PLEASE HELP! Princess Cut Questions

[Princess In Distress]

I have been looking for a princess cut diamond in the 3 to 3.25 carat range. Have read a few books. I''ve "Analyzed & now feel Paralysed." There are so many pieces of advise that I don''t know who to trust or believe. I read "How to buy a Diamond" by Fred the "Diamond Guy." After reading and speaking with his staff I began to question his info. Is it a bunch of smoke and mirrors? He recommends a Class II 65/65 diamond with all the sarin readings. I called to see about locating a "bonded diamond" that met these specs. They said that is nearly impossible. I have read other books as well as searched web. I have seen numerous stones posted from various vendors and am thoroughly frustrated and "Distressed."
I''m looking at an "Ideal cut" (don''t know how that is determined or what it means) GIA 3.12 F SI1 D65% T63% no florescence Measurements 8.25x8.5x5.42
Please advise on the following questions:
1. What is a fair price per carat to pay?
2. Are Whiteflash, UnitedDiamond, Dirt Cheap, GoodOldGold honest companies to deal with?
3. Regarding GIA;
a.Does it matter how old a GIA cert.is?I read to never accept one over 6 mo.
b.Is a GIA a document that can be verified by a tracking number to prove authenticity?
c.Can GIA ever be "baked or laser drilled?" Should it say "untreated or 100% natural?"
4. Should I get a sarin report?
Any and all comments are greatly appreciated!

Princess in Distress

 

[moremoremore]

You said the F word. Fred is warped. And if you actually find a 65/65 diamond...I will buy it for you....!

In response to #1- depends on cut quality
#2- yes.
#4- yes
#3- not sure

I've never seen a 65/63 princess. Part of me thinks that the depth and table might be too low...maybe that's bc I'm conditioned to seeing deeper stones...dunno. You will really need to get the crown and pavillion info...

 

[moremoremore]

And re: "I'm looking at an "Ideal cut" (don't know how that is determined or what it means)"

No one TRULY knows what that means for fancies. That's why you need to look at each stone on an individual basis...you'd be surprised how many "warped" stones out there are a triple very high on the BScope...

 

[verticalhorizon]

My take on an old cert is this:

There is probably nothing wrong with a diamond with an old cert (if it's a legit cert), simply b/c it's old. You have to be a detective. Why has this particular stone been so hard to unload and can you find and live with it's flaw.

There's this one Princess that pops up all the time when people are shopping. The issue? It has a really scarey thin girdle. However all of the other stats look great! I'm not sure how old that one in particular is, but sometimes just one thing is enought to scare people away. For that one lucky customer who can live with it, it may be the bargain of a lifetime and perhaps you can bargain down?!

 

[Rank Amateur]

Ignore everything you "learned" from Fred. The idea of a diamond being "bonded" is absolute bullshit.

Go to Dave Atlas's site and look at his preferred cut proportions for princesses, realizing that they are guidelines and there are stones that "break the rules" and look better (or worse) than their by-the-numbers grade might indicate. Fancy cuts must be seen to be heard.

Go to Superbcert's website and look at the princesses he has listed. Often these have smaller tables than Dave recommends but many believe that they are real stunners.

Buy from a vendor who has pros on staff whom you can trust - namely one of these who contribute to PS. If you still want verification use one of the independent appraisers who frequent here. It will be $150 well spent.

I would not worry as much about the age of the cert as I would the look of the actual stone and the reputation of the vendor.

Did I mention to stay away from Fred?

 

[pqcollectibles]

Good news!!

So far from the specs you've posted, this diamond is on track to be a Cut Class 1A. For a Princess cut, that is considered an "Ideal" make.

You absolutely need to get the crown height and girdle thickness. A Sarin report would give you an accurate crown height measurement and a graph of the girdle thickness all the way around the diamond. Then you can use the additional info to plug into the DIY Cut Grading System at www.gemappraisers.com and rate the overall quality of the make.

Don't worry about an older Cert. Especially on a larger sized princess cut diamond. And this is a larger sized diamond. Say a person like yourself goes into a jeweler's shop and asks for diamonds to be brougth in. The jeweler gets diamonds from one or more sources "On Memo". This diamond could have gone out to any of several dealers since it was originally Certed. Also, the price and availability of "white" goods is going up (price) and down (availability). The wholesaler could have been "holding back" as it were. Only allowing truly serious buyers to have a gander at this diamond. There any number of scenarios so who really knows.

Mondera currently has a comparable F, SI2 available for sale, priced right at $21K.

Here's a link to an old PS thread that discusses treatment issues:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/is-laser-treatment-disclosed-on-gia-ags-certs.11773/

White Flash, Good Old Gold, Nice Ice, and Dirt Cheap Diamonds all deal in princess diamonds that have been professionally evaluated and hand selected for quality and performance. You can search past Forum threads by Vendor name to read about other people's experiences.

You might also consider chatting with some Vendors, finding one you are comfortable working with, having them source a diamond for you. Just a thought.

Good Luck in your search!