Diamond Purchase Advice

[TDAlmighty]

I am really nervous about buying a diamond online -- how safe is it to go purely by measurements without actually seeing the diamond? If something is AGS Ideal 0, and has ideal polish and symmetry, is it a guaranteed eye-catcher?

More specifically, there has been a diamond posted for a couple of months that has not sold. From what I can tell about the stats, it is a very good diamond. Am I missing something? Should I be concerned about the medium blue flouro or what about the girdle? What does that percentage measurement mean for the girdle and is that good or bad? Anything else catch your eye about the below information that I should know or consider?

Here are the stats:

Shape: Round
Carat Weight: 1.848ct
Color: F
Clarity: VS2
AGS Cut Grade: Ideal
est GIA Cut Grade: Excellent
AGS Light Performance: Ideal
Optical Symmetry: Superior
Polish: Ideal
Symmetry: Ideal
Fluorescence: Medium
Girdle: 2.31%
Culet: None
Lab Report: AGS
Lab Report #: 7979509
In House: Yes
Width: 7.83mm
Length: 7.86mm
Depth: 4.87mm
Table Percentage: 55.36%
Depth Percentage: 62.09%
Crown Ú: 34.72‹
Crown Depth: 15.48%
Pavilion Ú: 40.66‹
Pavilion Depth: 42.85%
Upper Girdle Ú: 40.83‹
Lower Girdle Ú: 41.92‹

 

[shel]

Looks fine to me. Don''t worry about the girdle or fluorescence. Time on the market won''t affect its intrinsic beauty.

It''s this stone, right?

You may want to reserve the diamond before a poacher snatches it away.

 

[JulieN]

looks great

 

[TDAlmighty]

Shel, that is the thing, that diamond has been on there for approxiametly two months. It makes me feel llike there is an issue that I may be missing. I am not worried about a "poacher" -- I am confident that there are people that will ensure that there will never be a shortage of diamonds.

What does the girdle percentage mean and is this diamond within the acceptable range?

 

[RockDoc]

You might want to review the presentations thread where Sir John at WF discusses how girdles are graded and the importance of the girdle.

Click on the first thread, and go to the saved presentation link and you can see and hear info that should put your mind at ease. He did two presentations.

Rockdoc

 

[avlis]

two months old on the cert concerns you? Well there are many reasons this diamond didnt jump off the shelf the day it was listed.
in no paticular order:
1. not alot of people have $21,000 to throw down on a diamond so this drastically reduces the number of eyes looking at it.
2. some people will just refuse to look at any stone that has any flourescence. this is a personal choice, and some people think flouescence makes a diamond bad.
3. alot of people will not buy an F color because they can get more value with a G or H.
4. people just blew their wad on xmas and Vday, plus 2 months is not very long.

i dont know where you live, but if buying over the internet and buying sight unseen concerns you, you can always call up Jonathon or Tim at GoG and have them send you some video or more photos, OR since you are looking to throw down over $20k, then maybe you could swing the air fare or gas money to go and visit them and see it in person. i almost did that myself.

 

[Fly Girl]

I have a 1.5 ct F VS2 with medium blue fluor and I love this color/clarity combo. I got it about 7 years ago, well before PS, or I would never have ended up with it. You can go lower in color, like to a G or H or even lower, and go to an SI1 in clarity, and save some $$$. But I figured F VS2 was a sweet combination, and it really is beautiful. My guess is the cost is why the stone is still on the market. If you have the bucks, I say go for it.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 4/8/2007 1:50:30 PM
Author: avlis
two months old on the cert concerns you? Well there are many reasons this diamond didnt jump off the shelf the day it was listed.
in no paticular order:
1. not alot of people have $21,000 to throw down on a diamond so this drastically reduces the number of eyes looking at it.
2. some people will just refuse to look at any stone that has any flourescence. this is a personal choice, and some people think flouescence makes a diamond bad.
3. alot of people will not buy an F color because they can get more value with a G or H.
4. people just blew their wad on xmas and Vday, plus 2 months is not very long.

i dont know where you live, but if buying over the internet and buying sight unseen concerns you, you can always call up Jonathon or Tim at GoG and have them send you some video or more photos, OR since you are looking to throw down over $20k, then maybe you could swing the air fare or gas money to go and visit them and see it in person. i almost did that myself.

Ditto to all the reasons given.

I understand your apprehension, I had a lot as well. But I finally bit the bullet and contacted GOG and purchased my ring from them. It went well, they are great to work with and an honorable company.

As far as the stone, it''s a looker. It''s also an AGS000, which means you have assurance (without guesswork) that it''s indeed a beautiful stone. It''s also a great size. You''ll basically get the "look" of a 2 ct. without paying for that magic number.

HTH