Can anybody help me?

[Learning Diamonds]

Hi everybody, its 2

0 am, and I have been surfing the internet for hours, soaking in all the information that I can!! I have a few questions, that I cant seem to answer, and was hoping that somebody out there could help!

1. I am looking for an engaugement ring/ stone - Princess cut around 1 point - give or take.. and have found a retailer (former wholesaler) who is using the Rapaport report as a basis to show his value over the competition.
a. Is this a good indicator of value when comparing "apples to apples"? (I realize that there are issues with quality of cut.. is there great difference?)
b. This person states that he uses both the GIA and EGL certified diamonds.. is the European GL a respected/ reliable source? Any difference in market value between a stone rated the same between each of these Labs?
c. The rapport report he furnised to me was for Pear cuts, and I am looking for Princess cut.. where can I find a Princess Rapport report (I have tried the web site, and I cannot justify the 200 dollar fee to subscribe - does anyone have a copy they could email me PDF or whatever??)
d. Is there a better indicies or source of reference for particular size, color, clarity specifications that are used similar to the Rapaport?

Whew.. too many questions.. you can see what this is doing to me!!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[niceice]

explains the common misuse of the Rapaport Diamond Report by the trade as it pertains to representation of prices to the public. In short, the discount off of Rap (what we call the percentage "in back of Rap") is usually in direct relationship to the proportions of the diamond - how well it has been cut. Better cut stones are sold to dealers at a lesser discount than diamonds with poor proportions... An exceptionally well-cut round brilliant often sells on a dealer level very close to the Rap price, but a very poor cut round can sell as much as 60% off of Rap, the same practice applies to every other shape. It is not a good idea for you to base your decision on the discount off of Rap alone.

The Rapaport Diamond Report is copyright protected and thus nobody should be willing to provide you with a copy, not only for fear of having their subscription cancelled, but also because it would be irresponsible on their part.

has created a scale that is useful, but it has been our experience that sometimes the proportions result in a beautiful and lively princess cut diamond and other times it does not... We can say that a princess cut with a nice crown height on it does seem to be key! We brought in five princess cut diamonds for one of our clients this week to find one that impressed us... All had similar proportions! Similar table diameters, similar total depths...[/u][/u]

 

[Learning Diamonds]

Wow, I see you are a night owl, as am I!! It is now 3

3, and through sifting through old posts on this board, I have already learned a ton!! ( I cannot believe the amount of information I have learned in the past 10 hours, if only it was this interesting/ easy in college!)
I am becomming a bit suspicious of this jewler, based on much of the talk I have seen concerning the use of the Rapaport information. although he has recieved acolades in our newspaper, and was very informative in my first visit. Right now, i would have to say that I would feel much better about purchasing a stone from a brick and mortar shop, but as I read, and investigate further, the internet seems like such a great resource..

I also seem to have picked a difficult "cut" to find a truly quality stone, being a princess cut. I have yet to enter the spectrum, or other magnification/ light means of examining the stones - other than the hand held 10X magnifier. I assume that any flaws/ or evidence of a bad stone would be acknowledged at that time. If anyone is familiar with Indianapolis, I would greatly appreciate any suggestions as to quality dealers/ jewlers to visit.

Q: With inspection, how can I know that there is flourecence in the stone, or not?

Thanks for the timely response, I will be going to bed...Now!! wow. 3:10 am, well, at least I was able to learn about all of this, without the future mrs. finding out!!

 

[Giangi]

Be advised that EGL is considered less accurate than GIA... But NY and LA branches are better than EGL Antwerp or Israel... That's for sure