Leo Diamonds- are they worth the $$?

[pooh]

Hi- I am brand new to the board... My boyfriend and I looked at some diamonds and the saleslady at Kays was showing us a LEO diamond... Can anyone give me more information on them? I went to the web site and it was typical advertising stuff... Apparently they are cut differently than regular diamonds (more facets) and therefore give off more light... Opinions? Also, the sales lady said that Kays was the only jewler that could sell this type of diamond bec they bought the rights- is that true?
Thanks for your help!
Jen

 

[pricescope]

Hi Jen...

Here are some previous topics on this matter:






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[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

You could get an idealscope from www.ideal-scope.com and go back and have a look. Some are fantastic, some are quite ordinary.

 

[elubi]

Kays are NOT the only authorised retailer of Leo Diamonds. That is just a sales Gimmick. Ernest Jones does it too and so does leslie davies. Leo Diamonds likens to Versace and Gucci in the fashion world. The cut of a diamond is the only quality of diamond man can alter and its this Leo has taken to the next level. Very pricey though but its definitely worth every penny of it.

After I give my girlfriend the one I got for her (a Leo, 1ct, 3 stone platimum engagement ring) I Intend to change my wedding vows to read "with this very very very very expensive ring, I thee wed ....."

Just kidding, she is worth every penny of it.

All the best

 

[pqcollectibles]

Hi Pooh!

Follow Gary's suggestion and get an Ideal Scope for viewing diamonds in person. You also need to get any diamond you look at away from the jewelry store counter lights for viewing. There have been several posts here where people returned diamonds to Kay's and other jewelers after seeing them in regular lighting.

Lots of jewelry stores choose and set up their lighting specifically to make even the crappiest diamonds look magnificent in the store. Once you get them in indirect sunlight, household light, and/or candlelight, they die and become lifeless. Have the sales person move around the store, and out into the mall area if possible, to get a better idea of actual performance in normal conditions.

 

[militarywife01]

Even though this is a few years late better than never. The leo diamond is worth it. If you go to another jewler and ask for the same speks that your leo will come with (Clarity quality, color quality size and cut) than you will find that you end up paying a little more than what you will pay to get a leo. Also Kays is a branch of a company that owns several stores another store the company owns is Shaws. So they are not incorrect in saying they are exclusive to selling these diamonds it depends on where you are and the name stores the company has in your area. The Leo diamond does have more cuts in it (facets) and it does give it more shine and brightness to it. If you hold the leo diamond up to a normal diamond you can tell how much more brighter it actually is. Plus the leo diamond is very unique. Each diamond has a number laser engraved into the diamond and can only be seen under a stong mangifier. This helps you know if a cleaner steals your diamond or not. If you take it to a cleaner and want to make sure your stone was not swaped out you can request that you see the laser number engraved into your stone. The stores that sell these diamonds have good insurance on these diamonds. For instance Shaws. If you bougt your leo and it the stone fell out of your ring they replace it for you. The band of your engagement ring from a leo is engraved also with the words LEO and has an small leo diamond embeded into the inside of the band. I have found the Leo diamond to be very satisfying. I hope this helps.

 

[strmrdr]

Hi, militarywife01
Welcome to PS!
Glad you love your Leo diamond.
Some peeople love the looks some dont.
There are sseveral other cuts with extra facets available now also that wernt 2 years ago.

 

[reallady]

I recently got engaged and married. My beautiful Leo diamond engagement ring and wedding band were from Jared Jewelers. The main diamond is 2 carets with 3 smaller leo diamonds on each side. The matching wedding ring has a total of 7 smaller Leo diamonds. the total weight of the set is 5 carets.
THe sparkle and shine that my diamonds make is UNBELIEVABLE!! I get compliments daily, like at least 10 times a day. I have been told by a few people that my ring is "Magical".
I highly recommend spending the extra money for something that you will never stop looking at for the rest of your life! The total cost of my set was about $18,000.

 

[Rank Amateur]

I say to run far away from the Leo. Your money is better spent elsewhere.

 

[oldminer]

As an objective observer, one finds the Leo is not consistently cut. This means that while some are "excellent" others are just "good" and not worth a premium asking price. Adding more facets does not increase brilliancy, but may increase sparkle although the contrast intensity may be slightly reduced. It is a function of size to some extent. Smaller diamonds benefit less from extra facets than larger diamonds.

There are branded diamonds that are more likely to be consistently of excellent light behavior. Owners of any brand of diamond usually come to think their choice was the best of all. Its understandable, but not useful to other potential buyers. Its too emotional to be relied upon. Can''t say I blame them for loving their diamond as it is a symbol of many important things one wants to believe deeply in.

 

[recran]

I think it just depends on if you like ''em. I love my friend''s Leo 3-stone - on her. It sparkles like crazy - blinding me in the sun. But in shopping for myself, I decided I didn''t like the look of them when closely inspected as compared to a round with the normal number of facets. Too busy for me.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 11/16/2005 9:04:04 AM
Author: recran
I think it just depends on if you like ''em. I love my friend''s Leo 3-stone - on her. It sparkles like crazy - blinding me in the sun. But in shopping for myself, I decided I didn''t like the look of them when closely inspected as compared to a round with the normal number of facets. Too busy for me.

yep thats pretty much it.
I think they are busy looking too.
I saw a 2.5ct star 129 (129 facets) that I thought was stunning but the 1ct was yucky to me.
There is someone on the board that has a around 1ct star 129 and loves it.
To each there own :}

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 11/16/2005 8:13:39 AM
Author: oldminer
As an objective observer, one finds the Leo is not consistently cut. This means that while some are ''excellent'' others are just ''good'' and not worth a premium asking price. Adding more facets does not increase brilliancy, but may increase sparkle although the contrast intensity may be slightly reduced. It is a function of size to some extent. Smaller diamonds benefit less from extra facets than larger diamonds.


There are branded diamonds that are more likely to be consistently of excellent light behavior. Owners of any brand of diamond usually come to think their choice was the best of all. Its understandable, but not useful to other potential buyers. Its too emotional to be relied upon. Can''t say I blame them for loving their diamond as it is a symbol of many important things one wants to believe deeply in.

well said.

 

[Shay37]

Militarywife and Reallady, please go immediately to the Show Me the Ring section and post pics so we can all admire your lovelies.

shay

 

[valeria101]

Second ''Oldminer'' of course...


I find the Leo cut intriguing... but just like the traditional round brilliants, the overall proportions (crown and pavilion angles) are at the very least as important for the brightness of the stone as the distinct faceting.


Their use of the Brilliance Scope to demonstrate cut quality should make it easier for you to consider other rounds because this same tool is used to qualify ideal cut round brilliants as well.


If the one you found looks good compared to an ideal cut round brilliant and the prices are comparable... well, why not. After all, the Leo cut must have been designed to make good of whatever proportions they target.

Anyway, following the hunch below, I''d be looking for the size of these stones (what is the diameter compared to a traditional round''s of the same weight?) and girdle width to avoid ''extremely thin'' ones. If the Leo cut diamonds are indeed prone to such faults or they have been restricted away from the finished product, I cannot know.




Just wondering if the cut could be discussed without crossing the ''never criticize competitors'' line

In theory, the thin pavilion facets seem to make deep cut rounds with flat crowns look a bit better by allowing severe twist of pav. mains - so perhaps the cut was designed to rescue some potentially ugly (and relatively cheap) rounds from being ugly traditional round brilliants. There should be some trade off in the rescue... What, no idea. perhaps nothing. Anyone care to take it from here?




All in all, I hope no one gets offended by this: I have no reason to criticize this cut. It would be a pleasure to understand it though, and this is the intent of the post.