Am I getting a bad diamond - help fellow PSers!

[latman]

Hello everyone! I recently purchased a loose diamond from Mark at ERD. I found him through pricescope and he came highly recommended. I unfortunately already purchased a setting for an engagement ring from Helzberg before I found out about this sight. Long story short, I live a long way from Mark so I put my trust into him to find me a great diamond. I had a budget of $3400 for a round diamond that needed to be at least 1 carat (tough constraints - i know). mark found me a diamond that he highly recommended so after taking his advice i had him mount it - he sent me a pic and gia report. I found the hca calculator in the past few days and found the diamond scored horribly on there. i''ve been emailing him about the diamond, but he''s been dodging my questions about the hca report (score 5+) I''ve done some searching on whiteflash and other sites and found diamonds within my price range with much better ratings. my question is - could i have done better then the diamond I had for the price? I have attached a real picture below (I don''t have an idealscope picture) and the dimensions. I want to knock the socks of my gf, but I just have a feeling I could''ve done better.

GIA EX/EX/EX
Round Brilliant Diamond
1.01 Carat
SI1 - Clarity
J - Color
6.38x6.42x4.01
Table - 57
Depth - 62.7
Crown - 36
Pavilion - 41

 

[bgray]

ERD is not a place for a superbly stone: he specializes in affordable stones that look good enough.... you should have bought from Whiteflash, excel, supercert or GOG--Further this stone you bought is EXTREMELY deep for a round which makes it face up smaller than it should. you could have gotten a .8 that was perfectly cut that faced up bigger than this.

 

[chrono]

I'm not a round expert but I know ERD has an extremely GOOD reputation for gorgeous and well cut emerald cuts and cushions. I have not seen any dud fancy cut diamonds from ERD. Are you still within the return window period?

 

[latman]

i haven''t even received the completed ring yet, i''ll receive it tomorrow. the thing is, it''ll probably cost me another $200 to get the diamond unmounted to send back to mark to get a refund. i''m kicking myself in the butt now after seeing all of the beautiful diamonds on whiteflash...my options are limited at this point.

 

[Sizzle]

I think you should see it in person before you make a full decision. That being said IF you have found something with ideal specs and it''s in your price range, why not go for it?! Maybe Mark can source it for you?? I have no experience dealing with him, but I have read some remarks on here that he is "less than thrilled" when you return. HOWEVER, you have NO obligation to ANY vendor. You''re a paying customer and if you are within your return rights. INSIST on a refund and get what you want!

 

[latman]

My plan right now is to look the ring once I receive it, but I have definitely found better diamonds already. I''m sure the ring/diamond will be beautiful being an gia ex/ex/ex, but I always want to get the best I can possibly get and in this case I don''t feel like I''m getting it along with answers from the vendor reassuring me of my purchase.

 

[bgray]

i would go ahead and return it you can do better.

 

[rickster123]

I agree, take the dismounting financial hit, send it back, and do better. In the long run you wont think about the $200 but you would remember the "I could have done better" feeling every time you look at the ring.......

 

[latman]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. You are just reassuring to me what the right decision is.

 

[October2008bride]

I must be missing where on WF you found a better stone for the same price? Show us what you found so we can compare...it might help.

My experience with Mark has been amazing - but when it comes to stones i think that if you had said "I want a super ideal cut for 3400 that is 1 carat" he maybe couldn't find you that stone within your parameters?

The good thing about Mark is that he is in the diamond district and uses his eyes, not just a piece of paper. He may have found a great stone that will give you a good result for your budget? Honestly - wait till you see it and then decide. You never know!

One last thing - Mark isn't the best on email so he might not be doging your questions on purpose - he's better on the phone.

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 4/30/2009 10:23:48 PM
Author: bgray
ERD is not a place for a superbly stone: he specializes in affordable stones that look good enough.... you should have bought from Whiteflash, excel, supercert or GOG--Further this stone you bought is EXTREMELY deep for a round which makes it face up smaller than it should. you could have gotten a .8 that was perfectly cut that faced up bigger than this.

You know... that''s an awfully negative comment without much to back it up, from my personal observations. Actually Mark is known for finding beautiful diamonds for people, period. Now, I don''t know anything about this diamond, but Mark doesn''t judge by numbers, he judges by his eyes. How does the diamond look? The HCA isn''t perfect, and your budget is slim for a 1 carat J SI1. Did you ask for an ideal cut diamond with a low HCA score, or did you ask for "a great diamond on a budget?"

I too would like to see the diamond you found at another vendor for the same price.

 

[bgray]

Date: 5/1/2009 12:17:11 AM
Author: Gypsy

Date: 4/30/2009 10:23:48 PM

Author: bgray

ERD is not a place for a superbly stone: he specializes in affordable stones that look good enough.... you should have bought from Whiteflash, excel, supercert or GOG--Further this stone you bought is EXTREMELY deep for a round which makes it face up smaller than it should. you could have gotten a .8 that was perfectly cut that faced up bigger than this.

You know... that''s an awfully negative comment without much to back it up, from my personal observations. Actually Mark is known for finding beautiful diamonds for people, period. Now, I don''t know anything about this diamond, but Mark doesn''t judge by numbers, he judges by his eyes. How does the diamond look? The HCA isn''t perfect, and your budget is slim for a 1 carat J SI1. Did you ask for an ideal cut diamond with a low HCA score, or did you ask for ''a great diamond on a budget?''


I too would like to see the diamond you found at another vendor for the same price.

I went to him on a few occasions and was completely unimpressed. thats my opinion, based on my experience, just as you stated your opinion. i wouldnt venture to say that ERD is know for top cut rounds by any estimation --he sells fancies -- they are more arbitrary and the appeal to the eye of the beholder is as much dependant on the SHAPE as any other quality of the stone.

 

[Gypsy]

Okay. I can respect the fact that it's your opinion. But it was qualified as such. You stated it as if it was a fact. And it is not. Like I said, Mark has a reputation for finding people beautiful diamonds, and yes much of that is for fancies, but I have seen many happy customers with rounds from him as well in my time here.

And again a vendor can only be judged against what they are asked to accomplish. If you ASK for an 'ideal or 'super ideal' that scores well on the HCA and you recieve the diamond above, then okay. But if you ask for a great diamond on a budget... it's a GIA excellent cut, J SI and over 1 carat. Whether or not it's a great diamond is up to intepretation. AND WE STILL DON'T KNOW if it's a nice looking diamond or not.

 

[honey22]

Date: 4/30/2009 10:23:48 PM
Author: bgray
ERD is not a place for a superbly stone: he specializes in affordable stones that look good enough.... you should have bought from Whiteflash, excel, supercert or GOG--Further this stone you bought is EXTREMELY deep for a round which makes it face up smaller than it should. you could have gotten a .8 that was perfectly cut that faced up bigger than this.

That stone is no where near EXREMELY DEEP, nor is if facing up too small bgray?

It''s at the top end of the aread I would feel comfortable with (ie. my cutoff is 62.0), but still it''s not excessive. You can still find well cut stones with this depth. And it''s facing up pretty good for a 1ct stone. A well cut 0.8ct faces up at 6.0mm.

 

[JulieN]

eh, if the numbers had just been posted and no mention of it being from Mark, I''m pretty sure several people would have told the OP to run in the other direction.

 

[Gypsy]

No one is saying it's a good diamond and that he should keep it. This post isn't about the diamond in a vacuum. It's about Mark as well. The OP specifically states that he trusted Mark and feels that he his trust was rewarded with a bum diamond. That's not a post about a diamond. That's a post about a vendor. So yes, we're responding to that. Because it is ON TOPIC.

That said, AGAIN, no one is saying to keep it.

We're asking a) what he asked for that this diamond was the result b) what the diamond looks like and c) what else he's seen on WF that he likes better. And, as for me in particular, I was addressing bgray's comments, and NOT the OPs.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/30/2009 10:08:46 PM
Author:latman
Hello everyone! I recently purchased a loose diamond from Mark at ERD. I found him through pricescope and he came highly recommended. I unfortunately already purchased a setting for an engagement ring from Helzberg before I found out about this sight. Long story short, I live a long way from Mark so I put my trust into him to find me a great diamond. I had a budget of $3400 for a round diamond that needed to be at least 1 carat (tough constraints - i know). mark found me a diamond that he highly recommended so after taking his advice i had him mount it - he sent me a pic and gia report. I found the hca calculator in the past few days and found the diamond scored horribly on there. i''ve been emailing him about the diamond, but he''s been dodging my questions about the hca report (score 5+) I''ve done some searching on whiteflash and other sites and found diamonds within my price range with much better ratings. my question is - could i have done better then the diamond I had for the price? I have attached a real picture below (I don''t have an idealscope picture) and the dimensions. I want to knock the socks of my gf, but I just have a feeling I could''ve done better.

GIA EX/EX/EX
Round Brilliant Diamond
1.01 Carat
SI1 - Clarity
J - Color
6.38x6.42x4.01
Table - 57
Depth - 62.7
Crown - 36
Pavilion - 41

I would return this one, it is what we call a steep deep and it will very likely leak light as a result due to the angle combo. It is also too deep physically for my liking.

 

[latman]

i can''t thank all of you enough for your help. i will definitely look at the ring before i make any decisions, if mark saw the diamond and thought it was beautiful, who knows i may absolutely love it too - the hca tool isn''t going to make it or break it for me, i was just shocked when i plugged the numbers in. i will post pictures of the ring once i receive it. if i don''t feel its up to par, then i will definitely return it for a full refund and keep on the diamond search

 

[latman]

and to the point that mark is bad on emails - i sent him three seperate emails asking him questions about shipping the diamond and in each on i asked the same question about the hca score. in each one he would answer the shipping question, but never gave me any response about the hca - that worries me.

how much does it cost to get a stone unmounted if i needed to ship it back to him? i would ask him to do it, but i''m sure he''s not going to be too happy if i''m returning the diamond.

 

[October2008bride]

Date: 5/1/2009 1:38:41 AM
Author: JulieN
eh, if the numbers had just been posted and no mention of it being from Mark, I''m pretty sure several people would have told the OP to run in the other direction.

I agree that if only numbers had been posted, we would have told him/her to run. However, it isn''t the just the fact that it is a stone from Mark IMO, that is causing me to say ''wait and see''. It is the fact that the OP gave a pretty limited budget with for what he/she wanted and I think that knowing that Mark looked at the stone and thought that for the budget, it was a good match, well that would make me wait and see what he sends.

Either way - Mark has a great return policy and will not be ''mad'' if the OP sends it back. Will he think that the OPs requests were unreasonable considering the budget? Who knows.

Here is a 1 carat, J, SI1 ACA from WF:

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-1467007.htm

About 1000 more than the OPs budget.

 

[rickster123]

I saw, in person, that J 1 carat that Octoberbride posted a link about. Looks great in person. (Remember I am a newbie so I do not have a trained eye) but it sure looked good to me. I actually reserved it last week and then took it off simply to downsize to .91 due to budget constraints.

 

[sazza]

If you don''t like the one Mark sent you maybe this?

HCA 0.7 James Allen 1.06c J SI1 http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1228847.asp 3,180 price scope price.

 

[dreamer_dachsie]

this KI think you need to wait and see it in person. We here on PS are obsessed with perfection in terms of the numbers and that brings us pleasure to know that the diamond we purchased is by the numbers perfect. We also like to photograph our diamonds at high magnification!

That being said, you have a limited budget and want a larger diamond, and IMHO something will have to "give". In this case, perhaps what gives is that you go down to a slightly lower cut quality. Now I know this sounds crazy coming from me, but I recently had the opportunity to look at two diamonds in a side by side comparison -- one ideal and the other excellent cut (one cut grade down) -- and in most of the lighting conditions I compared them in they looked very similar. The ideal had a little more fire, a little more contrast, and a little more brightness in dim lights. Under magnification the arrow pattern was much better in the ideal, and because that is important to me and both diamonds were in budget, I selected the ideal. But if I had a budget and if I didn't like a "mind ideal" stone, I would have been very happy with the performance of the excellent cut diamond on a daily basis.

So if it is very important to you to get above the 1ct mark AND stick with your budget, I encourage you to look at this stone in person before you make a final decision. If possible, take your ring to a stone that carried AGSO or H&A branded diamonds and compare the performance. THEN you can know what element of your search you will compromise -- the size, the color (going down to a K may bring you in under budget and almost a carat) or perhaps the cut. As long as you are paying fair market value for this particular diamond, then there may be nothing wrong with it and it may meet your needs well.

If it were me, though, I'd get this K from GOG

.

 

[neatfreak]

You should wait and give it a chance-Mark does usually have a great eye and I doubt he would send you a stone that''s a dud. But you DID have a very limiting budget-so I assume that is where he thought it best to make a cut to get what you wanted. You can''t have everything in a 1 carat stone for that price.

I would just talk to him about it honestly if you are unhappy. He''s much better on the phone than email. I am sure he''ll work with you.

 

[latman]

just a quick update, my mom received the ring today. i was traveling home from a business trip, but i had her open it while i was on the phone with her to look at it. needless to say i could hear her gasp when she saw the ring. she said it was absolutely breathtaking...very white and sparkly. given she doesn''t come on here and realize the different cuts of diamonds and the hca score, but hearing that made me feel alot better. i will get a chance to see the ring tomorrow, but from her feedback it sounds like i''ll love it.

 

[girlie-girl]

I''m happy to hear you''re feeling a bit better about this. Be sure to show us all tomorrow as well!

 

[tyty333]

Please oh please, I beg of you, give us some pics so we can see this diamond for ourselves!
(curiosity killed the cat and its killing me

)

 

[latman]

- pics will be posted after i get the ring tomorrow and once i can get away from my gf so she doesn''t see - haha.

 

[emeraldlover1]

Date: 4/30/2009 10:23:48 PM
Author: bgray
ERD is not a place for a superbly stone: he specializes in affordable stones that look good enough.... you should have bought from Whiteflash, excel, supercert or GOG--Further this stone you bought is EXTREMELY deep for a round which makes it face up smaller than it should. you could have gotten a .8 that was perfectly cut that faced up bigger than this.

Honestly, I''m starting to believe that you have a personal issue with Mark. You take every opportunity you can to make sure that posters here know that. I respect your opinion that you did not have a good experience but to say that Mark isn''t know for superbly cut stones is rediculous. Just because he didn''t talk about it with you doesn''t mean he can''t or won''t. Most people he has as customers are far less educated and the OP gave some tough constraints, he''s not going to get it right every time but that doesn''t mean he can''t.

I went to another ps vendor to look at stones in person before we were ready to buy and didn''t see the most amazing stones, but I don''t bash them everytime someone posts about their experience. So my question to you is, why?

 

[October2008bride]

Date: 5/1/2009 7:26:24 PM
Author: emeraldlover1

Date: 4/30/2009 10:23:48 PM

Author: bgray

ERD is not a place for a superbly stone: he specializes in affordable stones that look good enough.... you should have bought from Whiteflash, excel, supercert or GOG--Further this stone you bought is EXTREMELY deep for a round which makes it face up smaller than it should. you could have gotten a .8 that was perfectly cut that faced up bigger than this.

Honestly, I''m starting to believe that you have a personal issue with Mark. You take every opportunity you can to make sure that posters here know that. I respect your opinion that you did not have a good experience but to say that Mark isn''t know for superbly cut stones is rediculous. Just because he didn''t talk about it with you doesn''t mean he can''t or won''t. Most people he has as customers are far less educated and the OP gave some tough constraints, he''s not going to get it right every time but that doesn''t mean he can''t.


I went to another ps vendor to look at stones in person before we were ready to buy and didn''t see the most amazing stones, but I don''t bash them everytime someone posts about their experience. So my question to you is, why?

Thank you for saying what I was thinking.

And to the OP - that sounds like great news!! I can''t wait to see pics (either way) - so make sure you come back!