Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vendor?

[tweeter8177]

Hello!

I am meeting in person with ERD next weekend to view diamonds for an upgrade on my ring. I feel good about ERD based on all the good things I have read about them on PS. They asked me to select a few diamonds on their website to give them an idea on what I am looking for. I am not quite clear right now if I will see those specific diamonds (I need to ask), but Chris (who I am working with) said they have a much larger inventory than their website diamonds to pick from and they will provide me recommendations when we meet.

My question for PS'ers is should I be meeting with more than one vendor? My husband and I are flying to NY on vacation and will meet with ERD and also Steven Kirsch to design the ring. I am starting to panic that maybe I won't find the perfect diamond with ERD (within budget), so would love your input!

Also, any other input on what to ask or how the experience will be would be great! I feel pretty good about reading specs and I am studying up idealscope images etc.

In case you are interested, here are the specs I am looking for:
Round Brilliant
Carat: 3.2 - 3.6 (diameter <9.4mm)
Color I
SI1 or SI2 (eyeclean)
GIA/AGS Triple Ex/Ideal 0
No Fluorescense
HCA <2 (will consider less than 3)

Thanks a ton!!!!

 

[PintoBean]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

Id jewelry, Leon merge and Steven kirsch are just right around the corner. I would make appointments with them all.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

All of them will be pulling from the same virtual inventories, so you don't need 3 jewelers looking at the same time. It's not like there are going to be a huge number of stones available with the specs you want. The thing I think is questionable is how many stones that size in SI clarity are actually going to be eyeclean. It definitely could take more than one shot at it to find the right stone. I use Good Old Gold when I want stones called in because I know they check the light performance, etc., and I can feel 100% confident about what I buy. I think ERD is a good company and they do make some beautiful settings, but it probably would not be my first stop for a diamond.

One more thing, I don't know how much you know about fluorescence, but many of us think it is a huge bonus in I color diamonds as it can make the diamond appear a little whiter. If I were looking for I color, I would strongly prefer it to have fluorescence.

 

[Christina...]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

It's interesting but reading your post and considering what your best option might be, I've come to the conclusion that I think I am now MORE comfortable purchasing online than in person! I like the assurance the tools that PS vendors offer regarding performance and being able to post here for additional thoughts and advice from PSers. I think it's very difficult to get an idea of a stones performance under the trick lighting at most BM shops and I like being able to assess the stone in the privacy of my own home and the environments I find myself in most often, so an online vendor with a great return policy works well for me. I know that ERD offers light performance tests, and I would want them done BEFORE I came in to view the stones in person. It would help assure me that the stones I was looking at are indeed top performers and prevent me from making an emotional buying decision based on the excitement that the moment brings. But that's just me, I'm spontaneous, when I want something, I want it now, even when I know that it may not be the best option for me.

 

[righthandring]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

Christina, I agree with your comments about online shopping and viewing the stones in your own home and not making a decision while under shop lighting. Of course, returning a diamond to an online dealer if you are dissatisfied can add considerable time to the buying process, which can be a negative. During the window a person has possession of a diamond, I think it is important to take the stone to an independent appraiser without any affiliation to those marketing diamonds. Recently I have spoken to three separate highly reputable PS appraisers who all said that they were skeptical of light performance testing.One went so far as to say a particular test was a marketing tool. Each one said that an in person human visual assessment is the most important thing. Overall I think a person should see a variety of diamonds from a number of sources before making a decision. Not much different than buying a car. You need to research and test drive it.

 

[Niel]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

Can I ask why you don't want flour? Seems like you're automatically eliminating more stones than you need to that way.

 

[tweeter8177]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

Thanks for all your feedback!

I have scoured through almost every diamond I can find through PS featured sponsors for the specs I want…reviewing inclusions on GIA/AGS documents, HCA testing, and cross referencing diamonds to between sites for more info. I have found 3 diamonds that I am highly interested in that should be eyeclean. I was thinking it was the best of both worlds to use an on-line vendor but actually see the diamonds before shipped to me and still have a return period option. Since I am meeting ERD in their offices (not B&M store), I am hopeful that the lighting will be normal for viewing. As Christina suggested, I can ask if they can send me any images prior to meeting them.

I was really thrown off by ERD telling me that they have access to a much larger inventory than what is on the website. Thus, I started wondering if I should be looking at other vendors, because I am guessing that ERD is only going to show me a handful of options at most.

As far as fluorescence, I have read a ton of info arguing for and against it and I have just made a personal preference to stay away from it, right or wrong I guess. I have been very happy with my color I diamonds so far! I definitely appreciate everyone’s opinions though and will consider if a good option is presented!

Thanks for your help again and any input is welcome!

 

[Alexiszoe]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

Hi OP,

I had a somewhat similar question a few months ago; you can read it here: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-vendors-share-similar-inventory-lists.183121/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/do-vendors-share-similar-inventory-lists.183121/[/URL]

The advice I got from that thread was that most share similar inventories, and as you go up in size the pool of diamonds available gets progressively smaller. It could be ERD has exclusive relationships with certain cutters which may allow them access to other stones which are otherwise not listed on the site. I don't necessarily see the harm in working with another vendor and see what it turns out - 3 carat size ranges, while big, are probably not that uncommon in NY (i.e there's demand for it), so I assume the pool of diamonds available would be bigger than say, a 6 carat diamond.

 

[isekii]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

Yea nothing wrong with seeing different vendors.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

Christina, I agree with your comments about online shopping and viewing the stones in your own home and not making a decision while under shop lighting. Of course, returning a diamond to an online dealer if you are dissatisfied can add considerable time to the buying process, which can be a negative. During the window a person has possession of a diamond, I think it is important to take the stone to an independent appraiser without any affiliation to those marketing diamonds. Recently I have spoken to three separate highly reputable PS appraisers who all said that they were skeptical of light performance testing.One went so far as to say a particular test was a marketing tool. Each one said that an in person human visual assessment is the most important thing. Overall I think a person should see a variety of diamonds from a number of sources before making a decision. Not much different than buying a car. You need to research and test drive it.

I agree that an independent appraiser is important if you buy a stone with nothing but the lab report, but if you have some of the additional images that many of these vendors provide as well as like the stone in person, I do not seek another opinion. Of course, I have mainly bought from Good Old Gold and WhiteFlash who provide me all the information I need to be assured of good light performance. I think an idealscope image is very useful to screen for leakage, but I do think in the past we maybe were a little strict in that area. All I can say is that my eyes have agreed with loving the stones that have been assessed to have great light performance!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

There is no harm seeing more than one vendor. In fact, I think most vendor believe we work with more than one.

 

[tweeter8177]

Re: Viewing diamonds at ERD - am I limiting myself w/ 1 vend

Thanks all! Great input! I will see if I can schedule another appointment, but I am limited since we are only in NY Sat and Sun and I already have 2 appointments Saturday (ERD and Steven Kirsch). Thank goodness my husband is cool with all this!

Ironically, I stopped into a local jewelery store tonight to check out ring settings, ugh a whole different topic! Anyway, the manager of the store was the salepserson that sold me my current diamond/setting 3 years ago from another jeweler (my first upgrade). I was VERY honest about what I was looking for and the NY trip and she really wants to work with me on the upgrade. At minimum, she will consign my current diamond/setting which would be fabulous! I was still trying to figure that part out...although secretly I was hoping to keep it and have 2 rings!

The one thing that was interesting is that she pulled up diamonds in my specs from her vendor and I recognized one of diamonds that I am considering on-line. She was shocked and didn't believe me...her vendor promises that their inventory is not on-line. I pulled up the diamond on my phone and it was the same AGS cert (and $18K cheaper)! To say the least, she is motivated to work something out, so we will see if she comes up with something within my budget.

Thanks again, I love the input!