Please review this rock & request for help finding setting

[NewShiny]

Hi There,
I have an appointment to look at this rock next Friday. Can you please offer your thoughts on it? I also have a copy of the Sarin report, which closely matches what is on the GIA cert. The VS1 is because of a small feather towards one edge of the diamond.

Basics: Round, 1.39 carats, E color, VS1 clarity
Price: $11,803

Measurements: 7.15x7.17x4.40
Depth: 61.5%
Table: 56%
Polish: EX
Symmetry: EX
Culet: None
Girdle: Medium, Faceted
Fluorescence: None
Culet: None
Crown Angle : 33.9°
Crown %: 14.7
Pavillion Angle : 40.4°
Pavillion %: 42.7
Lab Comments: None


I am also working on the setting. I''m looking for something similar to this setting (see attached), but it needs to have a matching wedding band that will sit flush with the engagement ring. The vendor of this setting told me it is meant to be worn alone. I''ve found what I want at a local B&M store, but know that I''d be paying way too much for the set (2200 for the white gold set). I''m open to this setting in either white gold or platinum. If anyone knows where I can get it, please let me know. I''m in the San Francisco bay area.

Many thanks in advance!!

 

[Mara]

Try looking at Escobar Diamonds in Campbell for settings. They have TONS. That setting in plat shouldn't cost more than $1500 I would estimate. Definitely not $2k for white gold, ridiculous.




As for the diamond, the numbers look good...have you seen it in person?




I think you are overpaying for the stone, but then again you are buying offline and so the markup is higher. We paid about $4k less for a 1.23c G VS1 stone...just to give some sort of comparison.




Also here is a comparison for online:


http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=GIA-12742649#


1.51 F SI1 (eye clean) AGS0 Excellent cut stone (look at IdealScope image) for $10350




It's SI1 but if it's eye clean, will look the same as a VS1 so you are not paying for clarity you can't see, and you get more size.

 

[Giangi]

The stone has nice numbers... As Mara pointed out, the price is in the higher end... Can you negotiate a bit?

 

[NewShiny]

The diamond vendor is actually online, with the stone being sent to an independent appraiser (Nancy Stacy) for me to take a look at next week. I don't really want to go below VS1, but maybe I should look at a couple of others (eye-clean!) per your suggestion. Thanks!

 

[NewShiny]

Oh, and I will hit Escobar Diamonds this weekend. I'm actually very close to Campbell.

Thanks so much!!

 

[Mara]

Nancy is great!

Good luck.




Yes I would definitely drop to SI1 and either save $$ or get a bigger stone...we have seen some SI's on here that are so eye clean, you wonder if the GIA or AGS grader was just having a really bad day. I have a VS1 stone which is what was available at the time, but I would buy SI again if I could and get a much bigger stone!




For an online price that stone is pretty expensive IMO. Is it even H&A?

 

[p5r799]

Newslick,
I think you can do much better than that.
I just resently looked at a 1.25, D color, SI1, ideal cut, etc for around $7200. From experience I learned that you can go little less with the clarity. You should never go lower than SI1 but a lot of SI1 stones are clean to human eyes and sometimes look exactly like VSI stones. No matter which color or clarity you want, I think you should look into Diamond Direct in Charlotte, NC. I sound like a commercial but they have a top of the line loose and set diamonds for an excellent prices. And you can find all kinds of settings for an unbelievalble prices. The store and the service is also magnificent.

 

[NewShiny]

Yes, it is H&A.

 

[highendgems]

ok, lets get it all out in the open. go down from a VS1...if it is a real VS2 you will not see anything at all. if you do, it is not properly certed.

so, that will free up $1K right there.

the stone you mention is very nicely cut, so you are good there--i totally agree w/ what others are saying as far as price--it is very well cut, but you should be well under $9.5K as you didnt break that 1.5 mark.

E color? go down, save another $1K. F highest, as low as H.

follow my suggestions and you'll get the same LOOKING diamond for almost 1/2 price.

 

[Mara]

I highly agree....SI clarity is excellent...and in terms of E vs F...I don't think there is a difference visually but there is in price (as you can see from my whiteflash example). If you can even go to G...that is another price drop. To be really honest, my G colored earrings and e-ring look super white to me. I don't see a hint of color.

 

[p5r799]

I agree that he can do much better in price; however, I don't agree about going down in color. The color is so visible to a human eye. If he can get a way with it, he shouldn't go below F. If you place the loose diamond on a piece of white paper, he should be able to tell how yellow the diamond is. You can get a way with going down on the clarity to SI1 but not the color. You can save 1-2 grands per clarity.
But you don't want to sacrifice the color.

 

[Mara]

Color is hugely subjective...your eye may not be the same as my eye.




Sure if you put down an F or even G color stone on white paper, it will show a slight tint of color....but who wears their stone in their ring against a white piece of paper? Be realistic. If he wants to stick with colorless, great....but I never agree with telling people that their stone is going to be tinted colored in G/H color..ESPECIALLY because I have both G *and* H colored stones and everyone always tells me how white they are. So I don't buy into the colorless hype.




Also, as we all know, the more well cut the stone, the more any color is masked by sparkle.




My two cents

 

[p5r799]

I do agree that it's all up to the taste of the individuals.
And I never said that he should comprise the cut which we all know is very important. But all the research that I did and all the experts that I spoke with told us that we should try to get a better color vs. clarity when you don't have a budget to get the best of the both worlds. I'm just passing on what I know for all of us who are trying to learn as much as possible before we make a big investment, so we can make the best decision possible.

 

[Mara]

The best decision possible is subjective, and if you were talking I or J color being yellow, I could get on board..but not from G/H perspective. Maybe some tend to see more color at H but I don't think I know anyone whose opinion I would respect who would not think G is not a smart compromise in order to get that best balance of 4c's.

 

[aljdewey]

----------------
On 1/9/2004 3:05:40 PM p5r799 wrote:

But all the research that I did and all the experts that I spoke with told us that we should try to get a better color vs. clarity when you don't have a budget to get the best of the both worlds----------------

Absolutely right.....but where in the above statement does that translate to "don't go below an F?" I don't think it does.

The only experts motivated to actually say "don't go below an F" would be those selling the stones who want to keep you in the "premium" bracket of COLORLESS. The human eye cannot distinguish differences of just one color grade....and that means it cannot distinuish a discernable difference between an F and a G......but the WALLET sure can!

 

[p5r799]

I guess I just have an expensive taste.

All the stores that I visited in the past, I was able to pick out D or E diamonds among 8 different rings.

 

[Mara]

----------------
On 1/9/2004 3:30:15 PM p5r799 wrote:





I guess I just have an expensive taste.

----------------

Actually sounds more like color sensitive eyes! Not many are like that.

 

[NewShiny]

I just wanted to say thank you for all of you help. I think I am going to stick with the better quality stone (knowing that I paid a bit much for it). The quality is more important to me than size.

BTW, I'm a "she", not a "he". I consider myself one of the lucky gals who gets to pick out what she wants - the first time!

Cheers to all!
newslick

 

[Mara]

Though this looked familiar.




http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=6881173




I still think it's a tad expensive for not even a true H&A. By the way, these Signature stones are NOT true H&A stones. They are something that could be classified almost H&A but the patterns are not crisp enough to be true. Nice Firescope image though.




Read up on the Signature Series here: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/dirt-cheap-diamonds-signature-series.9322/




Note how Jim says that they purposefully did not call these H&A stones. Also, I tend to think the SS represents a great deal when one is on a budget, but with your budget, you may want to see what else comes available in the near future to see if you can get a true H&A for the same price.




Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[valeria101]

Hi!
I understand that you want a greta stone with all the bells and wisthles both on paper and to meet your eye. The stone you have shortlisted does leave room for improvement, but only very little. I guess the previous posts, trying to convice you about the advantages of F-SI stones are all well meant, sice quite a few firs-time posters realize along the way that they actually do not have a clear perception about what exactly those higher or lowe grades communicate. This does not seem to be your case, but this makes you a memeber of a rather small community... Of course, your choice is great.
All in all, I surely hope you are getting all the info needed about this stone and you will be happy with your purchase. There is no reason not to get a top stone in terms of cut as well as color and clarity for this price. Even if a fraction of the cost is not an issue, getting the best choice available makes a little sense. All diamonds look great by themselves to people who do not handle them all day: this is what grades (including cut grades) are there in the first place.

Best of luck with your purchase! I surely hope PS made itself useful for you a bit