Pink Diamond lovers- Kenny, PinkJewel and anyone else...

[gregchang35]

Hi All,

i am learning about pink diamonds and interested in Argyle pinks in particular.
Attached are the links and the videos to them.
I know that FCD are cut for colour and not performance.
Argyle pinks are harder to get and therefore the clarity is what the clarity is: most are vs2 and si1.

I need to understand how the pinks perform in the videos and photos. any input is greatly appreciated.
The first one:
The head on shot looks good, however, when in the box, i think i am seeing some leakage near the edge? The video also show some white light return around the 16/17s mark. Is that just reflection of the light or leakage.
it is intense pink- but i get the feel that there is some purple in it or is that the obstruction from the camera lens
http://www.leibish.com/pink-diamond/017ct-fancy-intense-pink-radiant-vs2-77016-14730

The second:
This is a princess and i know about the corners being of concern... but i am only using this stone as an education on pinks. this is an intense purple pink and it has that darker colour that i see as well with the first one, hence my opinion of the first one of the darkness being equated to the purple tint in it.
the video of 30-31s where there is white, assuming at that angulation it doesnt matter.
http://www.leibish.com/pink-diamond/015ct-fancy-intense-purplish-pink-princess-vs1-102807-17143

 

[proto]

I looked a lot into pink diamonds before deciding that the size/colour I wanted was out of budget.

The first stone appears to have brown/orange hues, and I wouldnt consider that a classic fancy intense pink colour.

The second stone is a much nicer colour in my opinion, and purple pinks are discounted much less than purple/brown (although i realise the GIA report on the first stone doesnt mention any colour other than pink).

The white in the video is from glare

 

[chrono]

First one looks to have a touch of orange and although the faceting looks good, there seem to be quite a bit of obstruction (dark reflection). The princess cut is flat topped so it looks less sparkly than it should in the video. It also looks darker than the pink due to having a purple modifier.

I opted to own a non-Argyle FIPP because the colour was so much nicer than most Argyles Leibish had on their website. A bonus was that it was also priced more than 3x less than the Argyles too.

 

[pinkjewel]

Well, as you already know FCD's are cut for color which is sometimes not as optimal for light performance. So are you looking for a well cut Argyle pink diamond? Is that your goal? Is it for investment purposes or do you want to make a piece of jewelry. I don't think an optimally performing Argle pink diamond will increase in value any more than any other Argyle diamond as color is king. Buy the best color you can- as that is what will command the premium price. A couple of things I've noticed is that Leibish's prices on pink diamonds have skyrocketed recently. It would be interesting to know if that's due to supply and demand or because they are now charging closer to retail prices than they used to because we have given them so much business- but I'm veering away from your questions.

I have usually found that the pictures Leibish shows of the diamond in the box are the closest to what they look like in person , although I haven't purchased from them for about a year and their videos may have improved.

I'm also wondering why they only have a link to the GIA report and not the Argyle certificate as I'd be interested in seeing the Argyle color grades assigned to both diamonds. The first diamond you posted is quite deep, so faces up smaller than what I'd like. As the others have pointed out it looks like it is not the optimal pink shade although the color looks better in the video-which is one reason I'd be curious to see what color grade Argyle gave it. I like the second diamond color much better. As far as clarity- these days a VS2 or SI1 is very, very good!! Some of the tender diamonds last year were even I1s!!!! Just keep telling yourself color, color, color!!!!!

 

[gregchang35]

THanx Proto, Chrono, and pinkjewel.

Much appreciate your comments.
I am in the investment mode- really buying for my 2x daughters for a significant birthday/ event in the distant future- they are 3yo and 9 mos. So, am thinking getting something now is better than later.

What other sites have the argyle pinks?


i have tried here in perth, but they are out of budget. some are over 0.4ct....

 

[susiegrneyes]

Some other vendors to try:
RedDiam
Diamond Envy
Denir Diamonds
Amgad
James Allen
Blue Nile
Naturally Colored (formerly Peled)
Benma Diamonds

 

[kroshka]

I've also noticed that pinks have gone up in price, especially so for stones that have argyle paper. I think the trend and demand has gone up with a lot of newly educated and interested buyers entering the market for these stones. Like Chrono mentioned about pricing, this leads to another interesting question - would you rather pay more for that argyle paper all other factors about a stone being equal even though I know that is difficult to come by but for the purpose of trying to be as close to comparing apple to apples (i.e. gia color, cut, weight, clarity, and shape). It also seems like there is a preference and cache to have that argyle paper.

There is also seems to be a trend with regards to pinks getting re-cut to try to get a better color grade whether it be intense, vivid, or coveted red. I've noticed several stones that had argyle inscriptions, but you go to check the argyle certificate and you come to find that the carat weight does not match the GIA report, thus the stone has been recut. If a stone on Leibish does not have the argyle cert posted, it is easy enough to check from the argyle inscription number posted on the GIA report - take that number and go check here:http://www.argylepinkdiamonds.com.au/CertificateVerification/. I believe however, the argyle certificate check only applies to stones issued after January 1, 2009.

Another observation is that many a time the argyle color grading is quite different from GIA's, although fun and interesting to see how they differ from stone to stone.

In the first stone you posted, the video makes the stone look attractive with regards to color. The photos in this particular case may not do the stone justice? In the photos it does seem to have a touch of orange but then in the video that does not seem apparent and the color looks nice and bright. I agree with Pink Jewel that the photo of the stone in the box usually is quite representative and always helpful to see when comparing. It's nice that they post videos but sometimes they really make the stone look washed out instead, etc.

The second stone has a very pretty color - do you prefer a straight pink or one with purplish modifier?

You can add Langerman Diamonds to the list, although I have not purchased from them.

Kroshka