Patty
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2003
- Messages
- 4,455
My husband will pick it up from the independent appraiser in Kansas City today. We looked at it Saturday. First of all, though, let me thank all of you here for your help and advice. I have learned a lot from you all in a couple of weeks and I''m thrilled with our purchase!
Now...about buying an I1 stone. I absolutely could not see the inclusion with my naked eye. I realize that there may come a time when I can pick it out and then I may feel it''s more noticable. But here is my thinking...No one else will ever notice it and it''s a "good" type of inclusion, meaning white, not dark. Also, I like the idea that there is just ONE eye visible inclusion. Some of the pictures I''ve seen of SI and I clarity stones looked too "busy." This inclusion may be smack dab center, but it''s the only one I''ll see! I asked the appraiser how easily she could see it and she said that if she saw that diamond on my hand, she''d notice the great cut and color. If she took it from me and looked at it, yes, she''d notice the inclusion, but...she''s in the business. It''s her job to notice eye visible inclusions!
Meeting with this appraiser was beneficial and a little bit nerve-wracking. She was totally objective which is what we wanted. She asked if we wanted to see the diamond first or hear her talk first and I said that I wanted to hear what she had to say first. By the time we looked at the diamond, I was so paranoid about trying to find the inclusion that it took me a few minutes to realize, "Wow, this is one pretty diamond!"
The thin girdle made me nervous. Barry assured me it will be fine. The appraiser commented that in her opinion, thin girdles should exclude a diamond from being considered an ideal cut, but that was just her opinion and according to current standards, this meets the "ideal" definition. I asked her if it would be safer to set it with 6 prongs instead of 4 in order to protect the stone. To my surprise, she said no. She said that 6 prongs increase the chances of you knocking a prong against something, thereby cracking or chipping the diamond. She said she always prefers 4 prongs and feels that 4 prongs are safer than 6. (Safer when it comes to not damaging the diamond, that is. I''m not sure if she felt like 6 prongs are any safer when it comes to not losing the diamond.)
About the florescence. She said that florescense is a plus in the lower colored stones, but this is a high color stone. (Of course I knew that from doing my homework here!) She said that the diamond was not milky and that is what is important. She also said that I need to know that the new lab grown diamonds do floresce so as those become more available in the future, my paperwork will prove that this diamond is natural. I told her that if anyone ever doubts whether or not it''s real, I''ll pull out a scope and show them the inclusion!
She commented that it''s very unusual to see such a great cut on an I1 stone. She said that ideal cut stones are no harder to cut than non-ideals, but most cutters want to maximize carat weight. I know that Barry said that it''s harder to cut an ideal stone, though, so I''m not sure what to believe about that. But I love the fact that we''re saving a ton of money by getting an I1 stone while it''s still a gorgeous cut and color and size.
The appraiser also suggested that I offer lower than the asking price. This made me a little nervous...like maybe it wasn''t worth the asking price. She said it was worth the asking price ($4630.50), but she felt like a lower price would still be fair. So I did this and Barry politely told me that they do not discount their diamonds. I was relieved to hear this. I HATE the idea of a price not being fixed and I''d much rather deal with someone who prices things fairly and that''s it. I do wish, though, that I''d read more feedback about Superbcert in advance, though, because I could have discovered that they don''t discount their stones. I sensed that Barry was offended that this appraiser suggested we offer him less than the asking price, although he probably was okay with it.
So, I get to see it again tonight...I can''t wait! I will decide on the setting in a the next few weeks or months. I didn''t want to ask Barry any more about that until after the holidays when his business settles down. Right now I''m thinking about putting it in a 3 stone ring with a round sapphire on either side. Kind of like Diane''s but mine isn''t a regent and I would go with white gold. I''ll gladly take input on that if you have ideas about settings and sapphires, etc. Thank you all again for you help!
Oh, and thank you Barry and Judah for your help, your kindness and your professionalism. But most of all, thank you for cutting this stone so beautifully even though it''s an I1! After comparing this diamond to the center diamond in my wedding ring, I don''t think I''ll be able to live with my wedding ring diamond much longer. So you will be hearing from me again.
Now...about buying an I1 stone. I absolutely could not see the inclusion with my naked eye. I realize that there may come a time when I can pick it out and then I may feel it''s more noticable. But here is my thinking...No one else will ever notice it and it''s a "good" type of inclusion, meaning white, not dark. Also, I like the idea that there is just ONE eye visible inclusion. Some of the pictures I''ve seen of SI and I clarity stones looked too "busy." This inclusion may be smack dab center, but it''s the only one I''ll see! I asked the appraiser how easily she could see it and she said that if she saw that diamond on my hand, she''d notice the great cut and color. If she took it from me and looked at it, yes, she''d notice the inclusion, but...she''s in the business. It''s her job to notice eye visible inclusions!
Meeting with this appraiser was beneficial and a little bit nerve-wracking. She was totally objective which is what we wanted. She asked if we wanted to see the diamond first or hear her talk first and I said that I wanted to hear what she had to say first. By the time we looked at the diamond, I was so paranoid about trying to find the inclusion that it took me a few minutes to realize, "Wow, this is one pretty diamond!"
The thin girdle made me nervous. Barry assured me it will be fine. The appraiser commented that in her opinion, thin girdles should exclude a diamond from being considered an ideal cut, but that was just her opinion and according to current standards, this meets the "ideal" definition. I asked her if it would be safer to set it with 6 prongs instead of 4 in order to protect the stone. To my surprise, she said no. She said that 6 prongs increase the chances of you knocking a prong against something, thereby cracking or chipping the diamond. She said she always prefers 4 prongs and feels that 4 prongs are safer than 6. (Safer when it comes to not damaging the diamond, that is. I''m not sure if she felt like 6 prongs are any safer when it comes to not losing the diamond.)
About the florescence. She said that florescense is a plus in the lower colored stones, but this is a high color stone. (Of course I knew that from doing my homework here!) She said that the diamond was not milky and that is what is important. She also said that I need to know that the new lab grown diamonds do floresce so as those become more available in the future, my paperwork will prove that this diamond is natural. I told her that if anyone ever doubts whether or not it''s real, I''ll pull out a scope and show them the inclusion!
She commented that it''s very unusual to see such a great cut on an I1 stone. She said that ideal cut stones are no harder to cut than non-ideals, but most cutters want to maximize carat weight. I know that Barry said that it''s harder to cut an ideal stone, though, so I''m not sure what to believe about that. But I love the fact that we''re saving a ton of money by getting an I1 stone while it''s still a gorgeous cut and color and size.
The appraiser also suggested that I offer lower than the asking price. This made me a little nervous...like maybe it wasn''t worth the asking price. She said it was worth the asking price ($4630.50), but she felt like a lower price would still be fair. So I did this and Barry politely told me that they do not discount their diamonds. I was relieved to hear this. I HATE the idea of a price not being fixed and I''d much rather deal with someone who prices things fairly and that''s it. I do wish, though, that I''d read more feedback about Superbcert in advance, though, because I could have discovered that they don''t discount their stones. I sensed that Barry was offended that this appraiser suggested we offer him less than the asking price, although he probably was okay with it.
So, I get to see it again tonight...I can''t wait! I will decide on the setting in a the next few weeks or months. I didn''t want to ask Barry any more about that until after the holidays when his business settles down. Right now I''m thinking about putting it in a 3 stone ring with a round sapphire on either side. Kind of like Diane''s but mine isn''t a regent and I would go with white gold. I''ll gladly take input on that if you have ideas about settings and sapphires, etc. Thank you all again for you help!
Oh, and thank you Barry and Judah for your help, your kindness and your professionalism. But most of all, thank you for cutting this stone so beautifully even though it''s an I1! After comparing this diamond to the center diamond in my wedding ring, I don''t think I''ll be able to live with my wedding ring diamond much longer. So you will be hearing from me again.
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