What a rollercoaster ride!

[dignon1112]

Well, my diamond search may have officially ended yesterday as I purchased a stone online at one of the pricescope recommended vendors. A 3 month search which included multiple meetings in my very limited free time at 3+ local Jewelers. I wanted to buy from a local dealer but frankly after reviewing your website/forum, I realized these jewelers were not up to speed on some of the cut/proportional guidance and often became really flustered with me when I tried to discuss it (HCA, Idealscope, etc.) But I am a science/match guy and this stuff makes sense to me, the angles, the light..the brilliance...I get it I think.

Well despite being afraid of internet purchases of this magnitude, I gave up on local jewlers, leveraged the knowledge gained from this website and set up focusing on Pricescope preferred vendors.

Picked this one up yesterday,can''t wait for it to arrive, let me know your thoughts:

Shape: Round Brilliant
Carat weight: 1.66
Cut: Ideal
Color: G
Clarity: VS2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 62.0%
Table: 56.0%
Crown Angle: 35.0
Pav. Angle: 40.8
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Medium - Slightly thick, faceted (3.5%)
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 7.55 x 7.61 x 4.70

HCA: 1.6 (E,E,E,VG)
Price: $13,900
Vendor verbally said it was labeled as an H&A stone but that really didn''t impact my purchase as even after reviewing multiple PS threads on the subject and idealscope pictures I am not sure I understand or ever see the Hearts and Arrows. But then again I never was very good at staring at those pictures in the mall that you supposedly see a ship in either

My questions are as follows if anyone would like to chime in I would very much appreciate it:

1) Even though i spotted this on the website I ended up calling to speak and purchase via phone cause I was scared about pushing buttons to make a purchase that big (but figured I could have if I wanted to - meaning I figured I could have hit ''add to cart'' and bought this thing). So when I talked to the salesperson he/she said it was at the store and she was staring at it (nice person by the way) and that it was beautiful. So after some discussion I decided to take it and she said it would come off their internet website...which it did. Ok..I promise I am getting somewhere So last night I went on various websites to search for similar stones and hopefully prove I got a decent deal right..not that surprising. Well I found out that I apparently got a decent deal ($2,000 cheaper); however, to this minute someone can still buy my stone from another vendor for $15,900. This is my stone...Why is it up for sale on Diamond.com. Thats my grading certification and everything. I am actually quite perplexed right now on how my stone can still be for sale. Any advise to calm me down would be greatly appreciated cause right now I feel like I am getting the old ''bait and switch''. I can''t seem to put a link in here but if you search diamond.com for the parameters described above it should pop up. I wonder what happens if I add to cart and try to buy this thing, again?


2) Along the lines above, should I get an independent appraisal when this thing gets here. I searched the forum and found a PS recommended guy about 2 miles from my house. Whats a reasonably range for those services? Do I dare ask him if this thing is really hearts and arrows or just forget about it? I say that because of the response I got from many jewelers around here when I mentioned HCA''s, idealscopes, H&A''s etc. etc.

3) Lastly, what do you think of the stone based on the limited information that I have provided? I do not have idealscope, etc. etc.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/27/2010 9:56:49 AM
Author:dignon1112




Well, my diamond search may have officially ended yesterday as I purchased a stone online at one of the pricescope recommended vendors. A 3 month search which included multiple meetings in my very limited free time at 3+ local Jewelers. I wanted to buy from a local dealer but frankly after reviewing your website/forum, I realized these jewelers were not up to speed on some of the cut/proportional guidance and often became really flustered with me when I tried to discuss it (HCA, Idealscope, etc.) But I am a science/match guy and this stuff makes sense to me, the angles, the light..the brilliance...I get it I think.

Well despite being afraid of internet purchases of this magnitude, I gave up on local jewlers, leveraged the knowledge gained from this website and set up focusing on Pricescope preferred vendors.

Picked this one up yesterday,can't wait for it to arrive, let me know your thoughts:

Shape: Round Brilliant
Carat weight: 1.66
Cut: Ideal
Color: G
Clarity: VS2
Certificate: GIA





Depth: 62.0%
Table: 56.0%
Crown Angle: 35.0
Pav. Angle: 40.8
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Medium - Slightly thick, faceted (3.5%)
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 7.55 x 7.61 x 4.70

HCA: 1.6 (E,E,E,VG)
Price: $13,900
Vendor verbally said it was labeled as an H&A stone but that really didn't impact my purchase as even after reviewing multiple PS threads on the subject and idealscope pictures I am not sure I understand or ever see the Hearts and Arrows. But then again I never was very good at staring at those pictures in the mall that you supposedly see a ship in either

My questions are as follows if anyone would like to chime in I would very much appreciate it:

1) Even though i spotted this on the website I ended up calling to speak and purchase via phone cause I was scared about pushing buttons to make a purchase that big (but figured I could have if I wanted to - meaning I figured I could have hit 'add to cart' and bought this thing). So when I talked to the salesperson he/she said it was at the store and she was staring at it (nice person by the way) and that it was beautiful. So after some discussion I decided to take it and she said it would come off their internet website...which it did. Ok..I promise I am getting somewhere So last night I went on various websites to search for similar stones and hopefully prove I got a decent deal right..not that surprising. Well I found out that I apparently got a decent deal ($2,000 cheaper); however, to this minute someone can still buy my stone from another vendor for $15,900. This is my stone...Why is it up for sale on Diamond.com. Thats my grading certification and everything. I am actually quite perplexed right now on how my stone can still be for sale. Any advise to calm me down would be greatly appreciated cause right now I feel like I am getting the old 'bait and switch'. I can't seem to put a link in here but if you search diamond.com for the parameters described above it should pop up. I wonder what happens if I add to cart and try to buy this thing, again?


2) Along the lines above, should I get an independent appraisal when this thing gets here. I searched the forum and found a PS recommended guy about 2 miles from my house. Whats a reasonably range for those services? Do I dare ask him if this thing is really hearts and arrows or just forget about it? I say that because of the response I got from many jewelers around here when I mentioned HCA's, idealscopes, H&A's etc. etc.

3) Lastly, what do you think of the stone based on the limited information that I have provided? I do not have idealscope, etc. etc.

The diamond has potential but there is no way for us to know much about it without images at least.

As to your stone still being up for sale, this can be the case with virtual stones that are up for sale with multiple vendors, your diamond should be safe as it has been purchased by you. If anyone else tries to buy it they won't be able to as whoever owns the diamond ( cutting house/ supplier) should have been informed by this vendor that has the stone that you have purchased it. Sometimes it takes a little while for the search tool with the listings to be updated with sold items. Just tell the vendor of your concerns and they should be able to reassure you.

Appraisal - it is a good idea to have it done, whether it is h&a or not we have no way of knowing again without images, because a stone is sold as h&a doesn't mean anything to me without proof. If you want a h&a diamond then you would need a vendor skilled in evaluating these cuts, if not and you just want a good looking diamond then any patterning won't be as important. If you do want a h&a diamond then go with one that has images already provided and possibly one of the branded h&a stones.

 

[Dreamer_D]

1) Diamonds are often offered by multiple vendors when they are "virtual stones". When one vendor takes it out on memo from the supplier, which your vendor has done in this case, and then it is sold, it can take a while for a purchase to register with the supplier and for all the various websites advertising the stone to take it off their inventory. No worries. Which vendor did you use?

2) You should get an appraisal for insurance purposes after the diamond is set. The appraiser can verify using the inclusion plot and potential laser inscription that it is the diamond you chose. The vendor may be able to provide you with an Ideal Scope image if you want one. You can also buy your own, there is a link on PS under the "knowledge" tab above. Costs about $25. If you desire it, you can also have the loose diamond assessed prior to finalizing the sale, and then the appraiser can give you a final appraisal amount when it is set. Seems to me appraisals cost around $75 to $150 depending on the services offered.

3) The proportions look good. The diamond is facing up a tad smaller than it could perhaps because of the depth and the slightly thick girdle. My own 1.66ct H&A measures at 7.62 x 7.66, which would not be a visibly noticable difference. Just something to think about. The price for the carat weight is very very good, an H&A super duper cut would cost you aboutr $2000 more. We cannot assess the cut in much more detail for you without images such as an ideal scope.

 

[dignon1112]

Thanks for your response. The vendor was Solomon Brothers. Additionally, based on your response(s) I am going to get an appraisal. The person that is in my area from the PS listings is Jim Kroll. For grading cut it says he uses GIA and proportionscope. Hope thats enough.

https://www.pricescope.com/appraisers_MI.aspx

 

[IceExplorer]

I just wanted to chime in here due to specific relevance...

I purchased from BGD - They shipped my diamond to Jim Kroll.

Jim was FANTASTIC to deal with! His receptionist Joanne is an absolute pleasure to chat with. I walked away from the their office feeling like I was:
-Better informed
-well treated
-received tremendous value for their service.
-Most importantly- I wasn''t getting ripped off from an on-line vendor that I''ve never met.

Jim brought me in to his office, showed me all the tools he used for calculation and certificate confirmation. After he set up the tools he let me confirm (using his tools) that he was in-fact getting his conclusions based on calculation, not opinion.

Jim knows his stuff and he''ll let you come to that understanding on your own.

Good luck with your purchase!!