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Black crystal in VS1? Please help

J

janeelisabeth

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Messages
7
Hi all,

Newbie here so please be gentle. I've been researching diamonds for a couple of months in anticipation of buying my engagement ring. We finally got to the jewellery quarter this weekend and I picked my setting but in my excitement didn't focus too much on the spec of the centre diamond (mainly because I ended up getting a different shape to what I thought I wanted so wasn't familiar with the specific criteria). I was totally in love with the sparkle of the one they showed me, GIA cert 2287548745, but having banged the numbers into the HCA it didn't get a good score. It's only a 0.33 stone because even though we could afford more I prefer a more dainty look, but I do want it to be a good one.

I talked to the shop and they said they're happy to swap it but keep on suggesting stones which don't have great %s and a few that are 0.30 rather than 0.34. I found the following stone GIA 1295936722 which fared well on the HCA and I liked the hearts and arrowsish look of it from the picture I found. The video is at https://www.77diamonds.com/loose_diamonds.html searching RBPUIFSNS4SKUF4 at the bottom left of the listings table. (the shop is not 77 diamonds but there any no pics on their website.)

VS1 diamond.PNG
The shop doesn't have this stone in stock, they would have to buy it in and I very much get the feeling that they are trying to put me off getting a stone which isn't in their current inventory. They've been saying things like "we feel the clarity is far more important than any ratios of depth and table" which is definitely not what I've come to understand through my research. They have come back to me to say that this stone has a big black crystal on the table (which they discovered from the certificate, even though it's below 1 carat so no location is shown) and that if I bought it I could not return it.

My understanding is that crystals shouldn't be black in a VS1, plus that VS1s are pretty much guaranteed eyeclean? I can see a few little spots on the video but I'd really appreciate your thoughts as to whether there really is a big black crystal or if the shop is just fobbing me off? I also thought that shops could get diamonds in to have a look without committing to them? In which case I could ask them for an appraisal?

Can’t post exact link, the video is at https://www.77diamonds.com/loose_diamonds.html searching RBPUIFSNS4SKUF4 at the bottom left of the listings table.

Very much appreciate any advice.

Thanks so much.

Jane
 
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ugh, I'm sorry the jeweler is giving you trouble. VS1 should be eye clean, especially in such a (relatively) small size. There's almost no way you'll see any "big black crystal" in that stone, but I am concerned that they won't let you return it. Sounds like they might not be the right jeweler for you, if they are being so restrictive, and giving false info (e.g. "we think clarity is more important than angles), which is nonsense, especially if they are trying to argue that you'll see anything in that stone.

Do you need D color? There's often no need to pay more for D, since E-F look just as "white" to 99% of people, and doesn't come with the premium mark-up.
 
My first question is can you return the diamond and ring for a refund and start over with a shop who has better cut quality?

I am not sure what HCA score your current diamond recieved, but it looks like the diamond RBPUIFSNS4SKUF4 on that website that you posted is a 0.18 E SI2. Am I looking at the wrong diamond?

Personally, I would lower the color to somewhere in the G, H, I range to get a larger diamond. I am happy with anything eye-clean, so SI 1-2 is fine for me, but ONLY if I can talk to a vendor who has it in hand and can verify that it is eye-clean.
 
kindred said:
My first question is can you return the diamond and ring for a refund and start over with a shop who has better cut quality?

I am not sure what HCA score your current diamond recieved, but it looks like the diamond RBPUIFSNS4SKUF4 on that website that you posted is a 0.18 E SI2. Am I looking at the wrong diamond?

Personally, I would lower the color to somewhere in the G, H, I range to get a larger diamond. I am happy with anything eye-clean, so SI 1-2 is fine for me, but ONLY if I can talk to a vendor who has it in hand and can verify that it is eye-clean.
Click to expand...

I thought that at first as well, but that's not the stone in question. The one she's considering can be found by using the "search" function below the table of diamond choices. See the "code" that she posted above.
 
EDIT. Here's a pic of the "search" bar, which took me forever to find and I kept thinking I was looking at the wrong stone. Here's the one OP is looking at, showing search bar and search "code" thingy.

Screen Shot 2018-09-10 at 10.54.17 AM.png
 
^ Thanks. I was able to get it to work once I hit the "clear filters" button.

@janeelisabeth, You should not be able to see anything in that stone with the naked eye. I can't run it through the HCA because I have no more renaming uses. :-( What HCA score did it receive?
 
@lovedogs thanks so much for posting that!
@kindred I think it was 1.2 and it definitely had 4 excellent ratings for the measures
 
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^ That's great, but I would want confirmation of cut quality via an Idealscope or ASET image. I don't know how likely the seller of that stone is to have either one of them.
 
@lovedogs Not keen on switching shops because took me ages to find a setting I liked, plus fiancé is a bit funny about the concept of marriage/rings and don’t want to rock the boat because we had a really nice time choosing it. I just want a good diamond in the centre. I’m not a diamond connoisseur so I won’t notice subtleties but I do want a nice sparkly shiny stone and the original one was pretty leaky.
 
Thanks for your reply @kindred . Did you see anything I should be concerned about in the video? I doubt I’ll be able to get an ideal scope image. How bad is it to take a punt on this kind of thing, bearing in mind my ‘not a connoisseur’ comment above?
 
janeelisabeth said:
@lovedogs Not keen on switching shops because took me ages to find a setting I liked, plus fiancé is a bit funny about the concept of marriage/rings and don’t want to rock the boat because we had a really nice time choosing it. I just want a good diamond in the centre. I’m not a diamond connoisseur so I won’t notice subtleties but I do want a nice sparkly shiny stone and the original one was pretty leaky.
Click to expand...

The diamond has lovely angles and it looks nice in the video! Don’t worry about an ASET for this one. 100% it is an eye-clean stone there is no reason for concern. Happy engagement!
 
I saw SimoneDi's post and I value her opinion.

But for me personally, I would not buy a diamond that did not have a money back guarantee. There is just no reason to when so many other vendors offer guarantees. I would want to see the diamond in person in many different lighting conditions (including in my home) over a period of a few days. Are you in Canada? Bluenile has a Canadian web page. Maybe look there? I would (and did) order an Idealscope and/or ASET in advance and have that ready when a diamond with a money back guarantee arrives.

ETA - That is just me. I am pretty risk averse.
 
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janeelisabeth said:
The shop doesn't have this stone in stock, they would have to buy it in and I very much get the feeling that they are trying to put me off getting a stone which isn't in their current inventory. They've been saying things like "we feel the clarity is far more important than any ratios of depth and table" which is definitely not what I've come to understand through my research.
Jane
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Yeap. Great insight.
Don't listen to their BS.
Get the VS1. It is eye-clean.
 
kindred said:
I saw SimoneDi's post and I value her opinion.

But for me personally, I would not buy a diamond that did not have a money back guarantee. There is just no reason to when so many other vendors offer guarantees. I would want to see the diamond in person in many different lighting conditions (including in my home) over a period of a few days. Are you in Canada? Bluenile has a Canadian web page. Maybe look there? I would (and did) order an Idealscope and/or ASET in advance and have that ready when a diamond with a money back guarantee arrives.

ETA - That is just me. I am pretty risk averse.
Click to expand...

That's my concern as well. I'm not concerned that this diamond is problematic--more just the idea that the store is giving the OP false info and refusing to stand by their normal return policy rubs me the wrong way.
 
kindred said:
I saw SimoneDi's post and I value her opinion.

But for me personally, I would not buy a diamond that did not have a money back guarantee. There is just no reason to when so many other vendors offer guarantees. I would want to see the diamond in person in many different lighting conditions (including in my home) over a period of a few days. Are you in Canada? Bluenile has a Canadian web page. Maybe look there? I would (and did) order an Idealscope and/or ASET in advance and have that ready when a diamond with a money back guarantee arrives.

ETA - That is just me. I am pretty risk averse.
Click to expand...

Thanks @kindred!

I just saw the comment about non-returnable which is not ideal.

OP, I would personally get something like this which is larger and for less money: https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...DiamondDetails&action=newTab&catalogView=true

I will say that I wasn’t looking for VVS clarity, it is simply priced similarly to SI1 stones (which is also completely fine in that size especially)

I understand thay there is emotional connection with the store, but they don’t seem to value your opinion much and are trying to pressure you into getting one of their subpar stones. I wouldn’t appreciate their business practices and the incorrect information they are providing you with considering that you know what you want and have clearly done your research.
 
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it is a LOVELY stone and there is just no way there is a big black crystal on that table. definitely sounds like they are pushing you to purchase one of their stones avaible in store. stick to your guns, don't let them push you into something.
 
B2CCB9CF-BC28-43F8-9B5E-955BB92CA230.jpeg Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I really appreciate your help. I feel a lot more confident about the eye cleanness of the stone now and am going to go ahead with it. Appreciate that a true diamond gourmet might need to also look at it via idealscope, but i really think I’ll be thrilled at this one (I was thrilled at the one which was pretty crap, so I’m sure this will be no worse plus I’ll have fun looking at the pretty arrows!) I’m going to call the shop out on the no returns thing as they offer this stone for sale with a 30 day money back guarantee, so seems a little unfair not to also offer that to me! Thanks for the other suggestions, all beautiful and nice for comparison. I’m very happy with a 0.33 though, I could afford a much bigger stone but I like the petite look and it fits well with the setting (shown in the pic but with the original diamond). Thanks all!!
 
Will a .18 ct stone fit in the setting that you originally intended for a .32 ct stone?
 
janeelisabeth said:
B2CCB9CF-BC28-43F8-9B5E-955BB92CA230.jpeg Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I really appreciate your help. I feel a lot more confident about the eye cleanness of the stone now and am going to go ahead with it. Appreciate that a true diamond gourmet might need to also look at it via idealscope, but i really think I’ll be thrilled at this one (I was thrilled at the one which was pretty crap, so I’m sure this will be no worse plus I’ll have fun looking at the pretty arrows!) I’m going to call the shop out on the no returns thing as they offer this stone for sale with a 30 day money back guarantee, so seems a little unfair not to also offer that to me! Thanks for the other suggestions, all beautiful and nice for comparison. I’m very happy with a 0.33 though, I could afford a much bigger stone but I like the petite look and it fits well with the setting (shown in the pic but with the original diamond). Thanks all!!
Click to expand...
That's a lovely setting! go the VS and enjoy your engagement and sparkles!
 
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