Any experiences with James Allen?

[Grilledcheese]

Hi everyone, new poster here.

I’m currently helping my friend’s partner in engagement ring shopping. He’s very interested in purchasing a lab diamond but got confused at the significant price differences between James Allen and other companies e.g. Brilliant Earth etc.

We both tried to look for reviews but could not find much online.

Has anyone purchased a diamond from them before? Was the quality okay?

This is the one he is interested in:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...rat-f-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-7132867

Thank you!

 

[OoohShiny]

Hi everyone, new poster here.

I’m currently helping my friend’s partner in engagement ring shopping. He’s very interested in purchasing a lab diamond but got confused at the significant price differences between James Allen and other companies e.g. Brilliant Earth etc.

We both tried to look for reviews but could not find much online.

Has anyone purchased a diamond from them before? Was the quality okay?

This is the one he is interested in:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...rat-f-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-7132867

Thank you!

JA is a Pricescope-recommended vendor, in that they have good Returns policies and will not in any way scam you.

That said, since a few weeks ago, they have removed all the grading reports off their website, which means that we on PS cannot accurately assess cut quality without ringing customer services to request the information - JA's position being that speaking to customers means they increase sales (basically).

They are therefore not really recommended at the moment but for the reasons above, they are a safe-to-use vendor.


You will need to request the grading report and post it / the details here, so we can analyse the angles and understand if it is well cut.

What is the budget and desired/required specs (in terms of colour, clarity, carat size)? We may be able to identify other options.


Man Made Diamond pricing is a bit 'all over the place' at the moment - the market is new, Lightbox have disrupted pricing methods that were in place up until recently (i.e. the market was using 'Mined Diamonds minus 'X' percentage' as a pricing tool, whereas LB have said it's $800/ct flat-rate, but they are only growing stones up to 1ct in size), and the secondary market is a big unknown because the public are still wary of them, mainly because pricing is all over the place, lol. There is also awareness (at least on here) that there are some considerable profit margins being reaped due to opaqueness of the manufacturing and cutting processes and costs. Many people are therefore adopting a 'wait and see' approach before diving in to the market - I know I am

At least at this point in time, any MMD purchase should (IMHO) be approached with the mindset that once the money is spent, one will never get any of it back - or perhaps only a small percentage, maybe 10-20%.

That percentage is not really that different from the lower end of the secondhand Mined diamond prices, though, where one might get 10% to 80% of the original purchase cost back, depending on stone quality, speed of sale needed, selling method used, etc.


To ask the question, has the person looking to purchase an MMD checked that the intended recipient would be happy with an MMD?

Some people are cool with the whole idea of man applying technology to create something that nature grew million/billions of years ago, but other people want the 'romance' and the history of diamonds that have been around for that length of time (until we dug a massive hole in the ground to get them out, lol).

 

[Grilledcheese]

JA is a Pricescope-recommended vendor, in that they have good Returns policies and will not in any way scam you.

That said, since a few weeks ago, they have removed all the grading reports off their website, which means that we on PS cannot accurately assess cut quality without ringing customer services to request the information - JA's position being that speaking to customers means they increase sales (basically).

They are therefore not really recommended at the moment but for the reasons above, they are a safe-to-use vendor.


You will need to request the grading report and post it / the details here, so we can analyse the angles and understand if it is well cut.

What is the budget and desired/required specs (in terms of colour, clarity, carat size)? We may be able to identify other options.


Man Made Diamond pricing is a bit 'all over the place' at the moment - the market is new, Lightbox have disrupted pricing methods that were in place up until recently (i.e. the market was using 'Mined Diamonds minus 'X' percentage' as a pricing tool, whereas LB have said it's $800/ct flat-rate, but they are only growing stones up to 1ct in size), and the secondary market is a big unknown because the public are still wary of them, mainly because pricing is all over the place... lol

Any MMD purchase should (IMHO) be approached with the mindset that once the money is spent, one will never get any of it back - or perhaps only a small percentage, maybe 10-20%.

That percentage is not really that different from the lower end of the secondhand Mined diamond prices, though, where one might get 10% to 80% of the original purchase cost back, depending on stone quality, speed of sale needed, selling method used, etc.


To ask the question, has the person looking to purchase an MMD checked that the intended recipient would be happy with an MMD?

Some people are cool with the whole idea of man applying technology to create something that nature grew million/billions of years ago, but other people want the 'romance' and the history of diamonds that have been around for that length of time (until we dug a massive hole in the ground to get them out, lol).

Thank you! That is very helpful.

My friend has mentioned that she would prefer a lab diamond over mined. James Allen has a setting that she really likes so her partner thought it would be nice to get the stone from there too.

We’re in Australia, so can’t really call. I can definitely message them and ask.

Budget for the entire ring is $10000.

Colour range between E-H and size 1-1.5ct. Clarity at least an eye clean S1-VS. Cut very good-ideal. She is quite colour sensitive.

I will report back with the specs

 

[Grilledcheese]

I got the certificate!

Specs are:
1.2ct, vs2, F, Ideal cut.
Polish and symmetry excellent.
6.76-6.81x4.24
Table 57.5%
Crown height angle 15%-35.8
Pavillon depth angle 43.5% -41.1
Girdle thickness medium
Total depth 62.4%

 

[OoohShiny]

The HCA tool (under the tools tab at the top of the forum) shows you if the crown and pavilion angles of Modern Round Brilliant diamonds work with each other and therefore whether the stone will be leaky / perform poorly.

You should look for stones with a score under 2, although some stones up to perhaps the mid-2s would be acceptable.

This stone has a score of 4.8.

I think it is a definite No'


It is harder to shop for MMDs because not all the grading reports have all the stone details on them, and as mentioned, JA doesn't have the grading reports easily available, but you should try to shop for stones within these parameters:

Table 54-58%
Depth 60-62.4%
Pavilion Angle 40.6-40.9 degrees
Crown Angle 34-35 degrees (up to 35.5 or perhaps even 36 with a 40.6 pavilion)

As the crown angle increases, the pavilion angle should decrease - i.e. 34c/40.9p but 35.5c/40.6p.

These ranges should enable you to find a stone that is near 'SuperIdeal' and which therefore performs well, with a balance of white light and coloured fire.

An alternative might be to look for a '60/60' stone - ~60% table with ~60% depth. They can look larger for their carat weight but (as I understand it) tend to produce more white light than coloured fire.


I have to do some work today so can't look for any options right now, but $10k is a healthy budget and I think you should be able to find something really good for that money.

If you have time, you could look through the list of MMD vendors in another thread in this section of the forum and see what they have in stock, then post them here for review

 

[Grilledcheese]

The HCA tool (under the tools tab at the top of the forum) shows you if the crown and pavilion angles of Modern Round Brilliant diamonds work with each other and therefore whether the stone will be leaky / perform poorly.

You should look for stones with a score under 2, although some stones up to perhaps the mid-2s would be acceptable.

This stone has a score of 4.8.

I think it is a definite No'


It is harder to shop for MMDs because not all the grading reports have all the stone details on them, and as mentioned, JA doesn't have the grading reports easily available, but you should try to shop for stones within these parameters:

Table 54-58%
Depth 60-62.4%
Pavilion Angle 40.6-40.9 degrees
Crown Angle 34-35 degrees (up to 35.5 or perhaps even 36 with a 40.6 pavilion)

As the crown angle increases, the pavilion angle should decrease - i.e. 34c/40.9p but 35.5c/40.6p.

These ranges should enable you to find a stone that is near 'SuperIdeal' and which therefore performs well, with a balance of white light and coloured fire.

An alternative might be to look for a '60/60' stone - ~60% table with ~60% depth. They can look larger for their carat weight but (as I understand it) tend to produce more white light than coloured fire.


I have to do some work today so can't look for any options right now, but $10k is a healthy budget and I think you should be able to find something really good for that money.

If you have time, you could look through the list of MMD vendors in another thread in this section of the forum and see what they have in stock, then post them here for review

Wow, I’m so glad I asked! Thank you!

I’ll keep looking