PLEASE HELP!

[linzann16]

My boyfriend is going to check out a diamond tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if it sounds like the price is good or if the diamond will be really sparkly and beautiful. Its from an expensive jewelry store that we would normally never look at, but they had a 50% off sale on their solitaires. He had this one shipped in from Atlanta to look at. He hasn''t seen it yet but is going to look at it tomorrow and I think if he likes it, he will buy it. I am just making sure its a good deal.

1.25 ct Round
G
VVS2
Table 59
Depth 61.9
GIA certified

In platinum setting with .20 diamond underneath

asking $7200 (Original price was $16,700)

Thank you so much for any advice you can give me!!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Hi Linzann!

Unfortunately we can't really judge the cut without the all important crown and pavilion angles. Could your BF contact the sellers and see if they can get this info from the GIA report please? If so, then post them here, then we can go from there. The table is a bit larger than we often see here, but the crown and pavilion angles are the determining factor as to how well this diamond will perform and sparkle. Also did you particularly want such high clarity? It is cut quality which gives a diamond it's beauty, so you can probably comfortably drop to VS clarity or even a clean SI if you like and still have a very clean and beautiful diamond, if the cut is good. But if VVS is your preference, feel free to ignore that advice!

 

[neatfreak]

We need a lot more info. Do you know the GIA certificate #? We can look it up then...

 

[Fly Girl]

Hi linzann - It won''t be an ideal cut diamond, but it could still be very beautiful. Try getting the rest of the numbers off the GIA certificate, and run them through the Holloway Cut Advisor. HCA Link That will tell you if the cut angles are such that you will get maximum sparkle.

 

[linzann16]

Thanks for the advice thus far. My boyfriend has a copy of the GIA certificate so I will contact him and post the rest of the information.

As for the VVS2 clarity, I did not care for that high of a clarity, but it just so happened that I wanted a G color and a 1.25 diamond, and this one seemed to be good and in our price range. I just don''t want him buying a diamond that isn''t going to look like a 1.25 diamond...In other words, there is no sense in my mind of buying a 1.25 diamond that looks like a 1.00 diamond. Anyway, I will post the remaining information as soon as he gets back to me!

Thanks again!

 

[Lorelei]

You are welcome! We will need the -

crown angle
pavilion angle
girdle thickness
diameter measurement
polish and symmetry grades
fluorescence if applicable

So if your BF can get those, we can go from there.

 

[linzann16]

Hey guys here is everything off of the GIA cert. It''s dated June 22, 2002, report number 12080444

Style: Round brilliant
Measurements: 6.86-6.93x4.27mm
Weight: 1.25 Carat
Depth: 61.9%
Table: 59%
Girdle:Medium to slightly thick, faceted
Culet: None
Polish: very good
Symmetry: very good
clarity grade: vvs2
color grade: g
fluorescence: none

This is everything on the report, I hope it helps! Thanks so much for everyones input, let me know what you think.

 

[Lorelei]

Can you get the crown and pavilion angles please? They should be on the GIA report, if not then it could be that the diamond was graded before GIA started using cut grades.

 

[linzann16]

I believe it was graded before those measurements were GIA standard. That''s kind of what I''m worried about, those measurements that I gave are the only ones on the form unfortunately.

 

[Fly Girl]

It might have a Sarin report, which would give the information we need. Try asking for that.

 

[kcoursolle]

Date: 6/28/2008 4:13:01 PM
Author: Lorelei
Can you get the crown and pavilion angles please? They should be on the GIA report, if not then it could be that the diamond was graded before GIA started using cut grades.

They probably don''t have crown/pavillion angles listed on a 2002 cert. Linzann, can you ask the vendor to run a sarin report to get these angles? So far the price looks great, but it''s a little strange that the cert is so old. The table is also slightly large, but depending on the crown/pavillion angles it could be fine or not.

 

[linzann16]

I won''t be able to check on that report until tomorrow. I''m not sure if they will have it or not, is that something standard that they run? I have to decide basically tomorrow when I see it otherwise it goes back out to all the stores. If they do have that report what angles should I be looking for? If they don''t and everything looks good (IE) It looks great next to another 1.25 diamond there, It looks large enough, and I don''t see anything under the scope) would it be a pretty good deal? I believe the ring has a small .16 diamond underneath it and it is set in platinum. Thanks everyone for all of the help!!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 6/28/2008 6:37:11 PM
Author: linzann16
I won''t be able to check on that report until tomorrow. I''m not sure if they will have it or not, is that something standard that they run? I have to decide basically tomorrow when I see it otherwise it goes back out to all the stores. If they do have that report what angles should I be looking for? If they don''t and everything looks good (IE) It looks great next to another 1.25 diamond there, It looks large enough, and I don''t see anything under the scope) would it be a pretty good deal? I believe the ring has a small .16 diamond underneath it and it is set in platinum. Thanks everyone for all of the help!!!

don''t rush,don''t worry about it. there''re other diamonds in the market.

 

[honey22]

I don''t want to be a party pooper, but I would be vary wary of 50% off sales at jewllery shops - vendors don''t ever give you something for nothing! They are not going to take a cut like that. I would suggest that the stone is probably pooly cut and therefore not really worth anywhere near the original price. You mentioned that the store is expensive, so they probably have massive markups anyway, which covers any sales they may have at other times of the year.

I think you would be safer off checking out some PS vendors and purchasing online where you can fully assess the quality of the stones you are looking at. That way you will get an awesome stone at a realistic price.

 

[lazybum9]

Date: 6/29/2008 4:31:37 AM
Author: honey22
I don''t want to be a party pooper, but I would be vary wary of 50% off sales at jewllery shops - vendors don''t ever give you something for nothing! They are not going to take a cut like that. I would suggest that the stone is probably pooly cut and therefore not really worth anywhere near the original price. You mentioned that the store is expensive, so they probably have massive markups anyway, which covers any sales they may have at other times of the year.

I think you would be safer off checking out some PS vendors and purchasing online where you can fully assess the quality of the stones you are looking at. That way you will get an awesome stone at a realistic price.

I totally agree with honey...I nearly bought my engagement ring from a store cos it seems quite a bargain...only to pull out after i''ve got the HCA score>2...with all the help i got from all PSers, ended up buying from GOG which i know will be a beautiful diamond with all the research done...I really got an swesome stone at a realistic price!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/28/2008 6:05:30 PM
Author: kcoursolle

Date: 6/28/2008 4:13:01 PM
Author: Lorelei
Can you get the crown and pavilion angles please? They should be on the GIA report, if not then it could be that the diamond was graded before GIA started using cut grades.

They probably don't have crown/pavillion angles listed on a 2002 cert. Linzann, can you ask the vendor to run a sarin report to get these angles? So far the price looks great, but it's a little strange that the cert is so old. The table is also slightly large, but depending on the crown/pavillion angles it could be fine or not.

Missed that, and you are right, they won't be. Are there any other diamonds you are interested in?

 

[linzann16]

As far as other stones interested in we have been looking for some time but the only places online were Blue Nile and a few jewelers out of New York. Our main problem has been that the best deals are not GIA certified but other certifications and many people have told us that other certifications are more lax(not sure how true this is) than GIA.

 

[honey22]

Most PSers tend to agree that AGS is the strictest lab for cut grading followed closely by GIA. AGS is more strict on cut grading which makes it the lab of choice around these parts. GIA''s top cut grade is more broad than AGS and therefore you can get some stones that fall into GIA excellent that we would pass on around here.

You are getting a better deal with the less strict labs, such as EGL as their colour and clarity grades are known to be softer and can actually be up to two colour and clarity grades lower hence the cheaper price. A lower colour, more included stone will sell for less.

If you give us an idea of budget and what you are looking for in terms of size, colour etc, we can suggest some beautiful stones with certs that you won''t have to be concerned about, from PS vendors that have fabulous return and upgrade policies.

Good luck with your search!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/29/2008 7:08:09 AM
Author: honey22
Most PSers tend to agree that AGS is the strictest lab for cut grading followed closely by GIA. AGS is more strict on cut grading which makes it the lab of choice around these parts. GIA''s top cut grade is more broad than AGS and therefore you can get some stones that fall into GIA excellent that we would pass on around here.

You are getting a better deal with the less strict labs, such as EGL as their colour and clarity grades are known to be softer and can actually be up to two colour and clarity grades lower hence the cheaper price. A lower colour, more included stone will sell for less.

If you give us an idea of budget and what you are looking for in terms of size, colour etc, we can suggest some beautiful stones with certs that you won''t have to be concerned about, from PS vendors that have fabulous return and upgrade policies.

Good luck with your search!

Ditto, we would be pleased to take a look for you if you would like us to.