In our local scene, some buyers probably believe what they are buying is top-notch Hearts & Arrows. Since there is no concrete definition for Hearts & Arrows, it is easy for any sellers to pass off good arrows as top Hearts & Arrows.
While the chances to get a set of good Hearts given a good set of Arrows and proportions are high, it is not necessarily a guarantee (Guess I need to revise an article that I have written a some time back). However, the performance of the diamond in such scenario is actually not bad. It is just that I won't recommend people to buy a diamond blindly assuming that they are getting a diamond that is compatible to what real super ideal player are selling. If you don't have too high hopes on it, it will be fine, otherwise, you may be disappointed.
I have experienced before that a potential customer of mine saying that "wow, there is a lot of leakage going on there!" Refer to below image at 10 o'clock position.
I was like "huh?" LOL. Yes, there is leakage, this is due to the cut precision of the diamond still has some room for improvement. Do you see that the Hearts is slightly smaller at the 9 o'clock position?
What I can tell you is that this diamond will be better than what some other vendors are selling and the performance is actually very good. I like it a lot. But will you still buy it knowing that the "inner beauty" is like that? Well, the potential client of mine declined it. If you ask me, this is probably because first time buyer OCD kicks in AFTER they know such details and start to be skeptical about it.
So, you see, this is what may happen if I show you too much. This is also one of the reasons other vendors MIGHT not want to show you that much. However, not all customers are as skeptical, as different people have different opinion. I used to have one potential customer that almost became my "real customer" but probably don't feel like buying from me because I am just a part-timer. Or maybe I don't do end to end that time (including ring setting). Well, I am not sure what is his reason but I will respect his ultimate decision, after all, he is the one spending the money, not me. I just spent RM 2.30 for a cup of hot barley for him and maybe half an hour of my life discussing the diamond I am going to sell him.
Anyway, like for anyone that asked me before, I have advised him to consider a few other options. He ended up showing me the Hearts of the diamond offered by one particular vendor and ask me how was it. It is definitely not Hearts & Arrows diamond with hearts that are obviously bent excessively and clefts in most hearts, BUT I would still say the diamond is not too bad. So here is my reply to him: "The hearts and arrows could be better, but overall the proportions is lovely. To me it is a good stone.". You see, I am not so bad always denying other sellers' stone. At the same time, I also try to stand in your shoe and understand what is your need and comfort level.
Of course, I don't blindly say stones are good just to make you feel good. If you ask me how the stone below looks, you still want me say GOOD meh? Take note that this is a GIA Triple Excellent diamond! Will you buy this if the price is attractive enough? Well, again, only you can tell.
Of course, given the opportunity, I will also recommend diamonds that I can potentially get, such as this one. As expected, he did not take my offer because I believe this stone if not within his budget. After all it is an E colour (lower E according to supplier, hence E-) with solid VS1.
What I do know is that when I get diamonds like that for you, I am pretty sure they will perform well for what the price offered. It will most likely be cheaper than what other vendors for its quality, and it will also be as close to a super ideal as possible. In other words, I will shamelessly say that my diamonds are very much worth is price for its 4Cs and cut precision.
As for my ring settings, they are crafted from scratch when I requested for them. I know some may think this is a nice marketing term "each piece crafted from scratch". I was planning to use the same statement too, but then, I find that even if you really mass produce a set of ring settings, it is still the same thing after all. Ultimately, it is still the quality of the ring setting that counts, regardless it is produce as we need it, or produce through mass production. No difference.
What I find it slightly hard to believe is that the term "Made in Hong Kong". I don't know. This one I am really skeptical as I have experience before buying shoes that the seller said "Made in Hong Kong" and when I check inside, it was clearly stated "Made in Guang Zhou". Ok la, at least both places speak Cantonese? LOL. Made in China and ship to Hong Kong seems more logical to me, BUT of course, I have no proof. I am just saying this because the salary in Hong Kong is not cheap, and it won't be cost effective at all to sell you at a particular price. Nonetheless, I have nothing against any country or any individual, as long as the end result it good. That's all that matters.
And before the COVID-19 pandemic, you still can believe that some sellers actually fly over there and make your ring. However, during pandemic, can they still do that? Airports are close, wings are clipped. Fly kite can la.
Of course, we still can use courier service, but do you actually know how much that will cost? My shipment from Hong Kong to Malaysia costs me USD 50 one way using Fedex with insurance. Maybe other sellers have business account, maybe they have special rates, but I still don't think your diamond can be finished in Hong Kong itself. It is just not cost effective, at all. Taking in ring settings from Hong Kong and finished locally here in Malaysia still make some sense. Ultimately, you have to ask yourself, do you really care where your rings are made? What if you were told rings are made in Hong Kong, but it was actually made in China or Malaysia? Are you still okay? Again, only you can tell. Anyway, Hong Kong is also part of China... so... hmm, okay.
My rings are made in Malaysia.
Every vendor will use different type of marketing to encourage you to buy from them.
1. Cut of the middleman -> C'mon, sellers themselves are the middleman! I don't know what sort of statement in this, I just can't brain this shit. Am I a middleman? Yes, I am!
2. Made in Hong Kong -> Refer to what I write above. You make your own judgement.
3. No nickel -> Actually containing a bit of nickel don't really cause irritation according to a veteran I know. But claiming it to be no nickel and contains palladium instead... well, you have to melt your ring and analyze the components. Ask me if you don't know where you can do that. There is actually a place you can melt things and get a report, just like going to Pathlab for your health screening. No, I don't claim mine to be free of nickel. I just assume it has nickel. Period.
4. Hearts & Arrows! Haha! This one. You should be entitled to see your own diamond from the bottom of the diamond (the pavilion). What I can say is that don't be too bothered by it if it is good enough. The price really justifies sometimes. If you want to expect them to be like those you see on WhiteFlash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, High Performance Diamonds, or Jann Paul, you better keep your hopes low. It is REALLY rare in virtual inventory. Those super ideal sellers I mentioned custom cut their diamonds, not from virtual inventory. What you can get from virtual inventory is good enough diamonds that are still beautiful at reasonable prices... unless the seller exaggerate it and mark it up a lot.
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October 25, 2020
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