What info do I need to buy a diamond?

[divergrrl]

Hi all, I''ve been here for awhile, struggling with my diamond & ring. Today I found out it may not be what it was appraised at (color & clarity approximately 3 grades lower than as sold---I''ll spare the sob story).

Long story short---I may be in the new market for a new stone this week. My stone goes in for appraisal at an independent Gemological Lab tomorrow. If it comes back with REALLY bad news, its back to my jeweler for a refund.

If that is the case, and after the whole hulabaloo with my princess cut stone (which I was very unhappy with) I am thinking that a classic round might be the best way to go, since the standards & grading guidelines are established & appear to be more consistent.

As far as fancy shapes go, obviously I was drawn to the princess, and I also like the oval.

I want to start doing the homework, and even if I don''t return my diamond & exchange it, I am going to get a pendant next year anyway so this research for a 1 to 1.25 carat stone will not be for naught.

My budget is going to be around 4000 to 5200, depending on whether or not I return my sidestones as well.

Any words of advice, guidelines, etc...please let it flow. I''ve already scoured the PriceScope site and printed half of it.

Sad day for me...in tears by 3pm, glass of Merlot by 10pm.

Cheers
Divergrrl (wanna go diving...get away from this hassle....mmmm underwater...)

 

[divergrrl]

I realize my budget is low, but I can (and will...LOL) go higher. For $5200 I should be able to pick something up around 1 carat. And in a princess cut thats only a 5.5mm stone usually...but in a round its 6mm to 6.5 depending on cut. I'd prefer a shallower cut with the table cut so it has a good spread, but still has nice dimensions. (I don't want anything too ucky. A good fiery diamond in a smaller cut always looks better -- I saw GArry's video tutorial...I've been schooled..btw Garry, you look like my husband kind of, and he's a Brit too! LOL)

I also do not mind the whole SI1 thing if I can't see it with a naked eye. Most people don't walk around with a 10x loupe, so I am not so freakish about that. As for color..... F thru H as long as it's white facing up. I could even handle a really nice I.

Ok...enuf..gotta go to bed. Early morning awaits me.

Cheers!
D-grrl

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Hi Divergrrl. GH / SI1-VS2 will probably work well within your budget. Maybe H/VS2.....G/SI1.....or thereabouts. Go for as fine a make as you can get.

 

[barry]

Sorry to hear about your experience.

At this point,top-light performance Princess Cuts are more difficult to find than rounds, but they do exist.
The problem is that whereas high performance rounds
have "number" parameters to guide you, Princess Cuts
do not. You just can't go by the numbers on a consistent
basis. Other tools such as the Idealscope/Imagescope and
BrillianceScope are very helpful with the Princess.
If you really have your heart set on a Princess
I wouldn't give up just yet.

Barry
www.superbcert.com

 

[Mara]

Sans MS" size="2">Diver--

Within or around your $5200 price range:


1.01 H SI1 A Cut Above Super Ideal H&A AGS000 Stone with reporting, pictures, idealscope, H&A images: $5440 (very clean SI!)


http://www.whiteflash.com/acut/diamond_details.asp?ItemCode=365064


1.01 H SI1 A Cut Above Super Ideal H&A stone AGS 000 with reporting, picture/closeup, idealscope, H&A image: $5500 (another very clean SI1)


http://www.whiteflash.com/acut/diamond_details.asp?ItemCode=365066



Up to $6200 price range (slightly larger stones):


1.07 G SI1 SuperbCert Super Ideal H&A AGS000 Stone with reporting, pictures, bscope, etc: $6060


http://search.virtcert.com/cgi/u/1012/v.cgi?stock=731064&_s=1012&_p=sdf348gd743&_c=&_fs=1&prestock=


(this next one is a knockout!)


1.153 H SI1 A Cut Above Super Ideal H&A AGS 000 Stone with reporting, pictures, closeup, idealscope images, H&A images: $6200 (very clean SI1!!)


http://www.whiteflash.com/acut/diamond_details.asp?ItemCode=2530

 

[divergrrl]

Thanks Mara! Well, I have good news..I took my ring to be appraised, came out better than the "quickie" from my ex-jeweler. About 4k higher and one color better (H rather than I, and while the center was SI2 and not SI1 as I was originally told, I am happy I was not ripped off or anything)

The appraiser advised me to go visit a designer in town for a custom setting. I went in, they listened to my ideas and looked at an example, and took my ring, made a wax and I tried it on last week.

OHMIGOSH it is amazing. I got to try the wax on with my diamond and new trillion sidestones and its breathtaking. It's even better than any of the pictures and examples I had. The designer took my ideas and made them "cleaner" and more attractive. I could burst with anticipation, I am so anxious to have it finished!! In a day or two it should be done. Oh and those two half carat princess sidestones? Set into earrings!!!!

Happy ending. My diamond wasn't bad, but the setting was, and now I will have the setting I dreamed of as well as earrings from the old sidestones! Not bad for a year's worth of annoyances.

I'll post a pic as soon as I get it...oh I hope tomorrow or friday...what a valentines day bonus!!

So what are you and your fiance up to this weekend?

 

[Mara]

Congrats....things sound great!! So maybe I am a little out of the loop but what was the last year fiasco about? Didn't like the original stone..setting ?

We are doing a very mellow VDay this year as the big proposal was only a few weeks ago and I think my poor fiance is still recovering from actually having to plan a dinner and make a reservation...hee hee. I'm the planner in the relationship and details sort of stress him out. The last 2 years we have gone to a favorite spa resort in the Carmel Valley which is SO amazing...but not this year!

Maybe in the summer. For this year we are going to a fav restaurant in Palo Alto where we can chill out, eat some great Mediterranean tapas food and giggle a little at the other couples still trying to impress each other.

We already got each other our gifts...his to me was the GIA Diamond Course and mine to him is a membership to my kickboxing gym--so we'll do sappy cards but that's it. It's kind of nice to not be stressing out about the whole thing this year!

What about you? And anyone else for that matter? Anyone have some really spectacular VDay plans ...maybe with a few proposals attached?

 

[divergrrl]

Your day sounds like fun! We don't really do much other than go out to dinner for V-day, as both of us are really spotaneous when it comes to doing romantic little "things" for each other. For some reason when it comes to the actual date of February 14th, I crack under the "pressure" to have fab ideas for a romantic day. LOL.

The trouble with the last year & my ring was: hubby proposed with a nice solitaire. I chose a setting to re-set in for wedding out of stone broker boy's catalogs. He orders wrong settings twice, day before wedding, have stones but no setting, so tell him to set anyway -- will deal with it after honeymoon. Get sentimental & think i should keep the setting I was married in, but hate it every time I look at it. Shake of sentimental guilt and start looking at settings, go thru another 3 months of broker-boy ordering wrong settings again and losing setting. Wind up wondering if such a ineffective chap sold us bad diamonds to begin with. And now you are up to speed. I was married in Dec 2001 and its taken that long to get this all fixed! EEEEK!

Have fun at dinner, I LOVE the area you live in...on our way back from getting engaged on a vacation, we took a loooooooooong drive up highway 1 and stopped in little towns all along the coast. My faves were Carmel & Mendocino. *sigh* so beautiful.

The 15th we are doing a "love connection" with two very good friends who have been eyeing each other since our wedding. Fun double date at a great italian joint downtown and then off to a comedy club. Should be a nice evening! Crossing fingers for cupid's arrow to hit!