shape
carat
color
clarity

Help me find my upgrade!

nala

Ideal_Rock
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So my jeweler said that I could submit him gia certs and he would try to source the stone for me! I need help! Because I will be trading up with him, and I suspect he has to make some profit out of this trade, I don’t know exactly what budget I should stick to, tbh. So. As long as you can help me get the best priced stone with the best cut for my range: 2.8 plus, H color and I’m ok with si1 or si2 clarity. Thanks to all!
 

the_mother_thing

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Rockdiamond

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@nala
Interesting question. I think you’ll need to look at this as two separate transactions- the sale of your existing diamond and the purchase of the new one.
 

Snowdrop13

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Could check if this is eye clean, has AGS 0 cert

 

nala

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lovedogs

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Here is the cert. what do you think?
0255582A-9981-42A7-9794-1962DA612BA8.jpeg

eeeeek I have no idea how this is an AGS 000. Plus report is from 2011, which I don't like because it's so old and you don't know if anything has happened to the stone in the meantime.
 

RunningwithScissors

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I'm excited for you! This is going to be a fun project. =)2
 

nala

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Also —is this one terrible? My jeweler said it would be milky and dull but I don’t know how he can tell. 928E1975-32E7-4268-8B98-4130DAD3B3DA.jpeg
 

SimoneDi

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Ok. So here is the certificate
EB8CA0BB-FC75-497F-93B2-1E629B1AC81F.jpeg

I like it, nice FIC stone, but outside of “ideal” proportions.

Regarding the other stone, I am personally not crazy about the table crystal inclusions and “clouds not shown”. Transparency might be compromised.
 

nala

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I'm excited for you! This is going to be a fun project. =)2

I was excited at first but the fact that my jeweler doesn’t understand what I want is frustrating me! So I’m beginning to second guess the whole upgrade.
 

Kaycee2018

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Also —is this one terrible? My jeweler said it would be milky and dull but I don’t know how he can tell. 928E1975-32E7-4268-8B98-4130DAD3B3DA.jpeg

Clarity based on clouds not shown.
 

Rockdiamond

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HI nala,
I'm curious from a professional standpoint...
Is the jeweler offering to sell you a stone at the same price you're finding it online?
Secondly- how much is he offering to pay for your existing stone?

It sounds.....a bit strange....
 

nala

Ideal_Rock
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HI nala,
I'm curious from a professional standpoint...
Is the jeweler offering to sell you a stone at the same price you're finding it online?
Secondly- how much is he offering to pay for your existing stone?

It sounds.....a bit strange....

It’s not strange but I’d rather not go into detail about that. Suffice it to say, I have been trading up with him since dear hubby got me my first .80. I’m sure I’ve paid extra fees each time I Upgrade—stones have to be recertified, he has to sell the new one—idk but I figure I pay for that when I trade up and Yet it is the better option. I once looked into selling one of my diamondS to go the Whiteflash route but going that route came at double the cost! So I’m kind of stuck with this guy or I need to just stop upgrading. Maybe you can enlighten me and tell me your policy on trades and the reasons for it. I mean, if I tried to sell my stone outright?? No way. I’d take a bath either way.
 

Rockdiamond

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Hi nala,
I certainly don't want to know your secrets:)
Seriously- it's an interesting subject, so we can discuss it in general terms.
Trade in represents a benefit a seller can offer his or her customers- but it comes at a cost.
Our policy- (similar to others, who surely have similar considerations)- covers part of the cost by requiring that the new purchase be double to the old one.
Someone spent $5k a while back and wants a new ring that costs $10k
We can generally afford to buy back the whole $5k ring in such a case. So we are, in essence, buying it at a retail price. But we are also adding $5k to cash flow.
Say that instead of us having that $10k ring ( or diamond) in stock, we'd need to go out and buy it.
Now the whole deal becomes untenable, from our perspective.
We're getting $5k cash in, but we have to spend a good deal more than that to buy the new item which we'll be selling for $10k.
It might take us a long time to sell the traded in ring, so we're out the money - at least for a while.
For this reason, our policy limits trade ups to items that are in stock.

Your case is clearly different than that- again, let's speak in general terms: A stone that's on one of the 2 main diamond sites for $10k will cost the jeweler about $9k ( the margins are very small- and the lesser "virtual diamond" sellers work on even smaller margins)
If a consumer wants to trade in a diamond against that $10k new stone, how can the jeweler pay anywhere near a retail price for the trade in?

Someone has to pay.....so either the new stone has to cost the consumer more than it's listed on the internet, or the consumer needs to accept less for the traded in item....
Does this make sense?
 

nala

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@Rockdiamond—tbh, my jeweler is never clear about his policy. In the past, he has allowed me to trade up in small increments —I don’t have to double. I suspect that he can do this with the stones that he has in stock—which is why I don’t understand why the first stone he offered me popped up in my virtual search! I always thought he was just offering me from his stock. But when I asked him if I could just give him a gia cert from a virtual inventory, he said yes so that leaves me more baffled so I guess I shall see how much he will charge me depending on the stone.
 

Rockdiamond

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Verrrrry interesting!!!
I'm on the sidelines hoping you get everything you want!!
 

nala

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Verrrrry interesting!!!
I'm on the sidelines hoping you get everything you want!!

That’s sweet! I’m hoping as well but I’m feeling discouraged, truth be told.
 

Rockdiamond

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If you think about it....the more costly the trade in- the more difficult it's going to get.
So, what worked for a $2500 item might not come close to working for a $10k item......

I'll keep an eye on the thread- if I can assist in any way by answering a question, I'll be glad to do so
 

RunningwithScissors

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I was excited at first but the fact that my jeweler doesn’t understand what I want is frustrating me! So I’m beginning to second guess the whole upgrade.

I know, really I do. But most major projects have a period of time when they are stressful. (Should have seen me last summer bugging out trying to figure out mine!!)

You have a good budget and a team of friends and experts here on PS to help you. You will end up with a beautiful new ring. This is all part of the process. Trust me!
 

mrs-b

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Any thoughts on this one? 37E454B1-1035-410B-92C0-89EE6ECD11F7.jpeg

Looks great! And I know you love size, so I'm very pleased for you that you might be trading up! I don't have much to contribute of any use, but I'm certainly sitting on the sidelines and rooting for you, and cannot wait to see where you end up!

Wishing you the VERY best of luck with this! (...and I really do love that last AGS stone - very nicely cut!)

ETA I think you're much safer with an SI1 than an SI2 at that size, and you might want to just check in with yourself that - at that size - the tint you'll see from an I color sits ok with you.
 

nala

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Looks great! And I know you love size, so I'm very pleased for you that you might be trading up! I don't have much to contribute of any use, but I'm certainly sitting on the sidelines and rooting for you, and cannot wait to see where you end up!

Wishing you the VERY best of luck with this! (...and I really do love that last AGS stone - very nicely cut!)

Thank you! I hope my jeweler can source this stone! If not, it’s back to the long wait...
 

mrs-b

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Thank you! I hope my jeweler can source this stone! If not, it’s back to the long wait...

I hope so too - it's a lovely looking diamond!
 

headlight

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@mrs-b makes a great point with regards to the color... I had a diamond of similar size that was an I color and it was just too much tint for my taste. I didn’t notice it in the beginning but as time went on I couldn’t stand it and it’s all I saw when I looked at the ring. The larger the stone the more prominent the color versus same color of smaller size.
 

nala

Ideal_Rock
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@mrs-b makes a great point with regards to the color... I had a diamond of similar size that was an I color and it was just too much tint for my taste. I didn’t notice it in the beginning but as time went on I couldn’t stand it and it’s all I saw when I looked at the ring. The larger the stone the more prominent the color versus same color of smaller size.

I hear you! He’s supposed to get back to me tomorrow to tell me if he can source it so I’m not even really banking on it yet. I’m going to keep looking.
 
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