Princess Cut Shopping: ?s on Cut, Certificates, and Insurance

[cdecker]

I have been looking at princess cuts at Charleston Alexander in Falls Church, VA (Northern VA, close to Washington D.C.). Does anyone have experience with them?

I'm currently looking at these two diamonds:
.70 E, VS1 for $2783
.70 F, VS2 for $2520

My question is mainly about cut. I have read many threads on the forums which explain the cuts in great detail, but I haven't truly been able to understand everything. If someone could breakdown my below questions that would be great.

It's a princess and AGS, GIA, or EGL certified. I believe it is either AGS or GIA, and will return tomorrow to verify. I have read on the forums that AGS is stricter, but that any of these certifications are acceptable.

1) How will I know I'm not getting screwed with a crappy cut? I'm not sure I understand how to read this chart: http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc1.asp. Would the numbers necessary to determine whether the cut was good or not (at least on paper) be on the certificate, or will the certificate state the grade of cut for me (for example, the AGS sample on the Charleston Alexander website shows a cut of "AGS Excellent 1")?
2) Reading over the discussion on white gold -vs- platinum has been very educational, but I'm still unsure. My girlfriend would probably like the lightness of the white gold, but I know the platinum feels better to hold and is worth more/is more durable.
3) If I went with platinum I believe there is a number type given to the platinum. What is acceptable? Basically I'm asking how I can tell if they mixed platinum with something else to reduce the price. The white gold has .40 and is $1609, while the platinum is .50 and costs $1749.
4) When I go to get insurance to cover the ring should I take the ring somewhere to be appraised, should I guess what its worth based on the purchase price, etc.?

That's all my questions. I appreciate anyone who can answer my questions to the best of their ability. I love the WWW for great sites like this and people like yourselves!



Thanks,
Chris

 

[blueroses]

*bump*

Chris, I don''t really know too much about Princesses (the cut rules for fancies are different, AND there is apparently a brand new standard for princesses) but hopefully some of the more knowledgeable folks will weigh in.

 

[cdecker]

I hope so, because I want my girlfriend to love her ring! Help me out everyone!!!!

 

[blueroses]

http://journal.pricescope.com/Articles/13/1/AGS-new-cut-grading-of-princesses-a-first-experience.aspx

Info on the new AGS guidelines....

 

[Capitol Bill]

cdecker,
I''m also from the DC area and would be pleased to offer some guidance in regard to your questions.

1) How will I know I''m not getting screwed with a crappy cut? I''m not sure I understand how to read this chart: http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc1.asp. Would the numbers necessary to determine whether the cut was good or not (at least on paper) be on the certificate, or will the certificate state the grade of cut for me (for example, the AGS sample on the Charleston Alexander website shows a cut of "AGS Excellent 1")?

The AGA princess cut chart, while sometimes helpful, is not necessarily one of the best tools at your disposal. Just recently the AGS introduced a new, more accurate approach to grading princess cuts for light perfomance as well as overall "make". If you want to learn more I would encourage you to do a search of recent posts regarding the new AGS cut grading system for princess cuts.

2) Reading over the discussion on white gold -vs- platinum has been very educational, but I''m still unsure. My girlfriend would probably like the lightness of the white gold, but I know the platinum feels better to hold and is worth more/is more durable.

There''s no right answer here. White Gold and platinum are two very different metals, but either will look nice next to a colorless stone. Make your choice according to your personal preference & budget.

3) If I went with platinum I believe there is a number type given to the platinum. What is acceptable? Basically I''m asking how I can tell if they mixed platinum with something else to reduce the price. The white gold has .40 and is $1609, while the platinum is .50 and costs $1749.

Most fine platinum jewelry is either "950" or "900" -- 95 percent pure or 90 percent pure. I would be very surprised if a store like Charleston Alexander is offering anything but one of these purity grades. Not sure what the .40 and the .50 correlate to.

4) When I go to get insurance to cover the ring should I take the ring somewhere to be appraised, should I guess what its worth based on the purchase price, etc.?

The decision to get an independent appraisal is up to you. I''m not positive, but I''m pretty sure Charleston Alexander provides an appraisal document with your purchase. Some people like to hire an independent appraiser to get reliable answers to the types of questions you have raised in your posting. Also, some people feel an independent appraisal may be more accurate in determining the amount of insurance coverage they really need. If you are interested in locating a reputable independent gemologist appraiser in the DC area, there''s none better than Martin Fuller of Fuller & Associates.
Best of luck to you!
Bill Scherlag

 

[Regular Guy]

Bill,

Nice form for being too modest to mention, as I read it, that you yourself are now a local distributor for what seems to be some kick ass Princess cuts from Infinity.

On a separate note, while I''m still bothering people on this board, I have a few things (too many?) to say about appraisers. I used Martin Fuller, appreciate he''s well respected, and did receive some benefit of course. But...where you yourself acknowledge the importance of cut, and where you will sell today (right?) GIA certed diamonds without the benefit of crown & pavilion measurements, and where it''s given credence to look at things in the 1000ths of of a degree (!), I don''t get his office not having any apparatus for measuring those things, apart from an older equipment that''s designed to get it right, when asked, but be off by one or two degrees.

For those who would like to confirm a purported ideal cut is ideal...an appraiser is where you''d want to do that. Can he?

Many thanks, and again, welcome aboard!

 

[cdecker]

Great, I''m glad to hear Charleston Alexander is a reputable jeweler--I''m both new to the DC area and unexperienced with diamonds. I did a search on the forums and have read some good things. It''s looking like I''d spend about $4500 there. I spoke with the associate and she was unwilling to negotiate, but postings on this forum state they normally will. Is it crazy for me to haggle with them?

Thanks for the help on appraisals; I''ll probably just use the appraisal they give me.

Should I be pushy enough to ask to see the diamond under magnification? Should I do this after the stone is set, too, to verify it wasn''t switched (accidentally of course

)?

 

[cdecker]

Any thoughts?

 

[Regular Guy]

Chris,

It looks like Charleston Alexander may have two sets of policies going...one for walk ins and one for internet shoppers. If you''ve been a walk in, see if you can get the longer length of time to view your option allowed to internet shoppers....or tell them you''ll order it over the internet, and then pick it up...whatever (or so it seems to me).

Otherwise....from reading about Princesses recently on this board...if you buy from them, either make sure it is a recent AGS0, since this cut has been radicalized by AGS standards, or at least, bring it over to Capital Bill, and be sure you have an opportunity to compare whatever you get froom CA to what Bill has. It seems the cuts Infinity has, somewhat uniquely available through Capital Bill somehow or another, are extraordinary. So, although you may not otherwise get a "crappy cut," if you''re looking to optimize, I would not miss this opportunity.

Again regarding the appraiser...if you get and AGS certed stone, and it''s a recent cert, it won''t matter much who the appraiser is, since the data will have been verified by AGS, and any appraiser can just match the stone to the cert. Also, if it''s otherwise a princess, actual sarin data may not matter that much, and in fact, since Martin Fuller''s office has experience looking at diamonds, just finding someone with experience on these things should help you the most, since I understand the numbers on princesses aren''t generally that helpful (unless you go by the most recent standards...in which case a new AGS0, earned by the numbers, makes a lot of difference!).

Best,

 

[Capitol Bill]

Regular Guy,
Thanks for the kind email of welcome you posted.

Regarding your question about hiring an independent gemologist appraiser -- I appreciate the point you make about having state-of-the-art measurement tools. And I agree with you that if you want to hire an appraiser for purposes of verifiying Sarin measurements it would be smart to make sure the appraiser owns a Sarin or OGI machine. But I believe the main purpose for hiring a well-qulaified independent appraiser is to receive an accurate value of the item you''re buying. Would I be safe to assume that''s the main reason you opted for an independent appraisal? By the way, Martin Fuller is one of the first appraisers I know of who owns one of the new AGS ASET tools.

Regarding your comment about what I sell -- not all clients are looking to buy the ultimate in cutting precision (perish the thought

). I''ve had clients that just want something good enough to pass scrutiny by their future mother-in-law

. Some clients want a diamond with an AGS report and lots of other information confirming it''s cut performance, some want GIA reports only, some want a mix of information, and a few don''t care about any of it. It only makes sense to try to offer a variety of diamonds and services to satisfy every one of them.

I look forward to future discussions.
Bill Scherlag