Questions re. Tiffany engagement ring (comfort and "is it worth it"?)
- Thread starter Ferdi_the_yak
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THAT bolded part is the answer....when worn, and that does not sound like it was by a definition you agreed upon, which is a shame. That would not fit my definition of eye clean. I am sorry that you had such a bad experience with them, but I am glad you found a vendor that works better for you.
I don't think they really keep loose stones in inventory like that, I think they set them pretty much immediately into rings. They can move them from setting to setting, but I think they set them into rings and sell them as the whole piece. I do think it's weird that they can't find anything in your budget so readily though.
I'm not going to write everything I recall from the conversation but I asked if the ring is on my hand and I'm looking at it will I see the flaw or is it only when held a few inches from the face. I was very clear and asked several times to confirm. This is why I won't do business with them. I feel like you're trying to make it sound like communication on my end was the problem and IMO it wasn't. We talked specifically about distance when it came to this because I've bought enough jewelry to know eye clean definitions vary! Whole experience felt like buying a use car.
I don't think the SA can do an inventory search on 'loose diamonds'. You can request for a search for diamond pendants or even earrings to see the specs., and if one fits your criteria, then you can request for it to be sent to your store. I believe Village Girl had her diamond e ring reset from a pendant that the store had in stock. You can always get it done that way. Good luck!
Yep, they pretty much set loose diamonds to settings as soon as they grade them. That's what my SA told me. NY Village Girl was able to find a diamond she likes in a pendant setting so Tiffany allows her to move the diamond from that setting to an e ring setting.
They have lots of diamonds in their inventory, but for specific criteria (specific color, clarity, table %, depth %, crown < ,etc), and the more specific and narrower the range, the more difficult it is to find the diamond.
Where in there did I say or imply that you were in the wrong? That's not at ALL what I am trying to say or make it sound like. I am not trying to pick a fight or defend them to you or the world. They told you that it was eye clean when worn, which to me would be "from a distance" but that's not what you asked them for or wanted, and I agree, that wouldn't be ok for me either. What I am trying to say is that they did not listen to what you asked for and that is a shame because I have found them to be pretty spectacular at that, and clearly they blew it, but that it was great you found a vendor that you prefer.This is such a personal decision. As other have said...it only matters if the premium is worth it to YOU! I just bought a Tiffany 11 station DBTY....it was $9,900 at Tiffany...I could have gotten the "same" necklace for under $3,000 somewhere else...but for me....I love the Tiffany one....I do think it has extra sparkle, I like the service, and I like having the "original" dbty....so for me it was worth it...lots of others may think that is crazy. But, plenty are willing to pay the Tiffany premium...so truly....No one can answer is it worth it.....only you can decide is it worth it to you!! Congrats and good luck deciding! 
Thanks for clarifying this. I based my assumption off a previous thread where the OP requested Tiffany search for another stone as she was unhappy with her original one. She kept referring to Tiffany searching for "stones" and I guess I assumed that meant loose stones.
The SA actually recommended being more specific with the search criteria, inferring they would have a large number of possibilities. So having 2 options (one unsuitable) was surprising. We based our price range on a F VVS1 stone that fell in the middle of our size range that we viewed there a few weeks ago so I know the range is doable.
Based on our research, it seems to be the luck of the draw and if what you are looking for is there, you need to snap it up ASAP, or wait for the next one. Seeing as my partner will be buying it on his time, I think the best option is to give him my preferred specifications (depth, angles etc) and he can pick the carat weight (and obviously price!) he is most comfortable with when he goes to buy it.
Could I please get some recommended specs for a stone that is 0.8-0.9 carats, F+, VS1+, triple X? Thanks in advance!
Don't entirely go by their triple ex. Ask for GIA reports, whenever possible. Good numbers for table and depth are 55 table and around a 60 depth. Not gonna be easy to find, esp at Tiffany. But close to that would be great.
Why do you want F+ and VS1+, if I might ask?
Why do you want F+ and VS1+, if I might ask?
F+ is partially a mental hang up of mine and partially because I am quite sensitive to colour. I guess I could go for a G colour if the stone hits the other sweet spots. VS1 is also a personal preference.
Ame, thanks to reading posts by yourself and others, I already requested the triple X specs from their GIA reports, not Tiffany's
Thanks for the table and depth parameters. Should I be specifying girdle thickness/cut angles or is that too specific for Tiffany? If they don't/can't deliver, we would be going with our local jeweller who CAN search for loose stones and are more likely to find a diamond that meets our specs.
GIRDLE: Thin to medium, medium would be ideal, then you're not losing carat spread to the middle. There should not be an outright NEED to give exact angle specifications if you give a table / depth request as they SHOULD fall in line.
Nothing wrong with preference, I just want to make sure that the clarity specifically is not eye visible, so its just added cost up front that isn't visible without a loupe.
Nothing wrong with preference, I just want to make sure that the clarity specifically is not eye visible, so its just added cost up front that isn't visible without a loupe.
Thank you! I'll forward those specs to my partner
I definitely don't want to venture into anything less than VS clarity... I inspected a SI1 stone with a really obvious black speck inclusion and that freaked me out a bit. I know that not all SI stones will have these type of inclusions of course, but I prefer to err on the side of caution.
Turns out I was misinformed about that
but I'm hopeful they will find something close to what I want. I was amazed they only had one option! I'm looking at the classic solitaire.
The perception that I got from watching an SA search the Tiffany diamond inventory pages was that it is a very antiquated system. They were always very secretive but from sitting there at almost a ninety degree angle to the computer screen and listening to the SA muttering to herself, I got the impression that they have the diamonds cataloged by carat size. I don't know the exact terminology but it sounded like 0-0.25 cts was class A, 0.26-0.5 cts was class B, 0.51-0.75 cts was class C, etc. It seemed like she had to first put in which size class she was looking for and then visually scan all the results. There seemed to be very little options in terms of sorting by other criteria. I went in wanting to know what the largest diamond I could get for $X which took very long to answer. She had to look through like five different size classes before coming up with an approximate list of options. (you can imagine that a H VS2 would be about three times the size of a D IF at a given price point). And then when I was willing to increase my price by a few thousand, the process had to start all over again and the results varied wildly.
It's been a few years now since my experience so maybe they've upgraded their systems since then (or maybe my impression was wrong) but because of this I am never surprised by the lack of comprehensive options given to people requesting a diamond search from tiffany. Don't get me wrong; I adore my ring. It just seems like it should have been easier to find it.
Good luck OP!
It's been a few years now since my experience so maybe they've upgraded their systems since then (or maybe my impression was wrong) but because of this I am never surprised by the lack of comprehensive options given to people requesting a diamond search from tiffany. Don't get me wrong; I adore my ring. It just seems like it should have been easier to find it.
Good luck OP!
I have a image of a Gollum like creature crouched over the computer muttering "my precioussssssss" now
Wow that sounds like a very time consuming way of searching for diamonds! The SA filled in a form that had criteria like carat, cut, colour, fluorescence etc so I assumed she would just plug those into a search engine. When she said it would take 2 days to do the search, I was like "buh?" So I'm guessing their search methods HAVEN'T improved since you were there.
I also think that being in Australia limits the number of options we have as well. The OP of the other thread I referenced had to go through quite a bit of effort to find the diamond she wanted but she had (well her fiance) already bought the ring. I'm guessing that Tiffany may not be as enthusiastic searching for a diamond for us since we haven't spent (and may not necessarily do so) the money with them yet. But I don't want to buy first and sort it out later, as it seems like a right pain in the behind.