25th Anniversity Diamond

[dalejohnson]

Hi, I am looking to buy my wife a 3.02 carat round diamond with the following specs: EGL Cert, 9.35-9.27 x5.73, depth 61.6%, table width 58%, crown height 14%, pavilion depth 43%, girdle thickness medium faceted, polish excellent, symmetry excellent, cutlet none, clarity SI2, color I, fluorescence slight blue, comments: excellent ideal cut. Diamond pricing totally confuses me, so I ask, is this diamond worth $20,000? Your help in this matter is greatly appreciated.

 

[Jax172]

I would be worried about an I color and SI2 clarity in such a big diamond. The I color will be much more apparent in a big stone and and SI2 in a 3.00ct is not likely to be eye clean. Have you seen this stone in person?

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Dale, a couple things. First and foremost is that an I/SI2 is a pivotal grading category. If the stone is correctly graded, that's one thing. If it is overgraded either one grade in color or clarity, it is not good. If it is overgraded one grade on both color AND clarity, then it would be a disaster.

So first you would need to be absolutely sure that it is correctly graded. The EGL USA Labs are pretty good (New York & LA), but if it is graded by the Antwerp or Israel Lab it might behoove you to get confirmation on the grading. For that matter, it doesn't hurt to get confirmation regardless.

Secondly, the pricing seems like jewelry store pricing versus internet pricing. There's nothing wrong with that, and everbody's entitled to make a living, but now that you've ventured onto this forum, a whole new world of possibilities has opened to you.

In my opinion, you probably could pick up a correctly graded 3 carat I/SI2 diamond through several of the vendors here in the neighborhood of $15,000-$16,500. A quick check on the PriceScope search engine (on the menu at the top of your screen) lists similar EGL certified stones in the range of $13,000 to $14,500, and GIA certified stones in the range of $14,500 to $17,500.

Alternatively, you might try haggling a bit with the fellow offering you this diamond. Whatever you do, make the sale contingent upon verification of grading and value by an independent appraiser. It is a reasonable request, which most reasonable sellers will go along with.

By the way, with the cut specs you listed it should be a gorgeous stone.

 

[DiamondOptics]

Hi Dale,


An I/Si2 can still be a very beautiful diamond.

But if you are spending, $20,000 dollars, it would then behove
you to have this diamond examined by an expert.


Kirk Konst

 

[fire&ice]

Rich is correct. I/SI2 in this carat range can be tricky. I have an I SI1/2? 3c and is faces up very white w/ a good cut & med/strong blue fluor. I viewed some I color stones that indeed had some yellow body hue. Also, in a stone this size you may *indeed* see inclusions. It doesn't bother me.

Price does sound a bit steep 15K - 17K is more in line. But, price does sound good compared to B&M stores. From the numbers, cut seems really nice.

That said, if you like the stone, send/take it to an independent appraiser.

What type of setting are you thinking of?

 

[Giangi]

If the cert says that the stone has an excellent ideal cut, then it's certed by EGL Israel. Be VERY careful, as they notoriously overgrade the stones in color and/or clarity and I just noticed that the stone has slight fluorescence... Even worse, as usually they are even more liberal in grading color of stones w/fluor. Maybe this one is graded correctly, but be careful... Who knows? Since we're talking about big bucks, follow Rich's advice and get the grades confirmed. Maybe you could send it to the GIA.
Be advised that almost every SI2 weighing 3Cts will have eye visible inclusions.

Giangi