Need help with diamond purchase from James Allen

[ajoeschmo]

Hi all,

I''ve been lurking on this forum for quite some time, reading all the helpful information you guys have posted and written about. So armed with all the knowledge, last week I purchased a .905ct E VS1 TrueHearts ideal-cut diamond from James Allen. The entire process was painless and quick, and JA did a great job with the order. Now comes my dilemma: I''ve looked at many stones (including Hearts on Fire, Peerless, etc.) and while the TrueHearts from JA looks decent, to me it just doesn''t have quite the scintillation and fire that I saw in the name-brand stones at the stores. Now, I''m going by memory here so perhaps I''m mistaken. But the one emotion that came to mind when I first opened the box was a feeling of underwhelm-ment. Has anyone else purchased the best stones from JA before and been underwhelmed with their diamond compared to the best store-brand ones?

Any help/advice would be appreciated!

 

[ajoeschmo]

Specs:

Shape: Round
Carat weight: 0.90
Cut: Hearts & Arrows Ideal
Color: E
Clarity: VS1
Certificate: AGS
Depth: 60.9%
Table: 57.5%
Polish: Ideal
Symmetry: Ideal
Girdle: Thin to medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Negligible
Measurements: 6.22*6.26*3.80
Crown Angle: 34.0°
Crown %: 14.40
pavilion Angle: 40.9°
pavilion %: 43.20

 

[tap02150]

I''m not an expert at all.. but just a thought...

Some diamond stores use special lighting to enhance, or create a better lighting situation than normal. I have never purchased from JA before... but everyone seems to love their diamonds and their reputation. the "fire" you talk about.. i believe comes from spot lighting, something you get from like.. being inside a mall or of that type (someone correct me if i am wrong.)Have you looked at the diamond under different lighting?

Lets see some pictures if you get a chance (Specs can only do so much.. especially for a beginner like me)... keep the return policy in mind; if you don''t absolutely love the diamond, you might want to consider looking again.

 

[Lorelei]

Tap is right, the stores have specially designed lighting to make those diamonds shimmer and pop. I would suggest taking yours on a good test drive, take it into different lighting conditions to see how it behaves then. If you have given it a fair trial and are still not happy then maybe consider exchanging it. The numbers look good so make sure the diamond is clean and give it a good test run.

 

[stone-cold11]

Numbers look good.

 

[Ellen]

We have heard this before. Ditto taking it out on a huge field trip, I think you''ll find it sparkles quite nicely in certain settings, and will be a bit "quieter" in others. That''s normal.

p.s. Make sure you keep it clean too!

 

[strmrdr]

on a nice sunny day pack a lunch and find a spot under a tree and eat your lunch and admire the diamond.
You will see the POP you are looking for.

 

[ajoeschmo]

Thanks to all for the responses. I am heading out to a retail store to compare the JA stone to a Peerless on the spot and if it matches/exceeds the brilliance of the Peerless under store lighting conditions, I am going to get it set into a 4-prong setting. I will post pics later on in the evening of the loose stone and then (hopefully) set in a beautiful setting. I really REALLY hope it''s just the store lighting that made the others sparkle so brilliantly and that my JA stone performs just as well under those conditions! **Fingers crossed!!**

 

[ajoeschmo]

Date: 8/11/2009 6:27:18 AM
Author: Lorelei
Tap is right, the stores have specially designed lighting to make those diamonds shimmer and pop. I would suggest taking yours on a good test drive, take it into different lighting conditions to see how it behaves then. If you have given it a fair trial and are still not happy then maybe consider exchanging it. The numbers look good so make sure the diamond is clean and give it a good test run.

Lorelei, the diamond is more than clean. I am very discerning and have been able to pick out inclusions with either my eyes or loupe on some in-store SI1''s and VS2''s, but this JA VS1 stone looks totally clean under even the best magnification. It''s the lack of shimmer/pop that concerns me most but I''m going to go compare the JA stone to the Peerless right now.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 8/11/2009 1:22:54 PM
Author: ajoeschmo

Date: 8/11/2009 6:27:18 AM

Author: Lorelei

Tap is right, the stores have specially designed lighting to make those diamonds shimmer and pop. I would suggest taking yours on a good test drive, take it into different lighting conditions to see how it behaves then. If you have given it a fair trial and are still not happy then maybe consider exchanging it. The numbers look good so make sure the diamond is clean and give it a good test run.

Lorelei, the diamond is more than clean. I am very discerning and have been able to pick out inclusions with either my eyes or loupe on some in-store SI1's and VS2's, but this JA VS1 stone looks totally clean under even the best magnification. It's the lack of shimmer/pop that concerns me most but I'm going to go compare the JA stone to the Peerless right now.

Lorelei was referring to the surface of the stone and not about the clarity of the stone. Handling of the stone by hand can result in dirtying the stone with oil, dirt, which will reduce the light performance of the stone.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/11/2009 1:29:31 PM
Author: Stone-cold11

Date: 8/11/2009 1:22:54 PM
Author: ajoeschmo

Date: 8/11/2009 6:27:18 AM

Author: Lorelei

Tap is right, the stores have specially designed lighting to make those diamonds shimmer and pop. I would suggest taking yours on a good test drive, take it into different lighting conditions to see how it behaves then. If you have given it a fair trial and are still not happy then maybe consider exchanging it. The numbers look good so make sure the diamond is clean and give it a good test run.

Lorelei, the diamond is more than clean. I am very discerning and have been able to pick out inclusions with either my eyes or loupe on some in-store SI1's and VS2's, but this JA VS1 stone looks totally clean under even the best magnification. It's the lack of shimmer/pop that concerns me most but I'm going to go compare the JA stone to the Peerless right now.

Lorelei was referring to the surface of the stone and not about the clarity of the stone. Handling of the stone by hand can result in dirtying the stone with oil, dirt, which will reduce the light performance of the stone.

I was, thank you SC!

It doesn't take much for a diamond to pick up oil and dirt, a daily cleaning isn't excessive - a little dirt can really dull the sparkle of a diamond.

 

[ajoeschmo]

Ok, I just got back from the stores and here's the run-down with a happy ending... My initial worry about the diamond's light performance was legit: When I took it out and compared it side-by-side with a 1ct Peerless, the Peerless blew it out of the water. Mine looked like a piece of glass sitting next to a beautiful gem. I was very disappointed obviously. Then I asked the gemologist to clean mine (she had it steam-cleaned) and that's when the story-line took a 180degree turn. After steam-cleaning, my JA stone looked like a totally different animal and actually looked BETTER than the 1ct Peerless (G VS2) as I had hoped it would. I examined both closely under the ideal-scope, the microscope, under white-light, etc. and the TrueHearts did, in fact, look better than the Peerless.

So the moral of the story is this: If you order a TrueHearts diamond through James Allen and are initially not satisfied with what you're seeing compared to the competition, have it professionally cleaned and then it will perform like a champ!

Thanks again to this community for giving me the knowledge to know what to look for and to James Allen for the great deal on a beautiful stone!

 

[strmrdr]

I love happy endings :}
or in this case happy beginnings!!
Congrates!

 

[Mattcv]

Great post. My 1.65 TrueHearts diamond is coming in tomorrow and I would have been really worried about the same thing had mine not sparkled. I plan on taking the diamond to my jeweler to compare it to their top "ideal" cut (they don''t have name brand H&A). They also have a machine which will give information similar to the BrilliantScope/Gemex report shown on GoodOldGold. It will be interesting to see how the two diamonds compare.

 

[ajoeschmo]

Date: 8/11/2009 10:35:25 PM
Author: Mattcv
Great post. My 1.65 TrueHearts diamond is coming in tomorrow and I would have been really worried about the same thing had mine not sparkled. I plan on taking the diamond to my jeweler to compare it to their top ''ideal'' cut (they don''t have name brand H&A). They also have a machine which will give information similar to the BrilliantScope/Gemex report shown on GoodOldGold. It will be interesting to see how the two diamonds compare.

Matt, congrats on your purchase and please respond back with your comparison experience! If yours doesn''t sparkle, get it steam-cleaned. If you can, try to visit a dealer that sells HoF or some similar high-end name-brand diamond to check as another confirmation.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/11/2009 5:17:21 PM
Author: ajoeschmo
Ok, I just got back from the stores and here''s the run-down with a happy ending... My initial worry about the diamond''s light performance was legit: When I took it out and compared it side-by-side with a 1ct Peerless, the Peerless blew it out of the water. Mine looked like a piece of glass sitting next to a beautiful gem. I was very disappointed obviously. Then I asked the gemologist to clean mine (she had it steam-cleaned) and that''s when the story-line took a 180degree turn. After steam-cleaning, my JA stone looked like a totally different animal and actually looked BETTER than the 1ct Peerless (G VS2) as I had hoped it would. I examined both closely under the ideal-scope, the microscope, under white-light, etc. and the TrueHearts did, in fact, look better than the Peerless.

So the moral of the story is this: If you order a TrueHearts diamond through James Allen and are initially not satisfied with what you''re seeing compared to the competition, have it professionally cleaned and then it will perform like a champ!

Thanks again to this community for giving me the knowledge to know what to look for and to James Allen for the great deal on a beautiful stone!

So it WAS that it needed cleaning, thought so!!! Congrats!!

 

[stone-cold11]

Congrats.

 

[Mattcv]

My diamond came in a fake ring holder and it looked great!! We''ll see tomorrow how it compares to HOF. Glad to hear everything turned out ok for you.

 

[ajoeschmo]

Date: 8/12/2009 9:29:29 PM
Author: Mattcv
My diamond came in a fake ring holder and it looked great!! We''ll see tomorrow how it compares to HOF. Glad to hear everything turned out ok for you.

Matt, good luck with the comparison and hopefully you''ll love what you got at probably 1/2 or 1/3 of the cost of a HoF!

 

[Mattcv]

Here is the link to the comparison that I mentioned above. Diamond Comparison

 

[diamondexotica]

I am a new member here in this forum, and i had some knowledge about Diamond Industry.I am agreed that some Diamond Stores uses light to enhance the bright in Diamonds.But i prefers stones which are certified from GIA.