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aradiamonds.com are they legit they use GSI?? Afghan diamonds??

Corely

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 7, 2018
Messages
51
diam.jpg Does anyone have experience with this website? www.aradiamonds.com I am looking to buy an engagement ring very soon. Been shopping around and stumbled on this site. I am working overseas right now and need to get a ring before my next RR vacation so I can propose. The prices on this site are considerably cheaper than anywhere I have seen ever and I have been actively searching for six months. I did an online chat with the guy on there and they are based out of Israel. This is all online purchasing. The prices are awesome... which makes my spidey senses go off that something cant be right here. They of course say they are legit and 100% natural diamonds. The only catch I can see is they use a GIS certification system. Which I can find info on online but haven't really seen anywhere else that uses GIS. They can even customize rings to. I mean we are talking 4 carat diamonds for less than $6k here? I'm a bit skeptical. Does anyone know whats up with this site or buying diamonds online. I cannot travel to any of these places so looking to buy online.. or in Dubai, which I would rather not have to deal with the markets and haggling there.

On a side note. in Afghanistan at a Bazaar out here I am considering buying a Princess cut VS2 color H 3.05 carat diamond. they want $12k for it. It has some inclusions so it looks to be real. They dont offer certifications but say they can get one from India if need be. Its a big pretty rock. Had the guy looking for one for six months and he finally found the right size and cut. I have bought some Tanzanite from him in the past and they all appraise well back in the states. If anyone has ny tips or info Im all for it. attached is a picture of the Afghan stone if that helps at all. Thanks
 
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bmfang

Brilliant_Rock
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Jan 2, 2017
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1,851
Ara aren’t using GIA, AGS or hell, even IGI.

I’d stay away.

As for the Afghan princess cut, from that one photo it looks ok. Would like to see it from more angles and in different light conditions. Only caveat is that it is a lot of money for something that has nothing behind it. Has the bazaar guy mentioned anything about possible specs for it?
 

rockhoundofficiando

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
243
The stone above is obviously quite yellow. The website has extremely low prices. I wonder if they're actually selling clarity enhanced diamonds or only a simulant such as moissanite. They appear to have mostly stylized type illustrations rather than photos of their jewelry . I would probably stay away. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
 

Corely

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 7, 2018
Messages
51
2C34CDCB-4015-4D74-AD6D-8E7F85A8FD58.jpeg FB4DECD1-5651-4AC2-9ED6-1573EFD42402.jpeg F9F241E9-5A59-4866-BA0F-F4EAFBD5B485.jpeg 9B9AECCE-9135-424C-B6EF-421362F45752.jpeg Here are a few more pics. Not very helpful I know. He said he will send me specs once they solidify the ring design. I semi trust the guy. Bought a bunch of gemstone jewelry for my girls.. jade, tourmaline, onyx and tanzanite and they all appraised great back home. Iv been a good customer to him for 15 months so he knows me prettt good. But this would be the largest purchase by far. He can get a certification from India if need be he said. Diamond is from Africa. I bought some tanzanite ratings for $60 and they appraised for $500 back home. Not looking to make money off the stuff or anything. But want good quality for my girls.
 

Sunstorm

Brilliant_Rock
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Feb 5, 2014
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1,789
Based on your photos and I can only tell you objectively that it looks like a K/L stone and on your first photo much lower. Poor quality, cut. Don´t ever consider this sum of money without a certificate from a reputable lab. Trust is dangerous and easily misused.

As to the website well you cannot buy a real Ferrari for 3000, maybe only if it is down to scrap metal. Is that what you want?

There are no deals to be had in diamonds just like that for a retail customer and again there is no wholesale to a retail customer. Many people think they will outsmart the "system", only to find out that they have been ripped off.

There is a reason people put in a lot of time, money and effort to study gemology and invest much more to create a contact system to purchase, which will not be available to customers. These retailers are not your friends or the Salvation Army.

If I were you I would start a thread on what you are looking for and people will give you wonderful, legit options here. That´s what this site is for and the people helping are wonderful with an extensive knowledge.
 

ChristineRose

Brilliant_Rock
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Aug 5, 2012
Messages
926
I couldn't find any info on Aradiamonds, but I did find many threads on GSI, and it wasn't encouraging.

GSI on PS

I would assume a GSI cert to be worthless, TBH. Well, it's probably worth one thing, which is that these are actual mined diamonds, not Moissanite/generic silicon carbide. I wouldn't expect it to be moissy in any case. Cubic Zirconia is cheaper and much more diamond like, and is all over Ebay calling itself diamond.

Therefore I would not buy a GSI diamond for the simple reason that you have no idea what you are actually buying.

I did some looking around at the Aramark site. I didn't find anything remotely close to a 4 ct princess for $6,000. But I did find this.

Stone Treatment: Clarity Enhanced
Stone Type: Natural Diamond

Near the Bottom of the Page

There are many threads on CE diamonds on PS, but the upshot is that you probably should not buy a CE diamond even if you are fine with the idea of saving money by getting a CE diamond. They don't even mention a guaranteed repair policy on the site and that's absolutely unacceptable, even if you ignore all the other reasons not to get a CE diamond!

The Afghan guy is way more complicated. There are advantages to buying local from someone you trust, but I'm not at all sure that is what we have here. If you decide to pursue I'd do this:

Ask him to grade it himself. Tell him you know it's not an H VS2. You can see it's inclusions and it's much too yellow.
Research stones on PS and get an idea of the price in USD.
Research your costs of getting a US or Europe, India, etc. based stone to wherever you actually need it to be. Include everything you can think of like duty, taxes, shipping fee, insurance. There will be people here who can do a much better job of advising you than I can.
Consider the hassle factor and up the price of the stone. I haven't much idea of what the hassle factor would be. Basically it's the extra service your local jeweler is providing, plus all his costs mentioned above, plus the cost of simply doing business in Afghanistan at all, plus a fair profit for his efforts.
Ask him to send the stone to India to get a GIA or AGS rating. Again, research the costs of this as much as you can, and let the PS team help you.
Tell him if the stone comes back within one grade of his estimate, you will buy it and pay the cost of the grading in addition to the 12K. I'm not even sure how you would handle haggling, but maybe someone else on here has something to say.

Okay, now that I've written all this down it sounds like an even worse idea! But I get that you're in a unique situation. Maybe someone can help you. There's got to be a dealer that helps service members in similar situations!
 

Corely

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 7, 2018
Messages
51
Thanks for all the info suggestions and help guys. Does the stone really look that yellow when its not wedged between my fingers like that? I mean.. it is not crystal clear for sure.. but it was above khaki pants and crappy florescent connex lighting.. I don't remember it striking me as yellow in person. The inclusions arnt so bad unless looking at it through a loop. I do want to see what he sends as specs come in. Takes them about 20 days to make a ring out of it if we go that way. I will need it within 40 days.. My RR is coming up around Christmas and have a pretty cool proposal idea.
 

whitewave

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Feb 29, 2012
Messages
12,331
Thanks for all the info suggestions and help guys. Does the stone really look that yellow when its not wedged between my fingers like that? I mean.. it is not crystal clear for sure.. but it was above khaki pants and crappy florescent connex lighting.. I don't remember it striking me as yellow in person. The inclusions arnt so bad unless looking at it through a loop. I do want to see what he sends as specs come in. Takes them about 20 days to make a ring out of it if we go that way. I will need it within 40 days.. My RR is coming up around Christmas and have a pretty cool proposal idea.

Stone color is graded pavilion up. This stone is very obviously yellow.
 

Lovesparklesparle

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 9, 2017
Messages
495
I have a diamond from Michael Hill which has a GSI certificate of authenticity card. The “certificate” was provided by Michael Hill when it was purchased and is commonly used by them in Australia. FWIW I do believe the grading GSI gave for colour, cut and clarity would be similar enough to what GIA would give (though it has not been regraded by anyone). If the diamond were more valuable I might send it in for regrading but it’s only 0.8 ct.
 

kmoro

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
1,081
I have a diamond from Michael Hill which has a GSI certificate of authenticity card. The “certificate” was provided by Michael Hill when it was purchased and is commonly used by them in Australia. FWIW I do believe the grading GSI gave for colour, cut and clarity would be similar enough to what GIA would give (though it has not been regraded by anyone). If the diamond were more valuable I might send it in for regrading but it’s only 0.8 ct.

https://www.diamonds.pro/reviews/michael-hill/

https://www.diamonds.pro/education/gsi-certification/

But this is not the lab used by aradiamonds... they use GIS

http://www.labsgis.com/home.html
 
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kmoro

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
1,081
I couldn't find any info on Aradiamonds, but I did find many threads on GSI, and it wasn't encouraging.

GSI on PS

I would assume a GSI cert to be worthless, TBH. Well, it's probably worth one thing, which is that these are actual mined diamonds, not Moissanite/generic silicon carbide. I wouldn't expect it to be moissy in any case. Cubic Zirconia is cheaper and much more diamond like, and is all over Ebay calling itself diamond.

Therefore I would not buy a GSI diamond for the simple reason that you have no idea what you are actually buying.

I did some looking around at the Aramark site. I didn't find anything remotely close to a 4 ct princess for $6,000. But I did find this.

Stone Treatment: Clarity Enhanced
Stone Type: Natural Diamond

Near the Bottom of the Page

There are many threads on CE diamonds on PS, but the upshot is that you probably should not buy a CE diamond even if you are fine with the idea of saving money by getting a CE diamond. They don't even mention a guaranteed repair policy on the site and that's absolutely unacceptable, even if you ignore all the other reasons not to get a CE diamond!

The Afghan guy is way more complicated. There are advantages to buying local from someone you trust, but I'm not at all sure that is what we have here. If you decide to pursue I'd do this:

Ask him to grade it himself. Tell him you know it's not an H VS2. You can see it's inclusions and it's much too yellow.
Research stones on PS and get an idea of the price in USD.
Research your costs of getting a US or Europe, India, etc. based stone to wherever you actually need it to be. Include everything you can think of like duty, taxes, shipping fee, insurance. There will be people here who can do a much better job of advising you than I can.
Consider the hassle factor and up the price of the stone. I haven't much idea of what the hassle factor would be. Basically it's the extra service your local jeweler is providing, plus all his costs mentioned above, plus the cost of simply doing business in Afghanistan at all, plus a fair profit for his efforts.
Ask him to send the stone to India to get a GIA or AGS rating. Again, research the costs of this as much as you can, and let the PS team help you.
Tell him if the stone comes back within one grade of his estimate, you will buy it and pay the cost of the grading in addition to the 12K. I'm not even sure how you would handle haggling, but maybe someone else on here has something to say.

Okay, now that I've written all this down it sounds like an even worse idea! But I get that you're in a unique situation. Maybe someone can help you. There's got to be a dealer that helps service members in similar situations!

aradiamonds uses GIS, not GSI. GSI is used by mall stores like Michael Hill. Neither one of these are worth much.

http://www.labsgis.com/home.html
 

metall

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 15, 2017
Messages
843
ahh....I just saw that this thread is quite old....I saw the updated thread. I will post there. Please ignore my post
 
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