Help on Purchase

[crousemd]

I''m buying my gf a 3 stone setting, but I''m trying to figure out my best bet for the center stone. I went to a "wholesaler" a few days ago and was surprised to see that hardly any of their diamonds were graded. The sales lady, who was referred to me by my future father-in-law, seemed surprised when I started asking so many questions in regards to grading, 4c''s, etc.

I''m playing with a range from 0.9 to 1.0 carat size. The sides will be .25 on a platinum ring for $1200. The diamond I really liked best was much cheaper and had what appears to be a better color and sparkle. It''s weight is .91 and the agent said it will probably appraise at F color and VS clarity. I told her I''d like to think about it for a day, so I called back the day after and asked if they could have the diamond appraised before purchasing and she said that wasn''t something they do, so I asked her if they could at least appraise the cut and give me the percentages, so she got them to agree to do that. I also asked if I could pay a down payment and have the diamond appraised by a 3rd party, but she said it couldn''t leave the store, that an appraisor would have to come there. She seemed like she had never been through questions like this before.

The price I am quoted is $3300 and I''m not completely bent out of shape that it''s not graded but I at least want a return policy where I can have it appraised by another party should I go with an ungraded diamond. I''m thinking my gf is most concerned with carat, where I''m more concerned with cut. What are your opinions about buying from someone like this? When I explained that I hadn''t seen a lot of ungraded diamonds, she said a true wholesaler doesn''t typically have their diamonds graded. She said we will at times, but for the most part a jeweler has a customer that wants a certain carat size and they aren''t as concerned with the official grading. I''m a little leary here, but am I overreacting?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[aljdewey]

Hi, Mike: Welcome to PS!

Sounds like quite the dilemma. Let's see if we can provide some helpful information.

First.....it's never a good idea to have anyone appraise a stone if they have a vested interest in the sale. You may as well buy blind without an appraisal.

I've never tried hiring an appraiser to go to a jewelry store, but considering the equipment involved in measuring, etc., it doesn't seem practical or optimal for you to have it done this way.

If you really like this particular stone and they are unwilling to send it out for verification prior to purchase, I think you really only have one option. Find out what their return policy is .... make SURE it's 100% refund for ANY reason with a specified time period.......put it on a credit card, and get an independent appraisal done during that window by a reputable appraiser who doesn't carry any of his own stones. Also, pay attention to the "fine print"; sometimes, stores won't take it back once it's been set, even if THEY are the ones who set it for you.

Actually, I can think of a second option too, but I personally wouldn't do it. You could offer to pay for or split the cost of her sending it to a grading lab of your choosing to get a report. I wouldn't do it because there are too many other places that will provide this up front at no cost to you, so why should you have to do this? But if you're in love with THIS stone, it may be a way to ease your mind.

When I explained that I hadn't seen a lot of ungraded diamonds, she said a true wholesaler doesn't typically have their diamonds graded.

I hate to point out the obvious, but a true wholesaler doesn't sell to an end customer either, so she doesn't qualify as a true wholesaler.

What are your opinions about buying from someone like this?

If you aren't totally "in love" with THIS diamond, I'd try to shop around some more. I personally think that others could provide you with much better service and less risk in your purchase.

She said we will at times, but for the most part a jeweler has a customer that wants a certain carat size and they aren't as concerned with the official grading.

That may be true, but you aren't one of those customers. You are concerned with the specifics. I feel that she's implying that your requests are trivial just because others don't normally want what you want.

I'm a little leary here, but am I overreacting?

Nope....you're doing EXACTLY what you should do....trust your instincts. If you have a gut feeling about this not being the right fit for you, listen to that feeling.

I just went through this with a reception site....our reception is on a tall ship, and we were choosing between two. I LOVED the "look" of the "red" boat, but the person I was working with there made two commitments to get information to me and didn't follow through both times. I was really torn.....I wanted THAT boat for how it looked, but the other was MUCH more professional. I realized that I would spend the next six months worrying about this man's reliability, and that I'd flog myself later if I didn't listen to the voice that said "you can't depend on him". We hired the other boat.....and already I know I made the right choice.

Sometimes, trying to make the square peg fit in the round hole just isn't worth it. Even if you manage to jam it in there, it looks like sh*t.

 

[strmrdr]

no cert no cash is a real real good policy to have.
How do you know its even really a diamond?

 

[valeria101]

That's at least 20% discount over a F-VS. If you like the stone after having seen a bunch, it is up to you to believe or disbelieve the seller and figure out wether 20% is a good deal or suspiciously genrous. What I suspect, is that the thing is a diamond, but not really F-VS1 (either or both). It is not realistic for anyone to pinpoint color&clarity at a glance (as you describe the seller did) down to the most likely grade to be certified: a split color and clarity grade (such as F-G, VS) would have sounded more reasuring to me after 5 seconds spent on it. Obvioulsy the shop is not at the very least accomodating to your questions, so the Q gets down to: "how much is service worth to you". That the seller seems focused on weight is rather normal: most shoppers are too.

Yours is a typical scenario, but not for retail business (which the seller ain't anyway).

 

[hoorray]

Nothing about this vendor's remarks smell "right" to me.

First off..the diamond I recently bought and most if not all of those that I looked at had the certs and sarin reports done by the manufacturer, not the vendor. Some of the vendors added to that info with their own analysis.

Also, the quick estimate of F VS sounds weak. True assessments take sample stones and magnification.

If you decide you may want this diamond, I would make sure of 1 of 2 things.
1. You love this diamond for how it looks, regardless of what it specs out at, or 2. you have a solid 100% refund policy that lets you go get it checked out to make sure you are getting what you pay for.

Either one is ok, it depends on how you feel about it and how you'll feel about it long term. Good luck!

 

[phoenixgirl]

That part about people not being concerned with the certification is pure BS. Plus she is making it very difficult for you to get any real information on the stone. Why? Because it will appraise exactly as she says? Probably not.

I would much rather have a stone like this one than shell out 3K for some mystery diamond. A .9 carat F VS diamond for that price is too good to be true.

I know the stone I just found (quickly I might add -- if you are looking to avoid retail prices, I recommend using any of the reputable online dealers who can offer stones for less than the average retail establishment) is smaller than 0.91 carat, but a stone will look as big as it is across. Let us know the dimensions on the one you're looking at. It could look smaller than this one.

Here's another contender. It scores a 0.9 (very good score) on the HCA, a calculator that estimates how well the stone is cut. It's a 0.89 F SI1 with a GIA cert for $3350 and it has a good looking image scope.

 

[crousemd]

She called back this morning and what I ended up getting was more info on the color and clarity than I was looking for on the cut, but none the less, the color actually came back at a G and the clarity is an SI1, this is coming from their own appraisor. The depth is 59.7, but no info on the table, polish or symmetry. In her words an "excellent" cut. Now their price sounds much more reasonable and I thanked her and told her I would look around. I'm not in love with this particular stone and assumed the gradings would come back as a G, SI1 with that price. I'm only going to deal with certified diamonds at this point. Thanks to everyone for their input! Greatly appreciated!

Mike