Seeing the fancies in person - how important?

[Vynyaca]

I''ve been searching in some old threads for information on ovals. The recurring theme is that you really needs to see ovals and the other fancies in person. The numbers don''t tell the whole story like rounds do.

In the case of the popular and highly recommended vendors I''ve read about here like GOG, DBOF, and Dirt Cheap it''s great that there''s a real person on the other end to answer questions and (hopefully) give their honest opinion and the brilliance, discernible bowties, and such. In comparison, it seems Blue Nile is probably more similar to shopping Amazon.com.

I''m just wondering if anyone here has purchased a fancy online without seeing it in person. Do pictures do justice? Do all the reports help, ex. brilliancescope, Sarin, etc? I live in LA, could it be worth it to buy an airline ticket and still come out on top because of the savings of an online purchase and no tax. If I went down to a B&M in the Diamond District I think I''d be paying more for a lesser diamond.

I''d love to hear some opinions.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

There's no reason you couldn't see the fancy you're considering in person, once you eliminate it down to one or two stones you're considering.

The vendor could just send the stone to you or an appraiser in your area.

 

[elmo]

In order to narrow down your choices as Rich suggests, one of the most important things that a couple of photographs could help you out with is to see what the overall shape or outline of the stone is. If you want to get an idea of how much this can vary for the same set of dimensions, go over to http://www.gemappraisers.com and check out the fancy shape selector tool. No report will tell you what the "bulge factor" is (funny description, isn't it?), and how pleasing the shape is. I'd rely more on the jeweler's advice for light-related questions e.g. about brilliance and bow-tie effect.

 

[Vynyaca]

Thanks for the info, Richard. Will a vendor send more than one stone to an appraiser? If I see the stone and fall in love with it what's the next step. Does it go all the way back or can it stay with the appraiser until it's purchased?

Elmo, I think pictures do help a lot with ovals. I love visiting GOG because of the great pictures but he doesn't seem to have many ovals. I did check out David Atlas' fancy shape tool. Definitely liking the 1.40:1 to 1.50:1 area but I know that's all personal preference. I noticed the bulge factor but I'm not quite sure what it is. It wasn't affected when I plugged in the numbers.

 

[Rhino]

Hi Vynaca,

In answer to your question... YES! More than one stone can be sent to the appraiser and the appraiser can keep the stone of your liking there till the stone is paid for (as long as it's not too long). We work with many appraisers and about all the ones that are listed here on pricescope as they are all reputable. I know we stock way more rounds than we do ovals but if you've initiated our search services we can get in more ovals for you. Finding the cherries can be a challenge sometimes but we've got the tools to do it if you're willing to work with us. This also saves alot of time and money as the only stones we'd recommend sending to the appraiser would be hand picked by us according to the specs you wanted.

Kind regards,
Rhino

 

[Vynyaca]

Hi Rhino,
I will keep this in mind when we're ready to start searching. Who knows though, after seeing many of your gorgeous H&As I may still be swayed by the round brilliants.

Decisions, decisions!