Derco VS Ideals!

[mikkimouse]

After a whole day retail shopping at VF mall, to price compare with Ideals- (suggested online store) D&L-(suggested retail store) was the best .50 sparkled then everywhere else, asking $1500., second choice was Ben Bridge .50 not as shiny as D&L, but better than the rest for about $1200 or so. But then I came across Derco, priced me at $1290.00 out the door for;

RB .53 carat w/pendant and chain 14k or maybe 18k wg
GIA certified
5.22x5.25.3.21
depth 61.3
table 56
Girdle Thin to medium, Faceted
Cutlet none
Polish Excellent
Symmetry Excellent
Grade S12
Characteristics - Crystal
Color F
Flour Faint
retail of the diamond alone 1161.something cents.

All the stores at the mall just for a .50 alone and H-I color average this price for this stone. question is, is this an awesome deal? It only came with a GIA certificate so the rest of the information is not available.

He showed me 2 other non certified loose stones D, I1 and E, S12 and they both did not turn up great on the HCA, they rated 6.

I compared this .53 to stones on Ideal and at;

Shape BR
Color Grade F
Clarity Grade SI2
AGS certified
Weight 0.530
Measurments 5.26 - 5.28 x 3.19 mm
Depth 60.5%
Table 56%
Girdle 1.1-1.9
Culet PT
Crown Angle 34.600
Pavilion Angle 41.200
Polish IDEAL
Symmetry IDEAL
Fluorescence N
$1253.98 a bit more, but graded HCA 3.1 VG/G/G/VG

the second same stone at:

Shape BR
Color Grade F
Clarity Grade SI2
AGS certified
Weight 0.530
Measurments 5.22 - 5.26 x 3.21 mm
Depth 61.1%
Table 55%
Girdle 1.0-1.5
Culet PT
Crown Angle 34.400
Pavilion Angle 41.200
Polish IDEAL
Symmetry IDEAL
Fluorescence I
$1253.98 same as the other, but graded 3.1 VG/G/G/VG
plus adding $275 for 14kwg prong and chain

Is it worth saving over $500 at Derco?

 

[quaeritur]

Sigh. Once again, how can we tell you if it's an awesome deal without the relevant info? See if the good folks at Derco can give you the other info, then maybe you can get an answer.

Beyond that, I think I've said it all before. Sorry, I'm just getting a little frustrated answering basically the same question again (and again)

...

 

[Dancing Fire]

----------------
On 6/27/2004 12:44:39 AM MikkiMouse wrote:

After a whole day retail shopping at VF mall, to price compare with Ideals- (suggested online store) D&L-(suggested retail store) was the best .50 sparkled then everywhere else, asking $1500., second choice was Ben Bridge .50 not as shiny as D&L, but better than the rest for about $1200 or so. But then I came across Derco, priced me at $1290.00 out the door for;

RB .53 carat w/pendant and chain 14k or maybe 18k wg
GIA certified
5.22x5.25.3.21
depth 61.3
table 56
Girdle Thin to medium, Faceted
Cutlet none
Polish Excellent
Symmetry Excellent
Grade S12
Characteristics - Crystal
Color F
Flour Faint
retail of the diamond alone 1161.something cents.

All the stores at the mall just for a .50 alone and H-I color average this price for this stone. question is, is this an awesome deal? It only came with a GIA certificate so the rest of the information is not available.

He showed me 2 other non certified loose stones D, I1 and E, S12 and they both did not turn up great on the HCA, they rated 6.

I compared this .53 to stones on Ideal and at;

Shape BR
Color Grade F
Clarity Grade SI2
AGS certified
Weight 0.530
Measurments 5.26 - 5.28 x 3.19 mm
Depth 60.5%
Table 56%
Girdle 1.1-1.9
Culet PT
Crown Angle 34.600
Pavilion Angle 41.200
Polish IDEAL
Symmetry IDEAL
Fluorescence N
$1253.98 a bit more, but graded HCA 3.1 VG/G/G/VG

the second same stone at:

Shape BR
Color Grade F
Clarity Grade SI2
AGS certified
Weight 0.530
Measurments 5.22 - 5.26 x 3.21 mm
Depth 61.1%
Table 55%
Girdle 1.0-1.5
Culet PT
Crown Angle 34.400
Pavilion Angle 41.200
Polish IDEAL
Symmetry IDEAL
Fluorescence I
$1253.98 same as the other, but graded 3.1 VG/G/G/VG
plus adding $275 for 14kwg prong and chain

Is it worth saving over $500 at Derco?

----------------

Mikkimouse
the reason you are getting 3.1 hca score is the pavil angle 41.2,try to find one with 40.6-40.9 angle combine with the crown angle of the stones you listed.

 

[valeria101]

Why are you using those HCA scores when you have seen the diamonds? You can get much more precise account of how these stones "perform" compared to the best possible if you would take into account some direct measurement of brilliance (Brilliance SCope, Ideal Scope, or just side-by-side visual comparison with an idela cut if available).

Actually, all these tools are good to compensate for some leg work (and transaction cost). Any evaluation by numbers ( such as the hCA score and AGA grades) work great to make an educated guess about the stone wthout incurring the cost of ordering it for inspection... And any of the direct tests would actually tell you wether better exists and how much better is that - even if the one stone at hand looks great without comparion.

To me, it seems that you have no use for the HCA. But the scale of a 'scope could still help rating the goods at hand.

Otherwise, it really is up to you to decide what is worth spending on

right ?

 

[valeria101]

Besides, F/G-SI H&A stones with HCA <2 are listed around here for similar prices, as far as I ca see... so no tradeoff should be needed if you choose to go for the HCA score as measure of brilliance aside what you see.


For example... THIS

 

[Brian Knox]

Hi,

It sounds like all those numbers are bringing a little confusion to the choice.

I must say, they even confused me.

If I understand correctly that you have looked at these diamonds, forget the numbers.

The most important arbiter is you and what you see in the diamonds.

Trust your eyes, it really is that simple.

They all 'read' beautifully.

Because only you have seen these diamonds ,and also because of the personal preferences involved, your opionion is the only relevant opinion.

Don't look for beauty in the numbers,numbers are numbers, look for beauty in the diamond.