General pricing parameters...

[chawk01]

Without giving any real specifics on individual stones I'm hoping to get a little feedback on general price points.

I'm looking at ideal cut round stones
depth 60-62%
table 53-57.5%
girdle slightly thin-slightly thick
culet none
color H-I
clarity VS2-SI1
weight 1.00-1.05 carat
EGL cert

Where would a visually pleasing stone within these paramters fall in price range? I'm being quoted locally - $4,400 (SI1, I) to about $4,900 (SI1, H or VS2, I).

I appreciate your help. Thanks.

 

[Regular Guy]

EGL certified stones are known to be less reliable on their color and clarity descriptors, as compared to comparable AGS and GIA certed stones...not that there''s anything wrong with that...as long as you understand that to begin with.

Then, when comparing on price, you just compare apples to apples. Unfortunately, the excellent reference on this board does represent another relative "market" basket, i.e, they are "so called" available on the "internet," and so, to the extent they are available this way, and not at your local store, i.e., B&M or Bricks & Mortar retailer, you could expect the markup on these to be lower. Then again, you could buy them just like you could buy the diamonds at your store, so they are comparable at least in that way.

Although it''s not uncommon for ideal to be defined as you''ve described, one minor advantage of EGL certed diamonds over GIA, is that they usually do come with at least some of the additional information you would want to more clearly call it "ideal," pertaining to the crown and pavilion measurements. Frequently they come with % info rather than angle info, and angle is preferred, but -- again -- either is better than the zero info on today''s GIA certed diamonds.

Comparing apples against apples on diamonds in the Quick Search database here, i.e., against only certed as EGL, with the same color and clarity qualities, and same size range...from I SI 1 to H VS2, the range is broadly in cost from $2760 - $5625. You can also narrow these down to only ones represented as cut well (identified by AGS0), and the range narrows from $2766 - $4935. Specifically, the set of H VS2s that are also AGS0 map onto the pricing structure you''ve presented...$4324 - $4935...making your choices higher in cost than those available here, but not wacky high...also, they are presumably available at the local shop to look at, and you don''t have to call them in, which is certainly worth more than something considering the other services you might want after the purchase from your store.

Consider, though, looking more broadly, read the tutorial here (if not my shopping suggestions below my signature), and see options locally beyond those certed by EGL, which will at least give you some more choices to consider.

Best,

 

[DolceVita]

The price you were quoted is a fair local-jeweler price. Not too high, not too low. If this is your concern, you''re not getting ripped off.