Reports

[TooPatient]

I''m still learning. What are the reports I should ask for and look at before selecting and purchasing a diamond?

I''m looking for a center stone right now. Maybe even a setting and additional side stones.

I made the mistake of using the Shane Co. online chat feature. (They have the setting I really like.) Since the setting has side stones totaling .67ct, I wanted to know the size of the individual stones. (total of 12 channel set and 2 larger stones)

He said the 2 side stones are about 4mm. Okay. That is good to know. Are they certified? No.
Is there any place I can look at more detail of specific stones? (he tried to convince me that they are the ones to buy my center stone through)
And then I asked the tough ones. Can I see the ASET report? Where can I see detailed images of the stone? etc.
His answer: I''ve never heard of ASET. What is it and where did you hear about it.


Frustrating. What are the standard reports to look at before purchasing? Do online sources (White Flash, etc.) use different terminology than others?

 

[stone-cold11]

Side stones are usually ungraded as the cost of a report is a fix price and at those size, the cutter will be making a loss. 4mm are just on the verge of being graded, the melee diamonds no one send these to labs to have them graded.

ASET/IS are light performance images, not reports issued by any labs, just need the right equipment to take the images.

 

[Lula]

You are still learning, and that's okay. It takes a lot of reading (click on the knowledge tab above) and as much time as you can spend looking at actual diamonds to feel secure in making a diamond purchase.

It's a lot of money to spend and you should not feel pressured to buy by any salesperson.

Like Stone says, the smaller stones are often not graded, but the salesperson should be able to tell you the average color and clarity for the sidestones. Often chain stores use lesser quality color and clarity stones than the online vendors you'll see recommended here (Good old Gold; Winfield's, Whiteflash, Brian Gavin, to name just a few).

Keep looking at settings and stones in person if possible, and post your questions here before you buy anything! Can you post a picture of the setting that you liked?

It's been my experience that many jewelry salespeople are poorly trained and push to make the sale, especially these days with the economy being so bad.

 

[TooPatient]

Setting attached. I''ve saw a similar one from one of the online people. Good Old Gold maybe?

I wasn''t impressed with their quality. The chat person suggested a "comparable" stone to one I had liked. The one I liked was VVS1 with color of H. He suggested an S12 with a color of J and slightly larger (.1ct) as comparable.

I''m looking for good quality and reasonable pricing. I don''t need a flawless diamond, but I want it to be well cut, reasonably free of flaws, with good clear color.

Shane Co is definitely not the place to find something like that.

 

[Lorelei]

Basically you need a good lab report for your centre stone, GIA or AGS are the top 2 labs. Sidestones aren't normally graded.

As for images, ASET and Idealscope it is apparently uncommon for jewellery stores to have access to these, you could however order your own ASET or Idealscope.

http://www.ideal-scope.com/cart_zoom_item.asp?Id=23&ShowAdd=Y

http://www.ideal-scope.com/cart_zoom_item.asp?Id=2&ShowAdd=Y

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=education-performance

The above link explains the use of these tools and how to interpret the results.

 

[outatouch0]

Date: 9/10/2009 4:04:07 PM
Author: TooPatient
Setting attached. I''ve saw a similar one from one of the online people. Good Old Gold maybe?


I wasn''t impressed with their quality. The chat person suggested a ''comparable'' stone to one I had liked. The one I liked was VVS1 with color of H. He suggested an S12 with a color of J and slightly larger (.1ct) as comparable.


I''m looking for good quality and reasonable pricing. I don''t need a flawless diamond, but I want it to be well cut, reasonably free of flaws, with good clear color.


Shane Co is definitely not the place to find something like that.

TooP The pic of the setting you like is small but it looks a lot like what I have seen on uniondiamond.com which is out of Atlanta. I just received my FI E-ring yesterday and let me tell you the side stones are IMMACULATE and DEFINITELY near colorless G-H as listed. It went way beyond exceeding my expectations!!! I told them I was looking for AGS info on light performance, ASSET & IS images. They searched and pulled in a stone for me that is absolutely amazing.
PICS will be posted in the next few days

 

[Lula]

Date: 9/10/2009 4:04:07 PM
Author: TooPatient
Setting attached. I've saw a similar one from one of the online people. Good Old Gold maybe?


I wasn't impressed with their quality. The chat person suggested a 'comparable' stone to one I had liked. The one I liked was VVS1 with color of H. He suggested an S12 with a color of J and slightly larger (.1ct) as comparable.


I'm looking for good quality and reasonable pricing. I don't need a flawless diamond, but I want it to be well cut, reasonably free of flaws, with good clear color.


Shane Co is definitely not the place to find something like that.

Thanks for posting the photo. I do think you can find that setting from one of the many online vendors, and it will not only have better quality side stones, but will also be more reasonably priced.

Have you looked at the listings for AGS0 or GIA ex stones from the various Pricescope vendors for your center stone? I guess I'd start there, and then narrow down some options for the center stone that are in your budget, post the links to the stones here for feedback. Once you decide on the center stone, we can help you find a setting that looks like the one in the photo.

If you are having a hard time using the search engines to locate stones, or would like the forum members to post the links to some stones for you to consider, just ask.

It's a lot of information to absorb, I know, but there are plenty of people here to help you -- we want to make sure you get a great diamond for your money!

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Date: 9/10/2009 2:49:05 PM
Author:TooPatient
I''m still learning. What are the reports I should ask for and look at before selecting and purchasing a diamond?

I''m looking for a center stone right now. Maybe even a setting and additional side stones.

I made the mistake of using the Shane Co. online chat feature. (They have the setting I really like.) Since the setting has side stones totaling .67ct, I wanted to know the size of the individual stones. (total of 12 channel set and 2 larger stones)

He said the 2 side stones are about 4mm. Okay. That is good to know. Are they certified? No.
Is there any place I can look at more detail of specific stones? (he tried to convince me that they are the ones to buy my center stone through)
And then I asked the tough ones. Can I see the ASET report? Where can I see detailed images of the stone? etc.
His answer: I''ve never heard of ASET. What is it and where did you hear about it.

Frustrating. What are the standard reports to look at before purchasing? Do online sources (White Flash, etc.) use different terminology than others?

The availability of information on a diamond (what you refer to as ''reports'') differs highly among retailers.

Most B&M''s and a big group of online-retailers limit the info to the grading-report, and possibly a personal assessment. In a B&M, one can still view the stone in person, and if one has the ability to assess the stone in various light-environments, it might still be a great buying experience.

Here on PS, a number of vendors have adapted though, and offer extra pictures of the stone itself, of the H&A, of the ideal-scope and of the ASET. Some even offer a full sarin-scan of the stone, and a GemAdvisor-file based upon that scan. I would suggest to get the maximum possible of such information.

However, all this info still cannot fully describe a diamond. Each measure, whether grading report, picture or scan has its limitations both technically and in the scope that they are highlighting. Still, you should let your own eyes decide in the end, whether your choice is a keeper.

Live long,

 

[Todd Gray]

Too Patient,

Can you post a larger picture of the setting and/or a link to the setting on the Shane Company web site? It looks really familiar and I believe that almost any of the vendors here on PS will be able to provide it for you... I think a similar setting is offered by one of the casting companies that most of us work with, but need to see a larger picture to tell for sure.

Regardless of whether the accent diamonds are lab graded or not, the sales person should be able to provide you with a clarity and color grade! And it should be possible to custom order the setting with a specific clarity and color grade if the current combination of clarity and color is not to your liking... I would not expect the accent diamonds in a setting of this style to be lab graded, they are simply too small for lab grading to be economical. It is definitely reasonable to expect the center diamond to be lab graded.

Shane Company advertises themselves as being at the top of their game, I''m quite amused to learn that their staff does not know what an ASET is! That''s RICH

maybe "our friend in the diamond business" should pick up a trade magazine from time to time (oh, I didn''t just say that)