G SI2 for 6100.

[kennelle]

i have been looking at rings and found a .82 VS2/F (5.28x4.99x3. for 2799.00, but wanted a full carat. we found one SI2/G 5.9x5.4x4.something (i think). the tag said 7600, retail jewelery store knocked it down to 6100. i see a bunch of rings fitting those specs for 1/2 the cost, what is the deal? is an SI2/G good or should i have stuck with the first one. is it typical for retail stores to up prices that much? please help.

 

[Lynn B]

I have not shopped for a while, so I don''t know about prices. You can do a search on the PS home page, though, and see what similar stones are going for. That should help.

Regarding a G/SI2... sure, that can work! Assuming a diamond is well-cut, a G stone should be lovely - and VERY "white". (I had one once, and it was!) And if the SI2 is eye-clean, that''s awesome! Not all SIs are created equal... and not all are eyeclean... but there are some out there (I know because I have one right now!) and, IMHO, they represent an excellent value!

 

[Garysax]

Unfortunately it is impossible to say. We have no information on the cut of the stones you''re discussing, which is probably the greatest determinant of price and quality.

As for the discount, remember that many retailers have pretty permanent sales--that is, they may never have even offered the stone you were looking at 7600, so that tag is relatively irrelevant. An SI2 ring is going to have visible inclusions, which may or may not interest you.

We''d need more information to really tell if you were getting a good deal. Did the diamonds have any certs, or are those clarity/color ratings just claims by the jeweler? Esp. the cut, which we have no info on. Whether you decide to go retail, internet, or whatever, I''d strongly recommend looking a little bit more into the basics of diamonds and their characteristics, you''ll get a much better diamond and save some money too!

 

[Patty]

Both of those...the .82 and the one carat...are measuring too small for their weight. They must be deep stones. An SI2 can be eye clean so I would not worry about that if you confirm that it is indeed eye clean, but I would worry about a poorly cut stone. That .82 should measure more like 6.0mms and the one carat should be about 6.5mms.

 

[valeria101]

The $6k quote is for the ring not just the 1 carat G-Si2 princess diamond, right?

If so... what does the ring look like?

Judging from prices online, a similar diamond could be less than 4k (assuming GIA lab report and reasonable proportions).

Even if that was the price for the diamond loose - it my well be just markup. No second-guessing hard quality issues.

My 2c

 

[Kaleigh]

I'd read the tutorials here on CUT. Cut is key to getting a beautiful diamond. The info you gave us isn't sufficient to know how the cut of the stone is. There are many people here that have SI2 stones and are truly beautiful . Not all SI2 are created equal. Some you can get lucky on and some well are just too visibly included. I would do more reasearch if I were you. There are many vendors here that will tell you if the stone is eye clean, etc... Good luck!!

 

[mrssalvo]

I agree with Patty. The stones will look smaller than they are because of the cut. You'll be paying for carat weight that you can't see. On the flip side, if you get a well cut stone it can look bigger than it's weight. The prices are on the high side for a 1 carat stone too IMO.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 1/25/2006 10:14:34 PM
Author: Garysax
An SI2 ring is going to have visible inclusions, which may or may not interest you.

No, not necessarily! Certainly some do, but I am here to tell you that there are totally eye-clean SI2s out there. I know this because I have one!

 

[kennelle]

Thank you everyone. It is certified, i forget by which if it is IGI or what. i think the cut/sym is good/good. I really don''t know how to tell if a diamond is cut too deep, is there a resource you could refer me to? have you all had success by purchasing the diamonds online? and assuming it is certified by one of the more reputable organizations, is good/good and is G/SI 2, will it be valuable? the store said it will appraise at like 9,000 but i am seeing that their prices seem off

 

[Garysax]

Date: 1/25/2006 10:29:20 PM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 1/25/2006 10:14:34 PM

Author: Garysax

An SI2 ring is going to have visible inclusions, which may or may not interest you.

No, not necessarily! Certainly some do, but I am here to tell you that there are totally eye-clean SI2s out there. I know this because I have one!

Sorry, I always thought that at SI2 they weren''t eyeclean. I am proven wrong.

It''s hard to say what you''re getting. You need more information about the stones. Do you have its basic measurements? Getting the depth, table, other percentages would be extremely helpful at the very least and getting its Sarin, idealscope and other resources would be the ultimate aid.

As for an IGI cert... Not the most trustworthy lab in terms of accurately labelling diamonds IIRC. You''d be much better off with GIA or AGS if you want to be sure, but you do pay extra for that knowledge. It''s possible that there''s an IGI stone that''s a great cut, accurate specs, etc... I''d just make sure an appraiser has seen that stone first because you can''t be too careful with the less accurate certs.

 

[jaz464]

The way you can tell if a diamond is cut too deep is to let us know what the depth, table, pavillion, and crown measurements are. IGI is not too highly regarded by most around here. Neither is a "good" cut. These prices seem high (is there a setting included?) and you need much, much more info than the color, dimensions, weight, and clarity. Please do some reading around here so that you can make an educated choice. Also, let us know what you are looking for and what your budget is and we will try to recommend some online diamonds to you (if that interests you). You will more than likely get a much more beautifiul diamond due to a superior cut and same money as well.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 1/25/2006 10:05:10 PM
Author:kennelle
i have been looking at rings and found a .82 VS2/F (5.28x4.99x3. for 2799.00, but wanted a full carat. we found one SI2/G 5.9x5.4x4.something (i think). the tag said 7600, retail jewelery store knocked it down to 6100. i see a bunch of rings fitting those specs for 1/2 the cost, what is the deal? is an SI2/G good or should i have stuck with the first one. is it typical for retail stores to up prices that much? please help.

i hope you''re not looking at rounds with these kind of measurements.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 1/25/2006 11:14:22 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 1/25/2006 10:05:10 PM
Author:kennelle
i have been looking at rings and found a .82 VS2/F (5.28x4.99x3. for 2799.00, but wanted a full carat. we found one SI2/G 5.9x5.4x4.something (i think). the tag said 7600, retail jewelery store knocked it down to 6100. i see a bunch of rings fitting those specs for 1/2 the cost, what is the deal? is an SI2/G good or should i have stuck with the first one. is it typical for retail stores to up prices that much? please help.

i hope you''re not looking at rounds with these kind of measurements.

Ditto that BIG time. These can''t be round stones......and if they are, RUN. They are terrible if they are round.

If they aren''t round, then some of the rules of thumb may not apply. Well-cut RBs (rounds) tend to mask color and clarity; fancies not so much. So while a round SI2 could be eyeclean, you really need to check with a fancy.

 

[Lynn B]

Date: 1/25/2006 11:29:34 PM
Author: aljdewey
Well-cut RBs (rounds) tend to mask color and clarity; fancies not so much. So while a round SI2 could be eyeclean, you really need to check with a fancy.

Yes, true, very true! Thanks for clarifying that for Kennelle!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 1/26/2006 6:57:14 AM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 1/25/2006 11:29:34 PM

Author: aljdewey

Well-cut RBs (rounds) tend to mask color and clarity; fancies not so much. So while a round SI2 could be eyeclean, you really need to check with a fancy.

Yes, true, very true! Thanks for clarifying that for Kennelle!

ditto, i assumed kennelle was talking about a round, if not then different advice would be given

 

[coda72]

Maybe most fancies that are SI2 aren''t eyeclean, but radiants may be the exception. I''ve seen 3 or 4 SI2 radiants that I could barely make out the inclusions under the loupe. Radiants, with their seemingly random facet pattern tend to hide inclusions better.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 1/26/2006 8:29:00 AM
Author: mrssalvo

Date: 1/26/2006 6:57:14 AM
Author: Lynn B

Date: 1/25/2006 11:29:34 PM

Author: aljdewey

Well-cut RBs (rounds) tend to mask color and clarity; fancies not so much. So while a round SI2 could be eyeclean, you really need to check with a fancy.

Yes, true, very true! Thanks for clarifying that for Kennelle!

ditto, i assumed kennelle was talking about a round, if not then different advice would be given

Hee hee.....I assumed it was a round, too, until I saw the dimensions. Then I thought, oh lord, I HOPE it''s not a round! Those measurements are pitiful for a round stone.

 

[Lynn B]

LOL! I just realized that (as a card-carrying ROUND-loving girl!) that unless a poster specifically states the shape of the diamond, I automatically just *assume* round! (And apparently just gloss over the measurements, too!) My bad! I will have to be more careful!

Haha, I learned several "lessons" today!

 

[4bugzinarug]

If it helps at all, I am in the process of purchasing an eyeclean G SI2 round brilliant, ideal cut for about $4700. We were not looking for anything but round, so I have no idea how prices vary with princess/emerald, etc. When we were looking in the jewelry stores, there were "ideal cut" diamonds (JUST the diamond) for about $7-8k for G-H SI's. I thought that was rather high and came to the internet, glad we did! We are told that the stone has a feather near the bottom, but the table has absolutely nothing, AGL certificate says Ideal 0 and doesn't note any imperfections in the table.

We are expecting to hear back from the independent appraiser this afternoon, I am SOOOO excited!!

Hope that helped with your question

Edited to add dimensions on our stone: 6.43x6.47x3.99 62.0 depth/ 54.0 table 34.8 crown / 40.7 pavillion angle 1.022 carats, girdle 1.6% - 4.5% faceted

 

[kennelle]

thanks again for replies. yeah those dimensions are for princess cuts (sorry i left that out). so the general consensus is that 6100 is a lot. thing total ring came to 5100 including taxes etc only b/c they gave a discount for trading in the original stone that came for the setting and b/c we had coupons totalling 2400. so 5100 isn''t bad...but essentially those coupons were a gimick b/c in reality, i should have been able to get more of a ring for that money. the setting original ring was a 1.25 total weight (non certified stone), the store gave us a 2000. credit toward that stone off the 6100.00 stone (which was supposedly a stone from one of their restyling events, that is why i cannot remember if it was IGI or what grading system) and then we got coupons off. do you experts suggest not going to retail stores like zales, kay, etc. is it better or worse to go to a private jeweler? this forum is awesome by the way.

 

[Garysax]

Ok, that's good that it's a princess cut, as it would be freakishly odd if it was a round.

As I said in the second reply... Unless I'm mistaken and misread we don't really know how good or bad the deal you got is--we don't have any of the information that would even preliminarily allow us to assess the cut of the stone (besides the overall measurements which doesn't tell us too much). This alters price tremendously, so we can't really say how good a deal you got.

In general, mall stores do not sell you top quality diamonds for reasonable prices. Now, that said, I'm sure there are exceptions and I wouldn't want to insult anybody. I'd stay away from the mall chains personally and try to find someone in town that owns a store--especially one that, say, has been recommended to you by friends or someone has dealt with before. Alternatively you can spend some time doing research and work online with one of the many online vendors to make a ring, which is what many people here do (and I just did). I'd probably stay out of the mall for now, they usually don't have the best reputation for good quality stones for their prices.

FINALLY... if you like the stone and ring in person and already own it, none of this matters anyway! Enjoy it!

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 1/26/2006 9:56:59 PM
Author: kennelle
. do you experts suggest not going to retail stores like zales, kay, etc. is it better or worse to go to a private jeweler? this forum is awesome by the way.

Hi kennelle, i''m no expert, just a diamond loving consumer but most retail stores, or mall stores have high mark-ups and low quality poorly cut diamonds. Nor do they provide 1/2 the info that many online vendors do and that is important when selecting a diamond. Do a search here on some of the ones you listed and you''ll see what comes up. Pricescope is about education, the more time you spend here the more you''ll see that cut is the priority and many people begin to look for well cut stones as well as finding the best price, getting the best bang for your buck which leads them to purchasing through and online vendor. Many of the poplular online vendors mentioned here have actual jewelry stores in the city they base out of. Some private jewelers are better than others and you''d just have to see what you''ve got in your local area. I have a really great local guy who owns an idealscope, many jewelers out there have never used one or even heard of one. You are definitely on the right track