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Time is of the essence!

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Deepshine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
7
Hi everyone. I truly appreciate all the ideas/advice I get from this site.
QUESTION 1: I''m in the process of ring shopping and *need* to have the diamond by Sept 6. (The date is important for the surprise) I''m looking for an emerald cut, 1.3-1.5c, D-G, VVs2 or higher...
I live in the Boston area and am very interested in online buying (BlueNile,DirtCheap, GOG, etc), but I''m still a bit wary about buying a diamond sight unseen. I''ve been referred by a friend to Nasr Jewelers on the South Shore. Has anyone had experience with them?

QUESTION 2: Overall, my desire is to get a high quality diamond, but inclusions scare me...is there a standard by which I should measure, or indicating factors of poor quality? At what level will the inclusions detract from the piece? I''ve read about quality but don''t have a good way to judge inclusions on an online rock. Any advice?

Thanks for all your help and I apologize for being vague...I''m a bit overwhelmed (as you can imagine)...

DS
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Nate

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 17, 2003
Messages
211
I'd recommend GoodOldGold based on my own experience. I'm sure other vendors are great too. Buying from the internet is ok if you do it from sites that give a wealth of info about the stone. GOG has microscopic photos showing the inclusions.

BTW, I would suggest an SI1 or VS2 clarity and a J, I, H, or G color.
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<- Woops! Didn't notice it was emerald cut you were interested in.
 

Mara

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 30, 2002
Messages
31,003
For fancy cut stones like this..it is more important to have higher color and clarity than a regular round stone. I don't recall what the suggested norms are but clarity especially is important in a cut like an emerald where there are less facets to hide inclusions with sparkle. I think you would be fine with something like a VS1 or higher (e.g VS1, VVS2, VVS1) but those will be more pricey most likely. For color I think between D and G is fine, I don't think it's suggested to go as high as I or J with an emerald though I am not sure about H.

Check out the Pscope tutorial on fancies and see what it has to say about color/clarity. GOG has some fancies, as well as other sites as well. Try to get as much info as possible on the stone before purchase in order to be sure it's a well cut stone. Use the AGA DIY Cut Grader at www.gemappraisers.com to find out what sort of grade your stone gets. Stick with something in 1-2 range (e.g. 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b) and you should be fine.

My 2 cents!
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aljdewey

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 25, 2002
Messages
9,170



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On 8/14/2003 12:56:40 PM Deepshine wrote:


I live in the Boston area and am very interested in online buying (BlueNile,DirtCheap, GOG, etc), but I'm still a bit wary about buying a diamond sight unseen. I've been referred by a friend to Nasr Jewelers on the South Shore. Has anyone had experience with them?

QUESTION 2: Overall, my desire is to get a high quality diamond, but inclusions scare me...is there a standard by which I should measure, or indicating factors of poor quality? At what level will the inclusions detract from the piece? I've read about quality but don't have a good way to judge inclusions on an online rock. Any advice?

Thanks for all your help and I apologize for being vague...I'm a bit overwhelmed (as you can imagine)...

DS
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Buying online doesn't mean you have to buy "sight unseen". Many of the more reputable vendors that frequent this site will ship the diamond to an appraiser so you can view it before purchase.

Can't help with the traditional storefront jewelers, but GOG, Whiteflash, Nice Ice....they are all exceptional vendors if you read the feedback here. BlueNile is ok too, as far as stones go, but the prices at BlueNile & Mondera tend to be higher than what you could get at the others I mentioned.

The most important thing regarding inclusions is that they cannot be seen without a loupe. As long as the stone is "eye-clean", you'll be fine. Paying for anything more than that is spending money needlessly for most people. If you stick with a VS-2 or an eye-clean SI-1, you'll likely get the most value without seeing a thing.
Remember that quantity doesn't matter when it comes to inclusions.....you'd actually prefer to have four smaller inclusions than one great big inclusion that is more likely to be spotted by the eye.

Most folks will tell you that you'll get your best value in the VS-2/SI-1 range. As far as color, I prefer G/H, but I know many here have been thrilled with even I or J diamonds as long as they were well-cut. It depends on how sensitive your eye is to color.

Good luck.....let us know how we can help as you narrow it down to a few choices.
 

PD

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 1, 2003
Messages
12
Hi. I just wanted to chime in. I too am in the Boston area, and after countless hours on Washington Street in the Jeweler's Building I finally found the perfect diamond for my fiancee through Jonathan at GOG.

However, if you really want to see a number of stones live, I highly suggest the jeweler who set my fiancee's ring - Hefez & Sons on Washington Street. Prior to finding GOG, we worked very comfortably with Jay Hefez, who was outstanding throughout, and never once pushed or pressured us(unlike every other jeweler in that area). At the very end, I had actually narrowed it down to Jonathan's H&A stone which we kept, and one of Jay's, and Jay actually encouraged me to keep the GOG stone as it was in his opinion a better performer, and very reasonably priced.

So in the end I would highly recommend either of these jewelers, as both were highly competent and professional. Good luck either way, and remember the GOG store in NY is not that far from here!
 

diane5006

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Apr 8, 2003
Messages
652
HI Boston to here...I can recommend Good Old Gold...I am getting a .90 Regent (see avatar :)...service was excellent...not too far for road trip...but awesome online tooo...

I can't wait when I get it and what the completed ring looks like are the only suprises...but good ones :)

Best of luck in your search
 

aljdewey

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 25, 2002
Messages
9,170

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On 8/14/2003 5:37:26 PM Mara wrote:
For fancy cut stones like this..it is more important to have higher color and clarity than a regular round stone.
----------------
Whoops.........see, Mara, you got me so single-mindedly thinking about ONLY RB that I completely missed the fact that he's looking for an emerald cut. Tee hee hee.

In that situation, too, I think the color/clarity mix needs to be a bit higher as Mara's suggested! Good luck.
 

Deepshine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
7
You guys are amazing. Thank you SO much for all of your input, it has really set my mind at ease. This weekend, I'll peruse the shops in Beantown, but will most likely complete my order through DCD or GOG on Monday. (Thanks for the tip on BlueNile) Hopefully Martin Heske will be available to appraise the diamond next week...
Can't wait to get it and upload pics!
Be back soon!!
 

Rhino

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Mar 28, 2001
Messages
6,325
We'll do what we can to help Deep. With emerald cuts I would emphasize the IMPORTANCE of being able to have the stone analyzed first since emerald cuts are very easy to see into and if inclusions are located in the wrong places or are dark inclusions they can be very easy to see with the eye ... even in some VS stones. We can do a weeding out process before you drop the bucks with an appraiser potentially saving you alot of money in appraisal fees too.

Look forward to hopefully being of service.

Peace,
Rhino
 

Deepshine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
7
Thanks Rhino...I sent you an email today to begin talking to you...hope to hear from you real soon!
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Deepshine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
7
Allright, so here's the deal...I just purchased my stone and setting from GoodOldGold. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful Marie and Jonathan have been. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Here are the stats on the ring:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/emerald_1_60ct_g_vs1.htm
1.60 c
Emerald Cut
G color
VS1 clarity
Depth = 69.1
Table = 62
7.53 x 5.70 x 3.94mm
Flourescence = None
Sheldon Speyer Setting #901: The setting is platinum with 3 emerald sidestones (.56c total) on each side of the center stone.

The Proposal Idea: My girlfriend is throwing me a surprise 30th birthday party on Sept 6 (I found out cuz I'm sneaky like that). I'll have about 50 people there from all over the country, some of which I have not seen in years. It also happens to be the day that I'm releasing my new CD. The plan is to show up at the party and be surprised by the group, and to celebrate the CD release. I figure I'll have to give some sort of extemporaneous speech, and since I'll have the ring on my person (actually be getting it via FedEx THAT morning), I will confess my love for Sioban and FLIP THE SURPRISE on her by proposing in front of the group. Since her birthday happens to be the next day (the 7th), I couldn't pass up this opportunity for a perfectly timed proposal.

As you can see from this thread, I am under a VERY tight timeline, and Marie has gone out of her way to make this work. Talk about customer service!!!

I'll be sure to post pictures after the big event!

Starting to get very anxious....wish me luck!
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Deepshine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
7
Well, it happened this weekend. I received the ring from Marie at GOG on Friday and was absolutley stunned by it's beauty. I had to find a place to hide it....
I spent the day Saturday golfing with my father, who spent the day lying to me about the party later on that evening. He knew I had been ring shopping but I never let on that I had a plan in mind...
Sioban (the lucky lady) and about 40 of my friends were waiting at the house when I came home and surprised me. After a few minutes of honest shock, and then a few more in the shower, it was go time...
I hid the ring in my jacket pocket and headed out to the group to say a few words, thanking them for coming, blah, blah, blah...
I then told Sioban that since she got to surprise me, that I would get to surprise her...I knelt and asked her to marry me. For a moment or two, she didn't know what to say, so I tried my best to prompt her to say yes, which she eventually did. A few folks at the party said that they had never heard such a collective gasp of shock as they did when I knelt down. WHAT A NIGHT!!
In our bumbling nervousness, I actually put the ring on her right hand, instead of the left (we corrected this a minute or two later). However, this worked to our advantage because the person videotaping the moment got a great shot of the ring. I have to say, it looked like someone turned on a little electronic toy, they way the sparkles were jumping off of it!

I've posted the proposal on my site. You can watch it in either Real Media or Windows Media format...if you're connection is slow, download the clip first...

WINDOWS MEDIA : http://www.deepshine.tv/real/TheQuestion.wmv (best thing to do is right click and Save Target As...)

Streaming Real Media : http://www.deepshine.tv/real/question.ram (for high bandwidth connections)

Downloadable Real Media : http://www.deepshine.tv/real/TheQuestion.rm (right click and Save As...)

I can't say enough good things about the whole staff at Good Old Gold. They made this night happen, and for that, I am ever grateful.
Thanks to everyone else for their support...you helped me get through this in one piece...
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Matt
 

Deepshine

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Messages
7
Try right clicking on the link and "Save Target As...". The video is high bandwidth, so you may have to download it first...
Hope this helps...
 

jenibear

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 10, 2003
Messages
312
Congratulations! Lovely story! Happy engagement!

Please post a picture! I can't open real media files on my computer!
Pretty pretty please!
Jenibear
 

Hest88

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 22, 2003
Messages
4,357
As a fellow emerald lover, oh man!, what a rock and what a wonderful proposal. Congratulations!
 

Mikesgirl

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 30, 2003
Messages
348
Dark video, great sparkle in that ring. Post a picture! Congratulations!
 

jenibear

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 10, 2003
Messages
312
I finally saw the video on a computer at work! It was so dark! But saw that diamond sparkle. Please still post a picture!
Jenibear
 

TheDiamondangel

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 12, 2003
Messages
239
OH, that was just WAY TOO COOL!!!!! You had me crying (gotta love hormones)!

Congratulations and best wishes for a wonderful and blessed union!
 

Rhino

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Mar 28, 2001
Messages
6,325
DEEPSHINE!!!!!!! WOW !!!!!! I have a cable modem at home so the video came on immediately after clicking (and a moment for buffering). Marie and Christen will be so thrilled to see this!!!! We love it when we can put faces to our clients who we work with through email and phone!
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We are highly honored to have been able to take care of you during this time DEEP. I don't know where I'd be without my incredible staff.

We are truly so excited for you!

Warm regards,
Rhino, Marie, Christen and the entire GOG staff
 

DancinGirl

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 23, 2003
Messages
424
It sounded cool - but it was SO dark I couldn't see a darn thing!!!???

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