$8K-$9K budget, What can I get !?

[james100]

Hi,
What do you think is the biggest and a loveliest stone I can get for a budget of $8K-$9K ??

It should be a brilliant round stone with F and VS2 upwards,no fluor, at least of very good symm and polish, very good proportions,girdle not thick but thin to med ,lots of fire, brilliance and scintillation, not much light leakage ....

Suppose more criteria can be put in but let''s see what comes along...

Any suggestions?

James

 

[Mara]

Oh James, these are my FAVORITE types of questions to answer. It leads to all sorts of fantasizing and dreaming and then my fiance catches me and says 'why are you still looking at diamonds!?!'....

Here is what I came up with. You may decide G is not for you, but the SI1 if it's 100% eye clean can end up getting you a BIGGER stone, and we all know that is what matters! HA HA Just kidding...oh not really.

Anyway if you decide to include SI1, you will have more options.

http://www.niceice.com/certcopies/gia12370955/index.htm
1.24 F VS1 Hearts and Arrows AGS 0 $8600 HCA Score: 1.3 EX EX EX VG

http://www.niceice.com/certcopies/gia12370955/index.htm
1.20 F VS2 AGS 0 $8100 HCA Score: 1.8 VG EX EX VG

http://search.virtcert.com/cgi/u/1079/v.cgi?stock=289690&_s=1079&_p=opt91&_c=&_fs=1&prestock=
1.15 E VS1 AGS 0 SuperbCert Hearts and Arrows $8958 Bscope results are almost ALL off the charts!
(note this is a SuperbCert from diamondoptics.com)

http://www.whiteflash.com/acut/diamond_details.asp?refine=1&Page=1&ItemCode=365067
1.11 E VS2 Hearts and Arrows 'A Cut Above' SuperIdeal $8740

Here are a few from DirtCheapDiamonds.Com which actually gives pretty good service...I worked with them while we were searching but in the end they couldn't get us a magnified image of the stone which turned us off because it was an SI1. I would get crown and pav angles for all of the stones here..as these only are listed with GIA reports and no further info. You need more info to learn more about their cuts.

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=1481825
1.27 F VS1 'Very Best Cut' (according to DCD's scale) $9178

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=1674730
1.22 E VS1 'Very Best Cut' (according to DCD) $9000 (AGS graded...report should have angles on it for you)

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=1607805
1.26 E VS2 'Very Best Cut' $8700

(There are about 10 more stones in this search..check them out by running the search yourself, or you may want to call DCD and have them pull their favorites for you to get more info on)

That should get you started!!

Besides the GOG stones that is!

Oh and lastly, don't be scared of faint fluor or even some medium. Many stones have 'faint' fluor, and even if it is not noted on their cert, sometimes diamonds will be appraised and the owner will find out the stone has faint. Then they get upset. But it really isn't a huge deal at all. It's a tricky thing to measure and definitely subjective to the viewer and their tools. So if you find a stone that looks great but has faint fluor, do not discount it. You will not notice a thing to say it has the faint fluor. Only 'strong fluor' will ever make a difference in the visual performance of the stone, and even then its only like 5% of strong fluor stones ever have a problem. Faint/med fluor is a great way to get a better deal on a stone...because the trade discounts them, so you can get a better price!

Have fun.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Hi James!

CUT is the key to achieve the performance you said you wanted in a diamond. Well CUT diamonds have lots of brilliance and fire. The WOW factor. CUT is the difference between a diamond that sits on the finger in a well lit room and one that grabs everyone's eye by candlelight in a fancy restaurant.

A good place to start searching is the Price Scope homepage. There is a search engine on the left hand side. Enter your color, clarity, and price range, along with a general carat weight. Be sure to click the H&A and AGS0 boxes. You will get a list of some of the best cut diamonds available.

If you want "Creme de la Creme" use the search engine on the upper right hand side of the PS homepage. Enter the same info,... color, clarity, and carat weights. You will get a listing of the absolute BEST CUT diamonds available.

Take a look through those. If you find one you like, post info for opinions.

If your diamond knowledge is limited, you might wanna take a bit of time and read through the Tutorial. You will find some very interesting diamond buying information there.

 

[Kamuelamom]

Hi guys,

James100, I'm with Mara, puuuleeeze don't count out a great G/SI1. I have one and in retrospect, I could've even gone with a H if it was as well cut as my G, if it meant getting a little more weight. Like Mara said, size matters in some cases.

When we originally began our quest I was certain I needed a "V" something. I wasn't sure too much about color then, but the more we learned about cut, the more we were willing to loosen our parameters.

It's also important to remember that every stone is different. It would be most ideal if you could see stones in person to compare, but online purchasing isn't always feasible that way. That's where working closely with the dealer comes in. Some even offer a free inspection period.

With your budget I'd think you could get a very fine stone, especially if you are willing to compromise in the clarity, providing it is eye-clean. Also remember the color will face up whiter with a well cut stone.

Good luck & keep us posted.

 

[Giangi]

Hi!
I really like the stones Mara posted... But what about these?

1702247 1.52 E SI1 GIA $9,908 61.8 54 VG VG None 7.42x7.38x4.57

1566806 1.55 G SI1 GIA $9,631 61.6 56 VG VG None 7.41x7.47x4.58

1684685 1.41 F SI1 AGS $8,377 61.8 54 ID ID None 7.24x 7.20x 4.46

1614766 1.57 G SI1 GIA $9,242 61.9 57 EX EX Faint 7.44x7.48x4.62
(From dirtcheapdiamonds.com)

Or this 1.24 VS 1 G H+A from niceice:

http://www.niceice.com/certcopies/gia12377778/index.htm

These are FANTABULOUS A Cut Above Hearts and Arrows:

1.514 H SI1 61.2 55 AGS $10,940.00
1.506 H VS1 60.5 55 AGS $12,285.00
(from whiteflash.com)

 

[james100]

Thanks guys,
This should start me on track and the HUNT BEGINS!!!!!

J

 

[Mara]

Great finds Giangi!!

I second and third the others..(fourth?)...if you are willing to go SI1 you can get a bigger stone and still make cut a priority...IF this is interesting to you!

I also want to chime in again on the G issue...note that seeing stones in the maul is not always the same colorwise as a well cut stone. PQ has seen a well-cut J against a well-cut H and only saw minimal color differences and then only at certain angles. Keep in mind your stone will be SET, not loose and not viewed from upside down. This allows you a little more leeway. The reason I am again pushing the G is because my stone is VERY WHITE and I always get compliments on how white it is. Then again, it's a brilliant cut vs a typical tolowsky...or a ACA or similar, but those same well cut stones will face up whiter than your typical mall cut G. Just something to keep in mind!

Otherwise you have tons of options that people have given. Happy Hunting!

 

[Giangi]

Thank you my dear!

As always, I agree with ya!

 

[Kamuelamom]

Mara you make some great points. Is your stone an SI/1 also? I LOVE my stone. It was a great bang for the buck!

 

[Mara]

No ours is a G VS1 but we didn't pay extra for the VS1...which was nice! We had a jeweler bring in two stones, an E SI1 and a G VS1 and chose this one, they were both priced the same as he was matching internet pricing for us.

But I have seen some beautiful SI1's and even under 10x mag, sometimes they show nothing that I can see anyway!!

 

[james100]

Well Mara, the only problem is that buying over the internet it will be hard to tell unless they put videotaped pics of all their diamonds on the internet for viewing

.That would be just cool!!

I'm still hunting!!

Emailed whiteflash , goodasgold ,etc but hasn't gotten a reply?

J

 

[pqcollectibles]

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On 6/10/2003 9

9

9 PM james100 wrote:

Well Mara, the only problem is that buying over the internet it will be hard to tell unless they put videotaped pics of all their diamonds on the internet for viewing

.That would be just cool!!

I'm still hunting!!

Emailed whiteflash , goodasgold ,etc but hasn't gotten a reply?

J

----------------

Give the vendors a little time to respond to your emails. They tend to get quite a bit of email every day from all over the world, but they will all respond. Can take a day sometimes, especially early in the week. Lots to catch up on from the weekend when offices are closed. The PS vendors are reputable, knowledgeable, friendly folk who will help you find your perfect diamond.

Re pics. White Flash, Good Old Gold, Nice Ice, and SuperbCert all post magnified pics of the actual H&A diamonds you are considering. All post Sarin info, and copies of the Certs as well. White Flash has Ideal Scope pics showing the Hearts and Arrows patterns. The other vendors do similar, if not the same thing, to show the patterns. Some of the sites have Brilliance Scope pics to give you an idea of how the diamond will perform in various types of lighting. And, you can call each vendor for more detailed information if you want to know anything. They have their CHOICE diamonds on hand and can pull them out and discuss them with you over the phone. Wanna see a pic of an inclusion? They will email it to you. You will almost know the diamond inside and out before you ever see it.

Color is rated with the cutlet up. The table is what shows when the diamond is mounted. In a SUPER IDEAL cut, a J color will "face up" white. No brown or yellow tinges at all. Mara is right. I have seen an H and a J SUPER IDEAL diamonds side by side. You can't really tell the difference set on white paper against white gold and platinum. The J had a tad more "body" or warmth than the H. Voting on the diamonds among family, friends, and neighbors was split 50/50 with one vote to flip a coin.

SI1's are the real bargain in clarity. Mine is SI1 due to an internal feather that lies up and down inside the diamond. It blends with the facets and you do not see it at all. It does not affect brilliance or fire in any way. The key to clarity is size, type, color, and location of the inclusions. The vendors I mentioned will be more than happy to discuss the characteristics of a diamond you.

Review return, refund, and life-time upgrade policies. Call them and chat with them. I spoke with several before I made my final buying decision. Every one I spoke with was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. No pushy sales tactics. A classy group of folk. Just find one you are comfortable with.