Help!, I think I''m gonna fall.....

[nurse55]

Please guys, I really can use some of your''e input. This is suppose to be a great experience but is turning into a nightmare. Let me share my experiences with you.
My husband wants to upgrade my original engagement ring of 30 years. After doing some serious looking, I have my mind set on a radiant stone, app. 2.5-3.0 carats. Read so much from you guys, about depths, tables, ratios, etc. that I really think I could do the selling now!!!!. Here''s a run down of my experiences: Let me prefence this by saying we are talking approx. 20,000 dollars.(no cheap purchase here)
I called one of youre pricescope vendors 3 times before I received a phone call back. Should have known from that alone, it would have been a mistake to work with them. They told me I was being too picky(when I told them i wanted it rectangular shaped, and gave them some numbers to work with - things you guys have taught me). Thy found one stone and emailed me some info from the brilliantscope admitting it was not a great sone. When I asked them about another one they had mentioned here it is two weeks later and I still have not heard a word back!!!!I am so pissed, Don''t they want the business? Where is their courteosy?
The second vendor on youre list of "recommended", told me pricescope just want to sell. They are too commercial and the info they give is not always true. Measurements mean nothing, the stone will talk for itself. True to some degree, but it would be nice to know what all that money is being spent on !.
So, here I am one month later, no lead, no stone and no one to trust......Now what do I do.
Would appreciate some input as to what you think my next step should be. I really would love to have that dream stone on my finger!!!!!!

 

[Maxine]

Wow!!! You really must be discouraged.....did you find the stones on a search engine here, or by calling/checking the websites of the vendors?? I haven''t worked with any of them personally, but have seen good reports about several of them in particular!!! And I know it is REALLY difficult to find things in the local market....depending where you are, of course!!! I have never purchased that type of stone, but I''m sure some others will chime in when they see your post!
Hang in there!!

 

[dani13]

So sorry to hear that you have had a terrible experience so far! Dont be discouraged. Those people are NOT courteous, and will NOT receive your business, and youre better off, because why would you want to work with people like that anyway??? I agree somewhat with what the one vendor said about the stone selling itself, however, I see your side too. You really have to see the stones in person, because what is not "ideal" on paper might be ideal in your eyes. Regardless, your opinion should have been respected and acknowledged. So, just take a deep breath and keep searching for the right person to work with. You will find your dream diamond.
BTW, have your tried Mark at engagementringsdirect??? He has an office in NYC, but also a website-engagementringsdirect.com. I have read so many great things about him, and have actually spoke with him online myself. Seems very nice, courteous, etc. Also, dont know if you tried good old gold- also have read and heard great things. They are in Long Island-I dont know where you live, but they also have a website- goodoldgold.com. Surely you will find someone who will help you and turn you into a satisfied customer. Have faith and good luck!!!

 

[pearcrazy]

Wow, I''m sorry you''ve had a bad experience. I''ve dealt with two vendors here on PS and both of them were very helpful and responded quickly. I guess I''d call another vendor until I found someone that I felt good working with. Good luck!!

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

I understand your disappointment, and I have the impression that both vendors did not do a good job in explaining some of the problems.

To start, most of the diamonds, discussed about on Pricescope, are between 0.50 and 1.50 Cts. This is a quite popular size-bracket, in which there used to be a reasonable supply. In that way, it is doable to distinguish good performers from bad performers in this size.

For anything above 2 Cts however, there is a serious shortage of goods. This means two things. First, there is less pressure on cutters to go for the highest quality possible. Any weight saved is direct dollars in the pocket. Second, sales at the wholesale-level go fast, and any retailer with too many questions about details will not be received well at the wholesale-level.

I know, it is a shame, but that is the dirty part of our business.

The whole exercise is complicated further by the fact that you are looking for a fancy shape. Assessing cut in this is more difficult, and the chance of your retailer being successful, based on numbers only, is slim.

Therefore, you need three things, in order to get what you want.

First of all, you need patience. Your retailer needs time to locate this perfect stone for you, and you need to accord him that time.
Second, you need some flexibility. If you set your requirements too strict, you are making the job of the retailer impossible. With some flexibility on colour, clarity, and even on numbers, you give him room to work.
Finally, you need to have trust in your retailer. Apparently, these two do not deserve your trust. But you need to find a retailer, who has great connections with wholesalers and cutters, so that they can get some favours of them, and you need to be able to trust them, when they tell you that you are getting a great stone, even if it is not 100 % exactly what you have asked for.

Live long,

 

[pricescope]

Nurse55,

The treatment you described is really upsetting. It would be good to know who those vendors are.

1. Not many vendors we know who have Brillincescope.
2. Pricescope doesn’t sell anything so I don’t think a Pricescope advertiser could say “pricescope just want to sell”.
3. There is no and never will be any list of recommended vendors. Pricescope doesn’t recommend any vendor. There is a list of advertisers and there is a comparative list of vendors composed by community members. Which one are you referring too?
4. It is important to know which vendors you are unhappy with for those who will deal with them in the future.

Please share more information with us.

 

[valeria101]

There is a branded radiant... have you tried ?

Not sure what parameters you have in mind, but this one sounds pretty darn good for starters:

Laboratory: GIA
Carat Weight: 3.01
Color: H
Clarity: SI1
Depth: 68%
Table: 61%
Polish: EX
Symmetry: VG
Culet: N
Girdle: M-STK
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 7.43x9.88x5.1

And another:

Carat 3.01
Color I
Clarity VS2
Report GIA
Depth 68.1
Table 67
Culet None
Polish Good
Symmetry Good
Fluorescence None
Measurements 9.04*7.78*5.30


Any thoughts

 

[icelady]

Hi Nurse55,

I am sorry that you aren''t any farther ahead than you were a month ago. It can get frustrating indeed. Radiants really need to be seen to be appreciated. I worked with a local gemologist who was great at bringing in stones to view. She started with my "wish list" of dimensions. It is true that you may not find anything within your dimensions (ie. depth, table, crwn and pav angles). With Radiants you cannot always judge by the numbers! If I had gone strictly by the numbers, I would have passed on my Radiant.

As for the vendor that told you you were too picky, did they offer any alternatives??? If not, I would not bother with them again. That is a pet peeve of mine, when I was going through my search I had a vendor send me a whiney email complaining about me being too picky, but offering absolutely NO alternatives. I moved on and the local vendor I used found a beautiful stone for me.

Your stone is out there, just keep looking. Ana came up with a couple of possibilities. THIS site has signature Radiants, and this site deals with a lot of Radiants.

Good luck!

 

[nurse55]

Thanks for all you''re help and moral support guys. I can understand what you''re saying, but it still makes me sooooo angry to think that a business like the "diamond" industry does not want to make a sale. In answer to some of you''re questions:all of my contacts were "pricescope" recommended. Yes, they did advertise and continue to do so on you''re website. None were done by e-mail only, I had personal conversations with all of them. I chose these specific ones so I could make the drive and see stones in person. I do not feel comfortable having them shipped to me for me to look at when I know nothing except what I have read about the stone. Numbers mean nothing other than what you guys claim to be the best to make the stone look the best. And yes, one of "you''re" recommended vendors said pricescope was commercialized!!!!!So, any more suggestions? I''m about to hang it up and keep my original engagement ring.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 2/1/2005 9:11:39 AM
Author: nurse55

I do not feel comfortable having them shipped to me for me to look at when I know nothing except what I have read about the stone. Numbers mean nothing other than what you guys claim to be the best to make the stone look the best.

And yes, one of ''you''re'' recommended vendors said pricescope was commercialized!!!!!So, any more suggestions? I''m about to hang it up and keep my original engagement ring.

No one can tell you what is the best absolutely... What is your opinion ? Whether you get one diamond shipped in for an inspection period or you drive to see it on the seller''s counter, it it still you making that decission about how fine the stone is and what to look for.

PS doesn''t is not a charity, but that doesn''t make every poster a shill, no ?

 

[nurse55]

Ana, you are right to some degree. However, like I mentioned before there is quite a difference when you are planning to spend 20+. When you walk into a diamond dealer, it would be nice for them to show you two or three, perhaps- letting you know because of this or that (whether it be proportions or inclusions or color) one ring has more brightness, fire, leakage, dead spots, etc.) With having only one diamond in youre hand you are unable to do just that. So, perhaps if youre budget is less, and I''m NOT frowning upon smaller stones- it would be possible to have it sent. I have been there myself: 30 years of marriage and 50 years of age later....

 

[niceice]

Hello Nurse55,

Leonid sent us an email inquiring whether we had worked on this project and we don''t "think" that we did - it''s not our style to tell our clients that they are being "too picky" because we''re kind of beyond precise ourselves... But if by chance, you did contact us and did not receive an appropriate and timely response please accept our apologies. Our selection criteria is quite strict and so it often takes us considerable time to find "the right" diamond for a specific client because we won''t just pick up anything that kind of fits a clients desired selection criteria, the stone has to meet our selection criteria as well... And we did mess up our email program and subsequently our task / search list recently by running a "detect and repair" on our email program and foolishly clicking on "reset all settings" thinking that we were resetting all the toolbars and instead reset the entire email program and in doing so dumped a lot of our email files... We were able to recover some, but not all of our files and it has definitely left us spinning in a circle as far as being on track with a lot of our search reqeusts...

We don''t work with a lot of Radiant cut stones and aren''t within driving distance of most people, so we''re thinking that we''re not the vendor in question here... But we are one of the few with a Brilliance Scope so if by chance we dropped the ball, please let us know so that we can pick it back up again. We''ll be happy to try and help you find a stone, we don''t work with a lot of Radiant Cuts simply because our focus is on rounds but we do know what makes them tick...

 

[valeria101]

Date: 2/1/2005 10:59:25 AM
Author: nurse55

With having only one diamond in youre hand you are unable to do just that.

I must have missed this detail in your initial post... it didn''t appear clear that you were only given one stone to look at at a time. Of course this would make things taugh ! It feels bad even from the other side of the screen. If anyone would pretend that it is easy to compare diamonds that you see once per week during a month or so... I wouldn''t be that one.

The setup is just unfortunate.

Perhaps a B&M would be able to line up 3-4 stones ? However, dozens are really unlikely, and knowing how "easy" is to find a radiant with consistent brilliance edge to edge, chances are the 3-4 choices wouldn''t even make much of a difference.

Perhaps shopping around would make reasonable background for the lucky one to stand against when it does appear. I wish I knew a better way

 

[diamondsbylauren]

I understand Nurse55's concerns.
Of course this is daunting.
It's a whole lot of money.
There is no "too picky" when it's MY $20g's. Why should anyone else feel differently?
Still, when looking at diamonds, certain facts of life are going to emerge.
It's hard to come by this type of diamond today- nor was it ever particualrly easy to find the best one for you- a really well cut one.
Not that anyone should compromise. Paul's post was 100% right on the moeny. Patience may be the key- it does not seem that your specifications are infelaxible


I know that I would also feel neglected if a was ready to spend that kind of money and people did not immediately call back. If it was me, and I felt the dealer had something I wanted, I would complain to them. There's guys I complain to every week- One of my biggest suppliers never returns my call- yet I still call them. Why?- cause they got the goods I can't find elswehere!
Otherwise, I'd move on.

I was one of the folks that Nurse55 spoke to- my intention is to assist - I have nothing negative to say about this forum or the sponsers- which are all companies of outstanding reputation.

I am still happy to help or lend an opinion on a stone if Nurse55 posted a potential candidate.
All the best!

 

[solange]

I bought a large round stone from Whteflash and was very pleased with the service and am thrilled with the ring. I note that they have quite a few radiants on their site.

I called several vendors but established a comfortable relationship with Lesley. Many people have several vendors working on the same stone. I told Lesley I would work with her and would not buy elsewhere. Every so often we called or emailed each other. Finally she thought she had found the perfect stone for me. They sent for the stone and Brian, the cutter, discussed it at length.

It was below my budget but Brian assured me that the stone was really nice. I had them send it to an appraiser where I could see it and he agreed that the stone was as described and beautiful. Then I had it sent back to Whiteflash for setting. I did not have to pay anything except a small shipping fee until the day before Whteflash was ready to ship it. I received the ring the next morning.

I had told Lesley that I was willing to wait until the right stne came along. You are looking for an expensive stone and one would think that anyone would be happy to have your business. I hope you find what you want.