'Ebay old cut diamond purchase - good buy?

[wolftress]

I recently purchased this on ebay for US$1000. However, the seller has been giving me the runaround and 1 week after payment, the item still hasn''t been shipped - and won''t be until next Wednesday.

I am tempted to just tell her to forget about the sale (she has given me the option of a refund due to these circumstances). But if this really is a good buy, then I''m willing to wait however long it takes for it to arrive.

I would really love some guidance about which way to go.

Specs:
Ladies antique diamond engagement ring set in platinum.

The center diamond is 6.28 mm, .90 ct, large culet, color J and clarity SI2. There are four additional diamonds, .01 ct each, .04 ct total. Total diamond weight is .94 ct.

The mounting is 7.76mm with a 1.73mm shank. Weight of the piece is 2.1 grams, condition is excellent and age is 1940''s.

Appraised Replacement value at that time: $4,975.00

This ring was recently professionally cleaned. There are no cracks in the band and all diamonds are secure.

By the way, I noticed that there is no way it could add up to .94ct if there are 8 .1 side diamonds... so maybe the centre diamond is .84ct?

Here''s a pic

 

[wolftress]

the weird yellow reflections on the surface are worrying...

 

[wolftress]

another...

 

[wolftress]

at least it looks like it has good crown height...

 

[wolftress]

last pic

 

[door knob solitaire]

Your question was IS IT A GOOD BUY?

All I can add to your decision process is skepticism. Unless it is from a vendor with a great record of sales, and also a vendor that allows you to return if it is not as they claim...I would walk.

She has already demonstrated her integrity on the delay of shipment.

If she is in the states the holiday work week will more than likely add more delay to your receival of the package. A respected ebayer would ship the same or next day of payment. Period.

Sorry to add doubt to your delimma. But a thousand clams is still a thousand clams in my book.

DKS

 

[cinnamon013]

I''d ask for my money back.

 

[risingsun]

The stone appears cloudy, to me. I think I'm seeing an inclusion from the side view--unless it's a thread or dust. I would pass on this one.

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

I am confused, do we know who graded it decided the color, or for that matter, who gave you the ct weigt? I also dont really like the cut, its looks pretty bad to me even when considering it is not a Modern RB, but I dont have a trained eye for this sortof thing.

and like you were noting the description lists 4 additional diamonds, but the pictures shows 4. I wouldnt give them 1k of my money.

 

[snlee]

I''d ask for a refund. The diamond doesn''t look like it has a very good cut. It looks cloudy and if it''s supposed to be a round, it doesn''t look perfectly round to me.

 

[Ninama]

Date: 9/2/2007 2:50:13 AM
Author:wolftress


By the way, I noticed that there is no way it could add up to .94ct if there are 8 .1 side diamonds... so maybe the centre diamond is .84ct?

"There are four additional diamonds, .01 ct each, .04 ct total."

The side diamonds are .01... (not .1). That''s 1/100th of a carat as opposed to 1/10th. Or one tenth of one tenth of one carat.... or.... vewwy teeny.

 

[wolftress]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I know buying on ebay is soooo risky, but I really want an old cut diamond, and there aren''t many antique jewellery dealers in Melbourne.

It''s actually an OEC, so I am finding it hard to tell whether it''s a good buy or not. They are SO reflective. I''m hoping someone with experience in old cut diamonds will chime in. I''ve only ever seen really tiny ones in person, so it''s hard to judge from these pics if it''s a good diamond or not. If it is, then $1000 is a steal. But if it isn''t... then it''s a huge waste of money.

I have no idea who did the appraisal... the listing just says it comes with an appraisal. Aiieee... I''m a disgrace to PS

The listing says I can return the ring if it is not as described... but do I really want to wait another two weeks to find out?? Is it worth the risk and the cost to post it back?

 

[WorkingHardforSmallRewards]

I think you need to either recreate the thread under a new name, or send a message to Pricescope to change this one.

the title "ebay purchase" is probably not really capturing the attention of those OEC experts/fans out there. but if you retitled it asking for advice on an OEC, I bet you would get a bunch of replys and advise.

 

[wolftress]

Thank you for changing my title, Andrey! Sorry about forgetting to include the link... I''m still learning

 

[AdaBeta27]

"A respected ebayer would ship the same or next day of payment. Period. "

Now wait a minute. Not necessarily. A payment made by PayPal can be "pending" for 2-4 days. After it gets to the seller's PayPal, it may take another 3-4 days to be transferred out to the seller's bank account. Recently, PayPal has been all about protecting buyers and leaving sellers SOL if they get a chargeback, a reversal, or a "pending" payment that does not go through. Really, no prudent seller should ship an item until he or she has the money out of the PayPal account. The only thing "instant" about PayPal is how fast they grab the buyer's money. Payouts are made at PayPal's convenience. By PayPal rules, sellers have 7 days or 10 days or so to get the item shipped. The prudent ones will run out the clock to hep protect themselves from chargebacks, especially on big ticket items.


As for the ring, the cut may not be so bad. The ring could be dirty. The stone could probably stand a re-polish; it looks abraded to me but I could be wrong. I just buy old stuff, and I an no expert. The are some sellers who just put old diamond jewelry on ebay as-found, dirt and all. Some won't take the time to get the most flattering pics, or won't invest $200 in a decent camera. I bought the OEC platinum dinner or cocktail cluster ring I posted in Jewelry, and some diamond earrings from an estate. The ring looked good on ebay and looks fantastic with just the cleaning and polish I could do at home. The earrings looked even worse than this stone in the ebay pics, and they are first rate now that they have been cleaned.

The 4 vs. 8 diamonds sounds like clerical error on the appraisal. My OEC 3-stone also has 2 small diamonds in the shank, but they aren't mentioned in the appraisal. The valuation seems in the right ballpark for a full retail value of that ring. The appraisal sounds like the info you'd typically get when you ask most jewelers for an appraisal.

 

[wolftress]

Date: 9/3/2007 9:42:54 PM
Author: AdaBeta27
''A respected ebayer would ship the same or next day of payment. Period. ''

Now wait a minute. Not necessarily. A payment made by PayPal can be ''pending'' for 2-4 days. After it gets to the seller''s PayPal, it may take another 3-4 days to be transferred out to the seller''s bank account. Recently, PayPal has been all about protecting buyers and leaving sellers SOL if they get a chargeback, a reversal, or a ''pending'' payment that does not go through. Really, no prudent seller should ship an item until he or she has the money out of the PayPal account. The only thing ''instant'' about PayPal is how fast they grab the buyer''s money. Payouts are made at PayPal''s convenience. By PayPal rules, sellers have 7 days or 10 days or so to get the item shipped. The prudent ones will run out the clock to hep protect themselves from chargebacks, especially on big ticket items.


As for the ring, the cut may not be so bad. The ring could be dirty. The stone could probably stand a re-polish. The are some sellers who just put old diamond jewelry on ebay as-found, dirt and all. Some won''t take the time to get the most flattering pics, or won''t invest $200 in a decent camera. I bought the OEC platinum dinner or cocktail cluster ring posted in Jewelry, and some diamond earrings from an estate. The ring looked good on ebay and looks fantastic with just the cleaning and polish I could do at home. The earrings looked even worse than this stone, and they are stunning now that they have been cleaned.

That''s a little reassuring, Ada. The seller has kept in constant contact with me and is apologetic about the delay. But... I''m just having second thoughts about the item itself and I''m not sure if it''s worth waiting for.

 

[AdaBeta27]

You''d think that the seller would offer some explanation of why the shipping is taking so long. Look through the PayPal policies and if she''s taking longer than whatever that limit is (it might be 10 days), you could remind her and then iniate a complaint through PayPal if the policy is not being complied with. I''ve bought rather a lot of estate and used jewelry and I''ve never had a seller not ship the item. I think some maybe gave inflated appraisals but sale price was low so I didn''t care very much.