. the pictures dont do it justice.Hi all.. I started looking around a diamond ring recently and just want to share my experience.. It's actually going to be part of my blog to share but thought I'd just contribute some of my experience and raise some awareness.
So far I've been checking the main brands around the island..
Lee Hwa (Bishan)
The sales person wasn't knowledgeable and couldn't answer my questions.
He knew how to explain briefly about the carat, color and clarity and that was it. Did not know what is "Fluorescence" on the certificate..
He kept refering to the brochure to sell the diamond.. If I wanted to know more, I might as well read the brochure myself.
I saw the normal 57 facets diamond in Lee Hwa and it doesn't look good. It doesn't stand out.
The Destinee (their signature 57 facets) and Destinee Royale (91 facets) diamond looks good. Can see the difference in the diamond against their normal ones.
But the prices will give you a heart attack.
Was qouted Destinee Royale 0.68 G VS1 for $13k
They provide the Hearts and Arrows scope to see. However, you can only see the arrows since the diamond is already set on the ring.
Soo Kee (Harbour Front)
Their main selling point is their Brilliant Rose. The salesperon was pushing Brilliant Rose diamond alot. She explained that it has a rose cutting which is very unique.
One interesting thing they did was to put a 57 facet diamond next to the Brilliant rose (66 facets) to compare. I could see a big difference in the diamond. The Brilliant rose wins the the 57 facets.
Buttt... when I asked more about the normal diamond that was used to compare with the Brilliant Rose.. she started to fumble...
1) The 57 facet was only a Very Good cut, compared to the Excellent cut of the Brilliant Rose
2) I asked if I could see the 57 facets with the hearts and arrows scope which they obliged. Just as I suspected, the hearts and arrows of the diamond was very bad.
I find that this wasn't a fair comparison. A lousy 57 facets was used to compare with their diamond, which would naturally lose out.
In terms of pricing, the Brilliant Rose is priced very high.
Was qouted Brilliant Rose 0.54 F VVS1 for $7.8k
I went back to do more research and discovered that the Brilliant Rose has another name!! It's was previously known as the Leo Diamond. Apparently its the same cut, but Soo Kee calls it the Brilliant Rose and in the USA, its called the Leo Diamond.
Plus the Leo diamond is actually cheaper. So what you're paying for the Brilliant Rose is more for the branding... although I don't think Soo Kee is a "good brand" in the first place.
Service-wise, was slightly better than most of the other retailers.. more friendly.
Citigem (Marina Bay)
Out of all the shops I've been to, Citigem salesperson was the least knowledgeable...
I couldn't really make out what he was saying... All I remember was him telling me that "the most important is color, not cut, color or clarity". He further explained, "this is because the first thing you see in the diamond is the color and not the cut.... "
But doesn't brilliance and fire of the diamond to do with Cut?!
The diamonds from Citigem were very average.. They carry GIA certificates and have diamonds of their own certificate.
They were pushing for the diamonds that were not GIA certified. It was very cheap... A 0.8ct was about $4k?? But you can immediately tell that there is a lack of sparkle and its a very yellow diamond.
So I didn't bother spending much time there..
Taka Jewelry
Spent less than 5 minutes in the store.
Sales person almost and zero knowledge about diamonds and they don't carry any scopes.
Anyway, I think Taka is more known to have the cheapest and lowest quality diamonds. Just went there to have a quick look to confirm this..
I still have more shops to visit but it would take some time since i can only recky during weekends.. will update more later~
Hi all.. I started looking around a diamond ring recently and just want to share my experience.. It's actually going to be part of my blog to share but thought I'd just contribute some of my experience and raise some awareness.
So far I've been checking the main brands around the island..
Lee Hwa (Bishan)
The sales person wasn't knowledgeable and couldn't answer my questions.
He knew how to explain briefly about the carat, color and clarity and that was it. Did not know what is "Fluorescence" on the certificate..
He kept refering to the brochure to sell the diamond.. If I wanted to know more, I might as well read the brochure myself.
I saw the normal 57 facets diamond in Lee Hwa and it doesn't look good. It doesn't stand out.
The Destinee (their signature 57 facets) and Destinee Royale (91 facets) diamond looks good. Can see the difference in the diamond against their normal ones.
But the prices will give you a heart attack.
Was qouted Destinee Royale 0.68 G VS1 for $13k
They provide the Hearts and Arrows scope to see. However, you can only see the arrows since the diamond is already set on the ring.
Soo Kee (Harbour Front)
Their main selling point is their Brilliant Rose. The salesperon was pushing Brilliant Rose diamond alot. She explained that it has a rose cutting which is very unique.
One interesting thing they did was to put a 57 facet diamond next to the Brilliant rose (66 facets) to compare. I could see a big difference in the diamond. The Brilliant rose wins the the 57 facets.
Buttt... when I asked more about the normal diamond that was used to compare with the Brilliant Rose.. she started to fumble...
1) The 57 facet was only a Very Good cut, compared to the Excellent cut of the Brilliant Rose
2) I asked if I could see the 57 facets with the hearts and arrows scope which they obliged. Just as I suspected, the hearts and arrows of the diamond was very bad.
I find that this wasn't a fair comparison. A lousy 57 facets was used to compare with their diamond, which would naturally lose out.
In terms of pricing, the Brilliant Rose is priced very high.
Was qouted Brilliant Rose 0.54 F VVS1 for $7.8k
I went back to do more research and discovered that the Brilliant Rose has another name!! It's was previously known as the Leo Diamond. Apparently its the same cut, but Soo Kee calls it the Brilliant Rose and in the USA, its called the Leo Diamond.
Plus the Leo diamond is actually cheaper. So what you're paying for the Brilliant Rose is more for the branding... although I don't think Soo Kee is a "good brand" in the first place.
Service-wise, was slightly better than most of the other retailers.. more friendly.
Citigem (Marina Bay)
Out of all the shops I've been to, Citigem salesperson was the least knowledgeable...
I couldn't really make out what he was saying... All I remember was him telling me that "the most important is color, not cut, color or clarity". He further explained, "this is because the first thing you see in the diamond is the color and not the cut.... "
But doesn't brilliance and fire of the diamond to do with Cut?!
The diamonds from Citigem were very average.. They carry GIA certificates and have diamonds of their own certificate.
They were pushing for the diamonds that were not GIA certified. It was very cheap... A 0.8ct was about $4k?? But you can immediately tell that there is a lack of sparkle and its a very yellow diamond.
So I didn't bother spending much time there..
Taka Jewelry
Spent less than 5 minutes in the store.
Sales person almost and zero knowledge about diamonds and they don't carry any scopes.
Anyway, I think Taka is more known to have the cheapest and lowest quality diamonds. Just went there to have a quick look to confirm this..
I still have more shops to visit but it would take some time since i can only recky during weekends.. will update more later~
Does your girlfriend like with side diamonds? If she does, you don't have much of a choiceI know mine likes side diamonds.. Whats your design?
It's the video that shows you the different stages your ring goes through. I'm still waiting for my design from Jann.. very excited to see what he comes out with..
I thought the Destinee royale was very bling and colorful. It would have been one of my top few choice if its not for the astronomical price. I haven't seen the Solasfera yet (only the website). Is Jann Paul the only shop which has it?
lol! Some really creative idea like the vernier calipier hahaha thanks! I tried google ard. Ideas like using the strings etc for measurement. 
