fisher_price
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- May 10, 2004
- Messages
- 6
Hello. I''ve been lurking for about two months now and am appreciative of all the great information on this site.
I''ve been reading and researching like mad-- and have decided to buy a diamond (for an engagement ring) that is in the following range:
Shape: round
Weight: 2.0 to 2.1 carats
Color: F or G
Clarity: VS1 or 2
...and the most important C is where I get stuck. I have been thrown out of one shop near Union Square (in San Francisco) for repeatedly asking for cut information-- the owner kept insisting that all his diamonds were ''ideal cut'' despite no information besides GIA certs (faxed at that-- I doubt he had the diamonds on hand).
I''ve been using "search by known HCA" here and haven''t seen too much come up. I''ve tried varying my criteria a little and still haven''t found more than ten stones.
I spoke with a B&M jeweller who discussed certs with me and took a week to obtain a Sarin report for me on a diamond that initially seemed right... till the HCA came back at 6 (I was surprised to see how large the effect of culet % is).
To get to the point: am I missing a shortcut? Should I pick a vendor (B&M or internet) and ask them to find me a diamond I want, based on the above criteria, and specify that they need to find one with a certain HCA score, letting them do the sifting? Should I continue looking for myself, understanding that obtaining a Sarin on each diamond that appears to fit my criteria make take a while (vs. the fact that AGS certs seem rare)?
I am hoping to make a purchase soon-- any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any advice--
f_p
I''ve been reading and researching like mad-- and have decided to buy a diamond (for an engagement ring) that is in the following range:
Shape: round
Weight: 2.0 to 2.1 carats
Color: F or G
Clarity: VS1 or 2
...and the most important C is where I get stuck. I have been thrown out of one shop near Union Square (in San Francisco) for repeatedly asking for cut information-- the owner kept insisting that all his diamonds were ''ideal cut'' despite no information besides GIA certs (faxed at that-- I doubt he had the diamonds on hand).
I''ve been using "search by known HCA" here and haven''t seen too much come up. I''ve tried varying my criteria a little and still haven''t found more than ten stones.
I spoke with a B&M jeweller who discussed certs with me and took a week to obtain a Sarin report for me on a diamond that initially seemed right... till the HCA came back at 6 (I was surprised to see how large the effect of culet % is).
To get to the point: am I missing a shortcut? Should I pick a vendor (B&M or internet) and ask them to find me a diamond I want, based on the above criteria, and specify that they need to find one with a certain HCA score, letting them do the sifting? Should I continue looking for myself, understanding that obtaining a Sarin on each diamond that appears to fit my criteria make take a while (vs. the fact that AGS certs seem rare)?
I am hoping to make a purchase soon-- any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any advice--
f_p