Monday 21 September 2015

Selecting the Perfect Ring Design

Now that you know how to choose the perfect diamond from Casey’s Diamond Buying Guide, you are 50% done!
In this post, I will guide you through what to expect and look out for when choosing your perfect ring design.

Step 1: - Try to understand her preference and character

If your lady is involved in the selection process, you may skip to step 2.
If you are on your own, please read on…

First, do try to understand and look out for the accessories she wears most often.
You can start with Watches, Pendants, Earrings, Nail art, etc. and try to recall if she has ever mentioned her preference or showed you any designs shared by another friend. This will greatly help and I will explain why.

I will only use a watch designs as examples, and we can gather some tell-tale signs of her preference as follow:










Now that you have roughly identified the general direction, lets proceed with step 2.


Step 2: - Making sure it fits

By fitting, what I mean is to have the band width, general design outlook and main diamond size to be in proportion and harmony.






While band width is only just 1 aspect, other points to consider are:
1. Height of main diamond
2. Number of prongs
3. Detailings & size of prongs
4. Fluidity in connection between crown & band
5. Main diamond shape


Step 3: - Reviewing your design

With the preferences in play, we will create 3D drawings which uses accurate measurements based on the main diamond selected and ring size estimated.

Upon receiving your 3D, you can always still change it and incorporate any ideas you have, making the design uniquely yours!


Now here you go, you have the basic  knowledge on how to select the perfect ring design!

- written by Jann Tan


Tuesday 4 August 2015

How to Buy a Diamond Ring – Diamond Proposal Ring Buying Guide

Buying a diamond can be a very long and intimidating process. For most, this will be one of your biggest purchases you will make in your lifetime. In this guide, I will teach you how to select your first diamond ring.

There are many factors when buying a diamond. We can start with preference on the basic 4Cs – Cut, Carat, Color and Clarity. In this guide, I will be mainly focusing on the Cut.
Cut is the most important of all the basic 4Cs. It determines the brilliance of the diamond.  Hence, there is no point in getting a high Color and Clarity grade diamond but poorly cut, as the diamond Light Return, Fire & Scintillation will be compromised.

So how do you analyze the Cut of the diamond? You can follow these easy steps:



Step 1 – Check the diamond’s proportions

Every vendor will have their own set of “Ideal proportions”.
While some may be of tighter criteria, most are not. An easy way to analyze the proportions is by using the HCA Tool. It’s a pretty straightforward where you can key in the parameters listed on the certificate into the calculator and it will give your diamond a score. 




We recommend a diamond to have a score of 0.4 - 1.4.
The HCA tool is fantastic for eliminating poorly cut diamonds but it should not be used as a selection tool. There are several limitations and it only takes into account 17 out of  the 57 facets on a diamond. A poorly cut diamond will still be able to achieve a fantastic HCA score.
An analogy to the HCA tool is similar to food poison checker. It is only able to identify poisonous food (poorly cut diamonds), but it’s unable to tell you how delicious the food is (well cut diamonds). Hence, we only recommend this tool to be used as an initial filtration method.

Note: The HCA tool can only be used on traditional cut 57/58 faceted round diamonds. For other cuts, you will need to follow step 2 – 4.


Step 2 – Check the light performance with the Ideal Scope

The Ideal Scope can be used to analyze the light performance by measuring how much light is returning or leaking out.






Step 3 – Check the light performance with the ASET Scope
The ASET (Angular Spectrum Evaluation Tool) Scope works similarly to the Ideal Cut, but its more of an advance version, where it breaks down the light return of the diamond into ‘strong light return’ and ‘weak light return’. It can be used to analyze a diamond’s Brightness & Contrast, Scintillation and Patterned Scintillation.



Brightness & Contrast



Scintillation


Patterned Scintillation



Step 4 – Check the symmetry with the Hearts & Arrows Scope
The Hearts & Arrows scope is to analyze the symmetry of the diamond.

Hearts 
- 8 equal uniformed symmetrical hearts.
- 8 distinct symmetrical Hearts that separate from the Arrowheads above. If above is correct check the following.
- Check if the hearts are split, measure length of heart then the length of the split.
- Calculate the % of the length split, if it is greater than 8% and there are more than 2 of them, it fails.

Arrows
- Each arrow (8) must be clearly visible with a shaft and a arrow head.
- The 8 arrows shafts as well as heads have to be straight and in the right position.
- The 8 arrow points must meet the girdle.
- There must be total uniformity and balance.





Once you have found a diamond that manages to pass these 4 steps, congratulations! You have found yourself a truly brilliant diamond.  The next step will be choosing a ring design in your style to complement your extraordinary diamond. 

Monday 3 August 2015

The Octavia Cut information sites are finally out!


The Octavia Cut information sites are finally out!

The Octavia diamond brings step cut diamonds to a whole new level.
Unlike traditional step cut diamonds like the Asscher or Emerald cut, the Octavia achieves a superior brightness and contrast.
Its improved faceting structure gives it a stronger light return while maintaining a balanced contrast to optimize the fire and sparkle. 
The unique step cut faceting gives the diamond a more dimensional appearance.
Any slight movement will create strong bursts of fire rippling throughout the diamond.
The Octavia is the most brilliant and unparalleled step cut diamond in the world.

Find out more about this amazing step cut diamond at,
Octavia Website
Octavia Blog

Do like and share its facebook page,

Friday 15 May 2015

Brendon's Proposal!!!


Congratulation to Brendon and Lilian!!!! Hope you liked the ring.


Thank you for allowing me to be part of your video! It was a very exciting and fun process!

A very funny and enjoyable video to watch! Awesome proposal idea!

 PS: Please don't pay in coins....

Sunday 12 April 2015

Megan’s Customized Pendant

Megan’s Customized Pendant


Sometimes, jewellery pieces can be more than simple accessories. They can be symbolic such as representing the eternal bond of marriage or even a memory of our loved ones.

We received a request to customize a pendant jewellery piece with a special meaning.
Megan previously purchased an engagement ring from us and approached us again to customize a pendant.

The pendant to be a memory for her late dog, Scramble.
In the design, she requested for,

-          27 diamonds, to represent the year which Scamble moved on.
-          “KK” logo, Scramble’s personal trademark.
-          A cylinder with a screw cap, to keep a part of Scramble.

Megan shared the story of Scramble with us. Megan adopted 2 dogs in 2010, Scramble and Skippy. Scramble, being the older dog was nicknamed “Kor Kor” and hence the symbol “KK”.



This is a photo of Scramble with he was adopted.



This is a photo of Scramble (Kor Kor) and Skippy.

Weak in nature since young, taking care of Scramble was a demanding process for Megan and her family both physically and financially.
Megan never gave up on Scramble though. She continued to do everything that she could to take care of him. Being able to see him grow day by day and to celebrate his birthdays yearly, was the motivational factor behind Megan’s each and every sacrifice.  
She even joked with us that with Scramble’s high medical bills, she had also called him “Kor Kor Chanel”.



Scrambles day out!



Out at the beach


Scramble’s last few weeks

Things took a change for the worst back in September 2014 when Scramble was struck with a brain infection. This left Scramble without the ability to function normally and required 24/7 supervision from Megan and her family to ensure his well-being.     
Though this was a tedious and demanding process, Megan and her family didn’t opt for the option to put Scramble down as physically he was not in any pain or distress.

After weeks of fighting, in September 22nd, a day after Megan’s 27th birthday, Scramble left the family in his sleep.

Learning about Scramble and the meaning behind the pendant, we were honoured to help Megan design this special pendant for her. Keeping the symbolic features and functions she wanted, we came up with the following design.

Megan’s Design


3D Renders



Wax Moulds



This was the final product.

   
     

It was a touching and rewarding experience for us to help Megan design and craft her pendant. Each of our jewellery pieces carries a special meaning behind it.
Come share your story with us!

Thursday 26 February 2015

Setting Octagon into a ring, pictures included!

Octagon Hearts and Arrows
Yes… It’s finally here…..

The world’s first Octagon Hearts and Arrows diamond!!!

After 2 years of research and development, we finally launched the Octagon Hearts and arrows diamond.
(For those who have not seen it, check out this video!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGUzmCehw5c&feature=youtu.be)

Featuring 88 facets, 8 hearts, 8 arrows and 8 sides, the Octagon diamond not only flaunts a unique shape that is rarely seen on diamonds, but with outrageous performance that even surpasses our Super Ideal diamonds!

Here’s a little sneak peak on its beauty!

Performance under the scopes




Ok Ok, enough about the diamond alone. This blog is about customizations and I am sure many of you would like to see how it looks like being set in.


Being unique in shape, other than being able to be set into different types of setting, it can also be set in different orientations as well. 

Guess alot of you might be confused by this. No worries! Our kind designers have specially “volunteered” to render out a few designs, to complement this beauty as well as showcase how the Octagon diamond can be set in with different orientations. 
(To all my clients who have been asking me for these, here you go!!)

Classic 





Side Diamonds








For both Classic and Side Diamonds settings, you can have a choice of Single or Double prongs.
Top pick from me would be the double prongs!