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NEED Help to see if diamond purchase is good for d/fl/3x diamond
- Thread starter lucida
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diamond_newbie15
Rough_Rock
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Lucida,
Based on what I read, you discovered pricescope almost a decade ago. I discovered pricescope a year ago when I was looking to buy an engagement ring for my GIA gemologist (and former Tiffany quality control expert) girlfriend. My girlfriend has personally inspected thousands of diamonds in her career (including a rough valued at $60 million and many other museum quality pieces), and I had never seen any diamond through a loop before I started my research right here. So I think it's fair to say that if anyone had the right to feel overwhelmed by the diamond buying process, it was me.
And you know I learned? Figuring out round diamonds is not that hard. In that time, I learned a lot about diamonds, and can tell you the general parameters for super-ideal cuts, how you want the crown and pavilion facets to complement each other, how star lengths interact with lower girdle facet lengths to create "hot spots," how larger virtual facets create larger flashes of color (but undermine contrast), and how digging can increase brightness but compromise dispersion. Most importantly, I learned enough to pick out a stone that my girlfriend was thrilled with without the kind of budget you have.
If you truly love diamonds, you'd spend your time reading and asking real questions. None of this, "is this diamond a deal?" nonsense. Stop wasting everyone's time. People are getting annoyed with you for a good reason so stop acting like people are bullying you.
edit: In case you were curious, here's the $60 million stone she told me about:
http://fortune.com/2016/05/09/rough-diamond-record-sale/
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@diamond_newbie15, your story is illustrative of the type of effort it really does take to educate oneself about these shiny rocks (ie not really that much effort). And to do so knowing that your girlfriend was far more knowledgeable about this subject would have been extremely intimidating!
Congrats on you finding a stone that your gf loves and I hope things continue to go well with you and her! Out of sheer curiosity, what stone did you end up getting for her?
Congrats on you finding a stone that your gf loves and I hope things continue to go well with you and her! Out of sheer curiosity, what stone did you end up getting for her?
There is no such thing as an investment diamond unless you have 'way too much money' and buy into the type of diamond(s) that go onto auction. That 30+ Ct pair of D coloured, flawless diamond perhaps may or may not be worth what you paid more for it one day.
Diamond prices are rather 'set' based upon a complex formula of colour, carat weight, clarity and cut. There is a small premium 10-20% for those "branded" super-ideals. You pay for what you get. Some would argue that to cut a super-ideal, they would have had to sacrifice on carat weight... who knows.
The only return you will get in value from a diamond is if you trade it in under an upgrade policy. No one will pay you what you paid for it. It's not a high-end, unique piece watch. For every 1.5Ct or 3Ct diamond, there are many more like it. Jewellers and pawn shops won't care to pay you extra for an ideal cut. Because the vast majority of buyers don't either. And if they're going to a pawn shop, they're probably not looking for that super-ideal BG/WF ACA diamond. You simply don't go into a pawn shop "hi, I'm looking for a colourless diamond, super ideal cut and anything above two Ct". Try walking into branded and generic jewellers, including Tiffany etc... with that line and even then, they may not have what you're looking for. IF you can afford to consider a 60k diamond, you are already wasting our time by not purchasing from one of the PS sponsored vendors where you know you will get reasonable value and a quality diamond.
Anyone seen a graph of prices for diamonds like they do for bank stocks? That may better understand the second hand diamond market.
The only time you will have a "steal" from eBay or a pawn store is if a widow, divorcee or someone who didn't know what they had, sold one and didn't know better. To find one that is an ideal cut? Good luck with that hunt! I saved time and went straight to WF ACA.
Actually, took a look at the 3 Ct ACA stone. That's a good one. I'm going to ask my partner if she wants it.
Diamond prices are rather 'set' based upon a complex formula of colour, carat weight, clarity and cut. There is a small premium 10-20% for those "branded" super-ideals. You pay for what you get. Some would argue that to cut a super-ideal, they would have had to sacrifice on carat weight... who knows.
The only return you will get in value from a diamond is if you trade it in under an upgrade policy. No one will pay you what you paid for it. It's not a high-end, unique piece watch. For every 1.5Ct or 3Ct diamond, there are many more like it. Jewellers and pawn shops won't care to pay you extra for an ideal cut. Because the vast majority of buyers don't either. And if they're going to a pawn shop, they're probably not looking for that super-ideal BG/WF ACA diamond. You simply don't go into a pawn shop "hi, I'm looking for a colourless diamond, super ideal cut and anything above two Ct". Try walking into branded and generic jewellers, including Tiffany etc... with that line and even then, they may not have what you're looking for. IF you can afford to consider a 60k diamond, you are already wasting our time by not purchasing from one of the PS sponsored vendors where you know you will get reasonable value and a quality diamond.
Anyone seen a graph of prices for diamonds like they do for bank stocks? That may better understand the second hand diamond market.
The only time you will have a "steal" from eBay or a pawn store is if a widow, divorcee or someone who didn't know what they had, sold one and didn't know better. To find one that is an ideal cut? Good luck with that hunt! I saved time and went straight to WF ACA.
Actually, took a look at the 3 Ct ACA stone. That's a good one. I'm going to ask my partner if she wants it.
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diamond_newbie15
Rough_Rock
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I bought a WF ACA. I bought just under 1.5 carats for the sake of value. I also went with a relatively high F VS1 for the simple reason that I suspected that my girlfriend would have a better eye for diamonds than I would so I wanted some margin of comfort. She also happens to work with a microscope everyday, so she is one of the few people that would be able to see the difference between even high clarity grades. I had Leon Mege make her a nice solitaire setting with a pave shank, with each row a pave punctuated with a pink diamond.
And to be clear, it did not take me a year to buy the stone. It took a couple of months. So no, the learning curve is not steep at all. None of the concepts are difficult- they're just a little foreign at first but anyone can learn to evaluate a round diamond with all the modern tools we have at our disposal very quickly.
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@lucida
Have a read of this thread and the links in it, as it is just one of the various threads the discuss whether or not to go SuperIdeal:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...mond-cut-measurements-table-depth-etc.231499/
Have a read of this thread and the links in it, as it is just one of the various threads the discuss whether or not to go SuperIdeal:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...mond-cut-measurements-table-depth-etc.231499/
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Agree!!! Wow!! Very dull for a brilliant cut stone!!https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/R355-056157236
Steep, deep, absent of contrast, blatant leakage, cheated girdle
Thanks, I bookmarked this. I'll go back to look into this!@lucida
Have a read of this thread and the links in it, as it is just one of the various threads the discuss whether or not to go SuperIdeal:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...mond-cut-measurements-table-depth-etc.231499/
I haven't been going to a pawnshop to purchase anything. I get emails once in a while from Ebay and this one was the diamond in the email. I just happened to come across it - I didn't go to any pawnshop. Several PSers have mentioned this and I've responded this way. The Ebay seller happened to be a pawnbroker. As for a steal, I don't expect to be that lucky and buy something that's worth much much more and it's not realistic. I just want to make sure that I can't get that diamond cheaper anywhere else. And even if it's $5k less, that's a lot of money and I'm willing to shop around. I don't see what is wrong with that. I'm not looking for a steal to buy it at half price. I never mentioned this. Good deal to me means that I am not getting ripped off and getting something that's really premium quality. I have been to Tiffany's a few times, over the past few years.
So for the super ideal cuts, which is the WF ACA cut, those have the 10-20% markup for that cut. Yes as far as investment, generally diamonds prices do go up, depending on the market conditions. The value of something is what someone is worth paying for it. Thanks for your response.
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This chart shows that diamond prices do not always go up, indeed, sometimes they go down! You can be lucky with timing of buying and selling but not every time.
Thank you, this is great data.
This chart shows that diamond prices do not always go up, indeed, sometimes they go down! You can be lucky with timing of buying and selling but not every time.
I haven't been there recently. Their diamonds are poor quality. Just because it's Tiffany doesn't mean it's top quality. I used to love their Lucida cut. Someone had asked if I went to a high end store and that's why i mentioned that.
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I noticed the other day that prices seem cheaper for a stone similar to the one I purchased, which is good for those earning in USD now but no good for those of us with exchange rate swings making USD more expensive! lol
This chart shows that diamond prices do not always go up, indeed, sometimes they go down! You can be lucky with timing of buying and selling but not every time.
Hello, thank you so much. I was out of town and just saw this. I just checked and it's sold already unfortunately. Thank you though
Hello again everyone. I'm finally ready to make a purchase. All the recommended diamonds (idj, James Allen, Briangavin etc) were sold except for that 3.115 on WF
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3802915.htm
The price did go down a few hundred dollars.
Out of curiosity is there any other diamond or site that you'd recommend? The upgrade feature is great, however I probably won't be looking to upgrade, as the prices are mainly high due to this feature. I'd rather save the 10 to 15k or get a higher color/clarity with this difference without compromising the cut of course. I'd appreciate your input and suggestions. Thanks.
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3802915.htm
The price did go down a few hundred dollars.
Out of curiosity is there any other diamond or site that you'd recommend? The upgrade feature is great, however I probably won't be looking to upgrade, as the prices are mainly high due to this feature. I'd rather save the 10 to 15k or get a higher color/clarity with this difference without compromising the cut of course. I'd appreciate your input and suggestions. Thanks.
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+1 to what @OoohShiny said.
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In the end, I would probably go for the WF stone you linked. I don't think I would pay another $18K-$20K to go up by 0.7 carats.
Nevertheless, here are some other options.
Based on H and above, at least 3.0 and VS2, assuming you are sticking with MRB:
But if you want to go with a G, stick with the WF stone. I probably would want the G, but strictly my personal preference.
If you are ok with an H.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d.../3.291-h-vs2-round-diamond-ags-c-104094416003
I like this one from GOG. Pricier. Depends on your budget.
https://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond...GIA-G-VS2-diamond-stock-14218-cert-7201021076
Nevertheless, here are some other options.
Based on H and above, at least 3.0 and VS2, assuming you are sticking with MRB:
But if you want to go with a G, stick with the WF stone. I probably would want the G, but strictly my personal preference.
If you are ok with an H.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/d.../3.291-h-vs2-round-diamond-ags-c-104094416003
I like this one from GOG. Pricier. Depends on your budget.
https://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond...GIA-G-VS2-diamond-stock-14218-cert-7201021076
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I've been periodically checking since the start of this thread & I don't think there have been any 3 carats or higher, Crafted by Infinity diamonds listed in the past, nearly 5 months. The largest one presently listed, but on hold, is this 2.79 ct., F VS1 priced at $64,270 or, with a wire transfer, at $60,962.
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9308
So I'm thinking that if the possibility of a CbI diamond that's at least 3 cts. intrigues you, you'll need to explore the custom cutting option:
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonds/diamonds-crafted-order
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD9308
So I'm thinking that if the possibility of a CbI diamond that's at least 3 cts. intrigues you, you'll need to explore the custom cutting option:
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonds/diamonds-crafted-order
Thanks I'll check out the 2 new sites you suggested. I'm actually disappointed in IDJ because I inquired about a particular diamond, that had the same parameters thinking it was like WF, boy was I wrong. It took me 5 emails to get out if them that it's barely EGL certified with no other info.
https://idjewelry.com/round-ejrb-7010.html
You wouldn't compare this to the WF, but I was wondering why so many offered IDJ as this experience wasn't a positive one.
As far as perfect cuts, like the ACA, is there some other brand or name that offers this superior cut? I want only round brilliant. Thanks.
This is beautiful, but above my budget. Thank you though
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What is your budget?
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IDJ's forte is finding stones that look great and come up to PS standards but are cheaper because they don't carry the GIA/AGS Super Ideal status and/or branded cut names.
As mentioned:
all offer either branded SuperIdeal cuts or are able to source such stones from worldwide virtual inventory, and they can also cut a diamond to your specifications if you want to go down that road.
are run by @Serg and @diagem respectively. Both would be able to help you cut a diamond that meets your requirements.
It depends, but wouldn't want to spend more than 50k
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I've just read through this whole thread and I am pulling my hair out. Lucida can you actually consolidate in one succinct post what it is that you want. Maybe start a new thread. I don't think "the best deal" is concrete enough for anyone here to help. Now that you've stated your budget (can't believe that's taken 9 pages), what is most important to you? Biggest size? Best cut? What colour are you willing to go down to? Reading through this thread I couldn't believe people spent so much time writing such detailed replies but I find myself replying despite myself. Honestly if you're not able to answer the above questions after 9 pages I don't know if anyone here can help??
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