Help...... are we getting a fair price

[Ceann]

My boyfriend and I have been searching for THE one for about 6 months now. This isn't our 1st rodeo, so he is letting me pick my ring. 2 of his co-workers highly recommended this gal that used to run her shop in LA, but has since moved to OC. I actually feel in love with a ring she had there. She 1st said $12,800 but just lowered it by $1500. It seems to really sparkle. She sent us the info on it, below. Is this a decent diamond for the price? Also I noticed the appraisal isn't recent, should I be concerned? Obviously we are clueless when it comes to this, any information would be greatly appreciated. TIA

Pictures attached.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Not a well cut stone and the appraisal is worthless..

 

[Ceann]

Thanks. clueless when it comes to cut of stone. All I know is it looked beautiful and I kept going back to it and putting it on over and over. Should we hold of and continue looking? How do you feel about the price?

 

[Dancing Fire]

Thanks. clueless when it comes to cut of stone. All I know is it looked beautiful and I kept going back to it and putting it on over and over. Should we hold of and continue looking? How do you feel about the price?

What is the weight of the stone?

 

[Ceann]

1.84

 

[Dancing Fire]

Much better than your stone...
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3595902.htm

 

[Ceann]

Much better than your stone...
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3595902.htm

Thanks, will show the bf

 

[JDDN]

Yes, agree that you can do much better than that stone. If you give us your budget and wishes (stone shape, size, color, etc) and setting preference maybe we can help you find something.

Good luck!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Much better than your stone...
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3595902.htm

Thanks, will show the bf

shop for a well cut GIA or AGSL graded stones..

 

[Gypsy]

Well you can start by doing your research. If you do this you'll know you need to stick to AGS or GiA only.

If you are looking for a round, here's the rest of what you need to know, at a minimum.

Round Diamonds 101:

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. With round diamonds even a GIA triple Excellent is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only (HPD in Europe is good as well). EGL is a bad option: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/[/URL]
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones generally, though you can. In general, AGS0 trumps HCA though as one examines the actual stone and the other does not.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.

So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD,BE, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.

Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium. Some AGS0's are better than others though, so pay attention to any ASET or IS provided.

In general with rounds, you will want a table 60% or less. A depth between 59 and 62.4. Crown angle 33.5-36. Pavilion Angle: 40.6-41 (there is a little give on this). And the crown and pavilion angles must be complimentary which is what the HCA checks for you.

ON COLOR:

It is important to remember is that color is graded FACE DOWN. Where there is NO light return. Not face up where there is light return and refraction. You wear diamonds set. FACE UP.

Within one color grade, even the labs can't agree on the color grades of stones and something could be a "high" H or a "low" E. So... no. Not really. Within 2 color grades it is hard. Not impossible. But very hard. And it gets harder once set. If you are talking ideal rounds, or any stone with ideal light return and no sharp corners it gets harder still because the ideal light return masks body color.

Generally we say to be conservative stay above H in a round. But MANY people have happily bought white I or even J diamonds when trying to eek out a little more size.

This is how I think of it.

Ever gotten one of those HUGE paint fan decks? Where there are literally 100s of colors of whites? And when they are RIGHT next to each other you can TOTALLY tell that one is bluer/colder and one is a bit warmer and which one is one is TOTALLY warmer. One there's one that's slightly greener. One that's slightly pinker? But really. They are all white?

Then you pick one after agonizing over this white or that white and when it's on the walls and people are like: Oh. You painted again. And it's STILL white. Great.

And you're all... BUT it's BLUE white. Or it's a WARM white now. It used to be ____ white. It's TOTALLY different.

It's like that. You are talking about shades of white. D is colder... J is warmer. But it's all white.

YES. If you have an accurately graded F and an H THAT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE you are going to be able to tell them apart when you compare them. Just like you would be able to tell if you painted your walls a warm white, but painted the crown molding a cold/straight white. But both are STILL white.


I want you notice all the qualifiers thought. I'm talking about stones with the SAME performance. An ideal H will out white an F that has compromised light performance from a poor cut.

NOTHING impacts the appearance of a diamond as much as cut. CUT is king.

You want the shinest whitest and brightest diamond out there: Cut is King. No other factor, not color or clarity or anything else impacts how white bright an shiny a stone is.

ON CLARITY:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/Clarity/SI/ and http://www.goodoldgold.com/4Cs/Clarity/VS/ Generally we say that eyeclean SI1 and VS2 are as high as you need to go with round brilliants, have your vendor check the diamond for this. VS1 will always be eyeclean, but they do cost more and an eyeclean SI1 and a VS1 will look the same to the unaided eye.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

Ceann,

I notice a couple of the posts in response to you seem a bit abrupt. Do know that all of the posts here are for your knowledge and all of those who post here truly want the best for you.

The fact is most everyone loves a diamond or two in the very first place they go when they start shopping. This is especially true because the lighting inside the jewelry stores in intended to make those diamonds have tremendous brilliance and sparkle. That said, you have come to the right place - if you take some time and read all that has been (and possibly will be) posted, you are going to learn a lot about what to look for.

This means you are gong to learn and know a lot more about diamonds than his co-workers (friends) that gave you the referral. Spend several hours on this forum - read every thread on diamond choice/selection you can. Then, my advice is to be careful with your new found knowledge - you may hurt the feeling of his co-workers if their particular choice/diamond is inferior. As the old saying goes, "ignorance is bliss"... so - do your research and you will stun all of them with your eventual choice... but gloating is not nice

Happy Hunting