So beautiful and wow - talk about analysis!! What a good PSer you are!
Thank you! In the real world, it just looks like I'm crazy but I know the PS community would appreciate it
#JOTW We're Engaged! Introducing My New 1.9 E VS2 ACA Dream Engagement Ring
Thank you! In the real world, it just looks like I'm crazy but I know the PS community would appreciate it
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2008
- Messages
- 5,664
The Journey
In 2016, I officially joined PriceScope after lurking casually for a couple years. I wanted to dive head in to the world of diamonds. My intention was to learn as much as I could to make a well informed purchase one day. It brought me much joy to spend weekend afternoons doing my own intensive crash course: reading the Beyond 4Cs blog, studying YouTube videos (notably from Good Old Gold), and learning from your personal journeys on PriceScope.
I innocently bookmarked a couple of eye-catching ACAs, jotting down their prices and specs for future reference. Whiteflash stood out with their curated inventory, top notch imagery, transparency, education and upgrade policy. After reading high praises for ACAs and admiring all the beauties shared here, I couldn't get ACAs off my mind; I longed for one. In subsequent years, I'd continue to casually browse Whiteflash from time to time and be filled with excitement when I marveled at the stones.
In 2022, when we started planning for the future, I decided to keep track of diamonds with a simple spreadsheet to seriously consider available options. When we discussed our preferences, jewelers and the rising costs of natural diamonds, I easily pulled up pricing for similar ACAs that sold years apart. My then boyfriend, now fiancé, valued the insight and data I provided. This spreadsheet list grew into a record of when they popped up in inventory, when they sold, and their prices.
While I was completely mesmerized by ACAs, we would keep our options open as there is a sizable price difference over sourcing through local jewelers, especially ones we had family connections to. I wasn’t sure how important it would be for me to have an ACA, but I knew far too much to be happy with just any stone. If we were going to find a great stone outside of Whiteflash, I'd need to understand super ideal and ideal parameters.
In 2023, I tracked super ideal and ideal diamonds almost daily. I was excited by the hunt, learnings, and ensuring we wouldn't miss the perfect stone for us. My spreadsheet evolved into a bigger beast to understand my preferences and attempt to understand angle combinations. I set search parameters on other retailer websites to match ACA qualifications, evaluated diamond images and videos, and cross checked specs and information on FreeDiamondReport and StoneAlgo. To date, I have tracked 300 diamonds over 10 retailers and 3 search engines.
Note: Retailer names and certificate numbers have been redacted.
After reading many threads over the years and following a number of jewelers, I shifted my mindset and started to prioritize the Cs to consider flexibility where possible. In the months and year prior, I saw what seemed to be a more limited inventory of ACAs within my search parameters (which changed slightly over time) and pricing in the industry was at an all time high, both of which were the result of the pandemic and world events. Actively searching during this time really pressed me to identify what was important to me; this proved to be a great exercise and long term practice.
My preferred priority of the 4 Cs:
As we know, the 4 Cs all comes down to personal preference. I came to understand that I’d rather allocate more of our budget towards higher priority Cs that would make a visible difference and maximize our dollars. Cut is king, there is no compromise there. Since I would likely be color sensitive, a colorless grade would give me the most peace of mind. I desired a larger stone, as close to 2 carats as I could get. The only thing I could compromise on was clarity.
- Cut: Super ideal or ideal
- Color: DEF, would consider a high G
- Carat: 1.5-2.0
- Clarity: IF-VS2
The difference between clarity grades would be indistinguishable to the naked eye, provided it was eye clean, of course. And, most importantly, it would have the same visual effect of anything graded higher (which isn't true for me when it comes to carat or color). I noticed on the forums and social media that people were happy with lower clarity grades.
It would take some time to believe, trust, stand by and be confident in the conscious approach to purchase a lower clarity grade when it wasn’t naturally instinctive. There is an argument that higher clarity diamonds are more valuable and in my community there seems to be a preference for slightly higher grades. But I felt I could live with a VS grade if it meant I could have a larger, more colorless stone (and most people wouldn’t even remember the different grades anyways). In fact, there was a period of time when only high clarity stones were available and I wanted more lower clarity stones so we could afford a larger carat within our budget.
As I fell deep into the rabbit hole, I knew a diamond from a local jeweler without the ASETs, hearts and arrow images, and 360° videos, would not feel mind clean for me. It became clearer that finding a super ideal or ideal in their inventory would be challenging. The price difference wasn’t appetizing when I typically prefer to get the best quality when it comes to large purchases. If I purchased with a local jeweler, I think a part of me would always wonder if it could measure up to an ACA.
The years of tracking all paid off when I found our stone in August 2023, all roads had led us back to Whiteflash. We love the guarantee of a top performing diamond that has undergone rigorous scrutiny and inspection. Pricing at times was comparable to other online jewelers and, in general, Whiteflash diamond prices stayed quite consistent over time. The ease of shopping their curated inventory online, buy back and lifetime upgrade policies, and the added benefit of working with their staff would be hard to beat.
The Diamond
That day in August, a wave of new stones were added; suddenly, there was a chance to own a nearly 2 carat, colorless super ideal without the 2 carat, high clarity price. I had seen some amazing stones taken off market in the matter of days, a couple I thought had gotten away, but stones like this and at this price point are rare. It would be more than our original budget but it checked all the boxes for me. I knew from looking for months it would be worth the stretch and we would have to act quickly. My fiancè said to reserve it.
He had done some research early in our relationship, but would do a deeper exploration after being introduced to super ideals by yours truly. While he was a bit skeptical of super ideals, this video by Jaan Paul helped us see there is a visible difference in performance between cuts.
He dedicated all his extra time to feverishly researching and working through ideas of value, and boy, did I have a lot of data ready for him. The data I built over the past two years was incredibly useful. We constantly referenced, reviewed, and edited my spreadsheet, continuing conversations regarding our preferences, research, and values until 2 AM each night for a week.
He raised a good question about having a “well balanced” diamond; was it less valuable and desirable because everything was high grades except clarity? A VS2 grade wasn't entirely “mind clean” for us; there were some concerns about the number of inclusions and their placement. This diamond tested how comfortable we would be with more inclusions, especially since one falls in front of a facet junction which is reflected. Still, we knew this stone was special. While we preferred a VS1 clarity, it would cost 12% more without visible payoff. We love a good hack for cutting costs and maximizing value; compromising on clarity feels just like that.
We went on a few educational field trips to different commercial jewelers varying in quality to review diamonds in person. When we inspected color, we compared G to D stones and were both able to see what felt like a huge difference in color under jewelry store lighting. One of the gemologists allowed us to review a similar 2 carat E VS2 under a large microscope and to our surprise, it was difficult to pinpoint inclusions even under heavy magnification. Afterwards, I spent more time reviewing VS2s plot maps and eliminated any concerns of it being on the border of an SI1 grade.
While we were on the 90 day flexible payment plan, an identical ACA came into inventory so we asked our rep to compare the two. We were advised to keep our stone as it was brighter, whiter, and less visibly included under much close inspection (the comparable stone had fewer crystals but more clouds). I had since learned to embrace "freckles," as Dolly from xothebijouxbox calls them, as uniquely characteristic of our stone.
Key things I think are worth remembering
The field trips, additional research, and diamond comparisons really solidified that this stone fit perfectly into our preferences.
- Inclusions are literally microscopic, keep a real life perspective of the stone in mind
- All natural diamonds, regardless of their inclusions, are super rare
Fast forward, we paid off our diamond in full and made a road trip to pick it up in December. That morning, he told me he'd like to keep the reveal a surprise until the ring was complete and I agreed not to peek; I love keeping some element of surprise (it is hard but I knew it would be worth it) since I was so involved already.
The Jeweler
Soon after, I began narrowing down my preference for a jeweler. It was important for me to build trust with a jeweler and find an experienced one with expert craftsmanship. In total, I reached out to 10 jewelers who were willing to work with a loose stone and visited 4 of those jewelers. This process took about two months. After several in person visits, I confirmed that a small local, pop and pop jeweler was the best fit for me. Their craftsmanship was unmatched, everything was just exquisite.
I had visited large independent jewelers with celebrity clientele that had a more commercial feel with reps who weren't as factually knowledgeable and had confirmed to me they displayed mass produced settings as samples, some were impatient and uninterested in my business, and oddly always pushing white gold over my preference for platinum. The staff at the small shop was super patient, attentive, the most knowledgeable of the jewelers I visited, preferred to work in platinum, and most importantly, were very honest with me.
The End Result
When we received the finished ring, my fiancé was so excited and proud. He was thrilled with how it turned out and confirmed everything we put into practice was the right call. He said it easily could be the most captivating ring in a room, and was the sparkliest ring he has ever seen.
He proposed while we were on vacation and we both haven’t been able to stop admiring it! We are SO happy with our engagement ring! Friends and family have asked if it is everything I wanted… YES, it really IS everything I wanted!!
Wow! You really did your research and it paid off! Your ring is beautiful! Congratulations!
- Joined
- May 27, 2010
- Messages
- 2,912
Beautiful diamond, ring, and story! Congratulations!
Where was he on your spreadsheet of suitors? Because he seems like a keeper.
And: when you decide to take the next step, I don't envy your realtor...
No spreadsheet of suitors, he was always the one!As per usual, we love doing our research and looking at real estate together! I look forward to our first home; my fiancé already has his own spreadsheet for to run through finances for that!
@Dreamer_D I wanted to tell you... A day before he proposed on our vacation, I saw this post of yours while I was scrolling on PS on my phone and laughed out loud. He asked me "What's so funny?" and I showed him and he laughed a little and didn't say anything. Turns out the joke was on me because he had already planned on proposing.
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2012
- Messages
- 709
Please join me in celebrating this piece, it’s the Jewel of the Week! We are grateful that @silliex shared it with us! CONGRATULATIONS! 
JotW 10.11.24
JotW 10.11.24Thank you!!!! Such an honor, we are thrilled!Please join me in celebrating this piece, it’s the Jewel of the Week! We are grateful that @silliex shared it with us! CONGRATULATIONS!
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2014
- Messages
- 6,726
Dreamer_D
Super_Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2007
- Messages
- 27,038
@Dreamer_D I wanted to tell you... A day before he proposed on our vacation, I saw this post of yours while I was scrolling on PS on my phone and laughed out loud. He asked me "What's so funny?" and I showed him and he laughed a little and didn't say anything. Turns out the joke was on me because he had already planned on proposing.
lol... good! Glad he didn't wait longer, our pitchforks are sharp
Thank you!
I knew someone who stopped into a jewelry store on a whim while commuting home and bought an engagement ring but thankfully he decided to return it and do more research. I am sure they are both much happier with the ring he ended up buying the second time!
lol... good! Glad he didn't wait longer, our pitchforks are sharp
I'm glad it ended up being worth the wait, a swoon worthy proposal vacation!
viggy_luvs_bling
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2024
- Messages
- 34
Thank you! Will share more pics once I figure out how to best take photos of it, it's so much harder than it looksCongrats on the engagement and please share lot photos and closeups! Btw, we are the same itty bitty engagement ring size 3.75!
! Also, I love being in the itty bitty club!Thank you!!! It is so satisfying when you find the one! I hope yours comes soon, it'll be worth the wait and all the time!
I feel likewise! I am so grateful for all the knowledge and experiences shared here. I hope my journey can help someone on theirs one day!
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