Clueless with Questions

[Morley2020]

What are the best diamonds in the world? I have heard Tiffany, Harry Winston, Eightstar, and the like. What are some of the other high end, most exclusive dealers in the world? There are no Eightstar dealers near me. How can I trust buying one online if I don''t get to see it myself. Will I SEE the difference between D E F and G stones with my bare eyes? Will an Eightstar honestly have more fire and brilliance than the stones I''ve seen inside Tiffany''s? Thanks so much.

 

[Spyder]

From what I gather, places like Tiffany, Cartier etc are mainly known for settings. As for diamonds, they seem to not place an emphasis on diamonds with the best cut. Cut is the most important aspect of a diamond, but this is sometimes overlooked in the industry; the industry tends to emphasize weight (carats) rather than cut (sparkle and fire).

For the best cut diamonds, browse this forum and you will see a number of vendors frequently mentioned. These vendors specialize in the best cut diamonds. Eightstar is one such company.

You sound like a person who wants the best, so I would recommend buying a loose stone from a vendor who specializes in the best cut diamonds, and then have it set in a setting from a company known for specializing in outstanding settings.

 

[niceice]

You owe it to yourself Morley to spend some time becoming more familiar with diamonds by visiting your local retailers and spending some time looking at diamonds of different qualities to decide what color and clarity you prefer... There are as many opinions regarding the 8* diamonds as there are diamonds, but we personally don't think that they are "all that and a bag of chips" or we'd be selling them ourselves... No doubt that Richard is at the high end of the scale in terms of quality, but we could not see enough of a difference to be able to justify the premium he expects his diamonds to sell for... WhiteFlash, SuperbCert, Jonathan at GoodOldGold, and ourselves all specialize in ideal cut diamonds of finer make and the reality is that a diamond purchased from any one of us is likely to blow your socks off... The last time we checked, Tiffany was selling round brilliant cut diamonds with proportions ratings that varied from AGS-2 Very Good to AGS-0 Ideal, but just try to get proportions information out of them, you are more likely to hear "Well Sir, it is a Tiffany Diamond" than you are to actually get the Sarin or OGI results if the experience of our clients is any indication of their marketing strategy with regard to this issue...

If there is not an independent Gemologist in your area (reference the "appraisers" link at the top of this page) where you can have the diamond sent to prior to having to purchase the diamond so that you can see it, then we recommend working through one of the appraisers anyway so that you can have an expert pair of eyes evaluate the diamond on your behalf prior to your having to purchase it if you are nervous about paying for the diamond first, seeing it for yourself and then having it evaluated to be sure that it matches the characteristics described on the diamond grading report. The reality however is that most of the reputable dealers here on PS offer extremely reasonable return policies which provide adequate time to have the diamond evaluated by an independent appraiser and we would be extremely surprised if you experienced difficulty getting a refund out of any one of them if you happen to be disatisfied with your purchase...

Although there are a variety of combinations of proportions that yield high degrees of light return for round brilliant ideal cut diamonds and you can use the Cut Advisor to help with that determination, you can expedite the selection process by searching for diamonds that have a combination of proportions within the following:

Total depth between 59 - 61.8%
Table diameter between 54 - 56%
Crown angle between 34.3 - 34.8 degrees
Pavilion angle between 40.6 - 40.9 degrees
Girdle: 0.7% thin up to 1.7% medium, preferably faceted.
Culet: GIA None or AGS Pointed
Polish: GIA Excellent or AGS Ideal
Symmetry: GIA Excellent or AGS Ideal

With regards to the proportions, be sure to ask the vendor for the full page version of the Sarin or OGI computerized proportions analysis instead of the Avery mailing type label that is more prominent in the selling arena... The full page version provides much more in-depth information including the high and low measurements which the averages indicated on the label version are derived from...

We recommend asking the seller for detailed clarity photographs so that you have a reasonable idea of what to expect when you are finally able to examine the diamond yourself through a 10x or higher diamond grading loupe or microscope...

Good luck with your quest! You will find lots of fantastic information here on PS as well as plenty of people who have walked the path of buying a diamond on-line before you who are more than happy to share their experience and advise with you....

 

[pqcollectibles]

Hi Morley!

Welcome to Price Scope and the Forum!

Definitely follow the advise from Nice Ice. Learn about diamonds and look locally. See what color range attracts you, and view different clarity levels. Lots of people start here saying, "I want an E, VVS." only to learn that CUT is the *most* important thing.

Is it safe to buy on-line???

YES!!!

You have found a listing of some of the best and most reputable vendors any where in the world.

For the absolute best cuts, check out White Flash, Nice Ice, Good Old Gold, and SuperbCert.

White Flash cuts their own branded Hearts and Arrows diamond, the A Cut Above. I bought my diamond from them, had great customer service, and a wonderful diamond buying experience. If you have any questions about any ACA, you can speak personally with Brian Gavin, the cutter.

Nice Ice and Good Old Gold hand select their diamonds using the strictest of standards. You'd think they were cherry picking each diamond for themselves. In fact, that's the way they do business. They won't sell you a diamond if they wouldn't keep it themselves.

SuperbCert is another branded Hearts and Arrows diamond. SuperbCert has sold beautiful diamonds to many satisfied customers.

Check out any vendor's return/refund and life-time upgrade policies. Chat with a few and find one you are comfortable with. Several of the vendors here will ship direct to an approved appraiser (see link above) for complete evaluation prior to you having to pay for the diamond. The appraiser works for you. If you don't like what he/she has to say, they ship the diamond back.

If you chose to work with someone locally, make sure to chose a totally INDEPENDENT, free-standing appraiser who does not sell jewelry. You want a totally unbiased opinion from someone with nothing to gain if you chose not to purchase the diamond. Just be sure to notify the appraiser in advance so they can schedule appropriately for you.

Spend some time learning about diamonds, and looking at diamonds. Surf the websites. See a diamond that interests you, just get the info including crown and pavillion angles. Come back here and use the Cut Adviser to pre-screen your choice. The Cut Adviser eliminates poor performers and gives buying recommendations like steep crown angles, a good buy if the price is right, and such.

Above all else, ENJOY the diamond buying experience.