no approved appraiser in area...

[bopitaddict]

long time lurker and truly appreciative of all the information i''ve been able to absorb off of this community. it''s actually given me a true appreciation for the beauty of diamonds, as well as the complexity of them... it seems the more i read, the more i learn, the more i get confused.

many questions...

anyways, i think i found the stone... the numbers sound great (to me), h&a round, 1 carat, H color, VS2, depth 61.8, table 55, HCA 1.6, girdle medium to slightly thick, 6.42 - 6.47 x 3.98 mm, GIA Cert - polish and symmetry excellent. the only thing is unfortunately we might not have an approved appraiser here in chicago... (there''s one listed, but they had to check on it)... so i was wondering what the alternatives could be... the very helpful vendor (one of the highly recommended ones by the users of PS) did say if i paid for the diamond completely, i could get it, but if i was only to put a deposit down, they would send it to an approved vendor, which i totally understand. any alternatives? send it to a city nearby and fly or drive out there?

also, with e-mail correspondence with online vendors (recommended by pricescope), what is the expected turnaround for e-mails? i''m usually a laid back guy, but this whole diamond buying experience is making me antsy... lol. i keep checking my e-mail every 7 minutes... and then finding a setting as well is probably going to take some time to get it in, right? i''m hoping to get this all completed within a month... is this realistic? or should i push my proposal plans back? (alas, i wanted to be able to say i was engaged before i hit the big 3-0)

anyways, any advice or help would be appreciated... like all the other noobs who post, thanks for the education and for teaching me the finer things on diamonds...

 

[YoungPapa]

bopitaddict,

Based on the specs of the diamond you posted its very unlikely you''ll be dissappointed with the stone. If you''re working with one of the vendors who participate in this board then you should already know they aren''t going to run off with your money and everything they tell you is forthright and with the best intentions. For that reason the idea of just buying direct shouldn''t be unsettling or nerve-wracking.

With that said, however, I''m surprised you can''t find an appraiser in Chicago. PGS Labs is there, as well as Richard Drucker in Northbrook. Your vendor shouldn''t have problems with either of those outfits, although you should prepare yourself to spend $100 or so just to look at a diamond. If you decide to just "buy" outright then looking is free. Well, not free - you still have to pay for the diamond! In the purchase situation, however, you can get the diamond professionally appraised after it''s passed your own observation and judgment.

Best of luck,

 

[bar01]

I am afraid I am a little confused by your situation.

If you are buying a diamond from a good vendor there should be an evaluation/return period where you can use an independent appraiser - of your choice. I bought diamonds from Whiteflash and a Sapphire from Cherrypicked. In each case I was given like 10 days (or more) to examine it and send it back if I did not like it. They sent the gems it to me directly - whiteflash used a FedEx pickup place - and cherrypicked sent it to me directly at work.

I used that 10 days to have an initial appraisal on the loose gems. After the appraisal - and many days staring at them in all sorts of light- I sent an email and told them I would "take it" - and sent the gems back to be set in the ring. Of course they had my credit card number at all times and I paid for shipping on the return.

You are in Chicago? If you want a local person - Then I can recommend Richard Drucker in Northbrook. I would recommend you avoid PGS.

If you are more open to sending it out of town then there are a number of great appraisers/labs - including Richard Sherwood and Deverappraiser.

Now about the emails. Well, I did experience "some" delays and communications breakdowns using emails with WF and others. However, when I picked up the phone and placed a call - I always got prompt attention and help. I imagine many e-vendors are swamped with emails.

 

[bopitaddict]

youngpapa, bertrand,

thank you so much for the responses and advice. i was beginning to worry that after 3 minutes of getting no responses, that i'd be one of those viewed many times, but never responded to. i really love the specs of the diamond and i'm sure i'll like it even more when i see it. now all i have to do is find a setting. (of course, easier said than done). the scott kay settings did catch my eye... anyways...

as for appraiser, i hadn't heard from my vendor, so maybe it was my paranoia talking ahead of time... they told me that they had only one appraiser that they considered possibly approved in this area... but as bertrand suggested, i called the vendor (after i e-mailed him) and the vendor was outright in letting me know that they hadn't had a chance to call the appraiser yet to evaluate them. i believe like both of you said, he is going to contact richard drucker in northbrook and if everything pans out, they're going to send the diamond to him, that way i can take a look at it as well and have a peace of mind for the investment.

but i definitely wanted to thank you both for the sanity check... now i can quit pacing. i'll keep you updated as to this 'journey'...

indebted,
bopit

edit: i guess the issue wasn't with the appraiser, but with whether the appraiser had some sort of insurance that the company approved of...

but if worse comes to worse, the best bet would be to throw it on a card and get it shipped to me, right?

 

[Regular Guy]

Bopit,

Sorry to hear about your loss on your other post. Don't give up.

Bertrand, why do you feel the way you do about PGS. Over the last bunch of month, I've heard many good things about them. I'm recalling Dave Atlas speaking favorably, and I believe Wink routinely uses them.

Leonid, also, why wouldn't they (PGS) be included for Chicago on your list of appraiser resources? On today's list of messages, it could help further. Seems like there's a need. Are they more like a GIA rather than a more routine appraiser? Or are there other issues...for example, do listed appraisers need to subscribe in some way to Pricescope?

Finally, sorry to cause anybody trouble. Having been away for a bit...I'm back. Can't help myself exactly. I figure the functionality (of putting my 2 cents in on this board) will come on it's own.

With best wishes,

 

[oldminer]

PGS is run very professionally. It is primarily a grading lab and not a "dollar evaluation" sort of lab although possibly they do value appraisals....It is my belief that they stick to gemology and not the value side of things although I might be mistaken. If every appraiser did the job as proferssionally as PGS we''d have fewer problems. Unfortunately, some rather large places don''t, can''t or won''t do the job so well.

We have shown the market is smart enough to adjust, for the most part, but that is small comfort to any single consumer who wants assurance that the one diamond they are buying now is correctly graded and worth the money. When the cost of professional assistance is a hundred bucks and the retail value purchase is in the multi-thousands of dollars, it is a no-brainer that expert advice could be useful and worthwhile, too.

 

[Regular Guy]

Thanks, Dave. Looks to me like...whether a minor portion of their business or not...they do do appraisals, as their website shows. As they say in the legal community (or as I see it on TV), since I have no cause of action to bring to them, I won''t go the next step to ask about whether they''d be available for my business or not, are insured for coordination with an internet vendor or not...but I''m guessing the answer to these things would be in the affirmative.

Actually, I''m an old Chicago boy, have a great deal of fondness for the city, and hate to see the city without its resources exploited. Looks like PGS is downtown, and if I were going downtown, I know I''d have to decide between the Billy Goat Tavern (aka Cheeseburger Cheeseburger) and the Berghoffs, with good German food, for lunch.