Need opinion on three diamonds urgently - please help!!!

[confusedproposer]

Hello all,

I am a diamond newbie and am in urgent need of advice from you helpful experts. I am considering 3 diamonds for setting in a yellow-gold solitaire setting for my girlfriend - all round brilliant, all with cut, polish and symmetry rated as excellent on the certs. I am buying them "sight-unseen" from a jeweler that one of my relatives recommended (who is about 900 miles away from me, so I can''t fly down to inspect). The limited info I have on the three is as follows:

#1 1.02ct SI-1, G ideal cut. GIA cert $4470

#2 1.02ct SI-1, E ideal cut. GIA cert $4940
#3 1.04ct VS-2, G ideal cut. EGL cert $4900

The jeweler said all three are great stones, and particularly likes numbers 2 and 3 (says its a toss-up between the two). Any thoughts you guys have on any of the following things would be highly appreciated:

Which stone sounds the best?
Are the prices "good"? Or any recommendations on where else to look for better prices?
What is the difference between a SI-1 and a VS-2 to the naked eye?
GIA or EGL cert? Does it make a difference?
#2 and #3 are very similarly priced, #2 is 2 grades higher in color but 1 grade lower in clarity. Which one, if one of those two?

Thanks for all your help in anticipation - much appreciated!

 

[stone-cold11]

First off, we will need table, depth %, crown and pavilion angles to judge a cut, preferably with IS/ASET images if you can provide that.
Also what is the girdle thickness?

Second, EGL is known to be soft on color and clarity grading. So, if you are buying that grade, you could be getting a stone of 1-2 grades lower if graded by more consistent AGS/GIA lab. Best to send these stones to an independent appraiser to be verified.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/25/2009 3:51:09 PM
Author:confusedproposer



Hello all,

I am a diamond newbie and am in urgent need of advice from you helpful experts. I am considering 3 diamonds for setting in a yellow-gold solitaire setting for my girlfriend - all round brilliant, all with cut, polish and symmetry rated as excellent on the certs. I am buying them 'sight-unseen' from a jeweler that one of my relatives recommended (who is about 900 miles away from me, so I can't fly down to inspect). The limited info I have on the three is as follows:

#1 1.02ct SI-1, G ideal cut. GIA cert $4470

#2 1.02ct SI-1, E ideal cut. GIA cert $4940
3 1.04ct VS-2, G ideal cut. EGL cert $4900

The jeweler said all three are great stones, and particularly likes numbers 2 and 3 (says its a toss-up between the two). Any thoughts you guys have on any of the following things would be highly appreciated:

Which stone sounds the best?
Are the prices 'good'? Or any recommendations on where else to look for better prices?
What is the difference between a SI-1 and a VS-2 to the naked eye?
GIA or EGL cert? Does it make a difference?
#2 and #3 are very similarly priced, #2 is 2 grades higher in color but 1 grade lower in clarity. Which one, if one of those two?

Thanks for all your help in anticipation - much appreciated!

Hi CP and welcome!

I need more info please, can you post the -

depth%
table%
crown and pavilion angles
diameter in mm
girdle thickness
lower girdle facets %
star%


These will all be on the GIA report and just to verify polish and symmetry is excellent on all? Also no such thing as Ideal Cut from GIA, their highest grade is Excellent.

EGL are considered to be softer than AGS or GIA in some circumstances, EGL USA are said to be the strongest of the EGL labs. This page explains in more detail, most here look for GIA or AGS graded diamonds. However EGL can be a good choice if on a budget, the price is right and you are prepared to get an independant appraisal to make sure the grading checks out. Also can you find out which EGL lab graded the diamond if you are interested in this one?

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/grading.asp

Also concerning SI1 and VS2 there could well be NO difference to the naked eye assuming that both and especially the SI1 is eyeclean, hence SI clarity grades can be an excellent choice if no inclusions are visible. Also although images such as ASET or Idealscope are very useful, I doubt you can get them if buying from a jewellery store so we will have to work with the numbers most likely.

I can't really give you any more meaningful input without the above info, so if you could get that and post it then we can go from there. Also if you are open to the idea of buying online then you could find a great diamond that way, also concerning buying from a jeweller far away when you can't get any additional info on the diamonds...Do you have anyone nearby where you could see the diamonds in person? Also depending on what area you are in, one of the online vendors might be accessible - a long shot but I thought it was worth mentioning...

I hope this helps!

 

[confusedproposer]

Thanks for all the replies so far, guys - I will try to get the certs and share the specs if I get them.

Meanwhile, I did check some online stores (bluenile, jamesallen etc) and all their prices were higher than what this jeweler has quoted. Is there a website that offers better prices and good quality that I am missing? Thanks!

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 3/25/2009 6:36:01 PM
Author: confusedproposer
Thanks for all the replies so far, guys - I will try to get the certs and share the specs if I get them.

Meanwhile, I did check some online stores (bluenile, jamesallen etc) and all their prices were higher than what this jeweler has quoted. Is there a website that offers better prices and good quality that I am missing? Thanks!

Both Blue nile and James Allen have very competitive prices. My guess is the discrepency is coming from the quality of the cut of the stones you listed above. The experts will be able to weigh in on that once you get the additional info.

If you''re looking for more websites to check out, do a search on the "pricescope your diamond" function above and see what comes up or look under "resources" above where the diamond vendors are listed.

Good luck!

 

[stone-cold11]

Agreed. GIA does not call their top grades ideal so that is a vendor definition and could be way off chart for all we know. Need the numbers, better yet IS/ASET images.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/25/2009 7:14:43 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Agreed. GIA does not call their top grades ideal so that is a vendor definition and could be way off chart for all we know. Need the numbers, better yet IS/ASET images.

I don''t think that will be a possibility as he is buying from a store by the sound of it.

 

[stone-cold11]

Just asking, maybe his jeweler is one of those few cases that has them? You never know unless you ask.