Frustrated with B&M

[RockyTop]

I don''t live in a major city so I don''t have access to a lot of options in terms of B&M. Furthermore, the customer service and knowledge (I feel like I know more than they do half the time) leaves something to be desired. I get the run around everytime I ask for any details about the stones beyond the basic 4 Cs. I am not opposed to buying on-line, but I''m concerned about getting a stone that looks great sight unseen. Is it enough to simply use the (table, girdle, depth, etc...) measurements from the ideal cut charts to ensure you will receive a great diamond? I have a budget of $5k and want to get a well-cut ~1 carat princess cut, but don''t know how much I will have to sacrifice in terms of color and clarity.

Thank you in advance.

 

[YoungPapa]

RockyTop,

If you have five grand to spend on a one carat princess you won''t have to sacrifice anything. You could easily afford as high as "E" color and "VS1" clarity, not to mention a GIA report and excellent proportions. Knock your requirements down to say a "G-SI1" and you''ll have an extra thousand bucks to go with your beautiful diamond.

Is laboratory information enough to make an informed decision? Absolutely. Is it every bit of information available on a diamond? No. A sarin or ogi report will give you crown height - typically higher is better. An idealscope or firescope will show light leakage, but that''s only valuable if you''ve got something relative to compare. I personally would concentrate most on making sure you find a nice SI1 (assuming you go that route) and sticking to GIA reports.

 

[RockyTop]

Thanks for your prompt answer.

1) I''m comfortable in going down to a G in color as I have been viewing lots of diamonds in person. However, I don''t feel comfortable about the clarity designations. I''ve read that some SI1s are eye clean while other are not. Is there anyway of finding out whether they are eye-clean when dealing with an on-line dealer.

2) When using the princess cut charts, how does having characteristics in different categories affect the overall grade and appearance of the diamond? (Ex. if the Table is within 62-68% but the crown height is less than 10%)

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

Date: 12/2/2004 8:52:54 PM
Author: RockyTop
Thanks for your prompt answer.

Is there anyway of finding out whether they are eye-clean when dealing with an on-line dealer.

If the dealer has the stone in stock, he can tell you. If not, he may be able to bring it in to view and then tell you. Just ask!

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/2/2004 8:52:54 PM
Author: RockyTop
Thanks for your prompt answer.

1) Is there anyway of finding out whether they are eye-clean when dealing with an on-line dealer.

2) When using the princess cut charts, how does having characteristics in different categories affect the appearance of the diamond?

Just IMO:

for 1) - online sellers are at a disadvantage here: magnified pictures (using diffuse lighting, or darkfield) show inclusions lots worse than you can see them. So, basically, what is "eye clean" face up in a picture will always be eye clean in mounting, but lots of "eye clean" stones will show inclusions when photographed

for 2) - numbers don''t help allot. At least not a few numbers: for ex. the upcoming AGS cut grades for princess cuts are based on lots more numbers than table, depth and crown height. It is not practical to go into so much numerology when direct tests of light return (like the Idealscope and Brilliancescope) are that much safer.

 

[perry]

Numbers only help so far. If you have a few days, I suggest that you take a small part of your 5K - say about $120 - and immediately buy an idealscope and the small light table (under tools upper left). YOu should have it in a week - or if you are in a rush goto Dave Atlas's site (under appraisers - upper left) and have him ship it to you next day.

Spend a hour learning how different diamonds look - and the box has a great series of pictures.

I personally recommend the professional model, and if you want to get extragant you can get a loupe and tweezer set for a few more $.

With this tool you will be able to quickly (say in 10 - 20 minutes) sort through the B&M's inventory to find the "good" looking diamonds. It is the best way I know to quickly and easily see if you are getting a relativly good diamond - or getting a dog. Keep in mind that the lighting in jewelry stores makes almost every diamond sparkle. That is not an indication of how they will look in normal everyday lighting. A good idealscope image can tell you that.

Many of the online vendors post Ideal-Scope (or similar) pictures of their better cut diamonds so that you can judge cut quality as well.

Perry

 

[windowshopper]

hey rocky top--

even here in nyc people look at you cross eyed when you ask for that information................i bought my stone online, (after getting really screwed years ago by buying a very very expensive stone from a family jeweler...who provided a cert which at the time meant nothing to me.) It was in fact sent to an independant appraiser (not a retail jewelry establishment) before I even paid for it and then i decided if i wanted to buy. Then I had tenmore days to think about it. I actually belive that the cert is a pretty darn good indicator of what you are going to get--ask for and get the crown hieght and there you have a pretty good three dimensional visual ...........i think all the idealscope scope stuff is largely mental masturbation but I am not a science geek................

 

[YoungPapa]

mental masterbation?

windowshopper you are a woman after my own heart.

 

[windowshopper]

you have no idea...they all say that!

 

[windowshopper]

rocky top -just realize there are a bunch of diamond psychos on pricescope (dears each and every one

) but it never ends --that is-- the quest for the PERFECT diamond...............

there arent any. or damn few 70% is on paper the rest is in your head. i chose a diamond that has many qualities that make it amazing and then some that de-value it on the chart of life (rappaport) but thats okay because i got what i wanted for a price i could afford.

idealscope is a neat tool but its really just a failsafe..........meaning if a number or two on your stone from the cert or sarin is a little off --enough to inspire concern--then you maybe do idealscope to make sure those numbers are portents of evil (just kidding--light leakage). If the numbers from the cert and sarin look good...............then its your eyes only

 

[RockyTop]

windowshopper-
did you buy a loose diamond and then have it mounted or did you get your stone mounted by the online seller?

 

[perry]

Windowshopper:

I believe you miss my point. With an Ideal Scope you do not need Sarin. Megascope reports, or certs at al (and it took one local jeweler here a week to get the Sarin numbers on a diamond I was initially interested in).

You just go into the local jeweler, and look at the diamonds with the Ideal Scope, and choose a great looking diamond (with the ideal scope) - and you have a diamond that will do very well in ordinary light. You should be able to choose your diamond in 20 to 30 minutes (if they have a good one, and if not - you are better off elsewhere).

No disrupting the jeweler with request for information they don't have (and may have to send the diamond out to get).

Yes, there are those on this site who want both perfect numbers and a perfect ideal-scope image. But, it is amazing what can be done without all those numbers with just an Ideal-scope.

Look, and it is good - or it is not so good (and I don't think you have any idea how bad some of those diamonds in the stores look under an ideal-scope. You are used to seeing all of these near ideal or ideal pictures that represent the top couple of % of diamonds (based on cut quality); not what most diamonds look like.

No masturbation involved at all. Much more satisfying...

 

[windowshopper]

bought it online BUT it is being mounted by the diamonds actual owner (from whom the online vendor purchases...) the online vendor could easily do it but i have a rather specific setting (copy of an antique) that made it impractical