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Buyer's Remorse - Did I Pay Way Too Much?

R

rembonjaski

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 19, 2014
Messages
5
Hello, I've been lurking around on the forums for a while now and have really learned a lot. Unfortunately, I feel like I threw all that useful information from the community out of the window with the diamond I just bought.

I pretty much ignored the specs on the cert and based my decision on looks alone, but now I have this sinking feeling that I paid way too much. On paper, this thing seems pretty bad -

GIA cert -
Round Brilliant
Measurements: 6.06 - 6.11 x 3.78 mm
Carat Weight: 0.90 carat
Color Grade: F
Clarity Grade: SI1
Cut Grade: Good
Depth: 62.2 %
Table: 60 %
Crown Angle: 35.5°
Crown Height: 14.5%
Pavilion Angle: 40.8°
Pavilion Depth: 43.0%
Star Length: 50%
Lower Half: 75%
Girdle: Thin to Very Thick, Faceted, 5.0%
Culet: None
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None
Clarity characteristics: Knot

I paid $5,100.

It's eye clean. Even under 10x, I can't find the inclusions. The dealer said he thought it was a beautiful stone but didn't really say much about the cert. He certainly wasn't trying to hide anything and gave me all the numbers to look at. He said he was happy to find me other stones, and was not pressuring me at all to take this one. But, despite all that, I thought it looked beautiful. I asked him to show me an Ex/Ex/Ex stone so I could compare side by side and quite honestly, I could not tell a difference. Admittedly, this is my first purchase and I don't really know exactly what I was looking at, but I really couldn't see any difference.

I don't know what the return policy is, but I would feel horrible asking to exchange. Mainly because I really think it looks great and I would be trying to "upgrade" purely based on paper.

Basically, I would feel much better if someone said, "yeah, you could have probably gotten something better on paper, but you didn't get ripped off".

So, did I make a big mistake here?
 
My original diamond is no more than "good" and I wore it for 30 years and thought it was pretty. But there is no comparison between it and my newer ideal cut stones. I would try to return it and start over. Everything looks good in jewelers lighting. I would not buy anything under GIA Excellent cut. That in itself is a very broad range. I'll do a little price checking and see if there are any comps.

Yes, looking on the PS diamond search under Resources above, I looked up .90 F SI1 and there were a bunch of VG cut stones (no Good listed), and they ranged from $3500-4500, so you overpaid especially for a "good" cut.

Going up to Excellent cut, prices were around $4500-5500.

I wouldn't overpay for a "good" cut stone. $5000 is a lot of money. I really suggest choosing between Ex cut stones only. If you view locally, have them pull ex cut only. But I don't think this seller is too interested in your getting a great diamond. I'd return and come back here and start over.

Don't get me wrong, the eye is the final judge. But for those with little to no experience looking at diamonds, mistakes certainly can be made. No different from a wine connoisseur being more discerning over a range of wines than I would when I have little exposure to the finest wines.
 
https://www.pricescope.com/diamond-search-results/

If you have it and cannot return it, just enjoy it. I am sure it is beautiful.

However, if you can return it, the above guide will give you comparable prices in size, clarity, color, but with an excellent cut.
 
rembonjaski|1400546727|3676415 said:
Hello, I've been lurking around on the forums for a while now and have really learned a lot. Unfortunately, I feel like I threw all that useful information from the community out of the window with the diamond I just bought.

I pretty much ignored the specs on the cert and based my decision on looks alone, but now I have this sinking feeling that I paid way too much. On paper, this thing seems pretty bad -

* * *
I paid $5,100.

It's eye clean. Even under 10x, I can't find the inclusions. The dealer said he thought it was a beautiful stone but didn't really say much about the cert. He certainly wasn't trying to hide anything and gave me all the numbers to look at. He said he was happy to find me other stones, and was not pressuring me at all to take this one. But, despite all that, I thought it looked beautiful. I asked him to show me an Ex/Ex/Ex stone so I could compare side by side and quite honestly, I could not tell a difference. Admittedly, this is my first purchase and I don't really know exactly what I was looking at, but I really couldn't see any difference.

I don't know what the return policy is, but I would feel horrible asking to exchange. Mainly because I really think it looks great and I would be trying to "upgrade" purely based on paper.

Basically, I would feel much better if someone said, "yeah, you could have probably gotten something better on paper, but you didn't get ripped off".

So, did I make a big mistake here?
Click to expand...

Okay, I ran a quick PS Search for GIA diamonds with similar specs as yours, and the results were priced between $4490 and $5100. I looked at the $4490 diamond since it was a James Allen diamond, and it was not eyeclean.

Honestly, in terms of price paid, you were not ripped off. But your diamond scored 3.5 on the HCA tool, and I do think you could get a far better performing diamond for around the same money.

And if you wanted to pay quite a bit less, you could contact WhiteFlash about this Premium Select diamond at apx $4,400 with the same face-up size as your posted diamond but with an excellent performance (based on the images since the report is not posted yet). http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3114530.htm
 
Ah, we posted the same one, DF!

rembonjaski, I hope you have a return policy, because reputable jewelers always have one, as far as I am concerned. I would do it immediately.
 
I'll echo what the others have said. If you can return it, I would do so as soon as you can. I'm saying this as a fellow beginner in learning about diamonds. I had no idea just how beautiful and sparkly an ideal cut diamond could really be, and it really is no contest with what I previously considered to be beautiful ('good' cut diamonds from chain stores).

IMO I think you need to be asking a different question than whether you got ripped off or not. A better question would be did you get the best performing stone in your budget. And judging from the great performing stones the others have shown you in your budget, I think it's best to start over
 
Thanks for the feedback. Sadly, I didn't really get into the details about the return policy. I chose the place on a recommendation from someone who's family spends a ton of money with him. I do like him would like to still use him so hopefully he won't have an issue exchanging the stone. I hate doing it, but it will probably eat at me forever if I don't. Who knows, maybe he shows me a bunch that look great on paper and I still like the original one better.
 
rembonjaski|1400549615|3676458 said:
Thanks for the feedback. Sadly, I didn't really get into the details about the return policy. I chose the place on a recommendation from someone who's family spends a ton of money with him. I do like him would like to still use him so hopefully he won't have an issue exchanging the stone. I hate doing it, but it will probably eat at me forever if I don't. Who knows, maybe he shows me a bunch that look great on paper and I still like the original one better.
Click to expand...

Friends of friends are generally where people make the biggest mistakes, seriously. We hear these stories a lot here. An excellent cut diamond is just worth more in the long run. if you ever want to sell the diamond to get her a larger one, an excellent cut diamond will be easier to sell and will be worth more. Choose between 5 Ex cut stones and don't even put "good" into the mix. These diamonds are professionally graded and the grades are there to help you choose a better cut stone with less leakage and better light return. Does the jeweler have an idealscope or do you? If not, you can't even assess leakage. So I wouldn't consider looking at anything under Ex cut.
 
I don't know how much he'd be willing to go on price for this particular stone, but I'd be more interested in getting a nicer stone for the same price. I'm emailing him now to see what the options are.

Thanks again for all the feedback.
 
Truly, if you can't return it don't feel so bad. You looked at it and you liked it. You even compared it with other stones and you still liked it. I have a VG cut from 17 years ago and I hold it next to a WF EXpert selection and I prefer the sparkle pattern of the older stone. No joke. The flashes of light are more all over the place and more white and shades of blue/gray. The WF stones gives me more colors. I prefer the old one. Go figure. The heart wants what it wants. YOUR eye likes what it likes. Just enjoy.
 
LLJsmom|1400555146|3676507 said:
Truly, if you can't return it don't feel so bad. You looked at it and you liked it. You even compared it with other stones and you still liked it. I have a VG cut from 17 years ago and I hold it next to a WF EXpert selection and I prefer the sparkle pattern of the older stone. No joke. The flashes of light are more all over the place and more white and shades of blue/gray. The WF stones gives me more colors. I prefer the old one. Go figure. The heart wants what it wants. YOUR eye likes what it likes. Just enjoy.
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Beautifully said.

I think it's easy to fall down the rabit hole with all the info on PS & vendor sites where you can compare specific stones, see inclusions magnifed 40x, study prongs blown up to the size of chopsticks etc... in the end if you love the stone then surely that's what really matters :)
 
I feel silly insisting on a better cut when I compared a 3X side-by-side and couldn't see a difference. Luckily, the dealer is being very understanding and said I can exchange without any questions. Who knows, maybe I'll look at some better spec'd stones and end up still liking the original one.
 
thick girdle, makes it face up like a .85. Which really doesn't sound like much, except for the price premium to make it to .90 cts is significant.
 
rembonjaski|1400558370|3676526 said:
I feel silly insisting on a better cut when I compared a 3X side-by-side and couldn't see a difference. Luckily, the dealer is being very understanding and said I can exchange without any questions. Who knows, maybe I'll look at some better spec'd stones and end up still liking the original one.
Click to expand...

That sounds fine, see if he can source some GIA Excellent cut grade and AGS0 for you to choose from, please pop back when you have the details of some others and we can help you from there. Then once you are in a good position to compare, you might find you prefer the original diamond or not, but then at least you will be able to make an informed decision. When the new stones arrive, try to ' test drive' them away from the bright store lighting to see how they will look in every day wearing conditions.
 
To update, the dealer found me a number of alternatives to look at and the one I ended up with was a GIA 3X (still 0.9ct, F, SI1). It's not as clean as the original under magnification, but still completely eye-clean. The HCA came out pretty similar and I could barely tell a difference side-by-side. Ultimately, I guess the only thing that changed is my peace of mind knowing the paper specs were better.

I ended up paying a few buck more, but based on comparable stones on the PS search, I feel like I got a fair deal. I'm sure I could have done better on price if I bought online, but I appreciate all the time the dealer has spent working with me on the stone and the design of the setting and I wanted to give him my business.

Thanks for all the feedback!
 
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