HELP on buying a loose diamond from reputable seller

[Heavenly-Angel]

Hi people,

I have been looking online for the past three weeks for a loose diamond. I looked on ebay, and found two sellers that seemed reputable. But my gut is telling me not to go with it. One of the two sellers has offered me a 0.5 D colour IF clarity for $3,300AU They have certified it by EGL, but I have heard that EGL rates diamond clarity and colour a bit higher then it really is, apposed to GIA who are more accurate. Am I correct in assuming this?

I found some beautiful diamonds on Amazon, being sold directly from them and all are GIA certified and great prices in my opinion. I found a 0.7 F colour, IF clarity for 3,410.00. But the downside is they do not ship to Australia, which is so disappointing...is there any way around this at all, I have emailed them and am awaiting their reply but I am sure they will not post to me. I doubt I am going to find a deal this good anywhere else..

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Have you tried looking at some of the vendors that are popular (for good reason) here on PS?

Brian Gavin Diamonds - I just bought a gorgeous 0.46 ct. K VS2 BGD Signature from them, and my mom got a 1.65 K VS2 AGS000 (not one of their signatures) from them in Feb. which is stunning.

Good Old Gold - Arjunajane got her August Vintage Cushion from them (and she lives in Australia).

Whiteflash

Infinity Diamonds

ETA: Here are some from BGD -

0.555 E VVS1, $2832 USD

0.594 E VVS2, $2817 USD

0.432 F VVS2, $1329 USD

All BGD Signatures. I would really hesitate at buying a diamond from eBay (unless you really know what you're doing), and definitely not EGL-certified, and I'm also wary about buying from Amazon. There are so many great resources out there, and since you're not opposed to buying online, definitely check them out.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

More from WF:

0.524_F_VVS2_$2494_USD

0.403_F_VVS2_$1447_USD

0.417_D_VVS2_$1584_USD

0.504_E_VVS2_$2603_USD

0.57_F_VVS1_$2944_USD

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

One from GOG:

0.63_F_VVS1_$3325_USD

 

[Heavenly-Angel]

Hi B.E.G,

Thanks so much for all your help, will definately check them all out. They do all seem great value for money!!
I found some on Bluenile also, and they ship to Australia. What is your view on their site?

I found round cut were more expensive, and you could get more for your money if you went for a pear.

For example;

Pear diamond; Very Good-cut, E-color, IF-clarity, Pear-Shaped, 0.77-carat Diamond for $3,751

Round diamond; Ideal-cut, E-color, IF-clarity, Round, 0.70-carat Diamond for $4,452

I am willing to spend up to $4,500AU max on a very good diamond and preferably .70 in size.

I know a lot of people say paying extra money for a IF diamond is a waste of money because you can save $$$$ on getting a VS clarity and even some SI you can't see to the naked eye....but just the thought of having a IF diamond is awesome to me...but that aside I agree you can get a D,E,F in colour and downgrade the clarity and get a much bigger diamond....that's what I'm torn by. I'm sure I could get a 1ct easily in a F colour with VS clarity, for the $4,000 mark, or am I wrong?

Rings here in retail shops are so overpriced and it is usually bad diamonds in them, one for example; Shiels are selling a 1ct ring, which has a .70 center stone, for $3,000 and sometimes you can buy it on sale for $2,000. I fell in love with the setting but was shocked at the clarity and colour of the diamonds when I asked. The center diamond was a T in colour and the clarity a P3. Grahams jewellers are selling a 80 point center diamond engagement ring with H colour, P1 clarity, and the price....wait for it. $12,000. REDICULOUS!! That's why I'm so excited to get a great loose diamond for a fraction of the cost!!


Thanks again....really appreciate it, B.E.G

 

[Heavenly-Angel]

Oops, just noticed I posted this in the wrong thread!!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

No problem!

Ok, here are my thoughts on a few points:

1) Clarity, IMO, is definitely the least important of the 4 Cs, since there are so many gorgeous, eye-clean SI stones out there. Even if SI is a bit iffy, VS and VVS stones will still help you when it comes to cost, and you definitely won't be seeing inclusions in those. That said, if the thought of an IF diamond is really important to you, then you should stay with IF diamonds. Eye-clean is important, but so is mind-clean, y'know?

2) It's hard to compare prices on two different shapes. I know RBs tend to be a bit more difficult to cut because of optical symmetry issues, etc. and also, the diamonds I linked you to are of superior RB cut. I'm not a good judge on fancy shapes, especially pears, but I do know that a lot of fancy shapes you can't judge on numbers alone like you can with RBs. The pears you linked to could be amazingly cut, or they could be duds - I have no clue. Whereas the RBs I found really are fantastic. So apples and oranges.

And with THAT said, is this for an engagement ring or a right hand ring? Are you set on a particular shape or open to anything? If you're open to several different shapes, I would go back to Good Old Gold's site and start looking at different shapes and pictures to see what you like. You can start narrowing it down from there. It might also be helpful to e-mail those vendors and see if they can help you find something particular - like say, a specific shape in the 0.70 ct. range with IF clarity, high color, and for x amount of money. They can help you weed out the less well-cut diamonds so you end up with a sparkler (but it really helps if you have an idea of shape first).

Hope this all helps! It sounds like you have a good idea of what you want when it comes to color and clarity, but you just need to think about narrowing down the shape and prioritizing your wants in case an IF isn't available. Good luck!

 

[Heavenly-Angel]

That was a great help, cheers B.E.G!

I only recently educated myself on the 4 C's and kicked myself that I waited so long!!! I have been buying diamond rings for years, and paying thousands, and until lately was crushed to find out quite a few were not very good quality, and definately were not worth anywhere near what I paid for them. I only educated myself on it recently, because we are looking for a diamond engagement ring and since they are pricey, we wanted to make sure we are getting what we pay for.

Most of the diamond rings I have now are from G-J colours and the best clarity I have is a VS1. The way I see it is we are only going to get engaged once, and I would prefer to have a smaller diamond with great colour and clarity, but at the same time I love big diamonds also, but to have one I would have to sacrifice one of the C's, which I will do for a right hand ring, but for my engagement ring I would prefer it to be quality over quantity, this will no doubt will be the only D-E IF diamond I will own, so I'm making the most of it LOL of course it's been hard convincing my other half, as he does not like to part with his $$$!

I have decided to go for a round for the engagement ring and a pear for a right hand ring in a bigger size and lesser clarity.

My Birthday is on the 7th, and my partners fav number is 7...so that's why we are going for a 70.

I will definately shop around and will scour the websites you have recommended, especially if we can save $$$$, which can go towards the mount. Do you know of any reputable places that sell nice mounts? I'm definately after something different, I'm not in to plain or simplicity styles....After something a bit different, more antique/floral designs.

Thanks again for helping me out on this one!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

No problem! I really hope you'll come back and show us what you decided to get!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Oh I forgot to answer about the settings.

So you can always go custom and there are great vendors here who can do that. For custom antique/pave/vintage-y settings, I would recommend Leon_Mege, Maytal_Hannah, Jewels_by_Erica_Grace (JBEG has been coming out with some gorgeous new settings lately that I adore) and Singlestone. They'll all do custom work I think. Also, Brian_Gavin_Diamonds and Whiteflash also have gorgeous settings and do custom work as well.

If you want to just take a look at some antique-style settings, I would go to the Van_Craeynest website and also look at the VC_thread and take a look at their rings. Super gorgeous, intricate, and not plain at all. Even if none of them are your cup of tea, you can get some great inspiration ideas.

Also, I would spend a few hours looking through this_thread in order to get more ideas.