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A little help please?

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littlejohn

Rough_Rock
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May 31, 2009
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I'm on the cusp of buying a loose stone to put into an engagement ring, and have been doing lots of reading over the past few months. I've even gone as far as buying an Ideal Scope and 10x lupe.
but these tools are useless when buying online. ideally I would like to view the stone before I buy but the none of the stores around my area (within 25km radius) have stones I like for what I would consider reasonable prices.
After running around to about a dozen stores I've decided to look online and the stone that has taken my fancy has the following specs.

Carat Wt: 0.93
Depth %: 61.0%
Table %: 57%
Symmetry: Ideal
Polish: Ideal
Girdle: Thin to medium, faceted
Culet: Pointed
Fluorescence: Negligible
Measurements: 6.28 x 6.32 x 3.84 mm (LxWxD)
HCA: 1.3
Cert Type: AGSL

I would be most appreciative of any opinions on the visual performance of this stone and whether USD$4500 is a good asking price..

Thanks in advance.
John
 
What are the specs? Color, clarity? Also what are the angles you used to get the HCA score?
 
ooops... lets try that again

Carat Wt: 0.93
Colour: G
Clarity: VS2
Depth %: 61.0%
Table %: 57%
Symmetry: Ideal
Polish: Ideal
Girdle: Thin to medium, faceted
Culet: Pointed
Fluorescence: Negligible
Measurements: 6.28 x 6.32 x 3.84 mm (LxWxD)
Crown Angle: 34.1
Pavillion Angle: 40.9
HCA: 1.3
Pavillion Depth: 43.1%
Crown Depth: 14.6&
Girdle: 1.3% to 3.8% (faceted)
Cert Type: AGSL
 
Numbers look good. Is there any chance of getting an IS or ASET image?
 
I''m afraid not... I''m hoping someone will have a working crystal ball..
 
Is this stone from Blue Nile?
 
hmm... yes.. is this a bad thing?
 
Not necessarily. It is just that since BN is a drop shipper, they do not have the stones on hand to examine them for you and can't supply the images that are helpful. The do, however, have an excellent return policy, so if you were to order the diamond and didn't like it, all you are out is return shipping.

From the numbers, this has the potential to be a very nice stone, but that is all we can say without more information--it has good potential.

EDT: Just noticed it was an AGS cert. If it is an AGS0, your chances of it being very good are even better.
 
Yes.. it is an AGS0...
Thank you for you help..
 
No direspect to jet2ks.... he/she has been very helpful. But are there any other opinions on this matter? or is this the general consensus.
Need to konw so I can commit to the purchase.

Cheers.
LJ
 
Hi LJ,

The diamond''s proportions look good, it should be a great looking diamond as far as I can tell without images - BN do have a good return policy so plenty of time so you can check it out yourself.
 
yap, numbers looked good. Good luck.
 
Date: 6/2/2009 1:35:21 AM
Author: littlejohn
No direspect to jet2ks.... he/she has been very helpful. But are there any other opinions on this matter? or is this the general consensus.
Need to konw so I can commit to the purchase.

Cheers.
LJ
No disrespect taken. I'd want to get multiple opinions before a purchase of this magnitude, as well.

Whatever you end up deciding, we would love to see pictures of the finished ring when you receive it. Good luck with the ring and proposal.
 
Thank you all for your responses..
I''ve done the deed.. now just waiting for BN
 
My "guess" is, it will be a nice diamond.
 
Ok, I've received the stone and initially was really happy with it.
I spent about 2hrs examining it and the only thing that I had question mark was the colour may not have been up to the certified grade.
I wanted to get it laser inscribed and verified that the stoned matched the AGS cert. Being in Sydney, the only place I know that does laser inscriptions is DCLA.
They did a prelim grading on it and were pretty harsh and even recommended that I return the stone.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't hesitate to take a professional's advice, but in this case I'm in a quandary. The 2 facets that were judged harshly were colour and clarity. They gave it a H and a poor VS2.
When i went to pick up the stone I was shown the comparison between my BN stone and the reference colour stones. Sure enough there was a slight diff between the BN stone and the G but I think there was a bigger diff between the BN and H stone.
As for clarity. I already knew there was an inclusion under 10x mag. But the location was a fair bit away from the table and virtually under an edge where facets meet.

Needless to say I didn't get the BN stone inscribed.

Anyways... my dilemma is... On further questioning regarding optical performance and the value of ASET and IS images. These were basically dismissed as been mere marketing tools and of little value. The integrity of the AGS cut grade 0 was also questioned.
I guess to cut a long story short... I'm torn between whether I should return the BN stone or not. IF my only concern should be Colour and Clarity.. then I guess yes. But if taking in Cut, Symmetry and Optical Performance.. then the BN stone is pretty good as the IS image looks pretty good I can clearly see H&A and the stone has lots of sparkle under just about any light. (i'm just not sure "lots of sparkle" is enough sparkle)

Edit: They also said that the girdle was too thick. I didn't think 1.3-3.8 was considered too thick..


Anyways.. not sure what I should do....
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The girdle is slightly thick which is in highly desirable range! I just had a look and it appears DCLA are a diamond grading lab. What I would do is to try to find an independant appraiser who does not sell or grade diamonds to inspect your stone.

ASET and Idealscope are extremely useful tools, AGS in fact use ASET software to analyze cut quality in diamonds. You do find this occasionally that these aids are denigrated however in my opinion and in the opinion of many experts here, they definitely are a useful and valid tool in judging cut quality.
 

Ditto Lorelei.



So DCLA is telling you that they disagree with one of their competitors? Hmm, makes you think doesn't it.



From what you wrote, I don't see where they really should be that harsh. Within color and clarity grades, there are slight ranges. They agree with the stone being VS2--okay, it's a VS2 that closer to SI1 than VS1, so what? It's still a VS2. You saw yourself that your diamond was between the G & H master stones so maybe it's a borderline low G/high H. DCLA can say they disagree with the ratings, but to actually recommend returning the stone is overstepping their bounds as a grading lab, in my opinion.



None of us here can really suggest whether or not to return the stone. You are the one looking at it and must be happy with it. If you are happy, keep it, if not, return it. I would say to keep in mind the first line of your previous post, though.



Date: 6/10/2009 6:41:02 AM
Author: littlejohn
Ok, I've received the stone and initially was really happy with it.
I spent about 2hrs examining it and the only thing that I had question mark was the colour may not have been up to the certified grade.

Is it only the DCLA that is causing you to doubt?

Totally agree with Lorelei to take the stone to an independent appraiser that has no financial interest in who you buy a diamond from and see what they say.

Good luck with your decision.
 
Ditto. Low VS2 is still a VS2, what would they recommend that it be graded as? A VS2-??

Color as you see it yourself is closer to G than H and nature do not produce stones in color steps but varies continously.
 
Date: 6/10/2009 10:24:13 AM
Author: jet2ks

Ditto Lorelei.




So DCLA is telling you that they disagree with one of their competitors? Hmm, makes you think doesn''t it.




From what you wrote, I don''t see where they really should be that harsh. Within color and clarity grades, there are slight ranges. They agree with the stone being VS2--okay, it''s a VS2 that closer to SI1 than VS1, so what? It''s still a VS2. You saw yourself that your diamond was between the G & H master stones so maybe it''s a borderline low G/high H. DCLA can say they disagree with the ratings, but to actually recommend returning the stone is overstepping their bounds as a grading lab, in my opinion.








Mine too actually.
40.gif
 
Thank you for all the replies.. I've had time to sleep on it now can anyone recommend someone independent in Sydney, Australia??

I also need to add that I was the one who asked if they thought I should return the stone after they gave me a really poor report on the stone.
In hindsight, that was probably a really bad question to ask..

Cheers
LJ
 
Garry of Holloway Diamonds, inventor of the cut adviser and Idealscope, might be able to suggest someone.
 
Date: 6/10/2009 6:03:41 PM
Author: littlejohn
Thank you for all the replies.. I''ve had time to sleep on it now can anyone recommend someone independent in Sydney, Australia??

I also need to add that I was the one who asked if they thought I should return the stone after they gave me a really poor report on the stone.
In hindsight, that was probably a really bad question to ask..

Cheers
LJ
You could try asking Garry Holloway who is an expert from Melbourne who posts here

www.hollowaydiamonds.com
 
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