There is a glut of crummy I2 stones in many mall jewelers cases it seems. I hate it when a friend comes to me all excited and shows me his or her newly gifted ring and asks "How did fill in the blank do on my new diamond ring?" . My friends and associates all know I''m a gemologist and passionate about gemstones so I''m the guy they come to. In most cases, the unfortunate in the equation bought the ring at the mall and they were seemingly confused into believing that since 2 is a higher number than 1, it must mean that an I2 is better than an I1
It''s sad and as I am no liar nor shatterer of anothers dreams, I politely decline to answer when the jewelery is truly low-grade commercial product with massive feathers and eye-visible inclusions that even threaten durability(The purchasers did get what they paid for in every case...but they paid for commercial grade junk so no dishonest price gouging occured seemingly).
I recently had a good female friend approach me with her new 10kt yellow gold three stone engagement ring and the center stone was an I2 and the two accents on either side were true I3''s. I felt horrible for her but as she was pleased with the ring and the good-intentioned man who gave it to her... I was not about to tell her he bought her a 300 dollar-ish ring (this couple is middle aged and both make pretty good money) in exchange for her hand in marriage.I excused myself politely to see to a pressing matter.
Don''t get me wrong, 10k gold and I2 diamonds have a place, but I see them more as a setting or small accents for semi-precious stones and the like, not engagement rings. I will buy a nice 10k piece in a minute if the stones are good and the price is right.
A stranger that comes to me with a not-so-great piece or even a true masterpiece is assured of an honest and immediate assessment but it''s not so easy to look your friends in the eye and decline to validate their great feeling about a piece of jewelery when they look to you with such expectation. How do some of you handle that as tactfully as possible? I will not lie to them and I''d be surprised if silence didn''t speak volumes in these circumstances. Thoughts?
I recently had a good female friend approach me with her new 10kt yellow gold three stone engagement ring and the center stone was an I2 and the two accents on either side were true I3''s. I felt horrible for her but as she was pleased with the ring and the good-intentioned man who gave it to her... I was not about to tell her he bought her a 300 dollar-ish ring (this couple is middle aged and both make pretty good money) in exchange for her hand in marriage.I excused myself politely to see to a pressing matter.
Don''t get me wrong, 10k gold and I2 diamonds have a place, but I see them more as a setting or small accents for semi-precious stones and the like, not engagement rings. I will buy a nice 10k piece in a minute if the stones are good and the price is right.
A stranger that comes to me with a not-so-great piece or even a true masterpiece is assured of an honest and immediate assessment but it''s not so easy to look your friends in the eye and decline to validate their great feeling about a piece of jewelery when they look to you with such expectation. How do some of you handle that as tactfully as possible? I will not lie to them and I''d be surprised if silence didn''t speak volumes in these circumstances. Thoughts?