Price too good to be true?

[ambenj]

My husband and I have traded in my .40 (G color, VS1)platinum solitaire from Tiffany''s. We went to a small jewelry center in NJ that has several dealers in one building. We have purchased a GIA cert. 1.53 G color SI2 stone to replace my old stone in the same setting from Tiffany''s. The cost of the stone (after negotiating) was 5900 and we got $400 for my old stone (which was very low but new diamond was low too so it worked out into our budget). This seems awfully cheap compared to what the going rate appears to be for this kind of stone. Did we get a good deal or could something be wrong?
Thanks for your help!

(I haven''t gotten the ring/ stone yet bc they are doing the work on it now.)

 

[2Bmarried]

I guess I'll be the first to ask the question everyone else will ask.......do you have the specs??

Crown & Pavilion angles
Crown & Pavilion height (%)
Table
Depth
Girdle
Culet
Etc.....

More info is needed before anyone can tell if you got a deal or not. At first glance, I think you either got a GREAT deal or a possibly sub-par diamond.

 

[fire&ice]

Also, was the .40 actually purchased at Tiffany's & the ring signed by them?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

----------------
On 4/5/2004 12:59:22 PM fire&ice wrote:

Also, was the .40 actually purchased at Tiffany's & the ring signed by them?----------------

If your stone is an actual signed Tiffany's you can do MUCH better than $400 by selling yourself. An authentic Tiffany & Co. ring with a diamond about this size/color/clarity would go for AT LEAST 1K on eBay.

Michelle

 

[ambenj]

Yes- my orginal ring was purchased at Tiffany's (for 3 times what it's worth)
As for specs for new diamons- I have them at home but I beleive the table is 58% and the depth is 63 % maybe? It has very good polish and very good symmetry. That's about all I know. Is that enough to make a judegement??
thanks!

 

[ambenj]

also- Girdle is Med-thick

 

[verticalhorizon]

Is your jeweler sure that a 1.5 ct is going to fit in the same setting that was made for a 0.4?

Also, if the stone is a Tiffany branded diamond like the Lucida, then I would sell separately or consign to a jewelers. You're more likely to get a better price. Is would be like selling your car privately versus getting the trade in value. From what I understand, diamonds are notoriously hard to sell, which is kinda ironic.

 

[ambenj]

He is taking the "head" out of my old ring and putting in new, larger prongs to suit the new stone. The ring from tiffany has an opening of sorts, where the prongs set in.

 

[verticalhorizon]

Interesting, I would think that the whole ring would be considered more valuable if you were selling and upgrading. Since the Jeweler is doing some considerable work on the setting, a specific Tiffany one at that, there is a chance that the job may not come out 100% perfect than starting with a brand new setting.

But of course, when I say sell the whole thing, I say it as a typical guy. I do realize there's sentiment attached to your ring. However, I've read horror stories on how jewelers butchered women's rings, just by trying to resize them! You should ask for references maybe, from clients who've had similar work done by them. Just an idea.

 

[valeria101]

The price is good for all the details shown. It would cease being 'good' if the stone has some very visible inclusion, esp. black. SI2 or not, if the piece is visibly included it would not be a fast sell so one should expect a little discount. The price was not outlandishly small.

As you know, the 'specialty' of this site is to produce educated guesses on diamonds light return (brightness and sparkle) based on a few numbers. There is allot about how this is done in the tutorial above. But you have the stone in hand, so such guessing is not very useful anymore: why guess when you already know what the stone is like

You must have chosen it among quite a few so what can be wrong ?

 

[ambenj]

thanks for your thoughts. I was very surprised at how hard the inclusions were to see with the loupe so compared to others I thought it was a good buy. Was mainly concerned that maybe the cut is not good.

 

[valeria101]

Those angles would be most revealing for how the stone's look compares with the rest.

For example, it would be nice to have a pair such as 35 degrees crown angles and 41 pavilion.

One way to find out is just measure the stone ! (Sarin). But it may well be easier to compare the stone with an ideal cut, if the shop accross the street holds them.

Has the ring already been appraised for insurance? If not, an appraiser would be able to tell you all these details.