The snow held off for long enough on Saturday for my appraisal with Martin Fuller as planned!
Firstly, a big thumbs up to Martin
- my husband and I were thoroughly impressed with his expertise and his very easy and gracious manner. We were able to watch him working with the microscope as it was hooked up to a digital camera and monitor and he pointed out the inclusions and extra facets. He also answered my many questions throughout the course of the appraisal and we had a very positive dialogue during our hour. Additionally, he allowed (and even encouraged) us to compare our stone to his master set to compare the color for ourselves, in addition to his assessment. It was a very informative session and it may possibly be the best $175 I''ve ever spent!
My mixed feelings come into play because my stone appraised as a 3.08 carat old mine, M-color, SI1 with strong fluorescence (it is blue with a slight hint of green... really cool). I purchased the stone from a very reputable and trustworthy vendor, under the impression that it was of J/K color. The stone faces-up very white, which Martin noted, partly because of the strong fluorescence. It even threw off the colorimeter, which read it as a K. However, I saw for myself, compared to the masters, that from the pavilion, it was definitely not a K. I was not looking for an icy-white stone, and I knew that buying an ungraded stone has it''s risks, but it was hard enough finding an old miner without a report, let alone demanding a GIA or AGS grading report (I did see some EGL-stones that were WAY off from what was stated on the report)...
Don''t get me wrong, I still really like the stone and think it''s beautiful... I''m still within my return period and although I like the stone, part of me thinks I ought to return it on principle. Had it been a K, we got a very good price - $14,500. As an M-colored stone, I''m not so sure.
Martin is doing some additional research and will get back to me on Monday with more pricing info - e.g., whether there is any kind of premium attached to my stone.
Looking at Pscope searches of round cut diamonds (not enough cushions or old miners to compare) that are K SI1 vs M SI1 shows the M stones at a MUCH lower price. I''m planning to at the very least, contact the vendor to let him know the results of the appraisal.
Any advice??
Firstly, a big thumbs up to Martin
My mixed feelings come into play because my stone appraised as a 3.08 carat old mine, M-color, SI1 with strong fluorescence (it is blue with a slight hint of green... really cool). I purchased the stone from a very reputable and trustworthy vendor, under the impression that it was of J/K color. The stone faces-up very white, which Martin noted, partly because of the strong fluorescence. It even threw off the colorimeter, which read it as a K. However, I saw for myself, compared to the masters, that from the pavilion, it was definitely not a K. I was not looking for an icy-white stone, and I knew that buying an ungraded stone has it''s risks, but it was hard enough finding an old miner without a report, let alone demanding a GIA or AGS grading report (I did see some EGL-stones that were WAY off from what was stated on the report)...
Don''t get me wrong, I still really like the stone and think it''s beautiful... I''m still within my return period and although I like the stone, part of me thinks I ought to return it on principle. Had it been a K, we got a very good price - $14,500. As an M-colored stone, I''m not so sure.
Martin is doing some additional research and will get back to me on Monday with more pricing info - e.g., whether there is any kind of premium attached to my stone.
Looking at Pscope searches of round cut diamonds (not enough cushions or old miners to compare) that are K SI1 vs M SI1 shows the M stones at a MUCH lower price. I''m planning to at the very least, contact the vendor to let him know the results of the appraisal.
Any advice??
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