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Which of these 2 diamonds would you pick?

sohcpunk

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 30, 2011
Messages
22
Gypsy|1344275974|3246888 said:
I'd probably play it safer with color and go with an H Blue Line stone like this one: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/diamond-details/1.016-h-vs2-round-diamond-ags-bl-104059901004

Of your choices. Are all of them under 2 on the HCA?

I'm not sure as some of those diamonds do not have reports associated with it and they are still requesting it for me. I did look at that exact blue diamond you mentioned! However, I'm uncertain how a blue diamond's value will hold or does it matter? It looks like the Gavin blue is smaller than the other 4 I was looking at but cost about the same. Is it because the cert is from AGS?
 
Diamonds are not in investment. No diamond is going to hold it's value. They are like cars, not like gold. You drive them off the lot they are automatically worth less when you go to resell. It's not intuitive to think of them that way, I understand, but that's how it is. So a diamond with or without Fluorescence is got going to affect investment value. Blue Fluorescence discounts the diamond when you buy, so if you go to sell it, it may factor (slightly) in the resale as well.

That said. The reason the blue line stone is more expensive is that it comes with a buy back policy (so if you are worried about the value, this is what guards against that) and an upgrade policy, also it is an in house stone, the others you are looking at are not, so they might cost you a bit to have called in (somewhere from 20-100 bucks I can't recall). Plus, yes they are AGS 0 stones which trade at a higher price than GIA Ex stones.
 
Gypsy|1344279603|3246922 said:
Diamonds are not in investment. No diamond is going to hold it's value. They are like cars, not like gold. You drive them off the lot they are automatically worth less when you go to resell. It's not intuitive to think of them that way, I understand, but that's how it is. So a diamond with or without Fluorescence is got going to affect investment value. Blue Fluorescence discounts the diamond when you buy, so if you go to sell it, it may factor (slightly) in the resale as well.

That said. The reason the blue line stone is more expensive is that it comes with a buy back policy (so if you are worried about the value, this is what guards against that) and an upgrade policy, also it is an in house stone, the others you are looking at are not, so they might cost you a bit to have called in (somewhere from 20-100 bucks I can't recall). Plus, yes they are AGS 0 stones which trade at a higher price than GIA Ex stones.

Gypsy, seems like you are a big supporter of BGD. Is there a reason why? So far I've looked at BGD, James Allen, and Whiteflash and BGD is so hard to get in touch with, especially Lesley. I've requested a ton of information from them with my diamond selections and it has been awhile since I heard back.

I did take a look at the buyback and upgrade policy. The buyback for BGD signature is 100% @ 1 year while James Allen is 70% at 2 years. I don't forsee myself selling this back in those time ranges. They both offer lifetime upgrades at 100% which is pretty good too. Also, can you tell me why it's a better idea to purchase an in house diamond?

Sorry I'm all over the place and asking question. It's my first time looking into diamonds and engagement rings so I'd like to get as much info and opinion as possible before I take the plunge. Thanks!
 
I like BGD and have had great experiences there myself, so I do refer to them. Plus I like the setting much better than most any other vendor’s. But I think if you looked at proportionality of referrals, I think my JA referrals are probably more numerous.

But in your case I posted the Blue Line stone because when I hit reply you only had your original post up (the one that had the BGD Diamonds) and it is our policy that when a poster states a preference for a vendor, we stick to stones that the same vendor offers, unless there is nothing at that vendor we can recommend or unless the person is still open to other vendors.

So that’s why I stuck to BGD for you. It wasn’t until I went to post that I saw the JA options and I knew you were open to using them as a vendor. Some of our posters have strong preferences for certain vendors.

Regarding talking to people at BGD. I only recommend people talk to Lesley herself (as she is very busy) if there is a problem or if they have an unusual request. Otherwise the staff there is very well trained, as far as I know, and can handle the ‘typical’ --I’m interested in this stone -- queries with ease. So you should be able to get the help you need with any of their people without talking to Lesley.

I’ve never bought from JA but I would, and I’ve met James and his wife and they are lovely people.

As for ‘in house’ stones—and this is something we all recommend for any vendor. That means that there is no fee for shipping to get them in. The gemologist at the vendor can pull the stone within a reasonable window of time and tell you if they are eyeclean, if there is any issue, without you paying the fee first to determine that information. And with vendors like BGD, the in house stones from their top lines have very different buy back and upgrade. The stones you selected from BGD are NOT in house stones and DO NOT qualify for the 1 year buy back. You weren’t looking at signature stones. So when you asked me why the Blue Line was more expensive—the Blue Line is one of their top lines (though NOT the signature line). Only BGD Signature (all AGS 0 graded Hearts and Arrows stones) have that policy. But the Blue Line does have a similar but still different policy that is why the stones are cheaper than the Signature line, but not as cheap as the stones that are not in house (like the ones you were looking at).
 
Gypsy|1344286784|3246980 said:
I like BGD and have had great experiences there myself, so I do refer to them. Plus I like the setting much better than most any other vendor’s. But I think if you looked at proportionality of referrals, I think my JA referrals are probably more numerous.

But in your case I posted the Blue Line stone because when I hit reply you only had your original post up (the one that had the BGD Diamonds) and it is our policy that when a poster states a preference for a vendor, we stick to stones that the same vendor offers, unless there is nothing at that vendor we can recommend or unless the person is still open to other vendors.

So that’s why I stuck to BGD for you. It wasn’t until I went to post that I saw the JA options and I knew you were open to using them as a vendor. Some of our posters have strong preferences for certain vendors.

Regarding talking to people at BGD. I only recommend people talk to Lesley herself (as she is very busy) if there is a problem or if they have an unusual request. Otherwise the staff there is very well trained, as far as I know, and can handle the ‘typical’ --I’m interested in this stone -- queries with ease. So you should be able to get the help you need with any of their people without talking to Lesley.

I’ve never bought from JA but I would, and I’ve met James and his wife and they are lovely people.

As for ‘in house’ stones—and this is something we all recommend for any vendor. That means that there is no fee for shipping to get them in. The gemologist at the vendor can pull the stone within a reasonable window of time and tell you if they are eyeclean, if there is any issue, without you paying the fee first to determine that information. And with vendors like BGD, the in house stones from their top lines have very different buy back and upgrade. The stones you selected from BGD are NOT in house stones and DO NOT qualify for the 1 year buy back. You weren’t looking at signature stones. So when you asked me why the Blue Line was more expensive—the Blue Line is one of their top lines (though NOT the signature line). Only BGD Signature (all AGS 0 graded Hearts and Arrows stones) have that policy. But the Blue Line does have a similar but still different policy that is why the stones are cheaper than the Signature line, but not as cheap as the stones that are not in house (like the ones you were looking at).

Thanks for the clarification. Yes I am open to other vendors. I'm not sure if I'm the only one but I do notice that JA prices their diamonds cheaper than BGD. I have narrowed down 2 stones at JA and have requested for the idealscope images which I will post here when I receive them for your expert opinion. Again, I appreciate all your help!

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1450567.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1500710.asp

I think I'm leaning towards the 1.12 one as the specs look better and it's AGS Ideal 0 for an extra 1k compared to the I color 1.14.
 
Received both ideal scopes today. Top one is the 1.12 h and the bottom is the 1.14 I

1500710id.jpg
1450567id.jpg
 
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