Questions on Oval Diamonds

[amazinglywonderful]

Hi All,

My boyfriend and I are in the ring talking stage (

), and I need to figure out what’s possible for us diamond-wise.

My dream diamond is:

Oval
Around 1ct
Warmer – the I-M range
Eye clean – VS2 to SI2 (what is mind clean vs. eye clean?)

I would prefer a shallower stone so that the ct weight isn’t lost there but is reflected in how large the diamond looks in the setting.

How shallow can you go without jeopardizing the light refraction?

I have been unable to find anything like this for sale anywhere, so not only do I have no idea on price, but I figure I will have to request someone to specifically search for it.

But before that, I would like an idea of what I want would cost, so that I don’t send someone on a wild goose chase and then find out I can’t afford it.

Thank you all for any help, ideas, pointers, and advise you can give me! I’ve been lurking here for a few weeks and have already increased my diamond knowledge ten-fold. (Though in truth, I started with nothing.)

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/18/2008 8:54:54 AM
Author:amazinglywonderful




Hi All,

My boyfriend and I are in the ring talking stage (

), and I need to figure out what’s possible for us diamond-wise.

My dream diamond is:

Oval
Around 1ct
Warmer – the I-M range
Eye clean – VS2 to SI2 (what is mind clean vs. eye clean?)

I would prefer a shallower stone so that the ct weight isn’t lost there but is reflected in how large the diamond looks in the setting.

How shallow can you go without jeopardizing the light refraction?

I have been unable to find anything like this for sale anywhere, so not only do I have no idea on price, but I figure I will have to request someone to specifically search for it.

But before that, I would like an idea of what I want would cost, so that I don’t send someone on a wild goose chase and then find out I can’t afford it.

Thank you all for any help, ideas, pointers, and advise you can give me! I’ve been lurking here for a few weeks and have already increased my diamond knowledge ten-fold. (Though in truth, I started with nothing.)

I just had a quick look, ovals of I colour and SI2 clarity are around 2500 USD with a GIA report as an example. What I would suggest is to work with a vendor who has in house diamonds, ovals can't be picked from the numbers so much, you really need detailed pics and images such as ASET.

A shallow spready stone which looks large for the weight isn't always a good thing, you could end up with a flat diamond which doesn't perform as well as it could. A well cut diamond will have a good spread as a natural side effect of a good cut, so that will take care of itself pretty much - plus ovals look large for the weight anyway.

Also you need to consider the shape you want your oval to be, some are short fat and roundish, others longer and thinner and some inbetween.

Here is a chart you can use as a guide, but don't get too hung up on the numbers otherwise you could miss out on some great diamonds.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc3.asp

I would check out these vendors firstly.

www.goodoldgold.com

www.engagementringsdirect.com

www.jamesallen.com

See what these guys can find for you as they may be able to source you a stone if you contact them.

 

[MustangGal]

Mondera carries lower color diamonds, so I pulled a search just to get an idea of prices. I have no idea if this is cut well, but it''s 1.27ct M, VS1 for $1900.
http://www.mondera.com/Diamond/diamondproduct.aspx?partno=612186

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/18/2008 9:42:07 AM
Author: MustangGal
Mondera carries lower color diamonds, so I pulled a search just to get an idea of prices. I have no idea if this is cut well, but it''s 1.27ct M, VS1 for $1900.
http://www.mondera.com/Diamond/diamondproduct.aspx?partno=612186

I wonder if they do pics...That one could be definitely worth looking into if they would provide a photo.

 

[amazinglywonderful]

Thank you so much Lorelei!

I am looking at the links you provided as we speak!

Special thanks for the insight on shallow stones, I''ll stick to looking for good cut.

I think I like the roundish ones more.

 

[amazinglywonderful]

Thank you so much MustangGal!

I had never been to mondera before, that stone sounds wonderful.

Have you had any experience with purchasing from mondera?

 

[amazinglywonderful]

Date: 12/18/2008 9:43:50 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/18/2008 9:42:07 AM
Author: MustangGal
Mondera carries lower color diamonds, so I pulled a search just to get an idea of prices. I have no idea if this is cut well, but it''s 1.27ct M, VS1 for $1900.
http://www.mondera.com/Diamond/diamondproduct.aspx?partno=612186

I wonder if they do pics...That one could be definitely worth looking into if they would provide a photo.

I just emailed them asking for pics/ ideal-scope images. Thanks for pointing me in that direction!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/18/2008 10:31:38 AM
Author: amazinglywonderful

Date: 12/18/2008 9:43:50 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/18/2008 9:42:07 AM
Author: MustangGal
Mondera carries lower color diamonds, so I pulled a search just to get an idea of prices. I have no idea if this is cut well, but it''s 1.27ct M, VS1 for $1900.
http://www.mondera.com/Diamond/diamondproduct.aspx?partno=612186

I wonder if they do pics...That one could be definitely worth looking into if they would provide a photo.

I just emailed them asking for pics/ ideal-scope images. Thanks for pointing me in that direction!

You are most welcome, if they can provide pics of the diamond Mustang linked, then that would be very useful. Ask them if they can provide ASET images which are the best for fancy shapes.

 

[amazinglywonderful]

Date: 12/18/2008 10:42:06 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/18/2008 10:31:38 AM
Author: amazinglywonderful

Date: 12/18/2008 9:43:50 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/18/2008 9:42:07 AM
Author: MustangGal
Mondera carries lower color diamonds, so I pulled a search just to get an idea of prices. I have no idea if this is cut well, but it''s 1.27ct M, VS1 for $1900.
http://www.mondera.com/Diamond/diamondproduct.aspx?partno=612186

I wonder if they do pics...That one could be definitely worth looking into if they would provide a photo.

I just emailed them asking for pics/ ideal-scope images. Thanks for pointing me in that direction!

You are most welcome, if they can provide pics of the diamond Mustang linked, then that would be very useful. Ask them if they can provide ASET images which are the best for fancy shapes.

Lorelei,

I just got a reply back and they don''t provide images. They said "The best representation of the loose diamonds are the certificate scans."

Does that mean I should not work with this site?

Thasnk for all our help!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/18/2008 10:49:47 AM
Author: amazinglywonderful

Date: 12/18/2008 10:42:06 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/18/2008 10:31:38 AM
Author: amazinglywonderful

Date: 12/18/2008 9:43:50 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 12/18/2008 9:42:07 AM
Author: MustangGal
Mondera carries lower color diamonds, so I pulled a search just to get an idea of prices. I have no idea if this is cut well, but it's 1.27ct M, VS1 for $1900.
http://www.mondera.com/Diamond/diamondproduct.aspx?partno=612186

I wonder if they do pics...That one could be definitely worth looking into if they would provide a photo.

I just emailed them asking for pics/ ideal-scope images. Thanks for pointing me in that direction!

You are most welcome, if they can provide pics of the diamond Mustang linked, then that would be very useful. Ask them if they can provide ASET images which are the best for fancy shapes.

Lorelei,

I just got a reply back and they don't provide images. They said 'The best representation of the loose diamonds are the certificate scans.'

Does that mean I should not work with this site?

Thasnk for all our help!

You are most welcome!

Well I personally would not buy a fancy shape diamond without at least photos of the diamond, as otherwise you are buying blind in my opinion. And I strongly disagree that the best representation is the scan of the report, that tells you nothing about how well a diamond is cut and without a good cut you won't have a pretty stone.

Maybe they might be amenable to providing a photograph of the stone at least?

If not then try one of the vendors listed above who could source you some ovals, they might be able to find you something from the virtual listings like this diamond and bring it in for evaluation. Then you can get photos that way, so you can see what you are buying. Ovals and other fancy shapes are tricky as there can be so much variance in cut quality and how they look for shape etc.

I also don't know if this would fit the budget and your other requirements, but this diamond popped up and I am assuming it is an in house stone, you could inquire about this one? Excel might be able to send you a photo of the diamond, it is worth asking.

http://www.exceldiamonds.com/Loose_Oval_Cut_Diamond/Loose_Oval_Cut_0.98_Carat_G_Color_SI1_Clarity_diamond-232959.html

 

[MustangGal]

I''ve never purchased from Mondera, I''ve just used their search tool before and remembered that it went much lower in color than most other vendors. I would think that some of the network vendors could access that M or other stones that come up on the Mondera search, since I think they''re all "virtual" stones I believe.

 

[MustangGal]

Opps, double post, sorry!