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EcoDiamond.com Any reviews or comments?

ChristineRose

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
926
Their website hates me but I did get to look at your stone. There's not enough info there to evaluate it though.

I would trust GCAL on the color and clarity grade.

This is probably a Gemesis/Brilliant Earth diamond. You might even be able to find it on their website. You can usually tell if there's an inscription mentioned, but again, not enough info.

A very good cut is not actually very good. Likewise I1 is not so great, and I color will show visible tint to most people, at least in some lighting. So it's a mediocre stone at best.

I did a search on PS for comparable mined diamonds, and the price range was $11,170 to $6,900. . The really cheap one has some ugly inclusions. The others were in the range of $8,000 to $9,000. So it's likely that a comparable mined stone would be $1,100 to $2,100 more, so it's about 15% lower, which is typical.
Lab stones are typically about 15% less than mined stones, although there's no hard rule. So I would say that this price is not out of line. But I also noted that their SI2 stones are a lot more, leading me to suspect that this has some inclusions. I wouldn't be shocked if this is comparable to an $8,000 mined stone--I, I1, VG cut, inclusions typical to below average for an I1 but too dirty for most people's taste.

Also the site has ecoDiamonds and a coated cubic zirconia, which they call the "ecoDiamond simulant." They also insist it's not a CZ--using the logic that a coated CZ is sort of not a CZ, I guess. This is a common scam. On the plus side, they are open about them not being diamonds, which is more than I can say for a lot of these sellers.
 

glion

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 3, 2017
Messages
2
Thanks ChristineRose.

I dont know much about Diamonds... I'm wanting something around 2ct+ and I'd like to spend around $10,000. What would you say is the sweet spot for Size, Cut, Color etc? If I compare the 2 below, the Excellent has around a $2,200 premium over the Ideal. What would you say is the best deal around, I'm happy with a non lab diamonds if that work out cheaper.

Also I've read the if I take a Lab diamond into a jewelry store, an experienced jeweler won't be able to tell its a lab diamond, that requires specialist testing equipment. Is this true?

2.01-Carat Round Diamond
This Ideal-cut, H-color, and SI1-clarity diamond comes accompanied by a diamond grading report from IGI. US$9,909

https://apps.gemfind.net/Ringbuilde...&Isdiamond=0&CustID=&SettingSKU=&CountryCode=

2.01-Carat ROUND Diamond
This EXCELLENT-cut, H-color, and SI1-clarity diamond comes accompanied by a diamond grading report from IGI. US$12,130

https://apps.gemfind.net/Ringbuilde...&Isdiamond=0&CustID=&SettingSKU=&CountryCode=
 

ChristineRose

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 5, 2012
Messages
926
Hi glion.

You will certainly have a better selection if you go with a mined stone, and the helpful folks at
RockyTalky will find the best possible one for $10,000.

It is true that a jeweler cannot tell if a stone is a lab diamond. But all legitimate growers inscribe their stones and a jeweler can read that. In addition, many fake stones are sold as lab diamonds and any jeweler can find those. In any case, IGI has the equipment, and you should never buy an uncerted diamond anyhow.

You can find a ton of useful info on this site, but I'll give you some starting points.
Certification--normally you should only look at GIA and AGS, but they won't grad a lab stone. Your options are IGI and GCAL. Both are decent, not great. The way to get around this make sure your seller has a good return policy and hire an independent appraiser who is knowledgeable in lab diamonds to look at your stone.

Color--most people start to see color in normal circumstances around H. Bargain hunters often look for G and H. Some people are happy going down to J, which is a warm tint, not yellow.

Clarity--Anything VS2 or higher is likely to be fine. SI1 can be eye clean. Sometimes these have a flaw that no one notices but which the wearer will never unsee once they find it. Bargain hunters look for these good SI1. Even at SI1 a casual observer who isn't sticking their nose into your hand will likely not see the flaw.

Cut--makes the most difference to the diamond. Pricescopers use the HCA to narrow down online diamonds to those that are most likely to be will cut. The second one is Excellent cut and they don't post the measurements. Excellent sounds great, but it's a step below ideal. Without someone to actually look a the stones for you, I'd stick to Ideal. You could ask for more info on the Excellent. There isn't enough here to evaluate it.

The first one scores a .6 on the HCA--Ideal cut! Definitely worth pursuing.

Can you get pictures or Idealscope images? One of the problems with lab diamonds is that so few dealers sell them. The dealer you have found likely does not own the diamond you have picked out. You need to determine if it really is as well cut as it seems to be and how visible the inclusions are.
 

denverappraiser

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jul 21, 2004
Messages
9,150
Also I've read the if I take a Lab diamond into a jewelry store, an experienced jeweler won't be able to tell its a lab diamond, that requires specialist testing equipment. Is this true?
The usual way to tell in a decisive way is with some fairly expensive equipment that rather few stores have. Like a lot of things, it's easy with the right tools. The #2 way is to read the report written by someone who has the tools. That one isn’t that hard. Can a jeweler/gemologist make a positive stone ID with just a loupe? No. Just out of curiosity, why do you ask?
 

denverappraiser

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jul 21, 2004
Messages
9,150
'Ideal' is a grade used by some labs, most notably AGS, that is above Excellent. GIA doesn't use it. I think you may be seeing a bias towards a particular lab or perhaps some other variable like fluorescence or transparency but as a rule, Excellent does not cost more than Ideal.
 
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