Is our insurance company being fair?

[WinkHPD]

Well, this is true in a cash payout policy, but it seems like the OPs policy is a "replace with like kind" policy. These policies are usually cheaper than the cash payout policies for the very reason that the insurance company knows that they won't be paying $5000 to replace a diamond that is appraised for $5000.

In my younger years I used to do a lot of insurance replacement work. I have first hand knowledge that the comment by TreeScientist is true.

However, if necessary, they will pay up to $5000 to replace the item in kind and the client is totally entitled to kick in extra if he or she wants to upgrade above what was lost. In Idaho, you are also entitled to work with the replacement jeweler of your choice, so long as that jeweler is willing to charge the insurance company based on their scheduled markup rates and provide a copy of their invoicing from their vendor for the insurance company to pay from.

Wink

 

[BlingDreams]

Insurance is not there to give you better than what you had. If I understand correctly the cert on the right is the insureds which was only a good cut. An insurance company is going to replace with comparable- not give you a better diamond.

Agreed. I had only looked at the diamond they were offering, and not the one they were replacing. Unfortunately it looks like they're in a tough spot. Hopefully they can just cash out and start all over.

 

[MollyMalone]

As a general FYI:
At the time I was exploring my insurance options for some family jewelry pieces I'd inherited, Jewelers Mutual offered me an "agreed-upon value" policy since the jewelry could not be readily replicated or found in the modern market. But (understandably enough imo because of the fraud potential), the premium for that was more than a trifling amount above the premium for their standard personal jewelry policy.
I don't know if JM is presently offering that kind of policy -- which guarantees you a check in the amount mutually agreed upon -- to consumers who own antique or unique jewelry pieces or vintage collector watches; I find their new-ish website harder to navigate, less informative, than the old one.

 

[Mikeeb123]

Thanks everyone. We're based in the UK, and the insurer has offered us £5.5K (roughly $7K) cash or they will find another replacement. Would you recommend taking the cash, or ask them to source a diamond to the spec that ilikeshiny suggested? Many thanks

 

[the_mother_thing]

@Mikeeb123 “Go on, take the money and run ...”

Then come back here and post your specs and budget, and let PSers help find your wife a stellar diamond & ring to replace her lost one.

 

[sledge]

Thanks everyone. We're based in the UK, and the insurer has offered us £5.5K (roughly $7K) cash or they will find another replacement. Would you recommend taking the cash, or ask them to source a diamond to the spec that ilikeshiny suggested? Many thanks

Take the money and run! IMO, that is an excellent payout from the prices I was seeing and leaves you some wiggle room to upgrade to a better cut stone from elsewhere. My 2 cents, don't let the insurance people play jeweler.

 

[lovedogs]

Take the money and find a better cut stone. It's great that they are offering cash!

 

[Mikeeb123]

Thank you so much for all of your help. This forum has been amazing. Bearing in mind we need to use some of that money to purchase a platinum band (and then get the diamond mounted on to it) what type of stone should we be aiming at for that price?

 

[LJsapphire]

@Mikeeb123 I'm in the UK also, do you have separate jewellery insurance? My ring is currently under our home insurance but I found out that they only offer vouchers so I'm shopping around as it's not something we could just buy again from the high street.

 

[BlingDreams]

Yes! Take the money and we can start from scratch with no strings attached

 

[sledge]

Thank you so much for all of your help. This forum has been amazing. Bearing in mind we need to use some of that money to purchase a platinum band (and then get the diamond mounted on to it) what type of stone should we be aiming at for that price?

What kind of platinum setting did your girl have before? Any pictures, or a brand/model number you can reference? Trying to figure out how much of the $7k USD we can use for diamond and how much for the setting.

Also, are you hoping to replace with the same size, or do you plan on trying to upgrade any at all? If upgrading, do you have any of your own cash to put with the insurance money?

If identical, here is one stone I found early on that appeared gorgeous from the specs. Worth asking about and getting an ASET or IS image.

But I have to be honest, if it were me, I'd probably consider a G+ color, drop clarity to a clean SI1 or better and try to squeeze more size and ideal cut into the picture.

0.62ct D IF $4,096 (55 table, 61.4 depth, 34.5/40.8, H&A and 75 LGF<fat arrows>)
http://diamonddealfinder.com/enquiry.php?id_field=169715
https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=2185456328&s=1534521204011

 

[BlingDreams]

Thank you so much for all of your help. This forum has been amazing. Bearing in mind we need to use some of that money to purchase a platinum band (and then get the diamond mounted on to it) what type of stone should we be aiming at for that price?

Would you like to stay with D/IF specs? I'd say that 99.5% of us on here would tell you that's overkill, and that by dropping to an F/VS would still look pretty much the same visually but would allow you to get a much larger stone. And if you go with a super ideal cut diamond (which are the ones I'm linking to below), even G still faces up very white due to its precision (I actually just bought a super ideal .72ct G/SI1 from HPDiamonds).

I would suggest looking at these to start with -

.73 F/VS1 ($4,426) https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9233

.77 G/VS1 ($4,21 https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9639

.81 F/VS2 ($4,784) https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3929365.htm

.91 G/VS2 ($6,417) https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3986322.htm (great size and specs, but not much left for a setting)

 

[Mikeeb123]

@Mikeeb123 I'm in the UK also, do you have separate jewellery insurance? My ring is currently under our home insurance but I found out that they only offer vouchers so I'm shopping around as it's not something we could just buy again from the high street.

We had it as a listed item under our home insurance

 

[LJsapphire]

We had it as a listed item under our home insurance

thanks, mine too. Have started looking at specialist jewellery insurance and ringing other insurance companies ready to change when its up for renewal.

 

[sledge]

Would you like to stay with D/IF specs? I'd say that 99.5% of us on here would tell you that's overkill, and that by dropping to an F/VS would still look pretty much the same visually but would allow you to get a much larger stone. And if you go with a super ideal cut diamond (which are the ones I'm linking to below), even G still faces up very white due to its precision (I actually just bought a super ideal .72ct G/SI1 from HPDiamonds).

I would suggest looking at these to start with -

.73 F/VS1 ($4,426) https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9233

.77 G/VS1 ($4,21 https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9639

.81 F/VS2 ($4,784) https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3929365.htm

.91 G/VS2 ($6,417) https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3986322.htm (great size and specs, but not much left for a setting)

I started looking earlier as well and got distracted.

Keep in mind, even though insurance payout is roughly $7k USD there will be some import duties & taxes to be taken into consideration since @Mikeeb123 is in the UK. OP can clarify but I'm guessing about 25%. Realistically I think that leaves about $5,250 for setting & diamond. Assuming it's a solitaire, I think a $4k USD +/- diamond is approximately where we are unless OP kicks in some extra money.

I know with the way HPD cuts their stones, the angles are supposed to matter less -- but that 0.77ct with 34.5 crow and 40.8 pavilion is the money shot! Wish the table was 54-55, but still very acceptable at 56.5. That is my favorite thus far, assuming OP or his SO isn't so color sensitive the G color is a problem.

 

[Mikeeb123]

What kind of platinum setting did your girl have before? Any pictures, or a brand/model number you can reference? Trying to figure out how much of the $7k USD we can use for diamond and how much for the setting.

Also, are you hoping to replace with the same size, or do you plan on trying to upgrade any at all? If upgrading, do you have any of your own cash to put with the insurance money?

If identical, here is one stone I found early on that appeared gorgeous from the specs. Worth asking about and getting an ASET or IS image.

But I have to be honest, if it were me, I'd probably consider a G+ color, drop clarity to a clean SI1 or better and try to squeeze more size and ideal cut into the picture.

This is the description/picture from a valuation we had. How much do you think we'd need to set aside for the setting? Also, we don't intend to sell it but want it to still be an investment just in case we fall on hard times. Would a G SI1 diamond be as desirable/go up in price as quickly as a DIF?

 

[BlingDreams]

I started looking earlier as well and got distracted.

Keep in mind, even though insurance payout is roughly $7k USD there will be some import duties & taxes to be taken into consideration since @Mikeeb123 is in the UK. OP can clarify but I'm guessing about 25%. Realistically I think that leaves about $5,250 for setting & diamond. Assuming it's a solitaire, I think a $4k USD +/- diamond is approximately where we are unless OP kicks in some extra money.

I know with the way HPD cuts their stones, the angles are supposed to matter less -- but that 0.77ct with 34.5 crow and 40.8 pavilion is the money shot! Wish the table was 54-55, but still very acceptable at 56.5. That is my favorite thus far, assuming OP or his SO isn't so color sensitive the G color is a problem.

Ah, very true. I forgot about that.

As a color-sensitive person I can tell you that the HPD G color shows no tint to me at all. In fact, all three of these are G (mine is the far right); the hint of yellow in the middle one is from some fire.

 

[BlingDreams]

This is the description/picture from a valuation we had. How much do you think we'd need to set aside for the setting? Also, we don't intend to sell it but want it to still be an investment just in case we fall on hard times. Would a G SI1 diamond be as desirable/go up in price as quickly as a DIF?

Diamonds should never be seen as investments. There's too much unknown, and there's always a large discount when reselling. However, HPD (high performance diamonds) offers a lifetime 80% buyback guarantee on any diamond they sell as long as it's undamaged. You really can't beat that for security.

That being said, it's harder to sell a D/IF because most people don't want to pay for the overkill. Yes, D/IF is the rarest of the rare, but that also means your market is MUCH smaller for resale.

G/VS is a sweet spot. Little to no tint and eye-clean (the vast majority of the time).

 

[the_mother_thing]

Just a thought for those who know CBI - if OP were to buy one, aren’t they available in the UK and thus possibly saving on some import duties?

I’m not sure but it may be worthwhile to consider if they are, as they have a great upgrade/buyback policy if ever needed, and it *might* help stretch OP’s replacement dollars a little more.

 

[BlingDreams]

Just a thought for those who know CBI - if OP were to buy one, aren’t they available in the UK and thus possibly saving on some import duties?

I’m not sure but it may be worthwhile to consider if they are, as they have a great upgrade/buyback policy if ever needed, and it *might* help stretch OP’s replacement dollars a little more.

Good thought!

Here are the UK locations:


I'm not sure if the 80% buyback policy is specific to HPD or to CBI. @Mikeeb123 would need to inquire about that. I'm also not sure if HPD's prices are the same as other CBI showrooms or less expensive since they do a high volume of business. Perhaps @Wink or @Winks_Elf could chime in?

 

[the_mother_thing]

I'm not sure if the 80% buyback policy is specific to HPD or to CBI. @Mikeeb123 would need to inquire about that. I'm also not sure if HPD's prices are the same as other CBI showrooms or less expensive since they do a high volume of business. Perhaps @Wink or @Winks_Elf could chime in?

Also good points! It’s possible that - even with import duties - buying from HPD could still be less expensive, as I have read diamonds are much higher priced in the UK.

 

[Mikeeb123]

Good thought!

Here are the UK locations:


I'm not sure if the 80% buyback policy is specific to HPD or to CBI. @Mikeeb123 would need to inquire about that. I'm also not sure if HPD's prices are the same as other CBI showrooms or less expensive since they do a high volume of business. Perhaps @Wink or @Winks_Elf could chime in?

Thanks you for that - I'm regularly at the Royal Exchange and so will pop in to speak to them

 

[Mikeeb123]

Does anyone have any thoughts on bluenile to source diamonds as they have a UK site www.bluenile.com/uk which we could use to source?

They have additional search options which include Table % and L/W ratio. Would you know what these should ideally be?

Many thanks

 

[tyty333]

We have a list of "cheat numbers" that should help you narrow it down to diamonds that have a good chance of performing well.

depth 60 - 62.3 %
table 54-58%
crown 34-35 degrees
pavilion 40.6 - 41 degrees

lower crown (34) pairs with higher pavilion (35) and vice versa (35 with 40.6)
L/W ratio wont do you any good for a round. Remember to stick to GIA/AGS reports. Other labs grade loosely.

Blue nile is a good company and several PSers have bought stones from them. I would set aside $1k for a platinum setting but you can go and pick one
out and see how much exactly its going to cost you. I would stick with G/VS stones unless one of you is very color sensitive.

You can also run stones through the HCA tool. It helps to eliminate stones. Look for stones to score <=2. .9 isnt better than 1.7. Just look for under
2. You can also try asking for an ASET image. They may or may not be able to get one for you.

https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

 

[BlingDreams]

We have a list of "cheat numbers" that should help you narrow it down to diamonds that have a good chance of performing well.

depth 60 - 62.3 %
table 54-58%
crown 34-35 degrees
pavilion 40.6 - 41 degrees

lower crown (34) pairs with higher pavilion (35) and vice versa (35 with 40.6)
L/W ratio wont do you any good for a round. Remember to stick to GIA/AGS reports. Other labs grade loosely.

Blue nile is a good company and several PSers have bought stones from them. I would set aside $1k for a platinum setting but you can go and pick one
out and see how much exactly its going to cost you. I would stick with G/VS stones unless one of you is very color sensitive.

You can also run stones through the HCA tool. It helps to eliminate stones. Look for stones to score <=2. .9 isnt better than 1.7. Just look for under
2. You can also try asking for an ASET image. They may or may not be able to get one for you.

https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

@Mikeeb123 - I’m pretty sure she meant “lower crown (34) pairs with higher pavilion (41)”. She probably just hasn’t had her morning coffee

 

[Winks_Elf]

Good thought!

Here are the UK locations:


I'm not sure if the 80% buyback policy is specific to HPD or to CBI. @Mikeeb123 would need to inquire about that. I'm also not sure if HPD's prices are the same as other CBI showrooms or less expensive since they do a high volume of business. Perhaps @Wink or @Winks_Elf could chime in?

CBI doesn’t make policy for their authorized showrooms. Each retailer establishes their own policies, not just for CBI but for everything they offer for sale.

Of course CBI only partners with retailers that share a like-minded focus on top quality and consumer protection. This means the policies their showrooms offer typically reflect the spirit of the ones offered by HPD. Anyone is free to contact any of those CBI sellers, mention CBI and ask. The contact info is on the HPD and CBI sites.

 

[BlingDreams]

CBI doesn’t make policy for their authorized showrooms. Each retailer establishes their own policies, not just for CBI but for everything they offer for sale.

Of course CBI only partners with retailers that share a like-minded focus on top quality and consumer protection. This means the policies their showrooms offer typically reflect the spirit of the ones offered by HPD. Anyone is free to contact any of those CBI sellers, mention CBI and ask. The contact info is on the HPD and CBI sites.

Thanks Melissa!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

SO happy you can get a cash payout! There's never a thing to lose by asking! Tyty already gave you the measurements to look for. I would recommend G VS2 over D IF in the event you ever wanted to sell it. G is still very white (top of the near colorless range) and VS is mind-clean clarity for most people.

Just post your possible choices here so we can help you choose the best one!

 

[Mikeeb123]

I have just contacted a CBI seller and they have said:

"I could offer you a 0.78ct D-VS1 EXC/EXC/EXC fluo: none, certified by GIA at 4,900US$ vat excl – 3,905£ vat excl – 4,686£ vat incl. (exch rate 1.28 +2%)

For the little story, the cutter/polisher of CBI also works for the supplier of this 0.78ct diamond. It’s a 3xExcellent diamond, so rest assured that it is a beautiful diamond! If you wish, I can bring it to London next week Wednesday so that you can see it in person."

The diamond they are offering isn't CBI, but does what they say ring true/is the diamond a good one and worth that money/can I trust them from what they've said!

Certificate below.

Thanks all. You're advice is invaluable in my diamond crash course!

 

[Mikeeb123]

SO happy you can get a cash payout! There's never a thing to lose by asking! Tyty already gave you the measurements to look for. I would recommend G VS2 over D IF in the event you ever wanted to sell it. G is still very white (top of the near colorless range) and VS is mind-clean clarity for most people.

Just post your possible choices here so we can help you choose the best one!

Thanks @diamondseeker2006 - I think we posted at the same time!