Tiffany E-ring Upgrade/HCA vs Triple Excellent - Decisions, decisions!

#16
You can eliminate the 1.36 right now. A 59% table falls between an ideal and a tolkowsky 60/60, but it isn't either. It's in a weird middle window. To some people's eyes, it might be appealing but if you're buying on numbers, it's a no.

Based on the angles the first one provides, it could be a consideration. But you need the numbers.
 
#17
Thanks Ame! What about the original option 1 in my first post that you indicated was okay? Since it seems I'm stuck with a 62 depth, do you think this option is as good as it can get at tiffany ( working with a deeper diamond)? Tks!!
 
#18
Hey, just wanted to jump in and say that I had a similar issue recently with a deep tiffany diamond (unfortunately I didn't do my research and actually bought the sucker). Armed with the knowledge from purseforum (thanks Ame especially!) i went back and tiffany agreed to exchange it for me.

They DO have more shallower stones. It is up to your SA to sift through their inventory and find it!!

I told the SA specifically what proportions I wanted (around 60% depth, 54-57% table) and he ended up finding a stone with 61% depth and 56% table which I was happy with. My original stone was 62.7% depth and faced up very small for its carat weight.

Another contender he found had a 59.8% depth so they definitely do have shallower stones, they just need more time to find them as they seem to be rarer.

Good luck OP
 
#19
luciness said:
Hey, just wanted to jump in and say that I had a similar issue recently with a deep tiffany diamond (unfortunately I didn't do my research and actually bought the sucker). Armed with the knowledge from purseforum (thanks Ame especially!) i went back and tiffany agreed to exchange it for me.

They DO have more shallower stones. It is up to your SA to sift through their inventory and find it!!

I told the SA specifically what proportions I wanted (around 60% depth, 54-57% table) and he ended up finding a stone with 61% depth and 56% table which I was happy with. My original stone was 62.7% depth and faced up very small for its carat weight.

Another contender he found had a 59.8% depth so they definitely do have shallower stones, they just need more time to find them as they seem to be rarer.

Good luck OP
Click to expand...

Thank you very much Luciness. I suppose I should try to be patient, but as it takes 4-5 weeks for stones to come in and wait time for diamonds within specifications to come in, I didn't realize how involved and time confusing upgrading an e-ring could be! I figured I'd walk right in, pick one up and voila - upgrade! lol

Can I ask how long you waited before receiving the ring you chose and your approximate specs? So far the shallowest depth that has been provided is 61.9 for me within my specs. I've also already noticed small price increases so I'm just trying to determine if it's not going to get much better than these options (I think I'm leaning towards Option 1 in my original first post), I'll take a look and if it's visually appealing take it! Of course I'm waiting for Ame's further opinion on this =)
 
#20
I'm not sure where u are based OP, however it took a week for a ring to get shipped to where I am (Australia) for me to look.

The most time was actually spent searching for the ring and checking its availability. the SA I was working with was quite slow in terms of keeping me updated etc so if u had an efficient SA I'm sure it will be quicker. For me it took about 3 weeks for him to find the one. I did start a thread on this :smile: not too sure how to link tho!
 
#21
luciness said:
I'm not sure where u are based OP, however it took a week for a ring to get shipped to where I am (Australia) for me to look.

The most time was actually spent searching for the ring and checking its availability. the SA I was working with was quite slow in terms of keeping me updated etc so if u had an efficient SA I'm sure it will be quicker. For me it took about 3 weeks for him to find the one. I did start a thread on this :smile: not too sure how to link tho!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm in Canada and shipping seems to be on average about 4-5 weeks even when coming from the US?! Hard not to get anxious about all this! I just read through your thread - congratulations on finding your perfect stone! Hopefully that's me in a month or so :smile:
 
#23
ame said:
Yea the original first one is good.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ame, I can't wait to see this one in person!

I have one more question about this diamond contender 'though. It seems the proportions are decent and HCA score is good. At this point (on paper) my one concern is that it's not triple excellent as Symmetry is only Very Good. I am comforted by the fact that my existing ring was actually also rated Very Good (for both Symmetry and Polish) and I have never felt an issue with brilliance/fire etc. Although if I did this research back then I'm sure I wouldn't have chosen this diamond I'm currently wearing!

Could you provide any comfort/advice on this (Very Good symmetry rating)? Tks!
 
#24
Who graded it as such? Tiffany or GIA? Take Tiffany's grading of that stuff with a grain of salt. While they are generally pretty close, they grade them internally, and can call them whatever they want. They are not a recognized reputable lab, they are a retailer. If it was GIA, then fine, it might not have "excellent" symmetry, but that is still not enough to dissuade me from a stone, and shouldn't matter to you either. Most retailers or even wholesalers won't ding it because of that when they're selling it anyway. The angles and percentages are what identify the cut quality and where you determine the brilliance and fire and that's where I put my stock. This triple excellent nonsense that everyone hitches on so much has become more of a marketing tool and less of a legitimate grade/make identifier. They will call a stone that is a total dog a triple excellent, and someone will buy it on that notion, without actually looking at the angles.
 
#25
Yes, that was almost me (buying triple excellent without a blink of the eye), until I learned a ton of info from this site and you, Ame. And yes, I believe that's Tiffany's own grading. Thanks, I'll take a look at the diamond when it comes in and hopefully it takes my breath away..or some other intriguing specs come in before then! :smile:
 
#26
Here is the info for my stone, if it helps you feel better, mind you it's not a tiffany stone, but mine is listed as "good" symmetry, and it's only 2 hundredths of a mm off.


HCA data:
Selected: 59.8% depth, 55.2% table, 34.5° crown angle, 40.7° pavilion angle
The result is for a symmetrical diamond with a medium girdle and very good polish
HCA scores were adjusted Dec. 15, 2001 and Feb. 6, 2003.

HCA details
Factor Grade
Light Return Excellent
Fire Excellent
Scintillation Excellent
Spread or Excellent
diameter for weight
Total Visual Performance
0.8 - Excellent within TIC range

Details on my stone
Shape: Star129
Carat Weight: 1.15ct
Color: H
Clarity: VS1
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Good
Fluorescence: Medium to Strong Blue
Culet: None
Width: 6.77mm
Length: 6.79mm
Depth: 4.05mm
Table Percentage: 55.25%
Depth Percentage: 59.85%
Crown ∠: 34.50°
Crown Depth: 14.90%
Pavilion ∠: 40.75°
Click to expand...


ImageUploadedByPurseForum1365603605.356506.jpg

links with pics of my rings so you can see how my "good" symmetry doesn't really affect anything since I have ideal angles.
http://forum.purseblog.com/the-jewelry-box/cool-pics-my-wedding-set-i-took-today-712785.html

http://forum.purseblog.com/the-jewe...ffany-2mm-half-circle-channel-set-748193.html

http://forum.purseblog.com/the-jewelry-box/update-wedding-band-swap-all-done-pics-pg-681585-12.html

http://forum.purseblog.com/the-jewelry-box/for-whoops-its-a-star-681803.html
 
Last edited:
#28
Sure thing. I edited that to add a few links to threads on here with pics of my stone, so you can see that "good" symmetry didn't affect my stone negatively bec it was still cut to the proper angles.
 
#29
Ame,

Your stone is amazing sparkling! Is it a GOG or Whiteflash diamond?

One question for you.....is seeing the perfect arrows a good indication of excellent symmetry? I see perfect arrows on mine but since it is not classified as 'hearts & arrows' diamond, I assume it is not. I can't see the hearts since the diamond is already set. Mine scored a 1.0 on HCA.
 
#30
Perfect arrows are definitely indicative of great symmetry, yes. You usually can't see the hearts without it being loose, unless you get a really random flash of backlighting. That pattern is a product of excellent cutting. Some companies have just used it for branding and marketing, hence the term H&A.

My stone is from GOG, its a Star129 branded super ideal. Not every Star129 falls right in line with superideal, but many of them do, esp the older ones from the original cutters, which mine is and my original was (you can tell by the inscription which cutter did it, the original or the new one). I don't like how they select their rough anymore though with the new cutter, and they aren't as tight on the numbers as they used to be, so if I upgrade, Ill probably do a custom cut if I stay with this cut.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back