Kelli
Ideal_Rock
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Extreme Diamond Makeover!!! MY WF RECUT!!!!
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Kelli
Ideal_Rock
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Kelli
Ideal_Rock
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Kelli
Ideal_Rock
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Kelli
Ideal_Rock
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arjunajane
Ideal_Rock
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swingirl
Ideal_Rock
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Your recut came out beautifully. I can see the difference but I don''t know if I would have noticed if it wasn''t pointed out to me. I see the gray center where there isn''t as much contrast. The new one is so nice.
Even though you didn''t plan to buy a steep-deep stone initially would you say the cost equalled out--lower cost GIA HCA 4.3 plus the cost of recutting. Does it equal what it would have cost to buy an AGS ideal? I hope I am making sense!
Even though you didn''t plan to buy a steep-deep stone initially would you say the cost equalled out--lower cost GIA HCA 4.3 plus the cost of recutting. Does it equal what it would have cost to buy an AGS ideal? I hope I am making sense!
Kelli
Ideal_Rock
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My FH is snoring so I came back to pricescope for a while.
He''s LOUD! Anyway.... Thank you arjunajane and swingirl! I''d really like to do another photo shoot, it''s really fun! I just haven''t had the time yet.
As far as the cost goes, I originally paid $7900 (or so, maybe a little less) for the 1.44 I vs2 GIA "triple excellent". It cost me a total of $753.00 at Whiteflash, but $200 of that was for a new platinum head, and $200 was for re-certification. $65 for shipping, and only $288 for the actual recut. Even so, that adds up to $8653. Add in the $300 for the setting and the re-shaping my jeweler did to it plus the shipping I paid to send it out to WF and the whole ring still cost me under $9K. It also came out with an AGS color grading of H. How much could I expect to pay for an 1.35 H vs2 AGS-0 if I bought one from a ps vendor? I had checked out WF prices and it seemed like I got a pretty good deal, but that was compared to ACAs and I never figured out if mine really qualifies or not. I know the numbers do, but it came with a DQR and most ACAs come with a DQD (although Vera said that could have just been because the DQR gave it a higher color grading). Also, the ASET and idealscope images don''t say A Cut Above. I don''t really care if it qualifies as an ACA or not, because it performs BEAUTIFULLY now and I can really see a difference, but the only prices I compared it to were ACA prices and I don''t know if that''s really an accurate comparison.
Anyway, the whole ring at 9K still makes me happy. Fianancially it doesn''t seem like I did too bad. But if I were to do it all over again, I would definitely pay a higher price to begin with to forego all the added stress and waiting of the recut. For my situation it was GREAT, but I''m really lucky because I guess recuts aren''t for all stones and I''d never buy a poorly cut one on purpose to go thru this again! I''m soooooo happy with the results but the waiting and wondering if it was going to come out ok was really hard!
As far as the cost goes, I originally paid $7900 (or so, maybe a little less) for the 1.44 I vs2 GIA "triple excellent". It cost me a total of $753.00 at Whiteflash, but $200 of that was for a new platinum head, and $200 was for re-certification. $65 for shipping, and only $288 for the actual recut. Even so, that adds up to $8653. Add in the $300 for the setting and the re-shaping my jeweler did to it plus the shipping I paid to send it out to WF and the whole ring still cost me under $9K. It also came out with an AGS color grading of H. How much could I expect to pay for an 1.35 H vs2 AGS-0 if I bought one from a ps vendor? I had checked out WF prices and it seemed like I got a pretty good deal, but that was compared to ACAs and I never figured out if mine really qualifies or not. I know the numbers do, but it came with a DQR and most ACAs come with a DQD (although Vera said that could have just been because the DQR gave it a higher color grading). Also, the ASET and idealscope images don''t say A Cut Above. I don''t really care if it qualifies as an ACA or not, because it performs BEAUTIFULLY now and I can really see a difference, but the only prices I compared it to were ACA prices and I don''t know if that''s really an accurate comparison.
Anyway, the whole ring at 9K still makes me happy. Fianancially it doesn''t seem like I did too bad. But if I were to do it all over again, I would definitely pay a higher price to begin with to forego all the added stress and waiting of the recut. For my situation it was GREAT, but I''m really lucky because I guess recuts aren''t for all stones and I''d never buy a poorly cut one on purpose to go thru this again! I''m soooooo happy with the results but the waiting and wondering if it was going to come out ok was really hard!
swingirl
Ideal_Rock
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Well, you did good. I also had a stone recut (not by WF) and was really happy with the outcome. It is a bit of a risk but it''s amazing how shaving off a little here and there can affect the beauty of a stone so much. It makes you wonder if some cutters just don''t have the skill or are they actually trying to keep the carat size larger.
Kelli
Ideal_Rock
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Do you have any before and after pics? I would love to see yours as well.
With all the reading I''ve done on steep deeps and the GIA cut grading system, it seems like the GIA allowed these stones into the "excellent" category to allow for more weight retention to sell them as bigger diamonds, even though they don''t face up as big anyway. The general public sees them as bigger because they are heavier. It was a pretty controversial subject actually, but that logic made sense to me and I could certainly see how that worked with my particular stone. I totally understand that there are MANY beautifully cut stones with GIA certs, but I don''t think I''ll ever buy one again, just based on what I went through the first time. It''s way easier to just find an AGS-0!
With all the reading I''ve done on steep deeps and the GIA cut grading system, it seems like the GIA allowed these stones into the "excellent" category to allow for more weight retention to sell them as bigger diamonds, even though they don''t face up as big anyway. The general public sees them as bigger because they are heavier. It was a pretty controversial subject actually, but that logic made sense to me and I could certainly see how that worked with my particular stone. I totally understand that there are MANY beautifully cut stones with GIA certs, but I don''t think I''ll ever buy one again, just based on what I went through the first time. It''s way easier to just find an AGS-0!
swingirl
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I don't have a before photo of mine. It was a poor cut with a super extra thick girdle. It was pretty ugly. (25 year old .5 ct ering) Bill Bray did the cutting. We never sent it for a report since it didn't matter to me. He was able to shave off from the pavillion, reduce the size of the girdle and get 7 nice arrows. I had it put into a pendant and am really happy with it now, which is so nice because I kept it in a drawer for about 10 years!!
Kelli
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swingirl
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I didn't loose very much weight, almost nothing from the length and width because it sized up small anyway due to the thick girdle. Since there was no report it seemed I couldn't get a definite answer about weight from the cutter. I wasn't too concerned about the numbers because visually it was such a noticeable improvement. Bill said he was able to keep the full diameter expect for a little polishing. I wish I could have gotten an ASET before and after just to see the difference. It makes me want to comb pawn shops--dangerous, I know!
Kelli
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Venice
Brilliant_Rock
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Thanks for showing the before and after shots. I was able to see what you were trying to convey. I liked both sets of pictures very much - lovely arrows! I thought that the "before" had a little more contrast going for it, but as you said, IRL the "after" is much brighter. I appreciate the time you took to put this together for all of us to see and learn from.
Kelli
Ideal_Rock
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No problem Venice! I only wish that I had taken some more true-to-life pictures before I had it recut. The sun was behind the diamond for pretty much every picture, which completely masked the darkness. Of course then I was TRYING very hard to make it look prettier. I''m glad you were able to see at least a little bit of the difference. It''s funny you mentioned contrast because I was worried after the recut I wouldn''t have as much black/white contrast. I was actually worried for some reason that the arrows wouldn''t show up as nicely. But they are even more apparent now, and the whole thing really is just BRIGHTER, shinier, and more sparkly. Definitely worth doing! And thank you for your kind words
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