Tiffany sola/soleste
- Thread starter rogersa
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I tried on that Tiffany setting at Spence, too!! I love that setting - it somehow makes the center stone look bigger, although I wish the stone was set a tad higher like the T&Co. classic solitaire.
I liked that the band isn't as thin as other tiffany styles I've seen.
I thought Spence was rather expensive compared to some US online diamond vendors like GoodOldGold, Brian Gavin, etc. even though diamonds at Spence do not have GIA/AGS certificates. I did some search in Vancouver and Seattle but no B&M stores seemed to provide all the info I wanted to see =( I really would like to order online but I am so scared.... =(
I'd be interested to know what you decide to buy!!!
I liked that the band isn't as thin as other tiffany styles I've seen.
I thought Spence was rather expensive compared to some US online diamond vendors like GoodOldGold, Brian Gavin, etc. even though diamonds at Spence do not have GIA/AGS certificates. I did some search in Vancouver and Seattle but no B&M stores seemed to provide all the info I wanted to see =( I really would like to order online but I am so scared.... =(
I'd be interested to know what you decide to buy!!!
that 2ct has just the perfect finger coverage!! I am excited to see what you end up with. I think even being more of a "trendsetter" a large standalone solitaire will be more stunning and timeless than the soleste.
sooyang said:
They do have GIA and I believe AGS, possibly? All are GIA, we actually spoke a lot about blue Nile and how bad a lot of there diamonds are because although they are GIA graded, they don't see the diamond, only the specs.
I'm still not 100% though... I'll take a look at Leon and Brian Gavin and the soleste in a 1.5
First of all, I love the solitare on you. I am in love with them again. Timless and if you have a great diamond. It is all you need.
Second, buying a diamond online is more work for the consumer, but you can get more bang for your buck. The store you are in of course is trashing Blue Nile, very bad taste, IMO. But what they said is not the case. They ( Blue Nile and GOG, James Allen etc..) do inspect the diamonds and make sure they are eye clean and check imperfections and details. They will make sure of this before the stone is sent out to you. I am speaking of all the known online loose diamond vendors.
The stores do not want to loose your buisness,, so they will tell you online is bad. I was just diamond shopping and when I heard the store prices, I fell over. They are not used to savvy shoppers. But many people buy diamonds online now and they better get used to it .
I think you should do some homework on diamonds. I know exactly how you feel! You want to rush and get the perfect ring. You should read up on diamonds and then get the perfect one for you in your price range. I would buy the best stone and they set it however U wanted it. You can have something custom made for you.
Good luck.
sjunky13 said:
You're right, because I went in there not wanting a low colour and she was persuading me into not needing higher than an I, which I would like much higher. Same with me continuing to say I didn't want sI, but she kept showing them.
We're pretty darn confused to say the least. We'll go in to tiffanys at some point, since that seems to be where we are most comfortable.
I have always liked the Brian Gavin truth head... But not having a physical store to go into bothers me.
Yes, definitely confused! I love that solitaire, but for us in trying to decide,
I keep thinking: ok, will I be upset and hurt if someone I know got the soleste? Yesssss, what about the solitaire? Probably a little bit, yes. And the bead set border? Yes. So I'm not sure where to go from there other than going in and comparing them. My concern is he wants to increase
The budget , I don't want to know what it is but I don't think I'm
Comfortable with the money being spent! anyway! I'm not sure how anyone else tried to narrow down decisions, but any ideas would be great. Of course we has time to think which will help a lot as well!
Really? Maybe each store carries different stones...I've only been to the one in Vancouver.
As far as I know, they have GIA graduates and use GIA facetware software(or something like that) and use GIA color guidelines to assess the stones but they do not send the diamond to GIA for a GIA report. The stones come with Spence's own report and MAYBE a gemscan report.
I might be wrong, I probably am, because last time I was there was quite some time ago, but I would ask to see a GIA report for the stone next time I am in the store or ask for GIA number so it can be viewed online. It's amazing how some salespeople unintentionally say something they did not mean or don't know their stuff.
edit:
here's what I found from spence website:
"Every jeweller claims to have the best prices, but nobody can ever explain why they have the best prices. It’s pretty straightforward here at Spence. First, we cut out three layers of middlemen. Our buying office in Antwerp buys our diamonds directly; we import and distribute them to Spence stores as needed; and all our rings are manufactured in our Vancouver-based design studio. It’s a business model built on efficiency and quality control. And the fact that we handle these responsibilities in-house instead of paying someone else to do them means we can price our diamonds lower than those competitors with more traditional distribution chains."
...
"Shopping for diamonds can be both confusing and expensive if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Before you know it you find yourself being stretched beyond your budget by a salesperson that has no qualms about using what you don’t know against you. But Spence doesn’t operate that way. We make the process transparent by showing you the truth about the diamonds we sell. You get to see what they look like using top-of-line gemological instruments like Binocular microscopes for analyzing clarity, GIA Facetware Software for assessing cut, and Diamondlite illumination to give you a true read on colour.
Then, after giving you an unbiased look at the quality of your diamond, we back it up in writing with a rock solid Spence Guarantee. You’ll also receive a Spence Certificate which provides a permanent blueprint of your diamond, recording all the details of the cut, color and clarity as measured by the Gem Instruments. We even plot the natural inclusions that you can see through the microscope."
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While they do not say their stone isn't GIA certified, I think there isn't really a need to have a GIA facetware software for the customer to see the cut of the stone and Spence plotting the inclusions on the spot for the customer, and giving "a Spence Certificate which provides a permanent blueprint of your diamond, recording all the details of the cut, color and clarity as measured by the Gem Instruments" if the diamond is already GIA certified.
sooyang said:
Yeah you're right they must not be GIA then... So technically they are just independently grading them... That's not the impression we got. The "unbiased look" part made me laugh. Because it seemed like their job was to convince us that Tiffany's was awful. Yes, we know going to tiffanys we pay more for the time. But it's a Tiffany ring for crying out loud!
This just makes me even more excited for my upgrade!!! I walked right out of VCA today empty handed so I could make sure we can swing it - I think this looks PERFECT on you!!
I think this size looks AMAZING on you. I would consider online before you settle on spence. I don't like the sound of the "hard sell" they gave you. Dissuading you from competition is obviously salespitch but that is obnoxious. Esp the online thing. That's uneducated nonsense right there. Blue Nile, James Allen, both are mostly dropshippers for diamonds, but you can find amazing stones through both. The fact that their selection is generally not in house is why they sometimes are lower cost, and the fact that their stones not being in house prevents them from identifying the good from the bad. GOG is both a real store and an online presence. You can get a damn nice Tiffany setting replica by many of the majors out there. GOG does a great one and can get the Vatche one that is popular, I know BGD makes one also. The most "accurate" is Excel Diamonds but I personally don't care for the ownership of that one.
I had the same experience diamond shopping in Vancouver. Went to Birks, Tiffany, Lucinda, and a few small private jewellers and couldn't get stats beyond the 4Cs from any of them. Ended up going the online route, which was scary, but we found a company I ended up trusting and I'm convinced we got way more bang for our buck than going with a B&M locally.
I had a really good experience with Blue Nile's earrings - they came with RIDICULOUS paperwork, like more than my Tiffany's solitaire I think! They are stunning and you get pretty much every detail you could want from their website (almost too much, but it's fun to look and compare!)... the girls here could really help you narrow the PERFECT stone for you down like they did for me!