Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushion?

[natascha]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Too tinted for you, but it would at least be in budget
http://www.bukowskis.com/auctions/571/1106-ring-gammalslipad-diamant-7-53-ct?category%5B%5D=77&page=3

Oh and they are usually very conservative regarding their grading. I've seen stones they graded as M/N look less tinted than EGL J and K's.

 

[ariel144]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Get a peak at this honker! Good luck on your search. Seems a little low budget for that high of a color. You might want to watch the auctions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgDAJVtzYyg

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Too tinted for you, but it would at least be in budget
http://www.bukowskis.com/auctions/571/1106-ring-gammalslipad-diamant-7-53-ct?category%5B%5D=77&page=3

Oh and they are usually very conservative regarding their grading. I've seen stones they graded as M/N look less tinted than EGL J and K's.

That looks really lovely. But an M, even when conservatively graded, would still be a bit warm for me. Thanks though. Could you pls do me a favour and keep an eye out for anything else that comes along that might be suitable? Thank you.

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Get a peak at this honker! Good luck on your search. Seems a little low budget for that high of a color. You might want to watch the auctions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgDAJVtzYyg

OMG!! That's GORGEOUS!! and GINORMOUS!! I could use this as a door-knob for sure, albeit a very very expensive one!

I didn't see this on their website. Are you saying that this one is put up on auction by OWD? Or are you telling me to watch auctions generally?

 

[Niel]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I know this fits none of your criteria, I jsut wanted to post it haha, I know you want a cushion but I think those old emeralds with the big culets are so delicious, also I just want to have posted on here so i I can see all the diamonds that get posted good luck in your search! http://www.ebay.com/itm/ESTATE-ART-DECO-4-47-ct-EMERALD-CUT-CENTER-DIAMOND-1-ctw-EMERALD-PLATINUM-RING-/160648078576?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25675f24f0

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I know this fits none of your criteria, I jsut wanted to post it haha, I know you want a cushion but I think those old emeralds with the big culets are so delicious, also I just want to have posted on here so i I can see all the diamonds that get posted good luck in your search! http://www.ebay.com/itm/ESTATE-ART-DECO-4-47-ct-EMERALD-CUT-CENTER-DIAMOND-1-ctw-EMERALD-PLATINUM-RING-/160648078576?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25675f24f0

Oh no, I'd also def consider an EC if it fits the criteria. I've seen antique EC's with larger culets and they're soooo yummy! I saw one abt 6ct I think (can't really remember but it was for sure BIG) and it was a lovely delicate light pink colour and very sparkly. I was soooo in love with it but couldn't afford it. It was abt a 1/4 of a million GBP and that was several years ago! I still think about it to this day.

Most people when they think of an EC think they a dull piece of glass, I have seen beautiful well-cut EC's, both antique and modern, so am def not ruling them out. Am considering an antique mostly b/c they're cheaper (or at least should be) and also I think to own a piece with some history would be kind of cool.

The one you posted is very beautiful!! Thanks for posting it.

 

[frankiextah]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

i don't have much to contribute but please do hit me up when you're in NYC ! i would LOVE to hang out

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

i don't have much to contribute but please do hit me up when you're in NYC ! i would LOVE to hang out

For sure, thanks very much for that, Frankie. I'd love to hang out too and admire your VC ring.

 

[Niel]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I know this fits none of your criteria, I jsut wanted to post it haha, I know you want a cushion but I think those old emeralds with the big culets are so delicious, also I just want to have posted on here so i I can see all the diamonds that get posted good luck in your search! http://www.ebay.com/itm/ESTATE-ART-DECO-4-47-ct-EMERALD-CUT-CENTER-DIAMOND-1-ctw-EMERALD-PLATINUM-RING-/160648078576?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25675f24f0

Oh no, I'd also def consider an EC if it fits the criteria. I've seen antique EC's with larger culets and they're soooo yummy! I saw one abt 6ct I think (can't really remember but it was for sure BIG) and it was a lovely delicate light pink colour and very sparkly. I was soooo in love with it but couldn't afford it. It was abt a 1/4 of a million GBP and that was several years ago! I still think about it to this day.

Most people when they think of an EC think they a dull piece of glass, I have seen beautiful well-cut EC's, both antique and modern, so am def not ruling them out. Am considering an antique mostly b/c they're cheaper (or at least should be) and also I think to own a piece with some history would be kind of cool.

The one you posted is very beautiful!! Thanks for posting it.

Oh I can only imagine that pinkish 6ct was amazing! large culets like that just make me melt. Well I hope you find exactly what youre looking for! My vote is an EC sense, if your budget doesnt allow for a 7ct then at least it still faces up like a monster. Whatever it is I'm sure it will be a stunner, but I hope its a cushion or EC, im partial to fancies. (if youre taking votes )

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I know this fits none of your criteria, I jsut wanted to post it haha, I know you want a cushion but I think those old emeralds with the big culets are so delicious, also I just want to have posted on here so i I can see all the diamonds that get posted good luck in your search! http://www.ebay.com/itm/ESTATE-ART-DECO-4-47-ct-EMERALD-CUT-CENTER-DIAMOND-1-ctw-EMERALD-PLATINUM-RING-/160648078576?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25675f24f0

Oh no, I'd also def consider an EC if it fits the criteria. I've seen antique EC's with larger culets and they're soooo yummy! I saw one abt 6ct I think (can't really remember but it was for sure BIG) and it was a lovely delicate light pink colour and very sparkly. I was soooo in love with it but couldn't afford it. It was abt a 1/4 of a million GBP and that was several years ago! I still think about it to this day.

Most people when they think of an EC think they a dull piece of glass, I have seen beautiful well-cut EC's, both antique and modern, so am def not ruling them out. Am considering an antique mostly b/c they're cheaper (or at least should be) and also I think to own a piece with some history would be kind of cool.

The one you posted is very beautiful!! Thanks for posting it.

Oh I can only imagine that pinkish 6ct was amazing! large culets like that just make me melt. Well I hope you find exactly what youre looking for! My vote is an EC sense, if your budget doesnt allow for a 7ct then at least it still faces up like a monster. Whatever it is I'm sure it will be a stunner, but I hope its a cushion or EC, im partial to fancies. (if youre taking votes )

LOL, and you're a sweetie!

 

[Deactivated member 42515]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Well, I'm just getting more excited! Another potential diamond to trade for me hubz. and you know I love me some antique stones.

 

[denverappraiser]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

There are 9 stones in the database that meet your gemological specs and all are more than twice your budget. Some are more like triple. Something has to give.

Neil, aren't those prices for modern RB's? I thought antique stones, esp estate pieces, are cheaper. I did find an amazing stone at an amazing price last year in London, but alas the offer I made was not sufficient for me to secure it (I think it went for about 5,000 more than what I'd offered). I am hoping I can come across something similar again. I am not limiting my search this time to London antique stores but also other places.

ETA: I've also come across smaller pieces at really great prices, and these are sold by well-established jewellery stores that have been in business for years.

They are cheaper. What I searched for was Cushion/6.5-7.5/H-I/VS2-SI1/GIA. I didn't put much thought into the stones that came up but they all claimed to meet those specs.

Sometimes there are 'deals' on the secondary market coming from motivated or uninformed sellers if you're patient and are willing to hunt around but this gets harder and harder as the prices go up. People with $150,000 diamonds for sale normally know what they have and if they're going to let them go at a steep discount it's usually because they're in a hurry and they don't stay on the market very long. Mostly that market is selling to dealers anyway and so you have rather little access to it. If we're talking about buying from dealers, the differences between antique and modern goods or used vs. new are largely irrelevant. You may find a dealer who will work for a cheaper margin than some of their competitors but they don't get anything like this kind of margin so they have nowhere to cut the budget. The options are to play games with the grade (common, as you know) or to get lucky and stumble across one of the above mentioned motivated sellers who happens to have just the right thing on just the right date. It's possible, but unlikely. Chances go up the more flexible you are about your specs and the longer you're willing to patiently wait. Again, as you know, yours aren't particularly easy requirements even ignoring the price.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Small antique stones are FAR more plentiful and more likely to be sold through pawns shops, antique shops, local jewelers, ebay, etc. so deals are easier to find. But someone who owns a well cut 7 carat antique stone is going to be smart enough, usually, to sell somewhere like a major auction house or put it on consignment with a store like the ones on 1st Dibs. ForteKitty found the needle in a haystack with her large, well cut stone, but to find a deal like that on a high color and clarity stone at 6+ cts. I think might take a miracle! But for you, Phoenix, I hope you get the miracle!!! (We are just trying to forewarn you of the reality just like when a guy comes on here wanting a 1 ct stone for $3k!)

 

[ihy138]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I will be following this thread closely!! How exciting. I hope you find something you love.

 

[chicam]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Thanks Phoenix for this thread. It will brighten my days for weeks/ months to come. How delicious.

 

[ruby59]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-EDWARDIAN-PLATINUM-9-08ct-DIAMOND-RING-/261135133087?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cccdde99f

Ebay was a disappointment. I put in diamond, $109,000, highest price first, and thought tons would come up.

The above link is the closest I could find. Being so large, maybe it could be recut, but does present well.

Mark Brownard (?) had a couple of things and so did Peter Suchey. All seemed very overpriced for what was shown.

Only other contender I could find in the 6 carat and over range.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-6-06CT-OLD-CUT-DIAMOND-PLATINUM-SOLITAIRE-VS2-CLARITY-SEE-VIDEO-/121028363950?pt=UK_Jewellery_Watches_VintageFineJewellery_CA&hash=item1c2dda46ae

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Retro-5-5ct-Diamond-Demantoid-Cluster-Ring-J-VS-/180625507554?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0e1e84e2

If you come down to 5.30 carat, this is a nice cushion.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I know you saw one stone a while ago that may have fit your specs, but I really think you are going to have to change your parameters.

First off, stones of that carat weight were rare back in the day, and stones as white as you want were likely recut in the last 100 years into MRBs. Most of the very large stones that survived will have some undesirable trait that made them "unappealing" to the people interested in recutting them. Usually color. Or, they were hoarded by family members, but those are few and far between and would rarely come on the market for a deal. Yes, some old stones cost less than MRBs. But in the specs you are talking about I think you need to expect to pay *at least* the same price as MRBs on the retail market. Large old cuts are so rare and so desired and the pricing reflects that. Sure, its possible to find faint yellow old cuts for a deal in the sub 4ct sizes. But near colorless and over 6ct? Those are NOT "deal" specs.

If you are looking to pay below retail pricing, and it seems you are, then the only way that will happen is to buy directly from estate houses IMO. That will mean: no lab reports, perhaps no returns on auction items, and no PS-level service.

This is not what you want to hear, I know, and you have rejected everyone else who has tried to tempter your expectations. But I still thought I would try again

 

[Dreamer_D]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Just to further add come context of the difficulty of locating ANY stones of those specs, let alone for a lower than market price: I have been watching ebay for over a year daily for old cuts, I can tell you that diamonds over 1ct are very rare. Diamonds over 1.5ct rarer still. I can only think of a handfull of diamonds over 2ct posted in the last year. Ebay is not the right place for your search, but I am just trying to impress upon you the abslute bizarre rarity of the stone you are looking for. That rarity means the sellers can essentially price them however they like for collectors.

 

[RissaLou]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Ebay might be your best bet budget wise... not sure, but here are the closest two matches I found for you!

$65,000 OMC 5.3ct J VS2 No Fluorescence
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Retro-5-5ct-Diamond-Demantoid-Cluster-Ring-J-VS-/180625507554?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0e1e84e2

$73,500 OEC 6.58ct J SI2
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-EDWARDIAN-PLATINUM-9-08ct-DIAMOND-RING-/261135133087?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cccdde99f


My personal Fav is the second one, I'd snatch that up if I could

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I especially like the first diamond, Rissa!

Phoenix, maybe you can reconsider going to J color on a large antique cushion. Like Dreamer said, even those aren't easy to find, but it would be more likely to fall in your budget if you'd consider J color.

 

[Rosebloom]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Ebay might be your best bet budget wise... not sure, but here are the closest two matches I found for you!

$65,000 OMC 5.3ct J VS2 No Fluorescence
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Retro-5-5ct-Diamond-Demantoid-Cluster-Ring-J-VS-/180625507554?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0e1e84e2

$73,500 OEC 6.58ct J SI2
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-EDWARDIAN-PLATINUM-9-08ct-DIAMOND-RING-/261135133087?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cccdde99f


My personal Fav is the second one, I'd snatch that up if I could

On my goodness I love the 5 carat! Pant, pant!

 

[swimmer]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I know where you can procure a large variety of stones of that size, color, and cut. The Tower of London. Good luck!

 

[GoldFish8]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Hi Phoenix This is so exciting for you!! I think this ring is beautiful!! not sure if its in the price range though. But it sure is beautiful to just look at

http://jewelry.1stdibs.com/jewelry_item_detail.php?id=73745

 

[RissaLou]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Found one more! It's another J though and a bit more in $ Might take you awhile to find the diamond your looking for, but I think it can be done with some time and patience without raising your budget

$85,000 6.05ct VS2 J
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fine-Platinum-Ruby-Diamond-Ring-/280851125354?_trksid=p5197.m1992&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D14%26meid%3D3886833769871612458%26pid%3D100015%26prg%3D1006%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D280851125354%26

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

A pretty nice 6 ct. J VS1 cushion:

http://jewelry.1stdibs.com/jewelry_item_detail.php?id=67191

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Well, I'm just getting more excited! Another potential diamond to trade for me hubz. and you know I love me some antique stones.

He he, you're too funny! Does the hubz know, lol?!

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

There are 9 stones in the database that meet your gemological specs and all are more than twice your budget. Some are more like triple. Something has to give.

Neil, aren't those prices for modern RB's? I thought antique stones, esp estate pieces, are cheaper. I did find an amazing stone at an amazing price last year in London, but alas the offer I made was not sufficient for me to secure it (I think it went for about 5,000 more than what I'd offered). I am hoping I can come across something similar again. I am not limiting my search this time to London antique stores but also other places.

ETA: I've also come across smaller pieces at really great prices, and these are sold by well-established jewellery stores that have been in business for years.

They are cheaper. What I searched for was Cushion/6.5-7.5/H-I/VS2-SI1/GIA. I didn't put much thought into the stones that came up but they all claimed to meet those specs.

Sometimes there are 'deals' on the secondary market coming from motivated or uninformed sellers if you're patient and are willing to hunt around but this gets harder and harder as the prices go up. People with $150,000 diamonds for sale normally know what they have and if they're going to let them go at a steep discount it's usually because they're in a hurry and they don't stay on the market very long. Mostly that market is selling to dealers anyway and so you have rather little access to it. If we're talking about buying from dealers, the differences between antique and modern goods or used vs. new are largely irrelevant. You may find a dealer who will work for a cheaper margin than some of their competitors but they don't get anything like this kind of margin so they have nowhere to cut the budget. The options are to play games with the grade (common, as you know) or to get lucky and stumble across one of the above mentioned motivated sellers who happens to have just the right thing on just the right date. It's possible, but unlikely. Chances go up the more flexible you are about your specs and the longer you're willing to patiently wait. Again, as you know, yours aren't particularly easy requirements even ignoring the price.

I hear you, Neil.

I am willing to be patient and to do plenty of ground work. I am also prepared to lower some of my requirements but am keeping a very wide eye open and see what comes along.

Perhaps auction houses and some smaller estate houses would be my best bet.

Thank you.

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Small antique stones are FAR more plentiful and more likely to be sold through pawns shops, antique shops, local jewelers, ebay, etc. so deals are easier to find. But someone who owns a well cut 7 carat antique stone is going to be smart enough, usually, to sell somewhere like a major auction house or put it on consignment with a store like the ones on 1st Dibs. ForteKitty found the needle in a haystack with her large, well cut stone, but to find a deal like that on a high color and clarity stone at 6+ cts. I think might take a miracle! But for you, Phoenix, I hope you get the miracle!!! (We are just trying to forewarn you of the reality just like when a guy comes on here wanting a 1 ct stone for $3k!)

I hope the miracle comes my way soon!

Perhaps I should be prepared to lower my requirements though, to a 6ct I VS/ Si1? But as I mentioned to Neil above, I am keeping all my options open and see what happens. A raise in budget is not totally out of the realm of possibility but I'd rather not, at least not now, not after hubby let me spend a bunch of $$$ on Holly.

So we shall see...

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

I will be following this thread closely!! How exciting. I hope you find something you love.

Thank you. Me too me too!

 

[Phoenix]

Re: Planning early - help me find an 7ct antique OEC/ cushi

Thanks Phoenix for this thread. It will brighten my days for weeks/ months to come. How delicious.

Thank you. I hope to see many possible stones being posted for my and others' viewing pleasure!