Help Me Decide if this Emerald is a Good one or not

[NerdCoreRocks]

Hi Guys. The following is the email from a WhiteFlash representative. They reviewed my possible diamond selection, and I only have a limited time before I decide if I want to move forward with it. Otherwise I''ll need to send it back and pay the $50. I don''t want to do this, but I''d rather do this than be stuck with a crappy diamond. Here is the email and the pictures. Please let me know as soon as you guys can if you think it is a good buy for about $4620!!!!

Hi Stefan,

So the evaluations are done and I have attached the images for you to look over. It would be easier to discuss this over the phone but I will try to cover as much as possible for you.

I know you and I have discussed this numerous times but I do wish reiterate that Whiteflash prefers not to recommend any other diamonds to our clients except those graded by AGS or GIA. As with all diamonds that come in for evaluation we will provide a fair assessment.

Over all the diamond is a descent EGL selection. It is exactly as our vendor promised, brilliantly white and very clean. I do wish to look over the ASET. The ASET indicates degree of light return. The most light returned is Red and then Green. Blue is light blocked and is equal to the black in the ideal scopes. Here is a great article on that:

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds_info/t/all_about.aspx?articleid=18&zoneid=22

Black in the ASET are areas of light leakage. These small areas may be a little dark to the middle. Overall I am not disappointed with our find. It is really pure and white ....the brilliance is phenomenal. I love the size as any girl would ; ) I am suggesting we move forward.
[End Quote]

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

Ideal-Scope

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

Magnification

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

Magnification

 

[Ellen]

N/M

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

Hi guys. I forgot to mention these stats.

1.20 E VS2 63% 60% EGL m- no ex ex 7.13-5.23x3.30

$4609 actually. Thanks for your input

 

[vespergirl]

Looks gorgeous to me. How are you planning to set it?

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

in a halo setting. this one to be exact

I''m just nervous because if you read that email, she doesn''t seem too excited about it. I think she''s only seen those pictures and not the actual diamond. I just want a few more opinions about if this is a good buy or not for peace of mind. Thanks for your help!

 

[shminbabe]

hi,

i wish i could help you in more specific terms as i too am searching for the right emerald cut and feel quite confused about all the stats and how it plays out in seeing the stone in person, etc.

I read her "hesitation" in that it is not a GIA or AGS certified stone, which is what they primarily deal in, but I thought she did indeed give you an honest assesment of the stone and a thumbs-up on it.

What part of it bothers you? I''m curious why you are choosing the EGL diamond over another that Whiteflash might be more "comfortable" recommending. I ask b/c I have also seen some EGL stones and am a little nervous about them simply b/c of their less-preferred status on this forum. This isn''t to say I won''t end up with one, though. I''m curious about why you think this would be a "crappy" stone and why you are hesitating?

I''m in the thick of the hunt myself and am sorry I can''t offer you more.

jeannie

 

[shminbabe]

I just looked at the depth and table %s and based upone what Chrono has told me, your stone falls nicely into the range for being a nice, sparkly emerald cut. i.e. not too deep or shallow or having too large a table.

How many ECs have you seen in person? I''ve only seen two, with the second one clearly the winner (and more $$$$$$$$$$$$).

jeannie

 

[In the rough]

A word of caution...if I may. In the WF upgrade policy, they clearly state that they do not accept EGL certifications for future upgrades...basically...once it is yours, it''s yours. If you think you will never have the desire to upgrade and your gut says go for it...I say get it. If you think the desire to upgrade may be in your future and/or you have ANY second thoughts, I would say forsake the $50 and get a GIA or AGS diamond that you feel comfortable with (and have the ability to upgrade from). In the end, $50 is a lot less $4,620.

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

When I briefly mentioned to my girlfriend if she would ever want to trade up her engagement ring, she said almost definitely not. The EGL stone is a better deal than I could find than any of the GIA stones (unless you guys convince me otherwise that this stone isn''t that great).

Hopefully I get a few more posts today from people who were gone doing other things on the 4th of July. Let me know what you think of this diamond!

 

[chrono]

Date: 7/3/2007 9:13:43 PM
Author: Ellen
N/M

Ellen,
What does "N/M" mean?

Nerd,
I am rather hesitant to take the stone if I were buying it for myself. I know the Idealscope looks great, the ASET looks very pretty but there''s something in the actual step picture that bothers me. All the numbers fall within the 1A AGA cut chart too but my reservations have nothing to do with the EGL cert. Although the polish & symmetry is stated as Ex Ex, the steps just don''t do it for me. Some of the lines look wonky - I understand it is magnified but such things would bother me as I love to view the steps up close all the time.

WF mentioned the brilliance is great. What about Fire/coloured light?

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

Hi Chrono. I agree. I noticed some of those steps seem a little "off." I wonder as well how this happens when the symmetry is supposed to be excellent. I guess I can always just have them ship it to me and return it if I don''t like it. I''m hoping this isn''t the case though, since my budget is already stretched.

Any other takers?

 

[chrono]

Before wasting your $50 on shipping, give WF another call and ask them about this. The more I look at it, the more the "off-ness" of the steps bother me.

ETA
Another thought:
Ask WF if they can take a better picture of the EC. I wonder why the stone looks cloudy: could be dirty, could be the camera, could be the cut. Can you tell that I'm really not feeling this EC.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/5/2007 9:00:02 AM
Author: Chrono
Before wasting your $50 on shipping, give WF another call and ask them about this. The more I look at it, the more the ''off-ness'' of the steps bother me.

ETA
Another thought:
Ask WF if they can take a better picture of the EC. I wonder why the stone looks cloudy: could be dirty, could be the camera, could be the cut. Can you tell that I''m really not feeling this EC.

Me either. I was waiting for you and a few others to give your opinions, as I saw the same things, but I''m far from an expert.

Chrono, N/M means nevermind. I had lagged with my reply box open, and finally posted asking for pics, which he''d then posted.

 

[belle]

i''m not loving it. it looks kinda ''blah'' in the center. of course, if you are on a budget this may be the best out there for you. like chrono said, i would talk to wf. make sure they are getting the best within your budget. if this is it, then you are good to go.

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

Hey guys. I appreciate all of the honest responses. It bums me out, cause the numbers seemed so great, but oh well. I notice if you look at the emeralds on GoodOldGold.com that some of the pictures are cloudy looking while some are not. Maybe the cloudiness is purely a camera thing. Here's a link to a diamond from their site: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2865/ Look at the first and last picture. One looks cloudy while the other doesn't.



If they can take a better picture of it, then I may still go ahead with it. Otherwise, I'll probably just go with a GIA...so even if its kind of "just OK", I can always upgrade it later. *Sigh* We'll see...

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/5/2007 10:07:19 AM
Author: NerdCoreRocks
Hey guys. I appreciate all of the honest responses. It bums me out, cause the numbers seemed so great, but oh well. I notice if you look at the emeralds on GoodOldGold.com that some of the pictures are cloudy looking while some are not. Maybe the cloudiness is purely a camera thing. Here''s a link to a diamond from their site: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2865/ Look at the first and last picture. One looks cloudy while the other doesn''t.

The first looks clear to me, are you talking about the one that shows the inscription??

 

[chrono]

Date: 7/5/2007 10:07:19 AM
Author: NerdCoreRocks
Hey guys. I appreciate all of the honest responses. It bums me out, cause the numbers seemed so great, but oh well. I notice if you look at the emeralds on GoodOldGold.com that some of the pictures are cloudy looking while some are not. Maybe the cloudiness is purely a camera thing. Here's a link to a diamond from their site: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2865/ Look at the first and last picture. One looks cloudy while the other doesn't.



If they can take a better picture of it, then I may still go ahead with it. Otherwise, I'll probably just go with a GIA...so even if its kind of 'just OK', I can always upgrade it later. *Sigh* We'll see...

All GOG's pictures of the EC (first and last included) are very crystalline clear to me. The last pic is a bit blurry but not cloudy in any way. The last one WF gave you is cloudy (not blurry). Blurry I can handle, cloudy no - but it could be a camera thing so I'd ask WF for a better picture before completely ruling out the EC.

Don't forget to ask WF about the wonky steps too.

If you plan to upgrade with WF in the future, I'd stick with GIA certed stones. Double check with your WF rep to be 100% sure about their upgrade policy.

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

take a look at this pic. this is the EGL next to a GIA they have in house. Here are the GIA specs: Report: GIA
. Shape: Emerald
. Carat: 0.91
. Depth %: 64.8
. Table %: 68
. Crown Angle: 24
. Pavilion Angle: 45.7
. Pavilion %: 9.2
. Girdle: Very Thin-Thin
. Measurements: 6.51-5.03X3.26
. Polish: Good
. Symmetry: Good
. Culet: None
. Fluorescence: None

Look at how "off" the numbers are compared to what I was recommended to look for. I''m a little disheartened, and I feel like I''ve really been limiting myself to the kinds of diamonds I''ve been looking at. The EGL numbers are awesome, but the diamond looks like crap next to this one. I guess it has great light return, but no *sparkle.* It''s all uniform.

I''m definately going to open my search to higher table percentages and good polishes/symmetries. (mine was excellent but the table lines were still off).

 

[Ellen]

Nerd, just my opinion, but I like the second one even less. See how it''s lost the "lines" in a good portion of it, it''s just dark? You don''t want that. Even though they''re off, there are many more in the first. And the table''s really too big.


I don''t think this is a good comparison...At least, what you''re getting from it.

I think you can do better.

I''m giving you a link to a nice looking EC, they were comparing two as well. The second one is really nice, that''s what I''d look for.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-me-with-these-emerald-cuts-pics-is-sarin.39557/

Hopefully the real experts will jump in here soon.

 

[neatfreak]

Honestly, the stone looks a little odd to me too with the pattern. I personally would pass.

 

[Lady Lulu]

Okay. If you want a nice stone, use the parameters on the Fancy Cut grading chart as a guide. I did and it helped me find my stone. I looked for my E/C for...well, almost a year. Most of the criteria for my diamond fell within the ranges on that chart - but not all.

What you must keep in mind is that you really have to see the stone to decide if it is for you. Character and beauty, often times cannot be quantified.

I would suggest that you go back to your rep at Whiteflash and have them find more stones that meet your criteria. Let them do the research, photos, images, etc. and let them make their recommendations to you based on what their expert eyes discern. Only then, would I consider paying shipping to look at it. You (or someone) mentioned that the rep seemed mildly hesitant about the stone. They need to be as excited about the stone as you will be. I would be looking for a high recommedation before I took the next step.

Keep in mind though, WF really does want to sell you a great stone and they will keep looking for you until they find it. If you go GIA, you can trade up, and they get repeat business from you. Win / win.

You can probably see why they don''t take back any EGL stones.

Lots of luck to you!

 

[NerdCoreRocks]

Hi. I agree that I should keep looking. The problem is that I can''t just have WhiteFlash look at a bunch of EC''s for me. They don''t have many in-house it seems. I would have to pay for the shipping there for each one that they inspect. Basically, I''m hopefully going to have to buy the next one I pick for them to examine.

 

[JulieN]

The GIA stone is crisper, but a bit dark for me.

 

[strmrdr]

personally I wouldn''t buy either one...
The egl stone is dead in the center showing bad angles on the last step.
The other is dead in the middle step and the table is on the largish side.
between the 2 the egl is the worst stone but both arent that great.

 

[chrono]

Date: 7/5/2007 11:12:53 PM
Author: NerdCoreRocks
Hi. I agree that I should keep looking. The problem is that I can't just have WhiteFlash look at a bunch of EC's for me. They don't have many in-house it seems. I would have to pay for the shipping there for each one that they inspect. Basically, I'm hopefully going to have to buy the next one I pick for them to examine.

Nerd,

If you are under a time constraint and shipping budget, might I suggest Mark at ERD (but he might be on vacation until July 17th - there may be someone else minding the store though who is just as knowledgeable). Mark is right in the heart of the NY diamond district and can get you numerous stones to choose from without shipping costs. He's also excellent in picking out very beautiful ECs. I love every single stone that he has selected for his clients here on PS. However, I have no idea what his upgrade policies are.

I agree with the rest about passing on both the EGL and GIA stones. The EGL doesn't have that clear brilliance and the GIA has this huge ugly black square in the middle. The AGA cut chart specifications we have been preaching is a weed-out tool but not foolproof. I hope the next stone will be much prettier.

Chrono