My Amazing Holy Grail - 9.9mm OEC!

[Amys Bling]

Wow- amazing!!

 

[Mayk]

OMG... that thing is stunning.... I want to hear this ebay story!!!! You GO GIRL!!!!

 

[Kismet]

Wow, that's gorgeous! You're like the best ebay-er ever.

 

[justginger]

Holy smokes, I'm speechless! I can't believe someone put that beauty on ebay! Congratulations on nabbing a stunning rock!

 

[NKOTB]

Amazeballs.

Profile shot, please!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Unreal!!!!

 

[Enerchi]

INCREDIBLE, ForteKitty!!! That is something "otherworldly" - it is beyond words and sooo beautiful!!
There are no words to describe your good fortune (hard work pays off!!) and the spectacular stone you found! CONGRATULATIONS!!

do tell us the eBay tale in all its glowing details - start from here: "I logged on...."

 

[Dandi]

OMG!!! ForteKitty it's amazing!!! Story pleeeease!!!!!

 

[Circe]

You are a ROCK STAR - congratulations on a one-of-a-kind find!

Now, HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO SET IT?

 

[athenaworth]

well you already know how i feel about this amazing monster, it's STUNNING!! seriously one of the prettiest faceting patterns i have ever seen in a large stone and holy crap, what a needle in a haystack!!! it's SO RARE to find something like this in such a large size, with such a clean girdle and such an amazing pattern! it's mindblowing really.

seriously it really is the holy grail, and I'm so happy that it found a home with you! there's really no other PS'er more deserving given you've been at this the longest of all the OEC-mavens and taught most what they know, including me! kudos and so happy that you've found your forever OEC (and umm dibs if you sell it, just sayin!!!!) because seriously it doesn't get much bigger than this on a finger like yours!!

now show us that crown! hehee.

Couldn't have said it better myself. You've been a generous friend in sharing your knowledge and time. There's nobody on these boards that deserves this stone more than you.

 

[armywife13]

It is freakin amazing! The faceting, tiny table, huge spread....yummy!

Congratulations on your INSANE eBay find!!!'

 

[stargurl78]

Holy crap that has to be one of the most amazing diamonds I have seen on here!!!!! Congrats to you on your great find, you deserve it

Now you must share how you plan to set it!! I'm voting for an antique-style solitaire

 

[Skippy123]

That is EPIC, stunning, congrats!!!

 

[Cachette]

AMAZING!!!! Congratulations on your great find!

Cachette

 

[TravelingGal]

Now THAT is what I call a FIND! It's GORGEOUS FK! And here I thought that finding large, gorgeous diamonds over a certain carat size was practically impossible...

And it's on a brooch/pin, lol! Good going!

Lunch?

 

[TravelingGal]

Also, what is the carat weight on that puppy? In my I think I may have missed it?

 

[SandyCheeks]

Holy mother of all grails!! Can't wait for the back story! Love it!!!!

 

[ForteKitty]

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone!!!!!

Yes, this came from ebay! Short version: I was running my daily search and saw this pop up under "european diamond", nothing special, but it looked good. Specs were listed as 3.6ct, N, VS2. 1) it didn't look that tinted from the profile shot, which was against a dirty white background, 2) the table and crown looked good, 3) from what I could tell, it looked bigger than 3.6. I emailed the seller, and she said the diamond measures 9.8mm x 5.75. (awesome!!) They have a great return policy, so I put in my bid. I looked around for comps, and placed my max bid based on the listed specs. I put in a bid of about 60% of retail. I won!

When I received it, I could immediately tell it wasn't an N. I compared the 2ct (K-L) to it, side by side, against a white paper. They looked exactly the same, and I'm very sensitive to color. In addition, the prongs on this is YG, and my 2ct is set in WG, so there's a good chance the yellow prongs are adding more color! We'll see. I should be getting it unset this weekend, and hopefully will have a sarin report next week. For now, I'll just call it an L.

VS2 clarity... maybe. But I really doubt it. But I could be really wrong.

I measured it as well, and it measures an between 9.89 and 9.98mm in diameter!!! There is one part of the diamond where it's not as round, and you can see it in some of the pics. That's where it measures the smallest. As for the depth, there is no way it's 5.75mm, because I opened the gauge to 5.75mm, and it doesn't even reach the end of the culet. From what I can tell, it's about 6.25mm, maybe more. My calipers couldn't reach under the setting of the pin. I looked around for diamonds around 3.6ct, and their measurements were all much smaller. So my guess is this is probably around 3.7ct!! But who knows, really, it could be 3.6ct. I'll find out when it goes in for its formal inspection. Given the high color and possibly bigger carat weight, I probably paid about 50% of retail!!!! wheeee!

Some of you may wonder why the grades were so far off. Here's my guess: This was a state auction, and the contents came from unclaimed safe deposit boxes that have been abandoned for a long time. The state probably didn't want people to dispute and return items if they weren't as described, so they listed everything lower, just to be on the safe side. I have purchased from them in the past, and it was a few grades higher than listed as well. Either way, I'm thrilled that it worked out. This was a huge purchase for me, and I was sweating bullets. I do wonder who left this behind. It makes me sad, but I think I'll give it a better home than a dark, cold safe deposit box.

Now I get to work on the setting! I'm thinking most likely solitaire, maybe engraved. Not in a hurry, though, because I want to do it right. We're going to SF in a month and I'll probably stop by Lang's to see how the bigger solitaire styles look on my hand. SO excited!!!

 

[TravelingGal]

FK, that is just AWESOME.

However, I've been thinking. Having seen your 2c on your little finger in person, I have to say, it's already kind of big on you. This will be over the top. I'm reckoning it will look LOVELY on my 5.25 finger.

Seriously though, I'm thrilled for you. I'm looking forward to seeing this lovely in person. My three stone are going to look like..well, an ellipsis next to that honker!!!!

 

[movie zombie]

wowzer!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Wow, just wow.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Enerchi]

Thats a fantastic eBay success story, FK!!! So glad it worked out for you - what a find!!! Yes, I do feel sorry for whoever was the original owner, but this diamond will be SO MUCH HAPPIER out in the sunlight, dancing on your finger!!!

What a stressful bid - wonderful when you get such an amazing deal tho! And very excited to learn what it comes back as, once you have it appraised - are you appraising it or sending to a lab? GIA? EGL? I may have missed that - my eyes were pulsing from looking at the diamond - it was hard to absorb the words after viewing the eye candy!

 

[derbygal]

It is unbelievably gorgeous!

 

[hmr_mama]

Holy crap that has to be one of the most amazing diamonds I have seen on here!!!!! Congrats to you on your great find, you deserve it

Now you must share how you plan to set it!! I'm voting for an antique-style solitaire

This exactly!

And, I'm sorry, but is that a stick pin?!?! "Excuse me, dear, while I put on my 3.6 carat stick pin before dinner." Unreal! To be a fly on the wall....

 

[TravelingGal]

Holy crap that has to be one of the most amazing diamonds I have seen on here!!!!! Congrats to you on your great find, you deserve it

Now you must share how you plan to set it!! I'm voting for an antique-style solitaire

This exactly!

And, I'm sorry, but is that a stick pin?!?! "Excuse me, dear, while I put on my 3.6 carat stick pin before dinner." Unreal! To be a fly on the wall....

LOL, that's what I was thinking. I'd love to see what else the original owner owned.

 

[purplesparklies]

I am SO glad that this found a home with a pricescoper! I was watching this one but could only dream. It was an absolute steal! Congrats! So much nicer than those eBay pics!

 

[ForteKitty]

Haha, I know, right? Stick pin??!??? I think it might be a tie pin because there is a hook at the end and it pokes inward to keep the pin in place. If it was a pin on a lady, it would stick her skin!! I imagine it belonged to a rich Texas oil tycoon who had so many diamonds he didn't know what to do with them, so he put some away in a safe and forgot about it!

I'm probably not going to send it to a lab because I don't want to part with it while it's at GIA. At the price I paid, it doesn't really matter. I will be getting an appraisal, but now I don't want to unset it because I'm going to try to see if anyone can laser the pin off and attach it onto a shank. The prongs are too perfect and I feel bad taking it out. (i know, i know....)

 

[TravelingGal]

Haha, I know, right? Stick pin??!??? I think it might be a tie pin because there is a hook at the end and it pokes inward to keep the pin in place. If it was a pin on a lady, it would stick her skin!! I imagine it belonged to a rich Texas oil tycoon who had so many diamonds he didn't know what to do with them, so he put some away in a safe and forgot about it!

I'm probably not going to send it to a lab because I don't want to part with it while it's at GIA. At the price I paid, it doesn't really matter. I will be getting an appraisal, but now I don't want to unset it because I'm going to try to see if anyone can laser the pin off and attach it onto a shank. The prongs are too perfect and I feel bad taking it out. (i know, i know....)

Well, I think you should go try on some rings with big ole stones in it. You will know then if it's for you or not. Personally, I love a great setting. I've always loved the diamonds in my three stone, but they wouldn't hold the magic they have for me without the setting they were put into.

However, a 3 stone (which admittedly, I am far pickier when it comes to the look and design) is a little different from a one GIANT stone. I'd be pretty happy wearing that stone in almost any setting.

 

[cookies]

I am speechless. It's simply gorgeous gorgeous! It will look great in a solitaire ring.

 

[miraclesrule]

This is going to be so fun!! I can't wait to discover what you find with the inspection and how you will end up setting it.
Although I used to think your 2ct dwarfed your tiny finger...now it just looks like it was supposed to be keeping your finger warm until you found your holy grail.

Just like I told you...Destiny.