B&M Loose Diamond purchase for engagement Ring

[gspiteri]

All – First, I would like to state what a great community pricescope is. It has educated me on diamonds just like a college 100 class. Thanks!! Now on to the story…

I am new here and want to get my GF a beautiful engagement ring. I am looking to spend 6500-8000 for an Ideal, VG, G cut (Radiant or Princess) diamond in the 1.5ct range or greater. Is this reasonable/doable? Everything I have read here says the cut is the most important characteristic of a diamond. I tend to agree as I want something that sparkles, reflects light brilliantly at all angles, and is an overall eye catcher. I live and work in Chicago near jewelers row. There are plenty of diamond dealers and some claim to be wholesalers (eg. http://www.newyorkjewelersonline.com/index.html). My questions revolve around finding a good diamond dealer with a large on hand inventory who can help me find the perfect diamond. Onto the questions!
Should I expect a dealer to…
1) provide all different tools to test a diamond (isee2, b-scope, sarin, ideal-scope, firescope, HCA (calculation)).
a. Of the above which one’s are the most reliable/accurate?

2) provide images of the diamonds…hopefully to post here and get the pricescope community feedback.

3) Provide all measurements needed (Table size, Crown angle, Crown Height, Pavilion angle, Pavillion Depth, Star length, Lower-girdle length, Report, Shape, Carat, Color, Clarity, Depth, Girdle, Polish, Symmetry, Culet, Fluorescence, Measurements, Length/Width).
a. Did I miss any?
b. Of the above measurements which ones are the most important in determining the quality of the cut? And what ratios/percentages should I be looking for in the categories deemed most important?

4) How many loose diamonds should a dealer have on hand to be considered a wholesaler?

I understand that instruments cannot ultimately depict how a diamond will perform and at the end of the day it will come down to me, but I am new to this and want to make sure I get the best diamond for my money.

Thanks - Giovanni

 

[icemyster]

Hi Giovanni,

Radiants and princess cuts, like any fanices are a little bit of the wild west as far as finding a great stone. Sometimes all the numbers line up and the diamond does not perform on the optical tests, and sometimes the numbers make no sense and the optics are great. This is not the norm however...

There is also a lot of contorversy as to what numbers you should look for to find the best stones. Princess are a little bit easier in this respect especially now that AGS is defining ideal proportions for princess cuts. Radiants are still difficult. I have found one site that has guidelines for a radiant. I have not really had the opportuinty to test out the results of stones falling into the different catagories listed, but it is a a better place to start than nowhere. http://www.gemappraisers.com/chrt3.htm I hope to have some time to put these proportions to the test in the near future and see how my experiance stacks up.

Yes....a dealer should provide you with all of the analysis that is important to know...you are buing a diamond. It is a major purchase and should be treated as one. If you bought a car and the salesman could not tell you the horse power wouldn''t that be strange. You can get b-scope, sarin, ideal-scope, sarin and GemAdvisor 3d modesl, as well as a good number of pictures of the stone in different lighting conditions. Also you should ask to see picutres of the inclusions under the microscope. That is important. You won''t be able to get ISEE2 or HCA info for facies...these are only for rounds.

As to providing all of the measurements...a sarin will take care of that.

Crown and pavillion angles are very important to the light return of a stone, but the other measurements play an important part also.

As to your last question...I have no idea....

You are very correct that analysis can''t tell you everything, but if the pictures are done well and the analysis is comprehensive, that will give you a great ideal of how the stone will look.

I hope that you have a great experiance in your search and wish you the best in finding a great stone for your GF. All the best!

 

[bluedawg]

Just a word of caution: you may find (as I have) that some B&Ms look at you like you''re insane when you ask about IdealScopes and a Sarin machine and tell you that the GIA cert tells you all you need to know-- some may even say that Exc/Exc= "ideal cut". Go elsewhere if they do.

 

[Diachi]

Date: 5/6/2005 3:51:51 PM
Author: bluedawg
Just a word of caution: you may find (as I have) that some B&Ms look at you like you''re insane when you ask about IdealScopes and a Sarin machine and tell you that the GIA cert tells you all you need to know-- some may even say that Exc/Exc= "ideal cut". Go elsewhere if they do.

Yep, that is VERY true!!! We decided to go with Whiteflash (Internet vendor) after the salesperson at the third B&M store responded this: I asked the question "What kind of cut rating does it have?" She answered "It is a Radiant cut"...DUH, I meant cut class (1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, etc.) I knew what shape it was...But I agree, if you are going to a jeweler in Shy-town (I grew up there!), I''d expect nothing BUT the best and would run from anyone that wasn''t...