One more "please help me evaluate this stone" thread!

[Mags]

I'm with others that say this is a very well cut, balanced diamond. The IS if fine. In terms of visibility, the two inclusions I circled are the ones that are most visible at an angle. That said, at the real size of a this diamond, I'd be surprised if you can detect anything. And, at least one, can be covered with a prong if you have them set "on" the arrow tips. For the value this offers, I would probably order it. As long as you have it sent unset or in a non-custom JA setting, then you can always return it within 30-days.

Thanks Rocky! Does the inclusion on the table concern you at all? It's interesting that that is the only inclusion marked on the GIA plot.

 

[Mags]

Hey guys, soooo I just got the new IS. Um, WTH. The old one, for the same diamond, looked great. This new one looks like it is leaking a ton of light! It really looks bad. This is freaking me out. What say you?

 

[Mags]

I feel like JA is tired of my questions and is trying to make me go away at this point.

 

[gm89uk]

The new IS is fine, nothing wrong with it, just a stronger backlight.

What questions do you have? As for the delay in getting the IS, while it sucks, it wouldn't be proper to prioritise a more expensive diamond than a $300 diamond, although it is inefficient they didn't check their database for the previously sent image.

I would be happy to buy that stone for myself with those scope images, the price is amazing. While the gemologist has it, ask about haziness from fluor.

 

[rockysalamander]

Agree with @gm89uk. They used a VERY bright light for #2. Can you see how much brighter the triangles are.

On the table inclusion, I have no worries. You'll have to see this in person to see if this is clean enough for you.

 

[Mags]

All great points, thanks! I emailed them the question about haziness. I think with all of your assurances I feel good moving forward, that IS just took me by surprise! I'll post it once I receive it. Thanks again everyone, I'd be lost without your help.

 

[YoLaL]

Honestly, this diamond is not that excellent in ligth return and not that poor but its above average

Hey guys, soooo I just got the new IS. Um, WTH. The old one, for the same diamond, looked great. This new one looks like it is leaking a ton of light! It really looks bad. This is freaking me out. What say you?

 

[Lorelei]

I feel like JA is tired of my questions and is trying to make me go away at this point.

I hope that's not the case Mags, never be worried to ask as many questions as you feel you need to with a vendor. If you're dealing with the same SA, get another that is happy to help you.

I think it's probably a difference in how the second image was taken, technique and or positioning of the stone. As for the table inclusion, as my slippery little pal says, you'll have to see when it arrives.

 

[Mags]

I hope that's not the case Mags, never be worried to ask as many questions as you feel you need to with a vendor. If you're dealing with the same SA, get another that is happy to help you.

Thanks. I'm probably just being paranoid, or maybe my expectations were unrealistically high given all the rave reviews about their service. But, I've found their diamond expertise unimpressive - the customer service reps will just take wild guesses and give unsophisticated knee-jerk responses to technical questions (e.g. eye cleanliness) and they seem reluctant to consult a gemologist even if you specifically ask for one. And of course, taking 3 weeks to produce a low quality IS image for a diamond you already have on file... and I'm still waiting on my haziness question. Most have been nice enough. Others it's like pulling teeth to get an answer to a question that seems pretty simple. I don't think I've been unreasonable or impolite in my requests, but maybe it came across that way.

I have a good feeling about this one though. I'm not a total super cut geek (yet, ha!) but of course like everyone I want it to sparkle and look beautiful and eye-catching! Crossing my fingers this works out. I'm honestly a bit fatigued from my back-and-forths with JA, the waiting, and the obsessive researching. Anyways. I'm looking forward to receiving this diamond and will definitely post a pic here. It's the least I could do for all this great free advice!

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks. I'm probably just being paranoid, or maybe my expectations were unrealistically high given all the rave reviews about their service. But, I've found their diamond expertise unimpressive - the customer service reps will just take wild guesses and give unsophisticated knee-jerk responses to technical questions (e.g. eye cleanliness) and they seem reluctant to consult a gemologist even if you specifically ask for one. And of course, taking 3 weeks to produce a low quality IS image for a diamond you already have on file... and I'm still waiting on my haziness question. Most have been nice enough. Others it's like pulling teeth to get an answer to a question that seems pretty simple. I don't think I've been unreasonable or impolite in my requests, but maybe it came across that way.

I have a good feeling about this one though. I'm not a total super cut geek (yet, ha!) but of course like everyone I want it to sparkle and look beautiful and eye-catching! Crossing my fingers this works out. I'm honestly a bit fatigued from my back-and-forths with JA, the waiting, and the obsessive researching. Anyways. I'm looking forward to receiving this diamond and will definitely post a pic here. It's the least I could do for all this great free advice!

I'm sorry things haven't gone as well as you feel they should with James Allen, there's nothing wrong with giving them feedback in my opinion. After all, if you don't give them feedback, they won't know that they've not given you the standard of customer care you should have had and I do know that CS standards have always been important to them.

Keep going, I think you're doing great and let's see what you think when it arrives. If you like it but have concerns with anything, JA do have a 30 day return policy so you could get an independent appraiser to check it out if that would put your mind at rest.

And you're welcome, I still think despite the explosion of diamond advice websites that now abound, here is the best place to get advice from various unbiased people who love diamonds.

 

[Mags]

I'm also surprised, I thought if they had an image already saved they sent it out usually immediately.

But I have seen people here ask for an idealscope for stones that other previous posters requested, and they had freshly taken images. It seems their system is not watertight and I wouldn't be surprised if you had a slightly different scope image.

This may be especially true as your diamond is under a different SKU number than the other poster. When the diamond showed as sold, from before, they relisted it as a brand new diamond, so they may be unaware they already have an idealscope image.

Re-reading this, I just realized that the change in SKU could indicate that this diamond was sold and then returned. I doubt that happens often, so I hope it's not an indicator that the fluorescence or the table inclusion are apparent/unattractive in person. But whatever, all I can do now is wait and see for myself.

 

[gm89uk]

As far as I know, JA cancel orders and relist them even if the stone isn't shipped, a trend I've observed over several posters that reserved a stone and didn't go ahead, so I wouldn't read too much into it just yet.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Looks like a nice SI1 stone. Is the stone in-house?

 

[Mags]

Looks like a nice SI1 stone. Is the stone in-house?

Yep. They just need to set it and send it out, so should be two weeks or under.

 

[Mags]

JA just followed up with a nice note:

"This eye clean diamond is a true "H" color and faces up very white in appearance. The overall brilliance and light performance is excellent with nice fire and sparkle throughout. The strong fluorescence causes a very slight haze to the diamond, but likely only noticeable to the trained eye. The gemologist mentioned that the boost to the white color from the florescence outweighs any negative effects. We do have a note in your order regarding pronging inclusions, the gemologist did want to mention there are no prong-able inclusions within the diamond. There are a couple small specs seen on the diamond video, but this was just debris that was able to be cleaned off. All around this is an amazing option!"

Feeling good guys! I like fluorescence in person so I'm not concerned about that. And I find it kind of funny that there was debris on the diamond - you'd think they'd clean that sucker like crazy prior to photographing it at 20X resolution given how much people care about clarity, but, their loss is my gain I guess, ha. Now I just have to play the waiting game.

 

[Lorelei]

Sounds promising, keep us posted!

 

[Mags]

Drum roll please... my ring has finally arrived! The size is just what I was going for - substantial but not over-the-top (to my taste of course). The color looks beautiful in several different lights (the fluor looks super cool), and I can't see any inclusions. Here come the pics!

 

[Mags]

 

[rockysalamander]

Gorgeous!

 

[Mags]

Thanks Rocky! It's kind of crazy how much a diamond changes in different lights, and also how different it looks in person vs. in pics. It looks *almost* cloudy/hazy in some of those pics, but it is perfectly crystal clear in person. And the color is so sensitive to surroundings!

 

[ac117]

Beautiful!!!