Would you buy this diamond without seeing it?

[Splodge2003]

Hey,

This is my first post!

I have an appointment with a London based jeweller next Saturday to see their settings at their showroom, but as it is an online based company they can only show me example diamonds and not the actual one I'm thinking of purchasing.

77 diamonds: www.77diamonds.com

My other half and I are on a small budget, which is lucky as my ring size is 4-4.5, so I have picked out a half carat stone. I've researched for hours and found the HCA tool etc and this is the one I'm looking at:

http://www.77diamonds.com/viewOriginalCertificate.aspx?code=RBMBDJ4MSPUB

HCA tool says this will be 0.4 and it is excellent cut, polish and symmetry

It's £730 + VAT, and we're looking at the whole ring to be no more than £1600 including VAT, but I haven't made my mind up on a setting yet. I think I will end up with a solitaire.

I can return the diamond if I don't like it, but just wondered if I could get some more experienced opinions? I also couldn't find what sort of inclusions this diamond has, and I think maybe EGL USA are a little more relaxed on their grading?

Thanks for looking!

Sarah

 

[arkieb1]

Hey,

This is my first post!

I have an appointment with a London based jeweller next Saturday to see their settings at their showroom, but as it is an online based company they can only show me example diamonds and not the actual one I'm thinking of purchasing.

77 diamonds: www.77diamonds.com

My other half and I are on a small budget, which is lucky as my ring size is 4-4.5, so I have picked out a half carat stone. I've researched for hours and found the HCA tool etc and this is the one I'm looking at:

http://www.77diamonds.com/viewOriginalCertificate.aspx?code=RBMBDJ4MSPUB

HCA tool says this will be 0.4 and it is excellent cut, polish and symmetry

It's £730 + VAT, and we're looking at the whole ring to be no more than £1600 including VAT, but I haven't made my mind up on a setting yet. I think I will end up with a solitaire.

I can return the diamond if I don't like it, but just wondered if I could get some more experienced opinions? I also couldn't find what sort of inclusions this diamond has, and I think maybe EGL USA are a little more relaxed on their grading?

Thanks for looking!

Sarah

I worked it out too this stone has a cracking HCA!!!! The only thing to be wary about is the colour and clarity could be off. EGL USA stones are not graded as strictly as GIA graded stones so it's possible it will be one or two grades out on colour so a J or a K in colour and one out on clarity. If you view it, work out if its eyeclean and how tinted it is. If it is indeed a lower colour and clarity then compared to a GIA graded stone it might not be any sort of bargain.

 

[skipandjump]

I worked it out too this stone has a cracking HCA!!!! The only thing to be wary about is the colour and clarity could be off. EGL USA stones are not graded as strictly as GIA graded stones so it's possible it will be one or two grades out on colour so a J or a K in colour and one out on clarity. If you view it, work out if its eyeclean and how tinted it is. If it is indeed a lower colour and clarity then compared to a GIA graded stone it might not be any sort of bargain.

Arkieb1 is right about EGL. In this case, the cert is at least from EGL USA, and not Israel (which is purported to have even looser standards). As a VS2, it seems likely that this stone would be eye clean, even if the inclusions were somewhere on the table. The hearts and arrows cut is also a good sign.

Nothing beats looking at in in person, but if they have a solid return policy, it might be worth ordering it to see if it meets your expectations.