Long Time Lurker needs assistance

[carmen1]

I've been lurking here so long but have never posted before. I have been looking for a yellow diamond for a right hand ring for some time, and I finally bit the bullet 2 weeks ago when I placed a deposit on this stone at Leibish:



As I was out of town last week on business, I told Aviva that I would complete the purchase when I returned home as I'd need to sign for the package. When I contacted her yesterday to complete the purchase I was told that they had "accidentally" sold the stone I had reserved in Hong Kong... I'm disappointed to say the least, they did not contact me when they realized their mistake and they are still holding my deposit for a stone they no longer have.

They've offered to either return my deposit or sell me one of these 2 stones at the same price:

http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/12543.htm
http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/12652.htm

I am not sure what to do. I am underwhelmed with the photos of the stones they are presenting as alternatives, and I don't believe that the price would represent a significant discount, if any, over what they would normally sell for. I realize my judgment could be clouded by my feelings over the whole situation so I'd love to get thoughts on the stones from the experts here. I'm a complete newbie to colored stones, other than what I've read on this board and the few I've seen in person, this would have been my CS first purchase.

P.S. - I did speak with David at DBL prior to placing a deposit on the first stone to see if he had something comparable which he did not at the time (although I was tempted by fancy light yellow in a halo setting, I think I'd prefer the FY to FLY based on the few I have seen in real life).

 

[chrono]

I am very sorry that your FY was sold while you were away, worse yet, when you had reserved it with a deposit. The two stones linked do not look like a comparable replacement for the original FCD. They look slightly better in the video but not by much. The 1.6 ct is more attractive to my eye if I had to choose one. The 1.71 ct is very pale and the huge table is a turn-off for me. Has pricing taken into account the yellow FCD discount currently ongoing? Have you asked Leibish if they have any yellows comparable to the one you had reserved?

 

[carmen1]

Thanks for confirming what I thought. The two stones shown are the ones that the Leibish buyer has personally recommended as comparable replacements to the stone I had reserved. They no longer have pricing posted for either of the stones, but before they marked the 1.60 as reserved I saw that it was priced the same as the stone I had reserved 2 weeks ago - so that presumably does not take into account the current "sale" they are having. I do think I at least some of my disappointment is that not only are they not offering me a comparable or better stone, they are not offering me better pricing - even in the midst of a sale that wasn't going on when we agreed to the pricing on the original stone.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I agree with Chrono on this. The yellow you chose appears much better than the replacements. Can you wait for more inventory to come in? This incident doesn't make them look good. Truthfully, I'd be mad.

So sorry, the stone you selected looks very nice.


Annette

 

[carmen1]

Thank you, Annette. Truthfully, I am mad. It took me a long time to pull the trigger on a stone, and now I am back at square one. I think I have no choice but to ask for my deposit back and wait for something to come along.

 

[PinkyPie]

Meh... that stinks. If neither of the replacements sing to you, sit tight. More yellows will come around -- no need to settle.

 

[pregcurious]

I agree with the posters above. The FY you had reserved looks like it had darker and more even coloration than the replacements. Also, the one you had reserved was IF. The replacements are either more included, or smaller in size. I would wait. Sorry this happened to you.

 

[Rosebloom]

I agree with the consensus. How do you plan to set the stone when you find your perfect one?

 

[carmen1]

Thank you all for your replies! After some back & forth Leibish did come down a bit on the price of the 1.60 stone, and they maintain that it is well saturated and a better color than the stone I had reserved though it isn't apparent in the photos. I'm planning to ask that they send additional pictures to see if maybe it is just the photos they've posted.

Rosebloom - I was thinking of having it set in a double halo. I was talking to Leibish about the setting as well but they use a closed yellow gold cup behind all their stones and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

 

[LD]

Do you have the video from the 1st one?

If you look at the 1.6ct (and I agree that out of the 2 replacements it's the better one), the colouration isn't even so basically the edges of the stone look to be colourless. Your original stone (in the photo) wasn't suffering from that. This is a function of the cut. So overall your original stone had much more even saturation and appeared much more vivid than the suggested replacements.

Leibish will be suggesting a closed yellow cup to even out the colour. A good yellow shouldn't need that much help. Having said that, it's not uncommon.

If I were you, I'd hang on. DON'T accept 2nd best. You've waited this long, so please wait a bit longer. Also, contact David at DBL again. His stock changes all the time.

 

[chrono]

Since Leibish claims that the 1.6 ct FCD has better saturation and colour than the one you reserved, do you think it is worth seeing it in person? It will still be fully refundable other than being out shipping on your end, correct? As for a yellow cup setting, this is commonly done with FCDs to heighten and even out the colouration.

 

[carmen1]

Thank you LD & Chrono for your input! LD - there was a video for the first stone posted with the listing, but I think the listing was taken down when it was sold.

Leibish sent me another photo of the 1.60 FY IF today, which to my untrained eye does look more promising than the previous photos I've seen of it:

http://www.fancydiamonds.net/view_diamonds/12652.htm

Chrono - I am definitely considering purchasing the 1.60 to see it in person, they have a 30-day return policy and all I'd be out is shipping to their office in NY - based on this new photo do you think it is worth a shot?

Thank you both for the info on the closed yellow gold cup setting, I realized it would improve the color of the stone, I was just concerned that closing off the back of it completely would have some negative impact on performance or something. Sounds like that is not the case since it is a common practice, though if the color is good the cup may not be necessary. Would it be more difficult to clean a ring that has a closed back like that?

 

[chrono]

The new picture of the 1.60 FY looks much better and comparable to the original FCD. It is definitely worth seeing in person. I wonder if it looks better because it is more enclosed on the hand. I would not enclose the back completely in order to be able to clean it. I know that dirt can get trapped in a totally enclosed setting and the crud just builds up with no way to get it out unless removed from the setting.

 

[LD]

Mmmmmmm well the video is meh but the still photo is nice. Like Chrono I think that being on the back of the hand is reflecting the light back to the eye (which is what a yellow cup will do). A cup won't affect performance. However, you can have totally closed backs (which have an advantage in that dirt is unlikely to get into it (if executed well)) OR you can go for a partially closed cup that can be problematic to clean effectively but will be prettier. I would ask Leibish to see photos of what they're proposing the cup will look like.

In terms of the diamond, I think you'll see the lack of colour when it doesn't have a backing but with a backing it will look lovely. As Chrono has said, you're not losing anything by looking at it.

 

[GregS]

The latest picture of the 1.6 looks better than the diamond they sold out from under you.