Cherokee1979
Shiny_Rock
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2011
- Messages
- 246
Howdy, fellow PS’ers! The name’s Cherokee… first-time caller, long-time listener. 
Let me initially say that everyone’s advice and knowledge on this forum has been invaluable, and I GREATLY appreciate any sage wisdom from you on PS! 
I would have NOWHERE NEAR the amount of knowledge or confidence I now have regarding diamonds (albeit comparatively small) without the kind help of all of you. 
Well, pursuant to the kind advice of another PS poster, I have significantly shortened by initial, long-winded posting, and have just the following questions for the PS community:
1. I have been conducting a good amount of research into diamond buying during the past month or so, via PS, trips to local B&M’s, etc., and I believe that I have decided upon the best route for us to purchase the diamond (see # 3 below - and as a bit of background, my girlfriend is very, VERY laid-back and not at all a “blingy” person. I just want her to get the best for our money, so that we can dedicate the rest to something more utilitarian, like a house downpayment). In any event, I plan to go the following route (which is, admittedly, quite unorthodox
).
2. As for the stone I am seeking, I am looking for a RB between .94 -1.15 carats (and will go with the former if I find there to be a significant difference in price, which I suspect will be the case), G-H color, VS2, AGS0 cut. Any imput on those specs? I do strongly want to get an AGS0, but I'm not sure that a H&A stone is necessarily for us or worth the extra $. Any thoughts on the differences between the two?
3. Finally, regarding my unorthodox plan to obtain the stone (and let me AGAIN say in advance that ANY of your feedback regarding this scheme would be GREATLY appreciated ). Anyways, my cousin lives in NY and is a part-time jeweler. He used to work as a diamond setter for Tiffany & Co. (i.e., the evil empire 
), and he had offered to obtain a stone for me from his wholesaler AT COST 
. I have been reading that the mark-up for loose diamonds by vendors (particularly online vendors and B&M’s) is not very high (is this true??), but in any event, after telling my cousin to get a quote from his wholesaler for a price of a stone with SOMEWHAT similar specs I mentioned above (aside from the cut, which my cousin, oddly, did not specify to me), he gave me the following stone as an exemplar: 1.15 carat RB, VS1 to VS2, G - $5,700. This seemed pretty dang good to me for a certed stone . Oh, and by means of background, my budget for the stone ALONE is between $5,000-$5,800. According to my cousin, this wholesaler of his has numerous, numerous stones going through his hands every day, and, apparently, what is in stock one day might not be in stock the following day. Accordingly, he gave me the above stone only as an example in pricing. In any event, my cousin tells me that he will be able to obtain from the wholesaler, for him to hold for two days, two stones. He had said that he could tell the wholesaler that both must be AGS certed. With this in mind, I plan to tell my cousin to select two stones with the following specs: (1) .9-ish RB, G-H color, VS2, AGS0, (2) 1.15-ish RB, G-H color, VS2, AGS0. My cousin had initially stated that he would like me to meet with him in person to look at the two stones before selecting, but I have planned otherwise for the following reasons…. And I would LOVE to hear what you think about this plan! Anyways, I live in PA, and would prefer not to fly up to see him in NY b/c (1) it will be a pain in the butt to fly up there and I trust him greatly, and (2) MUCH, MUCH more importantly, if I do not like the specs of either of the 2 stones that he selected (after having looked at the certs – which I will have him fax to me – and plugging the cut info into the HCA, doing some online price comparisons, etc.), I could then much more easily tell my cousin “No, Thanks”, as opposed to having felt “pot-committed” to pick one of the two there in person no matter what b/c I flew my skinny Irish butt all the dang way up there. 
Anyways, I had thought that this fax plan might be helpful because it would give me 2 days to research the stones before deciding, and I could possibly post the 2 reports onto PS to see what you all think?? 
Thank you all SO VERY MUCH for any input that you'd be kind enough to share. Thanks much! Best,
Cherokee
Let me initially say that everyone’s advice and knowledge on this forum has been invaluable, and I GREATLY appreciate any sage wisdom from you on PS! I would have NOWHERE NEAR the amount of knowledge or confidence I now have regarding diamonds (albeit comparatively small) without the kind help of all of you. Well, pursuant to the kind advice of another PS poster, I have significantly shortened by initial, long-winded posting, and have just the following questions for the PS community:1. I have been conducting a good amount of research into diamond buying during the past month or so, via PS, trips to local B&M’s, etc., and I believe that I have decided upon the best route for us to purchase the diamond (see # 3 below - and as a bit of background, my girlfriend is very, VERY laid-back and not at all a “blingy” person. I just want her to get the best for our money, so that we can dedicate the rest to something more utilitarian, like a house downpayment). In any event, I plan to go the following route (which is, admittedly, quite unorthodox
).2. As for the stone I am seeking, I am looking for a RB between .94 -1.15 carats (and will go with the former if I find there to be a significant difference in price, which I suspect will be the case), G-H color, VS2, AGS0 cut. Any imput on those specs? I do strongly want to get an AGS0, but I'm not sure that a H&A stone is necessarily for us or worth the extra $. Any thoughts on the differences between the two?
3. Finally, regarding my unorthodox plan to obtain the stone (and let me AGAIN say in advance that ANY of your feedback regarding this scheme would be GREATLY appreciated
). Anyways, my cousin lives in NY and is a part-time jeweler. He used to work as a diamond setter for Tiffany & Co. (i.e., the evil empire ), and he had offered to obtain a stone for me from his wholesaler AT COST . I have been reading that the mark-up for loose diamonds by vendors (particularly online vendors and B&M’s) is not very high (is this true??), but in any event, after telling my cousin to get a quote from his wholesaler for a price of a stone with SOMEWHAT similar specs I mentioned above (aside from the cut, which my cousin, oddly, did not specify to me), he gave me the following stone as an exemplar: 1.15 carat RB, VS1 to VS2, G - $5,700. This seemed pretty dang good to me for a certed stone . Oh, and by means of background, my budget for the stone ALONE is between $5,000-$5,800. According to my cousin, this wholesaler of his has numerous, numerous stones going through his hands every day, and, apparently, what is in stock one day might not be in stock the following day. Accordingly, he gave me the above stone only as an example in pricing. In any event, my cousin tells me that he will be able to obtain from the wholesaler, for him to hold for two days, two stones. He had said that he could tell the wholesaler that both must be AGS certed. With this in mind, I plan to tell my cousin to select two stones with the following specs: (1) .9-ish RB, G-H color, VS2, AGS0, (2) 1.15-ish RB, G-H color, VS2, AGS0. My cousin had initially stated that he would like me to meet with him in person to look at the two stones before selecting, but I have planned otherwise for the following reasons…. And I would LOVE to hear what you think about this plan! Anyways, I live in PA, and would prefer not to fly up to see him in NY b/c (1) it will be a pain in the butt to fly up there and I trust him greatly, and (2) MUCH, MUCH more importantly, if I do not like the specs of either of the 2 stones that he selected (after having looked at the certs – which I will have him fax to me – and plugging the cut info into the HCA, doing some online price comparisons, etc.), I could then much more easily tell my cousin “No, Thanks”, as opposed to having felt “pot-committed” to pick one of the two there in person no matter what b/c I flew my skinny Irish butt all the dang way up there. Anyways, I had thought that this fax plan might be helpful because it would give me 2 days to research the stones before deciding, and I could possibly post the 2 reports onto PS to see what you all think?? Thank you all SO VERY MUCH for any input that you'd be kind enough to share. Thanks much! Best,
Cherokee
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