I''d like to start by saying hello. I''ve been reading this site for a few weeks now and have put about 30-40 hours of research into learning about diamonds and settings and different vendors. I''ve played around with the cut analyzer and went to several vendor sites (bn, wf, gog, union, ja) and even visited a few sites like HoF and some of my local "known" jewelers websites. (I live in OH). After reading the helpful threads topic, I''ve spent alot of time watching the vids from the GOG vendor, including the what color is and isnt videos, and was starting to get an idea of what I wanted as far as measurables. I have a budget of around 8k and was looking for a round . . diamond somewhere in the 90-95 point range and a setting that would cost between 1-3k. (I''m actually pretty far away from proposing, as in more than a year, but my girlfriend and I have had discussions about our future and she is someone who I plan on marrying, she just doesn''t know when 
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Basically, here''s what''s got me doubting myself. I decided to venture out to a couple of local jewelers today because while I can read and look at pictures online all day, I really wanted to get a feel for what I was looking at in person. I wanted to see just how big a 90 point diamond looked compared to a full ct, and I also wanted to look at a few settings in person, just to gauge what they look like. So the first place that I stopped at was a HoF vendor. I walked in and after being greeted gave the guy my story and told him why I was there (I told him about how I was looking around online and doing research but that I wanted to see stuff in person and wanted to see their line). He started by telling me that nothing I would find online would compare to their HoF stones because all of the stones, such as H&A, Heartstar, etc. were all just imitators of HoF and using a similar cut but that HoF created the cut, i.e. were the original, so they were the best. I agreed with him just to be polite but I let him continue. I had mentioned that I wanted something just under a carat so he began telling me that because HoF diamonds were so perfectly cut an 85 point diamond from them was just a big as a lesser cut 1 ct. stone. (He asked if I knew how big a carat should be and I told him that I thought they were around 6.4-6.5 mm. He said their carats were 6.5 but that an average diamond on the market was only 6.2 mm for the carat, hence their 85 point looking like a full ct.) I let him continue for a while, he pulled out a 1.5 stone and held it far away from both of us and told me to see how well it reflected the light, to which I agreed. He then asked what my budget was and I told him that I was only looking to spend around 5500 for a 90 point stone. He sternly looked at me and said there is no way that you will find a quality diamond for that size at that price. I asked how much the 85 point that he had pulled out was (it was an E, VS2) and he told me that it was 8300 just for the stone. I was kind of in shock so I just thanked him for his time and left the store.
Am I way off base, or was this guy feeding me a line? I had been looking at an F color, VS2, ACA 91 point H&A from WF that scored a 1 on the cut analyzer and had a beautiful idealscope that was listed at 5400. Am I missing something. I''m starting to feel like I''ve learned so much in such a short time that I''m losing it....please help me out. Thanks
.)Basically, here''s what''s got me doubting myself. I decided to venture out to a couple of local jewelers today because while I can read and look at pictures online all day, I really wanted to get a feel for what I was looking at in person. I wanted to see just how big a 90 point diamond looked compared to a full ct, and I also wanted to look at a few settings in person, just to gauge what they look like. So the first place that I stopped at was a HoF vendor. I walked in and after being greeted gave the guy my story and told him why I was there (I told him about how I was looking around online and doing research but that I wanted to see stuff in person and wanted to see their line). He started by telling me that nothing I would find online would compare to their HoF stones because all of the stones, such as H&A, Heartstar, etc. were all just imitators of HoF and using a similar cut but that HoF created the cut, i.e. were the original, so they were the best. I agreed with him just to be polite but I let him continue. I had mentioned that I wanted something just under a carat so he began telling me that because HoF diamonds were so perfectly cut an 85 point diamond from them was just a big as a lesser cut 1 ct. stone. (He asked if I knew how big a carat should be and I told him that I thought they were around 6.4-6.5 mm. He said their carats were 6.5 but that an average diamond on the market was only 6.2 mm for the carat, hence their 85 point looking like a full ct.) I let him continue for a while, he pulled out a 1.5 stone and held it far away from both of us and told me to see how well it reflected the light, to which I agreed. He then asked what my budget was and I told him that I was only looking to spend around 5500 for a 90 point stone. He sternly looked at me and said there is no way that you will find a quality diamond for that size at that price. I asked how much the 85 point that he had pulled out was (it was an E, VS2) and he told me that it was 8300 just for the stone. I was kind of in shock so I just thanked him for his time and left the store.
Am I way off base, or was this guy feeding me a line? I had been looking at an F color, VS2, ACA 91 point H&A from WF that scored a 1 on the cut analyzer and had a beautiful idealscope that was listed at 5400. Am I missing something. I''m starting to feel like I''ve learned so much in such a short time that I''m losing it....please help me out. Thanks
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