any experience with Signature Collection of Blue Nile?

[viscera912]

Hi,

I was just browsing around various online diamond stores and found blue niles'' signature collection. I saw some good looking stones and I was just curious if anyone has bought from that collection or heard good/bad things about it. Thanks for your replies

Jason

ps
here is a link of a stone that caught my eye

, let me know what you think of it, the specs look great
http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00245091&filter_id=0&query=21&page=&pid2=&det_view=prod_details&track=tabdet#tabloc

 

[Rank Amateur]

I wonder what about this diamond makes it worthy of being a "signature" stone? I presume they have some cut proportion requirements. I see they don't mind using the term Ideal for a princess cut.

If it were me I'd buy from somebody smaller than Blue Nile whose eyes I could trust to help me make a selection.

 

[Rank Amateur]

Answered my own question. Crown height exceeds 8% (can't get that from the GIA report

).

I'd also request some better photos of the grade setters.

 

[pqcollectibles]

Generally speaking, Blue Nile tends to be a bit pricier than other Vendors when comparable diamonds are available elsewhere. There have been people on the Forum who have bought from Blue Nile and been very pleased. You might run a search of past threads and read about other's experiences.

Blue Nile tends to appeal to folks who cannot find a comparable diamond elsewhere. One gal in particular, StephCola, had a great buying experience with Blue Nile. In her case, no other Vendors had comparable diamonds available. She did a lot of grunt work to replace a diamond ring that was stolen. She bought and returned a couple diamonds before she found THE one that spoke to her. Then she confirmed her purchase decision with an independent appraisal with Rich Sherwood.

 

[viscera912]

Thank you for your replies pq and rank amateur...Before I posed this question to the pricescope community I ran a search and the ones that I read didn't really come to a conclusion about whether those are truly special stones (signature cut from blue nile). There was one thread that dealt with the >8%crown issue written by Rhino and he said that the fact of the crown being larger did not do anything for the optics of the diamond. In fact I qoute from him, " I test tons of stones with crowns over 8% that are optical disasters." As far as numbers go, the depth, table, and l/w are simply the best numbers. Thus, with those specs, I have yet to find a comparable diamond that wasn't way out of the price that blue nile qouted at $1561. I have searched quite a number of online vendors and the majority of all their diamonds land in the 70th percentiles for depth and table. My budget is anything under $1600 and this signature cut seems to be very good and under my budget cut. I don't mind doing a bunch of homework to buy this stone for my future wife, but seriously, this is some HARD stuff...worse than the MCAT!!! Anyway, thanks again for your replies

Jason

ps
I emailed blue nile today for some pictures...should I have asked for some specific "shots" so I could see better, I could email then again for these photos.

 

[viscera912]

I noticed as I am reading more and more about BN on this forum that PQ is very firm on the stance that BN is pricey. On the majority of posts regarding BN PQ has mentioned that time and time again. Hmmm....perhaps I should take notice!! So I decided to do some more checking. I came up with some things (in next paragraph) I swear without this forum I would be totally lost if I haven't said thank you enough yet I want to say thanks a million to those who had to idea to build something like this as well as the experts who give the best of advice!!!

Ok enough of the mushy stuff.....So I am still looking at other online vendors listed here on pricescope and I noticed that niceice does not focus on princess as much as RB's....so that takes out that vendor. Goodoldgold has princesses, however, for the exception of one, the rest are way out my price range. Superbcert's "superbcert princess" were way out of my price range so I looked at their "discount diamond" collection. I found a couple
1. .62 vs2 E depth=72.3 table=69 4.89x4.62x3.34 $1575 those are the main info
http://superbcert.com/Shop_By_Product/Diamond_Details.cfm/P/92579/N/2;23

2. .61 vs1 E depth=74.2 table=75 4.51x4.75x3.35 $1526
http://superbcert.com/Shop_By_Product/Diamond_Details.cfm/P/92580/N/2;23

now if I compare these two diamonds to the one from BN
.6 vs2 I depth=67 table=69 4.74x4.69x3.14 $1561
http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00245091&filter_id=0&sec=&query=21&page=&sortby=size-d

so if I have done my homework correctly and follow the tutorial...it seems to me that the one from BN works the best.... so after some research this is what I have come up with...what do you think pricescope community??
Thanks for your replies and help

Jason

 

[pqcollectibles]

Fancies are tougher than Round Brilliants. The AGA has set guidelines to follow, but the numbers are not hard and fast. A Princess can be cut to Class 1A standards and not perform well. Another cut to Class 2B standards can be a super performer.

Magnified pics are great for assessing inclusions. You also need an Ideal Scope image to assess for light leakage. Also ask for Sarin info to get the angles. Angles quite often tell more of the story than %'s do. If the numbers look good and the Ideal Scope looks good, then your eye will be the final judge.

Here's a link to the guidelines for:

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc1.asp

Besides GOG, and Nice Ice, you can check Dirt Cheap Diamonds Signature Line and White Flash Expert Selection. Both Vendors have those Princess diamonds on hand that have been evaluated for quality and performance. You might also consider chatting with some Vendors about what you are looking for and your price point. Find one you are comfortable working with and letting the Vendor source for you. These folks are pro's at what they do. They can very often see something in the stats that tells them a particular diamond is a definite "No" or has good potential as a prospect.

I do stand by my comments about Blue Nile and pricing. The comment is not bad or good. Just an observation of price comparisons over my time on PS. Blue Nile tends to be a bit pricey when COMPARABLE diamonds are available from other sources. Not always, but a lot of the time. There are also buyers that cannot find THE diamond for them elsewhere. Blue Nile works very well for those buyers, is very reputable, and stands behind their policies.

 

[stephcola]

Jason,




I bought a great stone from BN a few months ago. As PQ said, noone else had what I was looking for. I did a search for 3 months and for me, I found the best stone I could afford at BN. If you find what you have been looking for in your price range, I'd say go for it. You have 30 days to look at it like crazy and if you are not happy - they will gladly take it back. I bought one stone from a local store and returned it and one from BN and returned it. Don't get nervous - there was nothing wrong with it. It was a fantastic stone - I just decided to get a better color - although I did have to go down in size. I did not purchase from the Signature series but this was an ideal cut - although not superideal as some on PS prefer. I love my stone and am totally happy with the whole BN experience. I suggest you buy a loupe if you are purchasing online. You can really look your stone over to make sure you are happy with it. If you want to see my long arduous journey, you can look for the threads with stephcola in them. Good luck. You can't go wrong if you are an educated consumer. Regards,

 

[pqcollectibles]

Here are 2 Signature Series Princess diamonds available from Dirt Cheap Diamonds. Both are in your size and price range and have been hand selected for performance.

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=6908683

http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=6908642