intergem show
- Thread starter j1huynh
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Chances are good that if the selling point is the price and the weight at the exclusion of the other details that it is NOT a good deal. As has been pointed out above, the range is enormous and grading details are terribly important. If the pitch includes that you have to buy it NOW in order to get the deal, don't do it. These shows tend to be all about pressure and it's often a problem for buyers.
Shows can be fun, and it’s an opportunity to compare lots of vendors side by side and in person but it rarely results in low prices, despite claims to the contrary. The merchants have to pay extra to pack up, travel across the country, live out of hotels etc. in order to put on this production and, naturally, this is all part of their cost of sales. It may very well be worth it to you for the convenience and the fun but don’t let the claim of low low prices sway you. Show's aren't magic, it's just a bunch of dealers trying to sell their stuff, some are good, some are bad and their presence at the show tells you nothing more than that they paid their booth fees and that they are interested in that style of marketing. Remember that you aren't buying from Intergem, you are buying from a particular merchant who rents a booth there. Pay attention to the terms and conditions of the merchant you choose to do business with.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
Shows can be fun, and it’s an opportunity to compare lots of vendors side by side and in person but it rarely results in low prices, despite claims to the contrary. The merchants have to pay extra to pack up, travel across the country, live out of hotels etc. in order to put on this production and, naturally, this is all part of their cost of sales. It may very well be worth it to you for the convenience and the fun but don’t let the claim of low low prices sway you. Show's aren't magic, it's just a bunch of dealers trying to sell their stuff, some are good, some are bad and their presence at the show tells you nothing more than that they paid their booth fees and that they are interested in that style of marketing. Remember that you aren't buying from Intergem, you are buying from a particular merchant who rents a booth there. Pay attention to the terms and conditions of the merchant you choose to do business with.
Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2005
- Messages
- 33,275
I VVS2 according to whom? GIA? AGS? I doubt it.
As shocking as it sounds, not everyone uses the same standards for grading.
Send the same diamond to several labs and the grades can vary quite a bit.
GIA and AGS are the strictest and most highly-respected.
What you got there is some "soft" grading.
There is no way to know what the REAL color and clarity are.
GIA is NOT going to grade a 2 carat stone that sells for $7,500 I VVS2.
Nobody knows what the clarity and color of that stone is. (Well, the seller knows but they are hoping you fall for the I VVS2 line)
If you just trust the seller, or the "appraiser" (s)he hired, you are just begging to be lied to.
There are no killer deals with diamonds, only unscrupulous sellers and uninformed buyers.
Another explanation for the absurdly low price is it may be heat treated or clarity enhanced.
Buyer beware.
As shocking as it sounds, not everyone uses the same standards for grading.
Send the same diamond to several labs and the grades can vary quite a bit.
GIA and AGS are the strictest and most highly-respected.
What you got there is some "soft" grading.
There is no way to know what the REAL color and clarity are.
GIA is NOT going to grade a 2 carat stone that sells for $7,500 I VVS2.
Nobody knows what the clarity and color of that stone is. (Well, the seller knows but they are hoping you fall for the I VVS2 line)
If you just trust the seller, or the "appraiser" (s)he hired, you are just begging to be lied to.
There are no killer deals with diamonds, only unscrupulous sellers and uninformed buyers.
Another explanation for the absurdly low price is it may be heat treated or clarity enhanced.
Buyer beware.
iota15
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2010
- Messages
- 1,278
With diamonds, if the deal looks to good to be true, 99.98% of the time, it probably is... especially if you are dealing with a professional dealer/retailer and not a person who "just separated and need to get rid of this ring for rent".
Even if the specs are true, which it likely isn''t for that price, does your friend know whether the diamond is clarity enhanced? Maybe the diamond is fracture filled? Coated for color enhancement? Any of these treatments will significantly decrease the intrinsic value of the stone bought.
If the stone was treated and he doesn''t know about it, if he ever brings it to a jeweler who applies heat to it (fairly common), the filling could melt or worse, the structural integrity of the diamond could be compromised (crack, etc.)
Yes, it might be a deal if GIA/AGS evaluated it as an I, VVS2, 2 carat, NATURAL round diamond with NO treatments. My (out of nowhere) guess is that for That price, the VVS2 was clarity treated. Sometimes, with clarity treated stones, they Might be worth what the original unenhanced stone was worth, which is generally a terrible clarity grade.
If it was only one color grade off, a J, and an originally I1 clarity stone - the stone Might be worth somewhere in the region of 4-5K - does his deal look so good at that point? For a stone that might crack if his fiance brings it to a jeweler for a new setting or a remount, NOT knowing it was enhanced with something that could burn, melt or crack the stone?
I wouldn''t buy an expensive piece at these shows - not with that risk. Even if your friend did somehow walk away with the deal of the century, there''s no guarantee that You will.
Take your time to shop for a large ticket item like an engagement ring. Use the show as a place for setting ideas and to gage what shape of stone she likes (princess cut, emerald cuts, cushions, etc.) Maybe buy yourself some trinkets but take your time with a big ticket item. Diamonds are not cars - you don''t just walk into a showroom of sharks and pick one up. Why? Because every 2 ct stone is different and are priced accordingly by the professionals who know better than you.
I can assure you that no roadshow retailer sold something at a loss to your friend. He got what he paid for - the scary question now is, what exactly Did he pay for?
Even if the specs are true, which it likely isn''t for that price, does your friend know whether the diamond is clarity enhanced? Maybe the diamond is fracture filled? Coated for color enhancement? Any of these treatments will significantly decrease the intrinsic value of the stone bought.
If the stone was treated and he doesn''t know about it, if he ever brings it to a jeweler who applies heat to it (fairly common), the filling could melt or worse, the structural integrity of the diamond could be compromised (crack, etc.)
Yes, it might be a deal if GIA/AGS evaluated it as an I, VVS2, 2 carat, NATURAL round diamond with NO treatments. My (out of nowhere) guess is that for That price, the VVS2 was clarity treated. Sometimes, with clarity treated stones, they Might be worth what the original unenhanced stone was worth, which is generally a terrible clarity grade.
If it was only one color grade off, a J, and an originally I1 clarity stone - the stone Might be worth somewhere in the region of 4-5K - does his deal look so good at that point? For a stone that might crack if his fiance brings it to a jeweler for a new setting or a remount, NOT knowing it was enhanced with something that could burn, melt or crack the stone?
I wouldn''t buy an expensive piece at these shows - not with that risk. Even if your friend did somehow walk away with the deal of the century, there''s no guarantee that You will.
Take your time to shop for a large ticket item like an engagement ring. Use the show as a place for setting ideas and to gage what shape of stone she likes (princess cut, emerald cuts, cushions, etc.) Maybe buy yourself some trinkets but take your time with a big ticket item. Diamonds are not cars - you don''t just walk into a showroom of sharks and pick one up. Why? Because every 2 ct stone is different and are priced accordingly by the professionals who know better than you.
I can assure you that no roadshow retailer sold something at a loss to your friend. He got what he paid for - the scary question now is, what exactly Did he pay for?
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