Deciding on a stone

[lucas910]

I went in to look at a local store and was pleasantly surprised at the knowledge and selection that they had. I ended up putting a downpayment (fully refundable) to hold the diamond for 30 days while I decide. The stone is a round .81, E, SI1. Cut is GIA excellent. Apparently I can't link to the GIA certificate from their site, but here's the cert # - 2101244609

There was also another stone that was VS2, but the color was noticable yellow compared to this stone, and also a bit smaller at .75. Also, the inclusion in this stone is near the edge and not noticable to the naked eye, even when I knew where to look. I'm gonig to go over it again under a microscope before I buy it. I felt that this stone was the better buy at $3600 vs $3200 for the .75. The stone looks good in cut advisor also.

At $3600, what do you guys think of this deal? Visually this diamond is great looking, even compared to some of the others I was looking at (such as that .75) but I'm wondering about the cut vs somethign like an ACA from whiteflash. Thoughts?

edit: oh yeah, and she doesn't mind the blue fluorescence.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/11/2009 11:36:28 PM
Author:lucas910
I went in to look at a local store and was pleasantly surprised at the knowledge and selection that they had. I ended up putting a downpayment (fully refundable) to hold the diamond for 30 days while I decide. The stone is a round .81, E, SI1. Cut is GIA excellent. Apparently I can''t link to the GIA certificate from their site, but here''s the cert # - 2101244609

There was also another stone that was VS2, but the color was noticable yellow compared to this stone, and also a bit smaller at .75. Also, the inclusion in this stone is near the edge and not noticable to the naked eye, even when I knew where to look. I''m gonig to go over it again under a microscope before I buy it. I felt that this stone was the better buy at $3600 vs $3200 for the .75. The stone looks good in cut advisor also.

At $3600, what do you guys think of this deal? Visually this diamond is great looking, even compared to some of the others I was looking at (such as that .75) but I''m wondering about the cut vs somethign like an ACA from whiteflash. Thoughts?

edit: oh yeah, and she doesn''t mind the blue fluorescence.

Hi Lucas,

Your diamond looks good, not cut to the highest standards but a very nice make of diamond which should be a good performer - especially since you have seen it and love it, and have compared it with others. If you want a top cut diamond then the ACA or other branded h&a are the ones to consider, but if you want a nice make of diamond which looks great with top colour then your E might be just fine. We can''t really compare the visual differences between an ACA and your diamond unfortunately as it isn''t possible for us to do so. It depends on your priorities as to which way you decide to proceed!

 

[lucas910]

Do you think that this price fits the stone? I know it may not be as low as what I can get online, but it seems to be very similar. One thing that makes me want to buy at this store is their upgrade policy, which I may use down the road. This takes some of the financial stress off of me at the moment - I can get 100% cash back for any diamond they sell to be put toward any higher priced stone.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/12/2009 4:13:15 PM
Author: lucas910
Do you think that this price fits the stone? I know it may not be as low as what I can get online, but it seems to be very similar. One thing that makes me want to buy at this store is their upgrade policy, which I may use down the road. This takes some of the financial stress off of me at the moment - I can get 100% cash back for any diamond they sell to be put toward any higher priced stone.

I had a look at online prices, similar are around $3k give or take a bit, b&m stores are typically more expensive. As to the upgrade policy, check the terms very carefully as these can vary, some stipulate you need to spend 50% or more on another diamond so check to see what the conditions are for this particular store. Also some of the online vendors have upgrade policies so you could purchase online if you wished and still have the upgrade benefit.