want a great cut- hearts on fire?

[qwerty]

OK, so i trying to buy an e-ring (for the most wonderful girl ever!) and have been searching for a couple of weeks now and reading this website for as long.
the prombelm is: my excitement is fading and this process is quickly becoming not fun!

i think my confusion is around branded diamonds and specifically hearts on fire. I am almost positive that I want to buy from a B&M store instead of the internet just for comfort reasons.
the problem is that I am having some trouble getting very well cut diamonds from stores. salespeople are great in explaining the importance of cut, but are surprisingly aloof when looking at diamonds and talking about cut. they seem to say things like "this isn''t an ideal, but is really beautiful nonetheless" when pressed for specs, they say they need time to go find them or they don''t know what the cut rating is(?). they have limited amounts of well cut diamonds and almost always say they need time to get more in. how can i begin to compare diamonds if they don''t have cut ratings immediately availble?
(this is in recommended stores on philly''s jewler''s row, btw)

before i go too crazy, i often wonder if i should just buy a hearts on fire diamond? i understand that there is a premium but at least i know what i will get.

my questions are: what kind of premium would a HOF be for a 1 - 1.5 ct?
what are your thoughts on HOF or branded stones?

thanks for your help!!

 

[Ellen]

Hi qwerty,

HOF has great looking stones, and not so great. They are just like other well cut diamonds, but with a stiff premium.

If you want to ensure getting a great looking stone without the mark up, ask for only AGS000. You want the newer grading reports that include light performance grades.

 

[Ty Cobb]

If you are looking at HOF, check out Tiffany''s and Cartier. The difference in price won''t be that much and both Tiffs and Cartier had no problem printing off numerous GIA reports on the stones in their inventory prior to me having Tiffs bring any stones in.

As for HOF, they look good, though I have to admit, I got a used car salesman feel when the dude broke out the light to do the HOF effect thingie.

 

[RockDoc]

HOF''s are nice, but they are not the "cats meow" of stones generally.

Amusingly, they''ve been named " Wallets on Fire". They do carry a severe premium.

There are a lot of choices in both branded and non-branded diamonds that will be "close" - equal or better than the HOF''S.

I wouldn''t be too concerned with buying one on the internet, from a trusted vendor.

Sort of depends how "fussy" you want to be about the cut quality.

There are plenty of seller here on this forum that will send your choices to an appraiser, who is independent, and will assist you if you feel "nervous" or overly concerned about judging the inate characteristics of a particular stone or two.

Plus you''ll save a "ton" as the internet sellers are EXTREMELY competitive in their pricing, that won''t happen at most B&M''s who are HOF dealers.

I recently got an HOF stone that was sold for $ 15,000. more than an equal stone that would have been competitively priced. HOF prices will vary a bit from dealer to dealer, but in this case, the premium was about 33% more. That''s a lot to pay for a "name".



Rockdoc

 

[Regular Guy]

Hey querty,

While you're figuring out that typewriter thing..where you say:..." I am almost positive that I want to buy from a B&M store instead of the internet just for comfort reasons...." .I'd really think about driving out to Long Island...

 

[Mayflower25]

Personally, I haven''t done much research on HOF beyond their website, but my sister did receive a HOF rb ~ 1.32 ct. I believe its F/G in color, VVS in clarity and was approximately 17K-18K (w/o setting). I know those are rough stats, but I agree that these stones carry a high premium. The stone is gorgeous though, and sparkles like crazy. Haven''t had the chance to compare it side-by-side with any ideal cuts, but am sure they are comparable on a case-by-case basis.

Have you viewed HOF diamonds yet? Would recommend that you ask your jeweler to bring in comparable HOFs and ideal-cuts, then make your decision.

 

[risingsun]

I've looked at a lot of HOF stones in the process of upgrading my wedding set. I saw some outstanding diamonds! Ultimately, I went with an A Cut Above from Whiteflash, because I couldn't justify the HOF premium. My ACA is certainly cut as well as the HOF, IMO and that of my appraiser. We did choose to have my stone set in a HOF semi-mount and buy the matching w-ring. It all came out beautifully, but we did pay the HOF price for what we did buy. We also have our local jeweler standing behind the entire ring--center stone and all. My jeweler mounted the center stone and accepted liability for doing the work. I know this is an unusual circumstance. This has been the best of both worlds to me--service and value for a beautiful diamond and wediding set.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I also looked at HOF diamonds and they were drastically overpriced compared to the hearts and arrows stones available elsewhere. We bought a H&A stone from an online vendor with an B&M store (Good Old Gold) and we also bought earring diamonds from an online vendor (WhiteFlash). Both have stones that match or best HOF and the prices are SO much better. And both allow you to return the stone if it does not meet your expectations. Both have lifetime upgrade policies as well.