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Aussie: Help with a diamond please

Thank you everyone for your valuable inputs.

Appears medium blue does not appear to be very visible even under direct sunlight. There is a slight hue to it but it doesn't seem to make the diamond any less pretty, which is what I'm going for.

My search continues! Am now considering widening my budget a bit to see what I can get from WF since it appears to be the 'safest' option.
 
To help minimize out of pocket costs, have you considered TransferWise for exchange?

Also I helped a buyer recently who was using a shipper of sorts that somehow avoided some of the duties. I can’t recall his exact location but it was an Asian country. Also it was the first time I had heard of such a service as it seemed suspect to me. However, he ended up buying from BGD and I believe all went well. I am not sure how that worked exactly so it may or may not be an option.

Lastly, while not a Sydney jeweler, @Garry H (Cut Nut) has two stores in the Melbourne area. He is also the father of the idealscope, and intertwined into PS as well. He certainly understands cut quality and might be a “local” resource, although I understand he’s about 8-9 hours away from Sydney. Alternatively, he may know a Sydney jeweler that would set an outside stone or possibly be as focused on cut as him and most of us on PS.
 
To help minimize out of pocket costs, have you considered TransferWise for exchange?

Also I helped a buyer recently who was using a shipper of sorts that somehow avoided some of the duties. I can’t recall his exact location but it was an Asian country. Also it was the first time I had heard of such a service as it seemed suspect to me. However, he ended up buying from BGD and I believe all went well. I am not sure how that worked exactly so it may or may not be an option.

Lastly, while not a Sydney jeweler, @Garry H (Cut Nut) has two stores in the Melbourne area. He is also the father of the idealscope, and intertwined into PS as well. He certainly understands cut quality and might be a “local” resource, although I understand he’s about 8-9 hours away from Sydney. Alternatively, he may know a Sydney jeweler that would set an outside stone or possibly be as focused on cut as him and most of us on PS.

Thank you for the input!

Yes, I was planning on using TransferWise for exchange. I've used it once before and it was a pleasant experience.

I have not looked at BGD yet. Thanks for the rec. Might give it a look and enquire there.

Lastly, I am actually based in Melbourne and have considered going to Garry H's store. However, we're unfortunately now in lockdown and his prices, starting at $16k for 1ct stone (according to the website) is well over my budget.
 
I didn’t see his prices started out @ $16k, but having another look noticed it appears to also include the setting. It might be worth a call to get more details. Depending on specifics he may not be terribly far off base though.

$6,500 stone + $1,500 setting = $9,000 USD x 1.29 currency exchange x 1.15 duties & tax = 13,351 AUD

By the way, the “shippers” I mentioned earlier are called freight forwarders. To me it seems they handle the logistics of international shipments but the other person I helped made it sound like it avoided some fees.

 
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I didn’t see his prices started out @ $16k, but having another look noticed it appears to also include the setting. It might be worth a call to get more details. Depending on specifics he may not be terribly far off base though.

$6,500 stone + $1,500 setting = $9,000 USD x 1.29 currency exchange x 1.15 duties & tax = 13,351 AUD

By the way, the “shippers” I mentioned earlier are called freight forwarders. To me it seems they handle the logistics of international shipments but the other person I helped made it sound like it avoided some fees.


Yeap, he's definitely high on my list if I do decide to stretch my budget.

I'm also planning to get the loose stone from international vendor then have it set locally, which makes maintenance easier. Finding a jeweller that is willing to do so would be the hard part.

Based on reading fellow Aussie's experience with WF and the likes, some vendors appear to use freight forwarders who prepare the AUFTA form for you therefore saving 5% on the customs duty.
 
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