CAN ANYONE HELP PLEASE?

[Susan203]

I just found this website today and would like to ask some advice. We were engaged about 1.5 years ago and went to a jeweler who came recommended from a friend. Unfortunately, we didn''t do much research prior to buying the stone and were somewhat uneducated about the process.

Here''s what we have-as per the appraisal from an outside appraiser (not through the store we went to)

Oval
1.04 ct
Depth 75.9%
Table 55%
7.40x5.40x4.10
VS2
Cutlet-Large
Girdle-Thin/Medium Faceted
Mentioned also- 2 tiny "feathers" on the stone

The more I read, the more I feel we were ripped off.....although I admit this was partially our fault for not doing our homework prior to buying. We had the ring appraised (ring is 14K with 8 princess cut channel set equalling .75 ct) and it appriased $1500 more than the total paid for both the ring and stone.

Now my question-with the details I gave you about the stone, can you give a price that you feel would be about average.

I know I''m going to regret asking this.

Thanks for your help-

 

[justme]

what is the color?

 

[Susan203]

Oh that would help.........H-I is what's listed on the appraisal.

 

[Mara]

Just out of curiousity, if the ring appraised at $1500 more than what you paid for it, why do you feel as though you were ripped off? Seems as though it sounds like you could have paid what was the going rate for a ring such as this 1.5 years ago? When was the appraisal done?

 

[justme]

Using the chart here: http://www.gemappraisers.com/chrt2.htm - and reading here-
https://www.pricescope.com/fancy.asp

You can determine the cut quality. Then you can go over to here: https://www.pricescope.com/repscope.asp

and see how you did on pricing.

Justme

 

[jetcaptain]

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On 1/16/2003 3

5

6 PM Susan203 wrote:

I just found this website today and would like to ask some advice. We were engaged about 1.5 years ago and went to a jeweler who came recommended from a friend. Unfortunately, we didn't do much research prior to buying the stone and were somewhat uneducated about the process.

Here's what we have-as per the appraisal from an outside appraiser (not through the store we went to)

Oval
1.04 ct
Depth 75.9%
Table 55%
7.40x5.40x4.10
VS2
Cutlet-Large
Girdle-Thin/Medium Faceted
Mentioned also- 2 tiny "feathers" on the stone

The more I read, the more I feel we were ripped off.....although I admit this was partially our fault for not doing our homework prior to buying. We had the ring appraised (ring is 14K with 8 princess cut channel set equalling .75 ct) and it appriased $1500 more than the total paid for both the ring and stone.

Now my question-with the details I gave you about the stone, can you give a price that you feel would be about average.

I know I'm going to regret asking this.

Thanks for your help-
----------------

Susan,

I am not in the diamond or jewelry business, but I will try to give you an answer for what it's worth. First, the bad news. If you consult the pricescope tutorial and find the section on fancy shapes by Dave Atlas, you will likely discover that your stone is cut quite deep. That probably means that it doesn't look as large face-up as other, less-deep stones of similar carat weight. But that doesn't mean that it isn't a beautiful stone. I'm sure that it is, or you two wouldn't have chosen it. Remember, this diamond is a symbol the love two people have for each other, not a monument to what savvy bargain hounds you are. Anyway, to answer your question on price, I used the price stats section of pricescope for the average price for diamonds that are similarly cut and determined that the average H-VS2 sells for $3,562/carat, and that the average I-VS2 sells for $2,966/carat. That means that the average price of a 1.04 carat, H-I, VS2, cut 3B diamond on pricescope would be around $3,100-$3,700. Hope this info helps! Again, if it turns out you didn't get a stellar deal from that "friend-of-a-friend," there will be anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine's, etc. that you can use in the future to add to your diamond collection. But the engagement diamond is special for reasons that have absolutely NOTHING to do with price, and that is how I think that you should look at this particular purchase.

 

[Susan203]

Thanks for the responses-I'm going to try and answer all the questions at once....

Mara-The ring was appraised 8-3-01......about 1 month after the purchase. It's not the appraisal that makes me think we were ripped off, I just thought it might be helpful to add in my initial post.

Justme-I'm going to take a look at that.....I just discovered this site and I'm still finding my way around everything.

Jetcaptain-Yes, my engagement ring is beautiful and there is such special meaning behind it, but it's just a matter of paying more for something than you should have. If we paid in the $3500 range, I'd be satisfied, but knowing that we paid $1000 more is what has us questioning our purchase.

Again-thanks for all of your responses!

 

[justme]

Susan -
I totally understand (trying to find your way) that's why I posted links so that you would be able to find your info quickly.

It does take time - and then MORE time reading, digesting & rereading!

Since I don't know anything about oval cuts I thought this would be the best way for me to try and help.

Justme

 

[Susan203]

Justme-

Thanks for posting those links, I may not have found them for days if you hadn't posted them! I'm checking them out now.

 

[jetcaptain]

Susan,

As I was poking around on this website, I discovered that you can't get to the Dave Atlas cut charts for anything other that round brilliants now. Maybe that is because Leonid just switched to a new server??? Anyway, on my earlier posting I was referencing a cut chart I had printed out back last November. I didn't know that you wouldn't be able to immediately find this same information for yourself. FWIW, this chart indicates that, for an oval, a 55% table would be a class 1B (premium cut), but a 75.9% total depth would be class 4B. The pricescope price stats only give averages from cut classes 1A to 3B. However, as I understand it, when you start talking about the fancy shapes, many diamonds fall outside the guidelines of "Ideal cut", but are every bit as beautiful as the diamonds that match those guidelines. So, it's entirely possible that your diamond looks every bit as beautiful as an H color, class 1B cut, which would sell for an average price of around $4,400 according to the pricescope price stats. Does that make you feel any better?

 

[Susan203]

Hey Jet-

Ok, thanks for the help.....that does make me feel better. Don't get me wrong, the ring and stone are stunning, but ever since we had it set a bit lower, it seems to have a darkness to it. Might that be because not as much light is getting to it or becuase it has a larger culet?

I have another question while I'm at it. The appraisal doesn't mention anything about the fluorescence.....is it normal for it not to be mentioned?

Thanks again-my mind is a bit more at ease.

 

[jetcaptain]

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On 1/16/2003 8:43:20 PM Susan203 wrote:

Hey Jet-

Ok, thanks for the help.....that does make me feel better. Don't get me wrong, the ring and stone are stunning, but ever since we had it set a bit lower, it seems to have a darkness to it. Might that be because not as much light is getting to it or becuase it has a larger culet?

I have another question while I'm at it. The appraisal doesn't mention anything about the fluorescence.....is it normal for it not to be mentioned?

Thanks again-my mind is a bit more at ease.
----------------

Susan,

Good questions! I can only answer from the vantage point of a consumer with limited education and experience in this area, so hopefully some of the "pros" will chime in with their thoughts. My $0.02 is that if your diamond looked brighter when it was set higher, and that's what you like, then have it reset higher again. Perhaps it's the culet, or perhaps it's the extra depth? Does it really matter why? Have your jeweler tweak it until you think it looks its best. As far as appraisals go, I've only seen a handful, but none of them mentioned fluorescence. My guess is that this is normal.