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Search for biggest OEC for 10k

I have usually found that when it’s “the one” I know without reservation. There’s always another stone, too! No need to talk oneself into it.
 
I am following your search with interest, but alas it is not me who has been helping you. I don't want to steal the well-deserved credit from anyone!
 
lala646 said:
I am following your search with interest, but alas it is not me who has been helping you. I don't want to steal the well-deserved credit from anyone!
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Ohhh no I’ve done the unthinkable incorrect tagging lol ok I’ll figure it out and correct. I really dislike to misquote sources, feels like plagiarism in my heart if that makes sense? Thank you for letting me know
 
lala646 said:
Has this one been part of the conversation?
1748013602627.png
www.ebay.com

Antique 2.42 Carat Old European Cut Diamond Ring Color M Clarity VS | eBay

Excellent condition; wear consistent with age and prior use. 10K Gold Ring setting with scratches & wear. For reference, John Fuller is highly respected Consulting Gemologist and Independent Jewelry Appraiser at GIA, based in Carlsbad, California.
www.ebay.com
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I have this one in my watchlist and I thought it looked too shallow. I asked the seller if they could upload a clearer video and I was not crazy about the center - it looked a little lifeless under the table and I think you can see girdle reflections a bit too.
 
archaeopteryx said:
Yes! Great rec, thank you, I stalk his page too haha. I didn’t find anything in my price range but there were some beauties.
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I would DM him on instagram. He has access to a large inventory of antique stones.
 
Alright, I’ve had to wait until I actually bought this stone, but, you guys!!!!
THE ONE has been found!

This stone was sent to me by @lavenderdragonfly23


I immediately loved it. This was however a stretch for me as I’d set out to spend $10k, and then upped to $15k. This stone made me change my mind!

The faceting, the very pale yellow with a ton of broad flashes of pastel play of light that is OEC MAGIC, the lil bit of kozibe, and the overall beauty. I kind of instantly had to have this stone, like what @Dreamer_D said, it’s so true!

Whitney sent me a ton of additional videos:

https://imgur.com/a/QoR1NHb

What I really, really wanted was a big OEC, but I didn’t think I could afford it. My dream was +3cts but it felt unattainable.

Because this diamond was SO BIG and really close to my budget, I did some classic girl math, rounded down-up, and went for it!!

I should have it in my hands next week! I have a 7 day review period and will post photos when it arrives!

THANK YOU!! All for the feedback.
 
archaeopteryx said:
Alright, I’ve had to wait until I actually bought this stone, but, you guys!!!!
THE ONE has been found!

This stone was sent to me by @lavenderdragonfly23


I immediately loved it. This was however a stretch for me as I’d set out to spend $10k, and then upped to $15k. This stone made me change my mind!

The faceting, the very pale yellow with a ton of broad flashes of pastel play of light that is OEC MAGIC, the lil bit of kozibe, and the overall beauty. I kind of instantly had to have this stone, like what @Dreamer_D said, it’s so true!

Whitney sent me a ton of additional videos:

https://imgur.com/a/QoR1NHb

What I really, really wanted was a big OEC, but I didn’t think I could afford it. My dream was +3cts but it felt unattainable.

Because this diamond was SO BIG and really close to my budget, I did some classic girl math, rounded down-up, and went for it!!

I should have it in my hands next week! I have a 7 day review period and will post photos when it arrives!

THANK YOU!! All for the feedback.
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I’m so excited for you!!! You’ve worked so hard and have waited so long for this stone, I cannot wait to hear what you think when you see her in person. I’m so glad you were able to up your budget a little, it really gave you some beautiful options. I cannot take all the credit for this one though.. the famous @Inked had a tight grip on this treasure, but the minute she decided to let her go (for a beautiful something else… I won’t spoil her surprise) and after an, are you sure, are you sure you’re sure, lol …. I couldn’t type fast enough :lol:

I love that you’ll have a week with her… make sure you have a ring holder in a few metal colors so you can try her out.

One million pictures please when you get her!
 
Ahhhh…. That itty bitty table makes me weak in the knees :love:
 
What a beautiful stone! Can’t see what you do!
 
archaeopteryx said:
Alright, I’ve had to wait until I actually bought this stone, but, you guys!!!!
THE ONE has been found!

This stone was sent to me by @lavenderdragonfly23


I immediately loved it. This was however a stretch for me as I’d set out to spend $10k, and then upped to $15k. This stone made me change my mind!

The faceting, the very pale yellow with a ton of broad flashes of pastel play of light that is OEC MAGIC, the lil bit of kozibe, and the overall beauty. I kind of instantly had to have this stone, like what @Dreamer_D said, it’s so true!

Whitney sent me a ton of additional videos:

https://imgur.com/a/QoR1NHb

What I really, really wanted was a big OEC, but I didn’t think I could afford it. My dream was +3cts but it felt unattainable.

Because this diamond was SO BIG and really close to my budget, I did some classic girl math, rounded down-up, and went for it!!

I should have it in my hands next week! I have a 7 day review period and will post photos when it arrives!

THANK YOU!! All for the feedback.
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LD found a beaut! She's going to be a performer irl!
 
I'm so happy for you! What an awesome honking stone. Sometimes we just need to be flexible with the budget to get what we really want. I had a similar experience and to be honest I'm so glad I did.

I can't wait to see more photos and videos and most importantly how you'll set this gorgeous stone!
 
Dolly has this coming sometime today. No specs given yet. IMG_5494.png
 
I like the two diamonds you post above from 47 a lot.

The first looks very blocky and chunky which is beautiful. Concerns about a thick girdle I would have is that it’s a smaller diameter than it could be, but that’s the only thing “wrong” I can see. Maybe pavilion depth also slightly deeper than it could be, again making less wide relatively. And crown height seems lower than it could be. It’s also been repolished (girdle is polished, indicating some sort of recutting). I don’t know if this means totally modern cut, or antique diamond repolished. I’m guessing antique diamond repolished.

The second stone, the inclusions look different than the RR stone, it has two little carbon spots versus a long strand in the octopus for example. And crown is lower on 47 stone, and the facet junctions are a little less worn. The second stone does not look like it’s been touched by a repolish. Girdle is antique, IMO.
I like this one a lot. It’s not perfect but it seems original and really well priced. For $11,000, id look at it in person for sure.
 
LightBright said:
I like the two diamonds you post above from 47 a lot.

The first looks very blocky and chunky which is beautiful. Concerns about a thick girdle I would have is that it’s a smaller diameter than it could be, but that’s the only thing “wrong” I can see. Maybe pavilion depth also slightly deeper than it could be, again making less wide relatively. And crown height seems lower than it could be. It’s also been repolished (girdle is polished, indicating some sort of recutting). I don’t know if this means totally modern cut, or antique diamond repolished. I’m guessing antique diamond repolished.

The second stone, the inclusions look different than the RR stone, it has two little carbon spots versus a long strand in the octopus for example. And crown is lower on 47 stone, and the facet junctions are a little less worn. The second stone does not look like it’s been touched by a repolish. Girdle is antique, IMO.
I like this one a lot. It’s not perfect but it seems original and really well priced. For $11,000, id look at it in person for sure.
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I’m less keen on the first due to price; now that I’ve seen an example that’s much larger (with lower color) around $16k I wouldn’t go for that one, especially since the higher color isn’t that big of a plus to me, I couldn’t justify the cost.

I really like the second one and am still curious how I’d feel about the inclusions in person. If the inclusions were acceptable it would have been a great price. It’s just so pretty.
 
The stone you have purchased is beautiful! It has real potential to tick all your boxes. I like the proportions a lot and the tiny table and ample kozibe suggests the proportions are really complimentary.

When you see it in person be sure to examine it in lots of lighting to see that you like it in all situations. Sometimes stones with these proportions can have some over-obstruction to where the under table area goes quite dark more often than you would like. I have two half carats with similar classic oec proportions and one does have a bit of over obstruction and the other doesn’t at all. So look for that. You would notice it gazing at the stone at closer than arms length or when taking pictures.

Another thing to look for is that the stone has edge to edge brightness. I notice the kozibe is clustered very close to the table. The angles are such that light is being reflected towards the center. Across lighting look to see that you are pleased with the light play around the periphery. Not a red flag just something to examine in more detail.

Finally you may want to experiment with using tinfoil to see how the stone will perform in a more enclosed setting. I suspect this one might liven up a lot in such a setting, like @jaqjaqjaq recent stone set in a faux bezel. Enclosed setting can really change the contrast in some stones and it can gel or hurt. Could be fun to examine and help you understand the light play of the stone.
 
Sorry! For some reason I totally missed the actual diamond you’ve purchased! It’s a really wonderful size too.

I love it. Dreamer D has a lot of great advice for evaluating it. Good luck!
 
LightBright said:
Sorry! For some reason I totally missed the actual diamond you’ve purchased! It’s a really wonderful size too.

I love it. Dreamer D has a lot of great advice for evaluating it. Good luck!
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Same! @archaeopteryx congrats on the purchase. Can’t wait to see what you think
 
It’s here!!!!

Ok so first impressions:

I gasped!! I got home around 6pm and the light was right! The diamond has so much fire and it was so alive. Absolutely beautiful!

I love the color. It faces very white. A beautiful ivory on face up and I found I didn’t notice too much warmth even from the side views. The perfect O-P color tone for my personal taste. It’s gorgeous!

The size!!! It’s so big. I wear a size 4.5 to 4.75 and the size was what I wanted. Immediately I was in love with this diamond.

However, I am noticing in different lights some characteristics that @Dreamer_D pointed out to be on the lookout for.

At some angles the center does go dark, the facets all kind of blink out together. I’m not 100% sure if this is something that truly bothers me or not, I am going back and forth on that.

As far as edge to edge brightness, it does seem very bright towards the edges, and that’s my favorite part. It is so alive with broad flashes.

It’s really beautiful. I put it away for a few minutes after trying my best to photograph. I looked at it again after a few minutes and once again was wowed. Then I noticed the “dark flash” and I’m really on the fence about it. Is this a true issue for me?

I do not have a ring holder yet - it’s on order. I’ll experiment with tinfoil bezels.

Feedback appreciated and if you need me to take more or better videos please let me know!

https://imgur.com/a/7wd6S50

There’s a whole lot in this Imgur post. Thank you for looking!
 
Hi, I checked out your videos and stills from Imgur.

First, if you were not having hesitation about the dark spot in the middle which I actually don’t see, and loved everything about it, I would hesitate to tell you what I’m observing so as not to spoil your impression.

This antique diamond has been re-cut on the crown,
Iikely to fix a chip on the table or crown.

The way I know this is a couple things.

One, the crown facets have crisp facet junctions (indicating new cutting) while the pavilion and culet facets are slightly “not crisp”/abraded (this indicates a true antique cut).

Two the visual presentation of the koizibe looking down into the stone is visually slightly closer to the table than it would normally be.

Third the table is slightly smaller than it would typically be, and the crown has a slightly lower height.

The positive aspects of a partially new cut, with a good cutter, is that modern cutters attempt to design the final product with optimal angles so light return ~could~ actually be even better (in modern terms) than the original antique cut.

So the diamond could appear livelier and brighter now, even if its proportions have been changed from the original antique cut. In short, with this trade off , then a newly cut/repaired old cut ~might~ actually be preferred because they can really go crazy/pop in terms of light return.
 
LightBright said:
Hi, I checked out your videos and stills from Imgur.

First, if you were not having hesitation about the dark spot in the middle which I actually don’t see, and loved everything about it, I would hesitate to tell you what I’m observing so as not to spoil your impression.

This antique diamond has been re-cut on the crown,
Iikely to fix a chip on the table or crown.

The way I know this is a couple things.

One, the crown facets have crisp facet junctions (indicating new cutting) while the pavilion and culet facets are slightly “not crisp”/abraded (this indicates a true antique cut).

Two the visual presentation of the koizibe looking down into the stone is visually slightly closer to the table than it would normally be.

Third the table is slightly smaller than it would typically be, and the crown has a slightly lower height.

The positive aspects of a partially new cut, with a good cutter, is that modern cutters attempt to design the final product with optimal angles so light return ~could~ actually be even better (in modern terms) than the original antique cut.

So the diamond could appear livelier and brighter now, even if its proportions have been changed from the original antique cut. In short, with this trade off , then a newly cut/repaired old cut ~might~ actually be preferred because they can really go crazy/pop in terms of light return.
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Thank you! I don’t think this spoils my impression at all - I’d much rather know all the attributes and details of the diamond. For me this is the most I’ve ever invested in a stone and it’s got to be basically perfect (for my tastes) for me to justify. I don’t want to feel like oh wish I had this or that in a year, I want to enjoy it for many. I absolutely want to know what people think and point out any flaws. I think it’s easy to be dazzled by the initial and substantial beauty of the stone and let the emotions take over. I am a scientist and so I have to satisfy both the emotional part of this equation and the technical, so I truly enjoy both aspects. I enjoy learning and understanding the ins and outs of diamond faceting, light performance, physical properties, etc. and I’ve enjoyed people’s willingness to educate me.

I’m glad to have that feedback that you don’t think the center appears dark. I’ve only examined it in indoor and evening light so far. I notice that the center does seem less bright than the edges as I’ve been looking at it. More observation in more light conditions is required and I’m waiting on some ring holders. This is my main reservation.

I have noticed the facets were really sharp but I’m glad you pointed out that could signify a recut. I did not consider that since the girdle is frosted.

I asked the vendor if the stone was a “true antique” and about the girdle, she confirmed it was, but I did not ask if it had been re-faceted. Is it typical for sellers to disclose?

I don’t think that a potential recut bothers me too much. I’ve considered sending my mildly chipped OEC engagement ring to someone who specializes in antique diamond recutting. But I have to consider what the recut means to me. I don’t know if there’s a way to know if it was a touch up or substantially changing the diamond faceting. Does that matter to me? I’m not sure actually.

I truly appreciate your feedback.
 
I’d like to hear other people’s observations as well, to reality check mine. If you are seeing darkness in the center, that’s real. It could be from the recutting process, the edge to edge brightness might be on purpose, but it might accentuate the darker center (all about the angles). The center of well cut OECs should not be dark typically.

If you can, please examine the facet junctions on the crown and pavilion. You can see slightly abraded facets on the pavilion which are antique (maybe it’s from the old type of cutting tools? It’s common in old stones) but not on the crown. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m not seeing what I think I see, but the sharp facet junctions on the crown and table contrasted with the rougher type faceting on the pavilion indicates a modern touch up/recut.

The frosted girdle doesn’t necessarily indicate antique. Modern cutters can and do “hand brute” girdles. They don’t like to though, because it’s by hand! One indication of a modern bruted girdle vs antique is how fine the frosted edge was ground. Old girdles on OECs can and typically have little teeny chips (flea bites), rough frosting. New frosted girdles are done very finely, so it’s white powder looking and very smooth, not ground down and rougher. Is it possible to show us a couple photos of the girdle? Top down and sides?
 
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I didn’t examine the pictures close enough to see the facet meets. But I do easily see that the center is dark in many images. @LightBright you really don’t see it?

Obstruction is quite normal in diamonds. Especially old cuts. The question is whether it is only visible on very close inspection or whether you can still see it at arms length. I wish you had more experience looking at old cuts because then it would be easier to weigh the pros and cons in person. Like, no old cut is perfect, there are always small compromises. This one ticks many of your boxes! It has beautiful facet patterning. My stone that has a tendency to darken under the table also has near perfect faceting. The angles just aren’t quite right to avoid the obstruction.

It seems to me the darkness disappears on a slight tilt angle. That is usually how we see a diamond when it’s worn. So getting a stone holder and wearing the stone will be helpful so you can assess it more real world wearing conditions.
 
These two images show what I’m talking about tilt. Top shows darkness under table, but slight tilt and it all brightens up.

1748530126177.png
 
Ok, my entirely unscientific gut response is I like it, but I don't love it. Something about the pattern is not sparking joy for me. I can't put my finger on it, and I certainly don't have the experience or knowledge of LightBright or Dreamer, but there is a slight hint of flatness in the response that I just don't love. But the thing about old cuts is everyone has their own particular flavor, so this may just be more yours and not mine! :)
 
I think I mentioned I have two OECs, both half carat, that have a similar make to your big boy. One has an issue of obstruction and the other doesn’t. It has to do with the angles not lining up but I think it also has to do with the length of the lower halves.

Here is my one showing slight obstruction. You can see how the facets under the table are darker than the periphery. This looks similar to yours!

IMG_5293.jpeg

And here I have outlined the pavilion main facets. Each is big and shaped like a pie. This is bc the lower girdle facets are short and so they don’t interrupt the mains at all. Yours has big pie facets like this.

IMG_5293.jpeg

My other OEC of this make never goes dark. It’s basically impossible to make it show obstruction. Even though the proportions are very similar to the above. This is a little blurry but you’ll just have to trust me lol

IMG_5294.jpeg

Among other things, notice the under table facets. The pavilion mains are not big pie pieces. They are interrupted by the lower girdle facets, making a more coffin shape as @Inked called it once. Some people call this “petal” faceting, too. This is very helpful because it breaks up the angles under the table and can make over darkness less likely. This photo is slightly tilted but it shows the facets well.

IMG_5299.jpegIMG_5299.jpeg

Here she is set in my pendant.

IMG_5242.jpeg

HOWEVER the first stone that shows obstruction is still gorgeous and I have her set in a ring. I have to really search for the obstruction. In this case she is set to the sides of a five stone so usually I see her at a slight angle. So the obstruction is less obvious. Bet you can’t pick her out in this image! Both diamonds we’ve been discussing are in this photo.

IMG_4474.jpeg

Another example, face on showing obstruction (she’s on the left)

IMG_5295.jpeg

Slight tilt so she faceting away from the camera and the darkness is gone (she’s on the right now)

IMG_5298.jpeg
 
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