help with eng. ring

[roadpupp]

Hello all

I have been researching rings for my girlfriend and welcome any advice anyone wants to give.

The story.
She left a torn out page showing a platinum Verragio ring with "V" settings in a three stone round configuration.

http://www.weddingband.com/ver0207.html This one pretty much but with ROUND BRILLIANT stones.

I found a local Brick and Mortor place that has them and a nice selection of platinum verragio and other settings in stock. The ring has (2) .25 side stones (un certfied).

They said the setting is about $1500. We talked price and they came up with two options.

1) the above setting with a GIA certified .87 G-SI2 Premium cut for $4300 (before tax)
2) same with a GIA certified .91 H-SI2 Ideal cut for $4800 (before tax)

I wanted to do this for about $5000 and to get her the platinum setting and style that I think she wants. These gems are almost a carat and have good cut and color which seems to be the most important part.

Anyone want to chime in on the price and if this seems reasonable? I like the way I was treated and have confidence in them so don't mind spending a little bit more of my smallish budget for "walk in the door" service over an internet vendor.

I really want it to be a surprise and if I get it wrong, we can go together to get the perfect one.
I am pretty sure she will love it. I am making some big assumptions based on a single image. They have assured me that as long as I don't have it sized, that they will give me a full refund, or help us to find what she wants in the store.

This is a big decision, and I really appreciate any advice you might give me.

Thanks
Chad

 

[valeria101]

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On 8/23/2004 2:49:49 PM roadpupp wrote:




1) the above setting with a GIA certified .87 G-SI2 Premium cut for $4300 (before tax)
2) same with a GIA certified .91 H-SI2 Ideal cut for $4800 (before tax)

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There is precisely no standard for what represents an "ideal" or "premium" princess cut. So... these are in-store grades awarded by the seller. Does it matter to you why he says these particular stones are well cut?

You can easily check the prices for simmilar princess cuts around here and at any online shop. At a glance, these seem to run from $2500 to $3500 - with the resective 1k accounting for things not mentioned by the GIA cert. One of these things would be the appearence of the stones (SI2 could mean badly included or approx. eye clean) and the proportions of the cut. There is no way to check for clarity issues based on database listings, but at least the table and depth are there. Do you know the proportions of these two? Extreme numbers for either depth or table (assuming you only have GIA stats) will definitely affect the price.

What is the size of these stones (milimeters, not carats) ?

 

[alexah]

Hi roadpupp

Those prices seem high... have you done a search here on PS?

I put in the following parameters:
G-H
VS2-SI1
.94 - 1.04ct
depth 73
table 69
GIA

And every stone that came up was less than the H you listed...

 

[roadpupp]

Thanks for your replies! I guess I was unclear.
Round Brilliant was the shape, I know the setting shows princess cut diamonds.

I don't remember the dimensions, they wrote down the carat weight, and the Color grade, and Clarity.

I tried the search engine, but the big unknown is the cost of the setting. They SAY that it is $1500, but I don't know what it should be.

Alexah, are the table and depth numbers the "ideal" for round? How much can they vary from that and still be considered Ideal?

I thought "ideal" was not subjective, but written on the GIA cert, I guess not.

These responses are great! Any thoughts on how to find out the cost of the setting?
Chad

 

[quaeritur]

When you say "three stone round configuration," do you mean that style ring but with rounds?

I'd say shop around here for well-cut stones (go to www.pricescope.com/sift.asp) and see what kind of prices you get. If nothing else, it will give you something to negotiate with. As you mentioned, you will pay a few hundred more to deal with a B&M store, but I think that's worth it if you've found one you're truly comfortable with. You shouldn't be paying significantly more than that, however.

Also, you may want to re-post this question in "Rocky Talky" -I think you'll get more traffic/responses over there.

Oh, and kudos for looking for taking her wishes into account!

 

[quaeritur]

Oops... I was typing when you posted the clarification.

GIA does not use the "ideal" grade as far as I know -only AGS does. You might want to look at the tutorial here to get a sense of what ideal cut parameters are. GIA certs will not provide all the information you need (crown and pavilion angles/percentages) to determine the cut quality -to do so you will need to get a Sarin report on the stone from your jeweler. Then you can plug the #s in to the DIY calculator at www.gemappraisers.com for one cut quality reading, and into the HCA (link at top of page under cut adviser) to get a sense of how it might perform. These are some of the tools at your disposal to ensure you get the best-looking stone possible. Another sophisticated tool? Your own two eyes

. Just make sure you look at the stone in all lighting conditions -jewelry store lighting has a way of making anything look good. And have them line up ideal and non-ideal cuts get a sense of what looks good too.

Good luck with the search!

 

[alexah]

Hi again roadpupp

those are not the search parameters for Rounds .... what you can do is check the box for H&A and/or AGS 0 on the PS search engine - that should get you headed in the right direction...

 

[roadpupp]

Q-

Thanks for your response, if it isn't considered bad form, I will cross post it.

I guess the difficulty is in understanding the full parameters. The above posts tell me that the GIA reports don't really discuss cut quality or clarity entirely.

The whole process is a little daunting. I understand color, clarity and weight, but assumed the GIA would tell me "ideal" or exactly what the dimensions should be.

I need to research a little more I guess. Still, knowing what the stone is worth doesn't really help me to decide if the bottom line deal is a good one. Anyone know where to find the cost of the setting. I thought by purchasing a "brand" setting, It would help me to simplfy things.

- Chad