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Help!!! Not sure I understand this forum!!!

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S

sth

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
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4
I wholeheartedly apologize if this is dumbest question ever asked, but here goes. . .

When I pricescope a diamond, and all the "hits" turn up, are these prices what I should expect to be paying, or should I expect a further discount?

Because I''m looking for a 2.5 round cut, F, SI1, and my local in Chicago quoted me a price that''s dead on with pricescope, and I haven''t even begun haggling. I''m expecting the internet to be much cheaper (at least 15%), but I''m just not seeing it.

Do you still have to haggle with all the online retailers? If so, isn''t there supposed to be some list on this site that gives you essentially what the dealer''s cost is?

Can someone please help!

Thanks.

~STH, Chicago
 
I think you have to compare apples to apples. For example, most people here are looking for top cut quality, and that will command a premium over an average cut stone. So the stone here may be far better than the one locally. Does the local stone have a GIA or AGS cert? If you can post the numbers from the cert, we might be able to tell you whether it is comparable or not.

The prices on the price search here are the actual prices with discounts.

ETA: Use this search tool and put in ex-ex for cut, and check only AGS and GIA

https://www.pricescope.com/sift.aspx
 
Interesting how a certificate levels the playing field.

If your dealer has diamonds that come with grading reports from either GIA or AGS...then, yes, if you''re seeing comprable prices, and think you might haggle further...you have advantages...especially if you have a level of trust with your vendor...not to mention a local place to go back to.

If the certificates are from other...back to square one. These are not equal.

To my other friends...do we agree?
 
Good points. Yes, the diamond is GIA certified. Here are the details:

Measurements: 8.87 x 8.91 x 5.25
Carat: 2.51
Clarity: SI1
Cut Grade: Very Good
Polish: VG
Symmetry: VG
Fluor: MB (I don''t mind it)
Table: 58%
Depth: 59.1%
CA: 33
PA: 40.6

He started at $28,000, which I thought was high, but then I came to this site and saw similar for into $30''s.

So, I''m just at a complete loss. I probably had unrealistic expectations - I was expecting to find that this site would should me similar diamonds and tell me what it should cost me. I seem to be finding online asking prices, which I assume are not the retailers "final" numbers, correct?

Thanks for the help!
 
Date: 12/31/2007 3:08:04 PM
Author: sth
Good points. Yes, the diamond is GIA certified. Here are the details:

Measurements: 8.87 x 8.91 x 5.25
Carat: 2.51
Clarity: SI1
Cut Grade: Very Good
Polish: VG
Symmetry: VG
Fluor: MB (I don't mind it)
Table: 58%
Depth: 59.1%
CA: 33
PA: 40.6

He started at $28,000, which I thought was high, but then I came to this site and saw similar for into $30's.

So, I'm just at a complete loss. I probably had unrealistic expectations - I was expecting to find that this site would should me similar diamonds and tell me what it should cost me. I seem to be finding online asking prices, which I assume are not the retailers 'final' numbers, correct?

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...
What is the colour?
ETA= I see it is a F, sorry
40.gif


It is possible that you have a potential bargain on your hands.

Yes the MB flour could bring the $ down, yes the SI1 may not be 'eye clean' blah blah blah.

Bottom line, if you have a stone you love and the price seems good then get it appraised and get your deposit down.

Best of luck.
 
That stone is not in the same cut category as the one I listed. So you have to decide if you want top cut quality which translates into the most beautiful stones or go with very good which may be a very pretty stone. I''d choose top cut any way even if it meant the stone would be a little smaller. I''d much rather have the stone l listed versus the one you listed.

But the prices listed are the actual prices. But you aren''t comparing apples to apples.
 
Date: 12/31/2007 3:14:48 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
That stone is not in the same cut category as the one I listed. So you have to decide if you want top cut quality which translates into the most beautiful stones or go with very good which may be a very pretty stone. I''d choose top cut any way even if it meant the stone would be a little smaller. I''d much rather have the stone l listed versus the one you listed.

But the prices listed are the actual prices. But you aren''t comparing apples to apples.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see what you''re saying. So the stone from Whiteflash with the discount - that''s the bottom line price I should expect to pay for that stone?
 
Yes, that would be a 5% discount for paying by wire and being a PriceScope member. I have bought earring diamonds from them and that is the actual price.
 
Let me clarify that their ACA (very top) stones have a 5% discount and the Expert selection stones have less than that...maybe 2 or 2.5%.
 
Date: 12/31/2007 3:14:48 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
I''d much rather have the stone l listed versus the one you listed.
Click to expand...
I''m less sure than DS...on more than one count.

Do you like the store you''re dealing with? That you can walk into anytime for service, with a smile. That''s worth something. Maybe a good bit.

I''m not sure what kind of time frame or what your constraints are. There are two or three recommended (or semi-recommended) appraisers in Chicago. Richard Drucker is in the burbs. PGS is downtown (semi-recommended, but a well respected straight shooter). Dee Jay can recommend a third.

DS...what if the diamond were an H. How about an I?

I think the clarity & color, size & cert spell out a great deal of what goes into the cost. DS is right about the direction of preferences...you want a well cut diamond. On BN, there are about 4 comparables, ranging from $26 - $31. Only one they call ideal...and I DO like yours better. The HCA likes yours...I like that it''s dead center...and that counts for a lot, too.

So, ideally...you''d bring down the ACA and your local''s option to your appraiser of choice...and give them the pepsi test. Will the "better cut" of the ACA (maybe) show itself? Will you be drawn to the modest size or color differentials of your local?

I''m less clear about being able to guess forward.
 
RG, I''d always go down one color grade when we are at the top of the near colorless range. And I have some H color super-ideals, so that color is no problem for me personally. But that is my personal cut-off point. As you know, there are many girls here who have J H&A stones who love them! I just didn''t want to settle for non-ideal on the cut. If I had, I may as well have just worn my original diamond!
 
Good discussion everyone, thank you.

I suppose there are some things I need to consider further. Color has always been my top priority because I can readily tell the difference. Cut has never been my top priority, but I have not actually seen an ideal cut or H&A in person.

It would make a lot of sense to actually begin viewing a few more diamonds with various cuts and colors.

Thanks for the info on the price. I will act on the assumption that the prices showing up in my search are just about what I should pay, less maybe a few percentage points for discounts.
 
Cut should be your number one priority. One reason you can see color more easily in a poorly cut stone is that there is leakage, a lot of light passes through the stone, so you''re seeing the body color of the stone. With an ideal cut stone, you''re getting maximum light return back to your eye, so it will appear brighter and whiter. To give you an idea - an ideal cut stone will focus and reflect light back like a flashlight, actually casting white light onto your finger or any surface that you hold perpendicular to the diamond. An ideal cut stone is always in motion, very active, catching and reflect white and colored light, so the body color of the stone is not really what catches your eye. I have an ideal cut H, and it''s bright white because it is graded ideal for light performance, so it''s reflecting back light at my eye, not letting me stare at a dull stone. I''d re-organize your priorities to focus on cut, and take a look at the ACA diamond suggested above.
 
More...

happy new year..
 
/\ Great link, but I''m confused as to how you can tell a diamond is rated as a Whiteflash Expert Selection? I see ACA and H&A, but that''s it.

Thanks.
 
For ES it''s easiest to start from the Whiteflash webpage. Enter your parameters at the top and click the ES round picture.
 
Date: 1/1/2008 12:56:27 PM
Author: mercoledi
For ES it''s easiest to start from the Whiteflash webpage. Enter your parameters at the top and click the ES round picture.
Click to expand...
I prefer to use the integrated search by cut db here on Pricescope (but then again...I''m not actually shopping right now). If you run the default search, for example, you''ll see in the 5th column over, for I believe all WF options, if it doesn''t say ACA H&A, then it''s ES. None of their available virtual options will show there. All options with IS, ASET, etc. are there, and those ES options that don''t more conventionally make a 0 - 2 (and there are some) will be screened out if you elect to search from excellent to excellent.
 
Very helpful ... thanks all.
 
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