OEC Lovers...Need Help Picking Stone

[wandamas]

Hi All,

I''ve decided to go with an antique ring and have gone thru the first process of finding different vendors to work with. You can read up on the thread at https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/antique-e-ring-help.77980/

I''ve already decided on a setting from Single Stone (pic below) but now I am searching for a diamond. Here are some of my options, your input would be very helpful.

** this first one had a significant imperfection close to the center of the stone. I couldn''t see it without the loupe but I also have some of the worst vision.
1.8, J, SI2 - $7K (GIA)
8.08x8.41x4.52
Cut Grade: Fair
Depth: 54.8%
Table: 49%
Crown: 13.5:
Pavilion: 39.5%
Girdle: Very Thin - Thin
Cutlet: Med
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Fair
Fluorescence: None

Comments: Additional clouds are not shown. Additional extra facets are not shown
Key: Feather.....
-------------------------------------------------------
1.85, I, SI1 - $10,522 (EGL USA) http://www.oldworlddiamonds.com/inv_details.php?ID=2542&SHAPE=EU&PAGE=28
Cut Grade: -
Depth: 65.4%
Table: 50%
Crown: 16.9%
Pavilion: 43.4%
Girdle: Thin - Slightly Thick
Cutlet: Small
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Fair to Good
Fluorescence: Faint Blue
--------------------------------------------------------
1.76, J, VS1 - $8.8K (EGL PREGRADE) ??? Not sure what this means
have no other info on this one

 

[wandamas]

Here is another pic of the setting with a stone in it.

 

[diagem]

Date: 3/12/2008 10:21:03 AM
Author:wandamas
Hi All,

I''ve decided to go with an antique ring and have gone thru the first process of finding different vendors to work with. You can read up on the thread at https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/antique-e-ring-help.77980/

I''ve already decided on a setting from Single Stone (pic below) but now I am searching for a diamond. Here are some of my options, your input would be very helpful.

** this first one had a significant imperfection close to the center of the stone. I couldn''t see it without the loupe but I also have some of the worst vision.
1.8, J, SI2 - $7K (GIA)
8.08x8.41x4.52
Cut Grade: Fair
Depth: 54.8%
Table: 49%
Crown: 13.5:
Pavilion: 39.5%
Girdle: Very Thin - Thin
Cutlet: Med
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Fair
Fluorescence: None

Comments: Additional clouds are not shown. Additional extra facets are not shown
Key: Feather.....
-------------------------------------------------------
1.85, I, SI1 - $10,522 (EGL USA) http://www.oldworlddiamonds.com/inv_details.php?ID=2542&SHAPE=EU&PAGE=28
Cut Grade: -
Depth: 65.4%
Table: 50%
Crown: 16.9%
Pavilion: 43.4%
Girdle: Thin - Slightly Thick
Cutlet: Small
Polish: Good
Symmetry: Fair to Good
Fluorescence: Faint Blue
--------------------------------------------------------
1.76, J, VS1 - $8.8K (EGL PREGRADE) ??? Not sure what this means
have no other info on this one

Wandamas..., congrats on your decision...
Now..., you should know by now..., old-cuts and #''s dont go together....

Pictures please...

The setting looks like it needs an awesome old-cut in its center!!!

S.S. doesnt have?

 

[dani13]

Wandamas-

Has Ari at SS been able to help you find any stones? Usually he is great at picking out the gorgeous ones...Just wondering if he has had any input at all....

 

[wandamas]

I didn''t take any pictures.

The building where I saw the diamonds in NYC was so secure that if I walked in with a camera I think I would have been arrested. The only pic is on OWD''s webpage and thats pretty much what it looked like when I saw it. The first stone, the 1.8 was very pretty and pretty white but had an imperfection shaped like Hawaii going accross the center. Looking thru the loupe it resembled the white etching that is done at the mall in crystals that are paper weights. (Hope you guys know what I''m talking about or I sound pretty crazy by now) I will try to see if the venors will take photos and send to me.

Diagem & Dani - I did speak with Ari and he offered some stones as well. However they were a little pricey for the size. To keep it under $10K I was looking at 1.25 -1.4 carats. Although I''m sure his stuff is beautiful, being that I am in NJ and they are in LA, I felt I should shop for the stone in person. So I went to visit Old World Diamonds and Michael Goldstein since they are only a 15 minute train ride away. I''m still about a month away from getting the cash to purchase the diamond so I told Ari I would contact him again when I was purchasing to see what he has in stock.

 

[dani13]

Well, IMO, I would pay a little extra to have someone with trained eyes (like Ari) help to pick the stone for me. He has surely picked some gorgeous ones, which we''ve seen around here....

 

[wandamas]

Dani - I totally agree with you and that was my initial thought. However, Old World Diamonds & Michael Goldstein were both highly recommended. They actually work with SS often and get calls from him when he is looking for a stone, so odds are the stone I am getting may very well come from both sources that I went to. Its not my final decision yet to go to OWD or MG but it was educational for me to at least see some stones in person as I had not seen or shopped for any before.

 

[dani13]

Date: 3/12/2008 11:54:49 AM
Author: wandamas
Dani - I totally agree with you and that was my initial thought. However, Old World Diamonds & Michael Goldstein were both highly recommended. They actually work with SS often and get calls from him when he is looking for a stone, so odds are the stone I am getting may very well come from both sources that I went to. Its not my final decision yet to go to OWD or MG but it was educational for me to at least see some stones in person as I had not seen or shopped for any before.

I agree with you too...I also like to really thoroughly research the heck out of things (especially things like this). In the end though, I think you just need to see the stones in person....hard to make a decision with only the specs. Best of luck with your search!!!

 

[chrono]

Based on numbers, I''d pick OEC 2. Why? I''m worried that OEC 1 is terribly shallow at 55% depth and might have a fish eye appearance. That said, I can''t tell for sure without pictures. Also, who knows what the pattern on OEC 2 looks like without pictures. OECs are all about the facet pattern, so pictures are a must in order to make a choice.

 

[wandamas]

Chrono - I also believe that #1 is a shallow according to the things I''ve read about OEC''s. #2 has a pic online but the link seems to have changed, I''m posting the new link below. I know that pics are really important but I also know that sometimes #s just won''t work no matter how beautiful the stone is.

http://www.oldworlddiamonds.com/inv_details.php?ID=2542&SHAPE=EU&PAGE=28

 

[surfgirl]

Wanda, you really need to show us photos close up and not so close up. That''s really the only way we can help you now. DG is right, numbers dont mean nada on an old cut, you gotta see ''em! How much more were Ari''s stones? I''d ask him for photos of what he''s got right now as well and compare them all here.

 

[wandamas]

Surf - I don''t know how I''m going to be able to take pics. MG said he doesn''t have the capabilities and I''m waiting for OWD to see if they can send me more pics than what is posted online. Below is the list of stones Ari has available. One of the reasons I would rather purchase the stone myself is to not get in the process of shipping stones back and forth from LA to NJ and paying for it then getting a refund. I''ve asked Ari for photos of the stones and he said you won''t be able to tell color or much from images and that you shouldn''t count on photos for buying diamonds just like MG said. It''s very difficult when you don''t get at least a visual of what you are paying lots of money for. I told Ari I wouldn''t be purchasing the stone for another month or so and he said to contact him then, that its premature looking at stones now if I''m not ready to purchase and he might have a different selection when the time comes.


1.28 I VS1 EGL certified OEC 7.02x6.88x4.14 Polish-good Sym-good $8,000

1.27 H VS1 EGL certified OEC 6.88x6.78x3.96 Polish-good Sym-good $9,000

1.54 J SI1 EGL certified OEC 7.27x7.14x4.52 Polish-good Sym-good $8,900

1.58 H VS2 EGL certified OEC 7.23x7.37x4.62 63d-53t Polish-good Sym-good $11,500

 

[wandamas]

OK. I got some photos from OWD of the 1.85 I SI1. I think i can only post one photo at a time so I''ll send them in a series of posts.

 

[wandamas]

1.85

 

[wandamas]

another

 

[wandamas]

Last one!

 

[ringster]

not sure if i missed you posting before about this but have you seen all three in person? what was your feeling about each of them? i know you posted in this thread your visual inspection of the first one but what about the other two. how did they look to you? if they all looked the same then i would go for #2 over #1 (i don''t really have enough info to fairly consider #3). #2 seems to have slightly better stats than #1 :

girdle : thin to slightly thick vs vthin to thin
symmetry : fair to good vs fair
color : I vs J
clarity : SI1 vs S12

flourescence is a personal thing - it doesn''t matter to me so i would personally not let faint flourescence knock a stone off my list

and i don''t know as much about the angles but chrono''s remark above would give me pause and make #2 a stronger contender than #1

sounds like fun and good luck with your search!

 

[wandamas]

Hi Ringster,

Thanks for the advice. I have seen all three in person. The first one was very nice, but also the first one I saw and anything that remotely sparkled was going to be impressive. I don''t own a diamond to date so it was my first time seeing one that upclose. I thought it was very pretty and pretty white but I think I could have seen and L or an M and thought it was white. Looking back now though the first one was pretty shallow and even my BF said it was very top heavy because of it.

The 2nd one was very nice. My gut tells me #2 by look, but not sure what symmetry is about compared to proportions or crown and pavilion and all that other stuff. And price as well is a factor, we don''t have extra cash laying around to waste so knowing that I''m not getting ripped off for the price and stone is important, but isn''t the same for everyone

Stone #3, quite honestly I don''t even remember it. Maybe that should tell me something. I tried to get him to send me pics of 1 & 3 (different vendor than 2) but he said he didn''t have those capabilities.

 

[chrono]

OWD's OEC2 looks pretty; it reminds me of a transitional stone rather than an OEC. It looks clean enough in the picture; is it eye clean to you? Is the I colour fine with you too?

 

[wandamas]

Chrono - It was very eye clean to me. The last pic of the stone is a really up close macros shot pretty much what it looked like under 10x magn. When we viewed it through the loupe we couldn''t really see any major imperfections, more so the light specs that you see in the last pic. But other than that it was very eye clean

. The I colour is fine for me, it was very white for my budget.

 

[ringster]

Date: 3/13/2008 7:30:55 AM
Author: wandamas
Hi Ringster,


Thanks for the advice. I have seen all three in person. The first one was very nice, but also the first one I saw and anything that remotely sparkled was going to be impressive. I don't own a diamond to date so it was my first time seeing one that upclose. I thought it was very pretty and pretty white but I think I could have seen and L or an M and thought it was white. Looking back now though the first one was pretty shallow and even my BF said it was very top heavy because of it.


The 2nd one was very nice. My gut tells me #2 by look, but not sure what symmetry is about compared to proportions or crown and pavilion and all that other stuff. And price as well is a factor, we don't have extra cash laying around to waste so knowing that I'm not getting ripped off for the price and stone is important, but isn't the same for everyone

Stone #3, quite honestly I don't even remember it. Maybe that should tell me something. I tried to get him to send me pics of 1 & 3 (different vendor than 2) but he said he didn't have those capabilities.

#2 seems like a pretty good price. #1 is prob alot cheaper because of there is a significant imperfection in the center so depends on what you can live with and what you want to spend.

i thought though that your budget was $10K for diamond? #2 is slightly over so maybe you can negotiate on the price with OWD on #2 to get it closer to budget

also w/ regard to color -- seeing the diamonds in different types of lighting helps too -- you can see if it makes any difference to you and if you can detect any difference between the different grades. i looked at an L. i felt that i could really see the color and knew it would bother me in the long run. even my H, i detect some color in very few situations if i look closely. but the price of an L -- verrry nice

 

[surfgirl]

Is #2 the stone that you''ve provided several photos of? If so, it seems like a nice stone but it''s hard to tell unless one sees it in real life. Did #2, the one you showed us, have good scintillation and fire? You have time, you can still look around and then ask Ari what he''s got when you''ve got the funds together....

 

[wandamas]

Ringster - my budget is 10K but if its the right one, I''m sure we can scramble for the rest of the $522. Its not that we don''t have additional funds to spend on the ring but we mutually decided on a budget to make sure that we wouldn''t go overboard and spend money that could to towards re-siding the house, or replacing windows on the house, etc. Don''t get me wrong we aren''t rich, or even "well-off" but have a decent of money away in savings but want to spread it into a few different things and that is how we came up with the $13K budget, 3K for the setting from SS and 10K for the diamond.

I didn''t get to see the stone in different lighting because it was 5:30 in NYC when I saw it and it was before daylight savings time so it was pretty dark out, also it wasn''t a B&M but rather a 30-story building with multiple offices and armed doors and a whole lot of security, so going out to sunlight was not an option. I suppose I can put it on my card and have him ship it to me and see it in different lighting and views at my house and outside and then bring it back to OWD.

Surf - The photos are of # 2 since OWD is the only one willing to take photos. #2 has great sparkle and fire under the standard office lighting they had in OWD''s offices. as to any other settings I can''t tell. I will be contacting Ari hopefully sooner rather than later when we are ready to purchase and move on to the ring design. Ari will hopefully have some new stones then, my only problem again would be not seeing atleast a photo of what I would be buying. I hate to think that I can pay 10K for something I have never seen and am going on a person''s (that I don''t know) opinion. Although anything I purchase can be returned the nerves of losing the stone or shipping it incorrectly is a worry. It''s probably my own paranoia but I am very plain jane and own no jewelry that exceeds $150, the only i own that costs more than 10K is my house and my car

 

[wandamas]

Ringster.... Where is your stone from?

 

[surfgirl]

IIRC, ringster found her ring intact at Lang''s in SF.

 

[ringster]

Date: 3/14/2008 2:48:33 PM
Author: wandamas
Ringster.... Where is your stone from?

surfgirl is correct - the ring was all ready to go from lang''s.

i was looking for stones tho as well as setting and stone together before i found my ering. i contacted singlestone and they were actively looking for me. i also contacted a place in san francisco (i live in the bay area) but that place was not as responsive to my request.

it took me a while just to even get to the point where i knew a wanted an OEC. and then another journey to get the ering. so it is definitely a project.

you are really lucky to live near NYC tho. that seems to be the best place besides LA to look for OECs.

 

[wandamas]

Ringster - the ring that i liked is from Langs but when I saw the pricetag I knew I need to go thru another option. Turns out the setting was made by SS so I''m going to have them make it so now its just looking for the stone and finding something you like and then making sure that it makes sense (dollar wise) to buy it. I keep hearing people say if you love it does is matter, YES IT DOES. If I fall in love in a hyundaii and someone wants to sell it to me for $40,000, love it or not I''m getting ripped off.

You are right about it being frustrating. I started to blame myself and said if I just went to zales or let him get me whatever he wanted, I wouldn''t even be in this situation. But hopefully if I get good reviews on the stones I''ve seen we will pick one of them and move on to the even bigger disaster of planning a multi-cultural wedding.

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 3/17/2008 12:12:39 PM
Author: wandamas
if I just went to zales or let him get me whatever he wanted, I wouldn't even be in this situation.

wanda, I think you need to wash your mouth out with soap right this instant missy! Shame on you for uttering such nonsense!

Seriously, if you wanted a ring from Zales, you wouldn't be hanging around PS, would you? It takes time but it's worth the wait...trust me...Now off you go! Start looking again.

 

[ringster]

Date: 3/17/2008 12:12:39 PM
Author: wandamas
Ringster - the ring that i liked is from Langs but when I saw the pricetag I knew I need to go thru another option. Turns out the setting was made by SS so I''m going to have them make it so now its just looking for the stone and finding something you like and then making sure that it makes sense (dollar wise) to buy it. I keep hearing people say if you love it does is matter, YES IT DOES. If I fall in love in a hyundaii and someone wants to sell it to me for $40,000, love it or not I''m getting ripped off.


You are right about it being frustrating. I started to blame myself and said if I just went to zales or let him get me whatever he wanted, I wouldn''t even be in this situation. But hopefully if I get good reviews on the stones I''ve seen we will pick one of them and move on to the even bigger disaster of planning a multi-cultural wedding.

wandamas, even though it is tough doing the legwork, it does help. i looked at alot of OECs that were already in settings so when i found my ering, i knew that the stone was THE one because it looked far and away better than the ones i had seen.

so just think of this time as a learning period -- i.e. your education.

i don''t think people are saying that you should just pick anything just because you like it. it is more like with some legwork, research, then you will get to the point where when you find the one, you will know. altho frankly, i think the price that was quoted for the #2 is pretty good but you will only know for yourself once you see a bunch and compare.

i think you mentioned that you have poor eyesight - maybe now is a good time to get a pair of prescription glasses so that you can be more certain of what you are looking at. i would be a bit afraid of buying anything if i felt that my eyesight was kind of poor. but then again if you aren''t going to wear glasses normally, then maybe best for you to assess the stones without glasses - i just think it would be hard to assess the price vs visual quality if i felt that my eyesight was poor. but i maybe reading too much into your vision comment.

 

[wandamas]

Surf - I am very bad. I said the word...Z....Z....Zales

I have my days that I get frustrated but soon enough that baby will be on my finger and I''ll forget about all the troubles.

Ringster - I actually wore my contacts the day I went to see all the diamonds because I was worried that wearing my glasses would create glare or other distractions. So I was saying that I thought it was eye clean to me and my upclose vision is pretty good, but whats eye clean to me may not be as eyeclean to say "surfgirl" who might see it and say, you don''t see that big chip. But my BF has excellent site and he thought it was very pretty. I really like #2 and am thinking when the time comes to purchase I might purchase it and have shipped just to get an idea or what it is like in sunlight and candle light and just in a normal every day setting instead of the gloomy 18th floor I saw it in that day.

That might upgrade #2 from "pretty nice" to "look no more" or let us say, oh no thats not that nice at all.