Opinions for the DBTY PLEASE HELP!!

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#16
smashinstyle said:
I'm assuming you're in Canada too, because you mentioned Canadian dollars in your original post.

I went through literally the exact same thought process as you about a month ago. I really did my research. I contacted Blue Nile, and in all honesty, they were massively unhelpful and I was told that what I wanted would cost me around $1000 CDN and it would be non-returnable because it would be a custom piece. I wanted them to do the station bezel in 18k yellow gold, which they didn't offer on their website, and I was told I would pay anywhere from around 30% extra just to commission that, on top of the diamond. With it being non-returnable, it was a risk I wasn't really willing to take. Also, some of the reviews on the piece said the bezel was not uniform, and that would have driven me crazy.

I also was in contact with Brian Gavin diamonds, and their price was higher. Much higher really because of how horribly the Canadian dollar has been doing lately. For the price I was going to pay at BGD or Blue Nile, it wasn't far off from Tiffany's at all, especially factoring in the conversion rate from USD to CAD and then additional taxes and duties once the piece is delivered.

I went into Tiffany's to try on the DBTY once and fell in love with it. I waited a few more weeks to be absolutely certain that Tiffany's was the route I wanted to go, wait to see if the dollar was going to move around a little, etc.

I purchased by DBTY from Tiffany's on February 13th and because of some rather poor treatment I received from a different sales associate than the one I ended up working with, the manager and my SA went very much out of their way to make my experience outstanding. My mother (my shopping buddy lol) and I were taken to "the salon," offered champagne and petit fours, I looked at the diamond through a microscope, AND they managed to have the clasp changed to a lobster clasp (which is something they said they are normally not allowed to do on Elsa Peretti pieces) for me at no additional charge to compensate me for the way I was treated initially.

I purchased the .14 DBTY solitaire in 18k yellow gold, and I am absolutely amazed by this piece. Since I brought it home, I have not taken it off. The size of the diamond is perfect for me, and it has very beautiful shine. Including taxes, I paid $1299.50. I'm happy with the price, I'm happy with the piece, and I'm very happy with the treatment I received.
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Thanks for your reply. It's funny how you mentioned the clasp, I would actually prefer the lobster to its original one, I felt it was so difficult for me to put it on. Perhaps I will ask my SA and see if they could do that for me as well although I doubt it would be complementary. May I ask what the specs are of the diamond you purchased?

Edit: Also, SO TRUE about the Canadian Dollar.. that was one of the reasons why I hesitant with ordering online, it was the conversion rate, and not being able to return the product if I wasn't happy with it since it's a custom piece. I was leaning towards the Tiffany style because of how delicate it looked, and everything felt carefree!
 
#17
THANKS SO MUCH for everyone's valuable opinions/input.

So I went in to the store today and my fiance offered to buy it for me for my birthday which is coming up soon. In the end, we chose out a 0.18c in platinum setting, I colour, VS1 and the price of it was $1700 plus taxes and we have to get it shipped from Calgary as that was the only piece in the whole BC available that I felt was within the "budget" although I mentioned $1500 previously.. I guess we were already over budget but I felt like I did not want to go any smaller than 0.18c and the number 18 meant something special for the both of us. I also tried on the same sized stone H/VVS1 that was available in store but it was $100 more. It's not a huge difference in price but since we were already over budget and I would not see the colour difference since it's such a small stone, we decided to go with the I colour stone instead to save as much as we could.

During my visit, I tried on both the solitaire and dbty. The solitaire I tried on was a 0.20c J SI1 and when I compared it with the dbty 0.18c, the dbty looked much bigger. The solitaire was so small that I felt like I wouldn't even consider it, despite an ok price tag ($1500).

The piece came to $1904 after taxes. I don't have it just yet because it will probably not arrive in store until the end of the week but I still could not believe that we spent almost $2000 for a 0.18c stone!!!! But after considering everything - currency conversion, ordering a piece that I could not return if I was not satisfied, choosing out a diamond without too much knowledge, I decided to go with the carefree, yet pricey solution. Plus who doesn't like the blue box right? I cannot wait to see it again, and start wearing it as an everyday piece.

On a side note, does anyone think it's bad to shower with the piece? I mean if possible, I probably would not want to take it on and off all the time, unless they allow me to change the clasp to a lobster clasp.

THANKS AGAIN LOVELY LADIES!!! :):):)
 
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#18
leanneju said:
THANKS SO MUCH for everyone's valuable opinions/input.

So I went in to the store today and my fiance offered to buy it for me for my birthday which is coming up soon. In the end, we chose out a 0.18c in platinum setting, I colour, VS1 and the price of it was $1700 plus taxes and we have to get it shipped from Calgary as that was the only piece in the whole BC available that I felt was within the "budget" although I mentioned $1500 previously.. I guess we were already over budget but I felt like I did not want to go any smaller than 0.18c and the number 18 meant something special for the both of us. I also tried on the same sized stone H/VVS1 that was available in store but it was $100 more. It's not a huge difference in price but since we were already over budget and I would not see the colour difference since it's such a small stone, we decided to go with the I colour stone instead to save as much as we could.

During my visit, I tried on both the solitaire and dbty. The solitaire I tried on was a 0.20c J SI1 and when I compared it with the dbty 0.18c, the dbty looked much bigger. The solitaire was so small that I felt like I wouldn't even consider it, despite an ok price tag ($1500).

The piece came to $1904 after taxes. I don't have it just yet because it will probably not arrive in store until the end of the week but I still could not believe that we spent almost $2000 for a 0.18c stone!!!! But after considering everything - currency conversion, ordering a piece that I could not return if I was not satisfied, choosing out a diamond without too much knowledge, I decided to go with the carefree, yet pricey solution. Plus who doesn't like the blue box right? I cannot wait to see it again, and start wearing it as an everyday piece.

On a side note, does anyone think it's bad to shower with the piece? I mean if possible, I probably would not want to take it on and off all the time, unless they allow me to change the clasp to a lobster clasp.

THANKS AGAIN LOVELY LADIES!!! :):):)
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Yay! Enjoy your piece! You should have no issues showering with it. Cannot wait to see pics!
 
#19
leanneju said:
THANKS SO MUCH for everyone's valuable opinions/input.

So I went in to the store today and my fiance offered to buy it for me for my birthday which is coming up soon. In the end, we chose out a 0.18c in platinum setting, I colour, VS1 and the price of it was $1700 plus taxes and we have to get it shipped from Calgary as that was the only piece in the whole BC available that I felt was within the "budget" although I mentioned $1500 previously.. I guess we were already over budget but I felt like I did not want to go any smaller than 0.18c and the number 18 meant something special for the both of us. I also tried on the same sized stone H/VVS1 that was available in store but it was $100 more. It's not a huge difference in price but since we were already over budget and I would not see the colour difference since it's such a small stone, we decided to go with the I colour stone instead to save as much as we could.

During my visit, I tried on both the solitaire and dbty. The solitaire I tried on was a 0.20c J SI1 and when I compared it with the dbty 0.18c, the dbty looked much bigger. The solitaire was so small that I felt like I wouldn't even consider it, despite an ok price tag ($1500).

The piece came to $1904 after taxes. I don't have it just yet because it will probably not arrive in store until the end of the week but I still could not believe that we spent almost $2000 for a 0.18c stone!!!! But after considering everything - currency conversion, ordering a piece that I could not return if I was not satisfied, choosing out a diamond without too much knowledge, I decided to go with the carefree, yet pricey solution. Plus who doesn't like the blue box right? I cannot wait to see it again, and start wearing it as an everyday piece.

On a side note, does anyone think it's bad to shower with the piece? I mean if possible, I probably would not want to take it on and off all the time, unless they allow me to change the clasp to a lobster clasp.

THANKS AGAIN LOVELY LADIES!!! :):):)
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Hi! I think you'll be very happy with your piece. I own several DBTY pieces in both yellow gold and platinum (2 necklaces and 1 bracelet) and I've had all of my clasps changed to lobster claw at NO charge. They feel so much more secure. Btw I shower with them every single day. No worries!
 
#21
leanneju said:
THANKS SO MUCH for everyone's valuable opinions/input.

So I went in to the store today and my fiance offered to buy it for me for my birthday which is coming up soon. In the end, we chose out a 0.18c in platinum setting, I colour, VS1 and the price of it was $1700 plus taxes and we have to get it shipped from Calgary as that was the only piece in the whole BC available that I felt was within the "budget" although I mentioned $1500 previously.. I guess we were already over budget but I felt like I did not want to go any smaller than 0.18c and the number 18 meant something special for the both of us. I also tried on the same sized stone H/VVS1 that was available in store but it was $100 more. It's not a huge difference in price but since we were already over budget and I would not see the colour difference since it's such a small stone, we decided to go with the I colour stone instead to save as much as we could.

During my visit, I tried on both the solitaire and dbty. The solitaire I tried on was a 0.20c J SI1 and when I compared it with the dbty 0.18c, the dbty looked much bigger. The solitaire was so small that I felt like I wouldn't even consider it, despite an ok price tag ($1500).

The piece came to $1904 after taxes. I don't have it just yet because it will probably not arrive in store until the end of the week but I still could not believe that we spent almost $2000 for a 0.18c stone!!!! But after considering everything - currency conversion, ordering a piece that I could not return if I was not satisfied, choosing out a diamond without too much knowledge, I decided to go with the carefree, yet pricey solution. Plus who doesn't like the blue box right? I cannot wait to see it again, and start wearing it as an everyday piece.

On a side note, does anyone think it's bad to shower with the piece? I mean if possible, I probably would not want to take it on and off all the time, unless they allow me to change the clasp to a lobster clasp.

THANKS AGAIN LOVELY LADIES!!! :):):)
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Congrats! Good decision. Can't wait to see it. My SA told me it takes about a week to 9 days to have something shipped. Don't forget to post pics.
 
#22
leanneju said:
Thanks for your reply. It's funny how you mentioned the clasp, I would actually prefer the lobster to its original one, I felt it was so difficult for me to put it on. Perhaps I will ask my SA and see if they could do that for me as well although I doubt it would be complementary. May I ask what the specs are of the diamond you purchased?

Edit: Also, SO TRUE about the Canadian Dollar.. that was one of the reasons why I hesitant with ordering online, it was the conversion rate, and not being able to return the product if I wasn't happy with it since it's a custom piece. I was leaning towards the Tiffany style because of how delicate it looked, and everything felt carefree!
Click to expand...

I genuinely couldn't close the original clasp on my own. Not that that has been a massive problem since I haven't taken it off since I first put it on last week lol, but the lobster clasp is a lot more secure and substantial and I'm glad I had it changed (even though it took about a week for the service to be completed).

As for diamond specs, you don't get "official" specs when you buy less than .18, but I tried on the .18 and the price point was just a little too high for my liking. I did request an evaluation on my piece, and it came back saying it was G colour, VS1-VS2 clarity, which I'm totally fine with. I was worried about the colour and clarity when I first went in to buy, but now that I've had my DBTY for a while, I'm not concerned about it at all. It shines a lot and I love it.

I honestly had a nightmare about a week ago that the Canadian dollar went down to 69 cents and I woke up crying! lol what an odd thing to dream about, but our dollar is in dismal shape right now, and you're right, between conversion rates and not being able to return, that's a pretty big risk in my opinion at least.
 
#23
eddilicious said:
Hi! I think you'll be very happy with your piece. I own several DBTY pieces in both yellow gold and platinum (2 necklaces and 1 bracelet) and I've had all of my clasps changed to lobster claw at NO charge. They feel so much more secure. Btw I shower with them every single day. No worries!
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Did you buy all your pieces at the same time? I asked my SA today and he said he cannot waive the fee because it is platinum and that he would have to charge me $100 :(
 
#24
smashinstyle said:
I genuinely couldn't close the original clasp on my own. Not that that has been a massive problem since I haven't taken it off since I first put it on last week lol, but the lobster clasp is a lot more secure and substantial and I'm glad I had it changed (even though it took about a week for the service to be completed).

As for diamond specs, you don't get "official" specs when you buy less than .18, but I tried on the .18 and the price point was just a little too high for my liking. I did request an evaluation on my piece, and it came back saying it was G colour, VS1-VS2 clarity, which I'm totally fine with. I was worried about the colour and clarity when I first went in to buy, but now that I've had my DBTY for a while, I'm not concerned about it at all. It shines a lot and I love it.

I honestly had a nightmare about a week ago that the Canadian dollar went down to 69 cents and I woke up crying! lol what an odd thing to dream about, but our dollar is in dismal shape right now, and you're right, between conversion rates and not being able to return, that's a pretty big risk in my opinion at least.
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OMG, $1300 for G colour 0.14. That's so awesome! I wonder why mine was so expensive, it's not that much bigger than yours :( and it's I colour.
 
#25
leanneju said:
Did you buy all your pieces at the same time? I asked my SA today and he said he cannot waive the fee because it is platinum and that he would have to charge me $100 :(
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No, I bought them at different times. The last one I purchased was a .20ct platinum DBTY necklace about a year ago. I asked to replace the spring ring with a lobster clasp and they did so without a problem. I was under the impression it was complimentary on platinum and gold purchases. Could the policy have changed within a year?
 
#27
Picked this baby up today--can't believe how quick the process was. Very sparkly :) LOVE IT!

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#29
izaku0608 said:
Hi all,

I'm sure many ladies have had this dilemma at some point. I've been looking into purchasing a diamond solitaire pendant from T&Co which looks like below:


But after browsing through purseforum, it seems as if I couldn't find very many pictures or info of this style--perhaps it's not as popular because it's something easily duplicated?

Then I saw the thread on the Tiffany DBTY and to my amaze I fell in love with the dainty, simple, elegant look. I am on a budget, so seeing that prices on Tiffany, I believe I want to spend up to what a 0.14 platinum would cost.. which is about $1500 CAD. Then I looked into it some more and many have mentioned going through other Vendors such as Blue Nile, White Flash, or Brian Gavin. I do think that Tiffany is pricey, but it has it's pros--such as the diamond seems to appear larger? For example the 0.14 carat would look like a 0.30 carat from Blue Nile because of the way Tiffany cuts their diamonds to maximize the table? With $1500 I can probably get a pretty good quality diamond from the Vendors mentioned and you can pick your own stone.. but there's just something about Tiffany. I'm not sure what to do!! Please help..

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
 
#30
izaku0608 said:
Hi all,

I'm sure many ladies have had this dilemma at some point. I've been looking into purchasing a diamond solitaire pendant from T&Co which looks like below:


But after browsing through purseforum, it seems as if I couldn't find very many pictures or info of this style--perhaps it's not as popular because it's something easily duplicated?

Then I saw the thread on the Tiffany DBTY and to my amaze I fell in love with the dainty, simple, elegant look. I am on a budget, so seeing that prices on Tiffany, I believe I want to spend up to what a 0.14 platinum would cost.. which is about $1500 CAD. Then I looked into it some more and many have mentioned going through other Vendors such as Blue Nile, White Flash, or Brian Gavin. I do think that Tiffany is pricey, but it has it's pros--such as the diamond seems to appear larger? For example the 0.14 carat would look like a 0.30 carat from Blue Nile because of the way Tiffany cuts their diamonds to maximize the table? With $1500 I can probably get a pretty good quality diamond from the Vendors mentioned and you can pick your own stone.. but there's just something about Tiffany. I'm not sure what to do!! Please help..

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
All diamonds have a proper standard cut to maximize brilliance. If a diamond is cut to make it look larger than it really is that means the manufacturer has taken away the depth and it is an improper cut -thus reducing the sparkle!
I chose each of my diamonds individually from Sam at Diamond Gardens and the necklace came out stunning!

DIAMOND GARDENS
Sam Gandl 212-869-6353
36 w47th St #302
NY, NY 10036
Website: diamondgardens.com

He also sells on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DiamondGardens

Just to let you know that his jewelry prices are much better purchasing direct than online (because he has to pay a large percentage to Etsy and eBay if you go through those online platforms). You can choose the shape, quality, and size of the diamonds, available in 14k, 18K white, yellow, rose gold, or platinum. Then you choose the style of the bezel, chain style you like and the thickness. In the attached photo, these are larger diamonds with thicker bezels so the points of the diamonds don't bother the wearer . This is complete custom work and will cost you no more than purchasing a mass produced inferior diamonds by the yard necklace at any jewelry store. His quality is so much better!

Screenshot_20230808_143034_Messages.jpg
 
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