Old cut hunting on eBay

[Dreamer_D]

Anyone do this much anymore?

About 12 years ago it was THE cool thing to do on PS. Everyone seemed to want to find their own old cut for a steal on eBay. I was super into it for about a year or so then didn’t touch it with a ten foot pole for more than a decade. The last week or so I dipped my toe back into the hunt because I have a project in mind and I was curious about what the market looks like.

Anyone else doing this? Noticed any changes over the years?

 

[elizat]

I honestly never do. I think it is super chaotic and hard to find stuff of value. I suck at it!

 

[sweetpea&babycorn]

I found my HG on eBay, and thought I got a pretty good deal on it! I don’t search eBay regularly but I don’t think I would’ve found my stone any other way.

 

[molecule]

With the lab grown market growing the way it is, I'd (personally) be concerned about paying natural diamond prices for LG material.
Without a way to properly screen for that, eBay has scared me off.

 

[Mjay]

I search daily but I suck at it! I never find anything good.

 

[lovedogs]

I do it all the time but haven't found anything

 

[Dreamer_D]

I bought my 1.89ct on eBay back in the day. And about 30 smaller OECs. Last time I poked around it felt like there wasn’t anything. This time I found so many things I want to buy them all.

 

[Dreamer_D]

With the lab grown market growing the way it is, I'd (personally) be concerned about paying natural diamond prices for LG material.
Without a way to properly screen for that, eBay has scared me off.

No one is making tinted, wonky old cuts with bruted girdles and questionable eye cleanliness from lab grown material!

 

[Dreamer_D]

I found my HG on eBay, and thought I got a pretty good deal on it! I don’t search eBay regularly but I don’t think I would’ve found my stone any other way.

Do you have a thread on this with the story of how you found it?

 

[glitterata]

These days I look for rings with settings I love at prices where the setting alone would be worth it for me. I've found some great stuff that way. Sometimes I luck out and the stone is great. Sometime the stone sucks, but I'm happy with the setting.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Like look at this.

 

[Dreamer_D]

These days I look for rings with settings I love at prices where the setting alone would be worth it for me. I've found some great stuff that way. Sometimes I luck out and the stone is great. Sometime the stone sucks, but I'm happy with the setting.

There are some phenomenal settings out there, no question. I wish my ring size was more standard for this reason.

I usually have the opposite strategy. Look for the rock and don’t care about the setting!

But look at this amazingness. I’ve never seen a setting like that.

 

[Dreamer_D]

No one is making tinted, wonky old cuts with bruted girdles and questionable eye cleanliness from lab grown material!

Like here’s the kind of thing I like to buy!

 

[Dreamer_D]

I honestly never do. I think it is super chaotic and hard to find stuff of value. I suck at it!

Yeah it takes way too much time and scrolling.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

@dreamer_dachsie STOP SHOWING EVERYONE MY DAMNED WATCHLIST!!!1!!

Honestly, the finds are few and far between but that doesn't stop me from making lists and lists and lists.

 

[Mreader]

Do you have a thread on this with the story of how you found it?

Would also like to know!

 

[Mreader]

I’m always looking at eBay. I got my latest ring there. But I haven’t been good enough to get any major steals. @Niel is the OG for that!

 

[Dreamer_D]

@dreamer_dachsie STOP SHOWING EVERYONE MY DAMNED WATCHLIST!!!1!!

Honestly, the finds are few and far between but that doesn't stop me from making lists and lists and lists.

Listen I don’t post the actual good stuff! Though if I had 4K I would be all over that OMC in the snake looking setting.

That one in the setting with the amazing shoulder pads is like the best cut OMC I’ve ever seen but they are asking some insane price for it. Still, I love those old bubbly cushions, they are absolute magic.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I’m always looking at eBay. I got my latest ring there. But I haven’t been good enough to get any major steals. @Niel is the OG for that!

Some OG tales:

This is the most amazing european cut I have ever owned, and I'm so happy!! Specs are: L, VS, 9.9mm x 6.26mm. There is one tiny inclusion I can barely make out under a loupe, and it's on the bottom half of the diamond, near the edge. Tiny table, tall crown, almost perfect girdle!

I'm so freaking excited I can hardly type, so I'm going to get straight to the pics! The solitaire pictured is my 8mm oec. It doesn't look that great in these pics... probably because it felt self conscious!

I usually don't post about my purchases until the final piece is done but I am so excited that I have to share this one. Plus, it would be mean to withhold much longer given all the spoilers. Some of you have been following my search for the perfect OEC over the past year and not being able to find the right one. Well, the right one is finally here and it was worth the pain, risk and hours of searching - the satisfaction and love for a diamond ... I didn't think it was possible but now I understand.

I was bitten by the OEC bug and snagged my first 1.7ct back in 2011 which I adored and still adore (see here) followed by a 1.65ct transitional cut and a few other 1ct OECs for a special project. It wasn’t long before I had the urge for an uber OEC to ultimately use as an e-ring upgrade. I had a long list of requirements that was hard to meet and sometimes I thought it was impossible.

My Hit List
Cut: Well cut OEC with a small flower center and minimal obstruction
Carat: > 2.5ct
Color: As white as possible (no lower than GIA J)
Clarity: Eye and Mind Clean (VS + for me)
Table: Tiny table under 50%
Price: Dirt Cheap … as little as possible

I searched all over the internet, on eBay, in Chicago and in NYC, had vendors looked … but no one had what I wanted in terms of specs (and that was not even considering price). Fast forward to November 2012, I came close and picked up another old cut from eBay which was a 2.1 ct EGL I transitional cut (I know many PSers have seen this auction). It was a good price and beautiful stone but not for me – too much obstruction for my liking and there was a teensy bit too much color as an e-ring replacement. After much debate, I ended up returning the ring to the seller and it is now in another happy home.

Dreamer_D and ForteKitty put up with all my whining for a long time trying to find the diamond and debating a number of purchases. Around the holidays, Dreamer found a potential stone off eBay that had bad photos but we saw potential and all the specs sounded about right. The seller was incredibly difficult to deal with – no proper pictures, didn’t answer questions, had to talk on the phone, only available in the middle of the night, will only accept cash, had to deal in person at his local bank, will not send to my appraiser on my dime, needed a notary to sign estate papers … the list continued onto outright strange things like calling me at strange hours and refusing to hang up, telling me odd private stories. I think most people would have given up after week one but I somehow put up with it for two months because I just couldn’t get my mind off that diamond and setting.

Anyways, long story short – I almost walked away from the deal on multiple occasions (including on the day of the transaction after I flew to meet him) … but I didn’t give up and made it through scoring this amazing diamond (and ring) which is everything I wanted. I am so glad I didn’t give up!

The Specs According to Me
Cut: Amazingly well cut for an old stone with next to no obstruction <- CHECK
Size: 9 mm – guessing around 2.6 to 2.7 ct <- CHECK
Color: Thinking it is a GIA H/I based on comparison to my other stones <- CHECK
Clarity: Unable to find inclusions with a 60x microscope (I know there must be some) <- CHECK
Table: Probably low to mid 40s <- CHECK
Price: Very happy with price and was already offered more than double by a pawn shop <- CHECK

The diamond is everything I wanted and I am even more appreciative of it because of how rare such a diamond is. The bonus is that the platinum setting is gorgeous and in perfect condition … a style that is pretty timeless. The downside is that it is a size 8 which is way too big for me.

Yes I always said (thought) I wanted a three stone, yes I sold a diamond a year ago in part because it was too big, yes I am a changable creature... we all know the history!

But I had been saving to set my three stone and kept finding excuses not to do it. I couldn't decide on a setting, I couldn't decide whether I liked the big side stones or smaller side stones. Somehow I had a mental block about that project. And when I saw Demelza's huge OEC -- the first time I had the pleasure of seeing such a large and amazing diamond in person -- GAME OVER!! I wanted one too InnaR said in my three stone thread that she thought I was a solitaire girl at heart. And I realized she is right. It just needs to be a really big solitaire Social norms be darned.

But I had also been wondering if maybe old cuts were not for me. I love so much about old cuts -- the chunkiness, the history, the uniqueness. But I cannot stand lazy central facets, leakage, hazy mush. I am OCD about cut!! My 7mm OEC is about as good as it gets in a traditional OEC and even that stone niggled at me in terms of optics. So I was considering getting an RB again!

And then yesterday I stumbled on a listing on ebay that made me stop in my tracks and gasp out loud! This is it! The holy grail, the one in a million cut! Just what I have been looking for! I made an offer, back and forth we went, seller shipped overnight, and I made a day long trip to pick it up today.

It is love at first sight!! This diamond is perfect, all my dreams come true: Huge, white, perfect chunky optics, and a gorgeous setting. It is that rarest of rare cuts: a very symmetrical later European cut, what some call transitional. Like a chunkier, bolder, modern RB. The cutter who crafted this stone was a master. And it is *perfect* for me. Looks so much like Demelza's stone! And others I have admired on PS: jjc's, happy canary's, kennedy's.

So, may I introduce my 8.1mm later period European cut diamond, likely from the 1920s. Estimated G color, SI1 clarity with no under table inclusions, 1.9ct. In a supposedly authentic platinum octagonal-bezel prong-set mount.

I have named her "George" because I will love her, and kiss her, and squeeze her and never let her go.

 

[Mreader]

@dreamer_dachsie I remember Forte Kitty’s- what a dream. Such a steal! I shall enjoy reading the other two you posted

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I bought my Queen of Hearts ring on EBay but that was a few years ago. I don’t have the patience to sort through so many listings. Plus now that they have the authentication in place, it’s kind of annoying.

 

[Mreader]

Would also like to know!

Duh your OMC! I didn’t remember it was an eBay find!

 

[lulu_ma]

Some OG tales:

FK's stone is like the stuff of PS legends!

Ebay is very hit or miss. But it is fun to look.

 

[Mreader]

@dreamer_dachsie do you know if Charmy ever upgraded? In that thread - and wow what a story - she said she was still thinking of going bigger. I’d love to see her back on PS!

 

[Niel]

lol yes, I still do. I don’t think I’ve purchased anything from anywhere else in years.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

@dreamer_dachsie STOP SHOWING EVERYONE MY DAMNED WATCHLIST!!!1!!

Honestly, the finds are few and far between but that doesn't stop me from making lists and lists and lists.

How many pages you got?
Some of the stuff I watch embarasses me.

 

[Lookinagain]

With the lab grown market growing the way it is, I'd (personally) be concerned about paying natural diamond prices for LG material.
Without a way to properly screen for that, eBay has scared me off.

Wouldn't the Ebay authentication process take care of that issue?

 

[Mreader]

Wouldn't the Ebay authentication process take care of that issue?

I’ve noticed that the authentication process is
random. Some items go through it and some don’t. The ring I bought recently was over the $500 mark, but it didn’t go through authentication. I would be less concerned about vintage items just like dreamer said, but if I were buying a round brilliant for example it would be cause for concern if it didn’t go through the process.

 

[Dreamer_D]

@dreamer_dachsie do you know if Charmy ever upgraded? In that thread - and wow what a story - she said she was still thinking of going bigger. I’d love to see her back on PS!

Charmy and I used to correspond back in the day but we lost touch when I took a break from PS ~2013 to 2019... I'd love to know what she's up to.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I think it's a bit chaotic since some sellers offering a non certed diamond believe they can offer a no return policy, give an estimated size, clarity, color and think that a buyer will accept the Ebay authenticity as good enough. I was negotiating a 7k OEC purchase and the seller refused to offer a return on the diamond because of the Ebay authentification process.


I understand the Ebay authenticators will agree it's an OEC diamond. But when the seller states the size, color and clarity are estimated in their description I believe there is a lot of leeway that may lead me to buying a diamond that is smaller, lower colored, and more included due to the "estimate" of the seller. Would an authenticator deem that a couple grades lower on color and clarity are acceptable? How close does the authenticator gauge size? I didn't feel comfortable taking the chance.

In this particular case I kept my money and the seller kept his diamond. Even with 23 watchers he was unable to sell so I think I am not the only person who is unwilling to take such a risk on a non-returnable antique diamond.

I still look though but haven't found anything over 1.5 carats that IMHO seems worth the price or the risk.