URGENT ADVICE NEEDED!!!!

[R_de_T]

Hi,

I’ve only recently ‘officially’ registered at this great site but all of the comments, topics and answers have been a GREAT guide in helping me in my search for a diamond for my girlfriend’s engagement ring.

I ran bad luck with my B&M jeweler unexpectedly not being able to supply me with the right diamond for the right price which is why I rather desperately and very urgently ask some of the experts here for your help on evaluating 4 diamonds that I’ve found which are within my budget and, supposedly within my range of preferences.

These are there characteristics:

1. AGS Ideal (0) cut, G color, VS2 Clarity, Carat 0.45, Holloway Cut Advisor Score 1.2 (ex, ex, ex, vg) > Price $957
> This stone has 2 clouds of which seems to be partly under the table and the other on the side
2. AGS Ideal (0) cut, H color, VS2 Clarity, Carat 0.464, Holloway Cut Advisor Score 1.1 (ex, ex, ex, vg) > Price $1101
> This stone has 3 groups of pinpoints of which 3 are under the table and another on the side
3. AGS Ideal (0) cut, G color, VS2 Clarity, Carat 0.454, Holloway Cut Advisor Score 1.3 (ex, ex, ex, vg) > Price $957
> This stone has 2 very close groups of many little pinpoints of which are under the table.
4. AGS Ideal (0) cut, H color, VVS2 Clarity, Carat 0.436, Holloway Cut Advisor Score 1.2 (ex, ex, ex, vg) > Price $1058
> This stone has 2 inclusions (pinpoints?) under the table.

5. GIA Ideal cut, G color, VVS2 Clarity, Carat 0.45, Very Good Polish, Excellent Symmetry, Depth 62.6%, Table 56% (don’t have HCA score ) > Price $1072 >Unknown inclusions

If need I can attach the grading reports but they are rather big so I''m not sure if it''s possible. I guess the one thing I’m most worried about is the place a impact of the inclusions that are mentioned (and shown on the grading rep.).

I’d REALLY appreciate the help of somebody more knowledgeable than me on this cause I have to buy today or tomorrow or so!!!

Thx, Rolf

 

[R_de_T]

Does anybody know any independent appraisers in either Holland or Belgium?

Or is it perhaps possible to send the gem to a US based appraiser who can, if the gem matches all the expectations, send it through to me (living in Belgium)?

I really hope any of you guys & girls can help!!!

 

[belle]

do you have more information on these diamonds that you can share?

 

[Dancing Fire]

i would take #1 or #3. go for the G color, clarity doesn''t matter in case. all should be eye clean.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Yes, I agree, G VS2 is a great combination. What is the diameter across of the stones? I might pick the one that has the biggest diameter because that one will look the biggest.

In a half carat stone, you shouldn''t have to worry about inclusions in a VS2 stone, so I think VVS2 is overkill. VS2 should be completely eye-clean.

 

[Rhino]

Just curious... no angles are given. Are these AGS ideals *prior* to June 1st or after? If *prior* it is possible they are no longer considered ideal. Curious.

 

[denverappraiser]

Gem-A is a school and society in UK that has graduates all over Europe. They may be able to help you. If you''re buying something from a US based supplier, you may be better off using a US based apprasier in order to avoid customs complications if you decide to return the item. Most of the ''internet friendly'' appraisers have experience in working with overseas clients that are facing this very problem.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[R_de_T]

Thank you so much for the advice!!! I hereby attach the two AGS grading reports of option 1 & 3 !!! I''d be very curious which one you think is the best!

Also, I''ve just found out that apparantly shipping to Europe is either impossible or inflates the price by 20% or so, so I guess I''ll have to get it shipped to a relative in the US and just sent it by Fedex and pray they don''t loose it.

 

[R_de_T]

Oops, I guess that didn''t work....they''re too big to put in total so I''ll chop them up a bit with the most relevant info...

 

[R_de_T]

This one belong to the same gem (option 1)

 

[weemodin]

You should buy that one because it was graded on my birthday

 

[R_de_T]

And option 3, but this AGS repot has a different lay out than the other one....anybody know if that is normal cause the one of their website is similar to the one posted before......

 

[R_de_T]

I guess I''ll have to buy them both cause this one as well

 

[Dancing Fire]

#1 has the new report.

 

[fire&ice]

Either 1 or 3 will be great. My preference is #3.

 

[R_de_T]

I''m leaning towards option 3 as well but, here''s just one last one for the road given that DancingFire commented that color was more important.

AGS0, Color F, 0.445 Carats, VS2, HCA 1.1. (Ex,Ex, Ex, VG), -Polish,Symm., Proportions are all Ideal > Price...$926

Just two questions with this one; the HCA indication 1.1. but is very close/on the line of the AGS 0 frame...does this matter

Secondly; this gem seems to have only a very small inclusion(cloud?) as compard to the other ones does this mean it is ''more serious'' in nature as compared to the other ones or is it just a better gem????

Curious what you all think....I''m most likely going to buy today: Anybody have a particular preference for an appraiser in FL? It needs to be done rather quick...!

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!!!

 

[pyramid]

Just a thought but have you ever considered going for a J VS2 in a 0.70 size or anything? It is entirely your preference and if you want to go for high colour that is up to you but I just wondered if you had looked at J colour diamonds. There is a great thread here where people have 2 carat J colour diamonds and they look beautiful. A 0.70 size diamond would look much bigger than a 0.45 diamond.

I remember reading that most diamonds under 0.50 were not certified because of the cost to certify them being about $100 per stone.

Maybe you have been reading here for a while but I just wondered if you knew of this option.

 

[pyramid]

https://www.pricescope.com/forum/topic654.html=

Here is an old post which I also found interesting if you are trying to maximise a budget. I don''t read about this much on pricescope now as everyone seems to be dead set on an Ideal Cut.

 

[R_de_T]

Here''s the AGS cert of my ''newbie''....

 

[R_de_T]

Thx for the tip Pyramid. I''ll take a look. Perhaps I''m indeed the victim of marketing but then again my girlfriend is more the type who likes the more subtle type of gem (and my guess would be that would be around .4 - .6 or so). I for myself am sort of a perfectionist so given that it doesn''t have to be too big of a gem I like to have something that will definately keep its value and is high quality.....and as they say ''a diamond is forever''

 

[valeria101]

These are all super safe bets ! Very white, clean and very ideal. Actually, I think you could relax the stats quite a bit and stillend up with something very, very nice. And probably larger.

How does THIS sound ? Actually, I was looking for .5cts H-SI1 and there is one at Wink's (www.winkjones.com) that fits the bill, that one justhappened to be around: namely this one. It would take an e-mail to get the pictures, usually this shop has IS and normal photos of everything.

Perhaps the inclusions look 'impressive' on the clarity plots, but these are 5mm objects in real life - not saucer size like those pictures, and the inclusions are colorless or transparent (hopefully), definitely not red. Itis allot better to have pictures of the diamonds for guidance than the clarity plots.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Here's a 0.46 H SI1 for $1060 that scores an elusive 0.6 (all excellents) on the HCA due to its spread (5.04mm -- the stones you listed were in the 4.9 mm range).

By the way, that WhiteFlash stone Valeria101 just posted is priced at $1324 if you request the PriceScope discount (why spend $34 if you don't have to?).

If this 0.57 G SI2 stone for $1111 (with PS discount) is eye-clean, it might be a great option. It also scores a 0.6 on the HCA and it measures 5.42mm across, so it should look noticeably larger than the stones you've been looking at.

But you don't really need any more options. What you need to do is figure out what color/clarity combo you are comforable with and then get the best cut possible. I will say, however, that there is something magical about that 1/2 carat mark, so if you play around maybe you can go above that. Then your girlfriend can say, "Oh, it's about half a carat" instead of "It's 0.453" or whatever.

 

[R_de_T]

Thank you both so much Valeria and Phoenixgirl! I think I really like the Winfield one as well!

Are they (Winfield) credible and what about the fact that it isn''t AGS graded but PGS???

I also agree with the magical .5 threshold but is .0045 cart really worth the $200 difference?