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Help with upgrade please

Dmndsr4evr11

Dmndsr4evr11

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 9, 2018
Messages
1,492
Hello all,

I thank you all in advance for your thoughts. I am sort of new here. I signed up maybe a decade ago but did not participate much and stopped coming here. I started reading posts again 3 years ago when I had my first upgrade but did not post as I forgot my username. I just signed up again.

My original e-ring was a 0.63 carat round eyeclean I SI1 from a B&M store. 3 years ago, I finally upgraded to an I VS2 1.37 expert selection from WF. I kept my original e-ring and made it into a necklace in a bezel setting. After having the 1.37 for 2 years, I again upgraded to a 1.87 J VS2 expert selection from WF last year. It’s very white face up and very sparkly but in some lighting, especially at work, I can see the warmth and it has started to really bother me. I did not notice it as much with my I stone but it was also a slightly smaller stone. I love my J stone majority of the time but I think the warmth i see part of the time is starting to bother me more.

On with my upgrade thoughts... I am looking at same size stones in G and H colors both ACA. The G color would cost me $10,000 and the H color $7000. My rep feels that the H color is enough to provide me with a visual difference. I am torn if it is worth even spending $7000 for a 2 color grade upgrade and cut upgrade as it is ACA vs expert selection. I’d like to keep it under 2 carats as I feel ( most of the time) it’s big enough for me ;) and I don’t want to pay for the mark up when you hit 2 carats. I have a size 4.5 finger.

Do you ladies think this is worth it?

Thank you so much!!! I would appreciate everyone’s input.
 
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Is it worth it? Lol. This is PS. We can enable just about anyone. But. What do you mean by worth it? Will it make you happier? Will it be worth it to you?
Last year I upgraded in cut and .32 in size. And I paid 5k. It was worth it to me. It allowed me to realize what I had been missing. That said. My stone is an I. And I drew the line there. Bc I couldn’t justify paying an additional 3k to jump up to a G.
Have you considered an I color? Since you are going with wf, and they have a great trade up policy, you should start with an I and save a few thousand until you know for sure. Sort of work your way up to a G.
 
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Thank you, dancing fire and nala.

Nala, Hahahaha...yes of course, I should have known PS’ers are enablers :). I had an I color before I went with a J. Since I’ve read a lot about Js here and heard people loving it and with it almost indistinguishable from an I color, I went for it to save money on getting a bigger stone. The pics I got from WF comparing and I to a J at the time convinced me to venture into a J color. I thought about going back to an I color but the WF rep told me that it won’t give me the visual difference I was looking for. I felt my old I color did not have that warmth at all but maybe also because it’s a slightly smaller stone or I think it was a high I.

Decisions, decisions! Do you ladies think the color would definitely be noticeable going from a J to an H? I’ve read that color is more noticeable the larger the stone is. I’m just trying to justify the $7000 in my head for going to an H but not having an increase in carat size. Of course, with WFs excellent upgrade policy, they said if I’m still not happy with an H then I can always upgrade to a G. But, prices keep going up each year :(.

On another note, I have a legato sleek solitaire setting now but thinking of changing it to the Vatche Venus. I’ve read mixed reviews about the Venus but I’d like a thinner but durable band. Thoughts on this?

Thanks so much again. I really appreciate it.
 
I would do it if the warmth of the J bothers you.
 
Thank you, Marcy. I love it most of the time in most lighting but there are times when it bothers me when it’s kind of cloudy and I’m sitting by the window at work.
 
nala said:
Is it worth it? Lol. This is PS. We can enable just about anyone. But. What do you mean by worth it? Will it make you happier? Will it be worth it to you?
Last year I upgraded in cut and .32 in size. And I paid 5k. It was worth it to me. It allowed me to realize what I had been missing. That said. My stone is an I. And I drew the line there. Bc I couldn’t justify paying an additional 3k to jump up to a G.
Have you considered an I color? Since you are going with wf, and they have a great trade up policy, you should start with an I and save a few thousand until you know for sure. Sort of work your way up to a G.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Nala. I responded to you but I’m not sure if you’ll get notification of it that I did or if I need to respond to your specific post.

Did you also upgrade in color? Or just cut and size? If I may ask, what color is your diamond and what made you choose the color you have? Thank you.
 
Dmndsr4evr11 said:
Thank you, Marcy. I love it most of the time in most lighting but there are times when it bothers me when it’s kind of cloudy and I’m sitting by the window at work.
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I get that. Good luck with your decision.
 
Dmndsr4evr11 said:
Thank you, Nala. I responded to you but I’m not sure if you’ll get notification of it that I did or if I need to respond to your specific post.

Did you also upgrade in color? Or just cut and size? If I may ask, what color is your diamond and what made you choose the color you have? Thank you.
Click to expand...
I upgraded only in cut with minimal size. Color was cost prohibitive for me. Lol. I like my I. When I had a less stellar cut, GIA I color, I saw a lot more tint than my upgrade with a better cut. It is not an ACA or ideal, but scores well on hca and passed the other test with the tool i bought. The aset. I think. I have a whole thread on it.
 
My guess is that, if you were fine with your I but bothered by your J, then I color is probably your "cutoff." Yes, there is a size difference between your former and current stone as well, which may also play a role with seeing more color, but I have a feeling it's more to do with the color grade. Keep in mind that, as you go down the color scale, the steps become much larger. Meaning that the difference between an I and a J can be quite noticeable.

If you were fine with the previous I color, I imagine you would be fine with an H even in a larger size. So no, I don't think you're crazy for upgrading. Of course, if you have the funds, then a G would be even whiter. But I would definitely make sure that, if you went with an H, that it was a "low H", meaning closer to a G on the color spectrum. Seeing as each color grade is a range, it wouldn't make much sense to upgrade if the H you were getting was close to an I.

It looks like WhiteFlash has a few H/VS diamonds in the 1.8-1.9 carat range right now. I would ask WF to pull a few of them and then tell you which of them is the closest to a G, then go with that one. :)
 
nala said:
I upgraded only in cut with minimal size. Color was cost prohibitive for me. Lol. I like my I. When I had a less stellar cut, GIA I color, I saw a lot more tint than my upgrade with a better cut. It is not an ACA or ideal, but scores well on hca and passed the other test with the tool i bought. The aset. I think. I have a whole thread on it.
Click to expand...

Glad you found a great stone you’re happy with ;).
 
TreeScientist said:
My guess is that, if you were fine with your I but bothered by your J, then I color is probably your "cutoff." Yes, there is a size difference between your former and current stone as well, which may also play a role with seeing more color, but I have a feeling it's more to do with the color grade. Keep in mind that, as you go down the color scale, the steps become much larger. Meaning that the difference between an I and a J can be quite noticeable.

If you were fine with the previous I color, I imagine you would be fine with an H even in a larger size. So no, I don't think you're crazy for upgrading. Of course, if you have the funds, then a G would be even whiter. But I would definitely make sure that, if you went with an H, that it was a "low H", meaning closer to a G on the color spectrum. Seeing as each color grade is a range, it wouldn't make much sense to upgrade if the H you were getting was close to an I.

It looks like WhiteFlash has a few H/VS diamonds in the 1.8-1.9 carat range right now. I would ask WF to pull a few of them and then tell you which of them is the closest to a G, then go with that one. :)
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Thank you, TreeScientist. They said it’s a true H meaning it’s in the middle of the spectrum. I was mistaken to think that a “high” color meant it was closer to the next better color. My former I color was apparently closer to H color so I didn’t feel it had any warmth. The G I am considering is also apparently a true G. The pics they sent me only shows a small hint of a difference in color when upside down. The picture face up was too zoomed to appreciate any color difference but I was told it’s really difficult to tell face up. I wanted to have pics of the two together in natural daylight and not so zoomed but I was told due to the holiday rush they limit the numbers of special photography. What they sent me was the zoomed in close up and upside down pics. It would be nice to see a picture of it in natural daylight against a white background to truly appreciate the color difference but I guess it won’t happen. I’ll have to trust their word with the color comparison.

Thanks so much for your input. I really appreciate it.
 
I went from an I ideal cut to a J Expert Selection, to a H ACA. After owning a J, the H looks significantly whiter to me! Having also owned a G stone many years ago, I personally don't feel I need a G to be satisfied with the color.
 
CareBear said:
I went from an I ideal cut to a J Expert Selection, to a H ACA. After owning a J, the H looks significantly whiter to me! Having also owned a G stone many years ago, I personally don't feel I need a G to be satisfied with the color.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much, CareBear. That is very helpful. Did you have the same size J and H color? I am trying to head the same direction as you did with having a J expert selection to an H ACA or G ACA but wasn’t sure if the additional $3K with the G would be worth it if they look the same face up. Your input is definitely helpful to me. Thank you!
 
Dmndsr4evr11 said:
Thanks so much, CareBear. That is very helpful. Did you have the same size J and H color? I am trying to head the same direction as you did with having a J expert selection to an H ACA or G ACA but wasn’t sure if the additional $3K with the G would be worth it if they look the same face up. Your input is definitely helpful to me. Thank you!
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Yes the J and the H are very close in diameter. I had the exact same concern as you, whether the H would be enough of improvement in color, to be worth the extra $$. To me it was, because now I am happy with the color with my stone 100% of the time, vs 95% of the time with my J. These 'just under' carat weight stones are unicorns, so make sure to put the stones on hold while you make a decision.
 
CareBear said:
Yes the J and the H are very close in diameter. I had the exact same concern as you, whether the H would be enough of improvement in color, to be worth the extra $$. To me it was, because now I am happy with the color with my stone 100% of the time, vs 95% of the time with my J. These 'just under' carat weight stones are unicorns, so make sure to put the stones on hold while you make a decision.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much!!!!
 
CareBear said:
Yes the J and the H are very close in diameter. I had the exact same concern as you, whether the H would be enough of improvement in color, to be worth the extra $$. To me it was, because now I am happy with the color with my stone 100% of the time, vs 95% of the time with my J. These 'just under' carat weight stones are unicorns, so make sure to put the stones on hold while you make a decision.
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I put the H on hold :). Thanks for the advice to do so before someone snaps it up while I’m deciding:).
 
CareBear said:
Yes the J and the H are very close in diameter. I had the exact same concern as you, whether the H would be enough of improvement in color, to be worth the extra $$. To me it was, because now I am happy with the color with my stone 100% of the time, vs 95% of the time with my J. These 'just under' carat weight stones are unicorns, so make sure to put the stones on hold while you make a decision.
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BTW, I just saw your ring. OMG!!! I am drooling! It looks perfect on you and looks FANTABULOUS overall! Love it!
 
43330A25-6B85-482F-B92E-3CA0F9BCACAD.jpeg F96E500C-9D50-4E30-9D7F-BFCA754D7D8B.jpeg 31D81A07-BC9C-46BB-A22E-B5AE5C06F7CB.jpeg 9041137F-CF08-4561-9154-8A6A4D355BE7.jpeg @CareBear

@nala

@TreeScientist

@marcy

@Dancing Fire

Thank you all so much for your help! Pardon my sausage fingers today. Had too much salty stuff on New Year’s Eve hahhaha. Pics didn’t come out with good quality either :(. They’re from my iPhone.

CareBear said:
Thank you @Dmndsr4evr11, that is very sweet of you! I can't wait to see your upgrade!
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Here it is!!! I got it before Christmas and was a little on the fence at first whether I’m happy with the color or not. I feel I’ve become more color sensitive over time. It’s an ACA so it sparkles like crazy and absolutely very brilliant compared to me J expert selection. Whiter in certain lighting and for the majority of the time but there are certain lighting circumstances where I still see a little warmth but definitely not as warm as my J under those same lighting conditions. I’ve had it about a little more than a week now and I feel like I love it more and more but down the road if I feel the urge to upgrade again and have the funds for it, I think I’d go with an F-G ACA.

Thanks again for all your help.
 

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Oh wow! It looks Huge! Can you share the details? Carat size and color and clarity please!
 
Just looked at the pics again. Quality actually isn’t bad. It looked grainy when they were uploading. I didnt use any filter.
 
Agree with @Stephan, that diamond looks huge on your finger! Beautiful diamond and pictures. And I'm glad you're mostly satisfied with the color improvement. Now that you've jumped to an H, the cost jump to a 1.8-1.9 F-G will not seem as large should you decide to upgrade in the future. That's the benefit of upgrading incrementally.

Thanks for coming back and sharing! :)
 
TreeScientist said:
Agree with @Stephan, that diamond looks huge on your finger! Beautiful diamond and pictures. And I'm glad you're mostly satisfied with the color improvement. Now that you've jumped to an H, the cost jump to a 1.8-1.9 F-G will not seem as large should you decide to upgrade in the future. That's the benefit of upgrading incrementally.

Thanks for coming back and sharing! :)
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@TreeScientist - thank you!
 
Beautiful. No need to say more other than thank you for sharing.
 
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