So I'm pretty excited to have just finalized what I feel is an excellent purchase. I was able to snag a 1.08ct H VS2 ideal cut round diamond from Martin over at usacerteddiamonds.com. I then had it appraised by Martin Fuller down here in DC and was just shocked out how great this diamond really was.
I guess now would be the proper time to publish my thoughts on the experience so far. Martin over at usacerteddiamonds.com was a very friendly and professional person to work with. He was very quick to respond to all of my emails and phone calls, and at no point did I feel there was any funny business going on. He was able to suggest some really great diamonds to me beyond what I initially inquired about, and I ended up buying one of them. I guess my only really complaint was that I sort of felt pressured at several points during the transaction and had to jokingly tell him that I was not in that big of a hurry to get this done. This could have been because I was trying to do all of these transactions around 2 major holidays (1 canadian, 1 religious) so he was trying to help me as best he could before going on holiday... understandable and appreciated. One other small thing that irked me was how he kept saying that this diamond was just an "excellent diamond that he knows I'll love", when in fact the diamonds were off a listing service and I had my doubts that he has even seen the diamond beyond the GIA cert. Luckily Martin sends the diamonds to a local appraiser before you purchase it, so after getting a Sarin I felt comfortable about moving forward with things. The listing service actually ended up working in my favor because I found 2 lower prices on other sites and Martin was willing to beat the lowest price by a few dollars ($8 I think).
All in all the diamond was appraised by Martin Fuller (highly recommended!) and he determined that I was actually paying UNDER wholesale for the diamond, which was enough to seal the deal for me.
To quickly touch on Martin Fuller... he was great to work with. Very laid back, yet professional. He was very impartial and side stepped any questions I had that would get him to take a stance on any one issue (like which of the 4C's he felt was the most important, opinions on B&M dealers, etc) Also, for a few extra dollars he takes very detailed photos of the diamond and creates a huge binder of info about the diamond, both before it is set and then again after it is set.
Anyway..here are some details (and a photo is at the bottom). I'll update this thread with ring photos once the diamond is set.
H VS2 Ideal
6.62 x 6.66 x 4.07
Cut: Round
Weight: 1.08 carats
Table % 55
Crown Angle 34.8
Crown Height % 15.5
Pavilion Depth % 43
Girdle Thickness: Thin to Medium - waxy
Total Depth % 61.3
Polish / Symmetry: Excellent
It is also a perfect H&A, although it was not labelled as such in the original listing. Most of the inclusions are toward the edges, which is great. It also has two naturals, which in all my reading I haven't heard much mention of.
I guess now would be the proper time to publish my thoughts on the experience so far. Martin over at usacerteddiamonds.com was a very friendly and professional person to work with. He was very quick to respond to all of my emails and phone calls, and at no point did I feel there was any funny business going on. He was able to suggest some really great diamonds to me beyond what I initially inquired about, and I ended up buying one of them. I guess my only really complaint was that I sort of felt pressured at several points during the transaction and had to jokingly tell him that I was not in that big of a hurry to get this done. This could have been because I was trying to do all of these transactions around 2 major holidays (1 canadian, 1 religious) so he was trying to help me as best he could before going on holiday... understandable and appreciated. One other small thing that irked me was how he kept saying that this diamond was just an "excellent diamond that he knows I'll love", when in fact the diamonds were off a listing service and I had my doubts that he has even seen the diamond beyond the GIA cert. Luckily Martin sends the diamonds to a local appraiser before you purchase it, so after getting a Sarin I felt comfortable about moving forward with things. The listing service actually ended up working in my favor because I found 2 lower prices on other sites and Martin was willing to beat the lowest price by a few dollars ($8 I think).
All in all the diamond was appraised by Martin Fuller (highly recommended!) and he determined that I was actually paying UNDER wholesale for the diamond, which was enough to seal the deal for me.
To quickly touch on Martin Fuller... he was great to work with. Very laid back, yet professional. He was very impartial and side stepped any questions I had that would get him to take a stance on any one issue (like which of the 4C's he felt was the most important, opinions on B&M dealers, etc) Also, for a few extra dollars he takes very detailed photos of the diamond and creates a huge binder of info about the diamond, both before it is set and then again after it is set.
Anyway..here are some details (and a photo is at the bottom). I'll update this thread with ring photos once the diamond is set.
H VS2 Ideal
6.62 x 6.66 x 4.07
Cut: Round
Weight: 1.08 carats
Table % 55
Crown Angle 34.8
Crown Height % 15.5
Pavilion Depth % 43
Girdle Thickness: Thin to Medium - waxy
Total Depth % 61.3
Polish / Symmetry: Excellent
It is also a perfect H&A, although it was not labelled as such in the original listing. Most of the inclusions are toward the edges, which is great. It also has two naturals, which in all my reading I haven't heard much mention of.
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