HPHT diamond vendors

[pinkjewel]

Hi Pregcurious,
I've bought from Africa Gems and been very happy with them. Pinks and greens though, not yellow, and nothing big. Marc is very easy to deal with. And they have a good return policy (like all trusted PS dealers). And I've returned something no problem.

Good luck finding your yellow sparkly!

periwinklegirl- I had also suggested Africa Gems- but I do think their prices seem very steep!! Do they give any sort of Pricescope discount?

 

[periwinklegirl]

Never asked them.

 

[pregcurious]

I'm not criticizing. Sheesh.
Read what I wrote, all of it, in context.

The worst I've done here is a slight/perhaps threadjack, for which I apologized.
My posts after that were only to defend myself from inaccurate comments.

If you really think you are not criticizing, please see how it might sound if you wrote this about about heated sapphires the next time someone asks for heated sapphires (versus unheated). It's clear from the post that I know what HPHT diamonds are, so I don't think you were trying to be helpful.:

"I paid $X for a unheated sapphire, knowing full well I could have gotten a XX ct heated sapphire that's not fully natural for less.
I could have gotten a Swarovsky crystal even cheaper and glass even cheaper and plastic even cheaper.
I didn't want those.
I wanted a unheated sapphire that came out of the earth its natural color.
For that, I had to pay the price."

I would not be surprised if someone construed this as criticism. I think the poster who referred me to Suncrest was trying to helpful, and didn't mean to mislead me.

Kenny, I want to believe that you didn't mean to be offensive. If that's true, great. I won't mention it again.

 

[LD]

The HPHT diamonds are not to natural diamonds as a Honda is to a Ferrari. The treated diamonds look and function exactly like their natural counterparts. A better comparison would be a signed first edition to an otherwise identical later printing It isn't a question of quality, but of rarity. I certainly understand a preference for the rarer stuff, but it is not fair to imply that the treated are inferior. In price at least, they are vastly superior.

I disagree- HPHT diamonds RARELY look like natural color diamonds. The heat treatment does not mimic the color of naturally mined diamonds.

I couldn't disagree with you more. Poor quality HPHT or irradiated diamonds look false BUT good ones mimic a natural earth produced colour. Also in the case of green diamonds, irradiated diamonds cannot be separated from earth irradiated diamonds by their colour and this is a fact. They are exactly the same colour. I'm very happy to post photos if you want to disprove what you've stated.

Preg, sorry the way this thread has gone. I hope it hasn't put you off? You know, when I posted my red, the number of compliments I got was amazing. Don't be deterred. It's your budget and you should spend it in a way that makes you happy.

 

[VapidLapid]

I did not get the impression that Suncrest was implying that the famous colored diamonds on celebrities were their HPHT. It seemed more like they were just trying to place their product in an appropriate context. Of course the types of colored diamonds pictured are the ideal that royalty and celebrity can get, but their product functions, ostensibly, the same. It is unlikely they were trying to pass their product off as the famous stones pictured since at the top of the page, in letterhead style they have their name and right underneath "High Pressure High Temperature" spelled out.

As far as the natural as mined v. treated issue, I get the impression that the OP is wanting a stone to wear, not to lock up in a safety deposit vault. And if she could have the same thing in an untreated, as mined stone she would still likely want the hpht version for wearing because who would be foolish enough to risk a million dollar stone to the vagaries of everyday life?

 

[junebug17]

I'm not criticizing. Sheesh.
Read what I wrote, all of it, in context.

The worst I've done here is a slight/perhaps threadjack, for which I apologized.
My posts after that were only to defend myself from inaccurate comments.

It was more than just a slight threadjack - your comments had absolutely nothing to do with preg's initial question. Start another thread if you want to discuss false advertising, or whatever point you were trying to make. Threadjacks like yours totally derail a thread and make it veer off into unwanted and unhelpful debates. I get really, really annoyed when I see this happen.

Here is Preg's initial question:

"Can someone recommend reputable vendors for HPHT diamonds? I am curious about prices for fancy light yellow diamonds in ~6.5 mm in diameter."

Kudos to those who just answered her question and tried to help her out.

 

[kenny]

Clearly I have unintentionally upset and offended people.
For that I apologize.

 

[ChristineRose]

http://www.ajediam.com/index.html

Here's another one I came across once and promptly forgot about. They seem to sell quantities to the trade mostly. At the time I was looking for someone who sold treated colored diamonds in melee sizes. I think I may have found some others along the way. This one doesn't really give much info about the treatments though. Sometimes I get the impression that these guys are all buying from the same manufacturers.

I think there's more of a market for treated melee because no one making diamond encrusted Matchbox cars is really expected to use untreated stones. But melee is mostly sold to the trade which it makes it hard to evaluate and not really informative.

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks, Junebug, VL, and LD. LD, I'd love to see your HPHT treated diamonds sometime, when you get a chance. The main thing that has put me off purchasing them is the extremely strong yellow color I keep on seeing on the websites. I prefer lighter fancy light yellow diamonds. I think I may have to see them in person, but they're not widely distributed.

I'm also a little disappointed by the price point, but when it comes down to it, the process costs money, the demand does not seem very high, there's obviously risk in the business because people are resistant to treatments, marketing costs money, and they still have to use real diamonds = high price? I've been watching the yellow thread, and am open to other types of stone too, but diamond is the most durable. It's food for thought for me. No rush.

Kenny, thanks for your apology.

 

[kenny]

De Nada.
People are more important than all that other stuff.

 

[Jereni]

Thanks for starting this thread pregcurious! I had no idea there were treatments for mined diamonds, its really exciting to think I could possibly afford a red diamond. I'm saving for a natural yellow, but natural reds, in a wearable size, are just nowhere near my price range.

 

[Demon]

I have no idea of their quality, but I was searching for a place to recut a diamond (just looking for a reasonable price, as it's only a 56 pointer) and ran across this place called prism gem. I don't know if they sell diamonds, but they offer a service for coloring them! I thought that was kind of interesting.