Whiteflash Diamonds posterous

Dear Whiteflash Sales Team,

I just had to write you and let you know how much I love my engagement ring! Dustin proposed last weekend and it was amazing- I hadn't seen the ring at all (or any of the pics) since I last talked with you, so it was a total surprise what it looked like. The diamond is GORGEOUS- really, it is stunning. It sparkles like crazy and has so much fire- it is just putting out color all over the place. I am so happy with the whole ring, and still can't believe we got so much quality for such a great price! You were so helpful throughout the whole process, and I cannot thank you enough. Whiteflash is an amazing company and I will tell everyone that I know to go to you for their engagement purchases. 

The I color is fantastic (I really can't notice any tinge of color- it's more a slight warmth at times in certain lighting- otherwise, it looks icy white in most lighting), and I am really enjoying the flouro. I also do not mind the inclusion at all- I can hardly ever see it, and only when I am staring at the diamond from a distance of 2-3 inches away from my eyes (and even then I have to squint my eyes to see it). The diamond setting is gorgeous too- it really displays the diamond in a great way without being too high that I knock it on various things. I still think I might eventually take you up on the offer to shave the prongs if I want a wedding band to sit flush, but maybe I should try on a few before I decide if it's worth it. The whole ring is just elegant and classic- I couldn't ask for anything more!

Again, thanks SOOOOOO much for all of your help- you were constantly attentive and helpful. I have never had such wonderful customer service. Thanks for all that you did to make this ring and proposal so spectacular!

All the best to you always,

Kate

The couple regularly attended a Bible study and meal program run by Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, an affluent neighborhood in the Capitol City.  A few months ago, White confided in another parishioner that he would love to marry the woman who made his situation bearable for so long. 

According to Margaret Davis, another Grace Episcopal churchgoer, “In good Grace congregation fashion, everyone got behind the idea: one person managed flowers, I helped with wedding rings, one woman made the cake, someone helped with the tux and someone else with the bride’s gown.”

Yet another parishioner paid for a two-night stay at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Virginia. 

The couple’s wedding was much like any other wedding, but there was an element of sadness to it as well.  After the service, the couple posed for pictures and fed each other chocolate layer cake.  Two Washington jazz musicians played during the reception. 

The bride told an AFP reporter, “This is beyond my wildest dreams.  This is exactly how I wanted my wedding to be.”

However, once their short honeymoon is over, the couple will return to the streets, where, according to White, “You have to sleep with one eye open.”

The Grace Church parishioners are not done yet, however.  They are working now on helping the couple find jobs, affordable housing, and some furniture to start building for their future together.

“There is a certain element of urgency to this,” said Davis. “Love will get them through so much, but at the end of the day they do need housing.”

For a few short and wonderful days, however, Dante White and Nhiahni Chestnut got to feel like any other newlyweds, something they wouldn’t have dreamed possible.

It's always so impressive when the guys come up with some brilliant unique find. It shows you're thinking about the details that would make your wedding day creative and thoughtful.

So, boys, let me help you out with a fashion tip:

Check out this jewelry shop, Whiteflash.com

With hundreds of gorgeous pieces of men’s fine jewelry; there's definitely something that would fit your wedding theme. Or better yet, create your theme from jewelry of your choosing...[nudge, nudge!]

Simply stated, Whiteflash is the premier brand in the design and manufacture of cotemporary metal jewelry. In addition to providing the largest selection of men’s fine jewelry, Whiteflash carries the Edward Mirell brand which represents American manufacturing at its very best. Edward Mirell, since 2004, has attained the enviable status as offering the “best jewelry” in contemporary metals. The brand has established a leadership role in design, the enormous commitment to men’s classic styles as well as designer and fashion forward appeal.

Yes, I'm looking out for you guys!

You can thank the diamond industry for creating one of the most effective marketing campaigns in history (aimed at grooms of course). Thanks to massive global advertising efforts, diamonds are now considered the ultimate symbol of love and commitment, and therefore, an ideal choice for engagement and wedding rings.

The first step is to do some research to understand how the quality of a diamond is measure and how it affects pricing. Truth-be-told, the hardest aspect of buying an engagement ring is knowing what your bride-to-be prefers. If you have an idea about what she likes, you can narrow it down by what’s known in the diamond business as the four Cs — clarity, color, cut, and carat.

The four Cs
When you go ring shopping, take notes and compare the differences of the four Cs. This will help you understand the different qualities of diamonds and how they’ll affect your budget.

1. Clarity – the clearness or purity of a diamond

Technically speaking: Traditionally, a diamond’s quality meant clarity, but in today’s world this is the second most important quality that affects pricing. Clarity is determined by the number, size, nature, and location of any internal inclusions and external blemishes (the number of crystals or clouds that can be seen using 10x magnification).

In regular guy terms: Let’s be honest, before you stress about being able to afford a flawless diamond, remember that 99.9% of the time you and your fiancé will be looking at the ring with your naked eyes. Unless you’re viewing the diamond with 10x magnification, there really isn’t a noticeable difference. A medium clarity diamond is just as striking as a flawless one.

2. Color – the amount of color the diamond contains

Technically speaking: The majority of diamonds have a hint of yellow or brown, but a perfect diamond is perfectly transparent with no hue. All diamonds are graded by their comparison to perfect diamonds. So the closer the grade is to D, the closer the diamond is to being perfect.

In regular guy terms: Before you break into a sweat and call off the engagement altogether, remember that the vast majority of diamonds are not perfect. It’s more typical for people to purchase a diamond that’s Grade G or below, but depending on your budget and priorities, Grades D, E, and F are slightly more beautiful diamonds.

3. Cut - the proportions, finish, symmetry, and polish of the diamond

Technically speaking: A diamond’s cut doesn’t actually refer to its shape, but its reflective qualities. A diamond’s angles and finish are what determine its ability to handle light, which creates the sparkling effect that girls love.

When a diamond’s well cut, light enters it and travels to a point where it reflects from one side to the other. It then reflects back out of the diamond and into the observer’s eye, once again, creating the sparkling effect.

Diamond cuts are separated into four categories: ideal cut, very good cut, good cut, and fair-to-poor cut. Because ideal cut diamonds reflect the most amount of light that enters the diamond, they typically sell at a premium, while poorly cut diamonds usually sell at discounted prices.

In regular guy terms: Diamonds with a cut grade of good or very good are the best value with high-quality appeal. Just find out what works best for you and your budget.

4. Carat - the unit of weight of the diamond

Technically speaking: The value per carat increases exponentially with carat size because larger, rough diamonds occur less frequently than smaller ones. In other words, 2 half-carat diamonds taken together won’t cost as much as 1 one-carat diamond because the one-carat diamond is rarer.

In regular guy terms: Does size really matter? That’s a personal question for each bride. If you’re like most grooms-to-be, your budget makes a difference. Your bride might prefer to have a lower- quality diamond for a larger look, or she might prefer quality over a larger size. It’s up to you to determine her preference.

A Few Recommendation:

Diamond engagement rings and wedding bands are personal to each bride. It’s best to follow this general approach:
1. Establish the budget you can afford. The rule of thumb is to go with the two month’s salary approach. For example, if you make $10,000 per year, you should spend approximately $1,667 on the engagement ring.
2. Be sneaky and determine her preferences on size, quality, and shape on the sly. Or be direct and ask for her opinion; she’ll thank you later.
3. Narrow down the four Cs of a diamond based on:
         a. Her preferences
         b. What your budget will allow
4. Make sure to shop around. The average markup for a diamond ring is 200% to 400%. It pays to do your research! A great resource is Whiteflash.com!
5. When you’ve narrowed down your selection of diamonds, make sure to ask the jeweler to let you review the independent Diamond Grading Reports, also called certificates. These reports will verify the classification of the four Cs and will help you compare apples to apples.

Dear Whiteflash Sales Team,

My apologies once again, work has been crazy today and I had to catch up from my 2 days out of work. But here we are finally :)

Let me assure you that I am absolutely delighted with the custom design!!!! Joe did an amazing job! I am very glad I listened to his suggestions and that we did some slight adjustments regarding the thickness of the band, because it turned out PERFECT!

What I love the most is that now, the engagement ring is in harmony with the custom wedding band, they are not taking away for each other but truly complement each other rather. 

Obviously, I am equally happy with the upgrade from 1.2 to 1.7 carat, the proportions of the diamond are perfect for the 0.15 carat of the band. It does make a huge difference on my size 6 finger, and I have to admit that I love it!! :) No issue for downgrading in color and increasing the carat size. :)  I can see a slight difference down grading from F to H, but I actually like it better, the diamond seems more transparent, which I like, rather than white.

So as you can tell, I am extremely happy with the final product and I know it is a team work but I would like to thank you both especially for your help during this process.

Since this week end was gorgeous, I got a chance to take a few photos, so I am attaching you a few so you can see the final set!

Thank you again,

Nathalie.

For bachelors like John Heywood, now’s the time to pop the question.

Whether it’s the $50,000 5-carat marquise set in platinum, down 25 percent from two years ago, or the Amazon.com variety with a twinge of yellow that’s going for $89.99, diamond prices are the lowest in five years.

“I’ve got a budget of about 6,000 pounds ($8,870) and want to see how far I can stretch that,” said Heywood, a 32-year-old salesman, as he studied the window displays on Hatton Garden, London’s diamond-shopping center and the setting for “Snatch,” the 2000 gem-heist film by Guy Ritchie. “I’m happy to see some shops offering discounts.”

The $65 billion global diamond market is reeling. The price of polished gems dropped by an average of 31 percent since an August peak as the worst recession since World War II deterred buyers of luxury items like diamond necklaces and diamond earrings, according to diamond data company PolishedPrices. Antwerp, the world’s biggest gem trading hub, has seen exports drop as much as a third. De Beers, the largest diamond producer, slashed output by 91 percent.

“People are not buying earrings, bracelets, things they can do without if they want to tighten their belts,” said Joe Boll, 36, owner of JP Diamonds on Hatton Gardens, which opened about six months ago. “They are still buying rings for weddings, engagement.”

$50,000 Budget

The slump is good news for buyers. Katherine Huang, a Boston-based consultant to jewelry buyers, said she helped a client from California with a $50,000 budget find a ring in December for $38,000 with a bigger diamond than he anticipated.

Rings with 3- to 5-carat diamonds of VF2 clarity and G color -- meaning they have no visible faults and are almost colorless -- have dropped in price by as much as a quarter in two years, she said.

“Go for the larger stones, because the discount is greater,” she advises.

Wholesale diamond prices have dropped about 20 percent to 25 percent from their highs around June last year, according to U.S. Internet jewelry retailer Whiteflash.com, which gets about 70 percent of its sales from diamond engagement rings. The average price of an engagement ring in the U.S. was $3,200 last year, Chief Executive Officer Diane Irvine said.

At the cheapest end of the market, Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. is selling a platinum ring with a 0.5-carat diamond for $1,675, down from a list price of $3,425. The gem’s clarity is SI1 or SI2, meaning there are slight defects that normally can’t be seen by the naked eye.

Retailers Suffer

Jewelry retailers are suffering as buyers stay away or hang on for a discount. Signet Jewelers Ltd., the world’s largest jewelry-store owner, posted a fourth-quarter loss of $424 million after writing down the value of assets. Tiffany & Co., the world’s second-biggest retailer of luxury jewelry, posted a 76 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income.

About 15 percent of jewelry shops in the U.S. closed last year, Paramus, New Jersey-based watchmaker Movado Group Inc. said in April. Irving, Texas-based Zale Corp., the biggest U.S. jewelry chain, said in February it will close 115 stores.

Internet retailers and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are aiming to undercut the remaining stores. Web sites make it easier to compare prices. Heywood, the shopper in London, said he’s been using Blue Nile to research prices before heading to the shops.

For some, engagement rings are the bright spot.

“People are still getting married, thank God,” said George Katz, 78, who has been in his family’s jewelry business in Hatton Garden for 50 years, mostly selling diamond rings. “Stable is good, considering how much worse things could be in light of what’s going on in the economy.”

The fun thing about planning a casual wedding is the flexibility. Instead of adhering to formal wedding etiquette, you can create a wedding celebration to your own liking - deleting or including whichever traditional wedding rituals fit your needs. Having so many choices, however, can be a bit overwhelming. If you’d like to plan a casual wedding, but aren’t sure where to start, follow these steps to help reel in your ideas and to begin formulating the wedding of your dreams.

• The Bigger Picture - First, ask yourself: Just how casual do you want your wedding to be? Do you want to wear street clothes and serve a homemade sheet cake or wear a gauzy white sundress and serve cherry pie instead of wedding cake? Run through the details with your fiancé and write down your ideas. Get a good idea of how you want your wedding to feel-both for yourself and for your guests. Casual means different things to different people-so get clear on what it means for the both of you.
• The Guest List - Most (but not all) casual weddings call for a smaller guest list. Inviting fewer people will ensure a less fussy, easy - going atmosphere and save you a lot of stress. Plus, when you have a smaller crowd you can afford to include a few luxurious details that you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to include in your celebration.
• The Venue - Another perk of planning a casual affair is that you won’t have to spend a fortune on your wedding ceremony and reception venue. Choose a location that reflects the "level of casual" you want. For example, if you’re thinking sundresses and flip flops go with an outdoor setting, preferably on or near a beach. Other ideas are: parks, backyards, community center, your favorite restaurant, or a farm.
• The Style - Casual does not have to lack style. If your personal style tends toward bohemian, for example, bring elements of this style into your wedding planning. Go with rich colors and vintage details. Your wedding can still exude elegance without being a formal affair. Make sure that your wedding style matches your diamond engagement ring style.
• The Food - If you’re hosting a smaller crowd, serve a family-style meal. Being able to sit at a table with your loved ones makes the occasion feel more intimate. Another idea is to serve a buffet-style dinner so your guests can help themselves to a simply cooked meal. Place pitchers of water, lemonade, and iced tea along with bottles of wine on a self-serve table as well. Also, set out tubs of ice filled with sodas and beer so that guests can reach for their own refreshments. Your wedding meal can feel more like a potluck dinner or a family gathering than a formal wedding. Just make sure someone is in charge of restocking food and drinks when supplies run low.
• The Details - Instead of spending an arm and a leg on flowers you can go with more casual, less expensive (however still beautiful) varieties such as daisies, sunflowers, or a mix of in-season wild flowers. If you'll only be addressing 50 invitations, get creative and make them by hand. You'll be able to communicate the tone of your casual affair this way to your guests. Be sure to mention what guests should wear to the occasion just so that there is no confusion. For example, you can tell your guests to wear whatever is comfortable and to refrain from wearing heels if you’ll be married on uneven outdoor terrain.

There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and men not wanting to spend time in a jewelry shop. The simple truth is that most men are just not wired to enjoy the process of picking out and wearing jewelry (props to the ones that are, you’re life is going to be a lot easier).

Furthermore, when a groom comes to the realization that when he slips that wedding band on, it’s going on FOREVER, it tends to lead to some anxiety. It’s not that the groom doesn’t want to display his love and devotion to his wife - it’s just that it’s jewelry...and he’s wearing it FOREVER.

After the wedding, it’s naturally going to be an adjustment for a guy to always have a ring on his finger (especially if he’s never worn one before). If you grooms out there are like me, you’ll find yourself constantly playing and tinkering with the ring for the first few months. Some guys, however, like to take it a step further by coming up with reasons why he sometimes shouldn’t have to wear the ring...

Some of these reasons have merit behind them, however most are completely bogus. Here are a few examples of when it’s acceptable to take the ring off (and when it’s not).

Valid excuse: "I’m going to be in the ocean" - Reasonable excuse. If that ring slips off in the ocean, there’s no getting it back.

Bogus excuse: "I’m allergic to jewelry" - Yes, we know that metal allergies do exist. But they’re very rare. If the groom does have an allergy, make sure to get it checked out and don’t buy a ring that irritates his skin. This is used far more often as a bogus excuse than a valid one.

Valid excuse: "It’s a safety issue or a distraction at work" - If he works around heavy-duty machinery or works closely with his hands – it’s probably a safe idea to not wear the ring at work.

Bogus excuse: "It hurts my golf swing" - Survey says: NO! I’m an avid golfer, and never once has my wedding band affected my swing. Sorry, guys. Nice try.

Valid Excuse: "I’m doing the dishes, and I don’t want it to fall down the drain" - That dish soap does get pretty slippery.

Bogus Excuse: "I’m going to my little bro’s bachelor party, I wanna feel as young as everyone else there" - C’mon guys, use your head.

TMR Recommendation: Only remove your wedding band under certain circumstances that have been signed off on by your wife. Now guys, you don’t have to listen to me - but if you don’t - you might want to start decorating the dog house because you’re probably going to be spending a lot of time in there.

So you’ve decided to buy her a diamond ring— congratulations! It isn’t easy making such a large emotional and financial commitment. Before you go ring shopping, it pays to do some research to make sure you know what to look for and what to expect.

Here’s a quick guide to help keep you on track.

1. Determine your budget. Remember, this isn’t the time to make a hasty decision or impulse buy. Think of this ring as Super Bowl tickets. If you had one chance to pick any seat available, you’d pick the best one you could afford. This may mean staying in one night per weekend, but it'll be worth it.  This ring will be on her finger for the rest of her life. Do yourself a favor and make it count!

2. There are many different varieties of engagement rings. One of the most traditional examples is the diamond solitaire. This ring features a band and a single (or solitaire) diamond. This can be a good way to go if you aren’t sure about her jewelry preferences. This option also offers the most diamond for your dollar, size-wise.

3. The four C's: The four most important things to know about a diamond are its cut, color, clarity, and carat weight.

4. Another thing to consider when buying an engagement ring is whether you’ll also want to purchase a wedding band to go with it. A wedding band is generally a smaller band that is sometimes sold in a set with the engagement ring. Again, this is something you may want to do a little research on before you buy. Talk with your girl. Some women like to have a wedding band while others prefer the engagement ring by itself. 

5. When buying a ring, you’ll want to get the most for your money. Diamond prices vary from store to store as no two diamonds are exactly alike. It pays to do your research and shop around. Go to several of the larger chain stores and price what you want. We then suggest checking out a few online diamond vendors like Whiteflash.com.  Pay them a visit and compare prices. You never know where you're going to find your diamond in the rough.

6. Before you buy, get info on ring insurance. The store that you buy from may have an in-house program or you can find a national company that specializes in insuring engagement rings.

This is an area where you’ll most likely need some help. There are many resources you can turn to for guidance. First and foremost, it's always a good idea to be aware of what type of ring your girl prefers. Knowing her preferences is half the battle. Other people you can seek help with are her best friend, her mother, or if all else fails, one of your groomsmen who has already gone through this process.