First, I''ll say "Hello!"
to everyone as I''m a brand new member. I''ve been browsing and reading for the past couple of days and figured I might as well join up. Everything I''ve read so far as been an immense help but, this being my first diamond purchase, I''m hoping I can get a little bit more advice...
I''m shopping for a princess cut around 3/4ct for my girlfriend of over 5 years (high school sweethearts). We''re both just a year out of college and although I''m very fortunate to be gainfully employed, I''ve also got a mortgage, student loans, etc, so I''m on somewhat of a budget. My girl and I have been shopping together casually so I have an idea of what she likes; in fact, she all but picked out her own ring, one that she really liked from a mall retailer, and although the price was affordable at just $2k, I wasn''t terribly impressed with stone and felt it was way too easy (I hadn''t done any work!), so I want to put in the time and effort to get her something better.
I''ve found another setting that''s very similar that I''m sure she''ll love at a local independent jeweler. He also has a .73ct, E, SI2 stone with an EGL cert that seems very well cut (sparkles and shines the best out of all the diamonds I''ve seen), for which he originally quoted me $2700 not including the setting; would''ve been $3200 total for stone and ring. I told him that was a bit higher than I was looking to pay, and asked him about some other stones I had seen listed on his website with very similar credentials but much lower prices (sub-$2k). He said the difference in price was due to the lesser-quality cut of those stones, but I asked him to bring one in for me to compare for good measure. A few days later he came back and said that it would be next week before he could get more stones in, but that he was willing to give me the original stone and the ring for just under $2700 total which he said was only $100 above his cost. I went in to look at it in more detail, and when I took a look at the certificate, I was a little disappointed; there are at least two long white feathers, both starting at the center and one of which goes nearly all the way to the outer edge, as well as a few other small specks throughout (it is an SI2 after all). I asked for a loupe and sure enough, they are very easily visible with it, although I couldn''t see them at all without the loupe; jewelry store bright lighting probably made the darn thing sparkle enough to cover them up. While the price was much better than he originally quoted and was only a little bit higher than my ideal budget of $2500, I''m still not sure how I feel about such large inclusions, even though I couldn''t see them without the loupe.
I''m a very conscious buyer and I want to be sure I''m getting my money''s worth, as well as a quality stone. I realize that with the budget I''m under I can''t expect miracles, but from looking around at the online diamond places like Blue Nile, Union Diamond, and USAcerteddiamonds.com, it seems that I can get a "better" stone for right around $1900-2000. The price tag on the setting at the jeweler''s is $500, so my total cost would probably end up right around the same ($2600-ish) but with a much better quality stone. I''d certainly be willing to go to an F color in order to bring up the clarity to at least SI1 if not VS2. I found an EGL certified stone through usacerteddiamonds.com with the following specs for under $1900:
- .73 ct
- Color: F
- Clarity: VS2
- Depth: 72.5%
- Table: 72.0%
- Crown: 10%
- Pavilion: 60%
- Symmetry: Very Good
- Polish: Very Good
- Girdle: Thin, Polished
- Culet: None
- Fluorescence: None
- Can''t see any inclusion marks on the certificate drawing (electronic version is somewhat small, though)
I realize that with princess cuts, the numbers alone aren''t generally enough to tell how good the cut is, but these numbers seem to fit with some of the suggestions I''ve read. Unfortunately I don''t live anywhere near any independent appraisers in order to have the stone shipped there to inspect before buying, so I''d be forced to buy it, look at it when it arrived, and ship it back myself if it turned out not to be a good stone. The other thing I''m concerned about is how the jeweler will react if I come in with my own stone and ask him to put it in the setting rather than the stone he offered me.
Should I consider getting a hold of one of these "nicer" stones online, or am I just being way too picky and should just take the stone the jeweler has? I apologize for the novel... trying to get in as much about my situation as I can! Thanks in advance to everyone for whatever advice you can impart upon me! This place is great!
I''m shopping for a princess cut around 3/4ct for my girlfriend of over 5 years (high school sweethearts). We''re both just a year out of college and although I''m very fortunate to be gainfully employed, I''ve also got a mortgage, student loans, etc, so I''m on somewhat of a budget. My girl and I have been shopping together casually so I have an idea of what she likes; in fact, she all but picked out her own ring, one that she really liked from a mall retailer, and although the price was affordable at just $2k, I wasn''t terribly impressed with stone and felt it was way too easy (I hadn''t done any work!), so I want to put in the time and effort to get her something better.
I''ve found another setting that''s very similar that I''m sure she''ll love at a local independent jeweler. He also has a .73ct, E, SI2 stone with an EGL cert that seems very well cut (sparkles and shines the best out of all the diamonds I''ve seen), for which he originally quoted me $2700 not including the setting; would''ve been $3200 total for stone and ring. I told him that was a bit higher than I was looking to pay, and asked him about some other stones I had seen listed on his website with very similar credentials but much lower prices (sub-$2k). He said the difference in price was due to the lesser-quality cut of those stones, but I asked him to bring one in for me to compare for good measure. A few days later he came back and said that it would be next week before he could get more stones in, but that he was willing to give me the original stone and the ring for just under $2700 total which he said was only $100 above his cost. I went in to look at it in more detail, and when I took a look at the certificate, I was a little disappointed; there are at least two long white feathers, both starting at the center and one of which goes nearly all the way to the outer edge, as well as a few other small specks throughout (it is an SI2 after all). I asked for a loupe and sure enough, they are very easily visible with it, although I couldn''t see them at all without the loupe; jewelry store bright lighting probably made the darn thing sparkle enough to cover them up. While the price was much better than he originally quoted and was only a little bit higher than my ideal budget of $2500, I''m still not sure how I feel about such large inclusions, even though I couldn''t see them without the loupe.
I''m a very conscious buyer and I want to be sure I''m getting my money''s worth, as well as a quality stone. I realize that with the budget I''m under I can''t expect miracles, but from looking around at the online diamond places like Blue Nile, Union Diamond, and USAcerteddiamonds.com, it seems that I can get a "better" stone for right around $1900-2000. The price tag on the setting at the jeweler''s is $500, so my total cost would probably end up right around the same ($2600-ish) but with a much better quality stone. I''d certainly be willing to go to an F color in order to bring up the clarity to at least SI1 if not VS2. I found an EGL certified stone through usacerteddiamonds.com with the following specs for under $1900:
- .73 ct
- Color: F
- Clarity: VS2
- Depth: 72.5%
- Table: 72.0%
- Crown: 10%
- Pavilion: 60%
- Symmetry: Very Good
- Polish: Very Good
- Girdle: Thin, Polished
- Culet: None
- Fluorescence: None
- Can''t see any inclusion marks on the certificate drawing (electronic version is somewhat small, though)
I realize that with princess cuts, the numbers alone aren''t generally enough to tell how good the cut is, but these numbers seem to fit with some of the suggestions I''ve read. Unfortunately I don''t live anywhere near any independent appraisers in order to have the stone shipped there to inspect before buying, so I''d be forced to buy it, look at it when it arrived, and ship it back myself if it turned out not to be a good stone. The other thing I''m concerned about is how the jeweler will react if I come in with my own stone and ask him to put it in the setting rather than the stone he offered me.
Should I consider getting a hold of one of these "nicer" stones online, or am I just being way too picky and should just take the stone the jeweler has? I apologize for the novel... trying to get in as much about my situation as I can! Thanks in advance to everyone for whatever advice you can impart upon me! This place is great!
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