Tiffany E-ring Upgrade/HCA vs Triple Excellent - Decisions, decisions!
- Thread starter aaluv
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I originally wanted HOF for their H&A but I cannot see the hearts either because all their diamonds are already in their settings just like Tiffany's. Since there is a premium on HOF and I didn't really like their solitaire settings as much as the classic Tiffany setting, I went with Tiffany because I was able to see the perfect arrows in the stone I finally purchased. With HOF, they sell a lot of SI-1 stones. I also noticed that the SI stones seem to have better cuts than the VVS and VS stones. Is it because the cutters do not have to carve away the illusions to achieve the higher clarity level? I'm also curious about this.
It's a good thing you were able to snatch the original cutters Star129. Are you planning on upgrading soon. It would may difficult to beat the one you have now.
Sorry if I'm going a bit off topic here. Since we are discussing the deep depth percentage of the majority of Tiffany diamonds, perhaps they need to be within a certain depth in order to not have the diamond set too low in the already low setting of the classic Tiffany setting. I don't think it would look so nice if they were set lower, making the whole setting flat. Sometimes I wish the setting enables the diamond's culet to be seen instead of being covered up by the low prongs. You see, all the prongs are custom made to fit the diamond so there are no gaps.
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That could provide an explanation as to the depth of Tiffany's diamonds. I asked for diamonds in the 60 depth range and the closest they could provide was 61.9!
And you are right, it would be nice to see the culet - although if you look really closely through the tiny hole towards the bottom of the setting, I think you can see it lol I do love this setting 'though, it's simple yet so pretty imo.
And you are right, it would be nice to see the culet - although if you look really closely through the tiny hole towards the bottom of the setting, I think you can see it lol I do love this setting 'though, it's simple yet so pretty imo.
I have no plans to do so anytime soon. By the time that happens I might not even want a Star129 or a round even! This one was a lucky one. It was almost definitely traded in for a larger stone, which is why it was in the system.
I don't know really why HOF would seem to do a better job cutting SI clarities over the higher clarity stones. Potentially because they sell more? I don't know that they're as stringent on their cut quality as they advertise themselves to be. Or that particular vendor just picked a lot of duds above an SI1.
Except that it IS too low already lol!
The height of their setting as it is, for me, is a TOTAL dealkiller. I have to have it set high enough to see the culet, and that's to me a non-negotiable. They refuse to do it to my requirements. It makes the stone look smaller when it's set so squat and low.
I'm looking for a ring at Tiffany as well, and I have not found the right one yet. A lot of their diamonds do not fall under HCA 2. I'm willing to wait. I used to owe a HOF, and have a Lazare Kaplan, so looking for a diamond with a great cut. In researching HOF for my upgrade, I found HOF to be even more expensive than Tiffany.
LOL, I don't want to make any effort to try to see the culet. My Verragio is set high enough to see the culet without making any extra effort, but the down side of that high setting is it bangs into things effortlessly. There are definitely +'s and -'s of high settings, and depending on one's life style, the high setting may not work well. The classic Tiffany setting, being low, is actually very practical since it sits barely above the hand. I also happen to love the look of the classic Tiffany setting compared to the copy cats, and DH loves the setting, which was why he agreed to getting me this ring.
If you browse through the HOF website, they offer VS1 to SI1 stones, compared to Tiffany, who seldom offer SI1. When I had my Tiffany SA do a diamond search, she only found one in my carat weight range. The rest were VVS1 to VS2 and some good number of IF. VCA, on the other hand, seem to specialize in IF to VVS stones. I'm pretty sure Graff, Cartier and Harry Winston offer the same clarity level as VCA except Harry Winston does offer VS as well. The two HOF retailers I went to had a 50/50 selection of VS to SI. I didn't see any VVS. Since I wasn't willing to go to the SI level, and 50% were SI but ideal cut H&A, I decided to forget HOF unless I'm in the market for earrings, then I would definitely consider HOF.
There's definitely a good premium on HOF. I was completely shocked when searching for diamonds within the company.
May I ask why you are looking at Tiffany after owning a HOF? Tiffany doesn't offer H&A, though my ring does have perfect arrows, which is why I picked the ring in the first place. I think if you search enough and don't mind spending more, you will find a combination of cut, color and clarity of your preference and within HCA range. Mine came out at 1.0.
Most ideal cut diamonds (including Tiffany stones) fall between 61 to 62% depth. It's going to be harder to find a stone shallower than that. 61 to 62% is really fine, honestly.It's when you go above 62.4% that the stones starts to be cut too deep.
I was shocked when I saw some AGS 0 Ideal, H&A at 61.8 to 62 when searching Whiteflash.
Just check the paper and my Tiffany diamond has 59.6% depth and 56% table, it scores 0.5 in HCA with all 4 ex. It is set in Tiffany classic setting too. Maybe I am just lucky to find this one. But it means they do carry swallower stones, just keep finding and don't settle until you find the perfect one.