Feedback on this lab diamond please

[kgizo]

I’d get the .78H VS2 whitewave found, put it in the 6 prong setting you like and be done with it. Then you can move on to planning the most fun aspect of the wedding.

 

[whitewave]

Thanks @whitewave! So how would you pick between these if you were happy with all sizes? I would assume the most expensive one? The size would be perfect and while the price is slightly over budget, it would be fine if it's substantially better than the first one. If I probably wouldn't notice the difference between the first and second in terms of how sparkly and beautiful they are, I would probably rather save the $300.

I think any of those, but If you didn’t want to spend for the .93, then I would choose the first one. For the smaller table and the Gcal report.

And for the H color over the J.

 

[whitewave]

I’m really anxious to see it in photos and video. I might consider one for a travel ring, etc.

 

[DoeEyes]

I'm confused. Let's call them 1 2 and 3. They go in size order. 1 is the smallest, 3 is the largest. But 2 is the most expensive, I assume because it has a better color grade and better cut than 3. Wouldn't you go with 2 then?

Also side note: I called that antique jeweler nearby who has amazing reviews and who I had seen once a few weeks ago but felt like he brushed me off. I told him what I'm looking for and if he can help me find an antique/pre-owned diamond .75-1 carat at $1500, or $2k with the setting. He basically laughed at me and said that will be $2500 minimum for the stone, said lab diamonds break more easily than mined and he thinks they are crap, but said he would still see what he can find and call me to come see when he has some options. This is why I ****ing hate jewelers. Just admit that lab diamonds are the exact same thing as mined. Embrace it. Your industry is changing so get on board.

 

[kgizo]

I’ll defer to whitewave since she is very, very knowledgeable, but IMO #2 is not substantially better than #1 so why go over budget? Of course, if it is worth it to you to pay more for one color grade higher and a diamond that is 0.11mm larger then order that one.

 

[whitewave]

I think overall given everything, #1 seems to fit your needs and wants, plus it seems to be a great diamond. I think it is basically a sure thing with the lowest chance of returning it.

#2 I thought you said was above your budget, or that you didn’t want to spend this much given the prices of the other two. I love a G, so if you are willing to spend the money, you get bigger than #1 and a much better color than #3.

# 3 is a j color so if I personally had to choose between h and J, I would choose H. Plus in this case, I think the g cal is a better report than IGI. BUT, if size was most important, I would choose this one and hope it isn’t too yellow. IGI is a soft grader on color, so it could be as yellow as an L. I think while bigger, this one is more chancy...

 

[whitewave]

So basically it boils down to this:

If you want bigger and don’t mind spending extra, get #2.

If you want budget friendly and don’t think you would tell the difference between the two anyway, get #1.

I personally would eliminate the J (#3) out of fear it would be closer to a K or L or possibly even M.

 

[DoeEyes]

@whitewave My thinking was exactly the same as yours, J is out, plus it's not ideal cut. I think I'm going to wait for lightbox and see how bad it is, but if I were choosing right now I would go with #1. I'd be willing to increase my budget by $300 for the #2 if you thought it was much better than #1. The size difference between those two wouldn't matter to me, but maybe the color would.

 

[whitewave]

@whitewave My thinking was exactly the same as yours, J is out, plus it's not ideal cut. I think I'm going to wait for lightbox and see how bad it is, but if I were choosing right now I would go with #1. I'd be willing to increase my budget by $300 for the #2 if you thought it was much better than #1. The size difference between those two wouldn't matter to me, but maybe the color would.

Do we know when lightbox is debuting, other than their vague “soon”?

Yeah, I think either the H or G would be a great purchase.

 

[DoeEyes]

@whitewave Still no date announced, but they did say September so I'm holding out hope that they will actually launch in the next few weeks. I'm not on a deadline, once I get the ring I'll be handing it over to bf and waiting anyway. It's possible that he would surprise me with a Thanksgiving or Christmas proposal if he had the ring by then, but I actually think he'll wait until next year. He doesn't like to do things that everyone else does and I think a holiday proposal would be too cliche for him.

 

[denverappraiser]

Soon and Fall 2018 are all we get at the moment. I also notice that they're purely selling 'total weight' jewelry now. It looks like the biggest individual stone in any of their offerings is about half a carat.

 

[DoeEyes]

@denverappraiser They said September, and the halo pendant has a center stone of 8/9 carat or 0.88. Even if it's a bit smaller, my range is 0.75-1 so it should be fine for me.

 

[denverappraiser]

It looks to me like Sept has been dropped and replaced with Fall on the website. Not that it matters. I'm sure they'll make a splash when they start shipping. We'll hear about it.

 

[DoeEyes]

@denverappraiser I really hope it launches soon, but like I said I'm not really in a rush so I think it's worth it for me to wait even if it's Thanksgiving.
I'll be really disappointed if I buy a lab diamond from BE for $1500 and then lightbox launches and turns out to be a decent quality. Not because my diamond's value will have gone down, just because I could have saved money.

 

[denverappraiser]

If it were me, I would wait. I do think they're playing games with the date, and nearly every company with a giant launch like this finds it to be more difficult than they first expected. I also fully expect the quality to be just fine. This is no fly-by-night outfit. It's DeBeers. They are not to be taken lightly.

 

[dhoang132]

Yes debeers, one of smartest, most evil company in the world, known for their cut throat marketing and business practices. You have to ask yourself what would be better for business, lab grown diamonds with D and vvs1 cut to ideal proportions for 900 bucks or poorly cut low quality lab grown diamonds (no certificates) since they claim it’s not worthy.

Judging by their attitude toward lab grown from the start I would go with the latter. They stated countless times over the years, how they would never sell lab growns, how lab grown aren’t romantic and how they are no better than fakes. I believe they are going to show the world this now, by producing tons of cheap low quality lab growns for next to nothing.

 

[DoeEyes]

@dhoang132 I'm actually thinking they are going to produce good quality lab diamonds priced so low that it drives other lab diamond producers out of business. Then at some point when they've disrupted the industry enough that it's not competing with their natural diamond customers, either stop producing lab diamonds or bring the price up enough to cover actual costs and make some profit on them, while continuing to market lab diamonds as fake and cheap options to buy for your kids, not your wife. I think that's more likely than them tarnishing their name by producing something low quality.

 

[dhoang132]

@dhoang132 I'm actually thinking they are going to produce good quality lab diamonds priced so low that it drives other lab diamond producers out of business. Then at some point when they've disrupted the industry enough that it's not competing with their natural diamond customers, either stop producing lab diamonds or bring the price up enough to cover actual costs and make some profit on them, while continuing to market lab diamonds as fake and cheap options to buy for your kids, not your wife. I think that's more likely than them tarnishing their name by producing something low quality.

I think if they produce good quality lab diamonds, they could spark a increase in demand for them, which imo could do more harm than good for their main source of business. You notice how they never mention any specifics about the quality of their diamonds, no color or clarity. Only size and fancy color such as pink or blue etc. it’ll be interesting to see what they do. But I do know majority of the population don’t even know lab grown diamonds exist. So it shouldn’t be too hard to tarnish the market for lab grown diamonds.

 

[DoeEyes]

@dhoang132 Yes, I'm really curious to see what they they end up looking like! The suspense is killing me.

 

[VDK1]

@dhoang132 I'm actually thinking they are going to produce good quality lab diamonds priced so low that it drives other lab diamond producers out of business. Then at some point when they've disrupted the industry enough that it's not competing with their natural diamond customers, either stop producing lab diamonds or bring the price up enough to cover actual costs and make some profit on them, while continuing to market lab diamonds as fake and cheap options to buy for your kids, not your wife. I think that's more likely than them tarnishing their name by producing something low quality.

Some facts you should pay attention:

- Lab grown diamonds are not new! They have been used many years before in many fields of the industries ( not for jewellery).
- The cost of making those synthetic stones with jem quality is decreasing from time to time. If there will be a hight demand, the cost of making them will be soon get down faster and faster. Say, a carat lab diamond costs 3.5k or 800 usd today can become a 100 buck piece some years later.
-Even today, the cost of making lab grown diamonds is so dirt cheap in somewhere like China ! Almost of those MMD are jem quality, colorless or fancy vivid color with very good cut ,VS SI clarity....
- "Lab grown" or "man made" jem stones are also not new!. Do you know how much a "lab grown" ruby or a "lab grown" sapphire cost now? Those synthetic ruby, sapphire are about 10 usd to 15 usd/ each although both lab grown and natural stones would be identified as same forms of corundum, the same atomic structure and crystal habit!

- The story of MMD would be the same of man made ruby, man made sapphire more or less. And at the end, it would be great for consumers, if there would be a "fashion wear", "costume jewellery" market for those "lab created" with a very accessibly and resonable prices

 

[OoohShiny]

- The story of MMD may be the same of man made ruby, man made sapphire more or less. And at the end, it would be great for consumers, if there would be a "fashion wear", "costume jewellery" market for those "lab created" with a very accessibly and resonable prices

Edited for accuracy

-Even today, the cost of making lab grown diamonds is so dirt cheap in somewhere like China ! Almost of those MMD are jem quality, colorless or fancy vivid color with very good cut ,VS SI clarity....

Do you have a source for this claim?

 

[VDK1]

Edited for accuracy

Do you have a source for this claim?

From what you have posted so far, I would think you are not in diamond business ( both diamond and synthetic diamond business). From the consumers ' point of view, time will tell

I remember that I have already posted some where in this forum. If you do really want to make a try of those cheap lab grown diamonds in China, just simply search and contact the sellers. You can easilly buy online or visit them. (They are cheap anyway ). You can ask for IGL report for example, or send the MMD to IGL yourself for about some hundred usd total ( 1 carart MMD diamond + report !) However my advise is not to do so because you have no experience in this regard

https://www.alibaba.com/countrysearch/CN/lab-made-diamond.html

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...spm=a2700.details.maylikever.9.1e7244eb6QLOwC

http://llgem.com/

Normally, those China MMD are cut in both China and India. That is also why prices are too cheap!

 

[MelloYello8]

So... where can I buy these $15 high quality lab rubies, other than alibaba? I have a velvet leopard print track suit that needs bedazzling. Kidding. Not really. Want.

 

[VDK1]

oh, with that fancy suit you should wait for the fancy color MMD from Lightbox!

Check this yourself, there are also many many other places that sell those cheap "lab grown" stones worldwide
https://www.africagems.com/chatham-ruby.html
https://www.africagems.com/calibrated-chatham-ruby-round.html

 

[MelloYello8]

oh, with that fancy suit you should wait for the fancy color MMD from Lightbox!

Check this yourself, there are also many many other places that sell those cheap "lab grown" stones worldwide
https://www.africagems.com/chatham-ruby.html
https://www.africagems.com/calibrated-chatham-ruby-round.html

Thanks! Alas the larger rocks (over 8mm) are still over $1000 so a little more than I would spend on a spontaneous purchase. Definitely waiting to see what lightbox eventually offers for $800/ct. It’s a great deal for the fancy colors which tend to have higher price points right than white mmds, especially in larger sizes. Even if the melee diamonds contribute to the 1ctw pendants and push down the center stone weight, $900 for a 0.8 ct blue diamond would be a steal since comparables are more in the $4,000 range.

 

[DoeEyes]

So wait, you can already get MMD from China for much less than lightbox will be selling? I looked at the 2nd alibaba link and it says $100-300/carat, E VVS1 round cut "excellent." Is this actual lab grown diamond (same chemical makeup) or is it something different like cz or moissanite? Why wouldn't I buy this other than it potentially having a bad cut?

 

[MelloYello8]

So wait, you can already get MMD from China for much less than lightbox will be selling? I looked at the 2nd alibaba link and it says $100-300/carat, E VVS1 round cut "excellent." Is this actual lab grown diamond (same chemical makeup) or is it something different like cz or moissanite? Why wouldn't I buy this other than it potentially having a bad cut?

When you scroll down it says the carat size is .6 ct and diamond enhancements: filled diamonds. So I imagine these are low quality and filled with glass. You can get cheap clarity enhanced mined diamonds domestically.

 

[VDK1]

So wait, you can already get MMD from China for much less than lightbox will be selling? I looked at the 2nd alibaba link and it says $100-300/carat, E VVS1 round cut "excellent." Is this actual lab grown diamond (same chemical makeup) or is it something different like cz or moissanite? Why wouldn't I buy this other than it potentially having a bad cut?

Those links just only show you an idea that there are too many places creating MMD with dirt cheap cost! Do not buy from them if you don't have experience and expertise! Man made, heated, treated, clarity enhancenent ... a lot of things you will never know!

 

[DoeEyes]

@VDK1 I won't buy anything on my own because I'm aware I don't know how to determine what is good and what is crap. But you seem to be pushing that this just isn't an option at all. Why can't I ask for someone who DOES know to help me find a MMD of good quality from China or India that would be cheaper than lightbox? A well cut diamond at the lowest price is my goal. The source doesn't matter to me. So if this already exists cheaper than lightbox, show me. If it doesn't, then what was your point?

 

[VDK1]

There are certainly cheaper sources of course. But those may not for end users or at least not for unexperienced end users. The best option right now for you is to wait for a trust supplier like Lightbox to buy. I beleive there MMD will have at least "good cut" and best price