Please help figure out if this lab-grown blue diamond is the ONE - it doesn't need to be perfect, but I can't tell how it will sparkle! Videos & pics

[brandelyn_]

Hello!!

This forum was verrrrrrry highly recommended to me over on a Reddit post, and I'm so happy to see such a busy, active, topic-specific forum out in the wild! Thank you for being here

I have an engagement ring that's going through a glow-up. She started with "black gold" (I don't even need to look, I'm certain y'all have your opinions on that) which is being replated to white gold, and now the turquoise-ish London Blue Topaz in the middle will be upgraded to a lab-grown blue diamond!!! Or..... will it?




This specific stone caught my eye and I have been going back and forth with the seller for about a week. I found the rock on Google Search but after seeing their website & searching further, I also located the seller on Etsy (OurosJewelers). There was a video clip of the diamond where it looked like a deeper teal/turquoise than straight blue, and it was exactly what I wanted. Once I asked for more images of the diamond in natural light, though, he replaced the original pretty dark teal video with this updated video where it looked BLUE-blue-like-MUCH-lighter. I would never even have reached out if that were the original video clip on the listing! I told him this, and he said it was because "I thought that you don't seem to like that darker shade so I asked my team to capture some videos of it and get it replaced. Let me share the video of the diamond in natural light." Okaaaayyyy.... so you would have misled me that it was lighter than it actually is....?

My love for this deep teal color is making my decisions questionable... hence, here I am.

So I agreed and specified again that I LOVE the darker shade and would like to see it in natural light and he sent this one, on someone's hand in a ring holder. It looks nice but I can't tell if it is better than the $6K blue diamond upgrade from Diamondere. It's the attached pic on the white background; they're saying they sold that specific ring recently from their blue diamond collection as I had asked for a "natural" pic of the blue diamonds they have.

I am not at all knowledgeable on any of this but my only real concern is that the new one is the general tone range of color I love, and that it sparkles a LOT more than what I have now! That's it, just sparkle. What I have now looks like it came from the clearance bucket of chipped crystals at the hippie bracelet store.

The blue topaz I received from Diamondere looks like a 25-cent candy machine flat plastic toy stone and I was SO disappointed -- it looked NOTHING like the listing. Even in the pics I attached here it looks better than in person. It doesn't "catch" the sun or anything else... and sitting next to genuine diamonds makes it look even worse. And again, the "black gold" plating chipped off almost immediately and was almost completely gone after a few months of wearing it, so now I'm just having them re-size and replate it then send it back and I'll get my new stone set elsewhere.

This is from the lab-grown stone Etsy listing (same as on their website)

✦ Shape: Round Cut
✦ Dimension: 6.99*4.33 MM (± 0.10 MM)
✦ Carat weight:- 1.35 CT (± 0.05 CT)
✦ Color: Blue
✦ Clarity: VS
✦ Hardness: 10/10
✦ Type: Lab Grown Diamond
✦ Certificate: Ouros Brand Authenticate
✦ SKU: LG3618

I am hoping Ouros Jewelers' stone is THE ONE and if so I couldn't be happier with the size and price! He reserved the stone (so here are more pics in their "studio lighting" which apparently completely changes the color of the damn rock!) for me on a payment plan first installment, so I have a small bit of time to make 100% sure, and would love any thoughts!

Please share any and all of your advice and opinions... critiques appreciated as well

Attaching pics of my ring needing her glow-up, and also a pic of the $6K Diamondere blue diamond (which definitely does have a teal hue to it).

Also more pics of this specific lab-grown blue diamond at the very end!







vvvvv Diamondere blue natural diamond for $6K vvvvv

 

[MightyDucks]

Welcome to pricescope! I don’t know too much about fancy color diamonds but have seen a few people post on here about iffy experiences with ouros jewels and his etsy store being suspended due to complaints. Many users here highly recommend diamonds by lauren for fancy colored diamonds. They sell fancy colored lab diamonds too. Maybe try reaching out to diamonds by lauren to see if they can help you find exactly what you are looking for.

 

[Kim N]

Welcome to pricescope! I don’t know too much about fancy color diamonds but have seen a few people post on here about iffy experiences with ouros jewels and his etsy store being suspended due to complaints. Many users here highly recommend diamonds by lauren for fancy colored diamonds. They sell fancy colored lab diamonds too. Maybe try reaching out to diamonds by lauren to see if they can help you find exactly what you are looking for.

I agree, there are a number of negative reviews of Ouros on this forum. There's at least one that mentioned that the stone in the listing is not the actual stone for sale. Given the difficulty of a potential return and your desire for a very specific color, I would hesitate to work with them.

Ditto MightyDucks's suggestion of Diamonds by Lauren. David has many happy customers here.

 

[lovedogs]

Please dont order from Ouros. They often get people to order with pretty pics on IG and then the stones they actually have on hand are different. Definitely try a different vendor

 

[Rockdiamond]

vvvvv Diamondere blue natural diamond for $6K vvvvv

HI All!!!
The word "Natural" is a bit overly general here.
If it's a diamond that was mined from the earth, it was irradiated to become blue......so while it might be a "natural" diamond, it's not a natural blue diamond.
Most Lab grown blue diamonds are irradiated in the same manner as Earth mined diamonds ( especially darker blues, which are different from "boron blues")- so the color of darker LG and EM irradiated blue diamonds are the same.

ETA- Note- the following comment is NOT directed toward any specific seller:
I have been shocked at the difference between published videos/pics of LG Fancy Colored diamonds ( from the wholesale database) as compared to the actual stones in real life. Pics and videos of FCLG diamonds must be viewed with a bit of skeptisism.

 

[MightyDucks]

HI All!!!
The word "Natural" is a bit overly general here.
If it's a diamond that was mined from the earth, it was irradiated to become blue......so while it might be a "natural" diamond, it's not a natural blue diamond.
Most Lab grown blue diamonds are irradiated in the same manner as Earth mined diamonds ( especially darker blues, which are different from "boron blues")- so the color of darker LG and EM irradiated blue diamonds are the same.

ETA- Note- the following comment is NOT directed toward any specific seller:
I have been shocked at the difference between published videos/pics of LG Fancy Colored diamonds ( from the wholesale database) as compared to the actual stones in real life. Pics and videos of FCLG diamonds must be viewed with a bit of skeptisism.

OP this is the owner of Diamond by Lauren if you aren’t aware. I would highly recommend heeding his advice and proceeding with caution against purchasing a fancy color diamond without seeing it in person or having an experienced vendor vet the stone in person. Unfortunately, the same rule of life applies to diamonds: “You get what you pay for.”

 

[lovedogs]

Also, diamondere is charging way too much for a stone that just doesnt look good, to be honest.

 

[Karl_K]

Backing up here for a second.....
Any colored stone will look a different color depending on lighting. It will vary a lot.
Expecting a stone to look a certain way all the time is setting oneself up for disappointment.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Any colored stone will look a different color depending on lighting. It will vary a lot.

Excellent point Karl- very true.
But here's the thing- it's possible to really mess with exposure and other lighting/photography aspects that produce very deceptive imagry. For example- yellow diamonds. By varying the lighting you can make an Orangy Yellow Diamond look like a pure yellow. And in many cases, there's an actual human looking at the image before it's published.
So - yes, FCD's ( both LG, and EM) vary a lot based on the lighting and other factors...but....it's still possible to take steps to assure the pics and diamond look alike.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

This vendor seems to have a few when you put the parameters in their search.

Frank Darling | Custom Designed Unique Engagement Rings

Unique engagement rings custom designed for you, for free in our NYC studio, with sustainably sourced materials, conflict-free and lab grown diamonds.

frankdarling.com

 

[Karl_K]

Excellent point Karl- very true.
But here's the thing- it's possible to really mess with exposure and other lighting/photography aspects that produce very deceptive imagry. For example- yellow diamonds. By varying the lighting you can make an Orangy Yellow Diamond look like a pure yellow. And in many cases, there's an actual human looking at the image before it's published.
So - yes, FCD's ( both LG, and EM) vary a lot based on the lighting and other factors...but....it's still possible to take steps to assure the pics and diamond look alike.

I agree, vendors photos should be a reasonable approximation for the lighting used. Doe to differences in monitors and how the programs renders
them its never going to be perfect.

I should have specified viewing them in person, the color will vary a lot based on lighting.

 

[brandelyn_]

Wow... you have all been so incredibly helpful!!! I am looking into the Diamonds by Lauren further. At this point I just want a pretty blue-greenish stone that sparkles more than a piece of plastic (which is what the topaz I have now looks like). I really REALLY appreciate all the points of view. <3<3<3

And to end, no I would never recommend Diamondere to anyone. The entire process has been overpriced and difficult, and the topaz they sent is so incredibly disappointing I absolutely don't want to buy yet another stone from them!

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

I think you have a good direction. David doesn't just work at Diamonds by Lauren, he is Diamonds by Lauren. He's completely connected and knowledgeable about their diamonds and gemstones, and he seems to be a very nice person to boot.

 

[petrock<3]

Hi! Yes I would say Diamonds by Lauren for sure and Brilliant Earth has colored lab diamonds, I’ve seen some nice blues on there. Although I read a post the other day about troubles w BE? Is this still a good place to buy? I like checking out their FC lab diamonds

 

[Kim N]

Hi! Yes I would say Diamonds by Lauren for sure and Brilliant Earth has colored lab diamonds, I’ve seen some nice blues on there. Although I read a post the other day about troubles w BE? Is this still a good place to buy? I like checking out their FC lab diamonds

Brilliant Earth has had a fair number of negative reviews, including a recent one. I'd personally avoid them.