Is this a good price for this diamond?

[Mara]

Texas nice shots! That baby is a stunner!!! Very clean pictures as well. I am hoping once our ring is done I can snap something equally as nice. Congrats!!

 

[texas_26]

Thanks for the kind words! I am very happy with my new purchase.

Although I would like to take all the credit for taking the pics, I think most of it goes to the camera. I have an Olympus C2100UZ, which for a digital camera is excellent. (I researched until I was crazy on that purchase as well).

Make sure to put the camera in Macro mode, most of the time this is designated with a "flower".

I used light coming from the top, in the form of a light bulb, and light coming from behind me from the daylight through a window.

Camera was set with ISO 200, F2.8, shutter 1/50. Flash on.

The secret is light. You need lots of light when you take indoor pictures. Lots and lots.

Took six pics, and these were my three favorites.

 

[jetcaptain]

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On 1/19/2003 10

4

9 AM lacina wrote:

Hi Jetcaptain,
True,... You can find a deal anywhere, If you look for it,...

I am in the business of supply to the retail industry and I can tell you there is not a lot of money to be made on diamond sales IF the seller is trully legit or offers legit diamonds.
The brick/mortar stores need to make a larget proffit than the internet sellers. At least 30% more this is what brings their prices to different levels. If I loose an account, witch rarely happens, there is allways something fishy behind it.
The good deal may turn out to be not as clean as you may think it is,...
I know a store manager that was fired for selling diamonds under the table for cash. Investigation unrevieled that the diamonds were broad into the country thorough illegal channels.... Sure this is where you get a great price, because someone is in need to sell for cash even with a loss . Can you be proud of buying such item??
For that matter I think it is safer to look for certified stones that surely are comming from reputable labs and legit cutters/ dealers.
Ig you find a stone on the net from a reputable dealer, it does not mean the price advertized is final,.. Try to Make an offer! If you buy durring the slowest times of the year and find someone who is over stocked, you just may be lucky to get a clean deal! This ofcourse applies to all diamond sellers carrying stock. Timing is everything!

Best
George


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George,

I have tried to understand what you have posted here, but frankly I still don't completely understand. Just EXACTLY what do you mean by a clean deal, and just EXACTLY how should a consumer guarantee that their deal is "clean." You seem to be suggesting that because I found what I consider to be a good deal at a brick and mortar store, that somehow either the diamond isn't as good as I think it is or that the diamond has an unsavory past (stolen, distress sale, etc.), or both.

 

[Lugus]

Just wanted to give an update on my progress. I walked in to Kay today and informed the salesman I'd been working with that I would be purchasing the diamond that I had listed earlier (the good one). After a couple fruitless attempts to shake my confidence at buying over the internet, I also informed him that my parents had allowed my to take out a loan against the money they had set aside for our wedding (yay!). I told him that the diamond he had shown me was not that diamond I of my dreams, and simply became the diamond I could afford becuase of his outrageous price.

Finally, he near begged me to let him have a week to to find a nicer stone at a price similar to what the 14.8k the online stone would cost. I agreed, and I'm excited to see if he does. It'll be fun to listen to him explain how he wasn't ripping me off charging me 22k for the other stone.

In the meantime, I believe I'll be making a few phone calls to some of the recommended diamond brokers. Since I no longer need financing, Kay will have to make me quite a deal for me to buy there. Since it's been a few hours since I've said it, thanks for the responses guys. Diamond hunting is finally becoming fun again

 

[diamondsman]

I am always happy to see a smart shopper,especially one that has been educated on this forum,and has becomed informed in order to get the best deal for his money!!

my advice is always:"shop and compare"

I am wondering if they will come up with a good deal?Please let me know ????

good luck
diamondsman

 

[Mara]

Yes definitely keep us posted. Also, I would use this extra time to further educate yourself on the ins and outs of a diamond makeup, so that when he comes back to you with another stone, you will know enough to call him on things if he tries to pull the wool over your eyes. Did you specify to him that future diamonds should come with crown and angle pavilions? If you give him time on this request he should be able to accomodate. You will need these to plug into the HCA to see what it says, if it is of interest to you.

Good luck!

 

[Lugus]

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On 1/19/2003 11:39:12 PM Mara wrote:

Yes definitely keep us posted. Also, I would use this extra time to further educate yourself on the ins and outs of a diamond makeup, so that when he comes back to you with another stone, you will know enough to call him on things if he tries to pull the wool over your eyes. Did you specify to him that future diamonds should come with crown and angle pavilions? If you give him time on this request he should be able to accomodate. You will need these to plug into the HCA to see what it says, if it is of interest to you.

Good luck!
----------------

This is exactly what I did. In a way that only an angry consumer can, I asked him what a sarin report was and explained that future stones he gets should come with crown and pavillion angles. He played dumb and said he hadn't heard of one, and that the GIA certificates don't come with angles. I told him that I would not even consider a diamond without all the information about it.

I'm extremely curious as to what he will be able to come up with, if anything. Of course, I will keep you all posted. In the meantime, I'll begin making my phone calls this week to some of the online dealers, particularly the ones that have been recommended by this forum.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Don't be too rough on the guy, Lugus. The percentage of salespeople and jewelers out there operating at the level of efficiency you see on here is a small one. Especially in the mall stores. The salesperson you were speaking to may very well have never heard of a Sarin machine.

Mall staff is often here today and gone tomorrow. The staff in independently owned stores are usually more career oriented and better informed. And then you have stores with top grade professional jewelers and gemologists.

 

[mbhmlp]

I have recently fell in LOVE with the Royal Asscher cut stone. The one I looked at is 1.33 E SI1 and is set in a PLT Lucida setting. I think that this is THE one - what do you think of the price? $9600.00.

 

[lacina]

Not knowing the rest of the information needed on this stone the price sounds high for 1.33 E/SI1.
Asscher cut is one of the most honest cuts , very much same as the emerald cut The number of facets will not hide the inclusions as good as other cutting styles will . There is a possibility that SI1 Asscher may not be eye clean depending where the inclusion is located type of inclusion and light intensity.
It may still be a nice stone if propertly cut, but for this ammount of money you can get nicely cut E/VVS true asscher.

Best
George
GLE Gem Imports