CE Diamond for Pendant?

[MsP]

Hello everyone! I''m looking to purchase a diamond pendant (a three prong solitare style) and have a budget of $1000. Obviously I''m looking to go as large as possible and so I was wondering if a clarity enhanced diamond would be a good choice? Does anyone know a reputable place to purchase a CE diamond? Many of the places I''ve looked seem a bit shady... anyone? If not a CE what type of stone could I get for this price? I read a recent thread about a similar request($1000 pendant) but I''m willing to go pretty warm and maybe even a light yellow color if the cost was right. Besides DBL, are there any other good places to look for a slightly "colored stone" but not quite fancy? As for clarity, eyeclean is good enough for a pendant... as long as it sparkles nicely! Thanks everyone!

 

[strmrdr]

If rather have a CZ than a CE diamond
$10 and looks better.

 

[MissGotRocks]

No, I wouldn''t do clarity enhanced.

What size stone are you looking for?

 

[MsP]

I''d like to get the largest stone I can without it looking terrible... like I said in the original post, my budget is ~$1000 so the "largest stone" won''t be very large LOL! Do all CE stones look that bad? I didn''t want to go with a CZ as I think they''re just too white and unnatural for me (although some do look very similar to a D IF stone but that''s not really what I''d ever be looking for)...

 

[strmrdr]

Have you considerd a colored gemstone?

 

[MsP]

Yes... I considered a colored stone but I don''t feel like I''d wear it much. I was given the money as a gift to buy myself some jewelry and the only thing I feel like I could really use was an everyday pendant. I would save it and put it towards something *better* but being that it was a gift I feel like I need to purchase something relatively soon.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 1/18/2006 5:27:18 PM
Author: MissPrudential
I''d like to get the largest stone I can without it looking terrible... like I said in the original post, my budget is ~$1000 so the ''largest stone'' won''t be very large LOL! Do all CE stones look that bad? I didn''t want to go with a CZ as I think they''re just too white and unnatural for me (although some do look very similar to a D IF stone but that''s not really what I''d ever be looking for)...

Actually, one of the fine jeweler''s who participates on this site has another website where he sells nice quality colored CZ''s. You can get colorless or a color similar to G-H diamonds, and many other colors as well! I''d defintiley buy a CZ before I''d pay for a clarity enhanced diamond!

http://losharn.securesites.net/freecz/index.php

Also, you can easily do a search here on PriceScope to see what kind of diamonds come up in your price range.

Another suggestion is to go to www.jamesallen.com and do the advanced search. Put in the price range of $950-1000, premium cut, and set the color to H, I, J and SI1 clarity (or whatever other clarity range you''d consider). I think you can get about a half carat stone.

 

[Capitol Bill]

There''s absolutely nothing wrong with purchasing a clarity enhanced stone. Like you, most CE buyers are trying to maximize the size of the stone without sacrificing the stone''s "eye-cleanness" and colorlessness. Many clarity enhanced diamonds are well cut and face up just like the non-CE''d ones. In the majority of CE''d stones, the enhancement can only be detected with magnification. In fact at least one manufacturer (OVED) actually places a microscopic laser-inscription of the stone''s carat weight and the letters "CE" right on a bezel facet for easy identification.

As long as you''re completely aware that the stone is CE''d and it will not be valued the same as a non-CE''d stone, and the seller discloses all, you''ve got no worries. This is just one way to get a much larger diamond than you otherwise could afford. Another route is to go for a much warmer color and perhaps combine it with lower clarity. You might be surprised how much color and clarity a super ideal-cut stone is capable of masking.

I hope this is helpful.
Bill Scherlag

 

[valeria101]

IMO, the tricky part with CE is to find one with reliable grades and good looking - not many are cut nicely and few are clarity enhanced to be eye clean - it may be more likely to find one clarity enhanced from some natural state of 'train smash' to 'fall from a bicycle' so to speak.

Around this forum, Nice Ice and Good Old Gold deal with these, as far as I can remember. There are some listed by USA Certed, but not as an independent category - you could either ask, or pick one by price.

You may also find a lucky I1 without CE - you may find some examples around Pricescope. And a search should bring up at least one detailed thread about CE from the last few months.

And... have you seen Matatora's thread about her K H&A pendant?


On a different note...
Light yellow sounds terribly tempting

- especially if you wanted it bezel set, so that some light color gets deepened.

Insofar, without CE, the tally brings up a few EGL K-SI1 rounds (~65pts) and pears (~75pts). And this yellow - you may want to check the site where this one comes from. Without lab reports or pictures listed, I didn't look for lower clarity. Which brings in one issue: it sounds like the selection of such an item is tricky sight unseen, so it may just work to leave it with a seller.


How bad does half carat sound? Size may be quite important, but at this point ten points more require allot of compromise everywhere else, because you just get over a 'price jump'. Same consideration seems to apply to yellows - between .6cts U-V and .5cts fancy yellow... I am not sure it would be size that wins the day for me. Worth considering IMO.



My 2c.

 

[Rod]

For many size does matter, but in this case, if the money were mine and I was buying a single stone, I''d find a quality smaller stone with my money, from one of the very reputable sellers on this forum, who had a really good trade up policy, which, I believe they all do. Think of it as putting money in the bank that you get to see and enjoy everyday. Then one day, you take your deposit and add some more money to it and you increase the size of the stone at a later date. This will give you something to save for and look forward to, while still having something really nice around your neck.

I know.....I''m a guy, so what should I know about buying a pendant? But, that''s what I''d do if it was mine.

Good luck.........

 

[MsP]

valeria101... I LOVE that yellowish stone you posted! I think thats more what I should be looking for! I''m going to email some vendors about CE stones because I''m still somewhat interested... that said, I think that the price difference isn''t that big and it''d be better to get a ''real'' stone. Thanks!

 

[MissAva]

Ana is right I do like my K pendent. It was about twice your budget though...

But if you went with a K/SI1 instead of a VS1 (I chose the VS1 because it was there) then you might be able to get a even better deal!
I did a quick check and I did not see any Ks for under 1000$. On the other hand Sunkist just a great job finding a K outside of the search by cut feature and had a vendor pull it for her. You might try asking her what she did to find such a great sparkler!

 

[Catmom]

MissPrudential,

If you are still interested in looking at clarity enhanced diamonds, take a look at Woo''s marquis diamond [maybe she will chime in here]. She just had it enhanced and it looks wonderful. If you do a search on Woobug you should find the thread. Sorry I don''t know how to link.

 

[MsP]

I actually purchased a non CE stone. This thread is kind of old. I found a "used" stone at a jeweler that was a trade in and he sold it to me at a low price because it wasn''t certified and I was willing to buy it uncerted. I have no pics because after having it for a few weeks, I regifted it because I just didn''t LOVE the idea of pendent. I don''t think I''m a pendent kind of girl.... which is too bad because the stone was really pretty.

 

[Jelly]

Miss Prudential, I''m on a similar search for a diamond pendant.

If you like color, then have you seen this stone from Good Old Gold? I hope they don''t mind me posting this:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1636/

Shape: Round
Carat Weight: 1.03ct
Clarity: SI2
AGS Cut Grade: Fair
GIA Cut Grade: Fair
Optical Symmetry: Common
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Fair
Fluorescence: Negligible
Girdle: 7.91%
Lab Report #: NA
In House: Yes
Width: 6.07mm
Length: 6.21mm
Depth: 4.02mm
Table Percentage: 57.55%
Depth Percentage: 66.22%
Crown Depth: 14.49%
Pavilion Depth: 43.07%

Price: $1,011
(Bank wire price: $98

 

[Jelly]

It's not really an N color, it's a fancy brown diamond. Here it is next to two G's

 

[Jelly]

Have you looked at Fay Cullen's site under loose diamonds?

http://www.faycullen.com/

Her return policy makes me a bit nervous, and I'm not sure of the cut quality. But there are some warmer stones listed there.

 

[Jelly]

Another shot of the fancy brown next to the G''s

 

[sunkist]

Date: 5/8/2006 4:53:20 AM
Author: Matatora
Ana is right I do like my K pendent. It was about twice your budget though...

But if you went with a K/SI1 instead of a VS1 (I chose the VS1 because it was there) then you might be able to get a even better deal!

I did a quick check and I did not see any Ks for under 1000$. On the other hand Sunkist just a great job finding a K outside of the search by cut feature and had a vendor pull it for her. You might try asking her what she did to find such a great sparkler!

Hi MissPrudential and Mata! I did find my K not as an in-house diamond. I found it here on PS on the Price Comparison search tool. I searched by dimensions that were sure to give a killer stone cause I really didn't want to call in a stone and then be disapointed. I know I was taking a gamble with the K color, but that was the one gamble I was willing to take, and I'm glad that I did! And I decided to have WF call it in for me, cause they did the 40x mag photo, the IS photo, and other stuff, so that made me feel better about the stone.

 

[Roland]

I wouldn''t recommend a CE diamond. I almost bought one and I am incredibly glad I never did. I don''t think they''ll hold their value like an untreated diamond. You might be able to get bigger/cleaner diamond but only after they drill it or laser it. I''m sure there are nice CE diamonds, but I''d stick with the untreated ones.