general advice requested

[aro_mintz]

i have an opportunity to purchase a diamond at a bankruptcy sale. I don''t have the cert. or the angles and percentages, but assuming all is acceptable what do you all think of an?

One Prong set Round Brilliant Cut,3.01Carat,Clarity: I-2, Color:G
Gold band is 14K White Gold

it comes with an appraisal for 32k, but is selling for a lot less. Does this sound reasonable or to good to be true.

Thanks,

Aaron

 

[jenntheten]

I am NOT a pro---but have heard many concerns over larger stones with low clarity grades---it's MORE obvious!

 

[Mara]

I would suggest not to go with a 3 carat I2 diamond as the larger the stone, the more prominent the inclusions. This stone is definitely not eye-clean (that would be SI) and it's not even an I1, but an I2. The only thing lower is I3. That is pretty messy inside even on a 1c. The fact that its a 3c will just mean that this stone will have visible inclusions any way you look at it, some could even be pretty bad as in big black monsters inside the stone.

When I run a price comparison on Pricescope for $$ info. I got a range of $7000-10000 as a competitive price on a 3c G I1/I2 stone. The I2 stone was $7k and the I1 stone was around $8-10k. So unless your pricing is more around there, you are overpaying. The appraisal of $32k sounds a little overinflated as well, which means if you pay $10k for this ring, you will be insuring it for $32k which means your premiums on a non-desireable stone to replace would be pretty high.

I would suggest to keep looking. If you are going for size and don't want to spend alot, try an SI2 maybe. You can get a G SI2 2.50-2.70carat stone for around $13-15k on Pricescope (I just ran a general search) using one of the vendors. Some would suggest not going SI with a large stone such as this, but if you see the certificates and/or get pics of the stone beforehand to see inclusions, you can rule out the dirty ones and stick with the cleaner ones.

If you do decide to move fwd, get a copy of the cert and the crown and pav angles before moving fwd. Regardless of how much 'discount' you are getting off the apprasial, $$$ is $$$ and you should spend it wisely. Anyway...just my two cents.

 

[aro_mintz]

thanks so much mara, that was a wonderful synopsis. i will head your advice!

 

[Mara]

No problem, good luck and let us know what else you find!