Which stone...your opinion

[tdiggity]

So I am slightly apprehensive about a EGL diamond. I did a comparison and for the same price range (well almost $300 more) I figured out what I could get that was a similar cut.


Which of the following two diamonds would you buy? Take into account the price difference, certification, and the qualities of the stone itself...

Okay then...which one would you rather have?

CHOICE A:
Certificate: GIA
Shape: Princess
Cut: Select Ideal™
Carat: 1.01
Color: G
Clarity: VS2
Regular Price: $4105

Diamond Proportions:
Length to Width Ratio: 1.00
Measurements: 5.4-5.38-3.97
Depth Percentage: 73.8 %
Table Percentage: 69 %
Girdle: M-XTK
Culet: None (Pointed)
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None (Inert)

OR

CHOICE B:
Certificate: EGL
Shape: Princess
Cut: Select Ideal™
Carat: 1.03
Color: E
Clarity: VS1
Regular Price: $3816

Diamond Proportions:
Length to Width Ratio: 1.04
Measurements: 5.63-5.43-4
Depth Percentage: 73.7 %
Table Percentage: 71 %
Girdle: -
Culet: None (Pointed)
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None (Inert)

 

[:)]

second one is likely a G, SI1.

 

[Shay37]

Okay, I am not very knowledgeable about princess diamonds. However, the numbers seem similar as far as depth and table. I assume this is another one from UD. I would have them give you their opinion about which one looks better. You said in another thread that the EGL is US. That''s good. Much more likely to be what it says it is. EGL trades at a discount over GIA or AGS. UD has a good return policy. Use it. Princesses usually need to be seen to be judged. Have an independent appraiser take a look at it.

If you love it, and it is what it''s graded to be, you have just saved some money on what could be a very nice stone.

shay

 

[:)]

Date: 10/31/2006 3:13:10 PM
Author: Shay37
Okay, I am not very knowledgeable about princess diamonds. However, the numbers seem similar as far as depth and table. I assume this is another one from UD. I would have them give you their opinion about which one looks better. You said in another thread that the EGL is US. That''s good. Much more likely to be what it says it is. EGL trades at a discount over GIA or AGS. UD has a good return policy. Use it. Princesses usually need to be seen to be judged. Have an independent appraiser take a look at it.

If you love it, and it is what it''s graded to be, you have just saved some money on what could be a very nice stone.

shay

Shay - he said it ISN''T egl usa - it is egl antwerp. Union diamonds has mostly virtual stones, including their select ideal.

 

[Shay37]

Date: 10/31/2006 3:15:32 PM
Author:

Date: 10/31/2006 3:13:10 PM
Author: Shay37
Okay, I am not very knowledgeable about princess diamonds. However, the numbers seem similar as far as depth and table. I assume this is another one from UD. I would have them give you their opinion about which one looks better. You said in another thread that the EGL is US. That''s good. Much more likely to be what it says it is. EGL trades at a discount over GIA or AGS. UD has a good return policy. Use it. Princesses usually need to be seen to be judged. Have an independent appraiser take a look at it.

If you love it, and it is what it''s graded to be, you have just saved some money on what could be a very nice stone.

shay

Shay - he said it ISN''T egl usa - it is egl antwerp. Union diamonds has mostly virtual stones, including their select ideal.

Woops, my bad. That will teach me to scan so quickly. It might still be worth taking a look at though.

shay

 

[tdiggity]

anyone else have any thoughts? If you were buying the stone, what would you do?

I was told at uniondiamonds that EGL can be up to 1-1.5 off on the color and .5 - 1 off on the clarity...does that sound about right. She said sometimes they are right on though. Should I roll the dice? if I do and I win, its accurate and I got a steal...if its not, then I got a competitive priced G/VS2 diamond with an incorrect rating but impeccable cut.

 

[Upside Down Man]

"I was told at uniondiamonds that EGL can be up to 1-1.5 off on the color and .5 - 1 off on the clarity...does that sound about right. She said sometimes they are right on though. Should I roll the dice? if I do and I win, its accurate and I got a steal...if its not, then I got a competitive priced G/VS2 diamond with an incorrect rating but impeccable cut."





You might run into problems when insuring the diamond, though. Most policies have "replacement with like kind or quality" language, which means if your ring is lost or stolen, they will replace it with a ring "of like kind or quality." That means you'll end up getting another EGL E/VS1. As you say before, EGL is a bit of a crapshoot, so even though you are technically getting another diamond "of like kind or quality", since it's an EGL stone who really knows what you'll get as a replacement.

Similarly, EGL stones do not have the same market value as GIA stones, even if they do have the same characteristics (as you well know - hence the major price difference). That can effect the resale value of your stone, or the upgrade value, should you ever decide to "trade up" for a better diamond in the future (anniversary, etc).

For peace of mind, I'd go with GIA. It just removes a ton of question marks from the process.

 

[tdiggity]

Are you able to get a diamond re-certified after you buy it? how much would something like that cost??

 

[Upside Down Man]

That, I'm afraid, is a question for the experts. I don't know the answer to either of those questions.

But the problem is, you'd be getting it recertified *after* you purchase it. It could come back from the GIA (assuming you can send stones for certification) H/SI1 and you'd feel like you got punched in the gut. And you'd already own the stone.

If you are really intent on purchasing that stone, your best bet is to take it to an independent appraiser (good ones in your area are listed on this site) to judge against the master set what the specs of the stone really are. You can do that within the 30 day return period so you can return the stone if necessary.

The problem is, with the cost of the extra appraisal ($150-$200), plus the potential cost of shipping it off to be recertified (unknown, but with shipping and insurance could easily be hundreds of dollars), you might as well just buy the slightly-more-expensive G/VS2 or G/SI1 that's GIA certified in the first place.

As most people will tell you, a well-cut G color stone won't show color anyway, so as long as it's eye-clean, you're golden.

And you'll have your peace of mind!

 

[:)]

Date: 10/31/2006 4:42:52 PM
Author: tdiggity
anyone else have any thoughts? If you were buying the stone, what would you do?

I was told at uniondiamonds that EGL can be up to 1-1.5 off on the color and .5 - 1 off on the clarity...does that sound about right. She said sometimes they are right on though. Should I roll the dice? if I do and I win, its accurate and I got a steal...if its not, then I got a competitive priced G/VS2 diamond with an incorrect rating but impeccable cut.

No - see my response to your other thread.

 

[:)]

Date: 10/31/2006 4:51:58 PM
Author: tdiggity
Are you able to get a diamond re-certified after you buy it? how much would something like that cost??

yes, needs to be loose, not mounted. ~ a couple hundred bucks. would take a few weeks.

 

[pinkrose]

I didn''t read the entire thread. But the first choice has an extremely thick girdle. I would stay away from the extreme ends for girdle thickness.

 

[tdiggity]

I am struggling to understand the girdle thing...

I am looking at three diamonds with the following girdles...which ones are good and which are not good??
M-XTK TN-XTK XTN-VTK

 

[JulieN]

all bad.

without knowing anything more, I'd go with M-XTK. Such a dramatic difference may mean some symmetry problems.

 

[tdiggity]

ugh...this whole diamond buying thing is SO frustrating. No ring is ever good enough. It seems like there is always an aspect of a diamond that isn''t up to the rest of it.

What do those abbreviations stand for?

I feel like I am ahead of the curve just by selecting a diamond rather than doing some preset ring package...but it seems like no matter how good all the specs look, there is always one hanging it up!!

 

[JulieN]

medium-M, extremely thick-XTK, thin-TN, extremely thin-XTN, very thick-VTK