Questions re. Tiffany engagement ring (comfort and "is it worth it"?)

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#32
burberryprncess said:
On another note, if you are concerned about the knife edge ring, have you considered another style offered by Tiffany, such as the channel set diamond? It's a little more expensive because of the diamond band, but it's very comfortable to wear.

http://www.tiffany.com/Engagement/Item.aspx?GroupSKU=GRP10016#f+3/0/0/0/0/0
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That was actually my dream ring setting, but when I tried it on, my partner and I thought the channel set stones took away from the centre stone. In the end, we agreed a solitaire setting was the way to go. So ideally, we are looking for a solitaire setting with a knife edge that tapers to a flatter setting on the sides.

We are definitely leaning towards getting a channel set wedding ring though!
 
#33
kristinlorraine said:
please excuse my stupid question. but does constant polishing, buffing of platinum rings will wear away some of its metals? i always forgot to ask Tiffany associates whenever i send my rings for cleaning.
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With Plat, polishing does NOT remove metal.
With gold, polishing WILL remove metal.

Ferdi_the_yak said:
Lee and ame, would you both mind sharing some details of your poor experiences with GOG and Whiteflash? If I were to work with either, it would be an international transaction and I'd want to avoid any places with bad customer/after sales service.

Thanks!
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Short answer: I hired them to make my shared prong wedding band. It cracked upon the first wearing, and every attempt at a remake (7 times) cracked on the first wearing or arrived already cracked, as in I never even TOUCHED the thing, it came from their hands that way and I could see from the ring box that it had a crack along the prong without even removing it. I had two local jewelers and an appraiser (independent of any jeweler) inspect it and all three said it was related to the casting method and that it was due to porosity and would continue to be an issue. My actual wedding band that my husband put on my hand, arrived cracked, we used it in the ceremony as I was out of time for another repair/replacement, and I had to have it shipped back to them for replacement before we left for our honeymoon the next day. After three eternities were not working out, we agreed to try a half eternity, and after several more those again had the same issues. We felt we were more than accommodating and patient and Ill give Brian a lot of credit for trying to rush the casting on one of them in the eye of a Hurricane to get one out. After asking for a refund and posting on PS asking for advice, we got threatened repeatedly by their attorneys. If you want more info, you can PM me.
 
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#34
:ty::ty::ty:

sil said:
I'm no expert but I remember being told that with platinum it has a "liquid-like" surface. When you scratch it, you're just moving the metal around. You don't lose any mass. I imagine since polishing is technically just a bunch of micro-scratches, theoretically there should be no (or very little) metal loss in the life of your platinum piece.

Somebody correct my babble if I'm out to lunch on this one.
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ame said:
With Plat, polishing does NOT remove metal.
With gold, polishing WILL remove metal.
Click to expand...
 
#36
Ferdi_the_yak said:
Lee and ame, would you both mind sharing some details of your poor experiences with GOG and Whiteflash? If I were to work with either, it would be an international transaction and I'd want to avoid any places with bad customer/after sales service.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

A diamond that was described as eye clean was not - obviously to me and my DH not. It was a pain to ship it back and disappointing. Then again I bought earrings from Jewels by Erica Grace and the transaction was easy and found their descriptions to be completely accurate. I need to be able to trust a jewelers description and eye. I generally avoid buying jewelry online but the earrings were a special case.
 
#37
I'm just going to chime in on GOG.
I'm currently working on a ring with them; I bought one of their stones. They have an excellent guarantee, and provided certs, idealScope images, photos, and videos. ( and of course all the specs!) I think if you're an involved consumer you can get what you want. So far the customer service has been wonderful.
Good luck with your e-ring shopping!
 
#38
LeeMiller said:
A diamond that was described as eye clean was not - obviously to me and my DH not. It was a pain to ship it back and disappointing. Then again I bought earrings from Jewels by Erica Grace and the transaction was easy and found their descriptions to be completely accurate. I need to be able to trust a jewelers description and eye. I generally avoid buying jewelry online but the earrings were a special case.
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That is not an issue that is unique to GOG, though. Yes it's a hassle, and a disappointment, but that would be the same hassle with any other vendor. Did you give them a chance to find another stone or did you write them off completely?

Every vendor has their own definition of eye clean as does every customer, and you have to be VERY clear to every vendor and person you deal with what YOUR definition of eye clean is. But if you don't tell them that up front, they're going to assume you just mean whatever THEIR definition is, and that might not be published anywhere on their site. MOST vendors define eye clean as 9-12" away from face up view only in direct light. My definition of eye clean is can I see it without a loupe, at all, period, in any way, from any angle, in any lighting situation? If so, it's not eye clean. And if I didn't tell them, they're not going to know.
 
#39
ame said:
Short answer: I hired them to make my shared prong wedding band. It cracked upon the first wearing, and every attempt at a remake (7 times) cracked on the first wearing or arrived already cracked, as in I never even TOUCHED the thing, it came from their hands that way and I could see from the ring box that it had a crack along the prong without even removing it. I had two local jewelers and an appraiser (independent of any jeweler) inspect it and all three said it was related to the casting method and that it was due to porosity and would continue to be an issue. My actual wedding band that my husband put on my hand, arrived cracked, we used it in the ceremony as I was out of time for another repair/replacement, and I had to have it shipped back to them for replacement before we left for our honeymoon the next day. After three eternities were not working out, we agreed to try a half eternity, and after several more those again had the same issues. We felt we were more than accommodating and patient and Ill give Brian a lot of credit for trying to rush the casting on one of them in the eye of a Hurricane to get one out. After asking for a refund and posting on PS asking for advice, we got threatened repeatedly by their attorneys. If you want more info, you can PM me.
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Wow that sounded like a nightmare! Hoping you got it resolved(and understand if you don't want to post here if that's the case).

LeeMiller said:
A diamond that was described as eye clean was not - obviously to me and my DH not. It was a pain to ship it back and disappointing. Then again I bought earrings from Jewels by Erica Grace and the transaction was easy and found their descriptions to be completely accurate. I need to be able to trust a jewelers description and eye. I generally avoid buying jewelry online but the earrings were a special case.
Click to expand...

This is why I and my partner are hesitant to buy an e-ring from overseas. As you ladies have all pointed out, it should be about the stone and not the cert. My partner and I have discussed this and he thinks it is worth paying the premium for a ring that we can vet in person. If these vendors were in Australia, it would be a different issue, but there is no way we'd be able to vet as many stones as we'd like if we are looking at an international purchase!

ame said:
Every vendor has their own definition of eye clean as does every customer, and you have to be VERY clear to every vendor and person you deal with what YOUR definition of eye clean is. But if you don't tell them that up front, they're going to assume you just mean whatever THEIR definition is, and that might not be published anywhere on their site. MOST vendors define eye clean as 9-12" away from face up view only in direct light. My definition of eye clean is can I see it without a loupe, at all, period, in any way, from any angle, in any lighting situation? If so, it's not eye clean. And if I didn't tell them, they're not going to know.
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And this is why we'll most likely be buying locally. I know that online vendors can offer us more bang for our buck, but it's not a risk we want to take for such a large purchase.
 
#40
Ferdi_the_yak said:
Wow that sounded like a nightmare! Hoping you got it resolved(and understand if you don't want to post here if that's the case).
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Eventually, but since the same main owner is still there, and the same stuff still happens, nothing has changed and they've improved nothing about their service or product since. The other two owners left and started their own company, I am not their biggest fans either.
 
#41
I had a great experience with GOG. Personally, I would prefer a higher color and lower clarity (eye clean of course). Tiffany colors are too warm for me. Have you checked out Pricescope?
 
#42
Allisonfaye said:
I had a great experience with GOG. Personally, I would prefer a higher color and lower clarity (eye clean of course). Tiffany colors are too warm for me. Have you checked out Pricescope?
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I am only inserting myself as the OPs voice here but I THINK she's ruled out PS vendors as they don't want an overseas vendor and want to view in person. BUT PS can teach you a great deal about cut along the way.
 
#43
ame said:
I am only inserting myself as the OPs voice here but I THINK she's ruled out PS vendors as they don't want an overseas vendor and want to view in person. BUT PS can teach you a great deal about cut along the way.
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I've had a look at Pricescope and have actually sent my partner a link to their diamond tutorial site. And yep, ame is right in saying that we're going to go with a local vendor for the ring. I'm open to overseas sites for when I buy my diamond studs (the price/quality offerings here in Australia are pitiful).

Thank you for the recommendation though :smile1:
 
#44
I went to Tiffany last week and spoke to an SA about tracking down a diamond. I gave her my criteria (max price, carat, colour, clarity, cut). She said that she could search their inventory for all diamonds matching my specifications, send me a list of suitable ones and I could request further details (angles, depth etc) to determine which stones I wanted to view in person.

I received an email today with one single ring that was not only larger than what I wanted, but well over my max price. Hmmm. I politely reiterated what I was looking for and received a second email with one ring at the smallest end of my carat range. What the...?

Turns out their "diamond search" only turns up stones that have been set into rings. I asked whether there was a way to search for loose stones and she said she would "get back to me in a couple of days".

Has anyone requested a "diamond search" at Tiffany and told the search is only for preset rings? Seems a bit ridiculous to me. They cannot seriously only have 1 stone that matches my criteria in their vast inventory. If the SA comes back and says they can't search for loose diamonds, my partner and I are going back to a local jeweller who was more than happy to do that for us.
 
#45
ame said:
That is not an issue that is unique to GOG, though. Yes it's a hassle, and a disappointment, but that would be the same hassle with any other vendor. Did you give them a chance to find another stone or did you write them off completely?

Every vendor has their own definition of eye clean as does every customer, and you have to be VERY clear to every vendor and person you deal with what YOUR definition of eye clean is. But if you don't tell them that up front, they're going to assume you just mean whatever THEIR definition is, and that might not be published anywhere on their site. MOST vendors define eye clean as 9-12" away from face up view only in direct light. My definition of eye clean is can I see it without a loupe, at all, period, in any way, from any angle, in any lighting situation? If so, it's not eye clean. And if I didn't tell them, they're not going to know.
Click to expand...

I was very clear and talked about my expectations at length on the phone. I was told two people checked it and it was eye clean when worn. Not the case to me or my DH. This was a particular item so no I didn't feel like working with them again. I got the feeling they'd hope I wouldn't care once I received the ring. Contrast that with Jewels by Erica Grace who told me a ring would likely bother me if I was color sensitive because a stone showed some warmth in certain lighting. That is a vendor I feel like I can have an ongoing relationship with.
 
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