a loose diamond, you don''t pay duty but you still have to pay excise tax (8%) on the value of the diamond plus GST and any applicable provincial sales tax. So it can be a lot, depending on what province you''re in. Mind you, this is if you pick it up in the U.S. and bring it over the border. If you have FedEx ship it directly into Canada, you would pay more because there is a brokerage fee as well. It''s a lot of money, but in the end, it was still cheaper (including the taxes) to buy it from WF as opposed to buying a diamond in Canada in the end. No company here could compare with the price and quality that WF was offering.

I''m sure people can easily sneak it over the border and save taxes. After all, you don''t need receipts to have a diamond appraised. But when it comes to insurance, most companies will want to see a bill of sale, etc. - so it helps to do it the right way (even though my wallet feels a lot lighter now

 

[fisiogrl]

Great job Serenity!

I picked my ring up in bellingham too - another WF happy purchase!

I found that the only store in Vancouver that seemed to carry great cut stones was Ann-Louise jewellers. Bizarre. Not the place I figured would have them. But at least I got to look at some stones for colour and clarity before I bought online.

Your photos look amazing, I can never get such great results.

 

[Chooch]

Congratulations! I actually had the chance to look at this specific diamond from whiteflash and it was absolutely stunning. The flashes of colored light, especially around the girdle, are insane...makes the stone look bigger as well. And you are right, COMPLETELY eye clean. (I wound up choosing a slightly smaller and therefore cheaper diamond...that''s just how it goes sometimes) I''m sure you will be in love with that stone forever.

--Chooch

 

[MiniMouse]

What a fantastic looking stone - congratulations!

 

[MissAva]

That is going to be a great looking ring!

 

[Serenity]

Date: 12/12/2005 9:43:42 PM
Author: Chooch
Congratulations! I actually had the chance to look at this specific diamond from whiteflash and it was absolutely stunning. The flashes of colored light, especially around the girdle, are insane...makes the stone look bigger as well. And you are right, COMPLETELY eye clean. (I wound up choosing a slightly smaller and therefore cheaper diamond...that's just how it goes sometimes) I'm sure you will be in love with that stone forever.

--Chooch

Hey Chooch,

wow, that is quite the coincidence. I guess I'm lucky that you decided to pick up a different diamond but I'm sure you got a nice one as well.