OEC on EBay help requested, from a lurking newbie~~

[mama_monkey]

Hello!

I have been lurking around for a few months now, getting a crash course on diamonds. I am so grateful to all the PSers who patiently answer questions and post information for educational purposes. Truly a goldmine of information! To be clear, I don't think I'm ready to buy yet, but I wanted to start educating myself on what to look for in an OEC if I don't go the retail route. I avidly read PSers responses to eBay listings, but sometimes (often?) I literally couldn't understand what they were saying, even with photos included!

My story, briefly
So, I began with a search for a ring setting for a .53 diamond (pendant that I was going to make into a ring) given to me by my MIL, for my 10th anniversary. When I got married my dh and I were grad students so were dirt poor. (Now we have 3 kids and a mortgage so i guess we're still kind of poor. . . lol!).

Anyways, I started looking at repro-settings by Leigh Jay Nacht, but ended up falling in love with a setting by blue nile/user#; found blue nile will not sell settings w/o a stone; upped my budget to include a stone. bought the ring with MRB (30 day $$ back made it ok); found PS and realized I wanted an OEC. Contacted JbEG and met with her (I live in the LA area; Grace was SUPER helpful and informative) to find an OEC ring or stone (by this time I'd also received a cool platinum illusion setting from my mom).

My dilemma was basically: LOVE the blue nile setting, but preferred an old cut stone. After much hemming and hawing I decided to have my cake and eat it, too!/user# I kept the blue nile ring but decided to save my $$ for an OEC for my mom's setting.

My desires
Because I already have a setting, I already know my parameters:
1. 6.0 ~ 6.5 mm (Well, Grace said there's a 50/50 chance her jeweler could make a 6.61mm fit the setting. I think it originally housed a much smaller stone -- 5.5 mm or smaller)

2. late OEC or tranny (?I'm not really sure, but based on my meeting with Grace, I gravitate toward symmetry. I LUUUV Dreamer and Demelza's stones -- are these late?)

Anyhoo, based on my meeting w/Grace I assumed I needed around $4000 ~ $4500 for a stone like this (color up to J, clarity up to SI1 -- I am not adverse to "lower" colors but have no experience seeing them in person), but my search (out of curiosity) around eBay is confusing me a bit. -- Can I find what I need in the $2K range?

Further, Can anyone tell me if any of these look good or bad, and why? I know that you always have to see a stone in person to see if it makes you giggle, sing, and dance, but still, I wondered about a preliminary weeding out process. . .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GORGEOUS-87-PT-OLD-EUROPEAN-DIAMOND-PLATINUM-MOUNTING-ENGAGEMENT-RING-EGL-CERT-/330792950744?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D2146974147781820455%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D1011%26rk%3D4%26#shId


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320958629513


http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIA-91ct-Old-European-Cut-Round-Loose-Diamond-K-color-VS1-clarity-/350552242398?pt=Loose_Diamonds&hash=item519e8ab8de


I'm sorry. I am a computer idiot so I don't know how to use the cute smiley faces nor how to upload images. . .

 

[Mara]

I like all three of the stones.

The third one seems most likely to be what it 'claims' as it has a GIA certificate whereas the first has an EGL and the 2nd no cert at all. The third one is from a seller that some PS'ers have talked to/worked with and he seems on the up and up but doesn't seem to know a ton about what he sells, and not friendly, but has GREAT feedback and 30 day return so out of all three I'd probably be more likely to 'take a chance' on that one if you are a bit more risk averse as it has a GIA cert and the pattern looks good. The other two look promising, I like the first one but the 2nd image is a little odd where the edges 'glass' out...and the 2nd one is promising as well, looks like it could have a really beautiful pattern but the pics are not very good. I might like the 2nd more than the first given it also is 6.3mm so it's more likely to be closer to a carat if not a carat depending on depth.

But really any of them I might take a chance on as long as they have return policies, the price is in your range, and the stone is what you'd want EVEN IF it's 1-2 grades lower on color and a grade or so on clarity. The ones with certs are going to be less risky in terms of what they claim.

Grace may have been saying 4k for 'retail' pricing which is what it would be if you bought from a vendor, eBay pricing is very different. People are taking more risks to buy things and eBay vendors normally aren't selling at retail, though sometimes they do.

One note, is that lots of PS'er troll ebay and there's lots of PS lurkers who don't post who may be looking for the exact same thing you are....so if you are thinking of 'acting' on a stone on eBay I'd do it sooner rather than later because you may find in a day or two that it's already sold thanks to your post. Good luck!!

 

[mama_monkey]

thanks so very much for your response, Mara!

I am really happy to hear that none of my choices seemed like obvious duds from the photos, and the pricing for them did not seem outrageous (either on the cheap or expensive side).

As for the eBay pricing vs retail: I am definitely a firm believer in relying on experts, and retail pricing makes total sense to me. But I guess I assumed it would be more like 30% more expensive than the wild west of eBay-land. (Dunno where I came up with this arbitrary percentage.) But in the listings I put up, it seems more like 40-50% less expensive, which took me a bit by surprise.

to be clear, Grace never set a price point as such -- the $4K+ was simply my own assumption, based on the stones and the price point I was looking at when we talked and met. She was lovely and informative every step of the way as well, and I'd still like to buy from her -- I was just startled by the eBay pricing. (and of course, on eBay there are also many retail priced OECs as well).

Thank you also, Mara, for reminding me that posting email listings could jeopardize my chances of winning an item! As it is, I am not quite ready to pull the trigger -- esp since none of these seem to be deals of the century or anything, right? I have, however, been corresponding with the seller for diamond #2. She has been so kind and forthright -- I was actually thinking, even if I don't get to buy the diamond, a nice PSer might instead!

 

[yennyfire]

I can't add much to what Mara has already said, though I like the third stone best of all. The fact that it has a GIA cert. is amazing, as so few of the old cuts do. With that one, you'd know exactly what you were getting and I like the facet pattern of this one more than the other two.

Glad that you've come out of lurkdom to share your OEC journey with us!

 

[Mara]

Oh sorry just saw that I was reading too fast re: the assumption on the $4k for a 1c.

eBay pricing can really widely vary. You find people selling things for a fraction of their worth and then you find sellers who want retail or MORE for what they have.

I don't think that $2k is too much for a 1c though it is not the deal of the century... but the DOC's are kind of almost farther and fewer between now that so many PS'ers troll eBay looking for projects and stuff.

So I would be ok with paying a bit more here or there if you think it's exactly what you want!! I have paid a bit more for certain things that I have been looking for because it's worth it to me to find exactly what I want.

 

[mama_monkey]

Weeeelll, DOC would be awesome, of course, but I am happy paying "a fair price" (whatever that means) for what I'm getting -- whether it's retail price for expert knowledge and legwork, or slightly less $$ for all the effort of combing through eBay-land, getting appraisals, and so on. As you say, Mara, it's worth it to pay a little bit extra for piece of mind, or to get what you really want!

Anyways, it's good to know that $2K+ range seems to be an acceptable going rate for diamonds that are shy of a carat. I've just bought this .75carat MRB, and am saving up for an OEC now, but that price makes things seem much more manageable! [URL='/user#']/user#[/URL]

Yennyfire, thank you so much for chiming in! So, both of you bring up the importance/desirability of the GIA cert, which I seem to have underestimated. I think b/c I've read that with OECs "numbers don't matter" and "you have to see it in person" and "lower colors can be warm and inviting" "OECs tend to be whiter face up, even with lower colors" etc, I somehow thought that the GiA thing mattered less??? Or is the GIA good b/c you have a pretty good sense of what you're looking at, vs another seller claiming their stone is a G SI1, or whatever? So this leads me to a question:

QUESTION: even with the GIA certed diamond, would you ladies also get an independent appraisal? And further, would you make sure the appraiser was an old cut expert like David Atlas?

Also, Yennyfire, you mentioned that you preferred the faceting of the K diamond most. Can you explain to me why? I know the other 2 had terrible photos, but they seemed to have the possibility of nice, symmetrical patterning (I know not necessarily the most important), but the GIA certed one, I coudln't make heads or tails of the image. [URL='/user#']/user#[/URL]

finally: thank you for your kind words of welcome! You know, I'm not a forum joiner at all, but I find PSers are not only funny and interesting, but incredibly kind and generous -- AND you guys are quick to chastise ill-mannered posters, which I find refreshing and delightful. [URL='/user#']/user#[/URL]

 

[mama_monkey]

oops. my smilies didn't seem to come out! Sorry!