Should I buy this AGS Diamond from my friend?

[nmg]

My friend was going to propose to his girlfriend. Let's just say he no longer needs the ring! Sad but true.

I have the opportunity to buy his diamond. Do you think I should? I don't know anything about diamonds. Google says that AGS stones are very good. It looks beautiful to me. I plan on proposing in a month or two. What do you think?

Shape and Style
Round Brilliant

Measurements
6.19 - 6.21 x 3.81 mm

Cut Grade
AGS Excellent 1

Polish
Excellent

Symmetry
Ideal

Proportion Factors
Ideal

Color Grade
AGS 0.5 (E)

Clarity Grade
AGS 5 (SI1)

Carat Weight
0.880

Fluorescence
Negligible

Table
57.0%

Crown Angle
34.8

Crown Height
14.7%

Girdle
Faceted, 1.0% to 1.6%

Pavilion Angle
40.8

Pavilion Depth
42.8%

Total Depth
61.3%

Culet
Pointed

 

[CheeSauce]

It has a HCA score of 1.4 so I think it is definitely a good possibility! I am surprised it has an AGS score of excellent instead of idea... the numbers you posted seem like it should be an AGS ideal instead. Does anyone have any insight on this?

 

[TreeScientist]

It has a HCA score of 1.4 so I think it is definitely a good possibility! I am surprised it has an AGS score of excellent instead of idea... the numbers you posted seem like it should be an AGS ideal instead. Does anyone have any insight on this?

The diamond received excellent (1) instead of ideal (0) for polish. I believe AGS won't award 0 for the cut grade unless all cut grade indicators (polish, symmetry, and proportion/light performance) are all 0. IRL, a 1 for polish won't make a bit of difference.

@nmg, could you post the certificate or certificate number? Would be helpful for knowing the types/placement of inclusions. Also, do you have pictures.

If you could get a good deal on the diamond, then it may be worth pursuing. From the numbers alone, it looks like a good diamond.

One more thing to consider: Is the friend who had the failed proposal a mutual friend of both you and your GF/soon-to-be fiancée? Does your GF know this friend's ex-GF? Are you planning on telling her that the diamond was bought from your friend after his planned proposal fell through?

I know what you may be thinking as a rational male: Why does it make a difference? It's just a rock. Trust me, I though the same thing too. But to many women, it does make a difference whether the diamond came from a failed planned proposal. Call it bad juju or whatever you want to call it, but many women believe in this and only want a "new" diamond that you purchased from a store yourself. Never mind the fact the many diamonds sold as "new" are recycled through the system and may or may not have come from a failed marriage. The important thing to them is that they think it is new.

I only say this because my fiancée, an otherwise perfectly rational human being who is, in almost every other situation, extremely stingy with money and always after a deal, was very adamant about not receiving a "used" diamond, whether or not it had even been used or came from a proposal plan that fell through like your current situation. I was a little bit dumbfounded when I heard her being so adamant about this, but I guess many perfectly rational women act a little bit irrational when it comes to symbolic gestures like an engagement ring.

If you are going to seriously consider buying this diamond, then you should talk to your soon-to-be fiancée about this and see if she's okay with getting this diamond from your friend. Because if she's not okay with it and you didn't consult with her, and it somehow slips from your friend at a later date that he sold you the diamond from his failed proposal plans, then it may be a source of contention.

Not trying to dissuade you. If your GF is cool with it, then I think it's a fantastic plan, and could be a win-win for everyone involved: Your friend gets some money back for the diamond that I'm assuming is too late to return for a full refund (because why else would he sell it?) and you get a good deal. Just be sure to check with the GF.

 

[jp201845]

My friend was going to propose to his girlfriend. Let's just say he no longer needs the ring! Sad but true.

I have the opportunity to buy his diamond. Do you think I should? I don't know anything about diamonds. Google says that AGS stones are very good. It looks beautiful to me. I plan on proposing in a month or two. What do you think?

Shape and Style
Round Brilliant

Measurements
6.19 - 6.21 x 3.81 mm

Cut Grade
AGS Excellent 1

Polish
Excellent

Symmetry
Ideal

Proportion Factors
Ideal

Color Grade
AGS 0.5 (E)

Clarity Grade
AGS 5 (SI1)

Carat Weight
0.880

Fluorescence
Negligible

Table
57.0%

Crown Angle
34.8

Crown Height
14.7%

Girdle
Faceted, 1.0% to 1.6%

Pavilion Angle
40.8

Pavilion Depth
42.8%

Total Depth
61.3%

Culet
Pointed

Can you post the AGS grading report?

 

[flyingpig]

Some AGS "report"s (not "document") do not give AGS0 for cut; AGS 1 is the max.

 

[mrs-b]

Lovely diamond. Depends 100% on the price, tho. You mentioned you don't know a lot about diamonds; what is your friend asking for this one? Let us know and we'll let you know if you're being hosed or not.

Again - it's a lovely diamond, but you can get beautiful diamonds from a lot of different sources, and a lot of those have an upgrade policy, which of course this one doesn't.

Proceed with caution.

 

[whitewave]

It’s definitely promising. He should expect to lose about 30% of what he paid.

 

[OoohShiny]

Is your friend unable to return it to where he purchased it?

 

[John P]

Proportion Factors
Ideal

Noting that there was no assessment of Light Performance made at the lab. Only proportions assessment.

The explanation may be that it's an older report. Prior to 2005 no 3D light performance metric existed at AGSL. It would also explain the overall grade of AGS1. Older reports required proportions, polish and symmetry to uniformly earn AGS0 for the overall cut grade to be 0. If that's the case here the 1 (excellent) in polish would have lowered overall cut grade to AGS1.

Since there is no visible difference between 0-1 in polish or symmetry AGSL relaxed that position some years ago.

The other explanation would be a newer report, but whoever submitted it to AGS requested a format that uses proportions-factors only. Not 3D light performance.

 

[Dancing Fire]

The explanation may be that it's an older report. Prior to 2005 no 3D light performance metric existed at AGSL. It would also explain the overall grade of AGS1. Older reports required proportions, polish and symmetry to uniformly earn AGS0 for the overall cut grade to be 0.

Yup, Here's my wife's stone recut by Infinity from 2004. Already been 15 yrs?