Give me some advice please?

[bosox86]

this is my first post here, but ive been lurking for a few weeks. me and my gf have been looking for rings for about 3 months now. I have recently found a private jeweler around the south louisiana area, whos name i got from some high profile people around this area (real estate brokers). i went to see this jeweler with a picture of a ring that i found and showed my gf and she fell in love with. the ring was no problem for him to get, so we started talking about stones. after he gave me a short tutorial he showed me a few stones, none of which where in my budget. he said he would find a few stones and we could meet again a week later. a week later i went to him and he showed me a stone that i thought was really nice. so i put a deposit down on the ring. i was wondering if i could get some advice on the stone i chose.

The total package for band and diamond was 5200$

Princess cut 1.11 ct
GIA cert 17208443
measurements- 5.70 x 5.66 x 4.16
color-- I
Clarity-- SI1
Polish-- very good
symmetry--- good
flour--- none
table --- 74%
Depth---- 73.5%
girdle--- med to very thick
length to width ratio--1.00

this stone will be mounted on this band





http://www.maxweiner.com/viewitem.asp?idProduct=102792&priceRange=0x999999

 

[JulieN]

We can''t really tell anything by the information on a GIA report. Pictures are the best.

The only thing that really jumps out at me is the very thick girdle.

 

[emeraldlover1]

I''m not an expert on rounds so I''d wait for them to chime in however do a search on pricescope with your diamond dimensions and see what the relative price for the stone is. It is my opinion that the depth and table are too high and this stone is going to face up much smaller than a stone of similar ct weight with better depth and table %.

Here is an example of a similar weight stone:

1.04 I SI1 Depth 60.2% Table 58% GIA thn-med no ex vg stg 6.64*6.55*3.97 $3456

I''m not sure about anything else except that in my pricescope search most diamonds in the 1 ct range had similar length and width to the one listed above. The one you have is significantly smaller and that alone would make me want to keep looking.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 7/1/2008 10:07:44 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
I''m not an expert on rounds so I''d wait for them to chime in however do a search on pricescope with your diamond dimensions and see what the relative price for the stone is. It is my opinion that the depth and table are too high and this stone is going to face up much smaller than a stone of similar ct weight with better depth and table %.


Here is an example of a similar weight stone:


1.04 I SI1 Depth 60.2% Table 58% GIA thn-med no ex vg stg 6.64*6.55*3.97 $3456


I''m not sure about anything else except that in my pricescope search most diamonds in the 1 ct range had similar length and width to the one listed above. The one you have is significantly smaller and that alone would make me want to keep looking.

His is not a round stone...

 

[bosox86]

the stone in my post above is a Princess cut not a round brilliant. i am having the ring made to fit a princess cut.

 

[bosox86]

is a very thick girdle bad? i am new to this. this guy told me it was a good stone, i tend to want to trust him because the people that sent me to him seem too, but it is sometimes hard to tell that is why i wanted to come here.

 

[JulieN]

Date: 7/1/2008 10:14:27 PM
Author: bosox86
is a very thick girdle bad? i am new to this. this guy told me it was a good stone, i tend to want to trust him because the people that sent me to him seem too, but it is sometimes hard to tell that is why i wanted to come here.

Unfortunately, we can't really tell, either, without some good pictures.

It depends on how much of the girdle is very thick, as well as where and how. If a lot of it is very thick, you could be losing out on some spread. If it's very thick and the cutter didn't really care to make a nice stone, it could throw off the symmetry.

I'm the type of person that doesn't really put too much trust in sellers. Not because they are inherently dishonest, I'm just inherently curious.

 

[bosox86]

so in your opinion should i call the jeweler and tell him i have changed my mind about the stone and to keep looking for something better?

 

[JulieN]

if you like it, you could take it to an appraiser.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/1/2008 10:14:27 PM
Author: bosox86
is a very thick girdle bad? i am new to this. this guy told me it was a good stone, i tend to want to trust him because the people that sent me to him seem too, but it is sometimes hard to tell that is why i wanted to come here.

A lot of people come to PS after dealing with a "freind of a friend" jeweler and were unhappy with their experiences, some others were happy... you can't really judge a jeweler based on a personal or family recommendation, unfortunately, and I think the former scenerio can be more common than the latter, sorry to say.

As for that diamond, we can't judge based on numbers, no one can judge fancies (i.e., non rounds) by the numbers. We'd need a picture of the stone as well as an ideal scope image or better yet an ASET. You also can't necessarily go by the cert because there is no standard for grading princess cuts...except for AGS. They have a grading system for fancies and according to the experts around here it is very very rigorous. Apparently AGS ideal pricesses blow the others out of the water, and this is saying something since one complaint some peopel have about princess cuts is that their optics are not as good as rounds. But apparently these AGS ideal can compete with a round's light performance. WF and GOG carry these AGS ideal princess cuts, and if you want a princess then I would recommend you try to find an AGS ideal one.

Here is an example, 1.03 ct., I SI1, $4361 http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-40277.htm

ETA: Another 1.27ct H SI2, $5040 (ask if eye clean) http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3077/

OR .99ct I VS1 $4461 http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3394/

Anyways, if you have pics of the stone you have reserved, we can help you more!

 

[emeraldlover1]

Date: 7/1/2008 10:11:32 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 7/1/2008 10:07:44 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
I'm not an expert on rounds so I'd wait for them to chime in however do a search on pricescope with your diamond dimensions and see what the relative price for the stone is. It is my opinion that the depth and table are too high and this stone is going to face up much smaller than a stone of similar ct weight with better depth and table %.


Here is an example of a similar weight stone:


1.04 I SI1 Depth 60.2% Table 58% GIA thn-med no ex vg stg 6.64*6.55*3.97 $3456


I'm not sure about anything else except that in my pricescope search most diamonds in the 1 ct range had similar length and width to the one listed above. The one you have is significantly smaller and that alone would make me want to keep looking.

His is not a round stone...

Duh! No wonder I was so confused. I read that thing twice and couldn't figure it out, I guess I should have realized it was at the top of the specs. I must really be getting old. Thanks nf!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/1/2008 10:24:01 PM
Author: bosox86
so in your opinion should i call the jeweler and tell him i have changed my mind about the stone and to keep looking for something better?

Can''t tell you what to do, but if I were buying a princess I''d get an AGS ideal from WF or GOG in a heartbeat.

 

[bosox86]

yeah those stones are quite out of my budget. i was working with a 5000 dollar budget. i am only 22 and am about to graduate college so i was looking for a good stone on a tight budget, this set up is already 200 dollars more than i originally entended to spend. the stone is very beautiful, and i compared it to many other stones he had in the f/g vs2 range and this one looked good even against those. but i really dont have a trained eye so... i really wish i could afford another 1500 to 2000 dollars, but those are just beyond what i can do.

 

[bosox86]

it is amazing what all goes into buying a diamond, you see all the time about the 4 c''s but ive learned over the last week that there is so much more than that.

i really appreciate everyones help.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Don''t appologise for your budget! I was just going on the $5200 you mentioned earlier! My ER was much less than that, anyone here will applaud you for sticking within your means and that is a healthy budget, IMO.

If you love the stone you saw, they go for it and you can always take it to an independent appraiser to check it out.

That said, if you want us to help find you something that maaay be better, from a vendor with a top notch reputation, then we can do that too!

I know you have a setting you like, but it may be stopping you from getting over the 1 ct mark at these other vendors (stones at 1ct are around $4300, could add a simple solitaire and it''d be under $5000). Given the choice between dream setting and larger diamond, many women would choose large diamond

Do you know your gfs preferences? Is the setting uber important to her, or would she prefer the money spent on a larger diamond?

That said, you could get this setting (pictured) from WF... it is very similar to the one you linked but I bet the quality is better... WF makes amazing quality settings. It costs $1000. Add this lovely .79ct I VS2 for $2200, would keep you way under budget and then leave money for the matching wedding band! You can always upgrade in the future with WF if you wanted. http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-912080.htm

Just giving you some ideas! You''ll have to go with your gut though, since we haven''t seen the one you are considering in person, you have!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Whoops setting didn't attach. I love this one!

Or with this .76 G VS2 for $2837. http://www.whiteflash.com/aca_princess/A-Cut-Above-Princess-cut-diamond-912088.htm

 

[bosox86]

yeah my gf would rather the band, she wants the 3 sided eternity wedding band to go along with the e-ring, that is why i chose the one i did, the only reason i wanted this one, is this is the one i showed her and her jaw dropped, i have been with the same girl for 6 years, and have always got her every thing she wanted. i am just trying so hard to get her her "perfect ring". like i mentioned before diamond buying is just so hard. i would really like to do both go for the 1 ct size and the pave band, that is why this stone was presented to me. any help would be great. it is never to late to get back my deposit.

 

[bosox86]

sometimes i just have a hard time buying things off the net. i guess i am just one of those who likes to put their hands on the product especially when making a big purchase.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/1/2008 11:08:49 PM
Author: bosox86
sometimes i just have a hard time buying things off the net. i guess i am just one of those who likes to put their hands on the product especially when making a big purchase.

Welll then you may just have to take the stone you have to an appriaser and go from there! Get your GF exactly what she wants.

 

[bosox86]

this may sound like a dumb question but what exactly would the appraser be able to tell you?
Value of the package?

 

[JulieN]

Read the Appraise the Appraiser article (sticky at the top.)

 

[Regular Guy]

Date: 7/1/2008 11:17:27 PM
Author: bosox86
this may sound like a dumb question but what exactly would the appraser be able to tell you?
Value of the package?

This is a very good question.

Do find out if your appraiser has an ASET, and if so...get some sense of how they use it/why they have it. It's seems to be the main talking point on this board to help identify cut quality.

Possibly, many or a majority of appraisers do not talk "cut quality" the way we do on this board. Even the appraisers who join this board and who do seem to talk cut quality seem to modify their language when being asked to formalize terms...

Per Julie's comment...

"Read the Appraise the Appraiser article (sticky at the top.)"

Yes, you might do that. I've copied below what I think is the relevant section of that piece, if it raises confidence:

"How do you approach assessment of cut quality?

Round Brilliants:

DA: ImaGem-DFS and/or the AGA Cut Class. I use ideal-scope sometimes as well.

NB: Normally I use the GIA grading scale and methodology. As an AGS titleholder I can and occasionally do also use the AGS standards.

PG: I use the traditional GIA method. I talk about cut in terms the consumer can understand; off makes show themselves. For me, the point is to communicate and not to pontificate. The client wants to know if they are getting a good quality gem at a good quality price.

BL: I follow AGS and use their Proprietary Grading Software, my eyes and several other tools.

AN: We use direct measurement and the traditional AGS grading system. Being mobile precludes use of measuring devices like Sarin.

RS: GIA as the default. AGS for ideal cuts.

Fancy Shapes:

DA: ImaGem-DFS for rounded makes, princess and marquise or the AGA Cut Class. I also use ASET sometimes.

NB: I do not assign a score but do discuss the attributes of brilliance, dispersion & scintillation with the client. If it is a documented AGS0 princess I will refer to it as same.

PG: Same as with round brilliants.

BL: I use to use my eyes. Now I use AGS PGS, but look at it and see if I agree.

AN: Direct measurement of angles. We note if the pavilion depth is excessive and describe the outer shape, symmetry is especially important in fancies. We talk about performance qualities too.

RS: Sarasota Gem Lab cut grade classification and now AGS for Princess."

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 7/1/2008 11:17:27 PM
Author: bosox86
this may sound like a dumb question but what exactly would the appraser be able to tell you?
Value of the package?

Among other things ,the ywil ltell you if it is a good stone. We can''t tell you b/c we haven''t seen it and you don''t have pics, so rely on an independent appraiser to tell you if you "done good".