Hello,
I am planning to purchase a stone this year.I have conducted vast amounts of research on the internet and visited around 20 jewelers.I am in the market for a 2ct., G, VVS2-VS1 round cut.After learning about ideal cut diamonds, I then discovered Hearts and Arrows.There is only one jeweler in my area who is even familiar with H&A and the rest either have never heard of it or can''t get them.I also had one jeweler tell me that it is an additional classification of an ideal cut diamond and since the requirements for this certification are broad, there is no guarantee that the stone will even be a H&A cut.He then proceeded to tell me that the H&A is just a marketing gimmick to charge more for ideal quality stones.I have seen a H&A diamond through a H&A viewer and the stone does look excellent.I still have many unanswered questions.First of all, is there any difference between AGS and GIA?I have heard that AGS has lower standards and that GIA is the one to use.Second, can a stone be a H&A cut and just be classified as ideal?Is H&A really worth the extra money?Can an ideal cut look as good as a H&A?Do I even need to bother with H&A?I flew up to the diamond district in NYC this year only to leave with more questions than answers.I didn''t find one "broker" who carried H&A.I felt that everyone was trying to scam buyers and are using the fact that they are located in the "diamond district" to somehow certify that they carry quality diamonds.I didn''t trust anybody there and I couldn''t tell whether the diamonds were enhanced or not.I know that a diamond must be cleaned before viewing, but when everybody sprays liquid whatever on it and compressed air, certainly it will sparkle for a while.It was worse than arguing with a car salesman.I don''t see how there can be a 15k price difference in similar diamonds.Is the markup really that much?My jeweler says that his H&A diamonds only come from a particular town in Germany (I can''t remember the name) and that there are only a handful of cutters that are able to even produce this kind of cut.After visiting the diamond district, I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with someone from goodoldgold in NY.Although she was very helpful in answering my questions, she kept referring me to their website, which I had already read twice.In addition to all of this, what makes a diamond a Tiffany diamond?I read the particular classification for a Tiffany diamond on the website and went over them at one of their stores.What makes these diamonds so special?I feel that everyone I talk to has good information, but are plugging their merchandise or their particular store.Basically, I want a 2ct. rock that sparkles so much in a candle-lit restaurant that every other woman eating has trouble finishing her meal!Is that asking too much?
I know this is a very long post and I appologize.If anyone would like to contact me personally to discuss these issues, please feel free to do so.Any comments, ideas, or suggestions are appreciated.Thanks.
I am planning to purchase a stone this year.I have conducted vast amounts of research on the internet and visited around 20 jewelers.I am in the market for a 2ct., G, VVS2-VS1 round cut.After learning about ideal cut diamonds, I then discovered Hearts and Arrows.There is only one jeweler in my area who is even familiar with H&A and the rest either have never heard of it or can''t get them.I also had one jeweler tell me that it is an additional classification of an ideal cut diamond and since the requirements for this certification are broad, there is no guarantee that the stone will even be a H&A cut.He then proceeded to tell me that the H&A is just a marketing gimmick to charge more for ideal quality stones.I have seen a H&A diamond through a H&A viewer and the stone does look excellent.I still have many unanswered questions.First of all, is there any difference between AGS and GIA?I have heard that AGS has lower standards and that GIA is the one to use.Second, can a stone be a H&A cut and just be classified as ideal?Is H&A really worth the extra money?Can an ideal cut look as good as a H&A?Do I even need to bother with H&A?I flew up to the diamond district in NYC this year only to leave with more questions than answers.I didn''t find one "broker" who carried H&A.I felt that everyone was trying to scam buyers and are using the fact that they are located in the "diamond district" to somehow certify that they carry quality diamonds.I didn''t trust anybody there and I couldn''t tell whether the diamonds were enhanced or not.I know that a diamond must be cleaned before viewing, but when everybody sprays liquid whatever on it and compressed air, certainly it will sparkle for a while.It was worse than arguing with a car salesman.I don''t see how there can be a 15k price difference in similar diamonds.Is the markup really that much?My jeweler says that his H&A diamonds only come from a particular town in Germany (I can''t remember the name) and that there are only a handful of cutters that are able to even produce this kind of cut.After visiting the diamond district, I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with someone from goodoldgold in NY.Although she was very helpful in answering my questions, she kept referring me to their website, which I had already read twice.In addition to all of this, what makes a diamond a Tiffany diamond?I read the particular classification for a Tiffany diamond on the website and went over them at one of their stores.What makes these diamonds so special?I feel that everyone I talk to has good information, but are plugging their merchandise or their particular store.Basically, I want a 2ct. rock that sparkles so much in a candle-lit restaurant that every other woman eating has trouble finishing her meal!Is that asking too much?
I know this is a very long post and I appologize.If anyone would like to contact me personally to discuss these issues, please feel free to do so.Any comments, ideas, or suggestions are appreciated.Thanks.