Radiant Diamond ER purchase

[funkytown12]

hello everyone...

Thanks for taking the time to review my post. I am buying a Radiant cut engagement ring. I have been looking for over 2 months at different stones etc. I have looked at local diamond brokers with competitive internet pricing and now I am looking at buying on the internet. I have been working with an very reputable vendor that is well respected on Pricescope and the PS community.

Anyway, they have pulled in four radiants to review. They even said they wandered around their building and looked at several other radiants that just didn't fit the bill so they didn't bring them in. They took ASET's of them all, and photos, and even a little video footage comparison per my request. The ASET's are not good. They are not good on any of them really. They are mostly green, with some red. That is fairly normal for radiants....at least that is what I hear.

So...the one with the WORST ASET is the diamond that they are recommending. The ASET of this stone actually makes it look like it has a serious bow-tie effect. Which he says the diamond absolutely does not. The ASET shows quite a few black areas. So, I really want to believe the vendor is telling the truth about how great this stone is. They have been excellent in their customer service from the day I contacted them. They even said "the ASET doesn't look good at all but the diamond is great in real life."

So...what to do?? I like the shape, size, color, clarity... He really feels that it is a top of the line radiant, but the ASET would tell a totally different story. He said it has great brilliance and out-performs the other three choices. He really just didn't have an answer for the bad looking ASET.

Should I trust him and take the plunge or wait until i find a better ASET of a radiant? The more I research this topic, the more people do not think that an ASET provides anything useful for fancy shaped diamonds. It really only hurts them.

I know most people on this board are bound and determined to have perfect ASETs...but should I just trust the vendor?? please advise on your thoughts on this topic. After research and talking to people, I too am also starting to believe that ASET's for fancy shapes do not portray the real picture of a diamonds beauty. Thanks.

 

[Gypsy]

Return policy?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I don't think radiants are normally cut for light performance, so that does not surprise me a bit. You might be looking a looong time to find one. You can look at something like Princess of Hearts if you want to see higher light performance on an ASET (Lucere's are nicely cut, too). There are certain vendors I trust to give me opinions.

The video should help you more than the ASET.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi Funkytown- in my experience, interpreting an ASET for a well cut Radiant cut is extremely "counter intuitive", if you compare what many well cut Radiant cuts look like as compared to more patterned stones such as a Round Brilliant.
The reason is that many well cut, non patterned radiant cut diamonds gather and return light differently.
Well cut radiant cuts that are indeed cut for "light performance" - but another type of light performance.
So you can look for different colors in aset that you might not want lot of in a patterned stone.

For example, an RBC, or a radiant cut with that pattern, you want a more organized light return pattern, and less green.A stone cut more like a bottomless pit of sparkle with no patterns may have a disorganized aset with lots of green.

Did you see ask the vendor if they see a "bow tie" in real life in the stone with the bad aset?
And +1 to Gypsy- make sure you get a Money back guarantee- in writing- so that you can examine the diamond at home, comfortably.

ETA- my comments are for general consumer information and not about any particular stone or vendor.

Hope this helps!

 

[Gypsy]

My feeling is this. Trust but verify.

There are a number of vendor's on PS whose opinions I would trust over an ASET on a fancy stone. Brian Gavin, Jonathan at GOG (not his staff, just him), Mark at ERD to name those that come immediately to mind.

So if you are asking what I would do... if I trusted the vendor and there was a good return policy 7 days minimum -- full refund via same method paid, no re-stocking fees or anything silly like that, etc. SURE, I'd trust the vendor. Because I would be able to verify with my own eyes before setting. And if I didn't like it, I could send it back and have them keep looking OR if my trust proved completely misplaced... move on to a different vendor.

So I can't tell you whether or not to trust the vendor 100%. But I can tell you that if you think the stone is worth taking the time to look at in person, most PS vendor's return policies are really good and at most you would be out the price of some shipping, and some time.

 

[funkytown12]

Interesting feedback. Thank you.

Yes, there is a return policy. I think it is 30 days or 60 days... However, I plan to have them make a setting as well. So, in theory, it would be set before I ever even see the diamond. It sounds like you are saying I should have it sent here as loose diamond and then sent back to him as a loose diamond before they ever set it...

Also, in the case of radiants and aset's, I do believe RockDiamond about Radiants and the ASET's of radiants not giving the right information. I think it is a tool, and a good one for some diamonds, but for radiants, I just don't think it's telling the entire story.

For instance, I don't see why the vendor would pull in 4 different stones and sell me the worst one?? Surely it was the best one of the bunch right?? (even though it was the worst ASET??) They are all roughly the same price. Why would he sell me the bad one? I'm just trying to see if he could have a real reason for trying to do this... He claims he walked around his office and showed it to his peers and they all thought it was the best too...

As you can tell, I really just wanna believe him. I really do. But mainly because this is exhausting to some degree and I just wanna be done! haha.

But I still want to make sure i'm making the right decision.

 

[funkytown12]

Oh...and as far as pictures.... they certainly didn't use any tricks for photos and videos. The sent the super magnified ones and then i requested a few more and they sent just normal pics taken by a normal camera or even a camera phone. but i appreciated that actually. I thought that made it better because it was the real deal? HECK...i don't know.. haha. i'm going crazy.

 

[Gypsy]

Okay so here's my feelings. And keep in mind this is just one person's opinion.

You wouldn't buy a car with out a test drive just to be done with it. Right?

No.

This ring is costing you a LOT of money. And she'll be 'driving' it for the rest of her life. I think it's worth getting the stone unset and seeing it for yourself and then making a decision.

 

[sneakyp]

Hey funkytown12, i totally missed your post and just started a new thread about help for radiant cuts. I am in the same boat you are only looking for an anniversary ring. fortunately i have 6 months to pull this off. just wanted to let you know "i feel your pain." Welcome to the wacky world of radiant cuts.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If you really want our opinions, just post the pictures and video.

I take it that she is the one who asked for a radiant, right?

 

[funkytown12]

Yes. She wants a radiant. She loves the look of a radiant. Clean lines, rectangular. She doesn't like princess/square shape at all on her hand. I could maybe push it with a more rectangular cushion to get the rectangular feel, but several of her friends have cushions and she wants to be different. I've even mentioned the superior light return on round diamonds but she wants nothing to do with them. She thinks they look weird on her hand?? haha. for whatever that is worth. The good thing is I know what she wants...the bad thing is I know it's a radiant! haha. Just kidding. I love the radiants too. even if it does mean that you might sacrifice some big sparkles.

I will try and post a photo or two. Thanks. I will avoid posting the ASET's.

 

[Gypsy]

I have no beef with her choice. Whatever it is. But... um. Clean lines and rectangular outline to me means an Emerald Cut. Not a radiant in general. Just want to make sure you get the right cut.

I wouldn't get her a cushion. She knows what she wants. I just want to make sure you know what she wants. You sure she didn't mean Emerald Cut, but say Radiant? Maybe she got the names confused, or you did?

 

[Gypsy]

Here is an emerald and a radiant. You sure you got the right one?

 

[funkytown12]

Yes! and that's a good question. Thanks for asking. And yes, she does not want a Emerald, she likes the rectangular shape but with the brilliance...hence the radiant. We have shopped together many times and there is definitely no doubt about her wanting a radiant cut. I see how you might have thought i was getting confused.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay! Well, we just wanted to be sure we were on the right track! We are always happy to give our opinions on stones (as we spend entirely too much time on here doing so!) whenever you can post them!

 

[funkytown12]

Here is a real life picture.... The one on the right is what I am considering. I will post a close up pic as well.

 

[funkytown12]

here is a close up. You can see it is not the traditional radiant cut..but has like the 8 main facets or whatever...

 

[Gypsy]

It's a nice looking stone.

I recognize the vendor and think they have a nice return policy. I'd get it in and see what my own eyes think.