Tiffany Impression - HELP!!!

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 11/28/2006 6:13:36 PM
Author: dtnyc
You say that your lady is in B-school. I am in banking and almost everyone I work with above a certain age has his or her MBA. I have seen guys buy their ladies Tiffany rings, and I have seen guys work with B&M jewelers and designers, and I have seen one guy do his whole thing online. Who do you think has the biggest and best stone?
The last guy.

One guy who bought his wife's ring at Tiffany told me straight out- I was lazy and I didn't want to bother doing the research, and he felt that by going into Tiffany he knew he would get a beautiful ring.

If she wants a tiffany style solitaire you should check out the the Lockes 'signature solitaire.' The setting is very similiar but has a few little 'bonus' stones. Sunkist and Matatora both have this setting and it's gorgeous- better than Tiffany if you ask me, and very special.

This ring is no longer available. They had some quality problems and stopped making it. So cross this one off the list.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would most definitely go to closer to a 1.5 ct. stone in a G or H color and VS1 or VS2 would totally fine. In an ideal cut hearts and arrows stone, you do not see much color, so it is easy to go to G or H, and many people on here love their I and J color stones as well! Her friends will notice the size and the fact that is is a gorgeous, sparkly stone. I wouldn't blow the budget on F VVS2 unless you have the money to go up in size.

Here's a good one! Ignore that it says premium..the cert says all excellent!

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131&item=981004 1.60 H VS1 $13,000 before wire discount

 

[momof3]

i definitely think it is a consideration of your budget and desires...

i wouldn't get the tiffany just to please friends! if i wanted size or quality i'd get a replica and put the extra $ in the diamond.

she could say, "oh we looked at tiffany but found we could get it custom made here" - custom sounds nice huh?

it's also a bad trend to have other people influence these big personal - expensive - decisions...you two decide what is important and if she is happy her friends should be happy (or they are not good friends!) perhaps they will even feel foolish for getting the tiffany when she got a flashier bigger shinier ring for a better price?!

also, i think tiffany has gotten a bit over-exposed lately and is not close to as exclusive as it used to be...

 

[dtnyc]

Date: 11/28/2006 7:12:14 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 11/28/2006 6:13:36 PM

Author: dtnyc

You say that your lady is in B-school. I am in banking and almost everyone I work with above a certain age has his or her MBA. I have seen guys buy their ladies Tiffany rings, and I have seen guys work with B&M jewelers and designers, and I have seen one guy do his whole thing online. Who do you think has the biggest and best stone?

The last guy.


One guy who bought his wife''s ring at Tiffany told me straight out- I was lazy and I didn''t want to bother doing the research, and he felt that by going into Tiffany he knew he would get a beautiful ring.


If she wants a tiffany style solitaire you should check out the the Lockes ''signature solitaire.'' The setting is very similiar but has a few little ''bonus'' stones. Sunkist and Matatora both have this setting and it''s gorgeous- better than Tiffany if you ask me, and very special.

This ring is no longer available. They had some quality problems and stopped making it. So cross this one off the list.

Oops- that''s a shame- it''s a gorgeous setting. I guess you could have whiteflash or Mark M. do something similiar.

Tiffany setting is classic- yes- but it''s also EXPECTED and common, the beauty of the Lockes setting to me is that it has a subtle little oomph! A little surprise that makes people go WOW- same classic style, but MORE- which is really special to me-

 

[gailrmv]

It''s a really tough question, but if I were the girl in that same situation, I''d rather have a better stone for a better price and skip the name brand. If she really likes the tiff type setting, I''d get the superbcert. Or, find another really nice solitaire setting that is not a tiff replica, as others have suggested. I think if her friends ask where it''s from, it''s all in the spin... i.e. "we fell in love with these superideal diamonds from (your vendor)" rather than mentioning that it''s not from Tiffany. Another thing I''d consider is checking with signed pieces. They don''t have any tiff solitaires on their website right now, but they do pretty often. Then you could get the tiffany name without the big markup!

 

[diamondlove]

Rock23,

I just wanted to chime in that I originally thought I wanted a Tiffany's setting (I love that classic 6 prong look) and my fiance would have been perfectly okay getting it for me but I actually told him that I wanted something classic LIKE the Tiffany's setting but with a unique twist. I ended up with the Locke's Signature Setting as mentioned in the previous posts and love it because face up it is gorgeous like the Tiffany setting but the profile is unique with pretty prongs. My point is that I agree with the other posters who suggested the Mark Morrell or Leon Mege because those settings are similar in style but are unique and stand on their own as a beautiful and brand name setting.

I am actually surprised but I have not had people ask me if my ring is a Tiffany's and only get compliments regarding how sparkly the stone is (it's a H&A from Superbcert/Excel) and how unique the setting is and why they haven't seen it before. I understand your dilemma regarding the replica because it is almost exactly like the Tiffany's so if it was me, I'd prefer to have a setting that is entirely its own while retaining the similarity in beauty and style for the person who liked the classic 6 prong look of the Tiffany's.

I'd recommend the Locke's Signature Setting (pre QC problems) if they were still making it but I also totally adore that Mark Morrell setting posted above.

Good luck with your decision!

ETA: Oh and I also would consider getting a custom setting bc like someone mentioned, it'd be nice to reply that "he custom made this for me!"

 

[havernell]

Are you sure your girlfriend's MBA friends have real Tiffany rings? Maybe they have the superbcert replica too!!!

I'm mostly kidding, but hey, you never know!

And, to be perfectly honest, my original reaction to your post was that if her "friends" are the type who are going to think way less of both she and you just because you didn't shop at one particular store, then maybe they aren't such great friends afterall... (of course I do realize that in the corporate world, things like brand names *do* matter, so please forgive me for being a utopian).

Good luck with it!

 

[solange]

I have a nice size stone in a Whiteflash replica setting and I just love it. We live in Manhattan where large stones are not uncommon. I have seen people looking at my ring but no one ever comments nor do I ever comment on anyone else's ring. It is just not done unless it is an engagement ring and then you look at it and say something nice. I would certainly never get close enough and spend that much time examining it or ask where it came from.

I cannot imagine anyone asking if my ring comes from Tiffany. Of course I would tell the truth but it just isn't done and I think it would be a rude question.
I would bet that if you took two rings of the same price, one from Tiffany and one from a highly regarded Pricescope vendor and set in a replica setting, people who were asked would prefer the replica because, for the same price, the stone would either be larger or better quality and they would be unlikely to notice the small differences in any of the better replica settings such as whether the prongs are rounded or square.

Many of my friends have gorgeous rings but I have never heard a discussion about where the ring came from or even the quality or color--and certainly not the shape of the prongs. We bought the ring for me and not for other people to be impressed. I had my choice of where my ring was to come from and I decided that I wanted the largest and most beautiful stone for the money so I bought from a Pricescope vendor.

It never occurred to me that anyone would know or care that the setting is not the original Tiffany but a replica or that there would be any discussion about it behind my back. Many of my friends and acquaintances are catty but I am sure they have other things to concentrate on criticizing behind my back rather than my diamonds.

 

[firebirdgold]

Either way, you get a diamond like whiteflash''s A Cut Above super ideal''s or really any ideal cut diamond that passes muster here on PS and her diamond will out-sparkle the tiffany diamonds by a long shot! Tiffany has beautiful diamonds but they''re not all or even mostly ideal. (I think).

 

[Julian]

Well.... Tiffany diamonds are overpriced, but you will definitely NOT get a dud there.

Their stones do pass lots of muster to end up in the little blue box. Sure, you can get better elsewhere if you know where to look and how to hunt for the right cut, but on average they do have some amazing stones. Most are BIC. Some of their best will rival other vendors'' best stones, too. You just pay out the wazoo for them is all.

 

[Julian]

Teehee! It's not Friday, but... check out this bling from a Bay Area GTG!

I think the Tiff held its own pretty well -- it's the bottom solitaire on the index finger, I believe.

This could give you some ideas of other very lovely solitaire designs!!!!! There are tons of stunning ones here.




YUMMY BLING.... I NEVER GET TIRED OF THIS PIC!!!!!!! WOWOWOW.
(faints dead away!!!!)

ETA: Credit to Mara & friends from this thread
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/bay-area-get-together.47211/page-8