A Newbie''s Puzzling Questions

[JuliaT]

Hi, the following is posted in the Hangout forum as well.

As a complete newbie to this business of diamonds, I am fascinated by all the information on this site! I would like to check some of the diamonds I am interested in with the Holloway Cut Advisor, however the sites we are using (Blue Nile, Mondera--more expensive, I know, but as a first-timer, my fiance says he feels more "secure" with these businesses, one of which is local to us) generally don''t provide crown and pavillion angles on their sites. How does one go about obtaining this obviously important information? Would it be a matter of record at the diamond seller''s?
Also, we are mostly looking at GIA ideal cut diamonds--I''m confused: would all such diamonds be highly brilliant by the definitions of this site, or is there variation within the group? Lastly, the girdles of many of the stones I''m finding are thin--some say these could be vulnerable to chipping (not good, I work with my hands), others say no...What do you all say?
Thanks for your help--wildly informed group here, congrats.

 

[jlim]

For Blue Nile, you can get the crown and pavillion angle for their Signature Collection. You have to use the 'Signature Collection' link on the site to see these diamonds. If you use the regular diamond search, the best you get are IDEALS. But that's not to say the search might not hit upon an ideal diamond.

For diamonds that have the GIA cert only, you can call them directly and get more info. I called them last night. The guy I spoke to says the info. is in the NY office and he'll call me back once he gets them. But I don't know if this is the standard answer they give everyone.

 

[barry]

Don't be shy. It's your money. Ask Blue Nile and Mondera
to supply you with this information.

"Thin" girdle does not mean that the entire girdle is thin but
refers to perhaps one or two confined areas. Nothing to be concerned about
unless there are inclusions, indented naturals, cavities, etc.,
in which case you will need the Cust Rep or their in-house gemologist to eye-ball the stone for you and explain what's really going on
and whether this is a problem.

As far as your fiance feeling more "secure" shopping with these
more expensive internet diamond sites, IMO "secure" is a site
that delivers all types of comprehensive diamond information that
will allow you to make an informed decision.

Barry
www.superbcert.com

 

[serious_shopper]

Hi. I agree totally. You just need to ask. All of those measurements are important. Furthermore, there is considerable variation in quality among those stones rated ideal.
For a truly informative website, try GoodOldGOld.com. It will detail the concept of the ideal cut and what it really means. I too researched the sites you mentioned. Nothing against them; they just aren't as informative about their merchandise - just compare it to the pictures on GoodOldGOld.com and the merchandise they sell. THe difference is obvious.
I had a great experience with them - did everything through the internet. The staff is great and totally open to questions - no pressure. And completely safe.

 

[Mara]

Ask them to supply the info to you and if they cannot do it, shop elsewhere. I highly agree that security is a matter of who makes you feel the best when you are plunking down thousands of dollars to shop with them. I never got the warm fuzzies when dealing with BlueNile, but that was just because they are a huge co and they don't have the time to cater to each individual customer, instead you deal with a large customer service dept. I was working with DirtCheapDiamonds who was very responsive, but they dont have any of their diamonds in-house which meant that the guy I was dealing with had to deal with the wholesaler who was balking at giving me closeups of the stone. So I passed on that one too.

You'll find there are MANY many diamonds out there. It's very easy to get caught up in 'oh my god is this the right one I have to make a decision now before its gone!'..not to say that you shouldn't shop seriously. But rather just realize there are probably 10 stones out there for you if not more, and smart research will unearth them at their best price for you.

I know what you mean about your FI feeling more comfortable with the larger co's like Mondera or BlueNile, those are the companies that get written up in the WSJ and all the other big press. But I have found in my months here on Pscope that its really the smaller companies where they hand pick their stones and carry their inventory in-house that are the ones you want to work with if you want to feel secure in your purchase. These are companies where the owner works directly with your or puts you directly in touch with the cutter, gives you closeups of the stones, bscope results, sarin results, etc etc.

I don't mean to ramble but my point is that....if a company cannot give you what you ask for...move along and find the next one that will. There are too many stones out there to be pidgeonholed into where to spend your $$. Do your research and the more you learn, the more comfortable you may feel.

Good luck!!