2 questions

[kaosinla]

First, what is the best diamond out there. I know many of you won''t agree on #1, but am sure you can give a top 3.

My second question. Are there any opinions on buying a used diamond. Assuming, the certs were there, security is there, and the diamond is verified, etc. Do you have to worry about the quality or use the diamond is put through. My understanding is that you can''t have wear or scratch a diamond. But, I am not positive.

 

[DiamondExpert]

I don't understand your first question. What do you mean by "best"?

Second, it is possible to get a "used" diamond for a good price. For example, I just sold a stone I had on consignment for several $K below the market. You just have to be in the right place at the right time...AND be careful!

You need to have the stone looked at by a good independent appraiser.

AND, yes, diamonds can certainly show signs of wear, so again, have it checked out!

Regards,

 

[kaosinla]

Thanks for answering my second question. My first question referring to "the best diamond", I mean that you hear about eightstars, h/f, tundra, lazare, etc...What super ideal diamond do you consider the best? Or what is the top three?

 

[lacina]

The Best Diamond?? Well as my wife would say it would be the one that you have received as a gift,... The bigger the better!

Seriously, The highest grade of diamond is "D"color Flawless clarity of ideal cut proportions,... You have an idea how much they run for 1 carat stone? I don't let me tell you that this quality is not to be found everywhere on special. There are customers on vaiting list for such stones!

2) diamond is forever , and true it doesn't show wear and it is extremely hard to damage. However they can be scratched by another diamond or chipped when you ring slips off your finger and rolls down two fligts of concreete stairs bouncing like up and down like crazy,..
I have seen an "accidently" damaged diamond when anctious owner tried modify the shape of her ring, using a hammer of rather unusual size, hitting the diamond instead,... The diamond was slightly chipped on the girdle but nothing that could not be repaired,... if you buy second hand, hire a gem expert that will check it out for you!

Best
George

 

[Mara]

Run a search here on Lazare, Hearts and Arrows, Eightstar, SuperIdeal, SuperbCert, etc and read up on what people have to say on them. There have been many opinions voiced before.

In my opinion, the 'best' diamond is really all about your own visual preference. You may like the look of an 8star but others may not. There was a recent thread on this. There is also the Leo diamond which has some extra facets that supposedly add more brilliance to the stone, but most agree that it just makes the diamond look odd and is more marketing tactic than anything else. You should visit a few stores, check out some branded and non-branded stones for yourself. You will begin to get an idea of what you like to see.

If we are talking 'normal' diamonds here (e.g. standard number of facets), many like the Hearts and Arrows brand for its 'perfect' symmetry, 8star is popular but carry a steeper markup, and SuperbCert diamonds are spoken positively about many times as well.

I think buydiamonddirect.com has SuperbCert, as well as SuperbCert.Com though I think BDD has a link to virtcert which lets you see all the brilliance reporting etc...do not know if SC has this on their site. Check out GoodOldGold.Com...there was an 8star for sale on there not too long ago, you can probably find it and check out the images it creates and the brilliancscope readings. GOG also has many Hearts and Arrows stones, and you can see their hearts and arrows images and brilliancescope readings as well. While on GOG compare the H&A stone images to a regular 'ideal' AGS000 stone that they have on there as well. You'll start to see some differences in the reporting and also the IdealScope images that are returned on each type of stone.

Even if you buy offline, using the internet as an educational tool will help you get the best possible deal, whether online or off. Check out those sites and read up! Then view some stones in person if possible at local stores to find out what appeals to you in person. You may find a correlation between an affinity to a type of stone online *and* offline, in which case you probably have a winner! Then you can start to narrow it down from there.

It can be a lengthy process if you are willing to spend the time. Good luck!