Labgrown from JA - am I overlooking something?

dabrain230 · Dec 31, 2019

Hi,

after a failed attempt a few months ago I started looking for another labgrown this week. Yesterday I found a stone at JA with following specs:

Carat: 1.59
Color: E
Clarity: IF
Cut: Ideal

Depth: 62.3
Table: 55
Crown: 34.5
Pavillion: 41
Symmetry: Ideal
Polish: Very Good
Measurements: 7.48x7.5x4.67

HCA is 1.7

They didnt have Idealscope images so I requested them (had to purchase it before they would do that for free).

What confuses me is that the stone seems very cheap which makes me think that I overlooked something?

As a point of reference, take this stone for example. HCA of 3.8, a bit bigger but F color and VVS2. Yet I paid less? Or have the prices of labgrowns dropped significantly in the last few months?

EDIT:
Hm, i did get the idealscope image. I guess there is a reason for the price?! Still worth it for a bit under 6k?

OoohShiny · Jan 1, 2020

dabrain230 said:
Hi,

after a failed attempt a few months ago I started looking for another labgrown this week. Yesterday I found a stone at JA with following specs:

Carat: 1.59
Color: E
Clarity: IF
Cut: Ideal

Depth: 62.3
Table: 55
Crown: 34.5
Pavillion: 41
Symmetry: Ideal
Polish: Very Good
Measurements: 7.48x7.5x4.67

HCA is 1.7

They didnt have Idealscope images so I requested them (had to purchase it before they would do that for free).

What confuses me is that the stone seems very cheap which makes me think that I overlooked something?

As a point of reference, take this stone for example. HCA of 3.8, a bit bigger but F color and VVS2. Yet I paid less? Or have the prices of labgrowns dropped significantly in the last few months?

EDIT:
Hm, i did get the idealscope image. I guess there is a reason for the price?! Still worth it for a bit under 6k?

MMD prices are all over the shop at the moment - I personally am finding it very hard to search and compare, as there's no central register (like Rap or the PS Search tool, the latter of which may be in the works - we have to wait and see!) and so vendors are charging based on what the market will bear / against a percentage of Mined prices / A.N.Other method. It is therefore hard to know if a stone is good value or not.

On that basis, I think all we can do is compare to other similar stones we might be able to find for sale at the time of purchase, and then consider if we feel the price is 'reasonable' and an amount of money that we feel happy to effectively 'write off' - the secondhand market for MMD is even less certain than the New market, and there are viewpoints out there that MMD will sell for 10% or less of Mined prices when New, nevermind when secondhand, so I think it sensible to approach a purchase of an MMD from the viewpoint that one is happy to never see the money again (as opposed to seeing a Mined stone as a store of at least some value that could be liquidated in an unforeseen emergency situation, for example).

Basically, we can't predict the future, so if you are personally happy with the price asked for the product offered, that is all we can ask! lol Will prices come down more? I hope so

but then like computers, we have to step on the travellator at some point... lol

WRT the stone in question, IF and VVS pricing can sometimes be remarkably similar to lower clarity stones - in Mined stones I think it's because demand is generally lower, because people see better value in the lower clarities, but in MMD... I guess it's just the crazy market right now, lol. Ritani list out what makes up their prices, though, which is cool.

That IS image looks fine to my eyes - I believe that as long as no areas of the stone are lighter than the central small circle, you aren't seeing any leakage

dabrain230 · Jan 3, 2020

Hi OoohShiny,

thanks for the info/update and your take on the Idealscope image. I already paid for the stone anyway so I guess I will wait until I have the stone in my hands and can look at it directly. And ultimately, my better half has to like it.

As for the Idealscope. From what I gathered reading few articles online, the redder the overall image and the darker the arrows the better?

OoohShiny · Jan 3, 2020

dabrain230 said:
Hi OoohShiny,

thanks for the info/update and your take on the Idealscope image. I already paid for the stone anyway so I guess I will wait until I have the stone in my hands and can look at it directly. And ultimately, my better half has to like it.

As for the Idealscope. From what I gathered reading few articles online, the redder the overall image and the darker the arrows the better?

I'm no expert! but I think you are right to think that redder areas in the IS images show better light return. The issue comes when the pictures are over-exposed due to over-bright lighting, for example, as then it is hard to tell what is what! lol

dabrain230 · Jan 18, 2020

The stone arrived. I have tried to take some pictures. Was difficult to get decent ones. I have another stone coming and then will decide once I can compare the two of them.