What rock to buy (and why is the out of house dimaond so cheap)??

[brenn4423]

Hi all - I''m looking for a diamond. I want the diamond to have an ideal cut, approximately 1.5 in size. VS1-VS2 (eye clean is what I care about). With a F-G color (colorless or near colorless). I''m looking for a brilliant round diamond. I was hoping to spend at most between 14-15k on the diamond. It seems that the diamonds that I like best are between right around 17k price range - not really what I wanted to spend, but ''possibly'' doable. The following are my two favorite diamonds found on WhiteFlash:

Diamond 1:
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-66418.htm

Diamond 2:
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-66400.htm

Diamond 3 and 4 below also seems to fit my criteria (and price); however, it is out-of-house for WhiteFlash so I do not have all of its info. My question is, what does everyone think of these diamonds, and why is the third and fourth diamond so much cheaper. Is just being out-of-house make it cheaper; is it a discount for the ''unknown'', or is it just that this third and fourth diamond is inferior compared to the first two??

Also, am I truly getting that much more for my money by moving from the 13k or 15k stone to the 17k stones??

Diamond 3:
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=5440732

Diamond 4:
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=10935850


-Mike

(note: all of these diamonds are cheaper with pricescope discount.)

 

[phoenixgirl]

Well, first of all, their ACA brand is known for its precision, so people are willing to pay more for it. Thus the old "invisible hand" of economics raises the prices a bit on those stones.

You could have them call in one or both of the stones to see if it's too your liking.

Something else I would recommend is looking at one of their in-house stones that isn't ACA. That way you can check out the H&A pattern yourself and also get a discount below ACA prices. Some stones may have all the right numbers and be an AGS0 or GIA excellent, but not have the strong, clean H&A pattern that WF's stones do. For example, if you look at the magnified image of this GIA excellent stone, you'll notice that the arrows are rather thin. I'd rather not go to all the hassle of calling a stone in just to realize that it doesn't measure up to stones you can already look at.

Examples:

1.587 G VS1 H&A for $15569 (with PS discount)
The numbers on this stone are so similar to the ACA stone you linked that at first I thought they were the same stone, yet you'd save $1435.

1.56s F VS1 H&A for $16711

 

[belle]

Date: 10/9/2006 1:07:59 PM
Author:brenn4423

Diamond 3 and 4 below also seems to fit my criteria (and price); however, it is out-of-house for WhiteFlash so I do not have all of its info. My question is, what does everyone think of these diamonds, and why is the third and fourth diamond so much cheaper. Is just being out-of-house make it cheaper; is it a discount for the ''unknown'', or is it just that this third and fourth diamond is inferior compared to the first two??

Also, am I truly getting that much more for my money by moving from the 13k or 15k stone to the 17k stones??

comparing a brand name diamond with a virtual stone listed by a supplier is kinda like comparing Godiva chocolate to a no name boxed set. with one, you are assured of getting a high quality, proven product. with the other, as forrest gump says, ''you never know what you''re gonna get.''
the virtual stone may be comparable but it would need to be evaluated (tasted

) first. you need to at least find out if it is cherry or vanilla before you go and take a big bite.

 

[Regular Guy]

Mike,

I agree with Belle. Also, if you''ll read my strategy below my signature, you''ll see I''d encourage you to aggressively pursue the comparative strategy you''ve been doing.

Still, I think you could just compromise within the ACA options. For example, per your own comments...

Date: 10/9/2006 1:07:59 PM
Author:brenn4423
Hi all - I''m looking for a diamond. I want the diamond to have an ideal cut, approximately 1.5 in size. VS1-VS2 (eye clean is what I care about). With a F-G color (colorless or near colorless). I''m looking for a brilliant round diamond. I was hoping to spend at most between 14-15k on the diamond.

Based on the PS discount, I am seeing 3 meeting this criteria all priced at between $15 & $15,5, including this one, that are all ACAs.