The small diamonds on the wedding bands are known as melee diamonds. Though no cert, but if the diamonds are cut to tight proportions and high optical precision, it will perform well. I find that a lot of jewellers do not focus much on melee diamonds. A jeweler told me that their melee is well-cut, but upon examination, that is not the case. What I can say is that these melee diamonds will look white on the band, but may lack the colour sparkle. My wife had a Brian Gavin ear ring with 0.02ct melees. I melted that ear ring and made into a ring. The effect looks good. The side diamonds on another ring looks plain when compare side-by-side. Eternity bands from Brian Gavin and WhiteFlash don't come cheap though.

TailoredJewel is offering wedding bands from Hong Kong too. Price looks pretty good. https://www.tailoredjewel.com/shop/timeless...me-ring-5-00mm/. Not sure whether is comfort fit or not.

As for comparison with the 14k white gold from WhiteFlash, I got that one in rose gold. Very nice workmanship. Comfort fit is decent. Weight is not bad. Havent got time to write about it. I bought it before SST is back. I only know loose diamonds do not have tax now, not sure about rings. Anyway, you are comparing 14k gold to 18k gold, in other words comparing 58.5% gold against 75% gold. Naturally 18k gold will be more expensive. But I still think RM 2900 is too expensive IMO because I can already buy 2 14k gold rings from WhiteFlash. Another thing you have to know is the rings are produced by Benchmark not WhiteFlash. Benchmark is a long-standing jeweller in US and WhiteFlash is the reseller. You can find Benchmark rings from other places as well, such as Amazon, but WhiteFlash offers pretty good price. If you are considering melee diamonds, remember to choose WhiteFlash as the designer. That way you can ensure the melee are ACA melee.

Now here comes my affiliate work:
For example, this one looks nice:
https://www.whiteflash.com/wedding-rings/ha...id=myengringexp (affiliate link). Again, I am not sure whether is comfort fit or not, but it is one of the best sellers. They are also some more options, such as this one:
https://www.whiteflash.com/wedding-rings/pe...id=myengringexp (affiliate link). Compare to the one above, the stones on this one are lesser but the individual stones are slightly bigger it seems. I just use total carat weight divide by number of diamonds, but the colour is slightly lower.

These are not full eternity, but personally would use this for comparison because I am interested in the diamonds more despite they are melee. They also have full eterntiy with 0.04ct each, such as this one:
https://www.whiteflash.com/wedding-rings/di...id=myengringexp (affiliate link). Price? Crazy for standard Malaysians.

Also, remember that US size and our local size is different. So make sure you choose the ring size by converting it accordingly. You can find the conversion chart online.

Let me know if you have other questions, I will try my best to answer you, can be from any vendors, not necessarily those I affiliate with. If you want to have a look at my ring, PM me your email and I will try to capture some photos tonight.

Thanks.

After reading this thread for like countless times lately. I would really want to thanks kambingkoh for sharing his knowledge. I've bought a diamond ring from love&co last year, I thought I wanted to get one ring for my gf without any research prior to the purchased. I've spent close to 7k for a 0.3ct ring that I kinda like but wasn't up to my standard (Impulsive purchase, i know). Well, bad shit happened and I didn't manage to propose to my gf last year.

So quick forward to 2018, After knowing this year is the right time to go for the proposal. I was kinda struggled not knowing what to do with my existing ring after a year later. Well, turn out I dont quite like the setting although the diamond is pretty good. So, I give a call to LnC and they told me they don't do any remounting, or even a change of setting will take up to 3 months. Yes, the after sales service wasn't that pleasant and they weren't being friendly to me either (probably I was wearing T shirt and shorts). Indeed, I was disappointed not knowing what to do standing outside the retail at the Gardens. It was my mistake but I just can't give a ring that don't quite up to my standard to my soon-to-be wife. You can call me picky.

Anyway, after reading some of the recommendations from Kambingkoh, I decided to put more efforts to study about diamonds, GIA reports, 3EX cuts, clarity, pavilion angles and etc. After knowing all this, I just move on and decided to get a new one (Not from retail anymore after the LnC bad experience) So, I took a gamble and get a new diamond ring from Memory. At first I thought of changing the setting which memory could do as well. But, after much consideration, I decided to buy a new diamond and just leave the existing ring aside. I got myself a 0.5ct, purely based on GIA info, HCA, and the expert advise from KY. Turn out, just after 2 weeks, my ring is ready. Their service is top notch, and everything is done within 2 weeks! Just to share, LnC took me almost 1.5 - 2 months for the entire process.

I just got the new ring last week and all I can say it is freaking goooood. I just can't stop smiling while looking at it. The setting is brilliant, the diamond is excellent. The moment I get it, I know i've hit the right one!

What I want to share is that, somehow before knowing all these bits of knowledge, I always thought retails like Tiff, Love N Co, de Gem are the best place to go. Well, I don't deny that they have really nice setting, good grade diamonds. But from what I've experienced so far, I think it is time to give more credits to the local jewellery sellers. The price is definitely more affordable and IMO service is also better.

If you guys are looking for a diamond ring, do read up Kambingkoh's replies and feel free to consider online/local sellers.

Whiteflash is a super ideal cut company. The prices will be more expensive by 20 to 40% compared to generic GIA diamond as super ideal cut requires carat weight to be sacrificed for a better shine. 

If you are aiming for top quality diamond then it makes sense to look at super ideal cut. But if you are not very particular and just want a diamond ring, then you should just go for GIA diamond.
Actually there is always this misconception that buying diamond overseas will be cheaper. In fact, the local jewellers (those with GIA listing online) are now very competitive that even the biggest US online player, Blue Nile is not that cheap.

For example a GIA 0.3 carat H VS2 3EX None with starting price of 18k setting:-

Baemont                      : RM2,069 + RM1,399 (setting starting price) = RM3,468
Diamond & Platinum      : RM2,170 + RM900 (setting starting price) = RM3,070
Lavin New York              : RM4,050 (inclusive of simple setting)
Zcova                          : RM2,180 + RM1,650 (setting starting price) = RM3,830
Michael Trio (Singapore) : RM2,274 + RM1,584 (setting starting price) = RM3,858
Blue Nile                      : USD 421+ USD 600 (setting starting price) = RM4,850

*Very important to look at setting price too as some will charge cheap for diamond but high for setting (ie Blue Nile).

Of course, this is a simple search based on 4Cs, without taking into account the type or location of inclusion, the actual proportion etc. But you get the idea. All of them is cheaper than Blue Nile.

You can try ask boa jewels, Ido jewellery, ZCOVA, or probably even Lazo.

I also do ring settings for some WhiteFlash customers.

I think expert will tell you the pavilion angle is too steep, I think this one is better :

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...8?start=diamond

this has the perfect CA/PA and not much inclusion

it was sold, that's why you couldn't view it.

For reference , see attached

Best is all round tolkowsky proportions, it will be premium price, I prefer more firey. If you have a budget, best bang for buck per carat is j si1. if you have more dough g or h vs2 should be more than enough for us regular consumer. of course if you want the best then d or e vvs1 will be the best of the best, but vvs is kinda overkill especially for diamond below
1 carat. if you have a budget and carat size preference , I can give you some suggestions

for hca, it will work if you enter the gia number, if not then you have to enter manually , you only have 3 free checks, after that you have to subscribe to it for more checks.

zcova, Audrey's, TheGemTribe , wah chan, lazo, diamond and platinum you can try. if you are not in a hurry best to try whiteflash and get their a cut above ACA diamond, good luck bro!

Yes you have to do bring the diamond to do the setting, I know zcova and thegemtribe do it.

Kambingkoh can advise on the delivery time from whiteflash, I think probably 1 to 2 weeks

If you want ruby, or sapphire, then i think you better go thegemtribe and ask them, they should be able to help you.

I thinhk you can consider the below :

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...8?start=diamond - IMHO this one bang for buck, it's LUMOS guaranteed brilliance - it's a new diamond graded, the inclusion is prongable plus not dark, faint fluor hence it's cheaper... it will look bigger than its size, you can check HCA, plus you can do installment lol

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/0...ut-sku-a4555961

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/0...ut-sku-a4557710

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/0...cut-sku-4538726

Setting will cost you 1.5 to 2k...

Coloured gem stones price can vary also, I am not familiar in those, but rule of thumb is, if the colour or intensity of the colour is rare, price is higher. All these precious gems and stones are usually priced based on rarity. For example natural type 2a diamonds are very rare. Pink diamonds are very rare too. So those command a higher price.

WhiteFlash delivery is usually within a week. If you pay on Monday, you probably can get it by Thursday or Friday. They use FedEx International Priority based on my last experience. Shipping is fully insured.

Other gem stones are not as strongest as diamond on the mohs scale. Diamond is the strongest. That being say, they are not that fragile, but just execute extra precautions when wearing them.

Non-round brilliant diamonds are usually cheaper by price per carat. Based on my understanding, this should be quite true as far as standard non-round brilliants, such as Princess Cut is considere. However, jeweler special cut or proprietary cut are usually more expensive, for instance, Jann Paul's Decagon. Also, you may also want to see from which jeweler you are buying the stone from, different jeweler will have different pricing too.

wow someone sniped the zcova diamond lol, I hope it's you bro jasperng 😁

eh you are right, it is still available, this is the report , dated Feb 22, 2023 very very new

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=5453884418

I like zcova because it's all in one, less hassle, comparable pricing and best is I can do installment lol

whiteflash one word ACA - A CUT ABOVE - oops that's 3 words lol, their upgrade policy is one of the best, plus they have been around forever...

https://www.whiteflash.com/a-cut-above-diamonds/

fluor is bang for buck, I got a strong blue and under most lighting condition, you don't even know it

based on stats, it looks very good, if table is 57%, it'll be perfect, but have to see if the inclusion is dark or not, if it's white then it's all good, Correct clarity characteristic, avoid any reports that's say "Clarity grade is based on xx that are not shown,", other than that, it should be fine. as long as you are able to view the diamond video in 360 degree then you be able to tell. for me, if you are buying vs2 diamond and the size is below 1crt, you are pretty safe with any characteristics.

No problem, if not urgent, just take your time and survey, I took more than 2 months to survey and did my due diligence, finally bought the diamond, my wife super like the diamond! It was an expensive 20th anniversary though lol

btw, someone grabbed the ZCOVA diamond already, not surpirsed coz I feel it's a good diamond plus it has GemEX certification too.... if I have a GF, I may buy that for her lmao....

You can also try MichaelTrio, just notice they have upgrade policy too... which is excellent if you want to upgrade in the future.

Read here, it's on top of GIA :

https://gemex.com/certified-diamonds/certificate/

ZCOVA LUMOS selection diamond has both certification, GIA and GemEx

These looks good too but best ask the gemologist, they will find the best for you based on your budget :

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...0?start=diamond

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/0...ut-sku-a4555958

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...7?start=diamond

The 0.46 diamond is now back available... I think the buyer put on hold the diamond and now released back

the green dot should be in between the red and blue line.

Basically don't buy diamonds with most arrows blurred out.



Buy diamonds that look like this:



Proportions wise, try not to go beyond 41.2 for pavilion angle for round brilliant, better chance on landing good diamonds.

For the clear arrows sample above, I use 56% table, 34.5 crown angle, and 40.8 pavilion angle. the crown angle and pavilion angle pairing is closest to the famous Tolkowsky proportions.

the settings depend on usage, if you wear it daily preferably with cathedral support or hidden setting. if it's worn once in a while then you won't go wrong with classic solitaire whether 4 or 6 prongs, most importantly is your other half preference.

Best is this, get a loaner or temporary setting, then after successful proposal or as a gift, then bring your partner to the showroom for her to select settings.

btw, you asked about lab grown , it is value for money but no resell value , for 5k you can get a very nice 1carat diamond. It's still a diamond, just not mined and thousand of years old lol

Good luck bro!