Should I buy the pendant or not?

[WendyT]

I went to the LA downtown jewelry district last week to have my aunt''s ring resized by our family jeweller. The night before that, my bf told me that he''s giving me $1000 to spend on whatever jewelry piece i want.

So armed and ready, I went looking for a diamond solitaire pendant. Originally, I had in mind a bezel set round solitaire set in white gold but after looking through the selection they had to offer, I realized it wasn''t exactly what I wanted. Soon enough, he brought out a tray of pear shaped diamond pendants! I admit, i''m not a pear shape kind of girl but these pendants took my breath away! I found one i really liked. It''s H color, SI1, 0.695 set in white gold. He said the cut was good not excellent and offered it to me at $880 including the necklace. I''ve already checked the prices here from the online vendors and found this stone to be significantly lower than all the ones listed. I''m under the impression that I''m getting a great deal here but does something sound fishy to you? Keeping in mind that this is our family jeweller and we have bought many stones from him over the past 10 years. It''s the whole if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, is what''s nagging at me. Does this price sound reasonable? I need some HELP!!!

 

[jennyann2]

will he let you take it outside, in the back, etc. to see it in various lighting situations? i say if you really love it and it sparkles then get it even though it wasn''t what you went in looking for.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Is the stone certified by a reputable lab? If not then it may be one or two color and clarity grades lower which would explain the lower price. But, regardless, I agree w/jennyann2 that if you like the stone and it sparkles, than this is all that truely matters.

Be sure to post pictures of your pendant over in the show me the ring forum under the pendant thread so we can all see it.

 

[valeria101]

Can they explain why the cut is labeled "good" ? I understand that the lack of lab report brings the price a down quite a bit, but without standard cut grades, it is a bit hard to believe that the price got sliced in half because cut is juts a notch below fine.

The price matches clarity SI2 and below, H to J... so if this one looks clean and it's at least that, well, it would be called a deal I suppose.

Anyway, there are two pieces about 8X5mm you may want to throw in the balance:

I, SI1, 064cts, 8 x 4.5mm, 65 depth, 60 table, med fluorescence

and a slightly larger H-Si2

EGL reports bring the cost just about where you say. The between 75 and 55 depth there isn't much difference of size at this weight... as these two show. If the EGL reports are available, what the inclusions are and the AGA grades would come pretty fast on these.

There were two more of the sort where these come from, I just looked for the 'longer' and larger looking of the set.

 

[Mara]

This is totally non-related, but Wendy is your avatar dog a Westie? It's sooo cute!! I have a Westie, so I am always on the lookout for other white furball owners.

On topic, why are you going for a 'good' stone rather than an 'excellent'? Because of budget, do you want to maximize size? Bottom line is if you really love the way it looks, it sounds like a good price for the size/color/clarity as long as it sparkles nicely.

Good luck!

 

[WendyT]

Mara, my dog isn''t a westie, it''s a malte-poo, a hybrid between a maltese and poodle. Originally, i wanted a westie but when I saw this little boy, I knew I had to have him. He''s the cutest thing ever but sooo naughty! (I woke up this morning to find him under my bed chewing on a tube of lipstick!! Now, his mouth and paws are temporarily red! And when I yelled at him, he just starred at me with those puppy eyes and began licking me!) That''s a puppy for you. BTW, his name is Harry. I saw Portia in previous posts. She is soooo adorable. I remembered you getting her a few months back in your previous posts. Besides diamonds, I also have a sweet spot for little white dogs.

Back to the subject..

my mom and I are headed back to the LA jewelry district this Satuarday to take a final look at the pendant. If all goes well, I may take everyone''s advice and buy it if I like it. I''m not sure if this stone is certified but it''s highly unlikely. The jeweller called it a "good" cut because all his diamond pendants are "commercial" quality? Him meaning all the stones set in the pendants aren''t the best of best but are what all maul stores and some jewelry stores sell. He volunteered this information because my family is known for buying many stones in the colorless range, FL, IF to VVS1. (We''re Asian so we have that whole diamond superstition thing going on.

)

So here''s another thing, he also had a 0.72 carat, G-color, SI1 pear shaped pendent for sale. Putting this one side to side to the H, this one appears whiter and sparkled slightly more. My mom and aunt could not see it but it was noticeable to me. The price he gave me for this stone was $1600! That''s a huge difference from the $880 for the 0.03 carat and color increase. Also, this *may be certified by EGL-USA (I thought I saw the certificate for this, but i''m not definitely sure.) Now I''m really confused! His explanation was because the increase was due to color increase and the jump from being just under 0.7 carats to over 0.7 (with the same concept of it being 1 carat and being 0.95). Now, does that sound correct to you? Is there really another price jump at 0.7 carats? Or does this whole thing sound strange?

All in all, if this matters, my grandmother bought some diamond studs from this man a few months back. Their tcw was 1.3something carats, H-color, IF, EX to VG on the symmetry and polish and both stones were certified by GIA. She paid around $4200 for the stones and the 18K white gold martini setting. At that time, I did check some online vendors to compare the pricing and my grandmother appeared to have gotten a deal. So maybe... the jeweller is honestly genuine and is giving me a great deal? Any opinions/input before I go tomorrow?

*I forgot to mention that the $880 price for the 0.695 pendant was reached after some time of negotiating and for the 0.72 pendant, negotiation had begun and stayed at $1600 but hasn''t been brought down to the lowest price possible. (With the latter being my mom''s opinion.)