Re: Canadian Diamonds

[aj55]

Wat is the difference between branded CDN diamonds such as ekat or the polar bear inscription that some come with to CDN diamonds that are not branded?

thanks.

 

[denverappraiser]

AJ55,

Branding has been a pretty hot topic lately. It doesn't just relate to Canadian stones or even just diamonds. It's very difficult to say which is 'better' because this depends on what you consider to be the most valuable elements of your purchase. It's kind of like Coke vs. Pespi vs. all those other brands at the market. The branded stones you mentioned are the products of particular companies that have a particular program that they hope you will identify with. Unbranded stones are very popular because they usually come at a lower price. Both of the companies that you mentioned produce excellent stones. There are others as well.

I realize that this was a pretty vague answer to your question. Was there somethins specific that you were thinking of?

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[yowahking]

Some of the Canadian companies guarantee that the diamond is mined, cut, certified, in Canada. Some are just mined there. There is some controversy over that in the industry, I find that customers really don't care. Most of the Canadian diamonds are a tad more money. The ones that own one think it is worth it, most find a similar diamond elsewhere. If the African conflict diamonds continue to make press, it will help the North American "buy ours" campaign.

 

[aj55]

thanks for your replies. I am looking at this RBC CDN Diamond. Any opinions?. $3800 US


ags 000, color: f, clarity: si1, carat: .776

measurement: 5.87 - 5.90 * 3.66

table: 55%
total depth: 62.1
crown angle: 35 degrees
pavillion angle: 40.7 degrees
girdle thickness: medium
culet size: pointed

 

[valeria101]

Sounds good... but there is some (tight) competition

The little extra depth of the piece make it a bit smaller compared to the 6mm I would expect from those near 80 points. The price sounds more like F-VS1 than F-SI1 to me (and there are a couple of F VS1 Harts and Arrows of 0.8cts listed for just below $3800).

 

[aj55]

thanks for the response Valeria,

But i do want a CDN Diamond certified by AGS and am willing to pay the little extra for it.Can you explain 6mm that you would expect?....how would i calculate that?.

Thanks Again

 

[yowahking]

Are you looking at CDN mined only, or certified to be mined and cut there? Both are available. I think that only one company is authorized by the Canadian GOV"T to have the whole paper trail from mine to dealer all in Canada. At least that is what they told me in June at the Vegas show.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

----------------
On 8/22/2004 12:47:55 PM yowahking wrote:

Some of the Canadian companies guarantee that the diamond is mined, cut, certified, in Canada. Some are just mined there. There is some controversy over that in the industry, I find that customers really don't care. Most of the Canadian diamonds are a tad more money. The ones that own one think it is worth it, most find a similar diamond elsewhere. If the African conflict diamonds continue to make press, it will help the North American 'buy ours' campaign. ----------------

I have been raising a possibly new idea in the industry: "that selling Canadian diamonds as Non-Conflict diamonds hurts the very people who the do-gooders are trying to protect."

Angola, Sierra Leone and the DRC have all made giant leaps forward in cleaning up the rebel movements and the forced labor. The diamond industry has put the Kimberley process in place to stop smuggling. Most people in the diamond manufacturing industry are devoutly religious and inherently good (but tough) people.

It is now time to PROMOTE diamonds from poor African countries. I would like to see the Canadian Govt
(who were one of the first to act to stop the strife in West Africa) realsie that they are riding on the coat tails by promoting Canadian diamonds as conflict free. The higher prices for Candadian diamonds are in a way at the expense of diamonds from Africa.

We need to find ways to promote diamonds that have come through legitimate channels and had the export taxes paid so that the money can be invested in health and education programs in those poor nations.

 

[quaeritur]

I'm not Valeria, but this is the size range I was just shopping too... I got a .79ct that is 6.05-6.07 or 6.02-6.05 in diameter (depending on which Sarin machine you believe). I once found a .773 that was about 5.98-6.02 in diameter. Those are the highest I found for those carat weights in my own search. So basically, a well-cut .80ct diamond should be just about 6mm in diameter. And a 1ct about 6.5. As I recall, the depth on those stones with nice spread was about 3.62mm (with a total depth <62%).

I seem to recall that cflutist posted a chart giving approximate diameters by carat weight recently... you might want to do a search for it.

Still, I don't think you're too far off here. For a .776 I'd like the diameter to be around 5.95, but this stone is quite close. It's probably because of the slightly steeper crown (something that I don't think is a prob w/this stone, because it has a nice 40.7 pavilion angle to complement it). Do you know the percentage range for the girdle? If it's toward the thicker end of medium, that may be contributing to the slightly smaller spread.

Do you have any other info, like IdealScope image, to help you gauge the potential performance of this stone?

 

[aj55]

no unfortunately the dealer is in canada and doesnt have any other images...I am considering buying local for piece of mind more than anything....

 

[aj55]

hey cut nut....is there a website where you are able to track a particular diamond with its serial number?

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 8/23/2004 2:51:46 AM aj55 wrote:

hey cut nut....is there a website where you are able to track a particular diamond with its serial number?----------------

They'd wish

I trlly do not believe this is so clear and simple though.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

The Canada mark program is meant to make this possible - everyone in the pipeline is supposed to keep 7 years of records.

 

[aj55]

anybody know of good jewellers in vancouver, canada?...and can you run tests such as ideal scope or brilliance scope with just the specs of a stone?.