Diamond from James Allen

[linvillegorge]

James Allen has the setting I like. This is one of the diamonds that was suggested by someone on this forum.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=130&item=806462

Thoughts?

 

[linvillegorge]

I have the GIA report for the diamond. I''d link it if I knew how. I may also get the ideal scope and sarin report, but evidently there is a "small fee" for these. The fee is waived if there is a purchase from JA.

I''m still waiting to here back from Whiteflash...

 

[linvillegorge]

blah...

the file size is too big to link

 

[Small]

Date: 4/3/2006 2:42:12 PM
Author:linvillegorge
James Allen has the setting I like. This is one of the diamonds that was suggested by someone on this forum.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=130&item=806462

Thoughts?

Of all of the diamonds you listed on the other thread I think Ebree found this one and I liked it the best. I''d pay the small fee for the IS and sarin...it''s worth it to know how the diamond is going to perform. So far so good though...

 

[linvillegorge]

Well, I just got off the phone with them and it''s being shipped to the Frederick, MD location. It''ll be there tomorrow morning. I''ve actually set up a meeting so that I can see the stone in person since I will be travelling through that area on Friday anyway.

 

[stermag]

It scores a 1.9 on the HCA, with excellent light return and very good fire, scintillation and spread... in other words, it has potential. The GIA report shows only one inclusion and it''s a crystal under the table. Being that it''s the only clarity setting inclusion, I''d be concerned that this stone isn''t eye-clean... but you won''t know that until tomorrow. If it were in-house, Jim would be able to tell you right away. Since it''s a virtual stone, he could ask the supplier to describe it but... from my personal experience, they aren''t always accurate in their descriptions, so you have to take a chance and call it in to know for sure.

Best of luck!

 

[linvillegorge]

Well I just heard back from James Allen and it''s not good news...

The diamond I requested the info for arrived today. The inclusion is a black one and it''s on the bottom left side of the table. It''s clearly visible on both the ideal scope and the 30x image. They said that once you know where it is, you "may" be able to see it with the naked eye. So, pretty much, it''s not eye clean.

Blah!

I''m going to play around with the images to see if I can downsize them and link them.

 

[linvillegorge]

This is the exact email I received:

Good Afternoon:
Thank you for your inquiry and your patience. Item# 9717279 is a beautiful round brilliant diamond however it does have a small black inclusion just off the table that should you know the location, you may be able to see it with your naked eye. I have attached a 30x magnified image of this diamond as well as an idealscope for your review. Please feel free to contact our office should you have any questions. Have yourself a wonderful afternoon!

Jennifer Norbury
James Allen Diamonds
877-826-9866
[email protected]

 

[Small]

Awww, that sucks! Well can you give Jim your budget and what you are looking for and have him try to find you something eye clean? I know where my inclusion on my SI2 is but it''s white and not visible unless I hope it close to my face. If it were black I probably would have passed.
Are you still planning to go see it? Good luck. Let us know what you decide!

 

[linvillegorge]

I was planning on going up to see it Friday. But, I''m going to give them a call back and see if they can find something a bit better. I''m passing through the area on Friday anyway, so it wouldn''t be hugely out of my way to go by there, but I just don''t see this stone being "the one"...

 

[linvillegorge]

Has anyone else had success linking images? I can''t get it done to save my life! Granted, I''m pretty pathetic with computers.

Could I email it to someone to get it linked?

 

[stermag]

linvillegorge, what is your budget?

I''m in a mood to dig around, and could try to find some candidates for you if you''re up for it.

Do you have an idea of the specs you''d like to aim for?

 

[Small]

Date: 4/4/2006 3:24:01 PM
Author: stermag
linvillegorge, what is your budget?

I''m in a mood to dig around, and could try to find some candidates for you if you''re up for it.

Do you have an idea of the specs you''d like to aim for?

Stermag...here is the original thread
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/need-some-help-picking-a-stone.42749/
that gives the budget amount and the setting he''s buying. I did some digging a bit ago at James Allen but with the setting cost I just didn''t find anything in the .90 range that looked any good. I didn''t have alot of time to spend though...hopefully you can help find something better

 

[stermag]

Thanks, Small.. I must have missed the original thread. Sometimes I''m kinda flaky

 

[stermag]

Okay, find #1 - http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=131&item=827843&aff_id=ps621

Pros:
- it's a 1ct, so at the top of your range
- VS2 clarity, unlikely that a VS2 stone wouldn't be eye clean
- polish and symmetry both ideal
- AGS graded as an Ideal cut (though we'd need the cert to verify this)
- Girdle is not extremely thin
- the measurements are close to what I'd expect from a 1ct stone, and also the min and max diameter are not far off.
- the color (I) is within your requested range
- under $5000 ($4674, to be exact)
- depth and table show promise (neither being too small or too big)

Cons:
- no cert readily available (but you can certainly request it)
- we don't have crown and pavillion angles to verify cut
- virtual stone so it's naturally not as easy to get all of this information.

Just thought I'd throw it out there... I'll keep looking.

 

[stermag]

Oops, I think I misread the original thread. I thought your stone budget was $5000... but that''s your total budget, correct? This changes things slightly.

I was getting overly excited because I found one of Jim''s signature ideals in your size range for under $5000... and I remember you saying no in-house stones fit the bill... that''s when the light went off.

See? Flake.

 

[linvillegorge]

Haha! I appreciate the effort!

Actually, I just got off the phone with Jim about 20 minutes ago. He said the stone I had asked about was beautiful, it had great dimensions, excellent sparkle, and looked awesome! However, he said that it probably won''t work for me. According to him, the sparkle and "fire" of the diamond hid the black inclusion pretty well, but from certain angles it was easily seen if you were looking for it. He said it probably couldn''t be covered by a prong either.

I gave him these three to check out:
9727407
9684524
4428179

I also told him I''d be more than happy to consider any others he thinks might work for me.

 

[linvillegorge]

Josh from James Allen just called me back. They''re having 9684524 shipped in to check it out. The vendor claims that "it''s the best SI2 they''ve ever had." But, Josh said that another vendor claimed the first stone was eye clean and that was not the case. So, we''ll just have to wait and see.

 

[Small]

LMAO @ stermag...you are not a flake!

Can you post the specs of the diamonds for us or give us the links???

Sorry that one isn''t going to work for you...gotta feel very good about the fact that they were honest about it. If it wasn''t black you''d probably have been ok...but I would be bothered by seeing a black inclusion too so I understand why you wouldn''t be interested!

Can''t wait to hear about the next one you are checking out!

 

[stermag]

Are you able to get grading reports for those stones before requesting that they be called in? In many cases, the cert will be able to provide you with information which can be used to successfully eliminate poor performers before going to the trouble of having them shipped to JA.

For example, the stone Josh is calling in right now could be great with the depth and table ~59%, but we can''t know for sure without the crown and pavillion angles.

Anyway, when it comes to virtual diamonds, it''s always a good idea to gather as much information as possible regarding a stone before deciding to call it in. Having a copy of the cert faxed over or emailed is much cheaper than shipping a diamond across the country.

Are you responsible for shipping charges in the event that JA calls in a stone and you end up not purchasing it?

 

[linvillegorge]

Here''s the link to the diamond:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=130&item=805059

 

[stermag]

Small, here''s the stone he''s having sent in: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=130&item=805059

Item Number: 9684524
Shape: Round
Carat weight: 0.90
Cut: Premium
Color: G
Clarity: SI2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 59.7%
Table: 59%
Polish: Excellent - Ideal
Symmetry: Excellent - Ideal
Girdle: Thin to medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.25*6.28*3.74

 

[stermag]

In the process of pasting the specs, I realized the cut grade is classified as Premium - I'm not sure what the practical implications of this will be in terms of performance, but this definitely indicates that the diamond is outside of the ideal range... in other words, I wouldn't expect the angles (crown and pav) to be stellar.

ETA: I'm obviously not an expert, so anyone wishing to jump in and put me in my place is welcome to do so.

 

[linvillegorge]

Yeah, I would rather have an ideal cut, but evidently the people at James Allen were intrigued enough by the ravings this stone got from the vendor that they decided to have it shipped in so they could take a look. I won''t be charged any fee for this since the last stone they had shipped in was not what it was said to be. Once I get the 30x image and the ideal scope, I''ll send them to the admin to get them posted. They said it should be by noon or so tomorrow.

 

[stermag]

I would like to add these two for your consideration. They aren't listed with James Allen, but if these are virtual, Josh will very likely have access to the same supplier and might be able to find out more info (i.e. cert) and bring them in if they sound equally promising based on that...

http://www.icestore.com/search/diamond_inventory_detail.asp?ID=4457
Catalog ICEM1167
Carat 0.90
Cut Round Brilliant
Color G
Clarity SI2
Report AGS
Cut Quality Excellent
Price: $3,560.00
Measurements 6.21x6.24x3.87
Length/Width 1.00
Depth 62
Table 55
Girdle 1.0-1.8
Culet Pointed
Polish Ideal
Symmetry Ideal
Fluorescence Neg

http://www.icestore.com/search/diamond_inventory_detail.asp?ID=4536
Catalog ICEM1180
Carat 0.91
Cut Round Brilliant
Color G
Clarity SI2
Report AGS
Cut Quality Excellent
Price: $3,600.00
Measurements 6.28x6.30x3.78
Length/Width 1.00
Depth 60.1
Table 56
Girdle 1.1-1.6
Culet Pointed
Polish Ideal
Symmetry Ideal
Fluorescence Neg

They're both missing certs, but they're AGS graded and very likely ideal cut. The price, too, seems right.


ETA: this first one is a tad deep, but not impossibly so... good angles could still make it great.

 

[stermag]

Date: 4/4/2006 5:17:35 PM
Author: linvillegorge
Yeah, I would rather have an ideal cut, but evidently the people at James Allen were intrigued enough by the ravings this stone got from the vendor that they decided to have it shipped in so they could take a look. I won't be charged any fee for this since the last stone they had shipped in was not what it was said to be. Once I get the 30x image and the ideal scope, I'll send them to the admin to get them posted. They said it should be by noon or so tomorrow.

Well, if they were intriqued, I definitely trust their judgement. They're the experts, obviously.

I, too, bought my stone from James Allen and it was a virtual one, at that. I was entertaining two diamonds, both were described as completely eye-clean by the suppliers, but one of them was grossly misrepresented. The other turned out to be a great find: an SI2 with a white feather which was covered with a prong in the end... so, good virtual stones ARE out there, but it's much, much trickier this way...

When I was digging around for my diamond, I narrowed it down to AGS ideals which simplified things quite a bit. I don't doubt that there are fantastic GIA graded rocks on that virtual database, but my head was really starting to spin and I needed to focus my search quite a bit more.

 

[linvillegorge]

Awesome! Thanks! I''m always open to suggestions!

 

[linvillegorge]

Jim just called me. He said the diamond is every bit as good as described. He said it is definitely worth coming to take a look at and that I can see it in a variety of lighting environments, under magnification, and under the ideal scope. We''ll also compare them to other diamonds he has on hand, including the other diamond with the black inclusion.

So, I will still be going up there Friday.

 

[KristyDarling]

Yes, good luck! I hope this stone works out! Jim is a wonderful guy -- honest and knowledgeable. And....he was the only one out of 4 different PS vendors who went the extra mile for me to find me my upgrade stone. He always puts in 110% for effort.

 

[Small]

Date: 4/5/2006 12:25:23 PM
Author: linvillegorge
Jim just called me. He said the diamond is every bit as good as described. He said it is definitely worth coming to take a look at and that I can see it in a variety of lighting environments, under magnification, and under the ideal scope. We''ll also compare them to other diamonds he has on hand, including the other diamond with the black inclusion.

So, I will still be going up there Friday.

Wooohoooo!!! Good luck! Let us know how it goes