suggestions for my 1st diamond

[iamredeemer]

i was thinking about buying a loose diamond for my engagement ring -

Shape : Round
Carats : 1.07
Cut Grade : Premium
Color Grade : J
Clarity Grade : SI2
Depth : 62.1
Table : 56
Girdle : M-STK
Culet : None
Polish : Excellent
Symmetry : Excellent
Certification : GIA
Fluorescence : NO

for $3400 What do you think?

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/17/2007 8:49:02 PM
Author:iamredeemer

i was thinking about buying a loose diamond for my engagement ring -

Shape : Round
Carats : 1.07
Cut Grade : Premium
Color Grade : J
Clarity Grade : SI2
Depth : 62.1
Table : 56
Girdle : M-STK
Culet : None
Polish : Excellent
Symmetry : Excellent
Certification : GIA
Fluorescence : NO

for $3400 What do you think?

What you''ve listed for information suggests the diamond has potential, but you need more information.

Crown angle, pavilion angle, measurements in diameter, etc. Get the info from a Sarin or similar report to post if you can. Without it, there''s not much anyone can say except "it might be a good stone", but there''s no way to be sure.

 

[avlis]

i am a little concerned about the cut grade... GIA doesn''t use the term "Premium" which means it is an arbitrary term tacked on by the seller. for all i know "premium" could be their worse grade, they may have :
premium, super premium, double premium, double plus premium, and super double plus extreme premium

are you OK with the J color?
is the SI2 close to eye clean?

do you know what the GIA report number is?

who is selling this diamond.

 

[Regular Guy]

Iam...

Al and Alvis ask good questions.

Make sure to review the tutorial; it helps you understand about variables that go into cut.

Regards,

 

[phoenixgirl]

If this stone is the one you''re looking at, then your price is awesome. A 1.07 GIA J SI2 with a 62.1 depth, 56 table, medium to slightly thick girdle, and ex/ex stone is selling for between $3883 and $4048 by PS vendors, and some of those are discounted prices.

USA Certed gives GIA report numbers, so we can look up the report to get the crown and pavilion angles:

Report Check for
GIA Report Number: 16196391


Report Type: GIA Diamond Grading Report

Date of Issue: July 05, 2007

Round Brilliant

Measurements: 6.53 - 6.55 x 4.06 mm

Carat Weight: 1.07

Color Grade: J

Clarity Grade: SI2

Cut Grade: Excellent

Proportions:

Depth: 62.1 %

Table: 56 %

Crown Angle: 35°

Crown Height: 15.5 %

Pavilion Angle: 40.8°

Pavilion Depth: 43 %

Star length: 50 %

Lower Half: 75 %

Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted

Culet: None

Finish:

Polish: Excellent

Symmetry: Excellent

Fluorescence: None

Comments: Additional clouds are not shown.


HCA score is 1.6, EX, EX, EX, VG. So . . . my only concern with this stone would be the clarity. If you''ve seen the stone or have a return policy, I would say, go for it! J/SI2 can be a great way to maximize your size, and if you''ve picked a stone with a great cut (which you certainly seem to have) and with eye-clean clarity, then you''ve really made the most of your money. Even if there is a visible inclusion or two, if it''s in the right place, it might not be noticeable.

10% below the least expensive PS price is really awesome . . . you should take advantage of it!

 

[phoenixgirl]

Actually, I take my declaration about what a good price it is back. Through the search engine, the prices listed for this stone are high $3ks to $4k. But when you click on the link it''s a different story:

Vendor/Vendor Price/PriceScope Search Engine Price
Engagement Rings Direct/$3388/$3883 (looks like an error transcribing the number)
Union Diamond/$3370 or $3272 with wire transfer/$3901
USA Certed/$3242/$3948
Abazias/$3437 or $3359 cash/$4025
WhiteFlash/$3338/$4048

So $3400 is pretty average. It''s competitive, but it''s not the steal of the century. If you can get prices similar to PS locally, then you have been offered a very good price. If you''re looking through a website, then you can save $100 or so by shopping around, but it''s not really enough to make a difference if you''ve settled on a vendor that you like. You have to take their settings, turnaround time, and return/upgrade policies into consideration as well.

I''m really not sure what caused this error, but I know that PS vendors will change (although that''s always meant lower in the past) their prices a bit to put them in the PS search engine, thus offering a small discount if you found it through PS (and making their price look more attractive when you use the search engine so you''re more likely to buy the stone through them . . . that''s competition for you!). So maybe this was an error in transcription for one price which caused the other vendors to automatically adjust their prices accordingly. I''m really not sure, but I would trust the prices that their sites say.