$2300 loose stone budget

[nattyice]

Hello everyone. I discovered the forum over a few months ago and have been lurking since.

Now it''s time to ask for help

I am looking for a Round Diamond, H&A, around .75 carat, color as low as I, and SI1/SI2 as long as it is eye clean. Willing to sacrifice clarity and some color for best cut and maximum performance.

Looking to spend $2200-2300 just for the loose stone. I am leaning towards getting a setting locally.

I found these with a quick pricescope search:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1266607.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1240170.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1266595.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131


All three fall within the budget since I will paying via bank wire. Any thoughts/advice are welcome. Thank you.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 11/4/2009 12:32:08 PM
Author:nattyice
Hello everyone. I discovered the forum over a few months ago and have been lurking since.

Now it''s time to ask for help

I am looking for a Round Diamond, H&A, around .75 carat, color as low as I, and SI1/SI2 as long as it is eye clean. Willing to sacrifice clarity and some color for best cut and maximum performance.

Looking to spend $2200-2300 just for the loose stone. I am leaning towards getting a setting locally.

I found these with a quick pricescope search:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1266607.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1240170.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1266595.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
All three fall within the budget since I will paying via bank wire. Any thoughts/advice are welcome. Thank you.

 

[stone-cold11]

Promising, get the IS/hearts images and ask JA if all are eye-clean.

 

[stone-cold11]

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1259967.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1193395.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1263964.asp

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/4/2009 12:45:14 PM
Author: Stone-cold11

Date: 11/4/2009 12:32:08 PM
Author:nattyice
Hello everyone. I discovered the forum over a few months ago and have been lurking since.

Now it's time to ask for help

I am looking for a Round Diamond, H&A, around .75 carat, color as low as I, and SI1/SI2 as long as it is eye clean. Willing to sacrifice clarity and some color for best cut and maximum performance.

Looking to spend $2200-2300 just for the loose stone. I am leaning towards getting a setting locally.

I found these with a quick pricescope search:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1266607.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1240170.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1266595.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
All three fall within the budget since I will paying via bank wire. Any thoughts/advice are welcome. Thank you.

Hi natty

They are all great diamonds, from the hearts image on the first I would call that one ' near' h&a to me, the Idealscope image is needed for that one. The hearts image is needed for the second diamond, the third looks good, again what I would call near h&a, but all have grade making clouds plotted so you would need to check the diamonds are eyeclean and that the clouds aren't impacting brilliance by asking for one of the gemologists to check them out for you.

Thank you for the links SC!

 

[nattyice]

thank you for the tips

 

[nattyice]

how long does james allen usually take for inquiries regarding eye-cleanliness?

 

[stone-cold11]

Give them a call?

 

[nattyice]

stuck at work, i plan on calling once i get out. just getting antsy

 

[stone-cold11]

Good luck.

 

[Lorelei]

How did it go?

 

[nattyice]

called them to follow up and i was told they''d have an answer for me end of business day on monday.

does it normally take that long?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/6/2009 4:04:17 PM
Author: nattyice
called them to follow up and i was told they''d have an answer for me end of business day on monday.

does it normally take that long?

The weekend is holding things up I suppose, maybe they could hurry it up a bit for you if you ask.

 

[nattyice]

I just heard back from JA that stone #1 is not eye clean. They will let me know about the other stones tomorrow.

 

[nattyice]

I would like to hear some thoughts on this stone from SB.

http://www.solomonbrothers.com/Dialog.aspx?ImageUrl=http://www.diamonds.net/UF/66863/Certs/oxd20552.jpg

How can I tell which EGL lab it comes from? Also says H&A and Tolkowsky Ideal Cut.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/11/2009 9:54:52 PM
Author: nattyice
I would like to hear some thoughts on this stone from SB.

http://www.solomonbrothers.com/Dialog.aspx?ImageUrl=http://www.diamonds.net/UF/66863/Certs/oxd20552.jpg

How can I tell which EGL lab it comes from? Also says H&A and Tolkowsky Ideal Cut.

http://www.solomonbrothers.com/Dialog.aspx?ImageUrl=http://www.diamonds.net/UF/66863/Certs/oxd20552.jpg

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/12/2009 4:59:01 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 11/11/2009 9:54:52 PM
Author: nattyice
I would like to hear some thoughts on this stone from SB.

http://www.solomonbrothers.com/Dialog.aspx?ImageUrl=http://www.diamonds.net/UF/66863/Certs/oxd20552.jpg

How can I tell which EGL lab it comes from? Also says H&A and Tolkowsky Ideal Cut.

http://www.solomonbrothers.com/Dialog.aspx?ImageUrl=http://www.diamonds.net/UF/66863/Certs/oxd20552.jpg

I think its EGL Israel looking at the report, do you have any others in mind?

 

[stone-cold11]

How about this one? With PS discount, it is within your budget.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1253675.asp

EDT:
.81c G SI1.
Not sure why it is priced so low, but no harm checking it out, right? Ask if eye-clean and request an idealscope.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1269151.asp

 

[nattyice]

Date: 11/12/2009 5:40:42 AM
Author: Stone-cold11
How about this one? With PS discount, it is within your budget.


http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1253675.asp


EDT:

.81c G SI1.

Not sure why it is priced so low, but no harm checking it out, right? Ask if eye-clean and request an idealscope.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1269151.asp

How about this one?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1269153.asp

After a recent trip to a jeweler, she kept saying how a .75 was too small and I noticed that she didn''t seem to care much for hearts and arrows. So I suppose I can go down to an ideal cut and get something closer to a carat.

 

[stone-cold11]

Could work, but the cut scarifice fire for the spread.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/12/2009 12:17:40 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Could work, but the cut scarifice fire for the spread.

Ditto, the diamond might be alright but the proportion configuration suggests the diamond will show more brilliance than fire.

 

[nattyice]

Date: 11/12/2009 12:17:40 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Could work, but the cut scarifice fire for the spread.

What does that mean? Sorry I need the explanation.

I plugged in the measurements into the HCA and the .86 came back with an excellent score for fire. Getting a total visual performance of excellent. Whereas, the .84 got a TVP of VG.

Is a better TVP score an indication that the diamond will look more brilliant?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/12/2009 12:27:33 PM
Author: nattyice

Date: 11/12/2009 12:17:40 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Could work, but the cut scarifice fire for the spread.

What does that mean? Sorry I need the explanation.

I plugged in the measurements into the HCA and the .86 came back with an excellent score for fire. Getting a total visual performance of excellent. Whereas, the .84 got a TVP of VG.

Is a better TVP score an indication that the diamond will look more brilliant?

SC is probably having his lunch

- so I will just elaborate, the HCA can't physically see the diamond so cannot predict with any real accuracy any performance nuance of a diamond. The crown angle is on the shallower side, that in itself can mean the diamond will show more brilliance than fire due to the angle. Generally a steeper crown angle can help produce fire with a harmonizing pavilion angle and small table if you really want to enhance fire or coloured light. Ask for an Idealscope image if you are interested in this one, that will tell us more concerning basic light return or leakage if applicable.

 

[nattyice]

Got shot down on my request for an idealscope. Was told, both diamonds are not in NY and no further imaging can be provided unless they are purchased.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/12/2009 1:03:45 PM
Author: nattyice
Got shot down on my request for an idealscope. Was told, both diamonds are not in NY and no further imaging can be provided unless they are purchased.

How many Idealscope images have you actually requested from James Allen Natty?

 

[nattyice]

They sent me an idealscope on the first .75 H&A stone that I started this post with. But I was told it wasn''t eye clean. I have one more idealscope request pending but no idealscopes were available for the .84 and .86 we just started discussing.

Attached is the idealscope for the .75 H&A stone

 

[stone-cold11]

Hmm.. tell them that is not fair since they the first IS is for an H&A which should have IS image already loaded in the first place. If it is there in webpage in the first place, then you wouldn''t need to request it right?

 

[YoungPapa]

Date: 11/12/2009 1:21:24 PM
Author: Lorelei

How many Idealscope images have you actually requested from James Allen Natty?

Lorelei,

This isn''t an issue of quality - it''s location. As it states in our Pricescope FAQ:

Can you provide additional information beyond what I find on your website?
We can provide copies of the laboratory report and a sarin or ogi report for every diamond listed on the JamesAllen.com website. There are no charges for these services and they apply to 100% of the diamonds we list online. We can also pull most diamonds from the safe (or from one of our partner''s safes) and visually inspect the diamond with you over the phone. Lastly, we can provide real magnified images and Idealscopes for the majority of diamonds listed on the JamesAllen.com website.

The reason the terms "most" and "majority" are used is because we do have one wholesale partner outside New York City and we are currently unwilling to cover the cost of shipping those diamonds back and forth for imagery. This only applies to about 5% of the diamonds on our website, but happens to be the case for both of the diamonds referenced in this thread. If a client decides to purchase the diamond based on the GIA and image alone we can take the Idealscope once the diamond arrives in the office. It''s a bit of a backwards approach, but the best compromise we have at this time.

 

[stone-cold11]

James, thanks for the explanation.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/12/2009 1:53:46 PM
Author: James Allen Schultz

Date: 11/12/2009 1:21:24 PM
Author: Lorelei

How many Idealscope images have you actually requested from James Allen Natty?

Lorelei,

This isn't an issue of quality - it's location. As it states in our Pricescope FAQ:

Can you provide additional information beyond what I find on your website?
We can provide copies of the laboratory report and a sarin or ogi report for every diamond listed on the JamesAllen.com website. There are no charges for these services and they apply to 100% of the diamonds we list online. We can also pull most diamonds from the safe (or from one of our partner's safes) and visually inspect the diamond with you over the phone. Lastly, we can provide real magnified images and Idealscopes for the majority of diamonds listed on the JamesAllen.com website.

The reason the terms 'most' and 'majority' are used is because we do have one wholesale partner outside New York City and we are currently unwilling to cover the cost of shipping those diamonds back and forth for imagery. This only applies to about 5% of the diamonds on our website, but happens to be the case for both of the diamonds referenced in this thread. If a client decides to purchase the diamond based on the GIA and image alone we can take the Idealscope once the diamond arrives in the office. It's a bit of a backwards approach, but the best compromise we have at this time.

I see, thanks for the clarification Jim. I assumed, wrongfully, that it was possible to get an IS image for up to any 3 of your diamonds, I must have missed the part where this doesn't apply to a few of them.