7 day Return Policy: thoughts on diamond purchase

[Txdiamond]

I just recently bought a diamond, and am starting to have my doubts. I have 7 days to return the diamond (7th day is friday). I think that the specs look great and the diamond looked great in person and outside of the store. I ended up getting both the diamond and the band for 13,000. the band retails for 3400, did i get ripped off, or is the price legitimate? I brought down the price of the diamond from 14-to 11,000 based on little information i learned here. As you all know, negotiating is an adrenaline rush, I just hope I made the right decision. If not please let me know so i can return.

Notes: HCA 2.0 "Very Good"
GIA: Ex, Ex, Ex
Brilliant Round, 1.41, F, Si1
Inclusions: Twinning Wisps, small feathers

GIA Report
http://www.gia.edu/cs/Satellite?reportno=2176601160&childpagename=GIA%2FPage%2FReportCheck&pagename=GIA%2FDispatcher&c=Page&cid=1355954554547

 

[drk14]

The PS Diamond Search Tool indicates that GIA3X F-SI1 MRB's with medium fluorescence run $10k-$11k for that carat size range, from the PS vendors.

It's expected that B&M stores will need to charge more than the internet vendors (I think 20%-30% more was a recent estimate), so the $14k original asking price seems to be in the right ballpark. If I recall correctly, jewelers have a higher mark-up on their settings than on their diamonds, which is probably why he was able to make you a deal by throwing in the setting as a package.

So hypothetically, if the jeweller paid $1k for the setting and $9k for the diamond (and I have no idea if those numbers are realistic or not), then he made $3k on the transaction. However, you saved over $4k compared to the original retail prices, so win-win.

The B&M jewelers have a lot of overhead costs, including rent and salaries, so their net profit on this transaction would have been even lower.

The bottom line is that in my opinion, this transaction seems fair for the B&M market -- i.e., you did not get "ripped off". On the other hand, did you get the best possible value? That depends on how much you value the reassurance of being able to do business with a local B&M, where you can visit the store in person, see the diamonds, go back for repairs/maintenance, etc. If you don't care about those things, then you can probably find a comparable diamond at slightly lower cost on the internet.

If you post more information (and/or pictures) of your setting, you may be able to get some more opinions on its $3400 retail price.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The original retail is totally irrelevant because those numbers can be anything. So you paid $11k for the diamond and $2k for the setting (a band is like a wedding band). Without pictures no one can give you an opinion about the setting cost, and even then, unless we know the brand, it would be hard to judge quality related to price. The price looks good on the stone, but without seeing an idealscope image, we would have no idea if it had leakage. If you can show us a picture of the setting and tell us, we can tell you a little more. But it sounds like you made a fair deal especially for the diamond, and if the setting has diamonds on it, I think you did okay on that as well. Is it white gold or platinum?

 

[Txdiamond]

First of all, thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.

As for the info on the band i purchased, it was an A Jaffe MES078/40 in 14k wg

http://www.solomonbrothers.com/JewelryDetail.aspx?ProductId=1929540

I believe the cost was close to around 3000-3200 (solomon would sell to me for 2300-which i believe my retailer matched). The side stones are .40 @ 8 stones (4 on each side).


As for the diamond:
Do you think the twinning wisps or the feathers will have an effect on the durability of the stone?
As for clarity, I couldnt see them with the naked eye, but im not expert.

Is HCA 2.0 worth buying, or does it have to be 1.9 or higher?

Thanks in advance.

 

[JulieN]

Numbers are fine, need pics to say anything aboutyour particular stone.

 

[Txdiamond]

they are currently in the process of mounting it, so unfortunately pictures wont be available until its no longer returnable.

Thank you all for the info. I have a better peace of mind

 

[nukezero]

I think you got a good deal for an F color of that size in SI1. DEF colors command a higher premium than GHIJ colors.

I'm getting myself a H color while maintaining excellent cut and going with a bigger dimension (7.56mm diameter) because my girlfriend likes big.

It's all about balancing the four Cs and the dollar sign.

 

[Txdiamond]

When you say bigger diameter, are you saying a bigger size diamond/carat or just overall rounder face. If so, would my dimensions be smaller than most 1.4 ct diamonds? I heard retailers sometimes have longer depths or are "bottom heavy" taking away from the size of the actual diamond.

Please help.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Your stone's diameter is fine. Your depth is 61.5 and we usually recommend trying to stay less than 62.3% depth. So your measurements are great!

I think he meant he wanted a larger diamond (higher carats) and was going with lower color to get it. His diamond should be over 1.5 cts to get that diameter in an excellent cut stone.

 

[Txdiamond]

Another after thought- i Dont know much about fluorescence, how would I be able to notice if it affected the stone? Will it have any affect? I noticed that on some information sites they noted that si1 or lower is typically not affected? Should I be worried about it?


Thanks again!