Opinions on this stone 1.3 on HCA

[WalnutCrunch]

Hi there,

Please give your opinions about this stone. It's an unbranded Canadian stone from a local jeweller in Canada. It's a bit bigger than I had wanted but it's been difficult to find one has a decent HCA score.

If someone could run a .GEM file from Diamond Calc for me, it would be greatly appreciated!

AGS Ideal-0
0.726 ct
SI1
E colour
Depth 61.9%
Table 54%
Crown 35.4 deg
Pavilion 40.6 deg
Culet pointed
Fluorescence Negligible

Price: $3500 (US dollar equivalent, after exchange and minus 10% excise tax)

Problem is that he wants me to decide by tomorrow morning. There's also no return policy unless it doesn't match the cert.

I do get a chance to look at it before I have to decide. How do I check if it's eye clean? And while I've done tons of research, I can't see a darn thing when I look at a stone. They all look the same to me!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

WC

 

[Talonnav]

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On 3/11/2003 9:35:15 PM WalnutCrunch wrote:

Problem is that he wants me to decide by tomorrow morning. There's also no return policy unless it doesn't match the cert.

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Uhmm any jeweler who pressured me like that doesn't need my business. There are other diamonds & jewelers out there.

Heather

 

[cowboystu]

I second that motion. I walked out of many stores because they tried to impose a timeline.

Funny story that this just reminded me that I never told here...I was shopping here in Singapore at B&M stores. A place here with a funny name, House of Hung Jewellers. They had a nice large selection of loose diamonds, I had looked at about 2-3 when the guy changed his attitude. He told me that once I have seen one or two that had basically the same specs (EDIT: by specs he meant carat and color only...nothing else), that I didn't need to see any more. It was not like he was busy. There were 3 other sales people and no other customers. I told him I knew that was a falacy, and that he just lost my business...now I just laugh at the name whenever I go by.

Stu

(Sorry to have gotten off topic...some B&M's just got on my nerves here)

 

[WalnutCrunch]

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On 3/11/2003 9:41:14 PM Talonnav wrote:

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On 3/11/2003 9:35:15 PM WalnutCrunch wrote:

Problem is that he wants me to decide by tomorrow morning. There's also no return policy unless it doesn't match the cert.

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Uhmm any jeweler who pressured me like that doesn't need my business. There's other diamonds & jewelers out there.

Heather
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Unfortunately, in Vancouver, there's only a handful of jewellers that sell these unbranded Canadian AGS ideal-0 stones. He's not the only game in town but pretty close to it. If the price and product are right and the service is marginally acceptable, that might have to be good enough.

So thanks for the opinions about the jeweller (keep them coming), but please give me an opinion on the stone too.

WC

 

[Talonnav]

AGS Ideal-0
0.726 ct
SI1
E colour
Depth 61.9%
Table 54%
Crown 35.4 deg
Pavilion 40.6 deg
Culet pointed
Fluorescence Negligible

Well, comparing the numbers above against the "American Ideal Cut", they fit within those guidelines. However for my own personal taste, I'd like to see a smaller depth, larger table, and smaller crown angle.

If it were me, I would pass on the diamond, taking in consideration the pressure from the jeweler and lack of a return policy.

Have you checked with the super cert diamond broker in Canada?

Heather

 

[sirene]

Can you name names WC? I live in Vancouver (well Richmond, but don't hold that against me

) and hope to buy another diamond in the future. It would be nice to know of a local broker as good as the vendors here!

 

[WalnutCrunch]

Wow, I'm in Richmond too. Check your PM/email.

 

[sirene]

WC: too bad we couldn't buy diamonds in bulk, eh? (Had to throw that in, to prove my Canuckness

)

 

[WalnutCrunch]

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On 3/11/2003 9:35:15 PM WalnutCrunch wrote:

AGS Ideal-0
0.726 ct
SI1
E colour
Depth 61.9%
Table 54%
Crown 35.4 deg
Pavilion 40.6 deg
Culet pointed
Fluorescence Negligible

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Could I please get more comments on this stone? I'd like to see if it's a good stone before I think about the guy's pressure sales tactics.

What's the effect of a steep crown?

Could somebody please run this in diamond calc for me?

Thanks,
WC

 

[aljdewey]

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On 3/11/2003 9:35:15 PM WalnutCrunch wrote:
Hi there,

Please give your opinions about this stone.

Problem is that he wants me to decide by tomorrow morning. There's also no return policy unless it doesn't match the cert.

I do get a chance to look at it before I have to decide. How do I check if it's eye clean?

AND
......but please give me an opinion on the stone too.
----------------

Walnut: What type of opinion are you looking for? You have all the stats on the stone, you have run it through HCA, you know what to look for. Without seeing the stone, all of us can only speculate, and you seem as well-informed as any of us are to do that. According to the "numbers", it should be a nice stone, but your eyes are the final judge.

You also said "I'd like to see if it's a good stone before I think about the guy's pressure sales tactics." I slightly disagree with you....in my opinion, it doesn't matter if it's a "good" stone.....no stone is worth settling for a poor return policy. You've already mentioned that you are having a hard-time discerning if the stone is eye-clean. What if it ISN'T.....what if you purchase it and take it to an appraiser and it is not eye-clean? You cannot return it. In my opinion, NO stone is worth risking thousands of dollars on...not even the hope diamond! There is more than one beautiful diamond in the world, and it is possible to make a smart, informed purchase AND get a reasonable return policy.

Several people have cautioned that they'd pass on this one because of the return policy, and I think that's the best advice you're going to get on it. What you do with that sage advice is up to you.

 

[mike04456]

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Problem is that he wants me to decide by tomorrow morning. There's also no return policy unless it doesn't match the cert.
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I'll add my voice to the rest:

Walk away. Do not go back. You can do far better than that.

 

[WalnutCrunch]

Thanks for the awesome advice, everyone!

I often read postings by people looking at a stone who are not receptive to negative advice about the purchase. I used to think, "can't he see he's getting screwed???" Now I'm the idiot on the other end of this and it's no fun. I can see what it's like now. You get attached to a stone and you think it's pretty good and instead of honest advice, you're really looking for some assurance that that's the one you want.

I've expressed my feelings about the pressure sales tactics and the guy has backed off. The price is a decent one for what I can get locally; and I've taken a step back and tried to see this from an unemotional point of view (impossible, I know) to make sure this is something I want.

The only red flag remaining is the return policy (or lack thereof). It's an SI1 and I want to make sure it's eyeclean to an unbiased expert. I'm going to try to work out a way to get this checked out by an appraiser to ensure that it's eyeclean and matches the cert before I go ahead with the purchase. If he refuses to let me do that, I'll walk.

The diamond I'm looking for isn't easy to find here and I think it'll take some form of compromise by both myself and the jewellers to get me what I want, and feel good about it after.

Thanks to all for the excellent and honest advice. I know I don't really want to hear some of it but please keep them coming.

WC

 

[aljdewey]

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On 3/12/2003 6:50:37 PM WalnutCrunch wrote:

I've expressed my feelings about the pressure sales tactics and the guy has backed off. The price is a decent one for what I can get locally; and I've taken a step back and tried to see this from an unemotional point of view (impossible, I know) to make sure this is something I want.

The only red flag remaining is the return policy (or lack thereof). It's an SI1 and I want to make sure it's eyeclean to an unbiased expert. I'm going to try to work out a way to get this checked out by an appraiser to ensure that it's eyeclean and matches the cert before I go ahead with the purchase. If he refuses to let me do that, I'll walk.

The diamond I'm looking for isn't easy to find here and I think it'll take some form of compromise by both myself and the jewellers to get me what I want, and feel good about it after.

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Walnut, I can certainly empathize....it's never easy to make a choice when it's an emotional one.

While I'm glad to hear that he has backed off the pressure tactics, I personally would still be uncomfortable about this purchase strictly because of the return policy.

Nearly every reputable online vendor provides a VERY generous return policy. Hell, even the "maul" stores have a reasonable return policy. When a jeweler has a "NO" return policy, I get reeeeeeeeeally suspect. What is he afraid of? What is he trying to hide? Or, even if no ill motives exist, a no return policy suggests that the jeweler isn't at all concerned about you being happy with the purchase.

If you didn't have any other options, I'd say, "oh, well, that's the best you can do." But I don't think that's true....he is not the ONLY link to a good diamond. Believe me, I heard what you said about there not being many sources in your location, and you've commented that it isn't easy to find what you're looking for, but it's important to remind you that THIS GUY IS NOT YOUR ONLY OPTION. Repeat: He is not the only option. To wit: there are a bunch of other posters here from Canada who've purchased beeee-YUTIFUL diamonds. Do you really believe they all purchased from this guy too? Of course they didn't.

Your choice, man, but I think you are asking for trouble if you make this purchase with a no-return policy.