Gassan diamonds 121 facet round diamonds

[TUTU]

Hello,

I would like to ask about Gassan diamonds in Amsterdam. We came across the diamonds and luxury watches shop during our vacation. As an admirer of diamonds, we sat with a sale staff and were told about Gassan diamonds. The staff said their diamonds were 121 facets and the price of 1 carat G VS2 around EUR31,000. All of their diamonds are certified by HRD. He told us GIA certificate was inferior. Their diamonds were top rated by HRD but then sent to GIA and were rate average and good only. He showed me a GIA cert dated back 2012 as an evidence. Is it due to that GIA only works with 57 facets RB?

I think the price for 1 carat is way too expensive, probably due to I visited the shop as a tourist shopper. I much appreciate your experience on the true value of Gassan diamonds. Does it worth the price tag?

Thank you very much

 

[AV_]

It must be a small company... There is not much news about them. Branded cuts come and go, the respective diamonds appear on the lists of no-name stones one way or another; eg. a Lucida ring will be recognized as a Tiffany item, a loose Lucida diamond may end on Blue Nile. I have not yet seen a Lucida diamond sold with some claim of brand premium, except by Tiffany.

2p


Caveat emptor: I am a fan of relatively broad facets in this weight range WWW

 

[OoohShiny]

€31,000 for a 1ct G VS2 that is not even GIA or AGS graded?

Oooookaaaaaayyyyyy...


There are other cuts with a lot more facets than a 'standard' MRB cut, but I can't think of the name of them now. AIUI they have a different 'look' - a lot more white light return, a lot more 'splintery' - which is not good or bad, just different.

Would I pay 31-grand for one, though? Er... no. lol

 

[Bron357]

There are quite a few “variations” on the round brilliant cut including versions with 144 facets and even 201 facets. So a diamond with 121 facets isn’t “ground breaking”. It’s more an attempt to distinguish their “brand” from others using the idea that extra faceting makes a better diamond.
No, it doesn’t.
The fire and scintillation seen in diamonds is due to the facets reflecting the incoming light source internally and by correct facet placement returning that light back out to the eye. Extra facets doesn’t create more fire and scintillation it just makes the “bits of fire and scintillation” more in number BUT smaller in size.
Such “fancy” cuts with extra facets created by diamond vendors, given fancy names and promoted as the “best new thing” come and go regularly.
It is the modern round brilliant “Hearts and Arrows” that is considered by many to be the most aesthetically pleasing “reflection pattern” to the eye and to provide the ideal balance between number and size of bits of fire and scintillation. And there are plenty of other cuts that aren’t round brillant, irrespective of the number of facets used, and to other people, these are their favourite cut.
I adore emerald cuts.
And as for “dissing” on GIA, really!
HDR Antwerp is barely known outside Europe and is not the lab that groups like Christie’s and Sotheby’s are relying on when they sell their multi million dollar diamonds! GIA is very highly regarded worldwide.
And 31,000 Euros for a 1 carat G VS2! That’s not even top colour and certainly not near top in clarity grade. Given that HDR is considered “more generous” with their grading, such a diamond is likely to come back an H from GIA.
I’m very glad you weren’t dazzled by their incredibly overpriced Round Brilliant with extra facets because more is better because they say so.

 

[lovedogs]

Hahahahahaa! I cannot even express how shocking that price is for what is essentially guaranteed to be a poorly performing stone (if you compare to h&a and want a modern cut). And the price is seriously highway robbery. I can't imagine they will stay in buisiness long with that attitude. Plus, HRD is Definitely not better than gia/AGS. It's worse. The fact that their "amazing" stones came back with poorer grades from gia tells you everything you need to know.

 

[lovedogs]

Also I hate when companies try to make sales by outright lying. It makes me so angry.

 

[TUTU]

Thanks for your insights about this cut. For however it is more beautiful, the price is too pricey for consideration.

As for selling techniques, sadly i always meet the same way of explanation such as GIA is inferior or worse than HRD of IGI in BM jewelry stores. During our conversation at Gassan, I just tried suggesting him if he was unhappy with GIA and wanted to evaluate his diamonds correctly, why not sending it to AGS, he paused for a quick moment and replied ASG was just as very small appraiser organization.

 

[TUTU]

This is it added facets

 

[whitewave]

Bad reviews:

https://www.diamonds.pro/reviews/gassan/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUse...ds_Tour-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html

 

[whitewave]

@LJsapphire went there. Post: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gassan-diamond-factory-in-amsterdam.242224/

 

[TUTU]

Bad reviews:

https://www.diamonds.pro/reviews/gassan/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUse...ds_Tour-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html

Clearly bad diamonds sold at super high price targeted to tourists

 

[whitewave]

Clearly bad diamonds sold at super high price targeted to tourists

Like someone else said, it’s going to be splintery white flashes of light (I believe) and some people will like that, but there are certainly other options that are less expensive.

There are specialty cut rounds that come and go. I imagine resale would be a major loss on money unless someone else is looking for that particular cut , and I’m guessing there is no trade in policy.

@Karl_K @Rockdiamond @John Pollard do you guys have any information on that many facets and how it would present?

 

[Karl_K]

Why would anyone what to cut a design that was designed for quartz/topaz in diamond?
Did they give the orginal designer credit?
The cut is right out the 1950s cutting books with the angles adjusted for diamonds.
It makes no sense with the high RI of diamond.
Extra facet cuts can come into their own over 5ct and some over 10 but this one just makes no sense.

 

[AV_]

.

The cut model reminds fancy colour rounds.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Amsterdam was the center of the diamond world at a point in time.....but now it's nothing at all like it.
Demographically Dutch people have little interest in diamonds, so it's very hard to find a 1.00ct in any of the stores- all they have are teeeny weenie diamonds......generally speaking, only a tourist would buy a larger stone
That will contribute to making the price of larger stones completely out of whack.
It also leads to inaccurate info in sales pitches.

As far as adding facets.....personally I love all sorts of flavors- this design might make a very nice yellow or Fancy Colored Diamond......likely I'd fall on the side of traditionalists when it comes to a colorless round brilliant.

 

[whitewave]

Thanks for your insights about this cut. For however it is more beautiful, the price is too pricey for consideration.

As for selling techniques, sadly i always meet the same way of explanation such as GIA is inferior or worse than HRD of IGI in BM jewelry stores. During our conversation at Gassan, I just tried suggesting him if he was unhappy with GIA and wanted to evaluate his diamonds correctly, why not sending it to AGS, he paused for a quick moment and replied ASG was just as very small appraiser organization.

Two words: speciality lighting

 

[flyingpig]

58 facet diamond = Charcoal Grilled USDA Prime Ribeye with salt and pepper
121 facet diamond = Seared Soy Ginger Marinated Butter Sous Vide Tenderloin with Truffle Infused Hollandaise and Melted Cheese on top

"Don't mess with a classic"

 

[Karl_K]

When cutting low Ri stones in a RB pattern you either get a dark center and the area outside the table is lighter or you get a dark center and lighter outside the table.
This design and similar designs are made to even out the color by adjusting the angles under each area rather then having the same angles under both.
Similar tricks are used with colored diamonds but I highly doubt this one would work.

 

[whitewave]

58 facet diamond = Charcoal Grilled USDA Prime Ribeye with salt and pepper
121 facet diamond = Seared Soy Marinated Butter Sous Vide Tenderloin with Truffle Infused Hollandaise and Melted Cheese on top

Wagu beef... supposed to be the best, high price. DH loves it. I HATED IT— texture all wrong and I said, “I can taste the suffering...”

 

[John P]

Why would anyone what to cut a design that was designed for quartz/topaz in diamond? Did they give the orginal designer credit? The cut is right out the 1950s cutting books with the angles adjusted for diamonds. It makes no sense with the high RI of diamond. Extra facet cuts can come into their own over 5ct and some over 10 but this one just makes no sense.

Thanks for pinging me @whitewave

The simple answer to @Karl_K 's logical question is A.B.C. (Glengarry Glen Ross, anyone?) The longer answer is that it's situation-driven. Here's what I mean.

1. First, the product. When you splash extra-faceted diamond cuts with blazing jewelry store lights they tend to have a quick, exciting 'sizzle' to them. Think of a disco ball with normal sized mirrors. Now think of the same size ball, but the mirrors are only half the normal size. The sparkle seems faster, with sizzle to it. It's really cool. But once you take such diamonds into normal lighting it stops. And the extra facets cause the resulting internal reflections to be so tiny that fire becomes very reduced.

2. The situation: Jewelry stores in tourist areas know they frequently have one chance and one chance only to make the sale. So they add more facets, blast the thing with bright lights and A.B.C. That's why the Crown of Light is mainly sold in cruise-ship ports of call... Mr. and Mrs. Margarita wobble off the ship, stumble into the store, and they have never seen such sizzle. A credit card gets swiped. Once they're home they wonder why diamonds look so much better in the Caribbean. #newsflash - they can go Costco or spend an evening riding hotel elevators to see that sizzle again.

My wife and I were in Cozumel a couple of years ago and stopped by a jewelry store to have her ring steam-cleaned. A young guy in a nice suit brought a 2 carat COL over, showed us it's flashy sizzle and started A.B.C-ing me. When my wife's ring came back I pointed to a dark office and said "Let's go in there. If it sparkles better than hers I'll buy it." We did. And it didn't... But after I told him what I do for a living we had a great diamond-nerd conversation.

 

[distracts]

121 facets sounds like way too many at that small of a size... the light return would be so splintery and little. Not for me. I guess there are people who like that though, but there are lots of many-facet round cuts available that are reasonably priced.

Wagu beef... supposed to be the best, high price. DH loves it. I HATED IT— texture all wrong and I said, “I can taste the suffering...”

ugh it's so fatty and weird. I'm absolutely with you on this one.

Thanks for pinging me @whitewaveWhen my wife's ring came back I pointed to a dark office and said "Let's go in there. If it sparkles better than hers I'll buy it." We did. And it didn't... But after I told him what I do for a living we had a great diamond-nerd conversation.