Treasure hunt

[destarr]

After your help on the last diamond, I''m not as confident as I was on it before. After e-mailing the vendor my(your) concerns It seemed that she was not as confident as well and was discussing how I shoud go for something that is certified by a more reputable source, and that this stone could turn out worse by my appraiser than what its cert says, soooooo I thought I would get a bit of last minute help before I plunged completely. I am proposing on the fourth so I have to buy really soon (I.E. monday) to do it all. It seems that you all know what to look for and you know the basic ups-downs of a diamond from looking at what appears to be chinese to me (like a sarin report). Also you have a vast knowledge of the reputable vendors and their people. So rather than do all the work myself I will play tom sawyer and lend you all a brush. I''m looking for a diamond that is under 1800 (absolute highest) and is at least .75 carat (absolute lowest). The rest of the details are up to you. the setting will be a white gold, six prong, tiffany. If you want to e-mail me privately that is fine, but I would hate for others not to see your treasure hunting skills at there best. Please include why you picked the diamond and also any flaws to it (that you can obtain resonably) Once again you guys are great, I love reading the posts and I''m always surprised at the support that you guys give one another.
Less than ten days to go

Thanks all

 

[strmrdr]

does the 1800 include the setting?

 

[aljdewey]

I'm sorry to be the one to say it, but you are unlikely to find a diamond of any appreciable quality in that size range for $1800.




You may want to run a search on Pricescope and become more familiar with what diamonds in that range cost. It will help you adjust your parameters more realistically.

 

[strmrdr]

I agree even an el-crappo cut diamond in .75 was coming up more than 1800...
I thought it looked low but a search confirmrd it.

 

[Mara]

ditto the others, but here is what i found JUST SHY of .75c that should still be worth looking into:






http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=6880262


.73 H SI2 almost H&A $2100 (out of your budget, but gets you the H color)




http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=6880261


.72 I SI2 almost H&A $1800 (this one is definitely worth looking into. If its eye clean and it's well cut (get the angles), has a great IS image, it's an excellent price and at this ctw you can tell people its .75ctw because it will look bigger than any maul cut stone)




http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=2025330


.74 H SI2 'very best cut' $1890 (same with this one...could have great possibilities, need angles, its basically a .75c and its only $90 more than your budget..plus it's an H color, extra bonus. Make sure it's eye clean)




www.goodoldgold.com (brokered stone, must call for it)


.72c J SI1 H&A AGS0 HCA : 1.4 EX: $1880 (this one could be an option, it's H&A with an excellent cut, so you'd be sacrificing a tad bit of color with the J to get that exceptional cut...is it worth it? Only you can tell! Also again here you are so close with .75c you can just call it that and no one will know. Rounding is your friend)




If you can stretch your budget to something like $2200 even ...you may be able to get the ctw you want with an exceptional cut AND good color. BUT there isn't alot out there in that category right now. Also how much are you willing to sacrifice on color? J is pretty low..I wouldn't go lower than that in a white metal IMO...but if you dropped to a K or something, you'd get more ctw. J would still look really nice in a white color if the cut is top notch (e.g. H&A).




Tough call...can you put off the proposal for 6 months or so to get a bigger/better stone that meets your requirements, e.g. have more $$ saved up as well?

 

[elmo]

You didn't say it had to be round did you?

You can find a fairly nice radiant, oval, or emerald cut 0.75 H-I VS2-SI1 including setting at that price. Pick a dealer you trust to pick a nice one though

.

 

[destarr]

Price does not include the setting, yes it has to be round, and no I cannot put off the proposal, we have been together for 5 years now and I am ready, financially stable, and I have already made the plans for the proposal-

What makes this not one of your choices?-
http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=2004367

I have not even considered a H&A realizing that I cannot afford it for what I want.

I have found several diamonds that I have liked around the price range, but I thought you guys could help me find one that fits the criteria. STRMRDR- I'm not looking for a perfect stone- I am looking for what you guys think is the best buy within my criteria--The diamond must cost less than 1800 and must be bigger than .75--Whether I tell someone or not I have to tell her the truth and It matters to me that it is a true 3/4 or better---Sorry to rant, but realize that this has been very hard for me as well--Money will only get smaller from here--I'm on the edge of life about to take the plunge into true adulthood I.E. house, kids, career (I'm 22 right now). I need to propose to get the ball rolling and 1800 is the max budget. sorry folks my pockets are clean

 

[Mara]

destarr...the bottom line here is that you have a very limited budget for a well-cut .75c stone. So if you have found some options, great...check them out. I gave you some other options as well but there are slim-pickins out there for a well-cut stone without doing more research. That is something that you will need to do mostly for yourself, since you know your priorities the best.




The G SI2 stone you posted didn't come up when I searched, but looks like a possible option.




Also, to be really honest with you, IMO nitpicking about .01 or .03c is somewhat ridiculous considering that you should be looking at the whole package, not just whether or not the stone is .75c or above. Of course you should tell her the truth but if you are worried about what others think, telling them that its a 3/4 carat suffices in my opinion.




In my opinion, if I had $1800 as a max, I would try to find the largest stone possible without sacrificing on cut since that is what makes the stone look the best it possibly can. Sure it doesn't need to be H&A but it needs to be well-cut. So that would be my top priority. So guess what? I'd probably end up with something like an unbranded H&A .70c H SI2 and I'd be darn happy with it. Upset that I sacrificed all of .05c of size for my excellent cut? Not a whit. Because hands down this type of well-cut stone would probably outshine another stone that was cut for carat weight retention (e.g. to reach .75c..the type of stone you are looking for).




That is the compromise I would make. But if you really need that .05c extra weight....your cut will most likely take the hit--maybe in a deep pavilion or a thick girdle. If you know that...then at least it's full disclosure...and you know what you are getting.




My best advice is to continue to look, and try to find something with a good IdealScope image, that may be your best in judging how good the stone will look in person. Check out the stones above that may meet your criteria but it sounds like you found some on your own. Careful with EGL certs, make sure they are really what they say (color and clarity), because sometimes they can be lenient. If you can find a good EGL cert then you may save yourself some $$. Good luck.

 

[valeria101]

----------------
On 12/27/2003 12:04:33 AM destarr wrote:

Whether I tell someone or not I have to tell her the truth and It matters to me that it is a true 3/4 or better.

----------------

Chances are that your 3/4 will lool like many smaller, havier stones out there. In this size range, the depth of the cut has alot of impact on the diameter: so a nice cut jus below 60% deep will give you a larger stone than most commercial-quality (in the bad way) diamond will be. For some reazon (there is a thread somewher about this), if diamonds are cut "badly" they are cut too deep rather than too shallow. So: get a larger looking 3/4 and you can tell this to your girl ths little anecdote about weight and size too

BTW: you surely have enough going into a very nice ring indeed. Not too mention that the stone's weight may, by now, mean more to you than to her (5 years!!! wow!). Surely I stand behind each and every piece of advice you have already got.

 

[valeria101]

The three stones below show what I mean...

 

[valeria101]

About the G-SI2:

Looking at the definition of "very best cuts" on the respective website, there is no mention to the parameters which indicate probable great light return (the depth or angles of the crwn and pavilion). This stone may correspond to your desire for a great cut (in terms of optical properties, ot "light return"), but, just as well, may not. If any store would let you choose among diamonds with known optical properties on a short notice-that is GoodOldGold (provided they happen to have a stone within your parameters handy). Of course, there may be others posting light-return info about their stock, hopefully more info will be added to this post by others.
Your time constraint is not awesome for that kind of deal (end-of-year shopping, etc.) but why not try Jonathan? Otherwise, it may be useful to note that polish and symmetry as noted on a GIA cert do not guarantee anything about light return: indeedd, grades above "Good" are ubiquitous and visualy indistinguishable from anything better (= not worth much). Hope these help a bit...

 

[strmrdr]

Val hit on something Iv was thinking.
Your best bet may be give whiteflash and GOG a call/email and see what they can come up with.
Just remember that there isnt any free lunch in general there is a reason if one diamond is priced cheaper than another from the same type source.

 

[aljdewey]

Ditto everything Mara said. You should think about what's more important to you.....what the diamond looks like on paper, or what it looks like to your eye.




A mediocre cut diamond may say it's .75 on paper, but a well-cut .70 diamond will look bigger than the .75 mediocre cut diamond every time. You don't need H&A - you don't even need a super-duper louper.....it just has to be a decent cut.




Incidentally, mall stores do that all the time too. My diamond earrings are .70 total, and they were billed as 3/4 ct.

 

[fire&ice]

Your budget is 1800. You state you want 3/4. Technically, I think .74 is considered 3/4. I'm not absolutely sure - but I think the margin of error is .01. There is absolutely no reason to go with a H&A branded (more expensive) stone. Just find one with a good - very good make.

These stones have a very good possibility of being a nice make.

.74 I/SI1 58/61.3 ex ex $1650-1729
.76 J/SI2 56/61.7 vg $1740 *note the price jump per carat over 3/4
.73 I/SI 58/61 g/g $1740

Color will *not* be apparent in a stone this small. An I/J w/ a good make will face up plenty white. Also, SI 1/2/3 is the way to go.

Good luck. Also, as noted, give your budget to a few vendors. They may have something that fits you parameters. I did not see anything w/ med/strong blue fluor on PS except a K (which should be fine) but the girdle was very thin & a bit out of round. Try to see if any of them have a bl. fluor stone. This will help the stone face up whiter.

 

[strmrdr]

also it should be a good time of year to pick up a trade in at a nice discount.
This would allow you to get a better diamond for your money.

 

[fire&ice]

To throw out a few more:

.85 J/SI1 59/60.9 vg/vg $1829
.82 J/SI2 57/61.1 $1766 Dirt Cheap Diamonds
.80 I/I1 58/61.1 vg/ex $1540 Whiteflash

I would start search PS. Pay attention to the details (mm, table% depth% pol. sym, girdle) pick a few & start to investigate further. 60/60 stones may be for you. They can be very nice, spready & more affordable. Not ideal super sparkler - but good bang for the buck.

 

[Mara]

To add to F&I's note..if you call a vendor such as a WF or GOG who has a large inventory of stones, they will be able to hand-choose items for you that may not have the BEST numbers on paper but if the stone pops, they will know. So if you are uncomfortable with some of the off-makes and choosing yourself, get someone else involved who can see the stones in person. Your best bet at finding a great off-make. Good luck.

 

[destarr]

You guys are good, after reading your posts I do agree that I would be better off with the smaller size. I'm going to call GOG and see what they can do for me- With there rep I may even have it set by them (does any one know how long that takes them?) I did not realize that a smaller diamond cut better will look bigger than one cut wrong. If possible can anyone show me a picture showcasing this. Also Fire&Ice where is the the stone located that you listed here-

.74 I/SI1 58/61.3 ex ex $1650-1729

 

[fire&ice]

Regarding the 58 T 61.3D, it's listed on pricescope Whiteflash at 1729 - some sites list it for less but may or may not provide the same service. That one has more girdle so takes some of the carat weight "appearance". Personally, I would definitely look at the two .80 +/- J/Si1 & the Si2. This is the way of getting a larger stone than her friends (the problem w/ being the *last* one

- you have to outperform). A J is in the near colorless range, especially for a stone this size. Dirtcheapdiamonds.com would be a good one to contact. As long as you get a stone w/ a good make, this will blow away what her friends bought at the mall.

Read the tutorial about cut. Off makes w/ the right angles are tough to find. Mara is right. They are a bargin & worth looking for. If you can have the vendors do the looking great - but time is of the essence for your target date.

What is a "good" solid buy are the 1b- 2a (hence the 60/60 stones) stones. The ones that score in the 2-3.5+/- range of HCA ("good/very good" worth buying if the price is right") . These are easier to find. In the very good makes you will still get a real sparkler. Also, try to get med/strong blue fluor. It makes the stone "jumpier".

Again Good luck.

 

[strmrdr]

Some bad news from the GOG website with your time schedule:
Our store will be closed December 28th till January 5th.
Christen and Marie will be answering their e-mail on
Dec 29th and Dec 30th
If you are interested in purchasing a diamond on these two days we can ship it to you loose. We will not be able to set it in a mounting during this time.

 

[valeria101]

Yeah, talking with the seller (aside whatever warnings about holiday schedule they post) is the way to go against the clock. I too believe that J-K is a good choice in a very well cut small stone. Best of luck!

As for a picture showing what depth does to diameter... I don't have one handy. One way to describe this: see how the aria of a piramid base increases if you decrease the height and keep volume constant. The shape of a diamond will lead to an overly complicated formula, but this is a close analogy. And there is more: the 3D apearence of a diamond cannot be very well conveyed by a simple drawing: it has to be seen to be believed and you will shortly

Hope this helps!