Arctic Ideal?

[acezarra]

I went to Bailey Banks and Biddle today to do a little eye research. I have been reading through the forums trying to decide what is the best bang for my buck... I asked to view an ideal cut diamond at BBB and they said they had arctic ideals. I asked what the difference is and the saleslady said that arctic ideals are diamonds that come from cold areas and are better than ideal diamonds. Has anyone heard of this? Am I going crazy thinking it''s just a sales ploy?

Ana

 

[MissGotRocks]

It's just a sales ploy. Their Artic stones are just their version of ideal cut stones. No better and maybe worse than you can find with some of the online vendors here.

Cold areas? You've got to be kidding me!

 

[stone-cold11]

Agreed, sales ploy. Cold region... don''t they heat up their workshop or are they trying to save even that bit of $$?

 

[moonlite]

I guess what he meant is our Canada's Arctic diamond from mines in the Northwest Territories. And the last time i checked they are more expensive than diamonds we can buy from the States ( don't know y though)

 

[acezarra]

Thanks for the information! I thought it was a hoax. I appreciate the confirmation.

 

[Diamond Explorer]

Date: 4/18/2009 9:56:08 PM
Author: AnaClare
Thanks for the information! I thought it was a hoax. I appreciate the confirmation.

I wouldn''t call it a hoax, because they are not making claims that are not fulfilled with the diamond.

Is the diamond from Canada? Yes.

Is it "ideal" by many definitions? Yes, I think those particular stones are in fact graded by AGS as Ideal, Its been a while since i worked for them, but I seem to remember that.

Don''t be too hard on the old guy. The diamonds are probably not the best value, but they are labeled properly, just sold poorly. I heard they are closing half their stores, maybe you could pick one up at a discount.

 

[acezarra]

Thanks Jonathan for the correction. I was just surprised to hear that the saleslady said the diamonds were nicer as some with the same stats just because it was from a cold region. They were in fact liquidating their merchandise because the store may or may not close.

 

[Diamond Explorer]

Date: 4/19/2009 12:21:38 AM
Author: AnaClare
Thanks Jonathan for the correction. I was just surprised to hear that the saleslady said the diamonds were nicer as some with the same stats just because it was from a cold region. They were in fact liquidating their merchandise because the store may or may not close.

Ha, Yeah I don''t think the coldness has anything to do with the diamond''s quality. That''s just downright silly.

 

[iraweissman]

Also, keep in mind that BBB is a division of Zales, and therefore survives (barely) on good old fashioned jewelry business markups of 50%-100%. You''re better off buying from an online vendor that lists diamonds not in their inventory. Markups with these online vendors typically run between 15 and 20%.

 

[KP_Gemologist]

The advantage of an Artic Ideal (ideal cut stone from Canada) is that you have the guarantee that your stone is not a "blood diamond", and that appropriate labor practices were used in mining it. The labor treatment at most mines in Africa is atrocious. This is why the Canadian stones are more expensive.

The cold temp has nothing to do with the diamonds, but the Canadian mine is know to have a very good average of good quality diamonds.

PS: BBB is no longer a division of Zales Corp, it was purchased by Finlay.