Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

Fancy Yellow Diamond - Did I Get Screwed?

M

msieman

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
2
I’ve been lurking for a while, and finally am making my first post seeking some help. Huge thanks to anyone who can assist.

Backstory: The gf and I have been talking about getting married. I’ve done a good chunk of research on diamonds and felt prepared to go into this process. After one store visit, she sees a yellow diamond and really likes it – which throws a wrench in everything I’ve learned. Unfortunately, very few stores actually have these in stock to show us. So we did the whole thing where we put down a deposit to have somebody bring in a few diamonds – we thought this would help us get an idea of what the different colors look like in person (i.e. fancy yellow vs. fancy intense) as well as a rough idea of pricing (the guy at the store gave us a range of over $10k).

Fast forward to a week later. The diamonds arrive at the store. After looking at the different stones, there was one that my girlfriend liked. It seems like a tough situation because there aren’t that many yellow diamonds available to see, so I was debating at what point do you pull the trigger versus shopping around. Of course, this retailer made the decision easy for me and said they had to send the diamond back to their broker the next day unless I bought it that night (how convenient). While I was really uncomfortable doing that, I didn’t want to lose a stone that my gf liked. So I got it and am now using the grace period I have to return it to figure out how much (if any) I got screwed by. My overall experience with this retailer has not been stellar and my gut tells me I’m overpaying….at the same time, it seems it’s a lot harder to find yellow stones….

Given the short timeframe, I thought there might be some input on this forum. Can anyone help?

Straight from the GIA Report:

Shape and Cutting Style: Cushion Modified Brilliant
Measurements: 5.86x5.45x3.18
Carat: .85
Origin: Natural
Color: Fancy Yellow
Distribution: Even
Clarity: VS2
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good
Fluorescence: None
Proportions: thick – extremely thick; 68% and 58.3%
Price: $4,951
 
Hopefully someone with colored diamond knowledge will chime in and help out. My understanding is that with colored diamonds that the color and size really determine the majority of the price of the diamond, while cut and clarity come second. I would check out the Diamonds by Lauren website to see if you can find anything comparable in size and intensity of the yellow. They have a pretty large selection of fancy colored diamonds it may give you a better idea if you over paid.
 
I've bought several colored diamonds from Leibish http://www.fancydiamonds.net and strongly recommend this vendor.

Here are some comps, all graded natural by GIA.



The problem with price comparisons of colored diamonds is the color itself can vary a great deal WITHIN one GIA color grade, and this will affect the price.
One Fancy Yellow may be MUCH more attractive than another.
This is really NOT the case with white diamonds, especially in the near colorless range.
In fact the difference between an E and an F is VERY hard to discern especially when the diamond is set.
Also each Saturation grade is a pretty wide range and the yellows that fall near the next stronger grade will be priced higher than those next to the next weaker saturation grade.
The hue itself can also vary.
One Fancy Yellow may have just a touch of brown in it but not enough for GIA to grade it Fancy Brownish Yellow, while another may have just a touch of green in it but not enough to earn a Fancy Greenish Yellow grade, but the one with the green will be priced higher than the one with the brown.
It's quite complex when trying to determine what is a "fair" price.

Also the cut may let light leak out the bottom or may do a fantastic job of returning lots of fire contrast and scintillation to your eyes.
There is nothing on the GIA report that grades light performance.

If you have more time to shop and can return it I would.
Then travel to see many more or order some from a vendor with a good return policy.
Get your eyes to be more experienced and informed.
In the end you may decide the diamond you have now was in fact the right one, but at least you will have the experience and confidence to know this.

aaaqq.png
 
That's a tough position to be in - there, in the store, with the vendor pushing you and your GF liking a stone...sounds like under the circumstances you did the only thing you could and now hopefully, you'll be comfortable taking it back if you find a better deal (under Kenny's tutelage) :naughty: ...
 
I would not allow that jeweler to apply that kind of pressure. I think the stone sounds overpriced. There are more where that one came from. Plus it could still be there at the supplier in 2 weeks after you do some shopping. Kenny is very experienced buying colored diamonds, and I would contact his colored diamond vendor seeing as the prices look much more reasonable. Take your time and get the best stone at the best price!
 
Hi

First, creating such pressure is wrong and you can always find the same or better diamond - that's a promise.

In my opinion it is a good price for "brick and mortar" store - a jewelry store has high overheads and this the reason for the price - so in terms of pricing, it is a reasonable sum.
If you are willing to buy online, the price will be much better for the same diamond, but the buying experience is different than in a store.

I suggest you do some research and decide over the stone you wish to buy. Once you decide you can either buy online or negotiate prices with your jeweler.

Good luck
 
Being shown two or three diamonds and then picking the best of the three, isn't the ideal way to shop, even without the added complication of fancy colors. Most of us are able to view many many stones and have the benefit of knowing it's cut grade before we purchase, so I can appreciate your predicament. I'm by no means an expert but it seems that few FCD come with both a natural color grading report AND a cut report, making your experience even more difficult. How long is your return policy for the current stone? If time allows, I think I would ask another vendor to call in a few stones for you so that you can compare it to the stone you purchased. It's expensive, but if you're in the position to order a couple from an online vendor with a return policy, you'd be able to compare the stone in many different lightening environments to determine how it performs, this isn't easy to do in a jewelry store with it's 'magic' lighting. BTW, I've fallen in love with fancy yellow diamonds. :love: I hope one day to own one as well, so I look forward to hearing to your journey. When you find 'the one' post lots and lots of pics! =)
 
Thanks all, for the help so far. There are some good points made above - and I really don't feel educated enough yet to be comfortable with purchasing the diamond from the retails. So, I think I'm going to return the diamond I bought and start over. I'll start with the links provided above. Thanks!
 
DiamondColors|1348041443|3270722 said:
Hi

First, creating such pressure is wrong and you can always find the same or better diamond - that's a promise.

In my opinion it is a good price for "brick and mortar" store - a jewelry store has high overheads and this the reason for the price - so in terms of pricing, it is a reasonable sum.
If you are willing to buy online, the price will be much better for the same diamond, but the buying experience is different than in a store.

I suggest you do some research and decide over the stone you wish to buy. Once you decide you can either buy online or negotiate prices with your jeweler.

Good luck
Click to expand...


I second this whole post.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP
Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top