festivities
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2004
- Messages
- 31
Dear DT,
May I plesae share a recent experience with you and offer a warning to anyone wanting to purchase a diamond online and hasn''t actually seen it in person and is not experienced with all the C''s?
I really wanted an Asscher cut (the real thing - vintage style) and found that I couldn''t afford it. I purchased a emerald square step from an Ebay seller with a good rating. Of course, it was advertised as an Asscher but I knew it wasn''t from reading all the wonderful info on this site. It seemed to have pretty good specs. I received it yesterday and took it to a local jeweler who previously showed me a lovely square step (I couldn''t afford that one... it was way beyond my bank account) and he originally advised me not to purchase under G color and SI1 clarity (based upon the money I had to spend and what I wanted). Well, I met those specs. He was VERY surprised that the stone matched everything the EGL USA cert. said, but his cutter said it was a "poor cut, too deep, and one of the prongs needed adjusting" and because of this, it loses some of the sparkle. There is nothing in the EGL block about the Cut... This particluar cutter said he is verfified to cut a Royal Asscher for the Asscher company and has years of experience, so I am taking his appraisal to heart and am serioulsy depressed about my purchase.
I was so worried about cost, SIZE!, color and clarity, that I didn''t really consider the cut. I did not see this exact ring/stone on Ebay, but the jeweler had one similar for sale, so I called. He made a ring for me that I receivd yesterday. He was really wonderful to work with and very friendly, but there are a few problems. Cut, depth, prong fit and the side stones are .08 each when they are supposed to be .20 each. TCW should be 1.40 as stated on the invoice and their separate appraisal, but the real TCW is 1.16!
I must say that I am disappointed overall with my online purchase. Now I must make a very uncomfortable call to the jeweler who was really nice and accommodating (I only have three days to return it) and hope that he will atleast replace the side stones for what they are supposed to be. My finacee thinks they made an honest mistake and put the wrong size baguettes in... The cutter said they will have to remount the stone because there isn''t enough gold on the band to accommodate the .20s. I know I won''t be able to return the center stone and that it''s my fault I find myself in this situation.
I wasn''t upset with the ring unitl I took it to the jeweler and learned of all these problems.
The ring itself is very pretty and does have quite a bit of sparkle (in the right light) and lots of mirror effect, and is eye clean and very white, but no one wants a poorly cut diamond, bad mounting and a stone which is too deep to reflect light correctly!
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SEE YOUR DIAMOND BEFORE YOU BUY IT AND HAVE A QUALIFIED PERSON LOOK AT IT! I should have asked the person I bought this from to send it to my local jewler before I bought it. Hindsight is 20-20.
Everytime I look at it (which is like every 5 seconds) I can only think of "poorly cut, too deep, bad mounting", and that the baguettes are too small!
Annie
May I plesae share a recent experience with you and offer a warning to anyone wanting to purchase a diamond online and hasn''t actually seen it in person and is not experienced with all the C''s?
I really wanted an Asscher cut (the real thing - vintage style) and found that I couldn''t afford it. I purchased a emerald square step from an Ebay seller with a good rating. Of course, it was advertised as an Asscher but I knew it wasn''t from reading all the wonderful info on this site. It seemed to have pretty good specs. I received it yesterday and took it to a local jeweler who previously showed me a lovely square step (I couldn''t afford that one... it was way beyond my bank account) and he originally advised me not to purchase under G color and SI1 clarity (based upon the money I had to spend and what I wanted). Well, I met those specs. He was VERY surprised that the stone matched everything the EGL USA cert. said, but his cutter said it was a "poor cut, too deep, and one of the prongs needed adjusting" and because of this, it loses some of the sparkle. There is nothing in the EGL block about the Cut... This particluar cutter said he is verfified to cut a Royal Asscher for the Asscher company and has years of experience, so I am taking his appraisal to heart and am serioulsy depressed about my purchase.
I was so worried about cost, SIZE!, color and clarity, that I didn''t really consider the cut. I did not see this exact ring/stone on Ebay, but the jeweler had one similar for sale, so I called. He made a ring for me that I receivd yesterday. He was really wonderful to work with and very friendly, but there are a few problems. Cut, depth, prong fit and the side stones are .08 each when they are supposed to be .20 each. TCW should be 1.40 as stated on the invoice and their separate appraisal, but the real TCW is 1.16!
I must say that I am disappointed overall with my online purchase. Now I must make a very uncomfortable call to the jeweler who was really nice and accommodating (I only have three days to return it) and hope that he will atleast replace the side stones for what they are supposed to be. My finacee thinks they made an honest mistake and put the wrong size baguettes in... The cutter said they will have to remount the stone because there isn''t enough gold on the band to accommodate the .20s. I know I won''t be able to return the center stone and that it''s my fault I find myself in this situation.
I wasn''t upset with the ring unitl I took it to the jeweler and learned of all these problems.
The ring itself is very pretty and does have quite a bit of sparkle (in the right light) and lots of mirror effect, and is eye clean and very white, but no one wants a poorly cut diamond, bad mounting and a stone which is too deep to reflect light correctly!
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SEE YOUR DIAMOND BEFORE YOU BUY IT AND HAVE A QUALIFIED PERSON LOOK AT IT! I should have asked the person I bought this from to send it to my local jewler before I bought it. Hindsight is 20-20.
Everytime I look at it (which is like every 5 seconds) I can only think of "poorly cut, too deep, bad mounting", and that the baguettes are too small!
Annie