My unintended upgrade: 2.968 H VS2 ACA

[MissGotRocks]

Congratulations on your new stone! It looks fabulous! Gotta love the WF upgrades!!

 

[CareBear]

Congratulations on your new stone! It looks fabulous! Gotta love the WF upgrades!!

Thank you MissGotRocks! Their upgrade policy makes it SO easy! On top of that, IMO they give very fair offers for trade-ins of non-WF stones. Without the trade-in part, this stone would not be mine.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Thank you MissGotRocks! Their upgrade policy makes it SO easy! On top of that, IMO they give very fair offers for trade-ins of non-WF stones. Without the trade-in part, this stone would not be mine.

How well I know! I traded in a stone with them last January for an ACA. No looking back for me either! Enjoy your new beauty!

 

[Pinkbunny]

Two years ago I traded in my non-WF stone for a WF ES 3.2 J VS2. It was a beautiful stone, the perfect size, and I absolutely adored it! I had intended to keep the stone for a long time and had no plans to upgrade. However, towards the end of last year several PSers scored these gorgeous 2.9+ I VS ACAs, which got me thinking that perhaps I should swap my stone for a slightly smaller 2.9+ I ACA. A 2.9 I is priced similarly to a 3.2 J so there would be almost no cost incurred. I searched the WF inventory and saw that the 2.913 I VS2 that @ajunes16 originally selected had not been sold. The only problem was the stone was 0.2mm smaller in diameter than my 3.2. This meant it would be visibly smaller and most likely require a new head to be made for my existing setting. To combat this, I would need to find one with super spread like @HappyNewLife's, but what are the chances right? I was on the fence for a while but ultimately passed on the 2.913. I decided to forget about swapping and just enjoy the stone I had.

From time to time, I search the WF inventory for fun and around xmas time last year a 2.968 H VS2 popped up in my search! A 3ct H VS2 is my ULTIMATE dream stone but such a stone was WAY out of budget. Even though I had no intentions of upgrading so soon, a 2.968 H VS2 is a TOTAL unicorn! By staying just under 3ct, the cost of my upgrade would be half the cost of an upgrade to a 3+ct H. Not only that, this stone is super spready, a twin of @HappyNewLife's stone! It is only 0.1mm smaller than my 3.2, which meant the size decrease would not be visible and I would be able to reuse the head of my existing setting. It was just all too perfect to pass up so I blew my bling budget for the forseeable future (goodbye tennis bracelet!) and went for the upgrade.

2.968 H VS2
Depth % 60.3
Table % 57.4
Crown Angle 34.1
Pavilion Angle 40.8
Measurements 9.31x9.37x5.63 mm

My previous stones all had crown angles of 34.5+ so I was a little worried that this stone would have less fire. This is not the case at all! In certain lighting conditions, I think the shallower crown actually makes the stone look bigger than my 3.2 because it returns more white light. The ring is a size 4.75. I had WF shave down the prongs slightly so that that less of the crown facets are covered. The head of the setting was made by WF but the shank is from my original e-ring made by Excel.

Nice diamond and setting. Could you post some real-life perspective shots for us?

 

[Yimmers]

Wow! Congrats on the unintended upgrade! Need more shots, please!!!

 

[CareBear]

Thank you Pinkbunny and Yimmers! I don't have any good shots to post at the moment (camera skills sucks) but will try to take some new ones!

 

[JPie]

It’s gorgeous! Such a classic look too.

 

[Catmom]

Woah, absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations!!

 

[CareBear]

Thank you Catmom!!!

 

[CravingDiamonds]

Great upgrade.

 

[Loreal]

What a serendipitous find! I love the 3 carat spread without the bump in price. Gorgeous.

 

[arkieb1]

Gorgeous find congrats!!!!!

 

[CareBear]

I've been asked by admin to re-post the photos from WF without the WF watermark.

 

[Searchingforering]

Thank you DS! Yes, I remember your quest for a just under 1.5 and a Tiffany knife edge setting and me thinking at the time that my ring would totally work for you! For my original e-ring, I suggested to DH to stay under 1.5 so I could have a higher color/clarity and had him contact WF (it was not a surprise engagement). The closest they had in the inventory was a 1.28 E VS2, Expert Selection, and not one of their near ACA ones. DH ended up purchasing a 1.41 G VS1 from Excel and set it in their Tiffany copy. Had I known I would only be keeping the stone for a short time, we would have gone with WF and the 1.28. Gosh, that was many years and many stones ago! I often wonder what I would be wearing today if I never found PS.

I absolutely adore the head that WF made (for the previous 3.2)! Which is why I was only willing to switch to a stone that this head could accommodate. I didn't want to risk it turning out differently the second time around!

Hello CareBear, I know this was a few years back and I hope you are still on this blog. What was the specification you asked for WhiteFlash to make head of the ring for you?

Did you specify the height? I am recently engaged and my fiancé proposed with a 2 ct from an online retailer that I am not happy with the craftsmanship nor the specs of the diamond. He didn't know about WhiteFlash and now he is more than happy to go whiteflash. I know your diamond is larger but I love the ratio of the head height.

Thank you, I hope my question wasn't too weird or confusing. Thank you in advance for your help and response.

 

[CareBear]

Hello CareBear, I know this was a few years back and I hope you are still on this blog. What was the specification you asked for WhiteFlash to make head of the ring for you?

Did you specify the height? I am recently engaged and my fiancé proposed with a 2 ct from an online retailer that I am not happy with the craftsmanship nor the specs of the diamond. He didn't know about WhiteFlash and now he is more than happy to go whiteflash. I know your diamond is larger but I love the ratio of the head height.

Thank you, I hope my question wasn't too weird or confusing. Thank you in advance for your help and response.

I actually did not give detailed specifications to WF initially, just that I wanted a Tiffany style head, set medium height. The head was originally made by WF for a 3.2ct stone. Since the two stones were very similar in diameter, I was able to reuse the head. The only request I had made when setting the 2.968 stone was to shave down the tabs of the prongs slightly. I would suggest finding photos, top and profile view, of the setting you like and sending them to WF. WF should be able to tell from the photos how 'tall' to make the head. If you are looking for a Tiffany style setting, another option besides a WF custom setting, would be to go with the Vatche U-113. The U-113 does cost a bit more. Hope this helps!

 

[Searchingforering]

I actually did not give detailed specifications to WF initially, just that I wanted a Tiffany style head, set medium height. The head was originally made by WF for a 3.2ct stone. Since the two stones were very similar in diameter, I was able to reuse the head. The only request I had made when setting the 2.968 stone was to shave down the tabs of the prongs slightly. I would suggest finding photos, top and profile view, of the setting you like and sending them to WF. WF should be able to tell from the photos how 'tall' to make the head. If you are looking for a Tiffany style setting, another option besides a WF custom setting, would be to go with the Vatche U-113. The U-113 does cost a bit more. Hope this helps!

Thank you so much for your reply CareBear! That is very helpful. Yes, I think I am going to go with vatche u113.

 

[Nymf]

Gorgeous!! What a huge beautiful crisp stone!