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First Time Buyer Looking For Advice on Stone

jdlee2323

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 6, 2013
Messages
6
Hey all,

This is my first time buying a stone for an engagement. It would be a round cut, Sl-1, E color, and 1.00 CT. The seller I went to rents a house from my girlfriend's father so he "promised" me a great price. When he went to write down the price, he hesitated many times, first writing down an 8, then crossing it out, then mentioned 7500, then finally settling on 7200. I was a little disappointed as my budget tops out at 7000. However, he called me 30 minutes after I left telling me he had spoken to his boss and that the new price was 6000. Is this a deal? The stone looks great, the shine makes it seem bigger than its 1.00 CT weight. However, I'm still hesitant only because I lack experience in all this. Please let me know what you guys think, sorry if the details on the stone are skimpy, they are all I have to work with. Thanks guys.

jdlee2323
 

marymm

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
5,520
I cannot think of a single instance when a poster bought a diamond from someone they knew, and the diamond was as represented and fairly priced for its actual quality... so my first piece of advice is not to buy from this seller.

You do not have any helpful info about the diamond itself - so my second piece of advice is not to purchase any diamond without ascertaining it is graded by a reputable lab (GIA or AGS) and being provided with the diamond grading report information - report number, cut details such as table, depth, crown and pavilion angles and percentages, etc.

Since you do not have any specifics about the diamond, I am assuming that it is either ungraded or graded by a lab other than GIA or AGS - I am assuming this because if it was graded by GIA or AGS, the seller would have likely made it a point to tell you that in his sales spiel.

Just using the basic specs you provided, I ran a PS search for similar diamonds - the first search I ran was for 1.0ct E-SI1 diamonds from "other" labs (meaning diamonds not graded by GIA or AGS) - which resulted in prices ranging from $3,116 to $5,824, with one single outlier diamond priced at $8,164.

Based on the above, my guess is that the diamond offered to you at $6,200 is most likely well-overpriced - again assuming it is either ungraded or graded by a lab other than GIA/AGS.

FWIW, using the PS search, a well-cut 1.0ct E-SI1 diamond graded by GIA (triple X) or AGS (triple O) ranges from $6,286 to $8,780.

If by chance you are able to ascertain from your seller that the diamond is graded by GIA or AGS, then please update your thread here with the report number and the cut details, and PS members can give you additional feedback.
 

Niel

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
20,044
do you have any other information about the stone? Is it EGL, AGS, GIA certified? Do you have the specs of the stone?



If your budget is 7k, you can easily get a D-I colored 1 ct stone. And you would bet its a top quality cut. Unless you can provide specs to see i it really is a GIA or AGS top cut quality stone, id advise to pass and start a fresh search
 

jdlee2323

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 6, 2013
Messages
6
marymm|1381073420|3533110 said:
I cannot think of a single instance when a poster bought a diamond from someone they knew, and the diamond was as represented and fairly priced for its actual quality... so my first piece of advice is not to buy from this seller.

You do not have any helpful info about the diamond itself - so my second piece of advice is not to purchase any diamond without ascertaining it is graded by a reputable lab (GIA or AGS) and being provided with the diamond grading report information - report number, cut details such as table, depth, crown and pavilion angles and percentages, etc.

Since you do not have any specifics about the diamond, I am assuming that it is either ungraded or graded by a lab other than GIA or AGS - I am assuming this because if it was graded by GIA or AGS, the seller would have likely made it a point to tell you that in his sales spiel.

Just using the basic specs you provided, I ran a PS search for similar diamonds - the first search I ran was for 1.0ct E-SI1 diamonds from "other" labs (meaning diamonds not graded by GIA or AGS) - which resulted in prices ranging from $3,116 to $5,824, with one single outlier diamond priced at $8,164.

Based on the above, my guess is that the diamond offered to you at $6,200 is most likely well-overpriced - again assuming it is either ungraded or graded by a lab other than GIA/AGS.

FWIW, using the PS search, a well-cut 1.0ct E-SI1 diamond graded by GIA (triple X) or AGS (triple O) ranges from $6,286 to $8,780.

If by chance you are able to ascertain from your seller that the diamond is graded by GIA or AGS, then please update your thread here with the report number and the cut details, and PS members can give you additional feedback.

Hi MaryMM, thanks for your feedback. He did write down that it is EGL rated. I did a little reading and some individuals seem to EGL, others caution buyers to be wary...
 

jdlee2323

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 6, 2013
Messages
6
Niel|1381074016|3533119 said:
do you have any other information about the stone? Is it EGL, AGS, GIA certified? Do you have the specs of the stone?



If your budget is 7k, you can easily get a D-I colored 1 ct stone. And you would bet its a top quality cut. Unless you can provide specs to see i it really is a GIA or AGS top cut quality stone, id advise to pass and start a fresh search

EGL.
 

Niel

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
20,044
pass. EGL is weak grading. Could it still be a pretty stone? sure, but what color is it really? what clarity? their grading can be 2-5 grades different than what GIA might grade it. Plus, we still dont know how well its cut, and thats the most important thing.


What is your actual budget? 6k or 7? Is that including setting? What kind of setting did she want? Solitaire? halo?

Also what color are you content going with? usually in a solitaire at this size you can go to an I without any discernible color, especially a solitaire.

ideally what would you get her??
 

marymm

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
5,520
EGL actually has several different laboratories (EGL-USA, EGL-Canada, EGL-Israel, etc.) and I believe one or two may have slightly better reputations than others, but as a whole, EGL is generally considered a soft lab, meaning that diamonds are typically graded "better" than they would be if graded by GIA or AGS. Both color and clarity grades are usually off by 1-4 grades, if the same diamond were to be graded by GIA or AGS. Thus, comparatively, an EGL-USA graded E-SI1 diamond is at the very least an F-SI2 and could well be a G/H I1 or I2!

The first price range I posted above was for diamonds graded by labs other than GIA and AGS, so your E-SI1 EGL is overpriced at $6,200.

Generally, diamond vendors are looking to get the most money they can get for their diamonds - and they send the highest quality, best-cut diamonds to GIA and AGL for that reason. They send diamonds to EGL when they know it won't grade well with GIA/AGS - it is easier for vendors to market an E-SI1 diamond even if graded by EGL, especially to uninformed buyers.

If you are hoping for an ideal-cut one-carat colorless D/E/F diamond with a $7,000 budget, I don't think you will find it - but you can find something quite close to a carat - and an ideal-cut diamond next to a non-ideal-cut diamond will be appear noticeably bigger and brighter in comparison. Here a couple of ideal-cut colorless diamonds I found after a quick search:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2982244.htm - *highly recommend* this is gorgeous, very close to one carat, and just over your budget at the PS wire price is $7,127.
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10944/ - although the price is not listed for this one, if you click the "Reserve" button it shows up in your cart as $4,921 - I'd check with the vendor to make sure it is eyeclean to your preference.

And here are two beautiful ideal-cut G-VS2 diamonds:
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.914-g-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104064191011
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...ls/0.903-g-vs2-round-diamond-ags-104064191010

And if you are open to H/I color diamonds, it likely is possible to find a well-cut diamond in the one carat range.
 

jdlee2323

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 6, 2013
Messages
6
Niel|1381074819|3533129 said:
pass. EGL is weak grading. Could it still be a pretty stone? sure, but what color is it really? what clarity? their grading can be 2-5 grades different than what GIA might grade it. Plus, we still dont know how well its cut, and thats the most important thing.


What is your actual budget? 6k or 7? Is that including setting? What kind of setting did she want? Solitaire? halo?

Also what color are you content going with? usually in a solitaire at this size you can go to an I without any discernible color, especially a solitaire.

ideally what would you get her??

7K for everything- band, stone, setting. She wants a solitaire setting. As far as color, I noticed she liked the colorless one. When we went to ShaneCo to get a feeling for what she may like, we noticed that color made a big difference. Thank you for that tidbit on solitaire, I will definitely keep that in mind. Ideally, we learned from ShaneCo that clarity is not necessarily the big determining factor for how the stone looks but how it may be cut and how the color shows. This was just what we picked up on our search together.
 

jdlee2323

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 6, 2013
Messages
6
Thank you all for the links to these alternatives! I will keep them in mind as I continue looking. I assume these sites are quite reputable? Sorry, not questioning your knowledge of where to get stones, I just had never considered looking online. My only question is how these stones are sent to you? Mail? :shock:
 

Niel

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
20,044
jdlee2323|1381101587|3533329 said:
Thank you all for the links to these alternatives! I will keep them in mind as I continue looking. I assume these sites are quite reputable? Sorry, not questioning your knowledge of where to get stones, I just had never considered looking online. My only question is how these stones are sent to you? Mail? :shock:

usually first class overnighted FedEx.... free shipping, insured by the seller.


Some people get uncomfortable shopping online at first, as people think "ebay fakes" when you first consider it.

But they are very reputable sellers with neighborhood stores, just not in your area. Tiffanys has a website, does that make them any more or less reputable?

Whats nice about buying online, too, is they give you so much info. A gemologist will review it, you can get an ideascope image, which many stores wont even have in their possession. And you wont get a "pitch", you can show on your time and compare prices without someone trying to tell you why you should buy the more expensive one.
 

Niel

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
20,044
this stone is between 2-3 on the HCA, preferably you'd get under 2, but i think it looks good and the angles are within desired ranges that it might be worth getting an aset... plus it gives you a lot of money for the setting and the band, if you were getting that right now too, i cant remember. I also think you might be smart to hold off, as a woman likes to go in and try on lots of them, see which she likes best
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-241379

im not necessarily recommending it yet, id wanna get more info.... but if you find other ones to look at at JA, id look at this one too
 

jdlee2323

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 6, 2013
Messages
6
Niel|1381104526|3533357 said:
this stone is between 2-3 on the HCA, preferably you'd get under 2, but i think it looks good and the angles are within desired ranges that it might be worth getting an aset... plus it gives you a lot of money for the setting and the band, if you were getting that right now too, i cant remember. I also think you might be smart to hold off, as a woman likes to go in and try on lots of them, see which she likes best
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-f-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-241379

im not necessarily recommending it yet, id wanna get more info.... but if you find other ones to look at at JA, id look at this one too

Great find! Thank you!
 

hawk25

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 18, 2013
Messages
353
I've never heard a good outcome of 'bought from a friend/friend of a friend/family member's friend (list goes on), so I think it's a good idea not to buy from the person you saw. I was worried about buying online too when I started ring shopping, but now I can't imagine doing it any other way.

Usually you can safely go down to an H color before you can see any tint, although many PSers would push that to an I color. I personally bought an H color, and I've never seen tint, but those are with my eyes.

I'd keep this one in mind, it's a 0.92ct G SI1 for $5688. It's reserved for someone right now, but there's always a chance it'll fall through. I quite like it, and it's well within your budget, so I thought I'd mention it. You can use the live chat to ask when it'll be available. BGD also give a PS discount to save a few bucks.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d...0.926-g-si1-round-diamond-ags-bl-104067041022
 
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