Proposal Ring - Part 4

[suchlowmaintenance]

Collected our ring 0.87 Decagon custom cut white series. Brought my girl window shopping to some jewellers while going to Vancleef to look for a brooch. In those jewelry shops the decagon ring looked so much better than all their ready stock stuff even the sales people at those jewelry shop were staring at it.

Here’s the funniest part, at Cartier the guy literally said “wow is that a decagon from Jannpaul”. Funny experience but their white series line seems to be even notorious amongst other jewellers. I also noticed the craftsmanship was a lot better than even the high end branded. Happy fiancée, and can’t be happier with the work JP team put in. Thought it was such an uncanny experience but not surprising when even pricescope in America, people have nothing but praise for them.

 

[Elly888]

Thank you! The female ring is just some melees at the centre part. We've also been to Love & Co, Gold Heart, SK, Lee Hwa.. they do have wedding bands below $1.5K

Are you referring to half eternity wedding band styles? I think they go from 1.2k upwards.

Ok, thank you!
Think the cons of buying from Love&co, GH, SK, etc other than engraving, we can’t do any design customisation.

 

[Elly888]

I think it boils down to two things
1. whether your gf is ok with lab-grown
2. your budget and if it allows you to get her the ring she has in mind

My bf brought me ring shopping recently, and we looked at both options and compared prices across stores. The difference is significant, you can get a 1-carat lab-grown diamond instead of a 0.5 natural diamond, and their overall specs are similar in terms of cut/clarity/color, for about the same price.

I'd rather receive a 1-carat lab-grown than a 0.5 natural but this is just my personal preference. We just committed to a house so definitely watching our expenses plus this won't be the last ring I'll receive from my husband-to-be so I'm happy to go with a more value-for-money ring that still meets my expectations visually. Of course in the future, if money is not an issue, I'd love it if he can get me the real deal for our anniversary

And honestly, I think if the couple doesn't say out loud, no one is going to know it's a lab-grown diamond unless you buy from some unknown shop then some kaypoh ppl will suspect. But it's really none of anyone's business except the couple.

If your budget is <4k, I think you can consider lab-grown provided your other half is cool with it.

Has anyone bought lab-grown diamonds from JP, please share your experience

We found out after consultation that they have started selling but maybe it's a new thing since I don't see many comments in this thread. He claimed the process they used can prevent the stria issues lab-grown diamonds tend to have.

Also, has anyone bought from Diamondlite?

Wow. JP have lab grown?
Any idea what’s the price?

what I know from other seller,
lab grown 1ct around $3k-$3.5k .

 

[Nitron]

I only remember I did not select the decagon, I go for the round cut but I did not specify SIC or white series, so is the price reasonable for this spec for this diamond?

It's difficult to determine whether the White series is reasonable because you are paying a much higher premium for a one-of-a-kind patented cut with double the facets of a normal cut. There are simply no comparisons in the market to determine the price.

For their Super Ideal Cut, you pay a slight premium over a triple excellent diamond with hearts & arrows, but I would gladly overpay as there are a ton of triple excellent trash diamonds in the market. Some cutters just cut a diamond to fit the GIA triple excellent criteria but could turn out to be a bad diamond, either cut too deep to max out carat weight or bad hearts & arrows, bad light return, etc. It's just too much effort to scour all dealers in SG/ online to find a good one at a good price.

If you're asking whether JP is ripping you off, the answer is no. Prices are transparent to all buyers. I would suggest you go down to the shop again and compare SIC vs White series yourself to make the decision.


On pricing, De Beers raised their diamond supply prices by 8 - 10% over the last 2 months. JP's current inventory of diamonds is priced the same as the most recent (July) price scope (benchmark) diamond, so technically I'm somewhat paying close to no premium for their SIC.

JP charges us based on the price they bought the diamond rough, meaning they maintain a fixed margin. This is a practice an honest diamond shop should adhere to. It's possible that a shop may increase the price of their existing diamonds to reflect the current market rate (in cases of rising prices), and maintain prices when markets come down to make more money.

If you intend to buy from other jewelers, make sure they are reputable and do your own due diligence.

TLDR; Price is reasonable to me when buying from JP. Slight overpay yes, but I get peace of mind and no regrets.

 

[Nitron]

Wow. JP have lab grown?
Any idea what’s the price?

what I know from other seller,
lab grown 1ct around $3k-$3.5k .

yeah they have now, can go check them out

 

[stephenricebowl]

Ok, thank you!
Think the cons of buying from Love&co, GH, SK, etc other than engraving, we can’t do any design customisation.

I think there's a difference with the ready made ones and custom ones. Ready made ones is they mass produce in the same design then will need to resize it to your finger. The custom ones is that build from scratch so everything is proportional and made to fit. Quality wise will be different too. The bands we saw are mostly thinner or have that hollow groove at the inner part. You can feel its much lighter. The more solid it is, the more durable. And wedding bands is something that you will wear the most often on a daily basis. So I don't mind spending a few hundred more for a more comfortable and better quality one.

Btw, Love&co rings all uses lab grown diamonds and not naturals (they won't tell you unless you ask). So you can't compare it with other naturals.

 

[donut24]

Collected our ring 0.87 Decagon custom cut white series. Brought my girl window shopping to some jewellers while going to Vancleef to look for a brooch. In those jewelry shops the decagon ring looked so much better than all their ready stock stuff even the sales people at those jewelry shop were staring at it.

Here’s the funniest part, at Cartier the guy literally said “wow is that a decagon from Jannpaul”. Funny experience but their white series line seems to be even notorious amongst other jewellers. I also noticed the craftsmanship was a lot better than even the high end branded. Happy fiancée, and can’t be happier with the work JP team put in. Thought it was such an uncanny experience but not surprising when even pricescope in America, people have nothing but praise for them.

I agree, their white series is really one of a kind and I like how they're transparent and explain what you're paying for. Some might say it's marketing but I think the quality speaks for itself.

Mind sharing how much you paid, even a gauge would be helpful

 

[Elly888]

yeah they have now, can go check them out

WOW. I wanted a lab grown diamond initially due to the price difference! But ended up going for JP white series for their whiter look and cuts!

I wonder if they will do a 10H10A on their lab grown. Hmmmm...

 

[Elly888]

I think there's a difference with the ready made ones and custom ones. Ready made ones is they mass produce in the same design then will need to resize it to your finger. The custom ones is that build from scratch so everything is proportional and made to fit. Quality wise will be different too. The bands we saw are mostly thinner or have that hollow groove at the inner part. You can feel its much lighter. The more solid it is, the more durable. And wedding bands is something that you will wear the most often on a daily basis. So I don't mind spending a few hundred more for a more comfortable and better quality one.

Btw, Love&co rings all uses lab grown diamonds and not naturals (they won't tell you unless you ask). So you can't compare it with other naturals.

Yes, I agree!

 

[donut24]

Wow. JP have lab grown?
Any idea what’s the price?

what I know from other seller,
lab grown 1ct around $3k-$3.5k .

Yes! We were surprised too. We were quoted up to 4.2k for a 1-carat but he did flag that their lab-grown diamonds do not have any trade-in/upgrade policy.

Can anyone share more about JP's trade-in/upgrade policy?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm assuming this means in the future if you wish to upgrade your JP ring, they can do that for you? Has anyone done this? Like to get a gauge of how much "value" can be retained and see if it makes more sense to get a smaller carat natural diamond first and then upgrade in the future.

 

[Elly888]

Yes! We were surprised too. We were quoted up to 4.2k for a 1-carat but he did flag that their lab-grown diamonds do not have any trade-in/upgrade policy.

Can anyone share more about JP's trade-in/upgrade policy?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm assuming this means in the future if you wish to upgrade your JP ring, they can do that for you? Has anyone done this? Like to get a gauge of how much "value' can be retained and see if it makes more sense to get a smaller carat natural diamond first and then upgrade in the future.

Ahh! No trade in value for lab grown, which make sense too. So natural diamond will retain its value..

For what I understand they will take back JP diamond price of purchase minus GST.
From there you can top up the difference for your new diamond.

 

[Nitron]

Ahh! No trade in value for lab grown, which make sense too. So natural diamond will retain its value..

For what I understand they will take back JP diamond price of purchase minus GST.
From there you can top up the difference for your new diamond.

Their upgrade policy is one of my main considerations. GST goes to Govt so they can't absorb that. Other shops buyback is 50% cut

 

[donut24]

Ahh! No trade in value for lab grown, which make sense too. So natural diamond will retain its value..

For what I understand they will take back JP diamond price of purchase minus GST.
From there you can top up the difference for your new diamond.

Interesting! A huge plus point to opt for a natural diamond from JP. Thanks for sharing

 

[youngmummyemily]

I agree, their white series is really one of a kind and I like how they're transparent and explain what you're paying for. Some might say it's marketing but I think the quality speaks for itself.

Mind sharing how much you paid, even a gauge would be helpful

I’ve never seen any lab make statements like these.

Im a proud owner their decagon white series. Amongst my friends who have normal rounds, it’s a world of a difference and they compliment it all the time Definitely not marketing. There’s a faq decagon video with Paul here:



He definitely knows his stuff when he mentioned about the value of naturals increasing at the end. Fast forward 1 year diamond prices increased so much till it’s on the news. If you chance upon checking them, see them under natural outdoor light if they allow, you’ll know what I’m talking about

 

[youngmummyemily]

WOW. I wanted a lab grown diamond initially due to the price difference! But ended up going for JP white series for their whiter look and cuts!

I wonder if they will do a 10H10A on their lab grown. Hmmmm...

That would be absolutely amazing if they did their white series in lab growns too. AFAIK last year they didn’t.. so maybe it’s new. I've got friends who are avid lab grown only and if they do I’d definitely recommend them to JP.

 

[Elly888]

That would be absolutely amazing if they did their white series in lab growns too. AFAIK last year they didn’t.. so maybe it’s new. I've got friends who are avid lab grown only and if they do I’d definitely recommend them to JP.

If they do 10H10A on lab grown, I don’t mind changing mine to lab grown too! Hahahah!

I’m still waiting for my diamond to arrive.

 

[Kaypoh_kia]

Collected our ring 0.87 Decagon custom cut white series. Brought my girl window shopping to some jewellers while going to Vancleef to look for a brooch. In those jewelry shops the decagon ring looked so much better than all their ready stock stuff even the sales people at those jewelry shop were staring at it.

Here’s the funniest part, at Cartier the guy literally said “wow is that a decagon from Jannpaul”. Funny experience but their white series line seems to be even notorious amongst other jewellers. I also noticed the craftsmanship was a lot better than even the high end branded. Happy fiancée, and can’t be happier with the work JP team put in. Thought it was such an uncanny experience but not surprising when even pricescope in America, people have nothing but praise for them.

May I know much is your decagon? And how much for the ring?

 

[Choobie]

Removed. 10 char

 

[vitaminconly]

I think this is very tricky. I do fully agree with Nitron and ke3bb that if you considering lab growns, best is to check her on her thoughts on this. If not, you might end up having to buy a natural diamond later or get nagged for the rest of your life. The more challenging part will be her family if they are ok with it or not. And that's also gonna be a tough topic to ask when talking to her parents (esp if they are the older mindset).

What size are you looking at? 5k is a very decent budget to work with. And ''small'' can be a relative term. I got friends that find a 0.5ct to be too big already and some that insists on 1ct.

Lab growns is a very grey area and have different growing methods and quality too. From what I read, most lab growns have stria or strain issues. Alot of ppl are talking about it on reddit. Apparently it happens when they use a low quality seed or speed up the growth. So this is something you will need to look out for. And from what I see, most of the lab growns are IGI certs which is a crap cert (very loose grading).

If I'm not wrong, JP sells labgrowns too in their white series. I think its $3-4k for 1ct? and I think its AGS certified. This one I'm not too sure and its better to check with them.

I think at the end of the day, it's really about the visual appearance and what she likes. For 5k budget, it probably will get you a natural diamond 0.6ct? (best cut) or a 0.7-0.8ct? (bad cut). And if you got lab grown, you can get a 1ct (best cut). If main concern is size (assuming she ok with lab grown), it's more worth it to get a lab grown that looks better than a not so good cut natural diamond as it's going to look visually better. But note that lab growns won't have any resale value. Either options, I think you shld go for the better Cut one for the best sparkles.

Btw, Brian Gavin black series isn't the same as JP's SIC. I compared them before and also thought about it. Apparently Brian Gavin uses a black lit ASET scope and then photo crop it out into a white background (it's a big difference when they use black or white lit ASETs). Naughty naughty.. And if you take that into account and compare with the HOH's Ideal cuts, the HOH's Ideal cuts ends up being cheaper apple for apple. But it really depends if you're willing to sacrifice on the Cut.

I don't have any friends that bought a lab grown for their engagement ring before so not sure about the feedbacks for them. But I think it's horrible for any friends to give bad comments on someone's engagement ring regardless what they get. Might want to reconsider them as ''friends''.

Those that bought lab growns in IGI cert gonna have big regrets man. The gradings are way off. Best is to just stick with GIA or AGS.

 

[vitaminconly]

Hi

Can I check if this is a value piece?

0.91 D VS1.

gia report: 6345559003

Got quoted about 9k for diamond alone.

TIA

Can't tell without the scopes bro. The price can vary alot depending on actual light performance and cut.