newtothisHELP
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2013
- Messages
- 11
I have been looking pretty hard for an engagement ring for my girlfriend and I think I have educated myself reasonably well.
It seems as though every person I talk to has a "guy" that I have to see. So I have seen a few diamond dealers and looked at numerous diamonds that fit my budget and needs. I was looking for a 1.5+ carat round diamond in a solitaire setting. Frankly, I didnt want to pay for any quality that i could not be discerned with the naked eye. So I had figured that I would look for something in the range of very good cut, H or G color, and SI1 clarity. I found that for GIA certified diamonds I was looking at 9-10k in cost.
I was close to buying on from a dealer that I really liked. It was loose with no setting and cost 9300. Before I did so, I could not resist going into a Zales and seeing what their less expensive diamonds look like. They had their signature collection which I was not interested in b/c the prices were the same if not more as the dealer. They also had about 10 of diamonds in the 1.55-1.8 carat range in their regular collection. 8 or 9 of them were so cloudy that I didnt even bother to look at them. But there was one in particular that caught my eye.
It was a 1.65 carat round diamond with G color, a very good cut, very good polish, and I1 clarity. These are all GSL ratings so I know not to trust them much, but the diamond really did pass the eye test. There were two tiny inclusions, one is visible from the side and one from the top. However, they are only noticeable when you hold the diamond within 6 inches of your eye. From 12 inches or further away (which is how people will view it) you could not see them whatsoever.
The ring was priced at $8800 which included a 4 prong 14k white gold setting that just happened to be almost exactly what I was looking for. I ended up haggling down to $7200 plus another 10% off for opening a store credit card. So $6500 all in which to me is a phenomenal deal for a 1.6 carat diamond that sparkles nicely and has no warmth to its color really.
For some reason though I keep second guessing myself. I have 30 days to return and I am wondering if I shouldve paid the extra 3-4k to a dealer for a diamond that doesnt have that one tiny inclusion.
Opinions please. Thanks all.
Picture attached.
It seems as though every person I talk to has a "guy" that I have to see. So I have seen a few diamond dealers and looked at numerous diamonds that fit my budget and needs. I was looking for a 1.5+ carat round diamond in a solitaire setting. Frankly, I didnt want to pay for any quality that i could not be discerned with the naked eye. So I had figured that I would look for something in the range of very good cut, H or G color, and SI1 clarity. I found that for GIA certified diamonds I was looking at 9-10k in cost.
I was close to buying on from a dealer that I really liked. It was loose with no setting and cost 9300. Before I did so, I could not resist going into a Zales and seeing what their less expensive diamonds look like. They had their signature collection which I was not interested in b/c the prices were the same if not more as the dealer. They also had about 10 of diamonds in the 1.55-1.8 carat range in their regular collection. 8 or 9 of them were so cloudy that I didnt even bother to look at them. But there was one in particular that caught my eye.
It was a 1.65 carat round diamond with G color, a very good cut, very good polish, and I1 clarity. These are all GSL ratings so I know not to trust them much, but the diamond really did pass the eye test. There were two tiny inclusions, one is visible from the side and one from the top. However, they are only noticeable when you hold the diamond within 6 inches of your eye. From 12 inches or further away (which is how people will view it) you could not see them whatsoever.
The ring was priced at $8800 which included a 4 prong 14k white gold setting that just happened to be almost exactly what I was looking for. I ended up haggling down to $7200 plus another 10% off for opening a store credit card. So $6500 all in which to me is a phenomenal deal for a 1.6 carat diamond that sparkles nicely and has no warmth to its color really.
For some reason though I keep second guessing myself. I have 30 days to return and I am wondering if I shouldve paid the extra 3-4k to a dealer for a diamond that doesnt have that one tiny inclusion.
Opinions please. Thanks all.
Picture attached.
Since you already have the stone it might be worth it to look at beside other GIA/AGS EX and ideal cut stones to see if you can see the difference in performance. It's important that you view the stone in many different lighting environments not just under trick jewelry store lighting. I would also suggest that you consider the dimensions of the stone you purchased and not it's ct weight. Stone without ideal proportions will almost always face up smaller than one with ideal proportions, so it's possible that your 1.6ct only faces up like a 1.45, if this is the case then you just paid a premium for something that you can't visually appreciate kwim? Are you stones proportions listed on the report? Can you post them?
That stone could be an L color, I2, entirely too deep that faces up more like a 1.2 carat than 1.6. And you'd have NO IDEA. So you can't ask if you've overpaid because you can't actually tell us what the REAL stats for this stone are. There's no way to compare apples to apples with other stones online. If you look for a comparable 1.6/G/I1, it probably looks like you got a great price. BUT those are certified, absolutely correct grades. And your's is not. I would eat my hat if it came back as anything better than a K/I2 by GIA.
only get something that's excellent or ideal cut!!! Good luck and let us know what happens!!
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