How I went Gen for less!

[ehhcl3537rwi]

Hmm strange what you say about H&A bull, the diamond I have has the H&A inscribed on the diamond by Ags and from what I can remember the grading for cut on the diamond is 0, I'll dig out the cert and post the diamond stats, interested to know what your thoughts are on it!

And yes meant holloway cut advisor, getting mixed up on Tol ideal cut

Sent from my iPhone 5 Using TapaTalk2 S???R?I?????

If hearts and arrows is inscribed on the girdle almost always it is NOT a proper standard for hearts and arrows I'm afraid. However if its AGS 0000 than you are pretty sure to have a nice bright diamond it just may not have near flawless optical symmetry (not a big deal really we are talking fine nuances)


Without a high standard pretty much any diamond near Tolk proportions can be called H&A without proof (hearts and arrows images) it really doesn't carry any weight. Any dealer can have something inscribed on the girdle and AGS goes along with that game and reports it on the comments. So buyers who aren't aware of this automatically think AGS graded it hearts and arrows when in reality they just printed what was found inscribed on the girdle.

Diamonds are such a slimey business.

I have Garry Holloway the inventor of Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA) on my skype, I find him very opinionated and a bit senile. The HCA is a very blunt tool used to reject diamonds based on averaged measurements, it is good for weeding out good from bad but amongst potentially good ones it is pretty useless in selecting one, the author admits as much himself. Images (Idealscope, Hearts and Arrows, ASET, Photograph) always trump averaged numbers when selecting a diamond. Garry favors shallow combination diamonds and big spreads so his tool is quite a bit biased whereas AGSL is much more balanced in their opinion.

 

[sharrkey]

Gimme 5 and I'll post the specsopcorn: Raji sorry for hijacking your thread and wonderful news, I just find diamonds wonderful:facepalm:

 

[ehhcl3537rwi]

Gimme 5 and I'll post the specsopcorn: Raji sorry for hijacking your thread and wonderful news, I just find diamonds wonderful:facepalm:

If you send me the AGS report number and Carat weight I can pull up the grading report myself. Save you the trouble of printing out text.

 

[sharrkey]

If you send me the AGS report number and Carat weight I can pull up the grading report myself. Save you the trouble of printing out text.

Here ya go

Gen interested in you opinion


Sent from my iPhone 5 Using TapaTalk2 S???R?I?????

 

[ehhcl3537rwi]

Here ya go

Gen interested in you opinion


Sent from my iPhone 5 Using TapaTalk2 S???R?I?????

Do you have a picture of the ASET color diagram as well?

 

[sharrkey]

Do you have a picture of the ASET color diagram as well?

Nope that's something I don't have


Sent from my iPhone 5 Using TapaTalk2 S???R?I?????

 

[ehhcl3537rwi]

Nope that's something I don't have


Sent from my iPhone 5 Using TapaTalk2 S???R?I?????

Basically good Crown/Pavilion combination its going to be a nice bright diamond with decent fire and spread.

Its an AGS 0000 so a fine make for sure.

Still no proof about it being H&A or having near flawless optical symmetry and brightness but its going to be in the top 99% of all round cut diamonds.

LGF at 79% is on the thin side so it will show quicker more splintery flashes and less bigger bolder flashes but also could look a little brighter with less darker areas.

 

[sharrkey]

Cheers bud Yes it's got loads and loads of fire and scintillation, will try and get a pic thou the ideal scope I've got


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[Bosox]

I don't know your credentials, but I do know you are absolutely right when addressing EGL, Israel. Way overgraded.

 

[wat44]

I've always been aware that diamonds are extremely hard to buy properly.

Numpties like me haven't got a hope. Dealers have got huge margins and no morals. I've heard so many stories about blue Nile (positive and negative).

If I want to buy one day - wat is the best way to go when I have no idea wat I'm buying?

 

[Bosox]

I've always been aware that diamonds are extremely hard to buy properly.

Numpties like me haven't got a hope. Dealers have got huge margins and no morals. I've heard so many stories about blue Nile (positive and negative).

If I want to buy one day - wat is the best way to go when I have no idea wat I'm buying?

Most of us amateurs have the feeling that if we go to the Caribbean (where I was pretty badly hosed on a 3+ carat diamond years ago), or buy from the relative of the friend of a friend, or in the NY diamond district, then we'll get a great deal. Talk about sheep being led to the slaughter. Well, that 3+ stone is now part of a 3 diamond pendant and the other two are of far better quality, though smaller. It looks great on my wife, though, and the sparkle will blind you BUT keep that loupe away from the biggest diamond. It is flawed.
In my case the jeweler in Florida who has an excellent reputation came across with the best stone and the best price. Who wudda thunk it?
BTW does the GIA typically grade small stones?

 

[zmail21]

Bravo... Good job

 

[sanankid]

I'm married wife's ring was way more than my reps yet I get flack for reps. He'll gimme a gen for the price of her ring, congrats

 

[exlgh91]

Oh wow CONGRATS!!
And that defintely looks amazing!!

 

[DRBAFC]

I'm married wife's ring was way more than my reps yet I get flack for reps. He'll gimme a gen for the price of her ring, congrats

 

[ehhcl3537rwi]

Most of us amateurs have the feeling that if we go to the Caribbean (where I was pretty badly hosed on a 3+ carat diamond years ago), or buy from the relative of the friend of a friend, or in the NY diamond district, then we'll get a great deal. Talk about sheep being led to the slaughter. Well, that 3+ stone is now part of a 3 diamond pendant and the other two are of far better quality, though smaller. It looks great on my wife, though, and the sparkle will blind you BUT keep that loupe away from the biggest diamond. It is flawed.
In my case the jeweler in Florida who has an excellent reputation came across with the best stone and the best price. Who wudda thunk it?
BTW does the GIA typically grade small stones?

GIA will grade small stones but usually noone bothers with the cost for less than 0.2 carat stones.

 

[ehhcl3537rwi]

I've always been aware that diamonds are extremely hard to buy properly.

Numpties like me haven't got a hope. Dealers have got huge margins and no morals. I've heard so many stories about blue Nile (positive and negative).

If I want to buy one day - wat is the best way to go when I have no idea wat I'm buying?

Whatever you do stay away from the NY diamond district and any B&M stores especially in the Carribean.

Buy online for the best prices, but before that read as much as you can, lots of great information on the Pricescope forums. Although some of the opinions on PS are a little biased especially from trademembers, on the whole its the best education site their is for diamonds. The article section is excellent reading.

First make sure it has a grading report from GIA or AGS.
Then work with a trusted dealer, pricescope has many dealers in New York and Texas that are just about as competitive and trustworthy as I've seen for colorless diamonds.

In general for pricing use Bluenile as a benchmark (make sure you are comparing an apple to an apple) and make sure the dealer you choose is giving you same or better pricing and service(ie custom settings, images prior to purchase, inhouse stones etc) than Bluenile.

If you are still not sure PM me with an e-mail or skype and I can will help you find what fits your budget and specs or give you a list of dealers I trust and you can contact them with the specs to look for.

 

[d4m.test]

Wow! There's a ton of great new info and advice popping up in here. I like it.

And thanks Dan for the neutering advice.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Mendota]

My setting was not produced in an hour, nor did I say that. She had been working with me for weeks before we met with her face to face. As I wrote, she and I had been speaking over the phone and through emails before we drove out to see her. She knew the specifications already and had the ring already made before we even got there. Once my wife selected her stone she just needed to drop it in and set it for us. The rest had already been completed in advance. Obviously there were limitations on size at that point, but we already knew what the size was going to be going into it, so this was of no concern. And it didn't take an hour. We left her office and cruised around Michigan Ave for a few hours, had lunch at a cool pub type place, and then went back to pick it up from the appraiser down the hall.

I bought this back in October of 2004, so almost 10 years ago. Obviously the diamond and platinum prices have varied considerably since then. These are commodities, and as such the prices vary from day to day. I fully understand that. The grading was GIA.

If you are in the business, you probably know her and already work with her as she supplies to people all over the country. She is outstanding, very highly regarded, has grown up in the diamond business, has been doing this herself for over 30 years, and is one of the nicest people I have met.

I've heard these stories time and time again and there are many of them on pricescope. Buying from "Friends" or "Friends of Family" rarely works.

The first question I always ask is: What grading laboratory provided the report?

If its not GIA or AGS then what you think you have may not be how the labs that set the pricing would view your stone. No report at all and you have even less chance of knowing how GIA would grade your diamond.

For example EGL Israel could grade a diamond F VS2 when GIA would grade it I SI1, I have seen examples that were 4 grades off. The interesting thing about the market is that diamonds are priced based on how GIA would grade the stone and uninformed shoppers will readily buy the same stone for more with an EGL paper than they would with a GIA one.

In addition unless you were shown images or viewed through an H&A scope(optical symmetry) or Idealscope (light return profile) to prove its a "Flawless Cut" it is 99.9% the case where it is not. Tiffany's does not sell Flawless Cut Diamonds period. While the quality is generally good there it is not cut to as strict standards as other brands.

The definition of custom is that the setting was made to fit your stone's proportions. Obviously no setting is produced in an hour and I question what was "custom" about it. It may even be difficult to customize the prongs(holding in the center diamond) in an hour.

Custom finger resizing maybe, custom setting hardly. :facepalm:

 

[ehhcl3537rwi]

Once my wife selected her stone she just needed to drop it in and set it for us.

The setting was pre made and all you were doing was setting it. That is fine especially for a solitaire but as I said that isn't custom.

went back to pick it up from the appraiser down the hall.

Beware of "independant appraisals" or "in house appraisals" it always best to get an appraisal from someone independant and far removed from any other jeweler. The appraiser should be working for customers only and not have a conflict of interest with Jewelers they also work for.

I bought this back in October of 2004, so almost 10 years ago. Obviously the diamond and platinum prices have varied considerably since then. These are commodities, and as such the prices vary from day to day. I fully understand that. The grading was GIA.

In 2004 GIA had not yet introduced cut grading, so the idea of "flawless cut" is your dealer's opinion and nothing more. If you have a steep PA of greater than 40.8 than I would argue against any diamond being flawless cut.

If you are in the business, you probably know her and already work with her as she supplies to people all over the country.

The diamond business has changed quite a bit in 10 years, there are very few middlemen left like the person you purchased from because the margins are so thin.



The cutting houses are in India, Israel, Belgium and New York and maybe a boutique very small outfit here and there. To my knowledge there are no cutters in Chicago so you are most certainly purchasing from a middleman who is adding a markup on top of what the cutting house charges you. I have family in South Africa who were 'wholesalers' before and have very much been hurt by how competitive things are now with online shopping.

She is outstanding, very highly regarded, has grown up in the diamond business, has been doing this herself for over 30 years, and is one of the nicest people I have met.

Its great to buy from someone you trust that is key in a very slimey business. However I think at some point especially if you are advising others you have to look critically and seek facts and truths and stop blindly validating your purchase decisions. In today's market she very likely purchases diamonds from the cutting houses at the same prices as many of the online retailors.

With online retail margins as thin as 5% and the norm being 10 - 20% how can anyone expect to get a deal from a B&M outfit with high overhead?