H&A FMV?

[otter]

Greetings,

I''ve been reseraching/shopping around for the past month for an engagement diamond, and was recommended to this forum by one of my co-workers. He spoke highly of the feedback given to him in RockyTalk.

I''m contemplating a purchase, and am interested in soliciting comments regarding the diamond (and its fair market value):

http://search.virtcert.com/cgi/u/1012/v.cgi?stock=1739774&_s=1012&_p=sdf348gd743&_c=&_fs=1&prestock=&_ln=ps

The girdle is MED-SLTK-F (assuming some of the weight isn''t ideally proportioned). Should I be leary of thin girdles? Are they more prone to chipping?

Also, the symmetry of the above is "good". How does good rank with a H&A diamond? I''d expect symmetry to be better than good, considering the H&A distinction.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Otter

 

[Lord Summerisle]

While I will start this by saying I am in no way an expert (for I always say – Ex is something that has been, while spurt is a drip under pressure*) and am simply a curious beginner.

I have just finished reading a rather length and detailed thread on facet yaw, done by some of our more knowledgeable members. But within that thread, had a link to a further thread, which explains the meaning behind the Lab grades of symmetry read it here

How that relates to your query and how it shows the H&A pattern I will not embarrass myself putting forward a hypothesis, I’m sure someone better able will be able to do that. But I thought it was worth point to towards what the Labs grade when assessing symmetry.


*please take this as the joke I intened it to be

 

[pqcollectibles]

I would highly doubt the diamond is an H&A. I''d bet that GIA merely reported a girdle inscription in the Comments section, and the Comments got posted on the listing. It''s an often used marketing ploy. As an example,.............. I can have a jeweler inscribe H&A on the girdle of a diamond, submit it to GIA for grading, and GIA will report the inscription in the Comments section. Does my inscription really make the diamond an H&A?? Nope! Typically, a GIA Certed H&A has Excellent Symmetry and Excellent Polish. That''s the equivalent of an AGS Ideal/Ideal.

 

[denverappraiser]

Otter,

H&A describes a fairly specific pattern as viewed through a particular type of viewer. There is a discussion in the tutorials about what is, and what is not, an h&a pattern. More info here. Several of the vendors also have excellent information about this. Check the sites of goodoldgold, whiteflash and niceice, among others. USA Certed, the dealer of the stone you are looking at, may very well have a discussion of this elsewhere on their site.

Fair market value is a legal term and is almost certanly not what you're looking for. Not that anyone could provide a reasonable valuation sight unseen anyway but if this is really what you are seeking, you definitely need a professional appraisal. You can use the search bar at the top of the page to look for diamonds for sale that are similar to the one you are considering. This can give you a pretty good idea of what internet dealers are charging for various stones. The b&m pricing is less reliable but if you use the search utility to find a stone, you should be able to ring up the jeweler and they may be able to give you an idea about what prices to expect as well as perhaps have other stones available that meet your requirements.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[codex57]

You don''t want extremely thin girdles, but I remember too thick is bad too.