Thanks Proto, always aprichiate your input!proto|1428916617|3861143 said:Images and scopes look great to me.
LaSuecia|1428928534|3861176 said:ok so some sucker got to it before me...
is it possible to find out what diamond I had in mind by the info I put up here?
and then "steal" the diamond?
did I reveal too much? for future reference...☺
LaSuecia|1428928534|3861176 said:ok so some sucker got to it before me...
is it possible to find out what diamond I had in mind by the info I put up here?
and then "steal" the diamond?
did I reveal too much? for future reference...☺
Sniping does happen so it pays to be conscious of that if you are posting details of a stone you are very interested in buying. But as others have said, this is one of the perils of shopping virtual inventories. Especially if you have a time frame. Availability is uncertain, delivery times are subject to a variety of delays, information about the stone is sometimes incomplete or inaccurate, stones sometimes come in with undeclared issues.JoshuaNiamehr|1428942650|3861267 said:LaSuecia|1428928534|3861176 said:ok so some sucker got to it before me...
is it possible to find out what diamond I had in mind by the info I put up here?
and then "steal" the diamond?
did I reveal too much? for future reference...☺
Diamonds that are coming from virtual inventory are coming from the "spot market/wholesale market" - these diamonds have buyers and sellers from all over the world. Im doubtful a PS'er was the one who distinctly went out of their way to snipe that diamond in specific.
Might be helpful to put a diamond on hold when possible (you can usually do that with virtual inventory as well).
LaSuecia|1428944961|3861293 said:Ok thanks everyone,
Now I understand it all a bit more.
So basically if you find something, you try to reserve it, before you ask for help here will keep in mind!
Search goes on, will probably put up more asets and idelscopes.
LaSuecia|1428944961|3861293 said:Ok thanks everyone,
Now I understand it all a bit more.
So basically if you find something, you try to reserve it, before you ask for help here will keep in mind!
Search goes on, will probably put up more asets and idelscopes.
I agree with this assessment and advice. I would add that it is important to understand the quality control/evaluation process on the part of the vendor of the diamonds when they are received and before they are delivered to you. Are they doing a careful gemological review? Are they confirming light performance images? What is their policy if they detect a problem?pfunk|1428946858|3861316 said:LaSuecia|1428944961|3861293 said:Ok thanks everyone,
Now I understand it all a bit more.
So basically if you find something, you try to reserve it, before you ask for help here will keep in mind!
Search goes on, will probably put up more asets and idelscopes.
Exactly. If you see one you really like, get it reserved and then seek help from the forum. Vendors or virtual inventories have working relationships with their suppliers and can find out if the stone is available and get it held for you. What TexasLeaguer stated is good to know, though I certainly wouldn't call any of those things the norm. I also wouldn't limit those things to vendors who deal in virtual inventory. Vendors who sell in house inventory can and do make mistakes with giving out misinformation as well from time to time. Aditionally, you can minimize those risks by going through vendors who have stones brought to them prior to shipping to you. They can have their gemologists inspect the stone for any misrepresentation from the supplier. There are pros and cons no matter who you purchase from, but having a good idea of how virtual inventory works helps to make sure you have a pleasant buying experience. Also, I personally think it is always a good idea to have an independent appraiser inspect any stone that you purchase, no matter where you bought it from.
LaSuecia|1428948603|3861336 said:Since im buying online, i assume they dont keep the diamonds in house.
I have recieved another aset/idealscope of a diamond tht costs less and the images seem fine, so Im interested in you opinion.
LaSuecia|1428958229|3861426 said:Crown painting....reading up on it!
Im leaving all the diamonds behind me now and am on a new search...so far no luck... I can'tbelieve how much crap there is out there,even a newbie like me notices it easily, I can only imagine how hard it must be for someone who is far more taught than I am on this subject, and on abudget, searching for a good diamond!
https://www.pricescope.com/journal/visible_effects_painting_digging_superideal_diamondsLaSuecia|1428958229|3861426 said:Crown painting....reading up on it!
Im leaving all the diamonds behind me now and am on a new search...so far no luck... I can'tbelieve how much crap there is out there,even a newbie like me notices it easily. I can only imagine how hard it must be for someone who is far more taught than I am on this subject, and especially on abudget, searching for a good diamond!
I disagree DH, an normal photo like the one at the top of thread, or an Ideal-scope image are safer because there are several proportion sets that make the upper girdle facet edges go green for totally different reasons.Diamond_Hawk|1428981437|3861547 said:To piggy-back on the fantastic link Garry has posted - this is an example of detecting painting/digging (indexing variations - these are quite obvious) when using the ASET.
Garry H (Cut Nut)|1428965740|3861475 said:https://www.pricescope.com/journal/visible_effects_painting_digging_superideal_diamondsLaSuecia|1428958229|3861426 said:Crown painting....reading up on it!
Im leaving all the diamonds behind me now and am on a new search...so far no luck... I can'tbelieve how much crap there is out there,even a newbie like me notices it easily. I can only imagine how hard it must be for someone who is far more taught than I am on this subject, and especially on abudget, searching for a good diamond!
RockyRacoon|1428960951|3861454 said:LaSuecia|1428958229|3861426 said:Crown painting....reading up on it!
Im leaving all the diamonds behind me now and am on a new search...so far no luck... I can'tbelieve how much crap there is out there,even a newbie like me notices it easily, I can only imagine how hard it must be for someone who is far more taught than I am on this subject, and on abudget, searching for a good diamond!
You may want to work with a vendor that has stones in-house.
High Performance Diamonds, Good Old Gold, Whiteflash, and Brian Gavin Diamonds are four with stellar reputations.
You will be able to work with an expert at any of these places, and you will be able to get info on stones they have in-house, not at a remote location. This will save you a lot of hassle of calling in stones, stones not being available, stones being snatched up, etc.
Best of luck!
proto|1429003144|3861605 said:LaSuecia - having been in your boat of trying to buy from outside of the USA, I am sympathetic.
My summary recollection on the painting digging issue is below:
May not be 100% accurate but I am sure Garry will correct me
crown only painting (unless excessive) is fine in my eyes.
crown and pavilion painting can be bad
digging is the "bad" characteristic and effectively tries to disguise a thicker girdle without stating on the grading report. The girdle ends up as stated, but the weight distribution may not necessarily be where you think it is, so diamonds that have digging, are "hiding" weight in the girdle which you don't expect from reading the grading report.
If painting/digging occur to any significant extent, the idealscope/ASET changes and you see that the image looks "off" to what you are used to seeing. If you look at Garry's link, theres tons of images, but you can kind of see when something isnt quite normal.
Personally, I would prefer ASET to Idealscope, even for a round brilliant, but I am sure Garry is correct and has reasons for his preference. I purchased my stone based on an idealscope (no ASET), followed by inspection. Got it shipped from James Allen.
In my mind, an ASET returns more information than an idealscope. How you interpret it is up to you, but I don't think its necessary to take it to that level to buy a nicely cut diamond, unless you want to get super technical and into superideals.
The taxes I paid to ship from US to UK were:
20% import VAT for the stone
20% import VAT for the setting
2.5% handling fee on the VAT to Fedex (the courier) as they prepaid my VAT.
This was still significantly cheaper than buying from a physical store in the UK. Unsure what local prices are like in Sweden.
The stone will be insured by the vendor to you, so if it gets lost, I expect you to get a full refund minus currency conversion losses. The issue which is less known, is that trying to insure the stone if you want to return it gets trickier, as Fedex wont insure it beyond $1,000. Maybe DHL or Parcelforce etc may have different policies, I am not sure. They basically don't want to insure diamonds, but seem to have some special arrangement with jewellers, or at least with JA.
BlueNile have a UK trading arm, so you my wish to check them out. Not sure if this avoids the import taxes (cant remember if Sweden is considered in the EU for import duties) but its worth a look. If there are no import duties, I expect this to be cheaper than Swedish physical stores, although maybe not since they seem to hold no inventory, so less overheads, so less margins are needed. Bluenile UK is more expensive than BlueNile US.
My experience of BlueNile after speaking extensively to their customer support is:
They only physically hold their signature range, and these are the only ones they can get images of on request. Think this is in their vault in NY or something. Their signature range is not as good as others, IMHO as to cut precision, but you weren't after a superideal anyway.
Some of their other stones have images, but this is dependent on who holds the stones and whether they have taken images. You cant request Bluenile to get them because they don't hold them.
As such, you have a baseline to compare prices if your local vendor is able to source the same stones as Bluenile UK.
May be helpful, may not be, depending on the import tax position between UK and Sweden.