My first diamond purchase

[thor52879]

This will be the first diamond I have purchased. It will be going in a platinum ring that I have already purchased. I plan to give it to my girlfriend as an engagement ring. Can anyone please tell me if this is a decent diamond? My budget is only around $1,000, and I want it to be a conflict free gem.

.5 carat - 7.66 x 4.26 x 2.61 mm - Cut: very good - color: F - clarity S|2

price: $1,040

The gem is from Canada.

She wanted marquis cut.

I''m not sure if I''m allowed to link the website that is selling this, but I can if allowed. They don''t have any "super ideal" cuts for marquis. I just want the ring to be one she can be proud of, and not have people pointing out its flaws. What do you guys think?

 

[jet2ks]

Hi, thor. Welcome to Pricescope.

A marquise shape needs to be evaluated with high quality photos and ASET images, if possible. The numbers don't tell enough to make an evaluation, as the overall shape and look can vary even among diamonds with similar length and width measurements.

You can link the website. It would be very helpful if you would post a link to the exact stone.

 

[thor52879]

There isn''t a picture of the actual stone.

http://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/10953/?first=diamond&sid=468

That is a link to the stone I am thinking of buying.

The site doesn''t even have a "super ideal" cut for the marquis shape. I just want to make sure I don''t spend over $1,000 only to later have it appraised for $10.

Thanks for your quick response.

 

[jet2ks]

http://www.brilliantearth.com/rings/cyorings/view_diamond/10953/?first=diamond&sid=468

Without pictures any description by the vendor is pretty much worthless, you just don''t know what you are buying. There are many vendors out there that will provide photos and ASET performance images, if you are open to going with one of them.

There is no worry on the conflict free issue, it would actually be harder to find a diamond that hasn''t been verified through the Kimberly process than otherwise and reputable vendors don''t risk it. If you definitely want a Canadian diamond, that is possible, but will be more difficult. Best thing to do if this is essential to you is to work with a good vendor and have them source one. Just know that in general Canadian diamonds cost more than an equivalent stone mined somewhere else.

Here are some vendors that provide photos and images, you might search their sites and see what you can find. We would be glad to help with evaluating any that catch your eye.

www.goodoldgold.com

www.whiteflash.com

www.jamesallen.com --photos posted for most stones, can request ASET images for up to three diamonds

www.exceldiamonds.com --best route with Excel is to call, ask for Judah and give him your desires and budget. He can help narrow the choices down to a top three and they will provide photos and ASET for those.

Marquise vary in shape, both length/width ratio and bulge. Make sure to find one that you think will please her eye.

 

[tyty333]

Here looks like would be a beautiful marquise for $890 (just for comparison)...click on the real image picture to see the stone. You can also
request an IS image from James Allen that would help PSers evaluate the stone.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS2-Premium-Cut-Marquise-Diamond-1163121.asp

EDIT - on second thought its probably too deep (68.3 %)

 

[Diamondbug]

Okay, so this will actually be my first advice post so take it with a lot of grains of salt but from the endless hrs of reading, marquise, ovals and other elongated shapes should be cut a little deep too minimize bowtie effect. I am sure others with more knowledge will chime in.BTW, I think the James Allen stone looks great and under budget( always a plus).

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 8/22/2009 9:50:53 PM
Author: Diamondbug
Okay, so this will actually be my first advice post so take it with a lot of grains of salt but from the endless hrs of reading, marquise, ovals and other elongated shapes should be cut a little deep too minimize bowtie effect. I am sure others with more knowledge will chime in.BTW, I think the James Allen stone looks great and under budget( always a plus).

I''ve heard the same Diamondbug... about pears and ovals and marquise (all have the same problem). So after I heard that when I tried to find people stones in those shapes I looked at quite a few with 64 ish depths and above, but I don''t know if it was the ones I was looking at, or just the fact that in PICS they still looked like they had bowties (whereas IRL maybe the deeper stones don''t show as much of a bowtie), but... frankly it was still a craps shoot. At least when buying from pics and scopes and so forth... just seems to be a stone by stone thing, with nothing to help in the fight for less bowtie but preserverance.

That said. Fancy''s have to be seen, and I really and honestly do suspect (pure conjecture at this point, backed up by some real life shopping, but no empircal evidence) that: If you had a few ovals with similar bowties in images (and ASETs and ISs)and then you saw those same ovals in real life ended side by side... it wouldn''t surprise me to find out that the ones that end up showing less of a bowtie to the eye in real life, are the deeper ones. Not sure if that makes sense.

Let me put it another way. I love pears and ovals. I have noticed that in real life when I see ones that I like... they are deep-ish when I look at the specs. But when I look online, that doesn''t seem to bear out in the images.