Advice and thoughts

[PirateGuy]

Thanks for your time in advance.

I have been looking for a diamond seriously for about a month, but have been reading this board to education myself for about 3 months, and haven''t pulled the trigger on one yet. As many know, I have found retailers to be lacking of information, and frankly, put off by me asking sometimes and the online retailers to be full of information. That said, I''d like to propose in 4 weeks and therefore need to have the ring completed soon. At the advice of someone I trust, I went and saw a jeweler in the area that is the jeweler and setting master for jewelry storesl in the area. He has brought in a diamond that he thinks is a great deal for me and fits within my budget of $6000 for a diamond. The diamond looks wonderful, but it has been graded by EGL USA which worries somewhat because of their generally softer grading on color. Below are the specs of the diamond. Please give me your thoughts as whether you think that it is a good buy or whether it would be okay to ask for an indepedent appraisal from a GIA appraiser in the area.


EGL USA
1.00 Ct
EGL Ideal Plus - Graded
VS1
G
Depth - 60.5
Table - 58
Crest - 33.2
Pavilion - 40.9

Measurements - 6.49 - 6.43 - 3.90 mm

Price - $5380

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/6/2009 10:18:45 AM
Author:PirateGuy
Thanks for your time in advance.

I have been looking for a diamond seriously for about a month, but have been reading this board to education myself for about 3 months, and haven't pulled the trigger on one yet. As many know, I have found retailers to be lacking of information, and frankly, put off by me asking sometimes and the online retailers to be full of information. That said, I'd like to propose in 4 weeks and therefore need to have the ring completed soon. At the advice of someone I trust, I went and saw a jeweler in the area that is the jeweler and setting master for jewelry storesl in the area. He has brought in a diamond that he thinks is a great deal for me and fits within my budget of $6000 for a diamond. The diamond looks wonderful, but it has been graded by EGL USA which worries somewhat because of their generally softer grading on color. Below are the specs of the diamond. Please give me your thoughts as whether you think that it is a good buy or whether it would be okay to ask for an indepedent appraisal from a GIA appraiser in the area.


EGL USA
1.00 Ct
EGL Ideal Plus - Graded
VS1
G
Depth - 60.5
Table - 58
Crest - 33.2
Pavilion - 40.9

Measurements - 6.49 - 6.43 - 3.90 mm

Price - $5380

Hi Pirateguy

It looks like a well cut diamond, I would imagine it is a very bright and brilliant diamond but fire might be down a little. EGL USA are thought to be the strongest of the EGL labs. Also what are the polish and symmetry grades please?

If you like the diamond, then I would get an independant appraisal during any return period and get it in writing that you can return the diamond for a full refund if it does not check out to your satisfaction in any aspect.

Here is a tool you can use to find an appraiser in your area

https://www.pricescope.com/appr_list.aspx

I would also advise checking the diamond out in plain daylight away from the store lights to make sure you like how it will look in everyday lighting where it will be worn.

 

[stone-cold11]

Ditto the above, nothing more to add.

 

[PirateGuy]

Lorilei,

Thanks for your response. The polish and symmetry grades are both Excellent.

I ran the numbers through HCA and it received a .9 with the everything coming out excellent except for the spread which was graded very good.

The jeweler, who had the diamond brought in via wholesaler, will not give me a refund period in which I could have it independently evaluated.

 

[stone-cold11]

Ask him if he can send it directly to an independent appraiser for evaluation and you will pay for the appraiser fees and shipping cost and buy the stone once that is check out.

 

[PirateGuy]

Lorilei,

I am a little bit surprised, I thought you might have issues with the crown and pavilion angles given previous posts. I am interested in your thoughts.

Thanks.

PirateGuy

Go Pirates!

 

[PirateGuy]

Stone cold,

I will do that. There is a GIA appraiser here in town that checks out on Pricescope. I guess, I can have her look at it.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/6/2009 11:34:51 AM
Author: PirateGuy
Lorilei,

I am a little bit surprised, I thought you might have issues with the crown and pavilion angles given previous posts. I am interested in your thoughts.

Thanks.

PirateGuy

Go Pirates!

Its a question of balance PG, yes normally when advising folk who don't know what to look for when picking a round diamond and they want one of excellent to top cut, then I have fairly strict parameters they can follow which is helpful to them. However various other crown and pavilion angles can also work well together, there is a lot more flexibility with crown angles than pavilion. Once you go much over 41 degrees PA you can encounter various issues. Some believe you can balance a very steep pavilion angle with a much shallower crown angle, personally from my experience here I don't think that is the best approach. But with the diamond you posted, the crown angle is a little shallower than some, the pavilion angle is within good range which balances it so all in all it should be a good looking diamond. Like I said with that shallower crown, fire might be down a bit but nevertheless it should still be a pretty stone.

 

[PirateGuy]

Lorelei et. al,

Thanks for the thoughts.

I guess in the end, would you have an indepedent appraiser view the diamond before purchasing an EGL USA diamond? From what I have read, they are a little soft on their grading and I just wanted to make sure that I was getting a good price for the diamond.

The diamond looks great but using pricescopes diamond search engine, I have noticed quite a few EGL diamonds with similar specs for considerably less...1k.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks

Pirate Guy

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/6/2009 2:26:49 PM
Author: PirateGuy
Lorelei et. al,

Thanks for the thoughts.

I guess in the end, would you have an indepedent appraiser view the diamond before purchasing an EGL USA diamond? From what I have read, they are a little soft on their grading and I just wanted to make sure that I was getting a good price for the diamond.

The diamond looks great but using pricescopes diamond search engine, I have noticed quite a few EGL diamonds with similar specs for considerably less...1k.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks

Pirate Guy

An appraisal is prudent to make sure the colour and clarity check out, also prices can vary due to many factors, standard of cut quality, eyecleanliness, EGL lab type I believe, initial cost to the vendor, any extra benefits and services offered by a vendor and so forth.