Royal Asscher EGL Certified?

[MacClure]

hello all...anyone heard of a Royal Asscher being certified by EGL?

of course, there''s a good reason i ask this...

sincerely, ron.

 

[strmrdr]

no
gia is the only one iv heard of them being graded by.

 

[MacClure]

strmrdr...thanks for your reply. the only Royal''s i''ve read about are GIA. i had a jeweler show me two Asschers yesterday. he said one was a Royal and the other an Asscher. both were egl ''certified'' and the table/depth %''s were waaaaay off to what i''ve seen the Royal''s listed as.

again, thanks for the input.

 

[belle]

ruuuuuuuun from that jeweler!

 

[MacClure]

belle...yeah, i kinda felt that way myself. i''m not going back to that jeweler. it''s alotta money to me, so it''s their mistake if they''re either dishonest or ignorant about what they showed me...i''m not spending my money there.

still hunting...today, i may take a drive to look at a Royal Asscher and Asscher, side by side. however, it''s a five hour round trip drive. not lookin'' forward to that. but, this is a major purchase. and, although i''ve never seen a Royal in person (which is why i''m considering the long drive..won''t buy tho'', i think they''re askin'' too much for the Royal...IMO), i''m beginning to wonder if the price difference is worth it. i understand the reasons for a mark up, but based on a few of the quotes i''ve received on Royal Asschers, i think there''s a line between a reasonable mark up and a ridiculously high mark up. it seems to almost be insulting or disrespectful. i''m beginning to feel that if you tell a jeweler that you''re lookin'' for a Royal Asscher, then the price they ask is ''skie''s the limit''...(are there no ''guidelines'' for Royals?) if that''s the way it is, then i''ll have to re-evaluate my whole mindset on this Royal Asscher/Asscher hunt. i''ll say this tho'', getting jewelers to call in Asschers (let alone a Royal Asscher) for viewing is like pulling teeth. they simply don''t carry an inventory. (i''m referrin'' mostly to the B/M''s i''ve personally dealt with) yes, i know there are vendors online. i''ve read many posts in the last few months (thank you all by the way)...but, i''m not sure i wanna do the fedex shopping thing, or pay fifty bucks a pop per stone (because they don''t have an inventory either) for someone online to call in a stone so they can look at it and give me an ''opinion''.. i''d sure like to find someone local...or someone EXTREMELY reputable online with an inventory. sorry folks...just a bit frustrated (not mean-spirited).

i dunno if this is appropriate or not, but i''m gonna list a few Royal''s i''ve been given price quotes on, maybe i''m completely wrong about the pricing (let''s see if i get ''schooled'' here after i post these prices).

Royals: (i know these are not all the specs, but, they are Royals...i can assume the quality is there)

1.02, vs2, e, 11,824
1.12, vvs2, d, 14,865
1.14, vs1, e, 14,171
1.22, vvs1, g, ex/ex, 12,425
1.27, vvs1, f, 13,860
1.51, vs1, f, approx. 19K

just a bit frustrated...thanks in advance for advice...

 

[belle]

ohmygosh those prices make me want to hurl...

if you are willing to take a 5hour road trip (think $$ gas and $$ time) you should seriously consider just having a reputable vendor like wf send you some stones to look at. i don''t think the ra is worth the premium, but if you need to satisfy your curiosity so be it. have them send one of each.
i know ( i know i know i know!) diamond buying can be so very frustrating, but you can make it easier on yourself. the whole business of online diamond vendors is to satisfy discriminating and educated buyers who don''t always get a chance to see their product prior to purchase and they know what to look for. i say take some of the weight off of your shoulders and let the pros do the work. i think you will be happy you did.

 

[cymbrie]

Wow prices are insane! You could get such a stellar generic for that! But even Storm has said all of the RA''s he''s seen are well cut/proportioned, so in some way maybe you pay the premium knowing you will get a well cut stone.

 

[MacClure]

belle...thank you very much for your prompt response. funny how you wrote about ''weight'' on my shoulders. i''ve been all around these forums for months now and visited a few local or ''recommended'' b/m''s (not impressed at all). i do feel tremendous weight. i am no longer havin'' fun lookin'' for a quality stone at a ''quality'' price. and, i now have ''issues'' with trust. it''s like buyin'' a damn car..i can''t stand the deception of sales people.

anyhow, yeah, i guess i''ll have to put up the costs of having stones shipped to me for viewing. however, my one recent experience with a vendor shipping me a stone to look at was that they required me to purchase the stone first, then they''d ship it to me to look at. however, i wasn''t comfortable with paying beforehand and waiting on fedex. i wanted to see the stone prior to purchase (actually, there were two or three stones they had that i wanted to compare and then make a decision) so i asked the vendor if they could ship the stones (and offered payment for shipping) to an appaiser or jewelry store near me so i could see them and compare prior to purchase. this vendor informed me that since they didn''t know any of the appraisers or jewelers in my area, they didn''t feel comfortable shipping stones to them. again, my option with this vendor was pay for the stones in advance and then they''d be shipped to me for viewing. i understand their end of it...but can''t stones be shipped to a neutral party, such as a verified appraiser near me so i can see the stones?

cymbrie...thanks for your comments also. prices are a bit ridiculous. i chatted with a vendor on the phone the other day who has a 1.27c royal and 1.51c asscher. difference in cost between the two were approx. 5,200 more for the smaller royal. i asked him ''if it were your money, is there a 5,200 dollar difference between the two stones you have in your hand?'' his response...''no''.

i guess it''s as belle recommended...i''ll call wf to see what they have in stock and what their ''call in'' procedures are...i know there''s also gog, dbof, james allen (dcd)...

 

[belle]

i feel your pain ron.. i think we all can relate. it''s hard enough to see enough high quality rounds to make an educated decsion, but the process is so much harder with ra''s and good asschers in general. a good vendor will ship to a verified appraiser prior to purchase and i would definetly look into doing it that way. especially since your local jeweler is obviously not going to be working in your best interest. best of luck ron. i have no doubt that you are going to end up with an amazing stone. hopefully soon!

 

[strmrdr]

GOG sells both ra and generics you could have Tim try to hunt you down a generic with the pattern style of the RA.
They did it recently for another person and they like the generic better in person.

 

[strmrdr]

Thread in question

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/royal-asscher-vs-generic-asscher-better-pics.38136/

 

[MacClure]

belle....thank you for your input. i''ll visit some of the vendors'' sites, call ''em, ask ''em to ship to an appraiser or jeweler near me. if they''re unwilling...i''ll move on to the next....i do hope all this effort pays off in me gettin'' a beautiful stone. thanks belle...

 

[MacClure]

strmrdr...thanks for the insight. quite recently, jim''s shared a few pics with me...i haven''t contacted him regarding shipping them to me (or a verified jeweler/appraiser)...i''ll try to upload the pics he sent me. i read the thread you sent me...both stones look very good to me. also, i''ve had my sights set on the vvs range, but i may be goin'' a bit to far with that...maybe i should go with vs1 for a cost savings and color at ''g'' or ''h'' so i can put more money into carat weight...i definitely will be lookin'' for an asscher cut with table between 54 and 60, depth 67-69....

 

[MacClure]

ooops....i meant jim from james allen...has sent me a pic or two to look at....not tim at gog.

 

[belle]

oh yes! let''s see some pics!

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 2/18/2006 6:14:18 PM
Author: belle
oh yes! let''s see some pics!

What belle said :}
Jim is a good guy but I havent seen many asschers from him so im curious.

 

[callista]

Hello Tierdog!

You mentioned going to a few local BMs to check out asschers and they didn''t seem to keen on bring stuff in for you to see. Which stores were they? I know I mentioned to you Joe Escobar and Derco Diamonds (SF or Santana Row), did you go to either of them? When I spoke to Mary at JE, she said she would be happy to bring in a couple of stones in for me to view without charging me, which I found very comforting. Now with Dercos, when I spoke to them a year ago, they said the same thing. I''d trust GOG if I were to buy online. They seem to have a real good eye for asschers and take great pictures!

I know the search can be rather long and fustrating, but when you find the right one, it will be a great accomplishment!

As for the pricings you listed for the RA, I''m no expert, but they seem not too far off, considering the color and clarity they have. If I were you, I would drop to an G or H and VS1 or even VS2 if you go the RA route. Have the jewelers let you view the inclusions with a loupe so you can gage where they are and if they are visible. I saw an SI1 asscher and the inclusions were barely noticeable, even when they were pointed out to me and when viewing them with a loupe!

Good luck on your continuing search!

 

[MacClure]

pics? you say you want pics? lol...okay, here i go...i have no idea how large the pics are gonna be .....

the following pics are a 1.28 and 1.37 asscher i requested from jim (how''s my taste?). jim didn''t know which pic was of which stone, but of course said he''d find out for me if i wanted to pursue them...

1.37, vvs2, g, x/x, 62 tbl, 68.3 dep, 1.00, gdl thick (not recommended...right?), but, it''s faceted...
1.28, vvs1, g, vg pol, ex symm, 60 tbl, 69.4 dep, 1.00 sq., gdl thick-f, flor is faint...

i tried to upload..but file too large hang on folks...i''m new to this....gimme some time here darn it...

 

[MacClure]

i keep gettin an error mesg...while tryin'' to upload the pics...

 

[strmrdr]

make sure they are under 95k in size, rename them without spaces and stull like - _ and give them a uncommon name.

try something like: asscherthja1.jpg

 

[MacClure]

callista...no, i haven''t heard of joe escobar or derco diamonds, will do a google on them tonite. also, the prices of the royals i quoted earlier are the only choices i have...i''d love to do an ''h'', vs1, etc...but when it comes to the royals (my experience), you gotta take what you can get. with the choices i posted, i would prefer a larger stone, but don''t wanna pay twenty g''s for a 1.51. i do think that''s ridiculous....simply put, the choices are slim....thanks for your input tho''...

now...how do i upload?

 

[MacClure]

here goes...it''s either the 1.28 or 1.37 asscher...

 

[MacClure]

here''s the other. again, either a 1.28 or 1.37..they almost look the same...

 

[callista]

wow...amazing!

Looks a bit rectangular tho..maybe just me.

You don''t know the specs, do you?

Joe Escobar is in Campbell (speak to Mary) and Derco Diamonds is in Santana Row (San Jose) or the SF Jewelrymart (speak to John Sarmiento). These are stores close to you I believe, so it would definitely be worth it to check them both out. I know JE has a lifetime trade up poliy and do custom work, as well as carrying amazing designers like Simon G and Scott Kay.

 

[MacClure]

now, here''s also one i chose to look at...jim sent me the pic, but when i went back to check it out, it was not avail...

it''s a 1.25, vvs2, g, 61 tbl, 68.2 dep, x/x, thick gdl, n/n 1.00 sq....again, it''s not avail, but...it was one of my choices...

 

[strmrdr]

The one is too off square for me.
need better pictures of the other.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 2/18/2006 8:08:06 PM
Author: TierHog
now, here's also one i chose to look at...jim sent me the pic, but when i went back to check it out, it was not avail...


it's a 1.25, vvs2, g, 61 tbl, 68.2 dep, x/x, thick gdl, n/n 1.00 sq....again, it's not avail, but...it was one of my choices...

looks like a nice narrow step asscher, too bad its not available still.

edit: at G vvs2 thew price would have been pretty hefty too.

 

[callista]

Tierdog,

Those asschers you posted look like they have nice patterns, but don''t look square...is it just me???

Forgot to add, if you do decide to go to either BMs I mentioned, I would recommend making an appointment so they can call in stone for you to view with your specs. They, like most places will most likely not have what you want in stock, but will be happy to get a couple in for you, for free!

Mary at JE said their prices are pretty competitve with internet prcing, bt at times they cannot. From what they did have,the prices quoted were rather decent, plus, she let me look and try on anything I wanted! it was a fun trip, despite them not having what I wanted in stock.

 

[MacClure]

callista...the specs on the stones are a coupla posts up....before i posted the pics. as far as jim from james allen wrote me, the specs are 1.00 sq. one of them does appear not to be sq....could be our eyes. also, thanks for the additional info on the jewelers...those places are about a two hr. drive from me. i''ll call them tho'' and see what they also can do in addition to jim or tim....and, i gotta check out wf...suggested by belle.

i gotta get out on a run/jog/walk with my dog...i''ll be checkin'' back in about an hour to see hopefully some opinions...maybe not these stones, but i''d like to know if i''m on the right track for selecting ''call ins'' based on the specs i''ve chosen.....

back in a bit...

thanks all......

 

[callista]

Now the third one you posted was the best of the bunch. I agree with storm, nice patterns and pretty! Sorry its no longer available.

At least now you know what you are looking for and they can find another one for you!

I''d carry that picture with me if I were going to a BM and show them that this is what shape and pattern I''m looking for in asscher.