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Looking for Fancy Colored Diamond Opinions

jaebond

jaebond

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2011
Messages
222
Hi! I'm looking at a pair of purple diamonds and would really love to get some opinions!

The first is a radiant/princess cut, listed as Fancy Deep Purple, VS2. The second is a cushion cut listed as Fancy Intense Purple, VS. They don't have certs, but whichever I decide on will get a cert. They're both 0.13ct, but the radiant/princess cut is $2500 more. The cushion (3.2mm x 3.1mm) faces up larger than the princess (2.8mm x 2.7mm). I attached a picture of them side-by-side and here are videos of them separately and together:
Stone 1
Stone 2
Both

Thanks for any help!

still1.png
 
Shop for FCDs that already have a GIA report.
Price depends on what it really is.
You can't be sure what it really is without a report from GIA
Many other labs are less-trusted than GIA, for good reasons.

If you don't know what it really is, a legit price is impossible to determine.
Even with GIA report FCD pricing is extremely complex, then add the rarity making comps nearly impossible.

There's a reason sellers don't get the reports, especially from GIA.
The reason(s) are usually things the seller doesn't want to buyer to know; this can get them a higher price from poorly-informed buyers.

A report from GIA is the gold standard documenting many things about the FCD that can be misrepresented by buyers.
GIA is considered the most trustworthy and qualified to grade FCDs.

I've bought several FCDs over the years (search for one of my several threads: "Pricescope Kenny FCD").
I do not even bother considering stones with no GIA report (and only GIA).

Doing otherwise is a gamble.
And as with all gambling the odds are with the house.
 
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I prefer the color, shape and size of the cushion. What do you plan to do with it?
 
Kenny has given excellent advice.
Something is suspicious. Diamonds that look like that are always sent to GIA. A small difference in grade makes a huge difference in the price- and the seller (should) know this.
Maybe the seller isn't really familiar with Fancy Colored Diamonds? Or there are other reasons why the stones are being offered without a report?
 
kgizo said:
I prefer the color, shape and size of the cushion. What do you plan to do with it?
Click to expand...

I was thinking a pendant as I think my wife would get the most use out of it that way. If I went with the radiant, it would probably have to be a solitaire based on budget. For the cushion cut, I could do a little something extra.

Looking at the separate videos I prefer the color of the cushion cut also. But in the picture and side-by-side video, the princess cut looks more purple-purple, which I think she would like. But it also looks like they don’t show the cushion cut quite face-up in the side-by-side video.
 
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kenny said:
Shop for FCDs that already have a GIA report.
Price depends on what it really is.
You can't be sure what it really is without a report from GIA
Many other labs are less-trusted than GIA, for good reasons.

If you don't know what it really is, a legit price is impossible to determine.
Even with GIA report FCD pricing is extremely complex, then add the rarity making comps nearly impossible.

There's a reason sellers don't get the reports, especially from GIA.
The reason(s) are usually things the seller doesn't want to buyer to know; this can get them a higher price from poorly-informed buyers.

A report from GIA is the gold standard documenting many things about the FCD that can be misrepresented by buyers.
GIA is considered the most trustworthy and qualified to grade FCDs.

I've bought several FCDs over the years (search for one of my several threads: "Pricescope Kenny FCD").
I do not even bother considering stones with no GIA report (and only GIA).

Doing otherwise is a gamble.
And as with all gambling the odds are with the house.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! I like the analogy with gambling. :)
 
Rockdiamond said:
Kenny has given excellent advice.
Something is suspicious. Diamonds that look like that are always sent to GIA. A small difference in grade makes a huge difference in the price- and the seller (should) know this.
Maybe the seller isn't really familiar with Fancy Colored Diamonds? Or there are other reasons why the stones are being offered without a report?
Click to expand...

They said with the size of their inventory, it would be prohibitive to get them all graded. They did seem to have a bigger selection than several of the other FCD vendors. They were also able to find additional stones in their inventory that matched my search but weren’t on their website.
 
jaebond said:
They said with the size of their inventory, it would be prohibitive to get them all graded
Click to expand...

jaebond said:
They're both 0.13ct, but the radiant/princess cut is $2500 more.
Click to expand...

They're asking $2500 more for a .13ct stone. That's almost a $20k per carat difference.
You didn't say how much they're asking for each- but based on that difference, they're charging a lot of money for these diamonds.
Which would mean that it would definitely make financial sense to have GIA reports on the stones.
Look- maybe this is all on the up and up- but these are red flags.
The main purpose of my post ( and I believe Kenny's) is to protect you.
 
Rockdiamond said:
They're asking $2500 more for a .13ct stone. That's almost a $20k per carat difference.
You didn't say how much they're asking for each- but based on that difference, they're charging a lot of money for these diamonds.
Which would mean that it would definitely make financial sense to have GIA reports on the stones.
Look- maybe this is all on the up and up- but these are red flags.
The main purpose of my post ( and I believe Kenny's) is to protect you.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the assistance. The cushion cut is $4500, the princess cut is $7000.

I wasn’t sure what constituted a “significant” price in FCDs. It’s significant to me, but I thought those might be trivial prices for FCDs.
 
If I found $4500 on the sidewalk, the last thing I'd be thinking is.....that's not "significant"
hehehe

Seriously- we're talking about a lot of money- even considering that FCD's are costly.
There's just no way a responsible FCD business wouldn't have those stones with GIA reports IMO...

I know I'd never expect someone to pay $34k per carat for a .13ct diamond with no GIA report.....
 
You mentioned that whichever one you choose will get a cert....is the seller willing to send to GIA before you pay anything, or after putting a (refundable) deposit down?
 
Yes. They will send to GIA for the cert and they accept returns within 30 days of receipt by the customer.
 
Leibish is a well thought of vendor here and that stone already has a GIA report and is a bit less expensive
 
Pure purple is very very rare. Without a GIA cert the colour claim is dubious at best. One would think that such stones were sent to GIA in any case if the seller thinks his colour grade is accurate, since there are basically no other GIA certified stones like that around for sale.
 
Do you realize how small these stones are? I don't think a pendant with this size of stones is a very good idea. Did your wife ask
for this? I would throttle my DH if he spent $4500+ on a stone this size without my input! (but that's me).

Here is the relative size on a size 6 1/2 finger
quick snip.png
 
tyty333 said:
Do you realize how small these stones are? I don't think a pendant with this size of stones is a very good idea. Did your wife ask
for this? I would throttle my DH if he spent $4500+ on a stone this size without my input! (but that's me).

Here is the relative size on a size 6 1/2 finger
quick snip.png
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing.
 
It means something to some people to have a fully natural real diamond of exceptional color.
To some, like me, size is the least important C.

Some of us will be thrilled with our tiny dot of rare and exceptional color, in a rare and exceptional material.
A dozen years ago I bought a 0.10 ct red diamond fully natural per GIA, instead of a similarly-priced new Lexus.

The majority of people gets what the majority want, size.
No problem.
It's all good because people vary.

But I certainly feel that the buyer and recipient should know about the size of these tiny FCDs.
A tiny expensive FCD ring should NOT be presented by surprise during a proposal.
People who want this may be as rare as the FCDs themselves.
 
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very early in this thread a pendant was mentioned as the probable setting. With a halot of white diamonds even the small purple should look great.
 
@Rockdiamond has bought and sold more FCD than the totality of PS probably owns. He’s given some super solid advice. Get. Those. GIA. Reports.

I am known as an oddball around here for buying larger white diamonds and especially antique cuts sans report, but a rare FCD. Never, nope, nada.
 
The left one has a fracture on one side. I would avoid such a stone.

You see in both stones glide planes which is typical for russian material (but not exclusive).


In figure 5 and 6 you see brown glide planes.

Color is in my opinion not pure purple - left could be deep brownish purple pink.

Price: I have 5 stones in this color range from 0,05 - 0,14 ct.
Bought them for 80-600 Euro - two with GIA report.

So without a GIA report overpriced - with a report too in my opinion.

PS: I donˋt deal with diamonds - I collect them.
 
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Here are the links to the original stones:
www.langerman-diamonds.com

Natural Purple Diamond Square 0.13 ct Polished

Colored diamonds widest choice: all Colors, Shapes, Qualities & Prices. Personalized service since 1965. Buy from Langerman Diamonds, the World's Biggest Natural Fancy Color Diamond Shop!
www.langerman-diamonds.com www.langerman-diamonds.com
www.langerman-diamonds.com

Natural Purple Diamonds – Delicate Shades from Violet to Lila

Explore the captivating range of natural purple diamonds, from soft lilac to deep violet, each gem a symbol of elegance and rarity.
www.langerman-diamonds.com www.langerman-diamonds.com
(some of the numbers I posted were rounded for simplicity)

Between the advice here, the difficulty of trying to arrange an international return, and noting that a site like Blue Nile, with their large (virtual) inventory, seems to have GIA certs for all of their purple diamonds, I've tried to refocus on Leibish's stones.
 
tyty333 said:
Do you realize how small these stones are? I don't think a pendant with this size of stones is a very good idea. Did your wife ask
for this? I would throttle my DH if he spent $4500+ on a stone this size without my input! (but that's me).

Here is the relative size on a size 6 1/2 finger
quick snip.png
Click to expand...
She didn't specifically ask for this, but I always get her something purple for our anniversary (she is very into purple; we even have a purple toaster :lol:) and the anniversary gift for year 10 is diamond jewelry.

I think she would want something smaller and really purple, rather than something larger that is less purple. But Leibish's policy seems flexible enough that if I'm wrong, it could be exchanged.

An engagement ring has different expectations, but at first she was hesitant about the amount of finger coverage her 1ct princess cut engagement gave, so I don't think she would want a diamond this size in a ring.
 
kenny said:
It means something to some people to have a fully natural real diamond of exceptional color.
To some, like me, size is the least important C.

Some of us will be thrilled with our tiny dot of rare and exceptional color, in a rare and exceptional material.
A dozen years ago I bought a 0.10 ct red diamond fully natural per GIA, instead of a similarly-priced new Lexus.

The majority of people gets what the majority want, size.
No problem.
It's all good because people vary.

But I certainly feel that the buyer and recipient should know about the size of these tiny FCDs.
A tiny expensive FCD ring should NOT be presented by surprise during a proposal.
People who want this may be as rare as the FCDs themselves.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting! It was your collection thread you started in 2011 when I was shopping for my wife's engagement diamond that put in my head that she would probably love to own a purple diamond one day: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fancy-colored-diamond-collection.159746/
 
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cmsmarks said:
very early in this thread a pendant was mentioned as the probable setting. With a halot of white diamonds even the small purple should look great.
Click to expand...

I had a few thoughts. I had thought about possibly doing something very simple like the "The One" necklace here:

Langerman Jewels

Discover unique collections of natural color diamond jewelry. Customize rings, earrings, and necklaces with ten dazzling diamond colors and 3 gold alloys.
langerman-jewels.com langerman-jewels.com
Maybe not a bezel, but something similar in spirit. I was also considering a halo as you mentioned, or possibly something like this, maybe with graduated stones?:

Any opinions are greatly appreciated!
 
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Also, take a look at James Allen. Now see, if I owned a purple diamond (and it would have to be small to fit my budget), I would want
it in a ring so that I could see it every day. You cant see a pendant (except mirrors) and they are so small that it would be difficult
for others to see unless they got right up pretty close to you. A diamond halo would help draw attention to it (the main purple stone)
but its still a small stone.

www.jamesallen.com

Fancy Purple Diamonds | JamesAllen.com

Fancy purple diamonds, all magnified in 360° HD. Rotate magnified fancy purple diamonds and experience the diamond color like never before.
www.jamesallen.com www.jamesallen.com

I say a right-hand ring would be a better use of a tiny fancy colored stone but its for your wife and you would know better what she would want.

Here are some examples:
Simple
quick snip.png
Draws attention to the colored stone
quick snip 1.png

A few side diamonds or a 3 stone with diamonds would be pretty
quick snip 2.png
 
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