Found a possible OEC, where to go from here?

[alyssak]

Hello,

I'm a new member but have been lurking here for years, though not that studiously. I am newly engaged and have always wanted an antique ring, preferred a colored stone. I was browsing at a small jeweler (the kind in a jeweler's building, where it's just a counter and the jeweler), asked if he had any old cut diamonds, and he showed me an OEC. I know enough about cuts to know that it was an OEC and that it was beautiful (okay, I admit I fell totally in love) but not much more. We were there late in the day so I didn't have a chance to ask too many questions. The price for the stone is 750, .56 ct, and it is claimed (not that I believe this) that it's a G VSII. I actually don't care at all what the color is as long as it's an antique cut and there are no visible inclusions or potential problems to the structural stability of the stone.

Where do I go from here? What information do I ask him for, I'm assuming he still has the stone? I realize I've just been looking at pretty jewels on here forever and perhaps not absorbing much. The thing I care most about is having an old-cut stone, at a good price (even this is stretching our budget) - and I never even wanted a diamond. But this one made my heart sing. In another post, I'll ask about the ring I already have --- but that's a separate issue. It's contemporary, and I originally asked this jeweler if he could alter it to add a colored stone. And then I asked to see an OEC.....down the rabbit hole!

 

[mandasand]

First...what is your budget? I would also recommend going with a reputable jeweler for antique stones, like Old World Diamonds or Jewels by Erica Grace.

If you want to get more info on this stone, I would see if he's willing to have it certified or have it independently appraised (not by the store).

 

[maccers]

Hello,

I'm a new member but have been lurking here for years, though not that studiously. I am newly engaged and have always wanted an antique ring, preferred a colored stone. I was browsing at a small jeweler (the kind in a jeweler's building, where it's just a counter and the jeweler), asked if he had any old cut diamonds, and he showed me an OEC. I know enough about cuts to know that it was an OEC and that it was beautiful (okay, I admit I fell totally in love) but not much more. We were there late in the day so I didn't have a chance to ask too many questions. The price for the stone is 750, .56 ct, and it is claimed (not that I believe this) that it's a G VSII. I actually don't care at all what the color is as long as it's an antique cut and there are no visible inclusions or potential problems to the structural stability of the stone.

Where do I go from here? What information do I ask him for, I'm assuming he still has the stone? I realize I've just been looking at pretty jewels on here forever and perhaps not absorbing much. The thing I care most about is having an old-cut stone, at a good price (even this is stretching our budget) - and I never even wanted a diamond. But this one made my heart sing. In another post, I'll ask about the ring I already have --- but that's a separate issue. It's contemporary, and I originally asked this jeweler if he could alter it to add a colored stone. And then I asked to see an OEC.....down the rabbit hole!

It could be a very good deal but it really depends on (1) performance of the stone (is it firey, sparkly and have good facet structure) and (2) whether the jeweller's claims that it's G VS2 are true (or at least, close to being true).

I'd ask how he came up with the carat weight, G, VS2 - does this stone have a grading certificate? Ask him about his return policy, what happens if you get it home and you're no longer pleased with its performance? In my opinion and I'm not an expert, even if the stone was .5 carat, SI1 and I colour but has great light performance, I'd definitely buy it.

But I'll let others with more experience than me weigh in on this.

 

[alyssak]

Mandasand, thanks, this is actually at the upper end of our current budget (we don't really have a budget. I already have a ring that I want to alter). So, a reasonable price overall but maybe something we would wait on? I looked at JBEG and GOG and everything they had seems out of our price range. Considering I have a setting already, 750 is a bit above what we would spend to change it. I will ask him.

 

[alyssak]

Maccers, thank you. I will take your questions to heart. The issue is that this is the first time I have looked at an OEC through a loupe. I've seen plenty of pictures here. It's super sparkly, throws off lovely flashes of bright colors, visible cullet, and it looks very symmetrical (under the loupe). I have seen some family rings that didn't sparkle as much, also antiques, but we weren't under jewelry store lights. Somehow this made my heart sing.

So, it looks stunning, to me. I'm going to try to run around and see if I can see any other OECs in person. I was thinking that even if the grading was lower it is a great deal. It was pretty sizable, compared to a lot of antique rings I've looked at.

One of my questions was, do I have to get into issues of measurements, etc? Do I need to judge the stone in that way? Also, how hard is it to find an OEC in this price-range? Could I find something for less?

 

[maccers]

I took a quick peak at ebay for OECs of that size - there's nothing that was decent in that price range. So, if it's a true OEC or Old Mine, you may be getting a steal of a deal. Of course, this makes me worry that it's too good to be true but who knows, maybe the jeweller doesn't have much of a market for OECs.

It's hard to know what makes a good OEC because they aren't precision cut, that's the charm of them - width and depth can tell you a bit more but not a whole lot. I'm of the mind that if you really love a stone and it speaks to you (and it's within budget) then you should get it. If you want more OEC experience, try to see others in person and definitely watch some youtube videos about them. Good Old Good has excellent OEC videos on youtube, search for DiamondInfoMan. Very helpful to get your eye OEC-trained a bit more.

 

[alyssak]

I'm concerned too. It's a small bench jeweler in a jewelry district in a major city. I did ask around at a few other places and they didn't have OECs on hand. Could it be that there isn't a huge market for them?

What is a typical return policy to ask for? This is a small operation.

They also had some pretty antique settings - just a few. I wonder if the stone originally was from one of those. We didn't have time to check it out.

Also, is there wiggle room to negotiate on prices at these types of places?

I probably should not be buying any diamonds - I have a vintage ring I should take apart, with five big stones, but they don't speak to me, and it was from a bad marriage. Feeling a bit of the bad associations there (not my marriage, a past family marriage). But I looked at this stone, my fiance looked at it, and we both loved it.

At what quality would the price be too high, if I get it appraised?

Thanks so much for all of your help.

 

[bunnycat]

Alyssa- Is there any chance you might be able to take a few nice pictures of it to post here so people can have a look at it? (Close up, in focus, face on)

Another thing you can do is try to look at it away from the main jewelry store lights (near a window or something) if possible. Jewelry store lights make just about everything sparkle but what would probably help you more is to see if you still like it in a more natural lighting situation (And then you can ask yourself some questions like - Are there dark areas in the stone? What happens if I hold it closer to me versus farther away? Are there areas where it is consistently more sparkly or less sparkly?).

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Definitely get the diameter measurement and look at the stone well with a loupe to check inclusions. Take a white index card and view the stone from it's side against the white to see color.

Most jewelers will not have OEC's. One jeweler told me that he immediately sells diamonds that are traded in or sold to him and most old ones are recut. I do not think there is high demand out in the real world for these stones, so I think it was great that it just happened to come up in a side question. I think the prices will go up if you go into jewelers expressing a strong desire to find an OEC!

 

[Enerchi]

May have been a bad a$$ hair cut, but he sure looks PI$$ed about it!!!

 

[bunnycat]

Maccers, thank you. I will take your questions to heart. The issue is that this is the first time I have looked at an OEC through a loupe. I've seen plenty of pictures here. It's super sparkly, throws off lovely flashes of bright colors, visible cullet, and it looks very symmetrical (under the loupe). I have seen some family rings that didn't sparkle as much, also antiques, but we weren't under jewelry store lights. Somehow this made my heart sing.

So, it looks stunning, to me. I'm going to try to run around and see if I can see any other OECs in person. I was thinking that even if the grading was lower it is a great deal. It was pretty sizable, compared to a lot of antique rings I've looked at.

One of my questions was, do I have to get into issues of measurements, etc? Do I need to judge the stone in that way? Also, how hard is it to find an OEC in this price-range? Could I find something for less?

Well- measurements will actually help you understand the stone a little better, so I think it would be good to get. Try not to think of it as judging a stones size (which is kind of what it seems like you are saying above) but knowing the measurements would help give more clues about the stone itself. For example, if the stone measures smaller across than what would be considered normal for a .56 stone, then it could be a little deeply cut, if it measures a little larger than average for the carat weight then it could be a little shallow cut. This just gives you more information about the stone itself and isn't a judgment of the stone. Also, if this is at a jewelry store, it's easy enough to verify the carat weight by weighing the stone to double check it.

 

[distracts]

I recently bought an OEC online that was 0.55 cts, and similar color and clarity (confirmed by my jeweler), in a simple YG solitaire, for $500 (which took months of looking. There are tons of people on this forum who seem to be way, way better deal-finders than I am!). My local jeweler sells .5ish OECs in simple settings for about $800. 99% of the ones on ebay are waaaaaay overpriced, so I wouldn't necessarily use that as a measuring stick. I wouldn't say that the deal was too good to be true. I think you might be able to talk him down another hundred dollars or so.