Help on choosing a 3ct diamond

[Perfectdiamond]

Hi,

I have my eye on a 3ct diamond. I am currently choosing among three of them but can''t really decide. Could you please help me out?

First one: I-SI2, 3.02ct, GIA, Exellent cut, Exellent polish and symmetry, 57%table, 61.8% depth, 35.0 crown angle and 41.0 parvilion angle. Around $20,500

Second one: I-SI1, 3.01ct. AGS, tripple 0 (cut, polish and symmetry), 56.9%table, 61.3% depth, 35 crown, 40.8 parvilion. Around $25,700

Third one: H-SI2, 3.10ct. GIA, tripple Exellent (cut, polish and symmetry), 58% table, 62.6% depth, 36.6 crown, 41.2 parvilion, around $25,500

I attached the certificate of I-SI2 here. I will attach the other certificate of I-SI1 in a separate e-mail. I can''t attach the H one for some reason.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
Yang

 

[Ellen]

Lucky you!

I''d definitely shoot for number 2. If eyeclean, and also, any chance of an Idealscope pic?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/8/2009 2:06:31 PM
Author: Ellen
Lucky you!

I''d definitely shoot for number 2. If eyeclean, and also, any chance of an Idealscope pic?

Ditto. Also this is a big diamond, make sure that it is eyeclean to your standards. In other words if you don''t want to see any visible inclusions at close scrutiny, tell the vendor that so they understand your expectations.

 

[Perfectdiamond]

Ellen and Lorelei,

What do you think about this one?

It is a 3.01ct, SI2, I color, GIA, table 56% and depth 62.2%, crown angle 33.5 and parvilion is 41. The polish is Excellent and Symmetry is very good. It seems that it has favorable inclusions although it is a SI2. I was told that it is eye-clean. The HCA score is pretty high. it is about $20,579. I was trying to post a picture of the certificate here but it was too big. I am not familiar with the site. I thought that the limit of size of attachment is per thread, so I tried to start a new thread to post it but was still unsuccessful. I gave up.

It is $5,000 cheaper than the one that you two recommended with one grade down on clarity. What do you think about this one? Although this one looks similar to the first diamond in my first e-mail but it is a different one. Thanks.

PD

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/8/2009 4:35:30 PM
Author: Perfectdiamond




Ellen and Lorelei,

What do you think about this one?

It is a 3.01ct, SI2, I color, GIA, table 56% and depth 62.2%, crown angle 33.5 and parvilion is 41. The polish is Excellent and Symmetry is very good. It seems that it has favorable inclusions although it is a SI2. I was told that it is eye-clean. The HCA score is pretty high. it is about $20,579. I was trying to post a picture of the certificate here but it was too big. I am not familiar with the site. I thought that the limit of size of attachment is per thread, so I tried to start a new thread to post it but was still unsuccessful. I gave up.

It is $5,000 cheaper than the one that you two recommended with one grade down on clarity. What do you think about this one? Although this one looks similar to the first diamond in my first e-mail but it is a different one. Thanks.

PD

This one has potential, I would like to see an Idealscope for the diamond if you can get one. With the report, name it something unique and don't use any unusual characters in the filename, then it should post. If not email the report to admin and they can post it for you. With the HCA score, as long as a diamond scores below 2 then thats what we are looking for as the HCA is a rejection tool, all scores under 2 are considered equal pending further evaluation.

I would like to see the diameter measurement for this one and the girdle thickness.

 

[Imdanny]

The second one.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think you''re likely to see inclusions on a 3 ct. SI2 either from the top or the side, so be sure inclusions aren''t an issue for your girlfriend. I''d far rather have a 2 ct. VS.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 5/9/2009 5:29:23 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 5/8/2009 4:35:30 PM
Author: Perfectdiamond





Ellen and Lorelei,

What do you think about this one?

It is a 3.01ct, SI2, I color, GIA, table 56% and depth 62.2%, crown angle 33.5 and parvilion is 41. The polish is Excellent and Symmetry is very good. It seems that it has favorable inclusions although it is a SI2. I was told that it is eye-clean. The HCA score is pretty high. it is about $20,579. I was trying to post a picture of the certificate here but it was too big. I am not familiar with the site. I thought that the limit of size of attachment is per thread, so I tried to start a new thread to post it but was still unsuccessful. I gave up.

It is $5,000 cheaper than the one that you two recommended with one grade down on clarity. What do you think about this one? Although this one looks similar to the first diamond in my first e-mail but it is a different one. Thanks.

PD

This one has potential, I would like to see an Idealscope for the diamond if you can get one. With the report, name it something unique and don''t use any unusual characters in the filename, then it should post. If not email the report to admin and they can post it for you. With the HCA score, as long as a diamond scores below 2 then thats what we are looking for as the HCA is a rejection tool, all scores under 2 are considered equal pending further evaluation.

I would like to see the diameter measurement for this one and the girdle thickness.

I agree with Lorelei here.

If an Idealscope is not available, I would have this one and the second one sent to one of PS''s independant appraisers. Have them take a look and tell you what they think. It may be they are both great, in which case you could go for the cheaper one. Or, the decision may be made for you on one or more factors.

 

[Perfectdiamond]

Thanks for everyone''s advice. Both of the certificates exceed 100K. I cut partial of the certificates and saved them into new files. It has all the imiportant data in it for your reference but I leave out the top or the bottom of the certificates. The AGS one is the one for I-SI1 and the GIA one is for I-SI2. I will attach the one for I-SI2 in a second e-mail.

As for appraisers, how about Kurt Teeters G.G. in Chicago? I live in Chicago. The diamonds that I am looking for are from USA Certed and Martin told me that Kurt is the top appraiser in Chicago. Is he an independent appraiser? He is on the list of the website diamondappraiser.com.

Thanks for the help,
PD

 

[Perfectdiamond]

Here is the GIA certificate for the one I-SI2. I was told that they don''t do idealscope picture. Both of them show up in the pricescope search under H&A. Is there a way to tell whether it is H&A without the idealscope picture or without the appraiser''s eyes? I look into the factors of the cut and think it is an ideal cut and the HCA score is 0.9 but I stilll can''t determine whether it is H&A.

I know that I have been asking for your advice to choose between a I-SI1 diamond and a I-SI2 diamond but I keep wondering whether I color is white enough. I was told that it is close to H by Martin from USA Certed. Based on the budget, I can either have a H-SI2 diamond or I-SI1 or ISI2 if I want a 3ct, ideal cut. I am not sure whether I should go for H-SI2 instead. However, only a few diamonds show up when I do the search H&A on pricescope (all of them are from USA certed). The only H-SI2 diamond has a low HCA score. There are a few diamonds that are H-SI2 from JamesAllen but I am not sure about the inclusions. They don''t have certificates or image of the real diamonds of the ones that I am interested in. I have asked for the certificates but have not got them. In sum, I guess the shorter version of the question is whether is it better to have a I-SI1 or H-SI2.

Thanks,
PD

 

[Perfectdiamond]

I forgot to mention that the measurement for the GIA diamond (I-SI2) is 9.19-9.22*5.73 (the measurement for the certificate above). It was left out of the partial certificate that I cut and paste.

 

[Perfectdiamond]

As a follow-up to my questions in the above three e-mails (sorry for sending so many separate e-mails but i can''t attach the certificates in one e-mail), here is one diamond that I found on JamesAllen that has G color, S-1, GIA certificated. I attached the certificate here. JamesAllen calls it an ideal cut and this search comes up at pricescope when I search checked the box AGS0 but the cut grade on the certificate is only "Very Good." I am not sure whether it is indeed an ideal cut. The price is $28,110. I wonder which one is a better choice considering all combination of qualities: the I-SI2 ($20,500), I-SI1 ($25,500) or this G-SI1 ($28,110). The I-SI2 has HCA score of 0.8 or 0.9, I-SI1 stone has 1.1 and the G-SI1 sone has 1.7.

Thanks for your advice,
PD

 

[Lorelei]

I would definitely want an Idealscope image for the last diamond, James Allen should be able to provide one. It is a touch deep and the star percent a bit higher than some we see. Also don't go by labels such as Ideal Cut when vendor applied, these are no guarantee of a well cut diamond. Really it comes down to which are eyeclean to your standards also in this size range, some SI clarities will be and some may not. Once you get into this size then you can find some SI might not be eyeclean, so I would narrow this aspect down to be absolutely sure which are ok in that respect then choose from there.

 

[Perfectdiamond]

Lorelei,

I attached the certificates of the two I-SI1 and I-SI2 here as well. What do you think about these two? Do you still think that I should go with I-SI1 one or you think the I-SI2 that I currently have eye on is fine? I am not sure whether I can have Martin sent both diamonds to the appraiser in Chicago to do the examination. Thanks.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/10/2009 8:04:54 AM
Author: Perfectdiamond
Lorelei,

I attached the certificates of the two I-SI1 and I-SI2 here as well. What do you think about these two? Do you still think that I should go with I-SI1 one or you think the I-SI2 that I currently have eye on is fine? I am not sure whether I can have Martin sent both diamonds to the appraiser in Chicago to do the examination. Thanks.

Its a big purchase and I don't have images on both, so I would ask Martin if it would be possible to get an appraiser to view the diamonds. I don't want to mislead you, both diamonds could be definite contenders but there is info we are missing, an appraiser would definitely be able to advise. As to whether a diamond shows strong h&a the only way to tell that is with images for both hearts and the arrows, otherwise we have no way of knowing. Also even if a diamond shows distinct h&a doesn't mean it would be considered an actual example of that cutting style by experts and h&a conoisseurs.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/hna.asp This link explains more about h&a

 

[Ellen]

Date: 5/10/2009 6:05:41 AM
Author: Perfectdiamond
Thanks for everyone''s advice. Both of the certificates exceed 100K. I cut partial of the certificates and saved them into new files. It has all the imiportant data in it for your reference but I leave out the top or the bottom of the certificates. The AGS one is the one for I-SI1 and the GIA one is for I-SI2. I will attach the one for I-SI2 in a second e-mail.

As for appraisers, how about Kurt Teeters G.G. in Chicago? I live in Chicago. The diamonds that I am looking for are from USA Certed and Martin told me that Kurt is the top appraiser in Chicago. Is he an independent appraiser? He is on the list of the website diamondappraiser.com.

Thanks for the help,
PD

Can you give me the link to that site, this is all I get when searching for diamondappraiser.com.

http://www.diamondappraiser.com/Main/ProductDetails.aspx?ItemId=140


As for the diamonds, I definitely think the AGS stone should be a contender. Out of the other two, I don''t know. I like the look of the inclusions better on the JA stone, but I like the numbers better on the other Certed stone. Are the Certed stones on site? Could Martin give you at least a rough evaluation as to eyeclenliness? And actually, you could ask JA the same when enquiring about an IS.

 

[Perfectdiamond]

Sorry, I messed up the web address for the appraisers. Here is the correct one: http://www.diamondappraisers.net/appraiser_list.html Kurt is under Illinois.

As for eyecleanliess, what a rough evaluation should sound like or look like? I was told by Martin that it is totally eyeclean. Should I ask something more specific?

One other question, USA Certed offered to ship the diamond to a local appraiser for me to see the diamond before I buy it with a deposit. I wonder whether it is possible to have two diamonds shipped to the appraiser to see and then choose. Is it customary?

In addition, is it possible to negotiate the price on the diamonds that we purchase online? I did think it is possible but I think I might as well confirm with people who have more experience on it. Thanks a lot.

Best,
PD

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/10/2009 12:53:12 PM
Author: Perfectdiamond

Sorry, I messed up the web address for the appraisers. Here is the correct one: http://www.diamondappraisers.net/appraiser_list.html Kurt is under Illinois.

As for eyecleanliess, what a rough evaluation should sound like or look like? I was told by Martin that it is totally eyeclean. Should I ask something more specific?

One other question, USA Certed offered to ship the diamond to a local appraiser for me to see the diamond before I buy it with a deposit. I wonder whether it is possible to have two diamonds shipped to the appraiser to see and then choose. Is it customary?

In addition, is it possible to negotiate the price on the diamonds that we purchase online? I did think it is possible but I think I might as well confirm with people who have more experience on it. Thanks a lot.

Best,
PD

Yes, make sure you let him know your expectations, for example if you don't want to see any inclusions from any angle at close scrutiny, then tell Martin that so you are both on the same page. As for shipping 2 diamonds to an appraiser, you would need to check with the vendor/s involved.

Pricing, sometimes there can be a discount if you are happy to pay with a bank wire transfer, check with the vendor concerning your particular situation. If the diamond is a virtual stone and advertised with multiple vendors, then sometimes they will price match if another seller has assigned a cheaper price to the diamond. Other than that you can ask about a reduction but online vendors operate on pretty slim margins so it depends.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 5/10/2009 12:53:12 PM
Author: Perfectdiamond

Sorry, I messed up the web address for the appraisers. Here is the correct one: http://www.diamondappraisers.net/appraiser_list.html Kurt is under Illinois.

As for eyecleanliess, what a rough evaluation should sound like or look like? I was told by Martin that it is totally eyeclean. Should I ask something more specific?

One other question, USA Certed offered to ship the diamond to a local appraiser for me to see the diamond before I buy it with a deposit. I wonder whether it is possible to have two diamonds shipped to the appraiser to see and then choose. Is it customary?

In addition, is it possible to negotiate the price on the diamonds that we purchase online? I did think it is possible but I think I might as well confirm with people who have more experience on it. Thanks a lot.

Best,
PD

He should be fine.

As Lorelei said, make sure you and Martin are on the same page for eyeclean (and JA). Diamonds are graded face up, so it could be possible you might be able to see something(s) from the side. If you don''t want that, tell him.

Most vendors are willing to ship to qualified appraisers, so just ask! That would be best, to get the two top stones together and compare.

 

[Perfectdiamond]

Thanks for the advice. I will talk to Martin tomorrow to set up the paperwork to ship the diamond/diamonds (if possible) and will keep everyone posted on the results.

As for the setting, I am thinking about a similar one to the following link. Instead of two stones on each side, I want three stones on each side. I asked a local jewler that the appraiser Kurt Teeger recommended. She showed me the setting on the ring that she was wearing and it was exactly what I wanted. I was quoted a price for $2,300 for 1.3cttw total weight of side stones on 18K gold (F color, VS clarity). I am not sure whether this price is for this quality for real. I have looked at different sites but it usually costs more for this much of diamonds with this quality. It makes me nervous that the final setting won''t look at the one that she showed me (either with smaller diamonds or worse quality of stones). Does anyone know whether the local jewlers can actually do this kind of setting for this price? I will get Kurt Teeger''s final appraisal for insurance by the end. Would an appraisal show how many carats of diamonds, color and clarity of the sidestones there are? If it does not match what I was told by the local jewler, how can I dispute? It is not like that we are going to have a signing contract with the local jewler on the carat weight, clarity and color. Do I have to take it by faith?

http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/settings-with-sidestones/ring/item_58-872.asp?module=