Exciting times I would say. I have heard good things about JannPaul for a long time. Did not want to buy their standard round brilliant because the price is higher than what I can get from the States. Then again, this does not stop me from enjoying their exceptional diamond craftsmanship as the images can be easily found by Googling it.
If we consider:
1. How they filter out their raw material (aka rough diamonds)
2. How they determine the diamond's proportions
3. How they design the diamond to avoid durability issue in the final product
4. The cut precision of the final product
5. All stones are in-house, not virtual-inventory
6. Having a brick-and-mortar store
7. Great in-store consultation or virtual consultation
8. The exceptional packaging. Yes, exceptional.
I don't think it is hard to justify the price of JannPaul's diamonds.
After knowing that they are grouping all their signature cut diamonds into a new brand called the "White Series", with some new fancy cut introduced, I am seriously excited. If it is a JannPaul production, anything is worth to be excited about, and Decagon, is one them that intrigues me.
There was a time when I wanted to get a Solasfera diamond from JannPaul due to the rave reviews of that brand. Yes, Solasfera is a brand carried by JannPaul. It is not an in-house brand like the White Series. Then I did not do anything for reasons I can't remember. Lol. To be honest, I still wanted a Solasfera, but that will be a story for another day. For now, let's focus back on Decagon from White Series by JannPaul, as well as the overall experience dealing with this highly reputable vendor.
The diamond I have gotten from JannPaul was a White Series Decagon 0.354ct F VVS2 Negligible Fluorescence AGS-104112018032. By right, since I am purchasing as a sample for me to write about, I would like to just get the cheapest possible option, which is a G VS2. However, there is no readily available stock and I would have to wait for some time, usually in months, to have a chance for something within that range to be available. Since the F VVS2 is available, I decided to just go with it instead. For your info, to purchase from JannPaul, I would advise you to start early so that you have ample time to get what you are looking for. While their diamonds are in-house, but usually a lot of the diamonds are actually pre-booked by customers even before they are cut, hence, they don't even have the chance to upload the whole inventory into their website. This shows how well their business is. Of course, this is based on what they told me. According to them, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, consumers are more cautious in terms of how they spend their money, so they will try to research more and understand better on what they are buying for that amount of money. Naturally, the value proposition provided by JannPaul exceeds a lot of well-known brands for the same amount of money.
Then again, they are not the cheapest around if you simply want a super ideal round brilliant diamond. As mentioned, you can simply get it from the States from companies like WhiteFlash and Brian Gavin Diamonds. Personally, I believe this is one of the reasons why the White Series is introduced with a collection of diamonds in different shapes so that JannPaul can have a competitive edge against their competitors. Because of this, they managed to earn my business as well! So, well done!
So, let's get into the diamond I purchased:
Alright, most of these the typical stuff you can expect to get when you buy from true super ideal cut sellers. You won't be getting any of these 99% of the time from typical jewelers that rely on virtual inventory. Those videos you may see on their website or sent to you via WhatsApp or e-mail are actually captured by the suppliers themselves, and not the jeweler. To put it simply, the main benefit of buying from virtual inventory is the cost of the diamond itself, with the risk of getting a sub-par diamond, while the main benefit of buying from super ideal vendors like JannPaul, is of course, the top-notch craftsmanship of the diamond itself, but this will also make the diamond to be more expensive.
So, I believe up to this point, some may think that the best way to purchase a diamond is find the best possible diamond from virtual inventory, since not all diamonds in virtual inventory are sub-par. Well, I can agree with this if you want to get the best bang for your buck, but I have to highlight that such diamonds are a rarity. And even if you manage to find one, there is a good chance that it may not beat the cut precision of a true super ideal cut such as those by JannPaul.
Nonetheless, the competition between a virtual inventory diamond and an in-house super ideal cut diamond is usually limited to round brilliant diamonds, as this is the most common diamond shape that usually exists in both inventories. If you want something like the Decagon with 10 Hearts & Arrows, you can only get it from JannPaul simply because it is a patented cut and it belongs to JannPaul alone, exclusively.
Now, some may say that we do not need to be obsessed about the cut precision or overall cut quality. For me, one of the point I consider is the purpose of the diamond. If it is for engagement ring, personally, I don't mind getting the best possible cut available at a higher cost, since this will be once in a lifetime thing. Besides, I am a curious person that usually wants to learn more, especially if that thing is something expensive, since I want to make sure my money is well-spent.
The questions is - Does JannPaul manage to give me the "money well-spent" feeling? My answer is a solid "Yes". First of all, I appreciate the online consultation session provided by JannPaul's Eugene, it was a great session. Despite that, I think that it still has room for improvement, especially if the audience is a total newbie / skeptic, but I will keep it for another day. I was also given a comparison between a JannPaul super ideal round brilliant and a Decagon and in zoomed-in view. Both are beautiful diamonds, but the Decagon truly stands out with its scintillation, which is expected from a 111 facets stone. More facets mean more windows, and hence, more scintillation as light is passed through more windows. Theoretically, more facets also reduce the overall sparkle boldness of the diamond, but in real-life view, I believe one will appreciate the scintillation that is offered by the extra facets more, as it is a feature that is more obvious with all that crazy bling!
At 0.354ct, I won't be truly able to appreciate the decagon shape of the diamond because it is not that obvious if I glance it quickly. It looks more like a round brilliant at quick glance. However, it will only take awhile to observe the decagon shape if you pay slightly more attention to it. Nonetheless, decagon shape is still something I will go after because it is something out of the modern round brilliant norm and offers superbly crazy performance. That being said, it is certainly a good choice for those looking for something that is out of the ordinary and possesses great performance.
This diamond is certainly a diamond that you will want to bring to a place with spotlights or candle lights, whereby you will see the Decagon performing like a wild beast. Simply breathtaking. However, (yup, however), in normal office light environment (a.k.a. diffused lighting environment), I still prefer the good old modern round brilliant. The reason being that the arrows on a modern round brilliant looks nicer and slightly fatter and it is aesthetically pleasing to look at in such environment. Of course, that is just me.
Overall, the Decagon is a representation of a new breed with high performance and the diamond designer, Paul Hung, co-founder for JannPaul, has certainly put in a substantial effort into it to make it look astonishing. With the knowledge that this sort of cut requires a highly skilled diamond master cutter to cut it into high precision, and utilize substantially much more time compared to a round brilliant, one will probably appreciate the Decagon even more. To me, it is like enjoying the work of a Swiss watchmaker crafting a complicated in-house movement into a luxury Swiss watch.
Now, I have to say that the packaging from JannPaul really edged their competitors. I did not expect such packaging from them. The outer box is a made of high quality plastic in classic black colour, with their company name "JannPaul" carved into it. The bottom of the box contains suede material that prevent the box from sliding. If you ever buy a branded bag like LV before, you will know that these bags usually come with a box. Just that, this box by JannPaul actually feels more luxurious. I can see that they really put in effort to maintain the "luxury" feel when purchasing a diamond from them. So kudos to them for their excellent work!
Within the box, you can find a compartment that holds the AGS grading report, as well as the invoice. Remove that, you will see the items that come together with the box, including a ring box, a loose diamond box, and a Hearts & Arrows scope. While the loose diamond box and Hearts & Arrows scope is the typical stuff that you will get when purchasing from other super ideal vendors, that ring box does stand out. It is not too big, not too small, a very decent size, and made out of high quality plastic. The rose gold tone that is blended carefully along the border of the ring box, together with the JannPaul branded logo at the hinge of the box, screams luxury. It is not hard to see how thoughtful they are when designing the whole packaging that will make some luxury brands look pale in comparison.
To sum it up, the experience with JannPaul embodies excellent personalized education, a range of exquisite diamond collection, and elegantly designed packaging. And if one decides to go with their ring settings, you will get a meticulously crafted engagement ring as well. Yes, from price point of view, it is somewhere between a typical jeweler and the high-end international renowned jeweler, so I won't call it exactly cheap. But for what you are getting, especially for that once-in-a-lifetime engagement ring, I will say that the value proposition is there.
Now, if you are interested, you can just get in-touch with them via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JANNPAULDiamonds
