I found my winner. Waddyall'' think?

[Hughey J]

Branded H&A (S.C.), GIA- 0.62 Ct, H, SI1, Ex, Ex


Claimed to face-up eye clean


Scores 1.1 on HCA


Awesome Brilliancescope results


Price: just under $1600




Diameter 5.56mm (5.54-5.57)


Depth 60.6% (3.37mm)


Table 55.4%


Crown angle 34.4


Pavil angle 40.8


Crown height 14.7%


Culet 0.4%


Girdle 1.3% (1.0 - 1.4), medium


(did I forget anything?)




Watcha think?

 

[strmrdr]

awesome!
Congrates

 

[hoorray]

Looks like it's going to be a dazzler! Congratulations and show us pics of the final ring.

 

[JC]

Great choice! Congrats!

 

[Mara]

Very nice stats and the price is awesome!! Congrats and good luck!

 

[Hughey J]

I hope I didn't mislead folks - I haven't bought the diamond yet, but I think I'm going to go ahead (sometimes being a compulsive shopper can be great!)




I'm considering not having the stone sent to an independent appraiser before the purchase. Is that OK to do, or utterly insane?

 

[strmrdr]

With all the information provided on a SC diamond I would at most have it matched to the cert once mounted and at the same time get an insurance appraisal on the completed ring.
Make sure you use an independant appraiser and check credentuals first.

 

[Giangi]

It's a real winner. Awesome specs & fair price.

And yes, I would at most have the stone checked once it's mounted.

 

[Hughey J]

Has anyone dealt with Martin Scheffield at USA Certed Diamonds? I'm in Canada (USA Certed is in Toronto), so it might be easier to deal with him for the SuperbCert I'm looking at.




Also, he offers appraisal services. I've read numerous times that appraisals should be done by someone who does not sell diamonds, but he's a GG, and accredited appraiser. Still a bad idea to have him appraise it and verify its authenticity?

 

[hoorray]

I have purchase from Martin at USA Certed. He is very straight forward and honest to deal with, and I would buy from him again.

That said, I think it is always a good idea to get an independant appraisal. You could see if a local appraiser could just do a verification that it is the stone it is supposed to be since you should have all kinds of reports on the stone itself from SC and don't need to duplicate those if it is the same stone.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Nice numbers and sounds like your pleased..Post pic's when finished..

 

[Hughey J]

Well, I just picked up my package from FedEx, and peeked at the diamond. Woweewowow (as Christopher Walken would put it). I can't wait to play with the toolkit!


(Hang on a second... should I be this excited? I am buying this for my future fiancee, after all.)




I plan on goofing around with my digital camera (which is also new, so don't expect any great pictures) and posting the pics, but it may not happen for a while; My GF and I are leaving for the Dominican Republic tomorrow, and she's got the camera right now!




I'll post as soon as I can.

 

[Hughey J]

Oh, by the way:




I decided to go with Barry at SuperbCert as opposed to USACerted, for two main reasons:




1) The lifetime upgrade policy is apparently only available directly through SuperbCert, and


2) I was working with a short time line, and it was quicker to receive the shipment directly from New York. I didn't want this stone to be bought by someone else while I was away. (We're leaving tomorrow).




I think I may have gotten welder's flash when I peeked at the diamond!

 

[Rhino]

Congrats on your upcoming engagement J.




Forgive me but I think it is despecible that superbcert (as USA's supplier) discourages clients from purchasing from them because he will only offer his tradeup if you only purchase it from him. If you are a supplier of diamonds to other retailers I would think you'd want to *encourage* sales to your retailers. IMO this is unfair to Martin who works with people and promotes the sc product only for consumers to be more motivated to purchase it directly from Barry because he will not extend his tradeup policy to his vendors. That is the worst kind of wholesale/retail relationship I can think of when the supplier discourages sales to his retailers and motivates the consumer to purchase it from him.




My .02c

 

[Tek]

That looks to be a killer diamond. Congrats!!

 

[Mara]

Very valid point, Rhino....seems as though the reseller is setup to fail from the start but the manufacturer/original vendor benefits from the marketing they do on their behalf.

 

[Hughey J]

We just got back from our week in a Caribbean resort, and I'm all tanned and still filled with rum in my veins!




I'll try to get some pics up soon of the stone!




Cheers

 

[Hughey J]

I took the stone to an appraiser yesterday (I found Martin Wright, a Jewelery Judge affiliate up here in Ottawa), and I was quite happy with the results. The appraiser immediately commented on the great cut of the stone (as did the jeweller who's making the setting for the stone). He said however that his first impression was that it appeared to be an SI2 (as opposed to the GIA cert's grading of SI1), and he said it's the first time he's seen a GIA cert he didn't quite agree with. He did include the SI1 grade on the appraisal though, so it didn't affect me in the end.




As some of you may be aware, us Canadians have a bigger, fatter tax man to deal with than our friends to the south (at least on a per capita basis). So in buying a diamond from the US, add 35% for the exchange rate, 15% for federal and provincial sales tax, then another 10% for federal excise tax (whatever that is...). This all means that we end up paying about 1.7 times the US dollar value for the stone in Canadian funds. The reason for this rambling is to tell everyone this: After all the "Canuck" costs involved, I still paid only 50% of the appraised retail value of the stone. Furthermore, when shoppping one particular local maul store that claims to specialize in diamonds, the price of a 0.45 ct AGS0 cut stone was a full 218% more than I paid for the 0.62 ct SC!!! - I guess this is just another testimonial for the benefits of shopping with the online vendors and the value of this forum. Thank you Leonid, thank you Pricescope community!




P.S. - I posted some pictures I took of the stone on another thread (beware - super-amateur photographer here!):




Oops - hang on, I have to go and find that thread...

 

[Hughey J]

Here it is:




https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pics-of-my-her-sc-0-62-si1-h.15024/




By the way, the Jewelery Judge website says that Martin Wright is located at Wright Gemmological Labs in Ottawa. This information is outdated; Martin closed that office, and works in his two jewelery stores in Ottawa (Magpie Jewelery). I know it's better to try to have an appraisal done by someone who doesn't sell jewellery, but he seemed very objective, and I was happy. In the end he told me I got a great price for the diamond.




Cheers!

 

[grandpa witty]

Hi,
I sent an email to him last week and still hasn't got any respond. I guess, he doesn't use that email add anymore.
Do you mind sharing how the appraising experience was?
What kind of reports did you get and how much did it cost you?

One more thing, I thought Magpie didn't sell diamond. Isn't there one in Rideau Centre?

Thanks.