So I went to Eumayco, Audrey's, De Beers, Tiff & Co, Tomei, Habib, and then back to Wa Chan - all to see their signature diamonds - so called better than common GIA triple excellent.

Would like to verify my understanding, is it safe to say the super ideal diamonds (Habib's hearts on fire, Tomei's Lumiere, and the likes) are just triple ex diamonds with extremely good proportions? like the crown & pavilion angles, and depts, and cut symmetry is very good to produce optimal fire, brilliance, and scintillation? Assuming what I understand above is correct, this would mean, I can also get similar grade diamonds elsewhere (like wa chan or online) cheaper; albeit unbranded?

FYI to other friends here:
1. de beers claim to go beyond 4C, and have 7C (cannot remember what the other 3Cs stand for, but basically mean fire, brilliance, and scintillation) I was also given a show on how their proprietary IRIS scanner is used to detect diamonds that fits de beers' 7C standard. They also only have internal certification for <0.99 carat diamonds; only 1 and above will have GIA certification

2. tiff & co do not have GIA certification, the sales consultant told me tiff & co certification process is stricter than GIA. didn't get a very good service in tiff & co, it felt more like regular jewelry shopping, than engagement ring/diamond understanding

3. Eumayco's Mr.Eu seem very knowledgeable and was very kind to share alot of information. I am interested in the fact that they do custom ring designs (they also hold classes for these). but their diamond selection seem limited. they are not keen to only do setting, and prefers to sell the diamond + setting as a whole. They will still design the setting for me (in the event I bought my diamond elsewhere), but at a different price point, with no after sales service such as polishing, resizing

4. I didn't spend alot of time in Audrey's, the sales consultant didn't tell me angything new that I didn't already know. Didn't see any real diamonds - he only open the audrey's site and went through some potential diamonds online with me; we also spoke a little on setting design and customisation is possible. They are open for me to bring my own diamond, and they will help with setting design, with full after sales service

5. Wa Chan will also help design settings with my own diamond.

Finally, I have 90% decided on what specs I want:
a) 0.7 carat
b) GIA triple excellent
c) D-F colur
d) SI1 and above clarity

and saw 2 diamonds within this specs, @kambingkoh sifu, what is your opinion on them?