One month ago the only thing I knew about diamonds were that they were carbon crystals. Turns out I had a lot to learn, and like most nerds, I turned to the Internet to pick up as much knowledge as possible in the scheduled timeframe I setup. PS became my invaluable tool in this quest.
For those of you out there of the male persuasion, I highly recommend taking notes similar to the ones I took after reading over every PS page and forum post I could. Every bit of information will carry you a little further. Also, don’t cheap out… order an IdealScope right now. Do that before walking into a diamond store. You can read everything on PS and think you know what makes the perfect diamond, but without years of experience handling stones, an IdealScope is the quickest way to see immediately whether you have the perfect diamond, or something far less than special.
Like most men, I don’t even pretend to understand a woman’s fascination with diamonds. They don’t have wheels, sip gas, fly, or have any other quality we men are willing to pay large amounts of money for. As such, I really didn’t know anything, and nothing short of love was gonna convince me to change that. And here I am.
The first thing I did was come to the PS forums. I accidentally found PS through a yahoo search. After reading a couple posts, I realized I had struck gold, and backed out to the home page to see what other wisdom there was for me. I read everything. I am pretty sure I spider’d the entire site reading as much content as possible and making sure I understood it. All of that knowledge became invaluable. Even still, I must admit I only had half the education needed when I finally walked into Joe Escobars. You really need to see a bunch of diamonds up close to truly appreciate all that knowledge. Web pics are great, but they are a poor facsimile of the real thing. Until you see two different color grades next to each other, it’s difficult to understand why color is important.
Recommended from this list, I went to Joe Escobar. Kind of funny, all I had to do was say the word, “PriceScope” and I immediately got transferred to Erik the gemologist. Erik, who I hear used to be a regular poster here, became an incredible (and very patient) resource. Over a total of about 3 hours, and who the heck knows how many stones… I found THE ONE.
By the end, of my time with Erik, I could tell the difference in a side by side comparison between a 55% and 57% table just by looking with my naked eye. Same with one color grade, and one degree in either crown or pavilion angles. The changes are subtle, but, when you pull them all together, it’s much easier to understand the HCA scale and how all those characteristics make the perfect diamond. As well, it better prepares you for when you are going through a mess of stones and find that one you know to be what you have been searching for.
After a grand total of about 3 hours over two trips, I found what I had been searching for. By the time I put it under the IdealScope, and H&A scope, I was pretty certain of what I would see, but it was still an exhilarating confirmation to look and see little to no white, and almost perfect hearts and arrows.
For my fellow diamond nerds, I bought a:
GIA certified
Round Brilliant
1.24 Carat
D
VVS2
Excellent cut grade
VG polish
VG symmetry
57% table
34.0 degree crown angle
40.6 degree pavilion angle
61.1% depth
Medium – slightly thick girdle
No culet
No fluorescence
HCA:
====
Light return: EXCELLENT
Fire: EXCELLENT
Scintillation: EXCELLENT
Spread: Very Good
******* HCA Score: 0.7 *******
There is a small pinpoint on the edge of a crown facet bordering the table that I cannot see with a loop (needed a uscope), and another the same size on one of the pavilion facets.
I set out looking for a 1 carat, but when I found this stone, I opted to be a little more flexible in my budget. Side by side with anything else I had looked at, this was by far the most incredible diamond I had ever seen. And, there is a certain amount of pride in knowing that I picked it out.
I opted to go with a cheapie white gold setting with the idea that we will return to the store after I ‘pop the question’ to buy the mount she wants. Until then, I have 28 days to finish writing the proposal, setup the manicure appointment (I didn’t understand this either until it was explained), order the flowers, plan the dinner, find the perfect beach, … and everything else there is to do. With all this to get done, there is a certain amount of solace in knowing I have the perfect ring for my perfect girl. All other plans could fail, and I am convinced the event will still be more than memorable
One final note… I did look into buying off the Internet. There are some very reputable dealers who seem to get high reviews. Its ironic I chose not to go this route being I work for a very large .com company. In the end, I don’t feel confident I would have found the perfect stone if I had bought it online. In general, I noticed a savings of between five and ten percent buying online (which is real money when buying diamonds!); but you lose the ability to fine tune exactly what you want. I buy nearly everything off the Internet (including cars), but, for me, a diamond was far too personal an item; and something I was not willing to sacrifice absolute perfection for.
Thanks again to everyone who has contribute to this site, and the forums.
FlyBoy27.
For those of you out there of the male persuasion, I highly recommend taking notes similar to the ones I took after reading over every PS page and forum post I could. Every bit of information will carry you a little further. Also, don’t cheap out… order an IdealScope right now. Do that before walking into a diamond store. You can read everything on PS and think you know what makes the perfect diamond, but without years of experience handling stones, an IdealScope is the quickest way to see immediately whether you have the perfect diamond, or something far less than special.
Like most men, I don’t even pretend to understand a woman’s fascination with diamonds. They don’t have wheels, sip gas, fly, or have any other quality we men are willing to pay large amounts of money for. As such, I really didn’t know anything, and nothing short of love was gonna convince me to change that. And here I am.
The first thing I did was come to the PS forums. I accidentally found PS through a yahoo search. After reading a couple posts, I realized I had struck gold, and backed out to the home page to see what other wisdom there was for me. I read everything. I am pretty sure I spider’d the entire site reading as much content as possible and making sure I understood it. All of that knowledge became invaluable. Even still, I must admit I only had half the education needed when I finally walked into Joe Escobars. You really need to see a bunch of diamonds up close to truly appreciate all that knowledge. Web pics are great, but they are a poor facsimile of the real thing. Until you see two different color grades next to each other, it’s difficult to understand why color is important.
Recommended from this list, I went to Joe Escobar. Kind of funny, all I had to do was say the word, “PriceScope” and I immediately got transferred to Erik the gemologist. Erik, who I hear used to be a regular poster here, became an incredible (and very patient) resource. Over a total of about 3 hours, and who the heck knows how many stones… I found THE ONE.
By the end, of my time with Erik, I could tell the difference in a side by side comparison between a 55% and 57% table just by looking with my naked eye. Same with one color grade, and one degree in either crown or pavilion angles. The changes are subtle, but, when you pull them all together, it’s much easier to understand the HCA scale and how all those characteristics make the perfect diamond. As well, it better prepares you for when you are going through a mess of stones and find that one you know to be what you have been searching for.
After a grand total of about 3 hours over two trips, I found what I had been searching for. By the time I put it under the IdealScope, and H&A scope, I was pretty certain of what I would see, but it was still an exhilarating confirmation to look and see little to no white, and almost perfect hearts and arrows.
For my fellow diamond nerds, I bought a:
GIA certified
Round Brilliant
1.24 Carat
D
VVS2
Excellent cut grade
VG polish
VG symmetry
57% table
34.0 degree crown angle
40.6 degree pavilion angle
61.1% depth
Medium – slightly thick girdle
No culet
No fluorescence
HCA:
====
Light return: EXCELLENT
Fire: EXCELLENT
Scintillation: EXCELLENT
Spread: Very Good
******* HCA Score: 0.7 *******
There is a small pinpoint on the edge of a crown facet bordering the table that I cannot see with a loop (needed a uscope), and another the same size on one of the pavilion facets.
I set out looking for a 1 carat, but when I found this stone, I opted to be a little more flexible in my budget. Side by side with anything else I had looked at, this was by far the most incredible diamond I had ever seen. And, there is a certain amount of pride in knowing that I picked it out.
I opted to go with a cheapie white gold setting with the idea that we will return to the store after I ‘pop the question’ to buy the mount she wants. Until then, I have 28 days to finish writing the proposal, setup the manicure appointment (I didn’t understand this either until it was explained), order the flowers, plan the dinner, find the perfect beach, … and everything else there is to do. With all this to get done, there is a certain amount of solace in knowing I have the perfect ring for my perfect girl. All other plans could fail, and I am convinced the event will still be more than memorable
One final note… I did look into buying off the Internet. There are some very reputable dealers who seem to get high reviews. Its ironic I chose not to go this route being I work for a very large .com company. In the end, I don’t feel confident I would have found the perfect stone if I had bought it online. In general, I noticed a savings of between five and ten percent buying online (which is real money when buying diamonds!); but you lose the ability to fine tune exactly what you want. I buy nearly everything off the Internet (including cars), but, for me, a diamond was far too personal an item; and something I was not willing to sacrifice absolute perfection for.
Thanks again to everyone who has contribute to this site, and the forums.
FlyBoy27.
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