I think I found the diamond, but...

[peptidbond]

Good afternoon,

As some of you may know, I am getting pretty close to proposing. You can find a thread about my proppsal idea in the Proposal forum. Obviously, I also need a diamond and I have been doing a lot of shopping and even more reading. I must admit, this site has made me a diamond snob to say the least.

My most important criteria is cut (no surprise). So, I have been shopping Whiteflash, Abazias, Goodoldgold, DCD and some other sites I found through PS. Because I am a computer science guy, I compiled a list of diamonds in an Excel spreadsheet so that I could compare them for price and features. Needless to say, I have a pretty good list of diamonds that are in my price range.

One of them really stands out, but it strikes me as odd. Here is the diamond of which I am speaking:

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=7350344

So you don''t have to run the numbers, I can tell you this diamond scores a 0.3 HCA. It is the best on my list. But what bothers me is the sample image on the site, a GIA certificate instead of AGS, the athe crown and pavilion angles being provided despite not having a AGS cert.

So, why would a vendor send such a well cut stone to GIA when these "super ideals" would normally go to AGS in order to get a 000? Also, why do you suspect they have not posted an image? Should I be concerned that this diamond may not be what it appears to be?

I am not too close to purchasing that I need to call anything off. It is just that this diamond really sticks out on my list with its 0.3 HCA. But it also sticks out for not having a AGS cert. I know that a low HCA number is only a guide, but at the moment, it is the only guide I have on this diamond. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Cath]

I''m not sure why you are focused on having an AGS cert over a GIA one? GIA is just as reputable so I don''t think it''s a problem that this diamond has a GIA cert. I''ve also seen plenty of "super ideal" diamonds from Whiteflash and GoodOldGold as well that have GIA certs...

The crown and pavilion angles are probably provided from a Sarin report. You don''t have to have an AGS cert to know the crown and pavilion angles for a diamond.

As far as not having a picture, why not just e-mail DCD and ask them if they can send you a picture of the actual diamond?

Everything about the diamond looks lovely so far -- don''t pass it up based on what are minor concerns IMO.

 

[peptidbond]

I am certainly keeping it on my list, so I won''t be passing at this point. I have also asked DCD for images, so I am sure I will see more soon. And I can only assume they ran it through a Sarin.

It just strikes me as odd that they have not posted images for the diamond. From the data that is posted, it seems to be a really, really good example.

As for the cert, I just happened to read that most ideal cut diamonds are sent to AGS for grading instead of GIA. I am sure some are still sent to GIA. Again, it just struck me as odd.

Since this is the first diamond I have bought, and I am spending quite a bit, I just want to ensure I get what I think I am. Thanks!

 

[strmrdr]

AGS vs Gia - some cutters send all the diamond they cut to the same lab it just happens that those that specialize in super-ideals usualy use AGS because it is what the buyers in that market want.
A cutter that sends all his stones to gia may cut some that are super-ideals and they like the rest of his diamonds have a gia cert.
The are harder to sort out of the bunch than the ags certed ones because a sarin needs to be ran to tell for sure but it can and does happen.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Yes, that''s interesting. It''s priced very similarly to their 1.31 G VS2, which makes me wonder why an only slightly larger stone of two grades lower color and grade lower clarity wouldn''t be less.

I did note that about 1/4 or 1/3 of their stones have GIA certs, so that wouldn''t worry me in and of itself. I''d definitely look into the stone though.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/7/2005 6:51:15 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Yes, that''s interesting. It''s priced very similarly to their 1.31 G VS2, which makes me wonder why an only slightly larger stone of two grades lower color and grade lower clarity wouldn''t be less.

I did note that about 1/4 or 1/3 of their stones have GIA certs, so that wouldn''t worry me in and of itself. I''d definitely look into the stone though.

could it be a stone that somebody traded in for an upgrade ? maybe be that''s the reason ? there is more room to work with ,i notice it''s a aug 02 cert

 

[peptidbond]

Date: 2/7/2005 6:51:15 PM
Author: phoenixgirl
Yes, that''s interesting. It''s priced very similarly to their 1.31 G VS2, which makes me wonder why an only slightly larger stone of two grades lower color and grade lower clarity wouldn''t be less.

I did note that about 1/4 or 1/3 of their stones have GIA certs, so that wouldn''t worry me in and of itself. I''d definitely look into the stone though.

Interesting. I had not seen that stone before.

As for a trade in, I cannot say that is a bad thing. As long as the stone is not damaged, I would consider that fine. Unless there is a strong reason I shouldn''t?