Yet another studs related post - am I crazy?

[lulu_ma]

Ahhh-now I get it-it’s the jackets that are the problem! I had a similar problem with my mom's warmer emerald cut. Once I reset the stone for her the problem disappeared. Now she and I absolutely love the ring.

Your studs look so pretty, even from the blurry pic. Is there any other gemstone that you love? You could easily have a set of jackets made from emeralds or yellow sapphires that would enhance the beauty of your studs. And perhaps, your current diamond jackets could be reworked into double halo jackets for your 3 ctw studs? Just some food for thought.

But IKWYM with the tint. I love MM's color most of the time. Occasionally the color disparity between MM and a band will bother me.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Ahhh-now I get it-it’s the jackets that are the problem! I had a similar problem with my mom's warmer emerald cut. Once I reset the stone for her the problem disappeared. Now she and I absolutely love the ring.

Your studs look so pretty, even from the blurry pic. Is there any other gemstone that you love? You could easily have a set of jackets made from emeralds or yellow sapphires that would enhance the beauty of your studs. And perhaps, your current diamond jackets could be reworked into double halo jackets for your 3 ctw studs? Just some food for thought.

But IKWYM with the tint. I love MM's color most of the time. Occasionally the color disparity between MM and a band will bother me.

I will be honest, the colour bothers me even without the jackets, but I guess I need to figure out how much. Im not going to touch the jackets for the time being, but I’ll commit to wearing the 3ctw and the 4ctw for longer stretches of time and really try and be more mindful of my feelings. I think I’ll do a week or two each, and then I’ll re-evaluate.

Your idea is definitely worth exploring because a new jacket would be a much cheaper fix I could use the stones from the existing jacket in another jacket design (I wanted to make a whole bunch of them) for the 3ctw and then it’s not wasted.

 

[yssie]

Where on earth did my post go? Apparently I’ve created my own personal forum poltergeist trying to edit the same post on two devices

I don’t remember exactly what I’d said earlier but @AllAboardTheBlingTrain - at least in the US, it’s actually not a guarantee that even a GIA graded O/P would command more than a GIA S/T. Once you get down into those split colour ranges the typical premium for whiter basically disappears until Y/Z, maybe W/X. But what definitely does command a premium is two lower coloured stones with the same colour grade on paper!

But that’s in the US and you’re not in the US so of course your local market might be different. Definitely worth chatting with your jeweller about it. Selling is a total PITA but vintage is SO in right now, offloading a large pair of matched OECs might not be all that much of a challenge!

 

[yssie]

I have a pair of low colour OECs - they might be very close to yours actually, they’re GIA S/T and U/V - and I totally understand what you mean about the chameleon effect. Seems like people either adore it or can’t come around to it - no one “doesn’t care either way”! I personally wouldn’t want money tied up in two large pairs of round diamond studs. For me they’d fill the same niche, I’d rather spend that money on either one amazing pair or two totally different pieces.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Where on earth did my post go? Apparently I’ve created my own personal forum poltergeist trying to edit the same post on two devices

I don’t remember exactly what I’d said earlier but @AllAboardTheBlingTrain - at least in the US, it’s actually not a guarantee that even a GIA graded O/P would command more than a GIA S/T. Once you get down into those split colour ranges the typical premium for whiter basically disappears until Y/Z, maybe W/X. But what definitely does command a premium is two lower coloured stones with the same colour grade on paper!

But that’s in the US and you’re not in the US so of course your local market might be different. Definitely worth chatting with your jeweller about it. Selling is a total PITA but vintage is SO in right now, offloading a large pair of matched OECs might not be all that much of a challenge!

Thanks for writing in again, Yssie! Overall my understanding of the market here is that the market is more obsessive about colour than certification (i.e. the preference is overwhelmingly the whiter the better, and an appraised higher colour grade is better than a certified lower colour grade; though people are beginning to understand why certification is necessary). The subset of people who are knowledgeable and discerning enough to appreciate OECs and not care about colour as well are a tiny subset of the market (which is why when I bought my studs, I frankly got them at an excellent deal).

I actually spoke to a friend today who is very into jewelry and she gave me the contact of a jeweller who specialises in vintage and unusual/high value gems, so I might contact him also and see what I could get for my studs. I know i'll pay my own jeweller a much lower fee (his commission is very low, which is why he's a great person to buy from) but I think this guy could net me a higher price, especially since I'm not really in a hurry to sell.

I have a pair of low colour OECs - they might be very close to yours actually, they’re GIA S/T and U/V - and I totally understand what you mean about the chameleon effect. Seems like people either adore it or can’t come around to it - no one “doesn’t care either way”! I personally wouldn’t want money tied up in two large pairs of round diamond studs. For me they’d fill the same niche, I’d rather spend that money on either one amazing pair or two totally different pieces.

I think I'm also slowly coming to the same conclusion, that there's no point in me having two pairs. A single pair of higher colour 4ctw studs is probably where I'll end up (and probably MRBs to make it easier on myself!)

And someday I will get my hands on a high colour OEC - even a small one, but that day is not today!

 

[yssie]

Thanks for writing in again, Yssie! Overall my understanding of the market here is that the market is more obsessive about colour than certification (i.e. the preference is overwhelmingly the whiter the better, and an appraised higher colour grade is better than a certified lower colour grade; though people are beginning to understand why certification is necessary). The subset of people who are knowledgeable and discerning enough to appreciate OECs and not care about colour as well are a tiny subset of the market (which is why when I bought my studs, I frankly got them at an excellent deal).

That's really interesting. And if I may, didn't you also move back to India pretty recently? So maybe it's not only that your personal priorities are shifting, like they would in a vacuum, but also that you're now embedded in a culture with different diamond values. Double whammy.

I actually spoke to a friend today who is very into jewelry and she gave me the contact of a jeweller who specialises in vintage and unusual/high value gems, so I might contact him also and see what I could get for my studs. I know i'll pay my own jeweller a much lower fee (his commission is very low, which is why he's a great person to buy from) but I think this guy could net me a higher price, especially since I'm not really in a hurry to sell.

I think I'm also slowly coming to the same conclusion, that there's no point in me having two pairs. A single pair of higher colour 4ctw studs is probably where I'll end up (and probably MRBs to make it easier on myself!)

If it's feasible to sort shipping out - or hand-carry on a visit or something - IMO it's worth trying the US market too. To copy @LilAlex low colour in OECs really is oreos in milk here, I really think you'd get plenty of interest.

@Tonks has RBs and OECs in very similar size. I'd be interested in her thoughts!

And someday I will get my hands on a high colour OEC - even a small one, but that day is not today!

A singleton is SO much easier. No facet pattern matching to worry about.

 

[Tonks]

Hey @AllAboardTheBlingTrain ! Thanks for tagging me, @yssie

Ok, so I have two pairs of studs that aren’t just close to the same size—they’re basically the exact same size. MRBs from CBI in a six prong umbrella setting (they are 2.22 ctw) and Canera European rounds in platinum bezels (they’re 2.something ctw but in the bezel they are literally the exact same size as the CBIs. Color on both pairs is the same—AGS G.

*for me*, having two pairs of studs the same size and different cut is worth it, because I never wear any earrings other than studs. Like, studs always and at this point I feel strange in anything else. Having both pairs feels like a ton of variety to me, though I am well aware the casual observer would not know the difference. I notice. The CBIs are fantastic modern round brilliants. The CERs feel different to me and I get a thrill out of the rainbow flashes and pastels every time I see them in a mirror (or, let’s be honest, when I walk around with them on my hand to stare at the pretty colors).

So…I’m happy to make an argument for you keeping both pairs, or for you selling the OECs. HOWEVER. That assumes you like both pairs for what they are. I hear you having some strong reservations about the OEC color. Before you sell them, I would slow down and really think about whether you can find again what you once loved about the OEC pair. If you got the OECs at a great price, *to me*, that’s a good incentive to make darn sure before moving. Could you reset them in yellow gold? It’s worth considering what impact that would have on color. I notice that OWD often sets OECs in yellow gold.

I’m also familiar with the phenomenon whereby something that did not bother you on day 1 or month 4 can start to bother you. But only you know how much that thing bothers you and whether it is financially worth it to make a change.

That’s a lot of words to say all of this is so personal, but you’re not crazy either way. Keep both pairs—that makes perfect sense to me. Sell the OECs—I could understand that, too.

 

[Tonks]

Oh yes, significantly yellower in unflattering light. In flattering light they are a bit creamy/yellow but not terribly so; while the Js just look white regardless. In the best lighting they face up really remarkably white imo.

I think I am maligning the OECs, they are a perfectly acceptable slightly creamy white about 70% of the time, and a lot of the time they're actually really nice and bright WHITE. But 20% of the time they look more yellow than I like - you can see the body colour, especially against the removable jackets that I have (which contain IJ melee as the lowest colour melee my jeweller could get his hands on). Of course I end up wearing them with the jackets when I'm going out somewhere, so they look more yellow when I'm out to a party than when I wear them casually, which I dislike.

ETA: I went and reread my old posts here again and I feel like the first six months I never noticed the yellow at all! I have a comment on here somewhere about how 75% of the time they're a colour I'm ok with and 25% of the time they're a colour I love. And I feel like now I would revise that to 70% of the time they're creamy white and that's a colour I'm ok with, 10% of the time they're actually really white face-up and throw amazing coloured flashes and it all works together really well, and 20% of the time they're unacceptably yellow. But that 20% is all I can see now!!

Ok, I just read this post. That’s a big percentage of time you’re either ok with them or throwing amazing colored flashes. Can you put them away for a period of time and then take them back out and see again with fresh eyes? Sometimes that works wonders.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

That's really interesting. And if I may, didn't you also move back to India pretty recently? So maybe it's not only that your personal priorities are shifting, like they would in a vacuum, but also that you're now embedded in a culture with different diamond values. Double whammy.


If it's feasible to sort shipping out - or hand-carry on a visit or something - IMO it's worth trying the US market too. To copy @LilAlex low colour in OECs really is oreos in milk here, I really think you'd get plenty of interest.

@Tonks has RBs and OECs in very similar size. I'd be interested in her thoughts!


A singleton is SO much easier. No facet pattern matching to worry about.

Oh that’s a really good point, I never thought about that, how being back here influences my thought process and colour sensitivity. I did move back relatively recently, but since I never really absorbed the diamond culture of the places I lived in before, I thought I was free of influence, if that makes sense? But if I think about it I definitely think I’ve become more colour intolerant than I was in recent years at least. I will say that it’s not like it is in East Asian countries here where only DEF will do, but I think up till around J or maybe K is considered acceptably white here by most. When you start entering the cape colours is when people start balking at colour. And I feel like I personally feel about the same - that unless something is so yellow as to face up a fancy / fancy light; I would also want to be J or higher.

I haven’t visited the US in many years, but I am planning on doing so next year maybe as I have a close friend planning to get married there. So if I decide to sell, and I don’t get any takers until then, I might do the hand carry thing (and advertise beforehand / sign up with a reputable consigner). I have a deep distrust of the postal system, lol. Especially customs.

Hey @AllAboardTheBlingTrain ! Thanks for tagging me, @yssie

Ok, so I have two pairs of studs that aren’t just close to the same size—they’re basically the exact same size. MRBs from CBI in a six prong umbrella setting (they are 2.22 ctw) and Canera European rounds in platinum bezels (they’re 2.something ctw but in the bezel they are literally the exact same size as the CBIs. Color on both pairs is the same—AGS G.

*for me*, having two pairs of studs the same size and different cut is worth it, because I never wear any earrings other than studs. Like, studs always and at this point I feel strange in anything else. Having both pairs feels like a ton of variety to me, though I am well aware the casual observer would not know the difference. I notice. The CBIs are fantastic modern round brilliants. The CERs feel different to me and I get a thrill out of the rainbow flashes and pastels every time I see them in a mirror (or, let’s be honest, when I walk around with them on my hand to stare at the pretty colors).

So…I’m happy to make an argument for you keeping both pairs, or for you selling the OECs. HOWEVER. That assumes you like both pairs for what they are. I hear you having some strong reservations about the OEC color. Before you sell them, I would slow down and really think about whether you can find again what you once loved about the OEC pair. If you got the OECs at a great price, *to me*, that’s a good incentive to make darn sure before moving. Could you reset them in yellow gold? It’s worth considering what impact that would have on color. I notice that OWD often sets OECs in yellow gold.

I’m also familiar with the phenomenon whereby something that did not bother you on day 1 or month 4 can start to bother you. But only you know how much that thing bothers you and whether it is financially worth it to make a change.

That’s a lot of words to say all of this is so personal, but you’re not crazy either way. Keep both pairs—that makes perfect sense to me. Sell the OECs—I could understand that, too.

Hi @Tonks! I remember your two beautiful pairs - we discussed them over on my previous stud thread!

I have toyed with the idea of resetting my studs too, but I just don’t like yellow gold for studs for some reason. One of my smaller pairs came to me in YG and I got it reset. But also I know I won’t find this kind of deal again!

Thanks for the reassurance! I don’t know what I’m going to do yet but it’s nice to know I’m not completely nuts for agonising

Ok, I just read this post. That’s a big percentage of time you’re either ok with them or throwing amazing colored flashes. Can you put them away for a period of time and then take them back out and see again with fresh eyes? Sometimes that works wonders.

I already decided I’ll keep them away and wear just the 3ctw for a while. And then switch. And then decide.

I would so dearly love to fall in love with them again!