Half Moon Diamonds

[askem]

Hi - I want to have a ring made with two half moon diamonds on either side of an 11x9mm tanzanite stone. I''ve been talking to Diamond Cutters Intn''l and they''ve shown me a pair of half moons, .67tcw, G1, VS2 for $2400. I''ve read their How to Buy a Diamond book which seems to have a lot more details about the diamond than this fellow offered me. He claims it''s because the book is based on round diamonds and half moons are different. Half moons are not mentioned in the book.
What criteria do I need to determine if I am getting a good diamond for a fair price? He does not recommend I go lower than a G/VS2 which is fine as long as the price is fair. What do I need to know about proportions of half moons?

Also, if I purchase these diamonds from them and have them make the ring, how do I ensure that the diamonds I bought are the ones that are set? Would this be like the wolf in the hen house?

thank you

 

[MWG]

Date: 6/24/2007 10:04:44 AM
Author:askem
Hi - I want to have a ring made with two half moon diamonds on either side of an 11x9mm tanzanite stone. I''ve been talking to Diamond Cutters Intn''l and they''ve shown me a pair of half moons, .67tcw, G1, VS2 for $2400. I''ve read their How to Buy a Diamond book which seems to have a lot more details about the diamond than this fellow offered me. He claims it''s because the book is based on round diamonds and half moons are different. Half moons are not mentioned in the book.
What criteria do I need to determine if I am getting a good diamond for a fair price? He does not recommend I go lower than a G/VS2 which is fine as long as the price is fair. What do I need to know about proportions of half moons?

Also, if I purchase these diamonds from them and have them make the ring, how do I ensure that the diamonds I bought are the ones that are set? Would this be like the wolf in the hen house?

thank you

First thing that bothers me is that you are concerned that they may switch out the diamonds for other lesser quality diamonds!!!! What gives you this impression about the vendor?

DCI has been discussed at Pricescope, you can do a search on here for DCI and its owner Fred.

MWG

 

[MWG]

Date: 6/24/2007 10:04:44 AM
Author:askem
Hi - I want to have a ring made with two half moon diamonds on either side of an 11x9mm tanzanite stone. I've been talking to Diamond Cutters Intn'l and they've shown me a pair of half moons, .67tcw, G1, VS2 for $2400. I've read their How to Buy a Diamond book which seems to have a lot more details about the diamond than this fellow offered me. He claims it's because the book is based on round diamonds and half moons are different. Half moons are not mentioned in the book.
What criteria do I need to determine if I am getting a good diamond for a fair price? He does not recommend I go lower than a G/VS2 which is fine as long as the price is fair. What do I need to know about proportions of half moons?

Also, if I purchase these diamonds from them and have them make the ring, how do I ensure that the diamonds I bought are the ones that are set? Would this be like the wolf in the hen house?

thank you

I will assume that the HALF MOONS are not laser inscribed. So, you would need to do a PLOT of the inclusions and their location in each HALF MOON. And when they deliver the ring, look at the diamonds with a LOUPE and if you see that the same inclusions in the same places as you plotted, then, you have the diamonds you bought.

MWG

 

[askem]

Date: 6/24/2007 11:08:22 AM
Author: MWG

Date: 6/24/2007 10:04:44 AM
Author:askem
Hi - I want to have a ring made with two half moon diamonds on either side of an 11x9mm tanzanite stone. I''ve been talking to Diamond Cutters Intn''l and they''ve shown me a pair of half moons, .67tcw, G1, VS2 for $2400. I''ve read their How to Buy a Diamond book which seems to have a lot more details about the diamond than this fellow offered me. He claims it''s because the book is based on round diamonds and half moons are different. Half moons are not mentioned in the book.
What criteria do I need to determine if I am getting a good diamond for a fair price? He does not recommend I go lower than a G/VS2 which is fine as long as the price is fair. What do I need to know about proportions of half moons?

Also, if I purchase these diamonds from them and have them make the ring, how do I ensure that the diamonds I bought are the ones that are set? Would this be like the wolf in the hen house?

thank you

First thing that bothers me is that you are concerned that they may switch out the diamonds for other lesser quality diamonds!!!! What gives you this impression about the vendor?

DCI has been discussed at Pricescope, you can do a search on here for DCI and its owner Fred.

MWG

Why does this bother you? After reading Fred''s book the greatest impression it left me with is that you should trust no one and make sure you are getting what you paid for. If all I know is that they are .67tcw, VS2, G - is that sufficient information to tell me they are worth $2400? The plotting diagram is a good suggestion but does proportion have any bearing on a half moon?

Thank you for your responses - greatly appreciated.

 

[MWG]

Date: 6/24/2007 11:28:23 AM
Author: askem

Date: 6/24/2007 11:08:22 AM
Author: MWG

Date: 6/24/2007 10:04:44 AM
Author:askem
Hi - I want to have a ring made with two half moon diamonds on either side of an 11x9mm tanzanite stone. I've been talking to Diamond Cutters Intn'l and they've shown me a pair of half moons, .67tcw, G1, VS2 for $2400. I've read their How to Buy a Diamond book which seems to have a lot more details about the diamond than this fellow offered me. He claims it's because the book is based on round diamonds and half moons are different. Half moons are not mentioned in the book.
What criteria do I need to determine if I am getting a good diamond for a fair price? He does not recommend I go lower than a G/VS2 which is fine as long as the price is fair. What do I need to know about proportions of half moons?

Also, if I purchase these diamonds from them and have them make the ring, how do I ensure that the diamonds I bought are the ones that are set? Would this be like the wolf in the hen house?

thank you

First thing that bothers me is that you are concerned that they may switch out the diamonds for other lesser quality diamonds!!!! What gives you this impression about the vendor?

DCI has been discussed at Pricescope, you can do a search on here for DCI and its owner Fred.

MWG

Why does this bother you? After reading Fred's book the greatest impression it left me with is that you should trust no one and make sure you are getting what you paid for. If all I know is that they are .67tcw, VS2, G - is that sufficient information to tell me they are worth $2400? The plotting diagram is a good suggestion but does proportion have any bearing on a half moon?

Thank you for your responses - greatly appreciated.

Well, Fred got into some legal trouble on a diamond deal. This too, can be searched on here as well as other sites. I dont know the man and I have never dealt with him. And yes, I have read his book. I enjoyed it, didnt agree with all of it, but did enjoy it.

I will assume that you will have to see the HALF MOONS in person and side by side to make a better judgement. I have never seen any SPECIFICATIONS or PROPORTIONS as to what makes a great HALF MOON.

MWG

 

[jaz464]

Generally, choosing matched side stones can be difficult and in the case of non-rounds, is best left up to a knowledgable and trustworthy vendor. Their size in relation to the center stone is very much about personal opinion however and I would want to see different proportions beside the tanzanite before I made a choice. I would also try to see lots of pictures of half moon rings before I decided. What shape is the tanzanite?

 

[askem]

Thank you for the advice - I did check out Fred and DCI on this site. A lot of the posts seem to be old ones but can you teach old dogs new tricks? Not too many good comments.
I''m afraid I''ll have to wait a little longer for my ring and do a little more research.
Other than not having enough information on the pair of halfs, DCI also didn''t seem to have any pictures of rings they''ve made in the past. That seems weird. Don''t jewelers keep portfolios?

Thanks for your comments

 

[askem]

The tanzanite is an 11x9 oval. I have looked at a few pairs now, of course they get larger and larger but I feel that even though the tanzanite is my focus, the halfs can''t be too small either.

Thanks for your response