cushion cuts: did i get a good price

[diamondshaft]

 

[reena]

hi!

what color and clarity on the second diamond? and if you don't mind my asking, which diamond district vendor is offering the stones?

 

[cushioncut]

Hello -- you can do a search on the pricescope homepage for cushions with those specs, to see how much most go for. The prices look okay to me though, and out of the two I'd go with the second because I think large facets are stunning... you are also getting a very large stone for a 1.3, I'd say.

The first is a bit on the shallow side, and a lot of people advise to avoid x-thin girdles as they are more prone to chipping.

Many cushions have small or med culets, and even slightly large and large. Small and medium are not usually visible with the naked eye.

Good luck!

 

[reena]

and one more thing: are they GIA certified?

 

[reena]

yeah, CC is right: the first is quite shallow, and i don't love that the table % is that much larger than the depth. if it looks good to your eye, though, then that's really all that matters. (i also agree re: the ex thin girdle, although i think the danger is somewhat less with a faceted girdle.) the culet is really a matter of preference. if it bugs you, you can find one without.

the price on #1 actually seems a little high to me vs. what you can get from a vendor here on pricescope: i did a quick seach for F SI1 1ish carat cushions, and the most expensive i found was $4900. and considering that for the price the specs on that first one don't look ideal (ESP if it's not a GIA certed stone), you might want to consider talking to one of the vendors here to see if they can help you. mark at engagementringsdirect.com found me an amazing cushion, and he has an office in the diamond district so you could actually go in and see the stones. also good old gold is on long island. at the very least run a search here for the name of your DD vendor to make sure nobody has had a bad experience with him/her.

the specs on the second stone look better, but it's tough to know about price without the color and clarity info.

 

[diamondshaft]

 

[windowshopper]

how does one get an idea of if the price of a diamond is reasonable. the pricesope system gets you quotes from vendors right?

 

[reena]

hm. that is true, WS, but i can't really think of a way to determine whether the price of a diamond is somehow "inherently" reasonable. the best we can do is determine whether our friend diamondshaft could get more for his money using another vendor.

in my experience, and in the experience of many on this board, online vendors are often able to sell stones for less (especially as compared to diamond district storefronts, which in my experience can be overpriced), and i chose to use the pricescope search engine as a barometer because (1) i trust the vendors who sell here and have no problem recommending them to someone else, and (2) i know that the prices listed will be excellent.

diamondshaft, if you like the stone that you saw i'm not going to try to dissuade you from purchasing it--it IS shallow but as you said that will make it look big to your eye. the real question is whether you're sacrificing any brilliance as a result. however if you've seen the stone in person, compared it against some others, and are pleased, then it shouldn't be a problem. IMO it's still worth taking a look at some of the stones listed here to see what you can get for your $5500. i'll look around when i get a minute--but one question: are you set on an E or F color? i only ask because you may not be able to tell the difference from, say, a G, and it might give you a little more flexibility in your search to broaden your parameters that way.

 

[valeria101]

Secopnd that

It's not really feasible to tell what's a "good price" but "Pricescope replacement value" is just some clicks away.

You will surely see that the prices in this database are sheer mess - there is no precise pricing for some combination of color&clarity and there will always be overlaps with the next grades. This is obvious as long as you get enough choices (for round brilliants one definitely gets allot). No different treatment applies to cushion cuts... so it's all a matter of comparing prices.

You can also compare the price you got with those for other fancy shapes (not round and princess - but radiants and ovals definitely) with the same color, clarity and weight.

By the time this is done, you will have compared your quote with about 500 others, including some from large sellers like BlueNile and higher end ones like Icestore.

Just my 0.2, of course.

 

[diamondshaft]

 

[valeria101]

But, these would just be diamonds on a list - no way to know their shape and brilliance and qute often the certs are not listed either.

There definitely is better than that!

As you say, there are not tons of cushion cut diamonds listed, so you may wnat to order some with the grades you want. Two weeks is tight, but could be done, I'd think.

You may wnat to look down THIS LINK for the complete description of a very nicely cut cushion

It is F/VS1 and probably more expensive than you'd want, but, at leat to me, the level of detail on that page is definitely encouraging. You would know allot about a stone if you do choose to order an SI specimen there.

NiceIce is not the onle seller who would provide such info. This is sort os "pricescope special" and there are about a dozen shops using such sophisticated immaging. One of them should be able to make up a ring in two weeks, IMO. It did happen before.

As for best price shopping, here's what I found quicly enough:

1.25 G-Si1 $5300

and

1.2cts, F/SI1, $5k

both are at leats as large as the one 55% deep, only their proportions are more traditional with the respective promiss of better brilliance. DCD does routinely provide photos and you could ask for ideal scope images of these two (or any other) as well. AT least worth a search, I would think.

Hope this helps.

 

[reena]

here are some that i found that look promising based on a quick search. it's tough that you need a stone so quickly, but as val said it is do-able. there are a number of online vendors here who can work with you to do it. that being said, there's no reason to rush a purchase this big if you don't have to, esp as it's tough to buy a cushion without seeing them in person. where exactly are you located?

check these out:

http://www.uniondiamond.com/diamonds/diamond_details.php?lot=2628013

Pricescope price $5505
GIA 1.25c
G SI1 (you'd have to check to see if eyeclean)
6.88 X 6.11 X 4.08 mm
Depth Percentage > 66.80 %
Table Percentage > 63 %
Girdle > M-STK F
Culet > N
Polish > Very Good
Symmetry > Good
Fluorescence > None


http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=2628008
Pricescope price $5,283.00
GIA 1.04
G VS2
Depth: 66
Table: 64
Girdle: TN-STK F
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good
Culet: None
Fluorescence: No
Measurements: 6.45-5.85 X 3.86
Length/Width: 1.10

i like this one a lot:
http://www.uniondiamond.com/diamonds/diamond_details.php?lot=2288642

Pricescope price $5446
GIA 1.07
E SI1 (check for eyeclean)
Measurements > 6.61-6.08-3.84 mm
Depth Percentage > 63.20 %
Table Percentage > 56 %
Girdle > M-STK
Culet > M (not sure whether the culet would be visible or if that would bother you)
Polish > Excellent

Symmetry > Very Good

Fluorescence > None

also do you prefer a squarer or more rectuangular cushion?

 

[diamondshaft]

 

[diamondshaft]

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 9/13/2004 3:55:57 PM diamondshaft wrote:



...it seems that how these are rated in terms of their cut mostly has to do with the depth and table sizes. For very good and ideal cuts it seems the depth must be around 58-65, and the table about the same. Does this seem about right to you guys?
----------------

Not quite... I'd add symmetry to the mix and definitely light return. Actually, size for weight and brilliance is what I am looking for, but this is obviously just my 0.2.

Unfortunately, there are not too many ways to get an idea of how brilliant a fancy cut (cushion included) may be unless you hold it (and know what to look for) or you get some measure of light return (Ideal scope, Brilliance scope or such). The GIA certs make a good start though

even more so if the stones are SI and one needs to get an idea of what and where the inclusions are.


Fingers crossed for all those stones.
Feel free to posts the numbers here

of course.


Oh, and a temp setting could be about $100 nicely (like THIS). Such pieces make very dainty diamond holders and any seller can get you one to match any shape of diamond.

 

[reena]

i'm glad you've decided to check in with a few of the pricescope vendors to see what you can find. i bet you're going to end up with a fabulous stone.

i don't think it's at all shady to purchase a stone over the internet, because all of these vendors are trustworthy and, as you said, have great return policies. the real challenge, as val said, is that it's tough to know what these stones are going to look like from numbers alone. but you can ask for pictures, etc. also there is one thing in particular that you CAN tell by the numbers: if you know your GF likes a very square stone, you're probably going to stick with a low length to width ratio (which you get by dividing the length of the stone by its width). to me, any ratio over 1.05:1 starts looking less square and more oval/rectuangular. you can check out the fancy shape selector at www.gemappraisers.com (use the one for oval) to get an idea of what the different L to W ratios will look like.

as far the specs for "very good" and "ideal" cut cushions, not sure where you're getting those descriptions as there is no true cut grading system for cushions. are these descriptions given by the vendor?

as far as what to look for in terms of specs, i 100% second what val said about symmetry (good as an absolute minimum, but i prefer VG), brilliance and size for weight being important factors, along with table and depth numbers. i think that the depth and table numbers you posted are good general guidelines, but realize that cushions are often cut deep and you might find a really gorgeous and brilliant stone with a depth % in the high 60s or even low 70s. when you go up too high in depth you do start losing spread, but i still wouldn't automatically rule out any stone with a depth over 65. (if you look on the pricescope engine you'll see that the majority of the cushions ARE deeper than that, so you'll really be limiting your options.) i'd also watch out for an extremely thick girdle (i've seen a lot of cushions with these) which will also cost you some spread.

fingers crossed here too about the stones you called about. and as val said, feel free to post specs!