Boston Jewelers, Hefez & Sons

[prman13]

Greetings all. I am in the process of searching for a diamond as well as a jeweler to make an engagement ring. It has been a while since this topic has been posted, so I thought I would ask for some "fresh" opinions (repeat information is welcomed too). After having done a fair amount of research, I have narrowed down the parameters of what I am looking for in the center stone of what will be a three-stone engagement ring. What I am hoping to hear about are good AND bad experiences that you have had regarding jewelers in Boston, particularly those located in the two Downtown Crossing buildings. I have heard some pretty good things about Hefez & Sons, so please share ANY experiences you''ve had with them, specifically (again...good or bad). Thanks in advance for any guidance that you are able to provide!

 

[mrssalvo]

Hi prman

I have never heard of Hefez & sons but I wanted to welcome you to Pricescope. I hope you''ll stick around. This place is a great place to educate yourself whether you are purchaing on line or from a local jeweler. The best way to not get taken advantage of is making sure you know your stuff so the sales people can''t make up things and you''re none the wiser. Good luck

 

[Dee*Jay]

My original engagement ring came from Hefez! My fiance (at the time) knew nothing about diamonds and he just went in there with some general parameters and came out with a fabulous ring. They really searched to find him a well cut pear and beautifully matched side stones (my original ring was a 1.33 pear center, H VS2, with .36 F pears on each side). I had several jewelers over the years comment on the workmanship of the ring too.

Best of luck with your search, and if we were in Boston I would have definitely gone there for my recent upgrade.

ETA - You can't really see the name, but one of the pics that I posted a few weeks (months?) ago of my sapphire and diamond ring was taken in the Hefez black velvet box (I must be a little sentimental to have kept that around the house for so long!).

 

[Modified Brilliant]

Hefez and Sons have been in the Jewelers Building in Boston for at least 20 years. I don''t know them personally.

Welcome to PS!

www.metrojewelryappraisers.com

 

[prman13]

Thank you so much for those who have replied thus far. Please keep them coming. I am currently leaning toward working with the folks at Hefez, based on some personal recommendations as well as random feedback that I have read on-line so far. Always curious to hear about others'' experiences, though, to put my mind at ease that I am in fact making this important purchase through someone that can be trusted. I am looking for someone to design the rign itself too, based on one that I found on the Blue Nile site -- so the feedback about how other jewelers have commented on the craftmanship of the ring makes me feel more comfortable as well.

One more quick question for some opinions. I have been lurking on this site for a little while and have read feedback, but am curious to get some more information for myself. The folks at Hefez have shown me a couple of pretty nice round stones, slightly over 1 carat (1.03, 1.06). One has a GIA certificate and one has an AGS. First, does it really matter which certification is associated with the stone, and if so, is it worth having the stone certified by the other organization? Second, for a round diamond of this size, what would be the ideal measurements (a range is fine) for total depth, crown, pavilion, table? I am looking to get the best stone possible that will, of course, be the most "sparkly". The price range is $7000-$8000 for the stone itself.

As always, any and all feedback is appreciated. Thanks!!!

 

[belle]

Date: 4/14/2006 11:49:37 AM
Author: prman13

The folks at Hefez have shown me a couple of pretty nice round stones, slightly over 1 carat (1.03, 1.06). One has a GIA certificate and one has an AGS. First, does it really matter which certification is associated with the stone, and if so, is it worth having the stone certified by the other organization?

the labs are different. the diamonds may or may not be.

you could tell more by the grading reports themselves. are the both new reports or old? new gia reports have a 'cut grade' and new ags reports have a 'light performance' grade. i would take an ags report with an '0' in light performance over a gia with an 'excellent' cut grade, if given the choice. dealers know how well their diamonds will 'look' on paper, so there isn't really any reason to send the stone to another lab for grading, since they may not look as good on another piece of paper.

Date: 4/14/2006 11:49:37 AM
Author: prman13

Second, for a round diamond of this size, what would be the ideal measurements (a range is fine) for total depth, crown, pavilion, table? I am looking to get the best stone possible that will, of course, be the most 'sparkly'. The price range is $7000-$8000 for the stone itself.

this thread might help with good table/crown/pavilion angles.

7-8k for a 1ct!?

 

[mrssalvo]

[/quote]Date: 4/14/2006 12:27:22 PM
Author: belle


7-8k for a 1ct!?

[/quote]

i'm with belle..7-8k is a lot of $ for a 1 ct. stone unless it's a branded 8* or something. Do a search here on PS or with any of the recommended vendors and i think you'll be pleasently surprised that you can get super stone larger than 1 carat for your budget

 

[prman13]

Belle --

Thank you so much! The AGS report is from 2001, the GIA one from 2004. If/when I get close to making a decision on a diamond, I will likely ask them to send it off for an updated report. While this may not be necessary, it is a peace of mind thing for me, as I understand that both reports now offer some additional information. As far as asking about getting the "other" report for a diamond, while this may not be in the best interest of the dealer, it is something I may request...again, for peace of mind. If they are hesitant to do so, that would certainly speak volumes and help me make my decision on a particular stone. I was not aware of the AGS and "light performace" grade. This is something that I am very interested in knowing about whichever diamond I buy. So, when AGS 000 is referenced, what do the three numbers "000" represent? Is light performance a fourth, or is it now included as part of the criteria for an existing category?

Thanks for pointing me to that particular thread that maps out the ideal measurements (table/crown/pavilion angles)...that is a tremendous help and arms me with the "missing" information that I was not aware of. So glad I jumped on to this board and started asking questions!!!

As far as the $7-8k for a 1ct stone, I should mention that I am looking for a VS1 or VS2 with E or F in color. While I know that there are plenty of diamonds out there that potentially provide better value, these are a couple of parameters that I have set for myself and where I have found myself a bit stuck on the "paper" aspect of things. I am happy to receive suggestions as far as whether or not I am off-base in my thinking here as well. But I anticipate something from 1.00-1.10ct, VS1 or VS2, D, E, F. The pricing that I have received so far for diamonds that fall into this area are in that price range.

As always...VERY willing to listen to ANY comments or advice...

 

[belle]

you're welcome prman!

Date: 4/14/2006 2:03:38 PM
Author: prman13

The AGS report is from 2001, the GIA one from 2004. If/when I get close to making a decision on a diamond, I will likely ask them to send it off for an updated report. While this may not be necessary, it is a peace of mind thing for me, as I understand that both reports now offer some additional information.

those are both 'old' report dates and the stones would need to be regraded if another report were to be issued. you would likely pay for this service (in some form) and the results may not be as good the second time around. both ags and gia have changed their grading parameters and what was once ideal, may not be graded that way today. even though both labs have 'tightened' their parameters, you can see by the tables i linked before that gia's top grade is much wider than that of ags. of course, gia rounds critical numbers and does not grade light performance either.

I was not aware of the AGS and 'light performace' grade. This is something that I am very interested in knowing about whichever diamond I buy. So, when AGS 000 is referenced, what do the three numbers '000' represent? Is light performance a fourth, or is it now included as part of the criteria for an existing category?

yep.. ags now grades light performance.

there are ags0/ags000 stones of yesteryear that would not grade ags0 today with the light performance factor. ags000 is an older term that has taken on different 'shapes'. you can read more about ags000/triple zero here. it is important to know exactly what you are getting with each of these reports.

Thanks for pointing me to that particular thread that maps out the ideal measurements (table/crown/pavilion angles)...that is a tremendous help and arms me with the 'missing' information that I was not aware of. So glad I jumped on to this board and started asking questions!!!

you're welcome! that is one very handy table. get to know it and use it well.

As far as the $7-8k for a 1ct stone, I should mention that I am looking for a VS1 or VS2 with E or F in color. While I know that there are plenty of diamonds out there that potentially provide better value, these are a couple of parameters that I have set for myself and where I have found myself a bit stuck on the 'paper' aspect of things. I am happy to receive suggestions as far as whether or not I am off-base in my thinking here as well. But I anticipate something from 1.00-1.10ct, VS1 or VS2, D, E, F. The pricing that I have received so far for diamonds that fall into this area are in that price range.

the pricing is absolutely in line with what you are looking for, especially from a b&m store.
it just hurts some of us that know you can lower the color/clarity a bit and get an amazing stone for a more reasonable price. i absolutely understand the need to get a 'mind clean' diamnond though, and if that's what you need...do it!

hope some of this has helped prman13. i wish you the very best in finding your perfect diamond!

 

[prman13]

Belle..."B&M" store? Not sure what that means.

 

[icekid]

Date: 4/14/2006 5:45:04 PM
Author: prman13
Belle...''B&M'' store? Not sure what that means.

it means "brick and mortar" - as in, a physical store, as opposed to some of the internet vendors.

 

[prman13]

Haha...okay, makes sense. Wasn''t sure, thought maybe there was an assumption of the "type" of jewelers I was speaking with. Thanks a ton for your assistance. I''ve learned quite a bit just by the references that you pointed me toward. And very pleased to understand the new "000" nomenclature. The most recent diamond, which I have yet to see in person (but have a faxed report for) is the AGS one: 1.03ct, VS1, F, Cut grade ideal in all three areas (but I would like to know light performance...so would get a new report done). Table is 56%. Depth 61.3. No culet (pointed). 6.48x6.52x3.99. Crown and Pavilion numbers are tough to read from the fax but look to be 15.2 and 42.8, respectively. While I know you would need to see the diamond itself, based on these numbers, does this sound like a nice stone? Oh yeah, fluorescence listed as inert. Again, this report (AGS0002260005) was from January 22, 2001.

Thanks again!!!