Under what conditions would you buy an uncerted diamond

[MaisOuiMadame]

Timely thread, I was *THISCLOSE* to pulling the trigger on visually well matched 4,7 ctw oec pair on auction. They were estimated by a GIA trained appraiser at j/k vs1 and k/l si1.

I liked them visually, kept going until 15 K (including buyer's premium, so 12.5 k hammer price).
It was a trusted expert who gave me the estimate, but given that they were bezel set and he might be off by a few grades (hidden chips..) I stuck with the limit I had set myself beforehand.I figured I might be able to sell an eyeclean 2.2 CT L m oec and an eyeclean 2.5 CT n oec at that price, if the appraiser we as off a few grades.


In short: when it's a rare or hard to come by cut, matched pair or suite, GREAT price and preferably set in antique jewelry.

Then it might be worth it to ME.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

All my stones were uncerted when I bought them. I have done pretty well, but I have ironclad rules:

1) seek only old cuts, no moderns.
2) assess according to my priorities (eye-clean first, and then size - millimeter, rather than weight) To me, color is not at all important.
3) no debt, no financing, no exceptions.
4) antique settings are incredibly difficult to source cheaply, so I rush to grab them, since a diamond can (eventually) be found to fill them.

YMMV and that’s a wonderful thing! We’re all different, and we all see beauty differently. There are stones for everyone’s taste. I am supremely grateful that other people had deemed my diamonds a hard pass, otherwise they wouldn’t have come to me! Maybe someday I’ll buy a stone that’s already certed... from a trusted Old Cut vendor.