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Buying my first Diamond

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Bman143

Bman143

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 1, 2006
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22
Hey everyone,
I have really enjoyed learning from PS and am so glad I stumbled upon this site when I began my diamond research. I am going to London with my GF in about a month, and figured the top of St. Paul''s or the Tower bridge would be the perfect place to propose. I am trying to get a quality princess cut for about $3000, and have found one that a think would go great in a platinum setting. I would like to do a cathedral type setting that is wider (maybe about 4mm). Here is what I have found on James Allen:

Item Number: 9814483 ($2,870)
Shape: Princess
Carat weight: 0.82
Cut: Signature Ideal
Color: G
Clarity: VS1
Certificate: GIA
Depth: 73.8%
Table: 70%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 4.97*4.97*3.67

My questions are:
1. The usual "what do you think about this diamond..." question. Ya''ll will probably forget more about diamonds than I will ever learn, so I would appreciate any insight.
2. How is James Allen''s reputation? Do they have good return policies? In talking with one of the sales guys, he said it was unconditional return. Does anyone have any experiences to suspect otherwise?

I have shopped a lot, and don''t really care to spend a lot of extra money to buy from a B&M shop if I can do better online, but you have to admit it makes me skeptical sometimes. I really appreciate any help you can give me, good or bad, and thank you for your time. I am having trouble putting in the IS image, and have the megascope report and magnified image if you want to see that. I''ll keep working on getting the image in.

Here''s hoping my first post goes well,
Brandon.

 
Hi Bman,
Welcome to PS
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James Allen has an excellent reputation here. I am not an expert on princess cuts and will let others advise you on your stone. I love your proposal idea, sounds very romantic!!!
 
Great proposal idea.....I bought my diamond from James Allen and I am in LOVE with it!! I think they are an EXCELLENT company and would reccomend them in a heart beat! I have made various posts about my shopping expierience with them and how awesome I think they are.....just search for James Allen or for posts made by me....Post pics when u get it!
 
Princess.jpg


Here is the IS image. Should I be worried about that leakage in the center and sides, or should that probably be negligible? I really want this baby to sparkle.

Brandon.
 
The IS image didn''t show up. Can you try again??
 
princess.jpg
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" am going to London with my GF in about a month, and figured the top of St. Paul''s or the Tower bridge would be the perfect place to propose. "

having lived in london I am giggling at your post. the climb to the top of st pauls is dirty, strenous and cold. wear wool and many layers

may i suggest:
the base of st pauls (feed the birds, tuppence a bag...)
the fountain or garden in front of buckingham palace
the garden at westmnister abbey
feeding the swans at hampton court, kingston bridge or windsor palace
in the deer park at hampton court
in the great hall or garden at hampton court
lunch at harrods
at the top of the london eye
in the la-de-da restaurant at thames river and kingston bridge
on the bridge at westminster abbey
neil''s yard in covent garden
over tea in covent garden
in the museum of london
over chinese food at leicester square
trafalgar square
the flea market next to st. martins in the fields church
chiswick hall

have fun! good luck.
 
Sorry, the pict is still not showing up. It looks like you''re linking it to your C drive--which we won''t be able to access. You can try either the "attach file" function or you can upload the pict to an online photo album and link to there.
 
I have been looking at some of the other sites that many people have been mentioning in the forum, and the James Allen price really looks to be the best, unless there is something wrong with the stone I have yet to see. Anyone see anything wrong with this one?

Thanks in advance,
Brandon.
 
Brandon,

Not an expert, but I see a lot of red in your diamond, and think it''s likely to be a good performer, also in consideration of the fact that it was a Signature piece with Jim at his shop. I bought from him, see he''s expanded his return period now to 30 days, and understand he does see that return window as a crisp area in which a return can be made for any reason (save for any ring customized to go with a diamond). Finally, as you''ve seen, James Allen is known for attractive pricing, so it doesn''t surprise that you would have found a cost effective buy.

Wishing you well with this purchase,
 
do you have any other contenders?



a tony stewart fan deserves the best after all...right?
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No, not really. But that''s not to say I''m not open to other options. This one seemed to be the best quality and size for the money, so I have done the most research on this particular stone. However, I have put tons of research into shopping other sites, and have seen tons of stones. If you have found something that I might have overlooked, I would be more than open to checking it out.

Go Smoke.
 
without having some (shots in the dark) brought in, this one looks pretty good. there''s a bit of leakage under the table, but it''s better than most of what''s on the market. if for some crazy reason you don''t like it, you can send it back.
 
By hearsay, AGS0s are pretty special, and though both are nice, I''d give the edge all around to the new pick; ideally you''d find a way to compare them. In other parts here, they come at a higher premium. I''d actually looked for such a find on the cut quality search before (or after?) commenting on the previous, but hadn''t seen it, so maybe he''s not yet logged it into that db.
 
Yeah that is my opinion of the AGS0 as well, from the few that I have seen. I really want something that is going to take her breath away, and I really am starting to think that this would be the best stone for that. It looks like even though the clarity is a little lower, the inclusions are in good places, which is a bonus. I just hope the H color isn''t too "warm" even though I probably won''t be able to tell the difference from the G anyway.

B
 
with a good cut, the color won''t matter as much....it is going to face up quite white.
adding size can''t hurt
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