Fascinating Diamonds

[babs23r]

As anyone done business with them? Do they have a showroom? Now actively looking for a stone for daughter.... At last. She wants a marquise . Need help ! Thanks.

 

[drk14]

Welcome to Pricescope,* and congratulations on this exciting development in your daughter's life!

I've searched through the Pricescope archives, and it seems like the vendor you mentioned has never been recommended by any of our expert members. It is very difficult to find a reputable diamond vendor with excellent customer service, risk-free purchasing policies, a good selection of diamonds, and the tools to find the diamond that will be best for you. Fortunately for you, however, the Pricescope community has already vetted (through the combined experience of our users) a number of vendors whom we feel comfortable recommending. Fascinating Diamonds is not among them (although it is possible that there do exist individual PS members who may have had positive experience with this vendor, in which case you may get a response here to that effect).

I did take a quick look at this vendor's website, and it appears they are an online vendor, and they do not offer risk-free purchasing (if returning a purchase, you must pay for return shipping, plus insurance, plus $20). They also do not offer any buy-back or upgrade opportunities, in case your daughter will want to upgrade to a larger diamond in the future . However, in your (daughter's) case, the real deal-breaker is that this vendor does not provide any photographs or videos of the diamonds in their database. Because it is impossible to select a well-performing marquise diamond simply by looking at the 4 C's and the numbers from the grading report, you should work only with vendors who provide actual photos/videos of the diamonds they sell, or who can offer you the opportunity to view the diamonds in person with no cost/committment for you.

The good news is that there are several experienced PS members who frequent this forum, who are experts on finding and evaluating marquise diamonds that are available from PS-recommended online vendors. Thus, let us know if you want help finding something for your daughter. If she or her future fiance will be involved in the purchasing process, you might encourage them to sign up for a PS account and post a request for help purchasing a marquise. Alternatively, we can give advice directly to you, as long as you have knowledge of the working budget, and your daughter's preferences with regards to some of the options that will come up in the search (e.g., diamond size, color, "skinny" vs. "chubby" shapes, etc.).

You asked about a showroom. If you are not comfortable buying from an internet vendor without a showroom, please let us know where you're located.

Good luck!



*Edited to say: Oops, I assumed based on the nature of your question that you were new to PS, and worded my answer accordingly. I see now that you've been on these forums since 2012. Nonetheless, everything in my response still holds true. I'm curious why you would consider this vendor, though.

 

[babs23r]

I just don't know what to do. My daughter fell in love with a stone, and after I went to look at it, found out that there is an inclusion that goes from the girdle, upwards close to the surface of the stone. This was a recommended dealer, and I'm having the owner look at it.
I just don't know if the feather will compromise the integrity of the stone.....
I'm just a little disappointed, that's all.

Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate your reaching out to me. I don't know why I am so emotional about this. My daughter and her boyfriend wanted me to check out the stone. Now I feel like the burden is on me.

 

[drk14]

I just don't know what to do. My daughter fell in love with a stone, and after I went to look at it, found out that there is an inclusion that goes from the girdle, upwards close to the surface of the stone. This was a recommended dealer, and I'm having the owner look at it.
I just don't know if the feather will compromise the integrity of the stone.....
I'm just a little disappointed, that's all.

Thank you for your comments, I really appreciate your reaching out to me. I don't know why I am so emotional about this. My daughter and her boyfriend wanted me to check out the stone. Now I feel like the burden is on me.

Sorry to hear that you are experiencing some stress over this.

So, since your daughter already fell in love with this particular diamond, I assume she has seen it in person already? If so, that's great! (I also hope she had an opportunity to view it in a variety of lighting conditions, not just the typical jewelry-store lighting that makes almost anything sparkle.)

And you've also seen this stone? Or are you just looking at an inclusion plot on a lab report? Those can look scary sometimes, even when there's no majpr issue. Or they may reveal red flags.

Would you feel comfortable sharing the GIA report number (assuming it's a GIA-graded diamond)? That would allow us to help you "check out" the stone on behalf of your DD and FSIL. You probably should only share the report number if the vendor has the diamond on hold for your daughter (so that no lurker buys it). You can at least post the 4 C's and any comments regarding clarity that are mentioned in the lab report.

 

[babs23r]

The stone is not GIA graded, but it is a h color and SI2 clarity. Under magnification it looked scary in that one location, but we are going to get another opinion. Meanwhile, my daughter loves the stone, it is pretty, but I just don't want any problems with the ring chipping, etc... down the road!

 

[chrono]

Without a GIA lab report stating that it is a H SI2, how do you know that it is an accurately stated H SI2 by the vendor and that you are paying a fair price for it?

 

[drk14]

The stone is not GIA graded, but it is a h color and SI2 clarity. Under magnification it looked scary in that one location, but we are going to get another opinion.

So then I assume it's graded by IGI. Do you know which IGI lab (which city/country) produced the report (you can check the address below the logo at the top of the report)? Depending on country, IGI is not as terrible as EGL, but their grades can still be off. So this IGI SI2 might actually be a GIA-equivalent I1, in which case the inclusion could affect the durability of the diamond.

My suggestion is that you have the diamond evaluated by an independent appraiser, either before the sale (if the folks at Fascinating Diamonds are agreeable to this), or during the return period. Here are some options in NY:
https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers/new_york

Maybe this is what you're already doing, since you mentioned getting a second opinion.