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Help with buying 3ct RB

H

Hazarrd

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 11, 2015
Messages
16
Would like to get some opinions on the following RB, which will be mounted on platinum with a four-prong solitaire, with eternity band (shared prong). I found a place that I trust here in NYC (it's around the corner from the diamond district in a professional office building). However, it's a big purchase, so I want to get some independent opinions. I'm working directly with the owner (there are several employees) who has provided me with what I think is a decent education about selecting diamonds, and I've supplemented that with reading on my own (including many threads in this forum!). The dealer has reitereated time and time again (we've had 3 meetings so far) that he focuses on cut and that is absolutely the most important feature. He has also beat into my head that although 2 diamonds may have the exact same characteristics (including the same "Excellent" cut grade), the cuts may actually greatly differ between the two. His philosophy is to go as low as possible on color/clarity and go bigger on size. As long as cut is perfect, he thinks this is the best approach.

I'm very much set on getting a 3ct RB, and in fact I have already put a small down payment on one, but I can of course switch to a different diamond with this dealer. However, I'm now having second thoughts and wondering whether I should move down to 2.5ct while upgrading the color and/or clarity.

Attached is the GIA report for the diamond I'm considering. It looks fantastic in person, and the dealer pulled in 3 other similar stones (all within $1,500 of each other) for me to look at and choose from. Quoted price for just the RB is $27.5k

Would like to get thoughts on the following. In my opinion, the stone is clean face up (but what do I know; I know that I could see imperfections in two of the other similar stones I was shown). Although I can certainly tell that it's a J when side by side with other, higher graded stones, I don't look at it and see yellow (nor did I expect to). I would say that light return is at least 85% looking through the red light device, but I'm no gemologist. Hearts and arrows look solid, but by no means perfect.

1. Is this a reasonable price?
2. Am I better off getting a 2.5 and moving up on color/clarity?
3. If I'm willing to drop another $5k, is there any measurable benefit (in real life; not on paper) that I will get by moving up in color/clarity for the 3ct?
4. What are some questions I should ask the dealer about this stone, answers to which I could bring back to this thread to help you all better evaluate my questions?

Thanks so much for your help!

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Your jeweler has it right that Cut is very important and gives the diamond sparkle! Unfortunately I don't think the diamond you are being offered is that great of a cut. :cry: It has a rather large table and I ran it through the HCA tool and it gets a 3.4. https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca Most PS members would say you want a score of <2 to pursue further. Can your jeweler provide idealscope or aset images to show light performance? You could post them here for input. Otherwise, the GIA cert alone won't tell you if it is a good performing diamond.

It sounds like you were comfortable with the color and clarity? Did you look at the diamond in different lighting conditions? That is very important in evaluating both color, clarity and cut because a diamond will look different in different lights. I owned a J color diamond for a bit and it looked great at the store and in direct sunlight but in other lights, the tint drove me nuts! Hopefully that isn't the case with you, because I think that is the only way you are going to get your size requirements and hopefully get a well cut diamond. You are spending a ton of money and I would hate for you to spend it on a diamond that you won't be happy with in the long-run.

Here are some general proportion ranges that you should try to stay within to get a well cut diamond. There are beautiful diamonds that fall outside of this range (including my own), but they are harder to find for newbies.

depth - 60 - 62%
table - 54- 57%
crown angle - 34- 35 degrees
pavilion angle - 40.6- 41 degrees

You asked about what $5K would get you and although still the same color and clarity, here is a really good choice. The images show that It is very well cut and a well cut J diamond will likely face up whiter than a poor cut J.
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3206024.htm

Another option for a top of the line cut and in your price range, but a bit smaller:
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3215928.htm

Probably not the input you wanted, but hopefully it will help you find the perfect diamond!
 
Don't look good...big table 62% + low crown 12.5% = :knockout: not a well cut stone!
 
Ditto the advice above; this is not a well cut diamond. The ranges Tweeter shared will help you narrow down the selection.
 
Thanks so much for the helpful replies! I'll keep looking.

What is the general consensus about buying a stone online from a site like whiteflash? With the IS and ASET images now readily available, is there sufficient information to make a decision without seeing the diamond in person? If not, what information is missing?

Also, I noted that the two stones linked by tweety do not have a GIA cert. What's the general consensus on that issue? Big deal?
 
If you purchase Whiteflash's in-house selection, the IS and ASET are all there, including the H&A images. Both diamonds have an AGS lab report, which is on par with GIA.
 
Thanks. Would most people on this forum agree that the information provided by Whiteflash for in-house selections is sufficient to purchase the diamond sight-unseen? If not, what else would a prospective purchaser want to know/see, specifically?
 
AGS is highly reputable!! A lot of people do buy diamonds on-line, but you just want to make sure you work with a reputable vendor that has a good return policy. I believe WF has a 30 return policy and a really good trade-in policy. You can do a search on PS and you will find hundreds of reviews for them. In my opinion, buying on-line is probably easier to ensure you get a nice cut stone because of the images they provide. I think the biggest thing is being comfortable with the color. You might want to go look at more J color diamonds at other places to make sure you are happy with it...many people are! As far as clarity, you can always use on-line chat or call a place like Whiteflash to review the diamond on your behalf and request a video too.

Other PS recommended vendors to look at are Good Old Gold, Brian Gavin and James Allen, just to name a few.

It sounds like you are in New York, so you could go in person to see Good Old Gold. Both Whiteflash and Brian Gavin are in Texas, so they won't charge you sales tax.
 
Another thought for you, you can post images you receive on here to get feedback as well or even links to diamonds. Just make sure they are reserved before you post so someone doesn't snatch it up!
 
WF is an excellent dealer, lots of great reviews.

If you want to deal in person, sounds like you are in the NYC area, others like myself have purchased from Brilliantly Engaged (formerly ERD) and have been quite happy. I have worked with Chris who is great to deal with, others have worked with the owner, Mark.
Best of luck.
 
WillyDiamond|1434121529|3888363 said:
WF is an excellent dealer, lots of great reviews.

If you want to deal in person, sounds like you are in the NYC area, others like myself have purchased from Brilliantly Engaged (formerly ERD) and have been quite happy. I have worked with Chris who is great to deal with, others have worked with the owner, Mark.
Best of luck.
Click to expand...

True since I am one of them!! Hazarrd - I purchased my 3.25 carat diamond through Brilliantly Engaged and worked with Chris. My husband and I flew to NY and Chris spent 2 hours with us showing me 5 diamonds in my specs/budget. They all had an HCA score <2 which was one of my requirements. They are quite reputable and do a fabulous job on CAD or handforged settings.

Now that I have spent a few years on PS, I probably should have looked at the other PS vendors before buying to see what other options I had. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with my diamond, I just should have extended the fun in the search!!
 
arkieb1|1434121285|3888362 said:
Buy this and save yourself a few dollars put it into a solitaire and it will be magnificent;

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/forum/post3888361.html#p3888361']https://www.pricescope.com/forum/post3888361.html#p3888361[/URL]

Hopefully if you do consider this stone you can get your deposit back or put it towards a setting or a diamond band with the vendor instead. I don't think they are selling you particularly great cuts and they are not particularly good prices.
Click to expand...

This looks like a decent buy. Would love to hear thoughts from others about this diamond. Any issues with the medium fluorescence? I plan on mounting this on a four prong instead of 6 prong--any issues with hiding imperfections? I assume I should ask for the IS and ASET images?
 
Fluorescence is a very personal choice. Some people love it and some people avoid it. Here is some information to read on it. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-flourescence You can also search PS for it and find all sorts of threads.

I know the seller of the loupetroop diamond frequents PS but I can't speak to the diamond itself. I don't know for sure, but I am guessing she isn't offering returns. If buying on-line makes you nervous, then I am not sure if this is the best route for you to go. But certainly, you can ask the seller and maybe you would be comfortable with it!
 
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