I'm a jeweler for 19 yrs so feel free to ask me anything !

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#16
Hello Victoriashermes! I love this thread.

I would like to know where to get a loose round diamond semi-bezel set in a titanium or black ceramic ring. Ideally it would look like this (http://www.tiffany.com/Engagement/Item.aspx?GroupSKU=GRP10009#f+3/0/0/0/0/0) except the ring would be polished grey titanium instead of platinum. Otherwise I'd like it to look like this (http://www.tiffany.com/Engagement/Item.aspx?GroupSKU=GRP10010#f+5/0/0/0/0/0) with a palladium bezel and black ceramic band.

Also, are independent jewelers able to price match or beat Blue Nile/Pearl Paradise/Etc.? Every time I've been to one they tell me that brick-and-mortar stores can't compete with online jewelers and shouldn't be expected to. If they discount they offer to go down 10%-20% but never as low as some of these sites. How do you feel about this?
 
#17
Lets talk about titanium. It's not a precious metal. So it's basically worthless. No joke. A lot of designers have been using this metal now so I do get a lot of requests for men's wedding bands. I tell my customers that a wedding band is such an important symbol of purity, marriage and all that other mushy stuff. And at the end of the day, even if his ring never scratches, it's worth absolutely nothing and you can't really hand it down to the next generation. And if he gains or loses weight, the ring cannot be sized. So he would have to buy a new ring to fit him and the sentimentality is all gone. He can't even wear the ring he got married in. Some say so what. That's fine too :smile: some feel that for the price difference, they would rather have the cheaper ring and just buy new ones if it doesn't fit later.
Ok as for setting a diamond in titanium? I know no one that does this. I've seen it online with diamonds set already, but I've never heard of anything being custom made. And besides, why would you want such a precious stone set into titanium. My opinion, it's really not worth it. A titanium wedding band sells for $50 or less at my job. We really just sell precious metals. And what happens if a diamond falls out? I have no idea who can set it back in.
As for Internet jewelers like the ones you mentioned, you're not getting what you paid for. I don't want to sound like I'm bashing other jewelers, honestly I'm just here to give out info and my opinions from my experience. If there's something in particular you were looking at online, you can send me a link and I will e more than happy to give you my honest opinion and advice if you want.
 
#18
And most Internet jewelry business dont care about keeping you for a long term customer. Something as precious and important as jewelry to buy for your loved one should be more personal. They don't care if you're buying the right piece for that individual. When I have a customer come in for a gift, I ask many questions and try to find the perfect gift that I feel matches who they are describing :smile:
 
#19
Victoriashermes said:
Yes they do. GIA is stricter with their ratings. For example, a diamond could be rated H color VS1 with EGL and for the same quality stone, GIA would grade it I color SI1
but it doesn't necessarily mean an EGL stone is not worth buying. The value is still there.
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But that also doesn't mean that it always happens. Sometimes GIA isn't always correct either. You have to remember it's a person who is grading the stones, not a computer. So it's really up to the individual. It gets a lot more complicated than this. I will explain more if needed.
 
#21
Victoria my question is about diamond wedding bands. Are platinum diamonds bands more sturdy than 18k yg? Would you recommend pave or shared prong? I hear share prong can scratch your ering... Thoughts?
 
#22
chpwhy said:
Thank you for creating this thread. My question would be what do you feel about Moissanite? Lab created diamond? or SIMS?
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Let's talk value. No matter how much less a moissanite stone is than a diamond, at the end of the day,the diamond will be worth something and a moissanite would be worth nothing. What makes a diamond so valuable?? Its rare. It's take millions of years for a carbon to turn into a beautiful diamond. Moissanite is man made. And remember, just because it's cheaper, doesn't mean it's free. It's still costs hundreds. And you could've just saved more and got the real deal !
 
#24
Thank you so much for creating this thread and answering my previous question. I have one more: for diamond, which criteria is the most important, carat/cut/clarity/color? If I want to buy a investment piece, which is the minimum requirement in every aspect? Thanks!
 
#25
scarlet555 said:
Victoria my question is about diamond wedding bands. Are platinum diamonds bands more sturdy than 18k yg? Would you recommend pave or shared prong? I hear share prong can scratch your ering... Thoughts?
Click to expand...

That is a very very good question. Many people think platinum is a better metal. Sure it's worth more. But that's about it. Here are my pros and cons about platinum, 18 kt and 14 kt.

Ive been in this industry for so many years, so I've seen how metals wear out. Customers come back for repairs, sizing, refinishing etc.

Let me give some info on yellow gold and white gold.
14k yellow gold is 58.5% gold And mixed with other metals
18k yellow gold is 75% gold and mixed with other metals and has a more brassy color. This gold is not that popular in the US because of the brassy color.

14k white gold is actually yellow gold mixed with nickel and other metals to get the white color and same with 18 k

Platinum is mostly 95% pure

I know you wrote 18k yg but I'm confused with that because you ask about platinum which is white in color so I'm going to give you info on white gold :smile: and not yg when it comes to wear and tear

Platinum stays white. As you wear it, It scratches up a lot and looks dull. It's also not as strong as you think. I have customers who bring their rings in to clean and it's not even rounded anymore. The shank gets banged up a lot and becomes flattened. And if there's diamonds or other stones involved, when it comes to repairs, it's not easy. Platinum takes a lot of heat to work with so the jeweler may have to take the stones out to repair unless the have a laser machine. The dullness of the platinum makes the ring look so ....worn. Can't find the right word. Hehehe.

18k wg and 14k wg stays shiney as you wear it. Since the wg is basically yellow gold mixed with nickel, it will turn slightly yellowish as you wear it. And repairs are much easier. But if you're using white gold, there's really no point to request 18k, it will just turn yellowish faster since it has 75% gold in it. But it's definitely fine to use it.

Platinum pros: feels heavy and it stays white
Platinum cons: get very scratched up and dull, not easy to repair. And when I say scratched up , trust me the scratches aren't little lines or marks, they are DEEP scratches. I always describe platinum like oatmeal. It's dense and heavy but soft. Sure it can be polished but do you know how much of the platinum the polisher has to take off before it gets smooth ? It will just eventually thin
out.

14k and 18k white gold pros: stays shiney, easy to repair.
14k and 18k white gold cons: turns yellowish. Can always be refinished and look white again.

At the end of the day, both metals need refinishing eventually no matter what.

As far as setting diamonds in platinum, sure it's perfectly fine, I just don't like how the platinum dulls out and the prongs start getting flattened from wearing.

I prefer prong setting. There might be some confusion on what people think pave setting really means. A pave band can have tiny prongs and that's what makes it look nice and sparkly. Or the diamonds are set INTO the ring and beads are raised to hold the stones in. Bad part about that type is that the stones are usually buried and it doesn't shine as much. But not in all cases.

If you send me a picture of what you were thinking, I can definitely give my opinion.

As far as scratching your ering, it depends if you have stones set on the side. But honestly, don't worry about that. Everything scratches. Just get it polished. :biggrin::biggrin:
 
#27
Victoriashermes said:
That is a very very good question. Many people think platinum is a better metal. Sure it's worth more. But that's about it. Here are my pros and cons about platinum, 18 kt and 14 kt.

Ive been in this industry for so many years, so I've seen how metals wear out. Customers come back for repairs, sizing, refinishing etc.

Let me give some info on yellow gold and white gold.
14k yellow gold is 58.5% gold And mixed with other metals
18k yellow gold is 75% gold and mixed with other metals and has a more brassy color. This gold is not that popular in the US because of the brassy color.

14k white gold is actually yellow gold mixed with nickel and other metals to get the white color and same with 18 k

Platinum is mostly 95% pure

I know you wrote 18k yg but I'm confused with that because you ask about platinum which is white in color so I'm going to give you info on white gold :smile: and not yg when it comes to wear and tear

Platinum stays white. As you wear it, It scratches up a lot and looks dull. It's also not as strong as you think. I have customers who bring their rings in to clean and it's not even rounded anymore. The shank gets banged up a lot and becomes flattened. And if there's diamonds or other stones involved, when it comes to repairs, it's not easy. Platinum takes a lot of heat to work with so the jeweler may have to take the stones out to repair unless the have a laser machine. The dullness of the platinum makes the ring look so ....worn. Can't find the right word. Hehehe.

18k wg and 14k wg stays shiney as you wear it. Since the wg is basically yellow gold mixed with nickel, it will turn slightly yellowish as you wear it. And repairs are much easier. But if you're using white gold, there's really no point to request 18k, it will just turn yellowish faster since it has 75% gold in it. But it's definitely fine to use it.

Platinum pros: feels heavy and it stays white
Platinum cons: get very scratched up and dull, not easy to repair. And when I say scratched up , trust me the scratches aren't little lines or marks, they are DEEP scratches. I always describe platinum like oatmeal. It's dense and heavy but soft. Sure it can be polished but do you know how much of the platinum the polisher has to take off before it gets smooth ? It will just eventually thin
out.

14k and 18k white gold pros: stays shiney, easy to repair.
14k and 18k white gold cons: turns yellowish. Can always be refinished and look white again.

At the end of the day, both metals need refinishing eventually no matter what.

As far as setting diamonds in platinum, sure it's perfectly fine, I just don't like how the platinum dulls out and the prongs start getting flattened from wearing.

I prefer prong setting. There might be some confusion on what people think pave setting really means. A pave band can have tiny prongs and that's what makes it look nice and sparkly. Or the diamonds are set INTO the ring and beads are raised to hold the stones in. Bad part about that type is that the stones are usually buried and it doesn't shine as much. But not in all cases.

If you send me a picture of what you were thinking, I can definitely give my opinion.

As far as scratching your ering, it depends if you have stones set on the side. But honestly, don't worry about that. Everything scratches. Just get it polished. :biggrin::biggrin:
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fantastic thread! that insight into how bang-ed and scratched plat bands can be is really useful because my e-ring is pink tourmaline set in plat and my wedding band is diamond set in 18k WG. my e-ring has deep visible scratches though i've only worn it for only a few months and i can tell 1 of the stone's prong has very slightly shifted. i wished i knew about the durability of plat versus 18k WG before DH bought the e-ring! he asked me which metal i preferred and i said plat because i thought the shine over time (which i read in some forums) would be pretty....

not sure if you can answer my question but i live in asia where 14k YG and 14k WG are not popular and are not easily available. in fact, for bridal jewellery 22k YG and 24k YG are still de rigeur. my take is this is because most asians still think of gold as a precious commodity therefore consumers still prefer to buy jewellery with a higher gold percentage. what are your thoughts on this?
 
#28
I just bought a champagne diamond ring with diamond pave setting. I don't know much about champagne diamond but read a bit here and there from the internet.

Question:
1. Is there a grading for champagne diamond beside it's colour?
2. Can you tell the difference between champagne diamond and smoked topaz?

Thank you.
 
#30
Victoriashermes said:
As far as setting diamonds in platinum, sure it's perfectly fine, I just don't like how the platinum dulls out and the prongs start getting flattened from wearing.
Click to expand...
What are these people doing that their prongs are flattened from wear? And I hope that the wear and "flattening" is over 30 years, because if it's sooner they're either doing stuff in their ring they shouldn't be, or it was poorly manufactured. I have several platinum rings, and have abused one daily including a bathroom remodel and the prongs are still fine, not to mention a quick polish removed the "dullness" which is just a lot of scratches and is very easily rectified.

I noticed quite a bias in your post against platinum. Obviously it's not your choice for a metal, but it might be one someone else prefers. The only out of round rings I've ever seen have been gold, NOT platinum. And I have not had any issues with out of round rings except when a jeweler with no experience working with platinum tried to size it, and then soldered it with white gold, again, because they couldn't work with platinum. It's also why they tried to never sell platinum and always pushed gold and white gold claiming its stronger and better. They just don't know how to work with it.
 
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