Advice needed regarding expectations...

[NY Princess]

Hello Pricescopers!
I have a couple of questions and hope you can help.

I want a 2 carat pear and my jeweler showed me a pretty diamond but after running the numbers I saw that it was a Class 4A cut (not good). So I told him that I really wanted to get a chance to look at more diamonds. I asked him to get diamonds in better cuts.

Question 1: I read somewhere (I imagine it was here??) that it is difficult to find 1A Ideal and 2A Premium in fancy cuts. Is that true? Everytime I try the "cut" search in pricescope, the screen comes up empty. Am I doing something wrong...?

Question 2: My jeweler tells me that he doesn''t have what I''m asking for but will be visiting the NY diamond district soon and will look for me. (Is a 2.0, pear, si1-si2, H or I color, Ideal or Premium cut, hard to find????)

Question 3: What is a ballpark amount that I can expect to pay for a 2.0 pear, si1-si2, H or I color, Ideal or Premium cut, GIA certified diamond?

Question 4: I know that I will have to pay my jeweler more since he is a B&M shop, but what is an average difference between B&m and online?

Question 5: I told him that I''d like to see a couple of diamonds but didn''t say how many. What is a reasonable amount of diamonds that I can expect to be shown in a visit? So far I''ve only seen one, the one he owns outright. If jewelers don''t own the diamonds outright, are they "borrowing" diamonds from their vendors? How does that work?

I know it''s a lot of questions but I really want to get it right. Please help me manage my expectations. Thanks!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/3/2009 2:41:44 AM
Author:NY Princess
Hello Pricescopers!
I have a couple of questions and hope you can help.

I want a 2 carat pear and my jeweler showed me a pretty diamond but after running the numbers I saw that it was a Class 4A cut (not good). So I told him that I really wanted to get a chance to look at more diamonds. I asked him to get diamonds in better cuts. The cut class charts are used as an initial screening tool but if you liked the diamond you were shown it might be worth putting on your shortlist for purchase, do you have any info you could post here on this diamond?

Question 1: I read somewhere (I imagine it was here??) that it is difficult to find 1A Ideal and 2A Premium in fancy cuts. Is that true? Everytime I try the 'cut' search in pricescope, the screen comes up empty. Am I doing something wrong...?You won't find pears come up on the cut quality search as they are difficult to quantify by numbers, try the in house or all diamond searches.

Question 2: My jeweler tells me that he doesn't have what I'm asking for but will be visiting the NY diamond district soon and will look for me. (Is a 2.0, pear, si1-si2, H or I color, Ideal or Premium cut, hard to find????) Personally I don't go by labels such as Ideal or Premium cut, I prefer to go by overall proportions and my eyes to screen diamonds so describe as best you can what type of pear you want ( shape, length to width ratio, depth, table and crown height as per desirable ranges on the chart) and eyeclean stones in this clarity range and get your jeweller to search within these parameters.

Question 3: What is a ballpark amount that I can expect to pay for a 2.0 pear, si1-si2, H or I color, Ideal or Premium cut, GIA certified diamond? Around 10k and up. Also with I colour in pears inspect the stone carefully away from the store lights to see if any warmth is concentrated in the tip, I have a 2ct H colour pear and I can see a hint of warmth in the tip if the lighting is right so check for this. It doesn't worry me but I just thought it would be worth mentioning.

Question 4: I know that I will have to pay my jeweler more since he is a B&M shop, but what is an average difference between B&m and online? Around 10 - 15% I believe but it can vary.

Question 5: I told him that I'd like to see a couple of diamonds but didn't say how many. What is a reasonable amount of diamonds that I can expect to be shown in a visit? So far I've only seen one, the one he owns outright. If jewelers don't own the diamonds outright, are they 'borrowing' diamonds from their vendors? How does that work? They get diamonds in on memo which means they don't have to pay or pay a small fee, if a sale does not result then the stone goes back to the owner or cutting house.

I know it's a lot of questions but I really want to get it right. Please help me manage my expectations. Thanks!

 

[NY Princess]

Thank you for all the information, I''d just like to recap what I''m understanding. Please correct me if I''m wrong in any of this.

First I need to request pears in the AGS CUT CLASSES Class 1A Class 1B Class 2A Class 2B

The Length:Width Ratios for Pear should be between 1.50-1.75 but ultimately it''s a matter of personal choice.

The final deciding factor should be which diamond shows the least amount of leakage after being viewed with an ASET scope.

Is this right?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/3/2009 11:31:17 AM
Author: NY Princess
Thank you for all the information, I''d just like to recap what I''m understanding. Please correct me if I''m wrong in any of this.

First I need to request pears in the AGS CUT CLASSES Class 1A Class 1B Class 2A Class 2B If you want to go by the AGS charts you can but I would also get your jeweller to look at stones within the shape/ length to width ratio you like, also make sure any SI clarities are eyeclean.

The Length:Width Ratios for Pear should be between 1.50-1.75 but ultimately it''s a matter of personal choice. No hard and fast rules, this is purely personal preference.

The final deciding factor should be which diamond shows the least amount of leakage after being viewed with an ASET scope. It depends on whether you love the diamond, the shape is right and everything else is what you want, for example little point in choosing a pear which is long and thin which looks best in ASET if you actually want a fatter pear.

Is this right?

 

[FB.]

My recipe for the perfect balance of features in a pear:

Crown height: 13-15% (13% is brighter, 15% is more fiery)
Total depth: 61.5-64.5% (61.5-62.5%% for smaller crowns, 63-64.5% will be needed for larger crowns)
Girdle: avoid the word "extreme", try to avoid the word "very" - but it's not easy with fancy shapes and may need to be tolerated if other proportions are good. Thicker gridles may need an extra 1% on the depth allowance.
Length:width ratio: 1.5

But such pears are quite hard to find because pears are out of fashion, so nobody seems very interested in them. You might need to be a little bit flexible with the numbers (+/-1%) to find anything remotely suitable for your needs. Cross-reference any stones with AGA's cut grade to improve your chance of a good stone.

Asking for a stone with similar proportions to those that I've listed may well strain the patience of your jeweller.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Date: 12/3/2009 12:03:16 PM
Author: FB.
My recipe for the perfect balance of features in a pear:

Crown height: 13-15% (13% is brighter, 15% is more fiery)
Total depth: 61.5-64.5% (61.5-62.5%% for smaller crowns, 63-64.5% will be needed for larger crowns)
Girdle: avoid the word ''extreme'', try to avoid the word ''very'' - but it''s not easy with fancy shapes and may need to be tolerated if other proportions are good. Thicker gridles may need an extra 1% on the depth allowance.
Length:width ratio: 1.5

But such pears are quite hard to find because pears are out of fashion, so nobody seems very interested in them. You might need to be a little bit flexible with the numbers (+/-1%) to find anything remotely suitable for your needs. Cross-reference any stones with AGA''s cut grade to improve your chance of a good stone.

Asking for a stone with similar proportions to those that I''ve listed may well strain the patience of your jeweller.

Forgive me, FB, but considering that you have been a very regular poster here in the past half year, and that you regularly voice very strong and absolute opinons, I need to congratulate you at first. The reason for this congratulation is that, when I read this thread, I was amazed that you were capable of even offering advice on a very difficult subject like a pear-cut. I mean, you are not that long on PS yet, and you are capable of doing more than I can. Wow.

Reading your post then, I must correct one aspect. For instance, your remark about crown height, 13% is brighter, 15% is more fiery, is not correct. There is no absolute relationship, to start, and furthermore, it is partially based upon outdated education.

Combine this with your in-depth-analysis on depth (which shows a good technical understanding of the matter) and your assessment that they are out of fashion currently, I am amazed once again.

This can only lead to one question: Are you a professional?

Live long,

 

[NY Princess]

Thank you! I am just waiting to hear back from the jeweler now.