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Which asschers to look at in person?

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brownbear

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 8, 2010
Messages
20
Hi everyone,

I am really hoping for some guidance in picking an asscher. I am going through a diamond broker and he has sent me GIA reports on 3 asschers so far. I have no pictures for any of them, unfortunately. Can you please advise, based solely on the GIA's, which 2 might be worth looking at in person? I was hoping to get something larger than 0.7carats so I likely won't be purchasing them but I figure that it doesn't hurt to look at it in person and discuss more in depth about what I'm looking for (i've only communicated with the broker through emails). I live in Canada, btw, which is why I'm going with a local vendor and not an online vendor like BGD or GOG. I've read on various posts that seeing asschers in person makes a huge difference and also don't want to deal with customs either.

I'm finding that looking for an asscher is way way harder than picking out a round! Starting to get so frustrated with the search, I need some pricescope advice. Thanks so much for your help.

1146343816.jpg

2141343802.jpg

2145446554.jpg
 
Not enough information. Any of them could be nice, and any of them could be dogs. I wouldn't call the last one in though because the spread is visibly compromised. The first one is out of square with 1.06 ratio.

I don't think your vendor understands what a good asscher's stats look like. The middle one has the best stats. BUT if could be a LOT uglier than either of the other two.

You NEED pictures.
 
How much is your vendor charging to call these in? They might offer to call in a few for free then start charging, but if you really aren't interested in these why waste the time and money? Also, keep in mind a K asscher will show color. The deeper cuts show more color so if you are having a few called in you might want to vary the colors so you can see where your tolerance is.
 
Gypsy & Swingirl... thanks for your input. I am going to ask him about supplying pics and how much he is going to charge to bring in stones for me to see. Are vendors supposed to have pics of the stones? What I mean is, do they have them already and it's just a matter of me asking to see the pics? Or do they take a pic of the stone if someone inquires about it?
It's still in the early stages of selecting a stone... I've only exchanged a few emails with him so far. I also think that meeting with him in person will help determine the type of asscher I want.
 
Call any of the PS vendors for what you want, and you will get pics and ASET images, and with some of the vendors (like GOG and Perry Chen) you also get a video.

Vendors that have successfully sourced good asschers before:

Mark at Engagement Rings Direct
Perry Chen at Leon Mege
Brian at Brian Gavin Diamonds
Jon at Good Old Gold
Whiteflash

You can call any of those and tell them you want a well cut, bright, beautiful asscher and see what they find for you.
 
I would not expect most jewelers to be able to provide images of their stones nor stones they call in. Images are more necessary for internet buying and those are the vendors that invest in the imaging equipment. Of course, you should ask for whatever your vendor has available.
 
Hey there,
I'm back with a couple photos. Apologies for the crappy pic of Asscher #2. I like Asscher #1, but it might just be cuz it's a nicer photo. I would appreciate your thoughts on these stones. Thanks so much!

Asscher #1:
asscher1294.jpg
2141343802.jpg

Asscher #2
asscher1495.jpg
2145446554.jpg
 
brownbear|1331240384|3144250 said:
Hey there,
I'm back with a couple photos. Apologies for the crappy pic of Asscher #2. I like Asscher #1, but it might just be cuz it's a nicer photo. I would appreciate your thoughts on these stones. Thanks so much!

Asscher #1:
asscher1294.jpg
2141343802.jpg

Asscher #2
asscher1495.jpg
2145446554.jpg
Click to expand...


Asscher one. THe second one isn't as nice and also doesn't face up big enough for the carat weight. Also it is out of square.

The first one has great potential though. Have you seen them in person yet?
 
I have not seen it in person yet. My broker only wants to bring in one stone for me to look at. I understand he has to incur costs for shipping and insurance but it would be nice to be able to see at least two so I can compare. I have not seen very many asschers in person, and it doesn't seem like a smart move to purchase the first asscher I see. But seeing as how he's reluctant to bring in more than one stone, i'm not sure if i want to go through him anymore. I have contacted BGD to see if they can help. I'm more confident that they can select some really nice ones for me to chose from and can provide pics that i can post on here so i can get second opinions.

That being said, should i still look at asscher#1 in person? So i can have a better idea of the size and colour? I'm still going for a warmer-coloured asscher in the 0.7-0.8c range.
 
Offer to pay shipping for the others. The best way to make a decision is to have options so you can compare and contrast.

The 1st diamond is worth bringing in. The other one is not. So it's not worth it. Tell him to find you two more options.

AND BE FIRM. Tell him you are find paying the shipping for other stones but you want THREE STRONG options.
 
Good suggestion, Gypsy. I will keep that in mind. Thank you!
 
brownbear|1331927605|3150227 said:
Hi Gypsy, and anyone else knowledgeable in asschers... Can you please tell me which of these stones look good enough to ask for the ASET and sarin report? Thanks!

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1201560.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1459414.asp
Click to expand...
Both look good enough to get more images and measurements.
Also have them get a gemologist opinion on the 2 vs each other.
 
Both are worth further investigation
 
Hey there... I would really appreciate any feedback regarding these ASETs and Sarin reports on the following asschers. Any of them stand out more to you? Is there actually a good stone in the bunch? The gemologist told me which one he thought was the brightest and had the best light performance, but I would like some confirmation from PSers that he simply wasn't choosing the one that "sucked the least", so to speak ;)
Thanks for all of your help!

Asscher #1: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1456947.asp
1456947aset.bmp.jpg
1456947aset.jpg
1456947sarin.bmp.jpg

Asscher #2: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1201560.asp
1201561aset.bmp.jpg
1201561aset.jpg
1201561sarin.bmp.jpg

Asscher #3: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1201561.asp
1201560aset.bmp.jpg
1201560aset.jpg
1201560sarin.bmp.jpg
 
It's between 1 and 3 for me. And I'm leaning toward 3.
 
Okay. Now I'm confused.

Can you tell us what the gemologist said?
 
1: bright and not as much contrast as 3 has potential.
3: bright and contrasty, I like the contrast as long as it is still bright and the dark zones flash with little tilt. Has a lot of potential but also hard to judge in static images.
2: not a bad one also has potential.
Comes down to taste.
What did the gemologist say?
 
Thanks! This is what the gemologist said:

Asscher #1 (0.70crt K VS2) has nice light performance and faces the brightest of the group. As expected, it's perfectly eye clean, as are your other diamonds. It's square in shape and the gemologist favored its symmetry and overall cut. This diamond is our gemologist's favorite option and I recommend this diamond as your best and most beautiful diamond for purchase.

Asscher #3 (0.71crt K VVS2) is also a nice option, but while the difference is subtle, it isn't quite as bright as Asscher #1 (0.70crt K VS2). Its shoulders are wider and its shape is more octagonal. Asscher #2 (0.74crt K VVS2) has slightly weaker light performance due to some windowing.
 
1 or 3 depending on if you like contrasty or more subtle asschers sounds like a good bet for seeing in person.
 
I've been a lurker for a while, but had to create a new account to respond to this. You may already have purchased a diamond by this time but yeah... I wrote to James Allen's gemologist as well to ask for advice on several diamonds on their site that I was interested in. I received the following response:

The inspection concluded that diamond # 1 has nice light performance and appears beautifully white in color. As you would expect, it`s perfectly eye clean and faces up substantially larger. Appears the brightest and our gemologist favored its faceting pattern the most.
Diamond # 2 is also eye clean but appears smaller and has some "windowing" which negatively impacts the diamond`s light performance. This lackluster light performance didn`t impress the gemologist the way we would hope.

This looks so suspiciously like the response you received from them that now I wonder if they say basically the same thing to all inquiries. I purchased the diamond they recommended (which will arrive in about a week) and now I'm so anxious that perhaps I did not get the best stone after all :(
 
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