need help finding loose diamond

[sb909]

Hi there! This website is amazing. My boyfriend and I have been looking at engagment rings for about a month now and have decided to purchase the diamond and have it set here in town. Basically heres what were looking for: Princess cut, 1 carat (or above) with no inclustions to the naked eye, and as close to colorless as we can afford. After going to the local jewelry store, we found that the mark up is WAY higher than if we were to purchase the diamond online. So here goes....the budget for the diamond alone is $3000. I''ve found one online that seems a bit to inexpensive compared to other sites, and would like to know what the catch is! Here are the specs: EGL, princess, 1.19 carat, SI1, G color,cut: good, Length to width: 1.01, depth 77%, table 65%, cutlet- none (pointed), polish and symmetry: very good, flourescence: none, girdle: M, price: $2712.....now I know our budget for the size we want is a bit low, but he is adamant on the diamond being a carat and above. Is this price accurate? If so, why is it so much lower than all the others I''m finding with the same grading? From reading on the internet I''ve gathered that EGL diamonds are not as good as GIA or AGS? Is this true?
ANY help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!

 

[FB.]

There have been suggestions that some gem labs are less strict with their grading by about one grade. But even a GIA top grade is not a guarantee of a good stone, since the profit-hungry diamond cutters find loopholes in the cut grades that allow them to pass-off mediocre stones with higher cut grades "on paper" than they deserve in the real world. Everything is about cutters making maximum profit from as low grade material as possible and with as little effort as possible. Call me cynical......

Non-round diamond cuts are even easier for the cutters to maximise profits at the expense of beauty, since there are not many "official" cut paramaters for non-rounds.

A depth of 77% sounds quite deep - even for a princess - and I'd normally reject any princess that was deeper than about 73/74%. If I was considering buying, I'd want to be able to personally inspect the stone or obtain images before buying such a deep one (look for a dark area under the table where light might be being lost). Deep stones are an easy way for cutters to retain more weight from the diamond rough and the deepness can spoil the light-reflection angles within the stone.

 

[jet2ks]

Princess and other fancy shapes really can''t be judged by just the numbers. You can reject some, but not really make a purchasing decision. In order to help, we would need to see high quality photographs and preferably ASET or IS images. The depth and table numbers just give a basic outline without the essential details.

EGL is considered less strict in their grading than GIA or AGS--up to two grades, so if your goal is the closest to colorless, just know that an EGL G may be the same color as a GIA or AGS H or I.

Since the stone is with an online vendor, is there any chance you could provide a link?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/7/2009 4:06:33 PM
Author: jet2ks
Princess and other fancy shapes really can''t be judged by just the numbers. You can reject some, but not really make a purchasing decision. In order to help, we would need to see high quality photographs and preferably ASET or IS images. The depth and table numbers just give a basic outline without the essential details.

EGL is considered less strict in their grading than GIA or AGS--up to two grades, so if your goal is the closest to colorless, just know that an EGL G may be the same color as a GIA or AGS H or I.

Since the stone is with an online vendor, is there any chance you could provide a link?

Ditto?