Help a budget buyer !!!!

[canadiangrrl]

Chat, from what I've seen with my own two eyes, the I will face up just as nicely as the G in a well-cut stone of this size.

Another perspective - my better half and I are both professionals who earn excellent salaries. We are poster children for those crafty sods I mean marketers at De Beers. However, we have a budget, and we're sticking to it. Who established the parameters? Me. That's right, ME. Because he would gladly rob a bank to buy me the Hope diamond if I expressed a desire for it - he's a spender, I'm not. And I would shoot him dead if he exceeded our guidelines by $400. Sound harsh? Maybe. But a diamond won't send his son to soccer camp, or pay for his dog's chemotherapy. It won't take us to Bali or Ireland. We can't live in it and we can't eat it. And it's not going to fund our retirement, either. Is a lovely diamond important to me? Absolutely. But in the grand scheme of things, it's a lesser priority than the above. $400 over the short-term is not a lot. But right now it's one month of treatment for the dog.

Bottom line is that we decided what to look for by choosing what we liked - not what we could afford. Find something you like that you can't afford? Find something else you like.

 

[NewYorker]

Princeton isn't that far from New York City. I suggest going to the Diamond District (w 47th st between 5th and 6th) and go to 37 w. 47th street. There are many vendors inside. Tell them you need at least a carat and tell them your budget and that it has to be at least "I" color and VS2 clarity. You can bargain with these people, you just have to look like you know you can get it for the price you want.

 

[chat_hard]

Hello everyone,

Sorry for not keeping you guys updated, but I was a bit busy.

OK... the big news is I have gone ahead with the purchase. I read all the arguments for and against stones 1 & 2 and went ahead with stone 2. Now, before you guys go ahead and debate about my decision, I think it is important to mention that stone #1 was sold the day I put up the initial posting. For the folks who are too lazy to read the previous posts here are the specs

Stone #2
========
Price 3092
Carat Weight 0.838
Color G
Clarity SI1
Laboratory
Cut
Table 56
Depth 61.7
Crown 34.1
Pavilion 41
Culet None
Polish Ideal
Symmetry Ideal
Girdle Faceted 1.2% to 2.0%
H&A Yes (it is laser inscribed)
Fluroscence None
Measurements 6.04-6.07x3.74mm
Sarin Report Yes
HCA Score 1.5

I looked at the diamond and to my untrained eye, it looked amazing !!! The appraiser thought it was a *GREAT* deal. The stone has only 3 small feathers which will be easily hidden in the mounting. He actually thought the stone should have been graded VS2... A sore point here is that he charged me $150 and did not do a brilliance-scope or ideal scope analyis... just visual inspection under a microsocpe and uv light and comparison with master diamonds for color... so even though it has a hearts & arrows pattern, I have only seen it under the microscope.

About the ring, I decided to go ahead with a tiffany style 4 prong platinum... I will be receiving it on wednesday...so no pics for now

And now comes the tough part.... she has *NO* clue.... and come to think of it... neither do I, about how to go ahead... I was thinking of a weekend getaway, but for now I am too nervous to think straight.... I read a post by MichaelF and I was thinking "I know what you feel dude... cuz I feel the same !!!"

Wanted to thank eveyone on this forum for all the help...without you guys, I'd be stuck with buying it from a b&m without a clue.

I will keep you guys posted about how it goes and yes, there will be a pic

 

[chat_hard]

oops ! I forgot to mention that the stone is an AGS triple zero

 

[aljdewey]

Chat: Congratulations on a spectacular purchase. I'm sure either diamond would have been gorgeous, and I'm delighted for your success here!

Can't wait to see the fruits of your labor.....will be looking out for the pics. Again, congrats on a GREAT job!

 

[chat_hard]

Just a quick question....

I wanted to know what kind of work should I have expected the appraiser to put in..... I paid him $150

let me explain the details....

I chose this appraiser because he was in princeton, right next door... so I could actually look at the diamond @ his place during lunch time.

His base charge was $75 IF I brought the stone to him.

Since the vendor did not want to send the stone to me unless I bought it first, the appraiser agreed to handle the shipping of the stone to him & back and in fact he offered to pick up the stone from NYC (he was visiting the city the same day) so that the process would be expedited (for an extra charge... of course !)

So, he did go a bit out of his way for me... however, all he did was

1) look at the stone visually to see if it was eye clean
2) look at the stone under a microscope to confirm the feathers on the plotting graph and match the laser inscription with the cert.
3) compare it with a master stone to confirm color.
4) look at it under uv to confirm faint fluor.
5) discuss pricing options

the entire process took 20-25 minutes.... there were no bscope / idealscope /sarin analysis.

I hope I dont get the wrong message across... I have full confidence in the stone and it looked awsome .... I just want to know if this is what a "normal" appraiser would do... I know some of the folks here like gemdoc go way beyond this... but I wanted to know if I should go back to this appraiser the next time I need something looked at ?

thx
-chat

 

[trichrome]

Let me try to answer your question.

You have to know that all the equipment you're talking about
is pretty expensive and I must say pretty expensive. In small cities
or even larger ones, Sarin machines are not that easily available.
It all depends on when you're located.

However, it is true that the basic appraisal should include
a detailed analysis of the stone with the micropscope, GIA Master sets,
weight measurement, fluo analysis, table, total depth, crown and pavilion
estimates. Moreover, you should have a detailed analysis of the ring itself
(metal used, level of design, way it is set, etc.). Plus some pictures
of the rings. Plus a detailed certificate.

Now it usually takes at least half an hour to complete this (even an hour).

The price? hmm.... let's say my friend gemmologist (GIA cert) is charging
the equivalent of 40$US for such an analysis.

Hope this helps,

Trichrome.

 

[trichrome]

Yeap, LK stones carry a premium...

It's like buying a Bentley in the diamond world... at a Bentley price...
Now they are a lot of Mercedes out there looking as good and performing
as well out there...but you're paying less of course...

So be confident in your purchase..You own a trully excellent stone..(I mean
SHE...

Trichrome.

 

[trichrome]

ouppps...wrong thread...

 

[Mara]

Great..congratulations!!! That was the stone I liked anyway so I am doubly happy

For $150 I think you got what you paid for. We paid around $200 for our appraisal and it only had slightly more info than what you posted. We didn't get a Sarin either, but we already had a Sarin from our jeweler. Not everyone has a Sarin machine. Also only one appraiser that I know of has an Bscope machine, RockDoc...so its not surprising you didn't get one of those either. We did get to see our stone under an IdealScope and got a huge 30 page document on the appraiser and her findings etc...but all in all it's about an hour of work for them and it's just really confirming what you hopefully already know, the cert was right, the stone looks great..end of story.

Congrats again!

 

[chat_hard]

Ok.... I am officially freaked out now !!!!

I've planned it and replanned it and then some ..... and my attention span is less than that of a kid with ADD

I will receive the ring either tomorrow or day after @ my office.

I am not sure if I mentioned this before, even though the ring is a complete surprise for her (she doesnt even know i'm shopping) I have already asked her ... it happened last week, we had just woken up and it felt "just right" to wake up next to her and I told her that I would like to wake up next to her the rest of my life ... and one thing followed the other and even though I was looking for the ring, even though I should have waited, I didnt and I asked her... cuz it just felt right .... I just did not want to lose the moment (if you meet me in person, I am not this sentimental and will deny having posted this message, cuz real men dont cry)

Anyways,here's the plan for the ring.... We will be going to Longwood Gardens in PA this saturday. http://www.longwoodgardens.org

It's a beautiful place and we both love nature.... plenty of private places I'm thinking of popping the question in the italian water garden ... the website has a virtual tour with lots of pictures... If anyone has the time and wants to look at the pictures, I am very open to suggestions.

Ok... here's what I think should happen we wake up, have a lazy morning and we then drive to longwood (about 1.5 hrs) we walk around the place, I give her the ring, I have special reservation at the terrace garden restaurant for dinner followed by tickets for a concert in the open air theatre right in the garden (She's a piano teacher and we both love classical music).... the concert is called "A Night In Old Vienna" (she's european) which will be followed by the Illuminated fountain (which I am told is beautiful)

But, But, But ... I just looked at the weather and it "might" rain on saturday

(please, please god let this be a clear day)

Contingency plan is I've bought a golf umbrella which is big enough for half a dozen people

umm, posting on this forum seems to calm me down.. so please bear with my rantings....

and again... if anyone knows about Longwood gardens or has any suggestions.. let me know

Oh, by the way did I forget to say thanks ! you guys have been really really helpful (I am planning to take a print out of this entire thread and show it to her someday)

take care
-me

 

[Mara]

The umbrella sounds like a good idea! If you feel like the Gardens are the best place for you two, regardless of rain or shine, the rain can be romantic as well. Maybe in the future when she sees rain she will remember the day you proposed. I would make sure that rain or shine, you can have the proposal you want...and it will be special either way..because of all the thought put into it!

Good luck!