Proposal Ring - Part 2

[fabiaN__]

Hey guys, popped by JP to get an idea of their pricing and range. So i gave them a random budget of $4000 for a Brelia and the best specs I was offered is 0.546 carat, Super Ideal, F colour, VS1 for $3950.

I was told by my friend to check out Bluenile and i searched using the same budget and this is the best specs for $4000 on Bluenile - 0.72carat, Signature Ideal, G colour, VVS1 for $3925..

For comparison:
JP - 0.546 carat, Super Ideal, F colour, VS1 for $3950
Bluenile - 0.72carat, Signature Ideal, G colour, VVS1 for $3925 (Link - Diamond Details | Blue Nile)

So for the same price, I can get a much bigger diamond (0.17carat more) with better clarity. I know i can't see the diamond for myself if I buy from Bluenile but the difference is really too big. What do you guys think?

If you're looking for Brellia from JP, it shouldn't be called as "super ideal"? I think only the round ones are called "super ideal"... from what I know lah.

 

[v-dateo]

I just re-read your post.. Are you talking about the Super Ideal round or Brellia? The one from bluenile is their cushion.

I'm talking about Brellia but the guy at JP says it's Super Ideal too. Just to make sure I get it right, is Bluenile's Cushion the same as Brellia?

 

[fabiaN__]

I'm talking about Brellia but the guy at JP says it's Super Ideal too. Just to make sure I get it right, is Bluenile's Cushion the same as Brellia?

If I'm not wrong, the rock from Bluenile is a modified cushion brilliant or modified cushion, and got a GIA cert. Brellia is a trademark, and comes certified only by AGS. You can check out triple w dot brellia dot com..

 

[Grizz.P]

I'm talking about Brellia but the guy at JP says it's Super Ideal too. Just to make sure I get it right, is Bluenile's Cushion the same as Brellia?

They are 2 completely different diamonds.

 

[fmt-diamond]

i guess some of them will give discount if you pay by cash

Yes 100% agree

 

[fmt-diamond]

Anyone tried to buy or have experience from orro private collection? Because I'm looking for 0.25 carat diamond with platinum solitaire. But I don't know where to buy with my budget which is 1000-1500sgd. Can anyone suggest a good place to start? I think I can't afford jannpaul.l or am I wrong?

Let me know if you need some assistance.

 

[tk]

imho, if u need to pay by installment for the ring, u may wanna reconsider if u r overspending..

 

[SeaKinT]

No, don't. Its the basic tool to choose a nicely cut diamond, too many not so great diamonds are being sold in "branded" shops. Most of the shops out there just carry whatever they can find to sell you. You can really tell the difference between a good cut and a lousy cut diamond with naked eyes especially with indoor lighting.

If you want to have a peaceful life then you should spend a bit more to make sure you are getting a good diamond and get it over and be done with. My SO is very happy with hers and getting compliments all over so i have a happy life. Women are very shallow creatures.

Haha. That's the thing about the GIA triple excellent. It varies alot.
Correction to my previous post. It should be 1.4 or below (not 1.5).

Is the HCA tool essential? yes.
Is it 100% accurate? no.
It's a first tool to check if your diamond's proportions are good. If your diamond has a good proportion, it will have a low hca score, vice versa.
If your diamond has a high hca score, it already means that the proportions are bad, and it is most likely to have poor light performance and look bad under the scopes.

But that doesn't mean a diamond with a low HCA score is definitely good either.
A diamond has 57 facets and the HCA only checks 17 of them. So you will still need the other scopes to check the rest.

In other words, you shouldn't skip step 1

Thanks for the advise guys! Yeah, after researching.. Cut is the most important. HCA tool is definitely useful in this though most triple excellent diamonds I saw failed the test miserably.. I'm surprised at how many bad triple excellent diamonds are out there.

Anyway, I went to JP and they seem to be the diamond guruhs. Saw some of their other types of cuts too.. Now I'm interested in the Solasfera.. haha. It sparkles more than the usual rounds. They said the HCA score won't be applicable cos it has higher facets. So only can use the scopes.

I shortlisted the Solasfera 0.43 E VVS2. With the gold setting added in, it is about 3.9k. Very tempted on this one but haven't confirmed yet.. Think I should pull the trigger?? Their Solasfera stocks are quite limited and worried that it will be sold soon..

 

[tk]

imho, if u have access to view the diamonds, then no need to get too hung up on the HCA score. GIA & AGS grades the diamonds based on actual viewing, while HCA is based on mathematical assumptions. If a GIA or AGS top graded diamond looks good on viewing and scope, then don't worry too much about the HCA. I would trust GIA & AGS grading more than HCA score anytime..

 

[SeaKinT]

imho, if u have access to view the diamonds, then no need to get too hung up on the HCA score. GIA & AGS grades the diamonds based on actual viewing, while HCA is based on mathematical assumptions. If a GIA or AGS top graded diamond looks good on viewing and scope, then don't worry too much about the HCA. I would trust GIA & AGS grading more than HCA score anytime..

Using your eyes is useful.. but the problem I find is that jewelry shops all use those strong jewelry shop lightings. It makes it very difficult to see the diamond at it's neutral or natural state of how it will really look like without those biased lights.

Different stores have different type of jewelry lightings.. Like Tianpo have very strong lighting while SK have more mixed lightings with the shopping mall lights. If I just use my eyes, the shop with the best lightings will win..

In my perspective, HCA translate to how the diamond will really look at its natural environment without the biased light effects. It kinda gives you the truth about how good the diamond really is.

 

[bedposthalo]

Actually, both GIA and AGS are proportioned based. The difference is AGS uses an additional light performance based system based on the ASET. The HCA is a tool used to narrow proportions closer to the towlkowsky ideal proportions for a more beautiful diamond. It was proven many times that steep deeps and shallow cuts still can make the GIA excellent cut grade but look horrible.

For example, the most undesirable factor that can have the most impact on a diamond's brilliance is the middle circle light leakages a.k.a ring of death (ROD). A diamond can have the ROD effect but is still graded as an GIA excellent cut. Unfortunately, you can hardly see a diamond with ROD in shops due to the intense lights. But when you bring it out of the store under sunlight, you will tell there is a dark ring circle under the diamond.

This is an example of a diamond with a ROD and high HCA score. This is an extreme case but still.. the ROD is visible here but not so visible under extreme lighting.

It's just like test driving a car. You want a car that gives a smooth ride. But when you test drive different cars, you were driving on different roads. Smoother roads can give a smoother ride despite the car having a poorer suspension. So apart from test driving a car, you need to analyze the specifications of the suspension. Of course, if you can test drive all the cars on the same road or view all the diamonds under the same lights, that will be the best. But this isn't the case where conditions are stable.

Btw, low HCA score doesn't confirm that the diamond is good either. You will need the ASET and Hearts/arrows scopes to further check it.

 

[tk]

In my perspective, HCA translate to how the diamond will really look at its natural environment without the biased light effects. It kinda gives you the truth about how good the diamond really is.

Unfortunately that is a fallacy. HCA does not guarantee how a diamond will perform. It only gives a calculated estimate on how a diamond is likely to perform. In practice, not all diamonds with good HCA score will be good, and not all diamonds with bad HCA score will be bad.

 

[MoneyWise]

Hi,

just some tots on solafesra, in the Jannpaul shop,

1. The light is Led VS real life is more of office light and sunlight

2. They have to move the plate back and forth so that you can see the sparkles VS real life, the lady's hand wont move 'tat way'.

Does point 1 and point 2 make solafesra appears to be more sparkles than super ideal?

 

[Grizz.P]

Unfortunately that is a fallacy. HCA does not guarantee how a diamond will perform. It only gives a calculated estimate on how a diamond is likely to perform. In practice, not all diamonds with good HCA score will be good, and not all diamonds with bad HCA score will be bad.

Err.. This topic has been brought up so many times already. HCA is a filter tool! It is very useful but with limitations. Use the scopes to confirm!!

 

[beckslim]

Thanks for the advise guys! Yeah, after researching.. Cut is the most important. HCA tool is definitely useful in this though most triple excellent diamonds I saw failed the test miserably.. I'm surprised at how many bad triple excellent diamonds are out there.

Anyway, I went to JP and they seem to be the diamond guruhs. Saw some of their other types of cuts too.. Now I'm interested in the Solasfera.. haha. It sparkles more than the usual rounds. They said the HCA score won't be applicable cos it has higher facets. So only can use the scopes.

I shortlisted the Solasfera 0.43 E VVS2. With the gold setting added in, it is about 3.9k. Very tempted on this one but haven't confirmed yet.. Think I should pull the trigger?? Their Solasfera stocks are quite limited and worried that it will be sold soon..

Solasfera is a good choice. My fiance got alot of compliments on hers.. Most people don't know the existence of a 10 hearts and arrows diamond.
Yeah, the HCA only works on the 57 facets types so you'll need to rely more on the scopes.
Anyway, JP is known to have very tight QC on their diamonds.

Hi,

just some tots on solafesra, in the Jannpaul shop,

1. The light is Led VS real life is more of office light and sunlight

2. They have to move the plate back and forth so that you can see the sparkles VS real life, the lady's hand wont move 'tat way'.

Does point 1 and point 2 make solafesra appears to be more sparkles than super ideal?

I think the diamond looks more shiny under LED and sunlight. When its under direct sunlight, you can see the sparkles from far away.. like a mini disco ball. Office lighting is usually white color lights... when my fiance compare her solasfera with her friend's diamonds at different lights, can see hers looks more impressive even though its smaller.

Solasfera is suppose to have more sparkes than Super Ideal cos it has alot more facets. But even though the Super Ideal has less facets, it has bigger sparkles cos each facet is bigger. When I was comparing, I could see the Solasfera had smaller sparkles when I scrutinize it closely. But when I see the overall, I felt the Solasfera's added sparkles had a better visual impact and very striking

 

[quotient]

Hi,

just some tots on solafesra, in the Jannpaul shop,

1. The light is Led VS real life is more of office light and sunlight

2. They have to move the plate back and forth so that you can see the sparkles VS real life, the lady's hand wont move 'tat way'.

Does point 1 and point 2 make solafesra appears to be more sparkles than super ideal?

good questions. lets wait for the answers.

 

[ahnong]

Looking for a proposal ring <2.5k

Hi guys...

have been reading this thread and was about to go over to Jannpaul to choose a ring for my gf...

last week i just found out that she is okay with any diamond rings. She had no particular liking to a diamond ring, and didn't want me to spend close to $5 over at jannpaul (plan to get a .4ct for her)

So here I am...is there any brand which has decent service and decent designs for diamond rings within $2.5k?

thanks guys

 

[tk]

Hi guys...

have been reading this thread and was about to go over to Jannpaul to choose a ring for my gf...

last week i just found out that she is okay with any diamond rings. She had no particular liking to a diamond ring, and didn't want me to spend close to $5 over at jannpaul (plan to get a .4ct for her)

So here I am...is there any brand which has decent service and decent designs for diamond rings within $2.5k?

thanks guys

U can try Lovis.. $2.5k should be able to get a nice 0.4ct ring.. take a look at their website, and i would also recommend u go to the mandarin gallery outlet if convenient..

 

[pills]

If 0.4, don't need to get to clear and shiny one IMO, spend the money on a bigger size. HEhe.. I am speaking from a gal's perspective but of course depending on what ur gf is like.

 

[ivandemi]

Hi guys...

have been reading this thread and was about to go over to Jannpaul to choose a ring for my gf...

last week i just found out that she is okay with any diamond rings. She had no particular liking to a diamond ring, and didn't want me to spend close to $5 over at jannpaul (plan to get a .4ct for her)

So here I am...is there any brand which has decent service and decent designs for diamond rings within $2.5k?

thanks guys

Bro.. I bought their Cushion Brellia .4ct+ F VS1 with customized setting everything under 3k. I think $5k can get you a .6ct diamond in JP liao.