This colored stone lover is lost!

[Kunzite]

I'm in the beginning stages of thinking about an upgrade. My ring was purchased from a chain store (I know, naughty, naughty) that has a great upgrade policy. So for now I'm only entertaining the idea of doing an upgrade, not trying to sell my ring and then going elsewhere.

So my first stop was to look through their online inventory. I only searched for diamonds with GIA certs and then ran the HCA on any diamond that fell in a range. Needless to say, there were not many that fit the bill. Only three diamonds, in fact. I knew this was going to be a challenge, but oy! Another problem? All three of the diamonds with good HCAs are SI2.

So two questions.

1. Is this a good starting place? Looking through GIA certs to see if something catches my eye, etc.

2. Are the inclusions in this stone incredibly scary? They seems so to me, and this was the best of the three!

I can have a stone from the online inventory brought into a store to look at, but they require a deposit to do that so I'd rather be farther along in the process before I do something like that.

Maybe I should just stick with colored stones, lol

 

[Dreamer_D]

Your starting point is good for sure. Expand to AGS reports too.

You can't judge SI2 stones and eye cleanliness from the lab report. But it is challenging to find a report.

From what I have seen here on PS, upgrade policies from chain type stores are often not worthwhile. You pay much more at such stores than you do at an online vendor, and that often offsets, sometimes totally, the credit you get for your original diamond!

Please share: how much credit will you get for your ring, what ct. weight are you planning to buy (and what specs color/clarity wise) and what price is the chain vendor charging for the diamonds you have so far been considering? We can use this information to help offer opinions about your options and where you will get the best value for your money.

 

[stone-cold11]

Numbers could work.

Eye-clean, defined your definition and then ask the vendor to call the vendor who actually has that stone to have a look. Then you will have to decide if you trust the other vendor or not.

 

[Kunzite]

Your starting point is good for sure. Expand to AGS reports too.

You can't judge SI2 stones and eye cleanliness from the lab report. But it is challenging to find a report.

From what I have seen here on PS, upgrade policies from chain type stores are often not worthwhile. You pay much more at such stores than you do at an online vendor, and that often offsets, sometimes totally, the credit you get for your original diamond!

Please share: how much credit will you get for your ring, what ct. weight are you planning to buy (and what specs color/clarity wise) and what price is the chain vendor charging for the diamonds you have so far been considering? We can use this information to help offer opinions about your options and where you will get the best value for your money.

Thanks Dreamer! The diamond above is 1.20 ct, 6.9mm, H, SI2, at $8200. The credit for my current set is at 100% of the purchase price. So the way I see it is that I have two options. Try to sell my set and lose about $2k on the secondary market, or just stick with the current vendor and try to find a diamond that I will love and potentially over spend by the same $2k. So money-wise I feel like I'm in the same place either way. Effort-wise both would be a challenge, but I think selling my set on the secondary market might be harder.

I'm looking to stay in the H/I range and over 6.3mm or so. I currently have a three stone with 4mm, 5mm, 4mm princess cuts so finger coverage it going to change quite a bit.

 

[Kunzite]

Numbers could work.

Eye-clean, defined your definition and then ask the vendor to call the vendor who actually has that stone to have a look. Then you will have to decide if you trust the other vendor or not.

Thanks SC, that's a good suggestion. If they didn't charge a deposit to bring it into the store I'd just call them up and go look at it myself. Maybe I'll just take an afternoon to go see what they have in the store and browse the GIA, SI2s to see how I feel about them. I honestly don't know how I'll feel about inclusions because my current stone is a VS2 with only one inclusion that I have trouble finding under a loupe.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Your starting point is good for sure. Expand to AGS reports too.

You can't judge SI2 stones and eye cleanliness from the lab report. But it is challenging to find a report.

From what I have seen here on PS, upgrade policies from chain type stores are often not worthwhile. You pay much more at such stores than you do at an online vendor, and that often offsets, sometimes totally, the credit you get for your original diamond!

Please share: how much credit will you get for your ring, what ct. weight are you planning to buy (and what specs color/clarity wise) and what price is the chain vendor charging for the diamonds you have so far been considering? We can use this information to help offer opinions about your options and where you will get the best value for your money.

Thanks Dreamer! The diamond above is 1.20 ct, 6.9mm, H, SI2, at $8200. The credit for my current set is at 100% of the purchase price. So the way I see it is that I have two options. Try to sell my set and lose about $2k on the secondary market, or just stick with the current vendor and try to find a diamond that I will love and potentially over spend by the same $2k. So money-wise I feel like I'm in the same place either way. Effort-wise both would be a challenge, but I think selling my set on the secondary market might be harder.

I'm looking to stay in the H/I range and over 6.3mm or so. I currently have a three stone with 4mm, 5mm, 4mm princess cuts so finger coverage it going to change quite a bit.

That price is pretty good for what you are looking at, higher than online but not hugely, maybe $1500 to $2000. But it all depends if the stone is eye clean. Often, eye clean diamonds are pricier than eye-visible inclusions stones, even though this is not official pricing it seems to unofficially apply. With higher clarity, the price at the B&M could change to being less favourable compared to online.

I know you are getting 100% trade in value. I am not totally sure of your money reasoning though

What you need to do to make sure you are getting the best deal is this assessment:

(Total price of new diamond) - (price of trade in) = X. That if your out of pocket cost.
Look online and see what the price of a similar diamond would cost = Y.
If Y < X then your out of pocket cost would be less keeping your ring and buying online.Then you will benefit by keeping your own ring and just buying another, there is not even a need to sell the present ring, it could be a nice RHR. Or sell and make a profit.
If Y > X, then you benefit by trading in with your current jeweler in terms of out of pocket cost.

That said, diamond prices have skyrocketed, so you might want to cosider not only X, but another value:
(Total value of the goods you have in hand on today's market) - (money spent on goods) = Z

Your three stone is likely "worth" much more today in replacement value, compared to what you spent. If that is taken into account then a trade in will never be worthwhile. When thinking about upgrades I like to consider all of these factors.

So just some food for thought as you think about your options!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Numbers could work.

Eye-clean, defined your definition and then ask the vendor to call the vendor who actually has that stone to have a look. Then you will have to decide if you trust the other vendor or not.

Thanks SC, that's a good suggestion. If they didn't charge a deposit to bring it into the store I'd just call them up and go look at it myself. Maybe I'll just take an afternoon to go see what they have in the store and browse the GIA, SI2s to see how I feel about them. I honestly don't know how I'll feel about inclusions because my current stone is a VS2 with only one inclusion that I have trouble finding under a loupe.

It is a non-refundable deposit? If so, I would not risk it on SI2 stones. Surely they have access to more options for you?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would also avoid SI2 stones in this case. In fact, I would not try a trade at a local jeweler. I don't see that you'd be better off. Just use your current e-ring as a right hand ring or reset the stones. And then get the diamond you really want from a vendor that specializes in well cut stones.

 

[marcy]

Does the local store include a warranty for repairs, sizing, etc? Even if they are a little higher on a diamond that can save you money in the long run. Since they are a chain can you have them search their inventory and see what diamonds they have that are better clarity than a Si2? It's hard trying to sift through their inventory, then run the numbers to see if you are interested in it and then have them bring it in for you to see. Also trying to sell your current diamond can be a hassle and from what I understand you'll be lucky to get 50% of the original cost for it. I can't wait to see what you get.