Buying a diamond from a couple

[mdr411]

Hey everyone,

I have been looking for a diamond for quite a while now. I'm trying to get a good deal. I found this couple on Craigslist who needs money and they're willing to sell me the diamond minus the setting. I've attached a few pictures including the appraisal. I am going to make an appointment with an independent appraiser and meet them there. They are willing to sell me the diamond for $1500. It's a 1.25 ct quality I color F with an ideal cut, or so says the appraisal. Would this be a good deal?

 

[heididdl]

If you were really looking for a diamond for a long time and you are lucky enough to land here on pricescope you would realize that an appraisal is the sellers document for insurance purposes and his opinion (gIA graduate of not). That being said the only way to find out if it is in fact what the appraisal said is either send it to AGS or GIA (which would take a while ) or use a pricescope independant appraiser. However since you are looking again please let us know your budget and your specs how large or small your willing to go color ets. and we will help you find a stone. When buying a diamond 90% of the time, you get what you pay for and a deal isn't really to be had. Take it from someone who has bought stones from trusted diamond sellers who sold me G/H color si1 quality stones to find oout when I went to upgrade that they were far from the ideal gut g/h quality I was sold.

Do yourself a favor and either have an indepdent appraiser look at it or just come back here and let us help you find a stone. PS you'd have to remove the stone when going to the independant appraiser in order to get the best and most accurate stats of the stone. There may be inclusions where the prongs are etc. Plus did you loupe it yourself. Is it eye clean at 10-12" .....etc.


Want to add it is hard to pass up a stone that would potentially cost you $5-6000. I'd be cautious and have the stone appraised by someone else.

 

[Snowdrop13]

I'd say an F colour ideal cut would be around $8-9,000- you have to ask yourself why anyone in possession of a diamond like that would be "willing" to sell it for such a huge discount! Buyer beware, remember.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

First of all, these kinds of appraisals can mean next to nothing. The first thing I see is that it is 1.25 cts and only 6.6mm. A well cut 1.10 ct stone is around 6.6mm. So the stone is deep which is a good indicator that it is not all that well cut. If the appraisal says SI for clarity, that probably means I1. They likely overpaid for the ring themselves. But you fortunately came here first and can avoid a big mistake if you'd like to get a good quality diamond. First rule is to never buy a diamond without a GIA grading report. And limit your search to GIA excellent cut only, because even that is a wide range with great down to not so great stones. But I'd rather see you find just about any GIA Ex stone second hand than any ungraded stone.

One more thing, that "appraiser" doesn't even list any credentials. So it really can mean nothing other than I hope they measured the diameter accurately.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Hey everyone,

I have been looking for a diamond for quite a while now. I'm trying to get a good deal. I found this couple on Craigslist who needs money and they're willing to sell me the diamond minus the setting. I've attached a few pictures including the appraisal. I am going to make an appointment with an independent appraiser and meet them there. They are willing to sell me the diamond for $1500. It's a 1.25 ct quality I color F with an ideal cut, or so says the appraisal. Would this be a good deal?

No, the appraisal is worthless!.

 

[denverappraiser]

The problem here is that you really know next to nothing. You're relying on a 3rd person opinion from someone who doesn't even CLAIM to have expertise beyond a statement that they take no responsibility for anything they say. That doesn't make them wrong, but it sure doesn't make them right.

For example:
Is it a diamond at all?
Does it actually weight 1.25cts? As mentioned above, the other data makes this suspicious.
Clarity. It may be as high as SI1. It may be as low as I2. That's half of the scale and it makes a huge difference.
Color. Same thing. The difference between an F and a J is enormous.
Ideal cut. Claiming it doesn't make it so. Odds are against. (for example they claim a 67.6% depth. That's extremely high)
Treatments. It's not mentioned. It's important.

There ARE occasionally good deals on Craigslist but it's a pool of sharks. Pay attention or you will get eaten there. Not only should you hire an appraiser who is working for you, not them, you should research the appraiser in advance. They're not all the same.

 

[palmersj]

It's definitely going to require an appraisal from a 3rd party of your choosing. I haven't priced out what an appraiser would charge for doing one, but expect that amount to be spent going into this endeavor. It's like an insurance policy that you have to buy.

 

[mdr411]

Well I had a feeling it was probably too good to be true! I will let them know that I will have to pass on this deal. I don't want to make a purchase that I will regret later on. Since I know very little about diamonds, even though I've researched the heck out of it, I'm going to stick to buying from someone with a good reputation. I've been looking at Diamonds by Lauren lately and have really come to admire their jewelry. Thank you for all of your wisdom, it's appreciated.

 

[arkieb1]

Stores tend to write their own appraisals which are grossly misleading and anyone with a computer and a few skills can create a fake report.

This stone looking at the pic is not an Ideal cut, and not what I would call a medium table - so it would be safe to assume the other information in the report is incorrect as well.

The only way to know for sure is to get an independent appraisal done on anything you find there are a list of them in the drop down resources tab above or buy from a trusted vendor.

There are still bargains to be found on Craigslist and Ebay but there are many over inflated stones with bogus certificates as well....

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Really glad to hear that! There are sometimes good second hand deals, but you just need a GIA report that says Excellent cut (or AGS Ideal cut). At least you can be sure you are getting what you pay for if you buy a new stone!