Ebay purchasing?

[dale]

I am purchasing an engagement ring for my girlfriend. I am looking for an Asscher cut 1.5ct solitaire. I am considering custom making the ring... but Someone mentioned ebay to me, and now I am curious.

I have gotten a lot from reading the commentary on here, so I would like to hear peoples opinion on ebay purchases. Some sellers have high ratings and GIA reports...

Thoughts? Help! (I am excited)...

 

[CdnBlingGal]

No way!!!

I wouldn''t buy something as important as an engagement ring from ebay. If you do a search on ebay, you will read some bad experiences.

 

[decodelighted]

Aiigh. Dale! No! Don''t do it!

Asschers might just be the trickiest stone out there to select. You need to see ''em in person or get tons of pix & expert advice to make sure you''ve got a great one!

I wouldn''t *personally* want to buy something as important as an ering on Ebay -- mostly because of the stigma, the # of fraudulent sellers. And at that price point! Tricky item. NO WAY JOSE.

You also might want to consider getting your stone/setting somewhere with an UPGRADE policy ... in case she changes her mind down the road about some aspect of her desired stone (color/clarity/size/shape). It does happen. And with an upgrade policy you can trade in the stone for the amount you''ve already paid credited toward a new stone (as opposed to having to sell the stone on - say - Ebay, for much much less).

Depending on the type of setting too ... if you want a pave-encrusted thing ... some vendors will have policies where they replace stones for free etc...

Stick around - Stmdr is an Asscher guru & can help you pick an awesome stone. What''s your budget?

 

[Kaleigh]

Stay away from Ebay!!! I have read way to many horror stories on here. Asschers are tough as it is, let alone to buy a nice one on Ebay. Seriously, don't do it. Ok rant over,

ETA: Storm is the GO TO guy for asschers. He helped me pick out mine. I bought it from www.goodoldgold.com and am beyond thrilled with it.

 

[IrishAngel7982]

Dale~
I have a 4th opinion here...NO!!! Asschers might be some of the trickiest diamonds to get right. You can''t always judge these stones based on the numbers or a few pictures. You have to see it in person to make sure the windmills and steps are symmetrical. As for Ebay, I worry about big purchases. I buy small things from Ebay every once in a while, but I don''t think I''d turn to Ebay for such a big purchase. You don''t know where it''s coming from, and with diamonds I''d think you were gambling. Take your time and do it patiently...find the asscher of her dreams from a reputable jeweler with an upgrade/trade-in policy so you''re not throwing your money away. Good luck!

 

[mrssalvo]

I''ll chime in with my NO, please NO..for reasons already mentioned..

 

[Gypsy]

Ditto!

Date: 7/5/2006 8:41:05 PM
Author: mrssalvo
I''ll chime in with my NO, please NO..for reasons already mentioned..

 

[asscherisme]

I''ll chime in with another DON''T DO IT!!

 

[pinkflamingo]

another resounding DON'T DO IT!!

There are a handful of sellers on ebay that are legit in terms of diamonds, but their stones are priced around the same as online stores- like BN/James Allen/WF etc. They do not have upgrade policies, 10-30 day money back guarantees, etc.

Way too sketch for anything of great value,especially something that is tricky to understand like a diamond, especially an Asscher.

 

[dale]

Well the opinion here is important as I spent 3 hours reading through the forums on Asscher/ ebay. I appreciate the feedback. I feel like I know some of you and love the deference to Storm (smile)

I am about to go to diamond market in SF tomorrow to look at Asschers side by side. question.. may you can help Deco, ... can you really tell the difference between a 1.33 Asscher and a 1.5? 1.5 vs 1.7?

btw I love the setting that you posted with the Asscher and baguettes.. I may have to copy....

Thanks!
Dale

 

[Gypsy]

You can tell size differences... Look at the mm size of the stone-- not just the carat weight. That''s where you see the difference.

Do you have a list of the specs and ranges? Or are you going in blind?

 

[dale]

F color SI2 1.56 was the one that I was looking at... he also has a G, VVS, 1.55 that I will compare too. I don''t want to over analyze the statistics if to the naked eye they look the same. Noone will be placing a loupe to her finger (smile)... unless we''re getting it appraised...

How does that sound?

 

[Gypsy]

Like your going to get ripped off.

 

[JulieN]

I highly doubt a SI2 will be eye-clean.

 

[Kaleigh]

We can help you if you can get us some pics. The stone I have faces up much bigger than it really is. That was a huge plus for me. Numbers are a guidline. You need to see how pleasing the pattern is with your eyes. Are the windmills too thin, are they aligned properly, etc... Excellent polish and symmetry, the list goes on and on. I also would say to stick with a G -H VS1. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[dale]

Okay.... so that being said... what would you suggest?

 

[JulieN]

max price?

 

[dale]

For the Ring- 9.5K

I can increase for the "perfect ring"
Anyone ever consult www.diamondsonweb.com ?

 

[Gypsy]

You want a length to width ratio of 1.00 to 1.01 (divide the larger of the two numbers by the smaller of the two numbers for length and width).

VS2 is the absolute minimum for clarity.

I would not go beyond 67% depth-- the deeper a stone is cut the smaller it will look in MM size.

58%-62% for table... try to keep table smaller than depth.

I would not go below H color... it will show. If you go with G or H or, I -- try for fluoressence-- meduim blue is my personal perference... but you can go lower or higher.

Girdle should be even. It should say Med or Thick. I don't like girdles have waver... but if it's slight... like Med to Slightly thick... it's okay. Don't get a very thin or thin girdle. Medium is best-- you get strength and don't lose a lot of carat weight there.

ETA:
BOTH polish and symmetry should, at a minimum be Very good. excellent would be better.

 

[Gypsy]

THE BEST ADVICE I can offer you is the following: Call Good Old Gold. Tell them your budget and specs and have them find you an asscher. They offer the best selection of asschers I have seen... and provide you with the tools to make the right decision. And they will give you what you will need for us to be able to help you. WF is getting better with their asschers, but I personally don''t like their ranges for specs... they are too lenient in my opinion.

 

[dale]

SO helpful!!! off to teach salsa... will be back later. Thanks for all your responses!

 

[dale]

Okay.. so I''m down to two diamonds.. a nice looking FSI2 1.56ct where it is hard to see the inclusion, and a GSI2 1.55ct where you have to struggle to see the feather from the back. What is attracting me is the GSI2 6.81mm X 6.77mm. I believe the FSI2 is "significantly" smaller. The GSI2 has a depth of 60.7% and a table of 65%.. Any problems with that measurement?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Dale, because asschers face up so small, I''d want the largest possible one! However, I think you need to look at the inclusions very closely to judge which one will be most eye clean. That said, the asscher experts around here would like to see them under and idealscope. But since you are seeing multiple stones, perhaps you can see which one is most visually appealing. It''s hard to tell anything other than size from the picture. Are you dealing with someone local or are these from a PS vendor? I know Joanthan at GOG is great at picking out well cut eye clean asschers. It''s hard to get SI2 in an asscher.

 

[dale]

It is hard to see the inclusions with the naked eye. I saw them with the loop. the GSI2''s inclusion was in the back. I am going with size over clarity (as long as I can''t see it!)

I was told in another thread to keep the table lower than the Depth. Why is this important?

The GSI2 table-65; Depth 60.7
THe FSI2 table- 64; Depth 68

Maybe this is why the GSI2 looks bigger. Unfortunately, I cannot see the diamonds side by side because one is in SF, the other is in San Diego!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Dale, honestly, I know nothing about asschers other than I think they are beautiful! Sometimes the numbers can get in the way. I am sure I have missed out on some perfectly fine rounds because I was playing it safe with the numbers. But you tend to catch diamond OCD the longer you''re on this forum! And since I plan to stick around for fun, I decided to go with great numbers to be one of the crowd!

I''d say unless you want to get Jonathan to find you a stone with great numbers, you''re just going to have to pick one. And I again would go with the largest one as long as the inclusion is very unnoticeable. But I''m sure you''ll get some asscher people on here eventually, but be prepared that they''ll say you don''t have enough info or that these measurements aren''t perfect, etc.

 

[JulieN]

larger table might mean less crown height. ask for a Sarin.

Oh, why is it important? Fire.