0.91ct E VS2 - views from members gratefully received

[proto]

diamond has arrived.

looks stunning.

will post pics and writeup in testimonials.

Went to local jeweller to check out the stone - certificate matches the stone. Yay

Also had a nice chat about how internet retailers are pricing out the smaller BM shops from selling diamonds.

When I went into specifics of pavilion angles and depth etc, he laughed and said "you dont need all that, its GIA excellent for cut".

ASET and idealscope? "dont need that, just look at the diamonds and pick the one you like".

I was a little surprised, since he is a GIA trained gemmologist.

 

[Lorelei]

diamond has arrived.

looks stunning.

will post pics and writeup in testimonials.

Went to local jeweller to check out the stone - certificate matches the stone. Yay

Also had a nice chat about how internet retailers are pricing out the smaller BM shops from selling diamonds.

When I went into specifics of pavilion angles and depth etc, he laughed and said "you dont need all that, its GIA excellent for cut".

ASET and idealscope? "dont need that, just look at the diamonds and pick the one you like".

I was a little surprised, since he is a GIA trained gemmologist.

That happens Proto that some jewellers are resistant to reflector imaging and basic proportion analysis. Personally, I hold a different view from the one your jeweller stated about relying only on cut grades, but each to their own. I prefer to know as much about each diamond possible as I have seen over the years that GIA Excellent cut grade in my opinion and that of some others, are not created equal.

That's great that your diamond has been verified it matches the report, I am looking forward to seeing it as I am sure it's going to be a ''Finger Blinger'' ( John Pollard) of mighty power and beauty. I would also mention your jeweller hit on a very vital truth '' just look at the diamonds and pick the one you like.'' But I would add to that, '' make sure to judge each diamond on its own visual and physical merits then pick the one you like.''

That to me is how it's done and you did a great job Proto, congratulations!

 

[OoohShiny]

Hey Shiny

I will get answers by Tuesday afternoon whether they can do 90/10 platinum for me. It will depend on whether Hockley Mint (which seem to be the supplier for a lot of the big jewellery vendors here (including Fraser Hart) run 90/10 - I am not holding my breath).

90/10 is recognised in the UK http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/meet_the_experts/platinum_alloys.html but it just seems almost unknown by the local jewellers.

May have better luck in London, and in particular Hatton Garden. Find a wholesale jewellery who sells to hatton garden, rather than the shops themselves. Markups there are pure murder.

Vatsche seem willing to do 90/10, although I am getting confirmation in writing re prices on Tuesday.

I am likely going to get a setting shipped, have the stone reviewed by a valuer against the certificate and get a diagram drawn out of the inclusions, and then get it set. Not sure what setting prices in the UK are, but from comparing to the US, it looks like something around £70. Death by a hundred cuts it feels like.

On the plus side, when Fedex tried to charge me a 2.5% surcharge for paying my VAT on my behalf, James Allen were kind enough to refund me this element once I pointed out to them that their terms and conditions are for the customer to pay taxes levied by my country, and they pay all shipping charges. I think they are going to review their terms and conditions soon, or so they say.

Good luck on your hunt and please be sure to let me know if you find somewhere in the UK who can do 90/10!

Hi Proto,

Thanks very much for looking into this

I'm going to have to see if I can find a wholesaler to Hatton Garden as yes, they are not cheap! Most places I have spoken to are also reluctant to sell you just the band because they make more off the stone - clearly the economy is looking up if they can afford to turn away work, even if it's not ££££ of profit...

I popped into a local place at lunchtime today. I was considering going with them (I had visited before) but after the guy's comments today, I am reconsidering! His view was, to paraphrase, "we only stock the purest, 950 platinum, that's the one you want. There are other mixes that have random stuff in them [his response to my comment about Platinum 900 with 10% Iridium mix] but the 950 will be white even if the surface is scratched, so that's what we sell."

Once again, I feel like I as the consumer knows more than the salesman about some aspects!

 

[Gypsy]

GIA trained gemologist is fairly meaningless. It's like saying someone is from a particular university. Just because the pedigree is good doesn't mean the person graduated at the top of their class. There are all kinds.

 

[proto]

 

[KenD]

Looks great!

 

[Lorelei]

Gorgeous, fabulous, stunning! You did perfectly.

 

[OoohShiny]

That looks great, proto

I'm not sure if you've posted any other pictures yet? but if not, would it be possible to get a couple more angles of it? It looks a bit like the ring that I'm looking at for my other half so, if it is, I was hoping for some 'real life' pics, so I can check out the mount! lol

 

[proto]

thanks shiny

hard to get my phone camera to focus on the diamond without getting very blurry but will try again soon.

The "mount" is actually a temporary tension ring they provided with the diamond, so I hope your mount doesnt end up looking quite like mine!

Going through an ordeal at the moment re ring mounts and ordering from the US and getting it set in the UK.

Would be so much easier to live in the US!

 

[teobdl]

Proto--contact me on preloved/LT if you can. Stewing around an idea to get a diamond set here with the mount you want and sent over to you.

 

[OoohShiny]

thanks shiny

hard to get my phone camera to focus on the diamond without getting very blurry but will try again soon.

The "mount" is actually a temporary tension ring they provided with the diamond, so I hope your mount doesnt end up looking quite like mine!

Going through an ordeal at the moment re ring mounts and ordering from the US and getting it set in the UK.

Would be so much easier to live in the US!

haha Well, it looks good even in that setting

Is it similar to this one?
http://www.ingleandrhode.co.uk/collection/four-claw-twist-diamond-engagement-ring

There seems to be a lot of them in a very similar style to that one available at the moment - I was most keen on it when I first saw it because it was different to what I had seen before, but now it seems that every single shop is selling it, so I'm less inclined towards a 'common' mount as I would want it to be more unique than that...

(Snob? Moi? )


Have you considered getting a custom/bespoke ring done over here? I think that's the way I am going to have to go, probably at way more cost than an off-the-shelf job, and with potentially variable quality...

 

[proto]

hey OoohShiny

The ring you posted is kind of similar, although the mount section is very different.

I ended up going for the tried and tested "off the shelf" option and get it set locally and eating the VAT. http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/the-katie-solitaire-engagement-ring-1267.htm

I found a few jewellers who offered to do a custom ring for me, but none of them gave me confidence that they had any experience of working with Pt950/50Ru or Pt90/10Ir (most couldnt even source it or didnt want to do so) and I didnt want to go down that route. Custom jobs always have that awkward period as well when they have your money but you havent seen what it looks like yet.

Additionally there would have been additional fees for handcrafting due to the specific alloy I wanted or an additional fee for having to do a single cast rather than the usual tree casting - was quoted in the region of 6 weeks. In the end, ordering from the US seemed a lot cheaper and faster.

If you are in London, I can give you the details of a decent goldsmith who makes the wholesale rings for Hatton Garden. He made the engagement ring for my friend last year and what he did was walk around Hatton Garden and take a picture of the the ring he wanted and took it to the guy. The guy said "we can make that ring exactly the same as you saw, because we made that ring". Did not ask if he worked in non-standard platinum though. A lot of the jewellers I asked stated their standard 950 was Pt/Co which to my mind is the worst one of the lot due to its greyness.

Will let you knw my experience with Whiteflash if you are still interested and in the market when my setting arrives. Best of luck!

 

[OoohShiny]

I think that looks like a great choice


In line with your experiences, it seems that the jewellers I am speaking to are mostly stocking 950/50 Platinum/Cobalt, which I guess is sturdier than 950/50 Iridium, but as you say, it may be 'greyer' than other alloys...

I think I will end up going with a custom job at this rate, which will no doubt cost a small fortune!


I would be very interested in the name of the guy who does work for Hatton Garden, thank you very much for the offer I did wonder if wholesalers would be uninterested in doing a one-ring one-off order but if we don't ask we don't find out... lol

 

[proto]

Is there a PM facility on this?

cant find one for the life of me

 

[proto]

wholesalers are not supposed to do that and they certainly do not advertise it.

You will need cash, you wont get a receipt, and you will be charged a very odd amount, and it will depend on how much metal was used by weight.

 

[OoohShiny]

No PMs on here!

I understand the reasoning behind cash only and all that, and I guess if they are just charging by weight and a small(er than usual) percentage on top then it should be cheaper than shop markups that take account of overheads!

 

[proto]

if you no pms, can you post an email address/telephone number or something and i'll send you a message

 

[teobdl]

No personal info allowed here. Consider posting something on another site an linking it up on Preloved. The person could post on LoupeTroop something like WTB: custom 950 50 plat alloy setting

 

[proto]

Hmm, maybe figure out another way? Not going to sign up for anything where need to register an email address.

 

[OoohShiny]

Thanks for the pics, looking good

I'm sure your lady will be very happy with it!

I'd want to keep on looking at it in different lights to see how sparkly it was


Not sure what to do re: the wholesaler thing, unless it was one of your 'Interests' as just one word that would enable identification via a google search... but then such talk is probably going to get me told off lol

 

[proto]

Cant decide if i want to keep the stone for return it.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/0-91ct-e-vs2-pics-and-video-of-sparkle.202463/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/0-91ct-e-vs2-pics-and-video-of-sparkle.202463/[/URL] for video of real life performance.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3114530.htm is the one I am considering as a replacement.

setting is being made by whiteflash

thoughts much appreciated.

Whiteflash suggests changing but then again, why wouldnt they ^^

 

[teobdl]

Looks like a great sparkler. Why are you thinking of changing?

If it's just for the setting, then think again: go to a few local stores and find something you like and get it set for 100 quid. Save a ton of money.

If it's for fear that your diamond is inferior, think again: I'd bet you wouldn't know the difference between the two if they were right next to each other. The difference between near superideal like yours and superideal is imperceptible to probably 99.9% of the population with their bare eyes.

Diamond enthusiasts are getting together for JCK presently--the worldwide jewelry conference. Special cuts of different shapes, colors, and sizes will abound. But you know what you won't see? A scientifically valid experiment asking random folks to compare diamonds like yours (top 1%) vs branded superideal diamonds (top 0.1%) with just their eyes. Surely an event like this would be the best place for such an experiment to happen. So why don't you see this experiment? Because it would invalidate a central viewpoint that helps them sell diamonds: that a branded superideal necessarily outperforms everything else out there. The truth is, they do perform better than probably 99% of all diamonds. The secret they don't necessarily want you to know is that your beautiful diamond is not one of the 99%. It's the top 1%, and is virtually indistinguishable from the top 0.1% with the eyes alone. Why pay for what you can't see?

Edited to add: as a side note, the diamond you have chosen from WF is not one of their ACA's. It further cements my position that the one you have in hand will be indistinguishable.

 

[Lorelei]

Cant decide if i want to keep the stone for return it.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/0-91ct-e-vs2-pics-and-video-of-sparkle.202463/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/0-91ct-e-vs2-pics-and-video-of-sparkle.202463/[/URL] for video of real life performance.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3114530.htm is the one I am considering as a replacement.

setting is being made by whiteflash

thoughts much appreciated.

Whiteflash suggests changing but then again, why wouldnt they ^^

Proto, both are beautiful diamonds and it's possible there wouldn't be much visual difference between them but I am remembering something you said a couple of weeks ago about if you had the chance again, you would go for a branded h&a or something along those lines....Is that what you really want? Put it this way, you won't go wrong with either the original stone or the WF replacement or even if you wanted the h&a superideal after all as they are all very fine options....But I would consider the after sales packages from JA and WF also and factor those into your decision if that helps. Do you think as well now you have seen what's available for these really superb diamond cuts that you might be having a little trouble committing to a stone with all these tempting options available now you have researched? If so that's no problem, better to get it right now while you have the chance.