Radiant!! I mean dazzling!!

[icelady]

Hi Everyone,

I have a dilema I am hoping you can help me to reason out.

I am working with a local gemoligist/jeweler and she found three radiant stones for me to look at. She paid special attention to cut and all three were very nice stones, but out of the three there is one that is without a doubt the most sparkly, firey, gorgeous radiant I have ever seen.

My dilema is in the pricing. I know that with a B&M I can expect to pay more, and since I want the store to stay around in case I want to upgrade to a larger stone, I don''t mind paying the extra. Especially for her time and the convenience of bringing the stones in quickly for viewing, etc.

How much more should I expect to pay? This is not a "Maul" store, it is an independant, and I trust her a great deal.

The stone is a 1.71ct, F color, 7.24 X 6.32 X 4.44, depth 70.3%, table 57%, medium girdle, no culet, noe fluor,pol/sym good, VS2.

In addition to being able to see it sparkle from about a mile away, the other really great thing about the stone is that it has only three small inclusions, a minute crystal that is very hard to see with a 10X loupe and does not break the surface, a small cloud that I couldn''t find until using the 70X, and a very small feather which does not break the surface. This stone is priced at $15,800 taxes included. It is GIA certed.

I love this stone!!!!! Please tell me what you think.

 

[valeria101]

Now, this sounds like enthusiasm and a 20%-30% premium over non-branded rads. If you don't mind the extra 5k, why not. These being said, getting a branded cut online would probably result in some premium too. I just don't know how much. I don't know all that many places where you could get a radiant based on brilliancescope stats: one is our GoodOldGold. I'd give Jonathan a ring and ask something similar to your Q above. You could do the same with other sellers of 'light return' and decide wether that extra cash is worth it. I would not bet on the longevity of a B&M store more than on that of an established internet seller (esp. if there is a corresponding B&M store to it).

 

[DEVO]

Have your tried a simple search on this website? That should give you a ballpark figure of what you are looking at paying for a stone online... in some cases there is a B&M store behind the online sale so those prices would be a direct comparison with your price.

 

[caratgirl]

Problem is, that any of the great online vendors that actually have the stones in their hands, charge a bit more than some of the other vendors. So, by the time you get exactly what you want, it could be within $1000 or less. Radiants are very difficult to find in a really great cut, so if you can afford the price...you may just want to get it. I would take it to a really good independent appraiser, though, just in case it has a problem that you didn't notice. I don't think that the price for a B&M is so outrageous, especially since it includes taxes.