I recently made a diamond purchase from Jonathan at Good Old Gold. In summary the experience was excellent! The service and detailed feedback provided by the RockDoc at Consumer Gem Labs was also exceptional! Here is my diamond buying story, it is long, but hopefully enlightening.
I began my diamond buying experience by going to the local jeweler - Jared's. I was told by a friend that the Leo diamond was the best diamond, and 'For Sure' the one to buy. Supposidly it would razzle dazzle the eye. In part this is true - it will razzle dazzle the uneducated/untrained eye. I looked, and said 'WOW', that is really cool...until I went to Jonathan's website...
Before buying any diamond, I started to do research on the web. I read a ton of material, and found some of the best detailed knowledge and advice on Jonathan's & the RockDoc's website. I spent a total of six weeks reading and visiting diamond stores. I flew to Phoneix and visited a 'Diamond Wholesaler' specializing in ideal cut diamonds. I met and talked to a diamond cutter of 20 years. I was working on arming myself with the best information possible to buy that perfect 'Pet Rock'.
After all the research and study, I finally flew to NYC to meet Jonathan and hand select my diamond. It was a great way to meet the guy behind the website, and really see for myself the great diamonds he is selling. I found the rock I was looking for, and had it sent off to the RockDoc in Boca for his wizardary.
The Rockdoc was expeptional. I would HIGHLY recommend using his services for the extra peace of mind, and GREAT education you will get from him. He is known for being brutally honest in the industry, and cuts the crap on your purchase. I WOULD NOT make a diamond purchase WITHOUT getting a second opinion. The opinion of the RockDoc on my purchase was in line with what Jonathan had shown and told me. I knew there would be no real issues with the rock, but I wanted to just double check. I can honestly tell you that I would be able to purchase from Jonathan with 100% NO reservations. He is honest, not pushy, and has some DAMN good stones.
Anyway, here is the funny part of the story. The 'famous' LEO diamond. Jared's insisted on how much better their stone would be over mine. SO, I took the challenge. I showed up to Jared's, went into their special diamond viewing room, and had THREE sales associates working with me looking at my treasure...comparing it to their 'frozen spit' (got this vocabulary from the RockDoc). They had flown in a 'high end' LEO for me to look at from their inventory in NY. Well, sad to say, their 'best' stone in all of Jared's was shitty. I looked at the IGI report (Jared's only uses IGI graded stones) for a 1.5 carat F VS2. Well, if I would have taken a shotgun to the diamond it probably would have looked better on the report. There were a TON of inclusions. ALL over the paper. In addition, the Polish was 'Good', the Symmetry was 'Good' AND it had HIGH BLUE Fluoresence. What in the HELL was this? Frozen Petrified Spit?? Yep! When I produce my GIA report, they Jared's manager looked at both, and told me, I had the better stone. I will have to say this, he was honest, and I really appreciated his candor. I KNEW it was better, but is sure was nice to hear Jared's say that. He also said is was VERY rare to see an Excellent/Excellent stone from the GIA...
Anyway, my advice to any of you buying is do your research...and give Jonathan a whirl. He will shoot straight. Once you have the Diamond, send it to the RockDoc for final sign off. I would also suggest getting the RockDocs appraisal. It is VERY thorough.
If you have any questions, please contact me. I'll be happy to answer them.
Mark
Pet Rock - 1.36c E VS2 H&A
I began my diamond buying experience by going to the local jeweler - Jared's. I was told by a friend that the Leo diamond was the best diamond, and 'For Sure' the one to buy. Supposidly it would razzle dazzle the eye. In part this is true - it will razzle dazzle the uneducated/untrained eye. I looked, and said 'WOW', that is really cool...until I went to Jonathan's website...
Before buying any diamond, I started to do research on the web. I read a ton of material, and found some of the best detailed knowledge and advice on Jonathan's & the RockDoc's website. I spent a total of six weeks reading and visiting diamond stores. I flew to Phoneix and visited a 'Diamond Wholesaler' specializing in ideal cut diamonds. I met and talked to a diamond cutter of 20 years. I was working on arming myself with the best information possible to buy that perfect 'Pet Rock'.
After all the research and study, I finally flew to NYC to meet Jonathan and hand select my diamond. It was a great way to meet the guy behind the website, and really see for myself the great diamonds he is selling. I found the rock I was looking for, and had it sent off to the RockDoc in Boca for his wizardary.
The Rockdoc was expeptional. I would HIGHLY recommend using his services for the extra peace of mind, and GREAT education you will get from him. He is known for being brutally honest in the industry, and cuts the crap on your purchase. I WOULD NOT make a diamond purchase WITHOUT getting a second opinion. The opinion of the RockDoc on my purchase was in line with what Jonathan had shown and told me. I knew there would be no real issues with the rock, but I wanted to just double check. I can honestly tell you that I would be able to purchase from Jonathan with 100% NO reservations. He is honest, not pushy, and has some DAMN good stones.
Anyway, here is the funny part of the story. The 'famous' LEO diamond. Jared's insisted on how much better their stone would be over mine. SO, I took the challenge. I showed up to Jared's, went into their special diamond viewing room, and had THREE sales associates working with me looking at my treasure...comparing it to their 'frozen spit' (got this vocabulary from the RockDoc). They had flown in a 'high end' LEO for me to look at from their inventory in NY. Well, sad to say, their 'best' stone in all of Jared's was shitty. I looked at the IGI report (Jared's only uses IGI graded stones) for a 1.5 carat F VS2. Well, if I would have taken a shotgun to the diamond it probably would have looked better on the report. There were a TON of inclusions. ALL over the paper. In addition, the Polish was 'Good', the Symmetry was 'Good' AND it had HIGH BLUE Fluoresence. What in the HELL was this? Frozen Petrified Spit?? Yep! When I produce my GIA report, they Jared's manager looked at both, and told me, I had the better stone. I will have to say this, he was honest, and I really appreciated his candor. I KNEW it was better, but is sure was nice to hear Jared's say that. He also said is was VERY rare to see an Excellent/Excellent stone from the GIA...
Anyway, my advice to any of you buying is do your research...and give Jonathan a whirl. He will shoot straight. Once you have the Diamond, send it to the RockDoc for final sign off. I would also suggest getting the RockDocs appraisal. It is VERY thorough.
If you have any questions, please contact me. I'll be happy to answer them.
Mark
Pet Rock - 1.36c E VS2 H&A