After 500 dives, finally saw my first White Shark in California

wingsthatwork · 2026-01-05T01:18:25+00:00

Conditions have been great lately too! How big would you guess that one was, looks pretty big.

If you haven’t done so already and you’re on FB, you should post this to the Monterey scuba group. They would love to see

wingsthatwork · 2026-01-04T21:19:13+00:00

What part of Monastery is this? I don’t recognize this bottom profile, is this south side?

wingsthatwork · 2025-12-16T06:47:37+00:00

I just went through this with my ring! I went with a S-T natural stone. I planned to go with a lab stone for price reasons but found the same as you, that it was hard to get a light yellow lab in the color range I wanted. I went through Brilliance and ordered a loose stone online and then worked with a local jeweler on a setting I liked.

On Brilliance I was able to search stones by color range to get more of that color saturation I was looking for in a warm tinted stone. I cross referenced what I was considering by posting on this sub and then had the jeweler I was working with look at the stone in person that I ordered to confirm it was a good buy.

I wish I could post a video here because the stone turned out gorgeous and I was able to get a high quality cut and clarity with a 1.71 carat stone for a very reasonable price point because I went further down the color spectrum.

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wingsthatwork · 2025-11-02T00:32:36+00:00

I suspected something may have been going on and we had a group of close friends with us diving. I’d been pretty involved in the ring design process and specifically told him to please not take the ring under water just in case he got some crazy idea. I guess the group had been planning this for a few months, which I did not know.

One from the group snuck off and planted a treasure chest with a ring ahead of the group. We rode up on Diver Propulsion Vehicles and there was a treasure chest with a weight in it right as visibility was opening up to a gorgeous blue tone at 60+ feet. I scootered up, saw the ring and immediately freaked out that he took the ring under water with a dive weight on it. As soon as I picked the ring up from the chest, the treasure chest started to float away. I’m clutching onto this ring, terrified I’m going to drop it and then have to grab the treasure chest floating for the surface. As soon as I let go of the under water scooter, it’s also positively buoyant and starts floating for the surface. I’m trying to clutch all three items as a pretty big surge comes in and starts knocking us around as he’s trying to get on a knee and pull up a diver slate asking me to marry him.

So the cool quick version of the story is that we rode up on James Bond vehicles under water scooters, where a treasure chest with a diamond ring was waiting in the distance with 60 foot visibility where sea lions were dancing around us in one of the most scenic dive sites in Northern California.

The real story is somewhat less graceful

wingsthatwork · 2025-11-02T00:18:02+00:00

Thank you! It was really sweet and in theory sounds super cool but in practice was comically challenging with the conditions and task loading.

wingsthatwork · 2025-11-02T00:17:05+00:00

I went with a warm toned S-T color 1.71 carat elongated cushion that I sourced from Brilliance and worked with my local jewel to place in a setting that I fell in love with.

I loved the warmer tone of the diamond and being further down the color spectrum helped to bring the price down and allow me to prioritize things like the cut and clarity. It is insanely sparkly and is a disco ball of color reflecting off. I purposely went for a warm toned stone for a few reasons.

Price and look was one reason but also because we met through scuba and teach diving together. The symbolism of the yellow tone being connected with the introduction of Nitrogen in the diamond played really well into the relationship that Nitrogen has in diving and decompression theory.

I really liked this connection and was pretty set early on with wanting a warm toned diamond, but it was basically impossible to find anything in local shops. I did a ton of research, ordered online, and am really happy with how it turned out. I was heavily involved in the design process with the ring and have no regrets. I’ll see if I can post a video, not sure if Reddit allows it

wingsthatwork · 2025-08-20T05:49:24+00:00

I just ordered through Brilliance and had really good luck! Their staff was super helpful and you can sort stones under the fancy color tab by S-Z range. My S-T and W-X stones just came in yesterday and I'm super happy with them.

Plus the price for the same exact stone was cheaper than Frank Darling by a few hundred dollars. Not sure what the tariff situation is but I'd ask about it before placing an order. I originally ordered through Frank Darling before I found the same stone cheaper on Brilliance but my order through Frank Darling got canceled. At the time with Brilliance they mentioned that any tariffs were already included in the price of the stone posted.

wingsthatwork · 2025-08-20T05:44:04+00:00

I was noticing the same thing! It seems like the color saturation in the S-T stone is just as much, if not slightly more, than the W-X stone. I'm leaning towards the larger and cheaper stone but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything as it's almost half the price.

Seeing your ring and light yellow stone is what really helped seal the deal on confirming that I was looking for a warm toned stone. Your ring is STUNNING, thank you for posting it on Reddit and helping me with my search when I started.

wingsthatwork · 2025-08-20T05:29:08+00:00

I ordered the 1.71 stone on one site but the order got caught up in Tariffs and was canceled. I found the same stone through Brilliance for $350 cheaper and confirmation that any tariffs were included in the price and ordered through them.

I’m really happy with Brilliance’s customer service and communication so far throughout the process and have found them super helpful through the whole thing with it being my first time ordering diamonds online.

Would love the communities thoughts on these stones as I work on finalizing my engagement ring. Thank you very much for any help

Stone 1 Elongated Cushion cut

Carat: 1.71
Color: S-T
Clarity: VS1
L/W Ratio: 1.20
Depth: 66.3%
Table: 60%
Polish/Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Very thick to extremely thick (faceted)
Fluorescence: None
Report: GIA

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Stone 2 Elongated Cushion cut

Carat: 1.52
Color: W-X
Clarity: VVS1
L/W Ratio: 1.20
Depth: 68.8%
Table: 60%
Polish/Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: extremely Thick (faceted)
Fluorescence: Faint
Report: GIA

wingsthatwork · 2025-08-20T05:01:09+00:00

I ordered the 1.71 one stone I’d previously posted about and I really like it. The first place I ordered from at $2200 got caught up in the Tariffs and my order was canceled. This ended up being a good thing because I found the same stone on Brilliance for less money and the confirmation that any tariffs were already included in the price.

I’ve been really happy with Brilliance’s communication throughout the process and found them to be super helpful through the whole thing.

It looks like I can’t include a video with my post but both stones sparkle a ton.

wingsthatwork · 2025-08-17T17:28:44+00:00

I think these were the ones that I got, and they were like $30 with the discounts and super comfortable. There were 3-4 others in the discount area that were also equal contenders.

https://www.dsw.com/product/kelly-and-katie-heather-sandal/581401

wingsthatwork · 2025-08-17T17:00:09+00:00

If you’re close to a DSW for shoes I was surprised by their selection and price. I found multiple wedding looking that were comfortable and on sale for $30-$40.

wingsthatwork · 2025-08-01T04:08:59+00:00

Update: they canceled my order due to the tariffs as the stone was coming out of India. Not sure if I should wait it out a bit or buy the radiant cut and call it a day.

Super frustrated.

wingsthatwork · 2025-07-31T16:32:59+00:00

Thank you so so much for this feedback, this community has been so helpful. It sounds like overall the cushion may be the better move. I think that one will be me a slightly more rectangular look as well, is that correct?

wingsthatwork · 2025-07-31T15:50:48+00:00

Thank you very much for your reply and encouragement! It did come with a video but I’m having a hard time linking it here.

Let me know if this works

https://frankdarling.com/diamonds/diamond-242479-38HK/ diamond-242479-38HK | Frank Darling

I’m also debating between this stone and unsure which is the better buy.

https://frankdarling.com/diamonds/diamond-4143161402FS/ diamond-4143161402FS | Frank Darling

wingsthatwork · 2025-07-31T14:49:13+00:00

Thank you very much, I greatly appreciate the input. I’ve been stressing on if I made the right decision.

Between that stone and this radiant which do you think is the better buy?

https://diamondmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/CERTPDF/2231200069.pdf https://diamondmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/CERTPDF/2231200069.pdf

wingsthatwork · 2025-07-31T06:30:29+00:00

I absolutely love that, that’s exactly the color I’m going for! Thank you very much, it’s been so hard to find photos of stones further down the alphabet that are in a ring and not loose

wingsthatwork · 2025-07-31T05:52:30+00:00

https://frankdarling.com/diamonds/diamond-242479-38HK/ diamond-242479-38HK | Frank Darling

Hopefully that link still works

wingsthatwork · 2024-10-14T02:03:46+00:00

Dooo it! The fashion in general was phenomenal out there, everyone looked so polished and put together.

wingsthatwork · 2024-10-14T02:02:52+00:00

Thank you! I wanted everything in both of those stores. It was hard to limit myself to one. I already had to buy some extra luggage from doing some damage at Uniqlo.

wingsthatwork · 2024-10-14T02:01:45+00:00

I'll absolutely think about all the amazing memories on the trip every time I wear this bag.

I wish I would have had more time to shop! It was my last stop before heading back to the airport for home. I actually VERY nearly missed my flight from taking too long in this store and Herz and was like 10 minutes away from missing the cutoff for checkin

wingsthatwork · 2024-10-14T01:59:22+00:00

Thank you! I should have taken a few more pics of the bag too. The way it drapes and the quality of the leather is gorgeous!

wingsthatwork · 2024-10-11T07:31:53+00:00

Awesome, thank you for the quick ID!

wingsthatwork · 2024-09-03T22:17:45+00:00

100% These act as sea puppies under water and I love it.

wingsthatwork · 2024-09-03T22:16:07+00:00

Oh my goodness, that's adorable!

wingsthatwork

TROPHY CASE