Should I buy one of the new Infinity cut princess diamonds?

[Mercantides]

Some of you might remember my first posts from over a month ago when I started my search for an engagement ring. I did a lot of searching through old posts and came up with some criteria to use for pricescope searches. Depth less than 75%, table 3-5% lower.

I live in Canada and was planning on buying through USA Certed as they are based in Toronto and have received good reviews on these forums. Martin was very helpful with all my questions but there were a few issues. He confirmed my suspicion that depth and table measurements weren''t enough to qualify a princess cut and I should see the diamonds in person before making any decision. The trouble is all the diamonds listed on pricescope are in the U.S. and excise tax has to be paid when they are shipped to Canada. This means that he doesn''t want to bring a diamond into Canada unless I''m going to buy it.

This is when I got tired of the process and put it on the back burner while I took care of some other pressing issues. Now that I''ve got some free time I really want to find something.

As I see it I have got three options:
1) Pick a few stones from the shortlist and have them sent to an appraiser that can give complete information on the stones. This will be time consuming and ~$40 per stone.
2) Buy one of the new Infinity cuts for a premium (20%?) and be done with it. I''ll still be getting a better deal than if I bought locally and the stone will be a lot better.
3) Abandon the idea and convince my girlfriend to live in sin.

At this point I really don''t mind paying a premium to know that I''m getting a great diamond and the Infinity cut stones look very nice. Plus the full Sarin reports are available.

I''m specifically looking at this stone: http://www.elmyrservices.com/stone.asp?id=77FE49790226DC257D69308D403FDD0D

My only concern is that it might not be eye clean.

Anyways, it was basically just a rant voicing my frustration at the process of buying a princess cut online. I''d welcome any feedback you have. Am I missing any avenues for choosing the right stone?

 

[noobie]

Well having just seen a AGS0 Princess a few days ago, I would say hands down YES, especially if you can''t see it prior to buying. They are absolutely amazing stones. Best Princess cuts I have ever seen.

I have many friends in Canada. There are a few things that might make it easier:

Have Wink, Gary Dutton or Bill Scherlag find a stone for you and examine it to make sure it is eye clean. Make sure your definition of eye clean is the same as theirs. See John Q''s eye clean thread in FAQs.

Consider having the stone shipped to a Fed ex facility just across the border in the US. Closet one to you if you are in Toronto, Buffalo or Niagara Falls. This way if you don''t like it, ship it back by USPS registered mail (cost about $25. Make sure you go to pick it up when the Post Office is open. Pay the taxes and duty when you go back over the border. Do some research, but I read somewhere that if you give it to her while out of country it may not be subject to some duty. I don''t know, you may wish to check it out.

Good luck.

 

[carrot]

Infinity's committment to cut quality should put them near or at the top of anyone's list of diamond suppliers. There have been some photos posted of their princess cuts which appeared to set a new standard for quality and beauty. But since light return defies evaluation from an internet photo, get a copy of Idealscope Images and Gemex Light Performance reports on prospective stones.

When you find a candidate, follow Noobie's advice and have the stone sent to you for examination. At this point, this course appears likely to be a short trip to a knockout princess cut diamond!

And make sure that you get a stone that is eye clean to your satisfaction. If you are not familiar with color grades, visit a jeweler large enough to inventory loose diamonds and look at several in different color grades, being sure to include a D in the mix. Pay particular attention to the way the transparency of the diamonds increases as the color grade increases. This should help you make an educated decision about how important color is to you.

 

[Kaleigh]

Mercantides,
Noobie has given you some excellent advice. I know that for the Canadians it is somewhat difficult, but there are ways to get around it. He has seen one and they sound amazing. Good luck and please let us know how you make out. Sounds like they would be worth the trouble, IMHO. HTH.

 

[Mercantides]

I live in Ottawa, so a drive to the states not out of the question but it''s also not something I''m eager to do. I had thought about getting it sent to an independent appraiser and driving to see it but the closest would be over 6 hours away. I never considered just sending it to a fedex facility. Ogdensburg is the closest city in the states and its about an hour away. Thanks a lot for the suggestion!