dreamy old mine pieces - thoughts on these three

[Mreader]

Update: spoke with vendor today. I asked about the edging on the other side as well, thinking that was also chipping. He said it wasn't chipping but that often a cutter would leave that remenant from the original to show that he maximized the size in the process (I think I'm getting that explanation correct - was writing notes as we was talking. If recut that would be smoothed out as well, so now I'm thinking if I took the plunge I might not want it "fixed" because that certainly adds character to it.... kind of like @RunningwithScissors was saying! And @LLJsmom they do have a return policy - no restock fees either (oh I hate those) but it is very short (7 days).

 

[Mreader]

I was also wrong about setting; i just assumed contemporary because it's a style I see often. The setting is also old. Not known if it was original setting that went with diamond, but old nonetheless.

 

[Mreader]

I made an offer for the first but vendor said price firm bc could be sold to a trader for same price as listing. Not sure if that is true; a bit torn..

 

[Mreader]

Oh no hahaha what have I done? I think #3 is still nice. I think for some vintage dealers they would not think about re-cutting an antique diamond and preserve it in it's original state. But if there is a chip that causes structural issues then you would hope that they could fix that before you buy it. Or the other option is to reset it into a bezel but then you would lose the original setting. Ahhh decisions decisions. I came across a similar dilemma a few months earlier. I was tossing up over this diamond that I love but did not have an original mount. There was another diamond ring that was all original - diamond and setting but the diamond was dead to me. So in the end I got the loose diamond. I have dreamed about finding a nice antique setting for it but geez it is pricey.

I made an offer for the first but vendor said price firm bc could be sold to a trader for same price as listing. Not sure if that is true; a bit torn..

 

[Mreader]

I made an offer for the first but vendor said price firm bc could be sold to a trader for same price as listing. Not sure if that is true; a bit torn..

welp never mind, he wrote again and said that since the stone is already out, that they are going forward with repolish and fixing the chip bc the cost to reset and sell as it wouldn't make sense. Oh well.

 

[maryjane04]

I can't remember if you said it was certified by GIA or EGL? I usually go to OWD and do price comparisons but they don't have any 2ct+ OMC in their inventory. I think it is a reasonable price with the setting. Depends on how comfortable you are with it.

 

[Mreader]

I can't remember if you said it was certified by GIA or EGL? I usually go to OWD and do price comparisons but they don't have any 2ct+ OMC in their inventory. I think it is a reasonable price with the setting. Depends on how comfortable you are with it.

It isn’t certified at all; it was his specs. He’s GIA graduate but still. I actually think it’s OEC bc of the shape. I noticed that some people use these terms interchangeably even though they aren’t. Anyway he said he is sending it out to be cut no matter what, since there is a cost associated with putting it back in the setting. He first told me that it would be about $300 difference when I was deciding whether I even wanted it recut or not. So I said I was interested then in purchasing post recut for that cost if I like it. But now he is saying it will be more because there be a cost associated with resetting the stone and the clarity might change for the better with the re-cut. Also said the reset might be more if they need to replate prongs etc. I’m actually a bit turned off by all of this because it’s completely different from what I was told before. Before he said $300 or less if I chose recut. Before he said I could decide whether to buy it as is or not. Not only that but the Etsy price was 6300 but evidently that was 10% off. he said that sale ends tomorrow and now that they’re sending it off it starts at the original Etsy price which was 6900. He made a big point of saying that they never have sales and Etsy begged them to so they did. That also did not sit well with me. Either me making an offer annoyed him, or he thinks he could get a lot more from the recut. I don’t know but I don’t think it’s good business practice to tell someone one thing and then change it.

 

[Mreader]

It isn’t certified at all; it was his specs. He’s GIA graduate but still. I actually think it’s OEC bc of the shape. I noticed that some people use these terms interchangeably even though they aren’t. Anyway he said he is sending it out to be cut no matter what, since there is a cost associated with putting it back in the setting. He first told me that it would be about $300 difference when I was deciding whether I even wanted it recut or not. So I said I was interested then in purchasing post recut for that cost if I like it. But now he is saying it will be more because there be a cost associated with resetting the stone and the clarity might change for the better with the re-cut. Also said the reset might be more if they need to replate prongs etc. I’m actually a bit turned off by all of this because it’s completely different from what I was told before. Before he said $300 or less if I chose recut. Before he said I could decide whether to buy it as is or not. Not only that but the Etsy price was 6300 but evidently that was 10% off. he said that sale ends tomorrow and now that they’re sending it off it starts at the original Etsy price which was 6900. He made a big point of saying that they never have sales and Etsy begged them to so they did. That also did not sit well with me. Either me making an offer annoyed him, or he thinks he could get a lot more from the recut. I don’t know but I don’t think it’s good business practice to tell someone one thing and then change it.

Sorry for typos - when I’m on the phone it’s hard to see lol.

 

[maryjane04]

Okay so I have a few issues with that. I mean he says it's an N.. but it looks very warm. If he is getting it recut - he might as well send it to GIA to get certified and even if you have to pay a bit more then you can be confident in your purchase. I think he is just trying to make a quick sale.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

In theory if you bought it today they would have to honor the price on Etsy, the listing makes no mention of the stone being removed from the setting or that there would be additional costs.

That said, this is just too messy for me and when buying the experience is part of my overall feeling about the piece. It wouldn’t be mind clean after all this.

I also agree about the color being more tinted than an N, I had an M OEC and it didn’t display that amount of color from the side.

 

[Mreader]

Okay so I have a few issues with that. I mean he says it's an N.. but it looks very warm. If he is getting it recut - he might as well send it to GIA to get certified and even if you have to pay a bit more then you can be confident in your purchase. I think he is just trying to make a quick sale.

Well he doesn't seem to want a quick sale because he wouldn't sell it to me "as is" hidden under prong as he originally offered to do. I was prepared to buy it that way after consulting a couple of jewelers...I offered 5400 for it because I took into account that I would be going directly through them thus they were saving on fees, but I was prepared to pay the asking price. I was just really taken aback by "oh but now we are definitely doing recut bc it would cost to reset" then "the starting price would be at least 6900 bc the sale ends" and "no it will be more than 300 on top of that." I mean really? We ended up speaking on the phone bc it was back and forth emailing, and he said he would reach out once recut was complete. But yeah, not "mind clean" at all. When someone repeats over and over that Etsy was begging them to put stuff on sale and that's why they did it - what does that accomplish? I'm unclear on what his motivation his other than maybe once recut he can get more from a different buyer. He definitely didn't seem interested in convincing me to get it. And yes it really put me off because I wouldn't want to give someone business who jerked their customers around like that.

 

[Mreader]

In theory if you bought it today they would have to honor the price on Etsy, the listing makes no mention of the stone being removed from the setting or that there would be additional costs.

That said, this is just too messy for me and when buying the experience is part of my overall feeling about the piece. It wouldn’t be mind clean after all this.

I also agree about the color being more tinted than an N, I had an M OEC and it didn’t display that amount of color from the side.

Yes totally agree with the "mind clean" thing and yes once it's out of the setting especially you may as well certify. I think it's graded more generously than GIA would grade for sure. If I made the purchase off Etsy, then I'm guessing that there would be a message saying that it wasn't available. I do think it odd that the item is still up on the site, despite the fact that the stone isn't in the setting anymore.

 

[maryjane04]

He definitely didn't seem interested in convincing me to get it. And yes it really put me off because I wouldn't want to give someone business who jerked their customers around like that.

It sounds like you are off to a rocky start and if you already feel this way then I would run and not risk buying from this guy as who knows what will happen when you have issues with the item.

 

[Mreader]

It sounds like you are off to a rocky start and if you already feel this way then I would run and not risk buying from this guy as who knows what will happen when you have issues with the item.

Yes totally I've pretty much already decided that

 

[maryjane04]

Yes totally I've pretty much already decided that

What about this one?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

That’s a pretty one @maryjane04 and a great price too!

 

[elizat]

The ring is a good buy, I think, especially if you like the setting. The stone looks like it will perform nicely.

 

[Mreader]

What about this one?

I just started following Sako on IG; where did you see this? Was it on IG? I think I'm greedy and want bigger. But would still love to see video footage on IG if possible Price is really great.

Edited to add - I figured it out. I'm still learning Instagram and how it works lol with the "stories" and "reels".

 

[maryjane04]

I just started following Sako on IG; where did you see this? Was it on IG? I think I'm greedy and want bigger. But would still love to see video footage on IG if possible Price is really great.

Edited to add - I figured it out. I'm still learning Instagram and how it works lol with the "stories" and "reels".

Aww yay you figured it out! Yeah I would want bigger too, but bigger = bigger cost. Could always message him to see if he's got anything bigger though

I think for that price, the stone is a good size plus the setting is already done.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I have seen a low color OEC in a pawn shop here in CT (in a hideous setting btw) that was 1.25 carat and $4500. I would be all over this if I was in the market

 

[maryjane04]

I have seen a low color OEC in a pawn shop here in CT (in a hideous setting btw) that was 1.25 carat and $4500. I would be all over this if I was in the market

If my fingers were smaller and I was in the market, I'd totally snap this up too

 

[Mreader]

If my fingers were smaller and I was in the market, I'd totally snap this up too

It is an awesome deal. My original engagement ring is a three stone MRB and it is a 1.2 so it’s almost too similar to the size. And that ring that I wanted that got away was also almost too similar to what I have but the size made it worth it to me because I thought I could always put it in something else later if I wanted to.

 

[Mreader]

My MRB so maybe you see what I mean

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Oh pretty ring @Mreader! I can see where you might want something different to change things up. Keep looking and I’m sure you will find something that makes your heart sing!

 

[Mreader]

OMG you guys; I was waiting until everything was said and done before posting. So I thought I was done with the guy for ring 1 because of all the annoyances I mentioned above, but he contacted me after the re-cut and said he would give me first dibs. At first I was like "no way" but then I asked about the price. He said he would honor the discount that was originally on Etsy, which put the price the same as it would have been with the quoted recut fee. Also, the were able to smooth out the chip but couldn't recut as much as they planned bc it would have reduced the size to the dreaded under 2ct lol so the edging is still there, which I was actually glad about since that is what the original cutter did on purpose to show he used maximum weight. That added to the romance of the stone for me. Anyway, I decided to buy it despite the misgivings I had about the vendor, and received it this morning. It's a cloudy day so might post more pics when it's sunny again, but I AM IN LOVE. I can't believe how gorgeous it is and if faces up much whiter than I expected; the pics show more warmth than IRL. I just couldn't stop thinking about this stone once I posted about it to y'all even though I wasn't technically in the market - sometimes they just choose you. When it "got away" I scoured the internet finding something I liked just as much in the same price point and couldn't come up with it. So glad I decided to get it. Sorry for the length post: on to the pics!

Crappy kitchen lighting: the dark look is reflection of my black shirt btw








Cat is less impressed

 

[Mreader]

One more by the tree. Something weird happened with those attachments did not mean to put multiple of the same.

 

[Mreader]

Better lighting today - it’s so hard to get pics. I tried to edit the old ones but couldn’t figure out how to delete.

 

[Mreader]

Better lighting today - it’s so hard to get pics. I tried to edit the old ones but couldn’t figure out how to delete.

@YadaYadaYada voilà

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Oh pretty and sizable too on your pretty hands! I’m so glad this worked out for you, meant to be!

I still say you should give this it’s own thread in SMTB, it needs to be seen

 

[maryjane04]

It looks so pretty and has a presence on your hand! I am so thrilled for you and can feel your happiness and excitement! Just in time for Christmas