Proposal Ring - Part 2

[popsoda]

It's fine... Unless you don't want people to trace your cert.

That got me thinking, under what circumstances I dun wan pple to trace my cert?

 

[dicxz80]

help me to choose diamond, thank you : RockyTalky • Diamond Jewelry Forum - Compare Diamond Prices, Discussions & Diamond Information

just want to share my story, buying diamond online,

I am not affiliated to those sellers. just a regular man that go for diamond hunting for proposal ring (I learn from zero)

if you are adventurous and have tight budget and / or if you are money concious, maybe you can try to do the same buy online from none pre-selected collection

(use vivo diamond guide to select / filter diamonds selection)

basicly
1. EX-EX-EX is a must
2. (for me) Carat, Cut, Clarity (when buying online at least VS2), and Colour (at least I) is in order of importance
3. try to get less inclusion and if there is any try to limit the inclusion to cloud and/or crystal (avoid feather, feather is soft word for crack)
4. use HCA tool to filter out any diamond above 2.0 (for me I prefer score nearer to 1.5 not those very small score) and this HCA tool is not perfect use it to filter "bad" diamond not tool to "select" perfect diamond
5. make sure girdle not too thick, not too thin (somewhere between 2-3.5 is preferred)
6. get SARIN report (detail one if possible not only average, run HCA for each facet and see the score), detail SARIN report should not deviate too much from average
7. get IDEALSCOPE image and analyze (difficult to explain in words here, but you can check my link above)

if you can find diamond match those 7 list above, congratulations you get best value for money to diamond that suit your requirement / need (no such thing perfect diamond with best value, perfect diamond is always super expensive )

else

if you are adventurous, and want to get the best (or at least easier to select best of pre-selected diamonds), but money concious, you can try buy online from whiteflash (ACA diamond collection), goodoldgold.com (H&A or solasfera diamond collection), JamesAllen (heart and arrow collection) they have good pre-selected diamonds but more expensive than usual (still cheaper from local store)

else

if you are not person as above and prefer to see with own eyes, go to Jan Paul, from what I see after reading this thread and see the idealscope image, ASET image that provided by them, I can say their diamond is top notch, well selected (and I guess you need to pay premium price for their effort to select top notch diamonds and for them to bring it to Singapore for you to see with your own eyes)

and I can tell you based on my diamond hunting experience it is not easy to find super ideal diamond (there is always one feature is not properly met)

frankly speaking, after reading so much and learn from zero, indeed I can say diamond is exciting ! there is one moment, I thought of doing this business (small scale) as a hobby, trying to find close to "perfect" diamond with best value of money, it is EXCITING ! and somehow rush my adrenaline

last but not least, happy hunting guys !

Note

in my opinion, if you are about to spend 5k SGD above, just forget about the local retailer store (I dont dare to give name, but you know which), where the sales associate only know how to talk based on GIA cert (sometimes they even only know that D is better than E, VVS2 is better than VS1, and so on)

and those garage sale, warehouse sale, etc, completely waste of time !

if you dont bother about 7 point thing that I wrote above, and want to buy diamond as long as there is certificate (when I talk about certificate not those inhouse certificate, try to stick to AGS and GIA certificate only !), better go to pawn shop (seriously), you will get better value for money diamond.

 

[justme]

help me to choose diamond, thank you : RockyTalky • Diamond Jewelry Forum - Compare Diamond Prices, Discussions & Diamond Information

just want to share my story, buying diamond online,

I am not affiliated to those sellers. just a regular man that go for diamond hunting for proposal ring (I learn from zero)

if you are adventurous and have tight budget and / or if you are money concious, maybe you can try to do the same buy online from none pre-selected collection

(use vivo diamond guide to select / filter diamonds selection)

basicly
1. EX-EX-EX is a must
2. (for me) Carat, Cut, Clarity (when buying online at least VS2), and Colour (at least I) is in order of importance
3. try to get less inclusion and if there is any try to limit the inclusion to cloud and/or crystal (avoid feather, feather is soft word for crack)
4. use HCA tool to filter out any diamond above 2.0 (for me I prefer score nearer to 1.5 not those very small score) and this HCA tool is not perfect use it to filter "bad" diamond not tool to "select" perfect diamond
5. make sure girdle not too thick, not too thin (somewhere between 2-3.5 is preferred)
6. get SARIN report (detail one if possible not only average, run HCA for each facet and see the score), detail SARIN report should not deviate too much from average
7. get IDEALSCOPE image and analyze (difficult to explain in words here, but you can check my link above)

if you can find diamond match those 7 list above, congratulations you get best value for money to diamond that suit your requirement / need (no such thing perfect diamond with best value, perfect diamond is always super expensive )

else

if you are adventurous, and want to get the best (or at least easier to select best of pre-selected diamonds), but money concious, you can try buy online from whiteflash (ACA diamond collection), goodoldgold.com (H&A or solasfera diamond collection), JamesAllen (heart and arrow collection) they have good pre-selected diamonds but more expensive than usual (still cheaper from local store)

else

if you are not person as above and prefer to see with own eyes, go to Jan Paul, from what I see after reading this thread and see the idealscope image, ASET image that provided by them, I can say their diamond is top notch, well selected (and I guess you need to pay premium price for their effort to select top notch diamonds and for them to bring it to Singapore for you to see with your own eyes)

and I can tell you based on my diamond hunting experience it is not easy to find super ideal diamond (there is always one feature is not properly met)

frankly speaking, after reading so much and learn from zero, indeed I can say diamond is exciting ! there is one moment, I thought of doing this business (small scale) as a hobby, trying to find close to "perfect" diamond with best value of money, it is EXCITING ! and somehow rush my adrenaline

last but not least, happy hunting guys !

Note

in my opinion, if you are about to spend 5k SGD above, just forget about the local retailer store (I dont dare to give name, but you know which), where the sales associate only know how to talk based on GIA cert (sometimes they even only know that D is better than E, VVS2 is better than VS1, and so on)

and those garage sale, warehouse sale, etc, completely waste of time !

if you dont bother about 7 point thing that I wrote above, and want to buy diamond as long as there is certificate (when I talk about certificate not those inhouse certificate, try to stick to AGS and GIA certificate only !), better go to pawn shop (seriously), you will get better value for money diamond.

I would rate colour ahead of clarity

 

[justme]

hey guys & girls, u all got engrave anything on the engagement ring?

i understand JP do provide free engraving, is it limited to a certain amount of words?

 

[dicxz80]

I would rate colour ahead of clarity

buying online I would go for better clarity (you don't want to risk those black inclusion diamond) compare to colour for the same price

buying locally, I agree with you, go for colour

personal opinion only, based on money concious mind

and normally both must be balance to get value for money

I dont want to buy D colour for VS2 below

I dont want to buy H/I colour for VVS1 above

I will buy G/H/I colour if it is VS1 - VS2

I will buy F colour if it is VVS1 - VS1

D and E is not worth for money to buy (I would limit myself to F and rather go for bigger carat compare to better colour)

same goes to clarity I would limit myself to VS1 or at most VVS2 and rather go for bigger carat compare to better clarity)

I've personally seen G-H-I and can't see the difference except you look from bottom

VS2 above most likely you wont be able to see any inclusion with your eye and sometimes you dont even see any also using magnifier (unless you have trained eye and know what you are looking for)

 

[dicxz80]

Hi guys can you help me to review these two diamonds.

I have been to this shop, a diamond wholesaler, recommended by a colleague.

I captured the two GIA certs.
ImageShack® - GIA Cert
Both diamonds have very good H&A shape, according to my view . with 57 facets.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/600/20120710191405.jpg/
She does not have Ideal Scope for me to check though.
I check the laser printing. It matches the cert.

The 0.57C is priced at 3500 including the ring.
The 0.63C is priced at 4500 including the ring.

I checked online (vivo Diamond) and a few shops, the price seems very attractive to me. What do you think?

I really appreciate your help.

use this link as filter tool, anything above 2.0, forget it, anything below 2.0, request for SARIN report (detail if possible not average) and IDEALSCOPE image, and post it here

www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

 

[dicxz80]

Lovida only provide the scopes if you ask for it. But after seeing the diamonds with the scopes, it paints a different picture. Vivo diamond provides the scopes too. When I was there, they have very few diamonds to show.. cos they do consignment goods like blue nile. I was showed their signature ideal which is supposedly their super ideal, but none of them looked perfect. Some had dugged girdles and uneven hearts. People from other forums have complained about this too.. So I don't think I'm the only one who noticed this or am fussy.

I think what some places are doing is claiming they have Super Ideal diamonds. But if they fail to convince you that it is a Super Ideal, they'll persuade you to buy something else like uncertified diamonds.. Thats the feeling I'm getting..

I've already wasted $8.6k on a Tiffany ring.. I don't want to waste more money. In the end, I was deciding between JP Super Ideal and Whiteflash ACA. But with all the discrepancy I experienced in other jewelry shops, I wanted to see the diamond myself to be sure. With JP, at least I got to see the diamond. After calculating the price of the diamond from Whiteflash with all the exchange rate, shipping and tax, it comes up to be about the same as JP anyway. So might as well get it from them.

I will suggest to go to JP if you prefer to see the diamond with your own eyes,

no matter what, do your homework, get the GIA cert numbers (or if even possible get the SARIN report), check in HCA tools to calculate for each facet (not based on average number), and if you see the diamond itself, bring heart and arrow loupe and see it with your own eyes to confirm.

some people said SARIN report also not 100% accurate based on the machine calibration but I can say the same for GIA, so if both report have "match / close" number and have < 2.0 HCA score (I prefer closer to 1.5 compare to < 1.0) you can have a bit more assurance that your diamond will look good (on the paper), then you can proceed with inspecting idealscope image and H&A image (if there is any)

recently when I did online diamond hunting, I found one diamond that have huge difference HCA score based on GIA (1.3) and SARIN (2.2)

I like whiteflash "ACA" collection but I'd rather go for goodoldgold.com "exclusive" collection (both are more expensive than usual)

I feel sorry about your tiffany

 

[justme]

buying online I would go for better clarity (you don't want to risk those black inclusion diamond) compare to colour for the same price

buying locally, I agree with you, go for colour

personal opinion only, based on money concious mind

and normally both must be balance to get value for money

I dont want to buy D colour for VS2 below

I dont want to buy H/I colour for VVS1 above

I will buy G/H/I colour if it is VS1 - VS2

I will buy F colour if it is VVS1 - VS1

D and E is not worth for money to buy (I would limit myself to F and rather go for bigger carat compare to better colour)

same goes to clarity I would limit myself to VS1 or at most VVS2 and rather go for bigger carat compare to better clarity)

I've personally seen G-H-I and can't see the difference except you look from bottom

VS2 above most likely you wont be able to see any inclusion with your eye and sometimes you dont even see any also using magnifier (unless you have trained eye and know what you are looking for)

noted & thanks for highlighting

u got engrave on the ring?

 

[Des126]

hmm.. putting those bigger chains aside, here's my top list::

Fairy Inc
Ling's Jewellery
Jann Paul
Canary Diamonds

Others you can try are:
E Clarity
Vivo Diamonds
Lovida

To me, it is the jeweller that plays a greater part than the diamond. I need someone I can trust. Someone who can understand. Someone who can provide the entire package (both the diamond and the setting). Visit a few, and if you have that "connection" with the jeweller, that would be the one for you. Hope this helps.

I have so far been to JannPaul. I like their diamonds but prefer to do more survey and visit other jeweller for comparison in term of price & quality. May i know if Fairy Inc, Ling's Jewellery & Canary Diamonds provide customers with Aset scope to view the diamonds

 

[Grizz.P]

I have so far been to JannPaul. I like their diamonds but prefer to do more survey and visit other jeweller for comparison in term of price & quality. May i know if Fairy Inc, Ling's Jewellery & Canary Diamonds provide customers with Aset scope to view the diamonds

Nope.. they don't
I know a few bros here who have bought the Ideal and Aset scopes themselves... you can try asking around to borrow them.

 

[wa1ker]

any idea what kind of waiting time nowadays, from confirm the purchase to collect the ring from JP ? Assuming it's a simple classic design... thanks

 

[babyjyo]

I have so far been to JannPaul. I like their diamonds but prefer to do more survey and visit other jeweller for comparison in term of price & quality. May i know if Fairy Inc, Ling's Jewellery & Canary Diamonds provide customers with Aset scope to view the diamonds

Unfortunately, they don't. But I prefer their settings better. If you want to purchase from them, it may be better if you purchase your own IDEAL scope at least. Its a good way to compare as well. They would have the H&A Scope.

 

[Des126]

Unfortunately, they don't. But I prefer their settings better. If you want to purchase from them, it may be better if you purchase your own IDEAL scope at least. Its a good way to compare as well. They would have the H&A Scope.

Plan to get one set from Idealscope.com very soon.

By the way, have you heard about "More Than Diamonds", "White Dwarf" & "Diamondworks.com.sg"?

All of them never mention about their diamonds in their website but i found a list of their so called "Ideal H&A" diamonds posted by White Dwarf in Gumtree.sg. They even provide the HCA score in the list and I noticed that the highest HCA score is only 1.7. Can you help to have a look at the list if they are true Ideal cut diamond?

 

[sweetthinker]

Unfortunately, they don't. But I prefer their settings better. If you want to purchase from them, it may be better if you purchase your own IDEAL scope at least. Its a good way to compare as well. They would have the H&A Scope.

Fairys Inc an Ling has more cheena kinda designs.. JP is more european

 

[babyjyo]

Plan to get one set from Idealscope.com very soon.

By the way, have you heard about "More Than Diamonds", "White Dwarf" & "Diamondworks.com.sg"?

All of them never mention about their diamonds in their website but i found a list of their so called "Ideal H&A" diamonds posted by White Dwarf in Gumtree.sg. They even provide the HCA score in the list and I noticed that the highest HCA score is only 1.7. Can you help to have a look at the list if they are true Ideal cut diamond?

Many jewellers may claim that they have H&A. But, the question is whether it is a perfect H&A. You can google on how a perfect hearts & arrows should look like. The key thing is to look at the hearts. Many jewellers in the market love to claim that they have H&A, but because they have set the stone on the ring, you will not be able to see the hearts. Who knows whether the stone has indeed Perfect, if not excellent H&A? The only thing they can show you is a small model stone that displays the perfect H&A.

For me, I always prefer to a jeweller that can provide loose/unset stones, so that I can see the diamond 360 degrees.

Jann Paul is a safe jeweller if you are looking for an ideal cut, and I must say their services are quite good. But, their prices may be a bit higher than other jewellers. You may be able to get better diamond prices and better settings at other jewellers. Always look around to get a comparison. The main thing, is to find one that you are comfortable with.

I have not tried or contacted the 3 jewellers you mention. But, it may be worth checking out.

 

[sweetthinker]

Plan to get one set from Idealscope.com very soon.

By the way, have you heard about "More Than Diamonds", "White Dwarf" & "Diamondworks.com.sg"?

All of them never mention about their diamonds in their website but i found a list of their so called "Ideal H&A" diamonds posted by White Dwarf in Gumtree.sg. They even provide the HCA score in the list and I noticed that the highest HCA score is only 1.7. Can you help to have a look at the list if they are true Ideal cut diamond?

That's not even Ideal... be careful of these labels. When I did my shopping, everyone told me their diamonds are Ideal and its the best. But none of them could prove it with the scopes. Some diamonds even have the inscription "Ideal Hearts & Arrows" but that's very misleading. GIA doesn't endorse these extra inscriptions. Its just like an extra marketing gimmick.

 

[Des126]

That's not even Ideal... be careful of these labels. When I did my shopping, everyone told me their diamonds are Ideal and its the best. But none of them could prove it with the scopes. Some diamonds even have the inscription "Ideal Hearts & Arrows" but that's very misleading. GIA doesn't endorse these extra inscriptions. Its just like an extra marketing gimmick.

Do you mean HCA 1.7 is not an Ideal? But i noticed all the HCA are below 1.5except one which is 1.7. There is one Aset image posted in Gumtree as well and it looks nice to me. Can you help to have a look?

 

[Des126]

Many jewellers may claim that they have H&A. But, the question is whether it is a perfect H&A. You can google on how a perfect hearts & arrows should look like. The key thing is to look at the hearts. Many jewellers in the market love to claim that they have H&A, but because they have set the stone on the ring, you will not be able to see the hearts. Who knows whether the stone has indeed Perfect, if not excellent H&A? The only thing they can show you is a small model stone that displays the perfect H&A.

For me, I always prefer to a jeweller that can provide loose/unset stones, so that I can see the diamond 360 degrees.

Jann Paul is a safe jeweller if you are looking for an ideal cut, and I must say their services are quite good. But, their prices may be a bit higher than other jewellers. You may be able to get better diamond prices and better settings at other jewellers. Always look around to get a comparison. The main thing, is to find one that you are comfortable with.

I have not tried or contacted the 3 jewellers you mention. But, it may be worth checking out.

I strongly agree JP's diamond is very nice but i also feel that it is a bit higher than other jewellers. I am now trying to look around if i am able to get one with better prices in Singapore.

 

[Grizz.P]

Do you mean HCA 1.7 is not an Ideal? But i noticed all the HCA are below 1.5except one which is 1.7. There is one Aset image posted in Gumtree as well and it looks nice to me. Can you help to have a look?

Are you seriously considering of buying a diamond from gumtree?!? So many things can go wrong there.. and its an unregulated website... What if its a stolen diamond?

 

[SnowybAby]

Hahaha. Went down for a visit to JannPaul with htb a few days back. Jann was the one who served us, and of course, the usual things mentioned like the 1-2hrs tutorial etc. He showed me the 0.56c brellia and solasfera. Hmm, Jann recommended me to get the Brellia instead of Solasfera. Jann took 0.63c brellia out for us to compare, and i think i fell in love with it. hahaha.

I think high chance I will take the cushion brellia with the halo and side diamond setting. So beautiful.
It's about $5200 for 0.63c, F colour, VS1. Setting is abt $1200. I think htb went back to buy it secretly cos I told him I wanted to think which setting I prefer more. Haha. And I like their wedding bands actually.. might head back to see again another time.