Questions about OEC's!

[lizzyann]

Hi there!

I have been thinking about purchasing an OEC. I like the patterning on the OEC vs a tranny. I've been trolling Ebay and have watched items come and go and have been getting the itch to pull the trigger. What kinds of things should I look for in a nice OEC? Is there a certain depth, specs, etc? Are they usually graded by a lab? I am noticing many are not. Anyways, any advice or questions to ask the sellers would be a real help. Thanks everyone!!

 

[stci]

The OEC are not grade usually.

Look for small table, color of your choice and best clarity you can. I prefer small culet but it's matter of taste.

Check for big nick on the girdle.

You have to fall in love with it. It happens!

 

[lizzyann]

The OEC are not grade usually.

Look for small table, color of your choice and best clarity you can. I prefer small culet but it's matter of taste.

Check for big nick on the girdle.

You have to fall in love with it. It happens!

Thanks for the info stci! Is a high table usually common amongst OEC's?

 

[stci]

Not sure what you mean by "high table" but OEC & OMC have small table and high crown.

 

[lizzyann]

yes that's what I meant...high crown. A lot of the pictures of an oec show the elevated small table and I just assumed that is a common characteristic of an oec. So thank you for confirming that! Does anyone have any trusted ebay sellers of oec that they would be willing to share? I am keeping an eye on sellers feedback and return policy.

Oh one more question...when you receive your oec do you usually get it appraised or looked at to be sure it is an authentic diamond and that the specs provided by the seller were pretty close to accurate? I just don't want to get taken advantage of.

Thanks again stci!

 

[MyDiamondSparkles]

I learned the hard way not to buy any diamond that does not have a GIA report. My advice is to not take the seller's word on cut, clarity or color, or even the carat weight. And make sure the diamond has a return policy with a full refund.

If you find a diamond with a EGL report I think it is probably safe to assume that the grading of it "may" be a few notches lower on color and clarity, so keep that in mind.

Make sure you know EXACTLY waht the inclusions in the diamond are: feather, white inclusion, black inclusion, cloud, etc and where those inclusions are located and how large they are. Does it have flourescence, etc.

Make sure you have lots of photos and close up photos too. Can they give yuo a link to a close up video of the diamond?

Here is a link to my post about my EBay experience:

www.pricescope.com/forum/rockytalky/i-like-big-bling-and-i-can-not-lie-real-ugly-diamond-story-t153929.html

Good luck with your diamond search. I hope you find the diamond of your dreams.

MyDiamondSparkles

 

[kelpie]

Two ebay sellers I trust to grade diamonds to GIA standards or even stricter...emeraldimports and MLOpros. I've bought countless things and have been happy with all of them. I also got my engagement ring diamond off ebay and had it re-paired/recut by single stone which let me spend way less than I would have to from a typical vendor for a huge rock. Stick to good pictures, people who sounds like they know what they are talking about when it comes to grades (sometimes I have to laugh when they say, it's an SL2), with good feedback. I don't usually get things appraised but I did buy a diamond tester to use at home. I got my engagement diamond appraised because it is 2ct+ it actually appraised as L VS2 and was sold as M VS2. Always pay through paypal funded with a credit card so you can dispute if needed.

ETA- MyDiamondSparkles gives a good warning. I never buy other than small inexpensive uncerted modern cut diamonds unless the vendor is mentioned above, however ebay is absolutely the best place to get deals on old cut diamonds; and with the exception of grimey indian rose cuts, it's not like they are mass producing them like some unethical sellers are with the crud they are selling that is basically round brilliant cut bort.

ETA- forget about buying an old cut for a steal buy the numbers. Use your eyes, they will communicate with your brain to decide if it is pretty or not. Color and clairty is also rarely precise (often in your favor) however it is further complicated by the abrasions/polish defects on old stones which drag down the grade of one that may be internally clean.

 

[LGK]

When I'm weeding through a large virtual list I do use some numbers to find better possibilities. Personally I tend to prefer 60-62% depth, mostly to get a decent face up size- you can still find some lovelies with a higher depth %, they just face small for the weight.

And tables, I usually like small ones in the mid 40% range best, but I own one that's almost 60% and is also lovely. You just don't get that cool Kozibe effect of the culet reflecting around with larger tables.

You want the crown to be nice and high. I'm not terribly picky about culet size- a GIA small culet is not visible to the naked eye, however.

I am fairly picky about OECs. Not all are well cut, many are sort of so so but not fantastic. Basically, you want to see the whole stone reflecting fire back to you when you play with it. The most common "problem" with cut is that only part of the stone returns fire/light; often the center facets just kind of sit there and don't do much, while all the light play comes from the outer edge. Or vice versa, but it is usually the center that is kind of lazy. Also you see OECs that get some really noticeable darkness under the table, usually from being too deep. Basically, I never buy an OEC that I cannot return if I'm buying sight unseen. You *must* evaluate them in person; some vendors are big helps, but not everyone loves every look. (I, for example, don't really like transitional cuts- so even if it's a fabulous TC I wouldn't care for it.)

I prefer OECs with fairly decent symmetry, a nice regular snowflake-like patterning.

Frequently OECs are graded by EGL *at best*, or uncerted entirely. Because GIA would probably give most OECs a not-so-great cut grade. Personally if I can't evaluate color (I'm pretty good at judging lower color stones, but a higher color I would be pretty hard pressed to have a clue on) I take it to an independant appraiser. I shopped around until I found one who was familiar with antique cuts, which not every IA is.

And again, I wouldn't ever buy a significantly sized OEC without a return period.

Oh and definitely check for damage. Many OECs have razor thin girdles and thus were chipped over the years, or have bearding (a fine cracking around the edge). I don't mind a small, non eye visible chip if the price is right, but I'm not fond of more chips or a largeish one.

Also, especially if the stone has a lower color grade, try to look at it in a variety of lights. Lower colors especially are chameleons and really can change depending on ambient light. Sometimes my M colored OEC looks plain ol' white, other times it's cream colored.

I have purchased from DoverJewelry on ebay and off their own website and have been *very* happy with the price, but they can be a bit all over the map in terms of description accuracy- I think they do a large volume and are thus a bit hasty with grading color etc. I always ask them for a return period and they've given me one so far. OldWorldDIamonds.com has a huge list of OECs but their prices have ooched up a bit recently it seems like; Adam is super helpful however, and will be your eyes for you. I loved the OEC he picked for me, FWIW.

Have fun!

 

[lizzyann]

Mydiamondsparkles, sorry to hear about your bad transaction and thanks for posting!

Kelpie, I tried looking up emeraldimports on ebay but nothing is showing up for them. Thanks for posting your sellers though. I am finding some OEC's are more pleasing to my eye than others so I understand what you mean by "using your eyes".

LGK, thanks for stopping by! I am finding in my research that I do not like transitional cuts and I do not like OMC's because I like the patterning and symmetry better on OEC's. I did find a stone that I have been debating on buying for awhile. I asked the seller some questions about details and his response was....

"No damage, no nick, fires in person, 3 days return for full refund if u dont like it"

Not much more info than the listing. I am reluctant to post the link to possibly lose my shot at my first reasonably priced OEC so I am going to post a pic with some info. Color I, Clarity VS1, measures 5.55mmX 3.5 deep. Please let me know your thoughts on this stone. Personally, I think it looks beautiful and it is priced well based on my research. I like the faceting pattern.

 

[yennyfire]

I'm trying to find out as much as I can about OEC's too, so I'll be interested in hearing what ppl think of the photo you posted.

 

[lizzyann]

Thanks for stopping by Yenny! I just saw the two stones you posted in the old stones thread. I have been intrigued lately by OEC's and have been debating on getting one for awhile. Maybe to use as a pendant or a fun RHR or something you know? Maybe I'll pop in over there with a pic and see if I can get more people to give me their expert opinion!

By the way, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way your ring turned out after all the stress and craziness you went thru! It is GORGEOUS!

 

[yennyfire]

Aww thanks lizzyann! I certainly paid my dues with that ring, lol! I love it too...I just wish I could have an equally lovely OEC ring for my right hand!

 

[SeeingSunshine]

I realize that this thread is super old, but I just have to ask...did you end up buying this ring? I came across the picture of it on pintrest almost a year ago and finally tracked it down to this thread. My boyfriend and I are planning on getting married in 2016 and the only thing holding us back from officially announcing our engagement is finding the perfect ring. I realize that the ring is incredibly simple, but I haven't been able to find something exactly like yet. Any information you could give me, pictures from other angles or even the name of the seller if you remember it would be so, so amazing. I love the proportions of the band width with the diamond size and the delicate prongs that almost replicate the petal shaped facets in the diamond. I am probably ranting on like a crazy person, but this ring has been somewhat of an obsession of mine and has set the standard for all the rings we have been looking at.

 

[ariel144]

Buy an AVR (August Vintage Round) on GOG...you can't go wrong. They all have this facet pattern.

www.goodoldgold.com

here's one about the same size;
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/11876/

Also check www.jewelsbygrace.com
she has several with this flower pattern;

http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/loose-diamonds/68ct-old-european-cut-diamond-gia-h-vs1.html#.VDrFeCmwJtA
http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/loose-diamonds/1-27ct-old-european-cut-egl-k-s1.html#.VDrGmimwJtA
http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/loose-diamonds/1-24ct-old-european-cut-diamond-ags-j-si1.html#.VDrHDimwJtA

Also call Adam at www.oldworlddiamonds.com
He can find you something with that facet pattern too.

I really haven't seen anything on Ebay lately that has that nice flower pattern in an OEC.

Hope this helps.

PS: Start your own thread in Rocky Talk of what you are searching for and you will get lots of help locating your perfect stone in your budget from the "experts" on PS. They love finding your OEC needle in a haystack....and are the best at it.