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knuman

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 8, 2006
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Hi all

I''ve been desperately searching for a diamond for an engagement ring for a few months now and there is a diamond from an online seller that I''ve had my eye on for quite some time. I''m relatively new to all of this but from what have researched thus far it looks like a pretty darn good diamond!

It is a round 1.01 carat, D colour, VVS2 diamond with the following specs:

Lab: GIA
Dimensions: 6.48 - 6.53 x 3.94
Depth: 60.6%
Table: 56%
Girdle: Thin-Med
Cutlet: None
Fluorescence: Med
Symmetry: Excellent
Polish: Excellent

The price is US$10315 (already discounted about $150 through my whining). However, since I am from Australia, with all the taxes, insurance, shipping etc it comes out to US$11486, which is still probably a good deal, but significantly higher.

I''ve looked around local wholesalers as well, and there was a place that sold a 1.01 carat, E colour, VVS2 diamond with very good polish and symmetry (DCLA certified) for about US$10781. My personal preference is a D color with excellent polish and symmetry (although I can''t even tell the difference between D and G!), but this was all they had in stock and there was no guarantee of anything fitting my description coming through.

I''m not in a huge rush but I have the online diamond on hold and I''m not sure how much longer they can hold it.

Should I just go for the first diamond? Is it worth trying to get the price down even more or am I pushing my luck considering they already reduced it a bit? Or should I wait a couple of months for another local diamond (not knowing if it will ever come)?

Any thoughts or ideas will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
 
Hi!

Question. If you can''t tell the difference between a D and G, why not hold out for a well cut G? It will save you tons, and so would dropping the clarity a bit. VS2 will show nothing to the eye....
 
Sorry, I should have said "my girlfriend''s preference"! I know she has always wanted a top colour and top clarity diamond, even if no one else can tell the difference. This is why I''m really only considering D/E colour and VVS1 or VVS2.
 
Well, somebody needs to buy those high color/high clarity diamonds, so it may as well be you!

However, you need to find out the crown angle and pavilion angle of the stone you posted for people here to be able to estimate whether it is worth buying. Are you shopping online with US vendors?
 
When I bought my ring, I wish I didn't have to rush. Is the VVS2 something you want (being in the VVS range vs. the VS range)? I'd drop down in clarity for sure. Possibly in color. Bump up the carat size some for the same price. My wife wanted similar specs. After thinking about it tho, clarity is definitely the easiest thing to sacrifice because even with a loupe, it's hard to see those inclusions. I bought her a D color, VVS2 stone. I'd definitely drop down to a VS1 before I'd drop down to a E color. The reason being is that, with the naked eye and a stone to compare against, color is easier to see than a difference in clarity. Also, psychologically, D is the highest. VVS1 is not. So, dropping down from D is getting away from the best where as going down from the VVS level is more like going down from something that's not the best. Since it's not the best, it's not as big a step.
 
Hello - thanks for the advice.

I am shopping with online US vendors because I find they have the largest range of quality diamonds online.

I''m definitely looking for a VVS as opposed to a VS diamond - somehow I just know that is what she would want...

The reason I hesitate in getting a diamond that is much bigger than 1 carat is because I''ve heard several people mention that it might look too big for my girlfriend''s hand and may not be "practical". I''m not sure if there is really such a thing as "too big" a diamond, but I guess if the trade off for a bigger diamond is lower grade colour or clarity, I think she would always prefer the smaller diamond that has better qualities than a larger diamond even if the larger diamond''s qualities are still very good. Hope I am making sense.
 
Thanks for the advice - the diamond from White Flash does look very good, but when taxes and other expenses are added on it''s a little out of my price range! I''m trying to set limits for myself because I''ve already had to readjust my budget three times already!

Just to clarify, in respect of the 1.01 carat I mentioned in the original post, the crown angle is 34.4 degrees, crown depth is 15.1%, pavilion angle is 40.1 degrees and pavilion depth is 41.7%.

The price is as low as it will go, so I''m not really sure whether I should take it.

There is another diamond which I have looked at with the following stats:

Carat: 1.04
Colour: E
Clarity: VVS2
Lab: GIA
Measurements: 6.54 x 6.51 x 4.04
Depth: 61.9%
Table: 54%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Cut: Excellent
Fluorescence: None
Girdle: Thin-Med
Culet: None
Crown: 35 degrees, 15.5%
Pavilion: 40.8 degrees, 43%

The price of this one is cheaper at $10796 (inclusive of taxes and transport) compared to $11486 for the 1.01 carat, D coloured one. Is this a better buy?

Any thoughts?
 
Date: 10/16/2006 7:56:18 PM
Author: knuman
Thanks for the advice - the diamond from White Flash does look very good, but when taxes and other expenses are added on it''s a little out of my price range! I''m trying to set limits for myself because I''ve already had to readjust my budget three times already!

Just to clarify, in respect of the 1.01 carat I mentioned in the original post, the crown angle is 34.4 degrees, crown depth is 15.1%, pavilion angle is 40.1 degrees and pavilion depth is 41.7%.

The price is as low as it will go, so I''m not really sure whether I should take it.

There is another diamond which I have looked at with the following stats:

Carat: 1.04
Colour: E
Clarity: VVS2
Lab: GIA
Measurements: 6.54 x 6.51 x 4.04
Depth: 61.9%
Table: 54%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Cut: Excellent
Fluorescence: None
Girdle: Thin-Med
Culet: None
Crown: 35 degrees, 15.5%
Pavilion: 40.8 degrees, 43%

The price of this one is cheaper at $10796 (inclusive of taxes and transport) compared to $11486 for the 1.01 carat, D coloured one. Is this a better buy?

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
The $11486 is the price before pricescope and bank wire discounts, the price with these discounts is $10,951, is it still out of your price range? By the way, you have to ask for the pricescope discount if you buy from WF.
 
No, the WF price of $10,951 will not be the price I will actually be getting because I am from Australia, which means I have to pay about an extra $1100-$1200 or so for import taxes, shipping/insurance, etc. So even with the Price Scope and Bank Wire discounts, I''m really looking at a price of around $12,050-$12,150.

The $11486 price and the $10796 price I quoted above already include this amount AND have factored into the Price Scope and Bank Wire discounts (and additional discounts the vendors were willing to give me).
 
the E...
 
Okay... so top color.. F is still colorless. And Top Clarity. Well... VS1 is REALLY close. That''s the combo I have (although I would now go for a larger stone in H-I range and drop clarity to vs2) and it''s really lovely. Can you take her someplace to get educated on this stuff and then see if she still wants D vvs?
 
If your GF is partial to high quality clarity and color, stick with VVS and D if you can afford it. Personally, I agree, I''d rather sacrifice size than color and clarity (I''m partial to D graded diamonds) You are already in the 1 carat range and that''s pretty good size.

Good Luck!
 
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