Like many other people on this board, I was a lurker on pricescope (and diamondtalk) for about 2-3 months before I went ahead and made a purchase. I ended up working with four vendors who are frequently mentioned on this message board. I wanted to share my experience as I feel this site can sometimes be dominated by the same 10-15 people and thought another perspective may be helpful for first time buyers.
My search started out by going to both mall and independent retail stores to get an idea of what I wanted and what would fit in my budget (~$12K for both the diamond and setting). After going to a few stores my minimum specs were 1.25ct H/Si1 or better. One thing I found, which is mentioned here frequently, was the looser grading by EGL compared to GIA/AGS. I remember looking at three H colored stones, two of which were EGL and they both were significantly different compared to the GIA stone. I never noticed a visible difference between GIA/AGS. After getting my minimum specs, I began my web-search using vendors such as White Flash, James Allen, Good Old Gold, etc.
Eventually I came across a stone at WF and e-mailed them on a Sunday to check the availability and if it was eye clean (it was ACA 1.33 F, Si1). This stone was significantly below my “target” budget at ~$9K, but at the time there wasn’t anything available which was significantly bigger (without dropping in color) in my range of $10-11K. If I recall correctly the auto reply asks that you wait 24 hours for a response. I did not get a response from WF on Monday or Tuesday, so I sent Lesley an e-mail Tuesday night (approximately 48 hours after my initial e-mail). Lesley responded to me in the late hours of Tuesday night (actually ~2 AM Wednesday morning), and apologized about not getting a response and that I was set up in their system. She then stated to me that someone else had contacted WF earlier Tuesday night about the diamond I inquired about and that the person would be making a decision by the next morning. She sent me a link of another diamond to consider, (ACA 1.34 G VS2 @ ~$10K) and asked that I follow up with her the next morning. I followed up with her that day via phone and found out that the person who contacted her Tuesday night decided to purchase the stone. While it was disappointing that I contacted WF before the other person, it wasn’t the end of the world. If I had been set this particular stone, I could have called first thing Monday morning instead of waiting for them to respond to my initial e-mail.
After missing out on the 1.33 F, Si1, I decided to call up Martin Fuller’s office to find out how the process works regarding sending stones to their office. They reviewed the process with me over the phone, but mentioned that they currently had a two-week wait for an appointment. Given how busy they were, I ended up scheduling an appointment immediately. I chose Martin given his reputation on this message board and his proximity to my house (about 15 minutes away)
Once I had my appointment I went back to re-new my online search. After debating various stones, I e-mailed Lesley on a Sunday and asked her to hold the ACA 1.34 G VS2 stone she mentioned in an earlier e-mail. I called her on Monday and let her know that I wanted to get the diamond independently appraised and that Martin Fuller’s office was backed up a couple of weeks. She said it would not be a problem and that I could pay right before the diamond was shipped to Martin’s office (about 10 days after I put it on hold). Leslie then sent me a confirmation e-mail with the typical details (stone specs, address, date, etc). Upon receiving the e-mail, I confirmed the details, but asked her a question regarding the exact timing that I had to wire the funds. The next day I got an e-mail from WF saying my package had been shipped (which was 9 days too early). Luckily I was at my computer and was able to respond quickly to tell them that they had the wrong shipping date (although the confirmation e-mail I received from WF had the correct date). WF responded saying that they would hold the stone and ship it on the appropriate date. After a couple of days of reflecting about the minor botch up and not getting a response from WF regarding when I should wire the money, I decided to look at other vendors to see what they had in stock. I came across a 1.33 G VS2 diamond at GOG and gave them a call to get more information (the stone happened to be $30 less than the WF stone). Charlie confirmed that the diamond was still available and mentioned that it was an ISEE-2 diamond. After talking with him briefly, I decided to get it shipped to Martin Fuller’s office so that I could compare it to the ACA that WF was sending.
After waiting almost two weeks, I finally got to view the diamonds at Martin Fuller’s office. Both vendors package the diamonds like Matryoshka dolls. I think they both used 3 boxes and 2 envelopes. Martin gave me two sets of tweezers so that I could compare the diamonds side by side. My first impression looking at both diamonds was that the ACA looked a little nicer. There wasn’t anything specific that I could point to, it just seemed better at first. I then proceeded to look at the diamonds in various lighting conditions, such as a direct overhead lamp, outdoor lighting (via the window), office lighting etc. In each of the environments, the ISEE2 diamond seemed to give off bigger/bolder/more colorful flashes of light. The more I looked at them, the more impressive the ISEE2 appeared to my eyes. After about 10-15 minutes, I decided to go with the ISEE2, and let Martin perform his analysis. Martin then began his analysis, which lasted about 40 more minutes. He measured/evaluated the table, depth, color, clarity, symmetry, culet, fluorescence etc. Fortunately or unfortunately, GOG did not include the GIA cert with the diamond, so I was not able to confirm the information until I got back home to view the GOG link online. One thing that was of interest to me was being able to view Martin’s color set for grading diamonds. From across his desk, I was able to pick out where I began to see a significant yellow tint. To my eyes, I was able to see a distinct yellow tone in the “I” colored stones. I didn’t realize it was an “I” until I got up close and was able to read the grades listed on his set. This confirmed what I saw in B&M stores when I decided I did not want to go below H, but this was the first time where I saw each color lined up in a row. During the appraisal, Martin mentioned how well cut the diamond was. I’ve read on pricescope how he has said that to other customers, so I asked him how many “Super-Ideal”/“Hearts and Arrows” diamonds he typically sees. He said that over the last 3-4 years, he’s seen more excellent/ideal/AGS 000 cut diamonds than he did the previous 20 years. He thought the increased information via the Internet and Internet vendors has made customers more knowledgeable and made them demand better-cut diamonds. I asked him about the Brilliancescope, ISEE2, Idealscope, etc, and he mentioned that overall they are just tools to sell diamonds and that the best judge was to see which diamond speaks to you, rather than let a machine or some score tell you what is best.
After Martin performed his analysis, he put all the specs into a software program and came up with a dealer price and a retail price, which was basically a 40% mark up. The price I paid at GOG was actually $20 below the “dealer price”, so while I was obviously happy with what I paid, I question how some of the “appraisal values” are determined. The appraisal value that I received from GOG for the diamond was only 3.5% more than what Martin appraised it for; so those of you who are concerned with inflated appraisals from internet vendors can draw your own conclusions about my experience. This ended up being my first of two visits to Martin Fuller’s office, as I had the ring appraised once the stone was set.
After getting the stone appraised, I called up GOG and told them I would be purchasing the diamond. Rhino quickly sent me the wire information via e-mail so that I could take possession of the diamond. The next day, I went to Bank of America to wire the funds, but they told me I might as well just transfer the cash to GOG and save on the wire fee since we are both Bank of America customers. I ended up transferring the cash and when I called GOG on Tuesday, they said that the funds had already been posted. At this point they sent their standard package, which includes their appraisal and all the documentation that comes with an ISEE2 diamond, along with the Gemex results, GIA cert, etc. Overall GOG was extremely easy to work with and Rhino was very prompt and detailed in getting back to my e-mails. I’m definitely a fan of them and will recommend them to others.
I also e-mailed WF after the appraisal to notify them that I chose another diamond and that Martin Fuller’s office would contact them regarding returning the stone. Vera responded thanking me for getting back to her and that Lesley would contact me when she had time. That was the last contact I had with WF, but apparently they got the diamond back and sold it about a month later. The return was definitely no hassle, although it helped that Martin Fuller’s office had to return the stone vs. me having to return it and deal with getting my money back.
After my first visit to Martin Fuller, I had an appointment with Quest Jewelers to talk about a potential setting. Like Martin Fuller, it took me about 10 days to get an appointment with them. Everything I’ve read on this board so far mentions Pete at Quest and how great he is. I only met Pete when I picked up the finished product as he was on vacation when I had my appointment. I ended up working with Huan and was very satisfied as I found him very professional and helpful. Overall, I was looking for something that would be a simple/classic solitaire design, but I wanted it to be unique. I like the tapered design of Mark Morrell’s Sunburst Solitaire, but I thought it needed something extra. I also liked the Lucida/Trellis/X-Prong design, but thought it looked too bulky at the top. I ended up combining the two designs to have a tapered band, starting at about 2.9mm and ending around 1.7mm with a trellis setting on the top. The design we talked about sounded good, but it was a matter of actually seeing it in person. The price Quest offered to do the work was only 5% more than similar rings from Vatche, but this ring would be exactly what I would be looking for, as opposed to having to settle for something close. At the end of the appointment, I put down the required deposit of 50% and waited to hear back from Quest. At this point, the diamond was still at Martin Fuller’s office. Quest offered to pick up the diamond for me from Martin’s office given my busy work schedule, all they required was that I call Martin to notify him to release the diamond to Quest. About a week later, Rose sent me some CAD images of the ring; unfortunately they were not extremely helpful, as they did not include the trellis in the images. Apparently the trellis is hand fabricated and therefore it’s not included in the image created by the software. I felt confident enough in Quest that I just confirmed the images I received. About 2 weeks later, Quest let me know the ring was ready and that I could pick it up. When I came in to see it, the ring came out exactly like I had envisioned. While it was not an overly complex design, I had some concerns with the open spacing in the trellis, but Quest definitely nailed it. Overall I was pleased with my experience with Quest and would definitely recommend them to others and will probably go back with my fiancé when we looking for wedding bands.
After getting the ring, I went back to my second appointment to Martin Fuller. Everything went smoothly and Martin commented on the nice design. He quoted a value that was 12% more than I paid for the setting, (overall the ring cost me 73% of the end appraisal value). Overall I was very pleased with Martin Fuller in terms of service. I more impressed the level of detail of GOG provided in their appraisal, but having independent verification gave me peace of mind given how much money I was spending. One thing I’d point out is that Martin Fuller doesn’t come cheap. My first appointment ran $175 for about 50 minutes and my second came at $87.50 for about 30 minutes. The one thing that added up was the $85 or so I had to pay to ship back the diamond to WF. WF charged me $65 to view the diamond, but it cost me more to send it back to them. Everything I read says that you can ship diamonds back to them cheaper by going through USPS, but apparently Martin Fuller uses a different service with a different level of insurance, which basically added to the expense. On a relative basis, the cost is pretty insignificant, but overall the entire process definitely adds up (almost $350 for the appraisal and shipping back and forth). Overall I was pleased with Martin Fuller and it was great being able to compare the diamonds in person, but if I was going to buy sight unseen, I might use one of the other less expensive appraisers on pricescope.
Overall my experience went very smoothly. My fiancé loved the ring as it definitely fit her style. She was pretty impressed with all the research I did and never had an idea that so much info that was available online. As for the vendors I used, I thought they all met or exceeded my expectations and don’t think you can go wrong with any of them.