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May I see your WF ACA in color J?

motownmama said:
I think I allowed my biases to really shade his purchase, although I’ve told him that going down in size and upgrading/or not down the road is perhaps a better tact. I just love a clean stone more than a super white stone, even though color is seen and inclusions rarely are in a well cut stone. But, I’m not his fiancé! I think at this point I just stop giving him my input and let the story unfold. When he first started we were looking at 1.7ct, higher color and I was the one who brought up that the future SIL has over 2ctw. Not sure why I started down that road. I’d even found a 1.9 with better color and felt like you can’t “really” say it’s 2ctw. Me oh my! I feel like I tried to help but in a way confused things and failed. The only solace is that she can have input, which many if not most young women want today. He was suggesting proposing over thanksgiving, but having stuck my nose in this far already, I suggested perhaps earlier and make a change if so chosen, bf her family sees it. Grrrrrrr. Why did I ever bring up 2ctw? HE didn’t say it, I did. I would NOT suggest he bump his budget though bc he’d saved a great amount, so I just fiddled around with ACAs until I found one that fit the bill (prob should say my bill). Thx for “listening” dear PS friends.
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Aw, don't be so hard on yourself. When people ask for our opinion that's what we give them. Your opinion is based on your knowledge, experience, preferences and feelings. He just happened to feel differently about the color. That doesn't mean you gave him bad advice. We still don't know how his fiancé feels about color vs. size and that's the going to be the most important thing here.
 
I just wanted to say, don’t be so hard on yourself. I think it was very kind that you helped him find a beautiful diamond. You never know, his future fiancé could absolutely love it!
 
I think you brought up a good point that the SIL has over 2 cts. Men may not care, but maybe the future fiancee may compare hers to the SIL. It all really depends on the girl and if she is into jewelry. I know I am and it would bother me if my ring was much smaller than someone else's in the family.
 
I agree with the others: you helped him find and buy a J diamond that will face up with more white light return, have more sparkle, and exhibit more fire than even many run of the mill GIA 3X diamonds of equal and higher color grades...and you did it by finding a 2+ carat with guaranteed super ideal cut proportions (less than 1% of cut and polished diamonds in existence) that fit his budget in the face of a rather large recent price jump.

The only *potential* concern here is the color, and that can be easily remedied with either an immediate exchange or a future upgrade.
(bonus: Whiteflash allows same price upgrades for any in-stock diamonds with no stipulations for minimum cost over the original purchase price)

You loaded the bases, now he is at the plate and his next swing will be a grand slam, regardless of which path he chooses.
 
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motownmama said:
Rut Ro! That’s a bummer…..as I mentioned, he’s in law school. I wish you’d said doctors vs lawyers. I appreciate the honest info - I’m not a perfect person, but I’ve never gossiped about anyone’s ring. I’m a diff generation though (and no lawyer )
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I see @AllAboardTheBlingTrain ’s point but in this case IMHO he should still ask the gal pals. If they have a lukewarm reaction in either direction then their opinion does not matter much but if they all comment on how yellow it is then sorry, but yes, that tells you something. Just the way the world works, unfortunately. Of course maybe his sweetheart would love it… but the gal pals will speak up if she would hate it and/or if the tint will cause comment in their social circle.

Yes, my lady lawyer colleagues all gossiped about rings behind each other’s backs. Mostly in a bad way. Got forbid someone get less than a carat. Even 1.5 will arouse pity. 2.0 is expected except that it has to be white. 1.5 and white was preferable to 2.0 and off-white. Otherwise it was seen as trying too hard to go up to 2.0.

On the brighter side there was a group of us who just loved jewelry and never said anything negative about anyone’s bling.

On the funny side there was this one young lady who got a beautiful 3 ct diamond. There was a petty brat who only had a 2.5 so she told everyone the lucky lady with 3.0’s diamond was yellow. But the rest of us, including the judgmental crowd, could see that no way was that beautiful 3.0 yellow. So the 2.5 petty brat looked even pettier.

The only opinion that matters is your nephew and his sweetheart. I’m just offering this perspective because if they care, they care. No use shaming people for what they want in their diamonds. Let us know how it goes!
 
Also wanted to add… sometimes there is satisfaction in understated quality. Maybe the SIL’s 2.0+ carat is poor quality. If your nephew’s sweetheart cares about competition, she might prefer the highest quality 1.0 carat he can buy, or a three-stone with all super ideal cut diamonds, and still feel satisfied that her ring is at least as good as the SIL’s if not better.

We humans are like that even if we try not to be, so by thinking about these things, you are honoring her potential feelings.
 
Super valid point about people liking what they like and what they don’t like, @oncrutchesrightnow; I totally agree with that one. the only reason I said to not ask his Friends for their opinion is because ultimately it doesn’t matter what they think. I would say it’s more important to ask her friends, if any friends have to be asked at all, because presumably they would know what she likes, though I actually wouldn’t ask anyone and would just let her decide for herself. I mean, I totally understand the thing about social circles but I feel like it should still be her choice to make, I’ve seen it happen with a close friend’s fiancé where he let what (their common friends, but all of them originally his) friends were saying influence his choice of centre stone and get her the smaller, whiter one, which is the choice they had all made for their rings, but was not the choice she wanted, which she told me herself. I think he would’ve been better served asking the people who were closer to her instead - we would have told him to prioritise size over colour even though that wasn’t a thing in their social circle!

i have another suggestion - would he be amenable to showing her the ring right now and getting her view, before he proposes? He could just straight up tell her that “hey I bought your ring, but I’m concerned about the colour in person. I didn’t want to return it for something smaller/whiter without getting your buy-in, so do you want to take a look and tell me what you think? This is not the proposal - I have a better idea for that one.” Or he can get an idea of her thoughts by telling her about a friend of his who is thinking of popping the question and asked him to ask his girlfriend what the better combo is - smaller/whiter or larger/yellower (and contextualise the question by putting the actual feasible weights/sizes in front of her). Something like “hey, X asked me to ask you - he’s planning on proposing soon and he had the choice between 1.75H and 2.1J - what do you think he should pick? He’s confused.”

That might be too unromantic for him - but it’s what I would strongly prefer for myself!! I can imagine that once the stone has been proposed with she might feel a bit bad about utilising the upgrade policy right away, but before the proposal the sentiment hasn’t been attached yet. Just a different idea perhaps?
 
oncrutchesrightnow said:
Also wanted to add… sometimes there is satisfaction in understated quality. Maybe the SIL’s 2.0+ carat is poor quality. If your nephew’s sweetheart cares about competition, she might prefer the highest quality 1.0 carat he can buy, or a three-stone with all super ideal cut diamonds, and still feel satisfied that her ring is at least as good as the SIL’s if not better.

We humans are like that even if we try not to be, so by thinking about these things, you are honoring her potential feelings.
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TY for your perspective. The SIL’s ring is gorgeous. It’s a 2ct center in a plat 3-stone, so they will look different no matter what.
 
She may love it and you know she will appreciate the size @motownmama. I think you did above and beyond what he asked of you. If it doesn’t suit them it can be quickly remedied so don’t beat yourself up over it.
 
Honestly - I think all anybody is going to see is the size of the stone and the joy in her eyes. We here tend to get bogged down in specs but the vast majority of people are all about size and sparkle. Don’t overthink it.
 
motownmama said:
Hi all. My nephew’s ACA arrived (set in simple platinum 6 prong). We aren’t local to each other and he’s only using IPhone to share pics/videos, but he feels like he’s seeing yellow. He’s a diamond newbie, so idk that he’s “color sensitive” per se. It’s fairly large at 2.24ctw, which I know will show more hue than smaller stones. He’s NOT seeing color from the top, but the side as he’s moving it around. Against a white sheet of paper it doesn’t look yellow; but he’s filmed it in several environments inside/outside. The beauty shots haven’t arrived yet.
Can you share pics/comments of your Js?
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No one should be buying a diamond sight unseen. Especially a “newbie”. Places like WF count on people not knowing what they are looking at, with nothing tangible to compare it with and therefore most likely won’t return it.
Do the right thing and encourage him to see his local jeweler or two.
 
Msem1969 said:
No one should be buying a diamond sight unseen. Especially a “newbie”. Places like WF count on people not knowing what they are looking at, with nothing tangible to compare it with and therefore most likely won’t return it.
Do the right thing and encourage him to see his local jeweler or two.
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Lol. It is the other way around. People who do not have experience with diamonds count on places like WF to make sure their homework of an ideal light return is done for them. Plus the upgrade policy and integrity of some online retailers is well worth for most people to shop online. Most local jewelers have nothing to offer except for exaggerated prices, perfect lightning to make even the dullest stone sparkle, and disappointments with the purchase later.
 
Msem1969 said:
No one should be buying a diamond sight unseen. Especially a “newbie”. Places like WF count on people not knowing what they are looking at, with nothing tangible to compare it with and therefore most likely won’t return it.
Do the right thing and encourage him to see his local jeweler or two.
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Nothing tangible to compare an ACA to?
The only thing worthwhile to compare an ACA to is another guaranteed super ideal cut diamond (that has all the ASET/IdealScope advanced images to prove it), such as another ACA, a CBI, a BGD Black, or a VC H&A. Tons of threads and pictures here and at many other jewelry/diamond sites and forums. Plenty to compare it to, and not one foot set out of one's home to do so.

There's always the option to have a live video conference session with a consultant to see the diamonds, as well as actually visit their retail locations for those that live in proximity or wish to travel. Plenty of ways to get all the info and proof one needs to conclude that these sellers have the reputation for service and product quality that they have earned over years and years of conducting business to thousands and thousands of happy customers...some of those customers are here at PS, have vast experience with buying both locally and virtual, and have plenty of variety in their own collections (built up over years or even decades) to directly compare their super ideal cuts to. That's where the reputation of these businesses comes from.
 
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Msem1969 said:
No one should be buying a diamond sight unseen. Especially a “newbie”. Places like WF count on people not knowing what they are looking at, with nothing tangible to compare it with and therefore most likely won’t return it.
Do the right thing and encourage him to see his local jeweler or two.
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@Msem1969 Welcome to Pricescope. I see this is your first post.

We try to help people find good diamonds wherever they want to buy them, through education and through our vast collective of experience buying, selling and upgrading diamonds. Sometimes people want to buy locally, sometimes across the world, but usually a buyer will show up here with specs for a diamond they have been offered and when they tell us the price we can show them 10 or so better proportioned diamonds in the same or higher color/ clarity at lower prices with a better upgrade policy.

The vendors that are commonly recommended here (Whiteflash/ WolfCBI/ Brian Gavin Diamonds) have made their reputations by selling diamonds that are precision cut to specifications that are narrower than AGS000 and GIAXXX. They're so beautifully crafted that you could buy them sight unseen, but they provide 40x magnified video and photographs, as well as ASET, H and A, and IS Images. WolfCBI even has three labs certify each stone. No chance of getting something you need to return unless you change your mind about color or carat.

Most of the diamonds I have seen locally are cut to retain carat weight and not to maximize performance.
 
mwilliamanderson said:
@Msem1969 Welcome to Pricescope. I see this is your first post.

We try to help people find good diamonds wherever they want to buy them, through education and through our vast collective of experience buying, selling and upgrading diamonds. Sometimes people want to buy locally, sometimes across the world, but usually a buyer will show up here with specs for a diamond they have been offered and when they tell us the price we can show them 10 or so better proportioned diamonds in the same or higher color/ clarity at lower prices with a better upgrade policy.

The vendors that are commonly recommended here (Whiteflash/ WolfCBI/ Brian Gavin Diamonds) have made their reputations by selling diamonds that are precision cut to specifications that are narrower than AGS000 and GIAXXX. They're so beautifully crafted that you could buy them sight unseen, but they provide 40x magnified video and photographs, as well as ASET, H and A, and IS Images. WolfCBI even has three labs certify each stone. No chance of getting something you need to return unless you change your mind about color or carat.

Most of the diamonds I have seen locally are cut to retain carat weight and not to maximize performance.
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This was put much more eloquently than what I did...and I had to makes some edits to tone things down before I hit the post reply button. :lol-2:
 
Are you in the trade @Msem1969 ? If so, I think you are breaking vendor rules. If not, then you need to have the Trade icon removed
from your profile.

And I agree, he should take his ACA and go visit his local jeweler. I'm sure the difference in cut quality will be obvious.
 
DejaWiz said:
This was put much more eloquently than what I did...and I had to makes some edits to tone things down before I hit the post reply button. :lol-2:
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I thought you handled yourself very well!

When someone (anyone) starts telling me to "do the right thing" my blood boils faster than a cast iron teapot in a blazing fire. The right thing for who? I wonder.
 
Msem1969 said:
No one should be buying a diamond sight unseen. Especially a “newbie”. Places like WF count on people not knowing what they are looking at, with nothing tangible to compare it with and therefore most likely won’t return it.
Do the right thing and encourage him to see his local jeweler or two.
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Totally agree if “buy” means no return policy. Reputable vendors dont roll like that though.


ETA: the whiteflash hate is starting to become suspect. Real customers with bad reviews shouldnt be ignored or blocked but the random disses like this one run the risk of harming a vendor’s reputation if that is the only post someone reads.
 
Msem1969 said:
No one should be buying a diamond sight unseen. Especially a “newbie”. Places like WF count on people not knowing what they are looking at, with nothing tangible to compare it with and therefore most likely won’t return it.
Do the right thing and encourage him to see his local jeweler or two.
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This comment looked odd to me when I first saw it. No threads, no comments but this one. Sounded to me like someone from a B & M trying to disparage online sellers. I took it for what it was worth.
 
elle_chris said:
I think it's normal to see a bit of color from the side in a J, especially in larger carat weights.
I have a 3.76ct J, ACA and depending on the lighting environment, I can definitely see some color.
Here are a side pic of mine along with a front view. front - Copy.jpgside view.jpg
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Still don't see any yellow, grey or brown- just white
 
Msem1969 said:
No one should be buying a diamond sight unseen. Especially a “newbie”. Places like WF count on people not knowing what they are looking at, with nothing tangible to compare it with and therefore most likely won’t return it.
Do the right thing and encourage him to see his local jeweler or two.
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Absolutely not with the B&M store, they try to pass off Good,Good,Good as an excellent well proportioned diamond- WF would not steer him wrong. Give your GF the ring and let her decide on the diamond color.
 
Ceilimon, love your rings and your diamonds!! All different, all beautiful.
I have a .70 UV oval that I'm very fond of. Your oval is is lovely, and I love all your settings!
 
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