Should I upgrade my 2.79 CBI?

[cflutist]

Better yet, jump on a plane and go see @Wink and all those gorgeous CBI’s! IMO, the purchase size justifies the ticket expense. Plus you get a small get away out of the deal.

My wife loves to travel so would already have the tickets booked.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic started we have been hesitant to fly anywhere. We made 3 trips to Arizona but drove for 13 hours from the SF Bay Area. I think driving to Boise ID is even a longer trip. We do know that @Wink is vaccinated because I saw a FB post where he cheated and waited only 1 week after his 2nd vax before taking his lovely wife Resa to Ruth Chris Steakhouse for date night, lol

 

[Dancing Fire]

Since the Covid-19 pandemic started we have been hesitant to fly anywhere. We made 3 trips to Arizona but drove for 13 hours from the SF Bay Area. I think driving to Boise ID is even a longer trip.

Or you can ask Wink to pick you up in his private jet.

 

[cflutist]

Well, after having a long discussion with hubby Websailor, he thinks that I should wait and order a 10mm Cut To Order CBI after we finish building our house in AZ. He thinks that we should conserve cash to pay for this new house. After we move, I can sell my house (paid off 12 years ago) in the SF Bay Area. Besides the sales tax is less in AZ than it is in CA. My life has been really stressful and I just wanted to treat myself to something nice.

The 2.79 F-VS1 is special in that it was graded on a milestone wedding anniversary.

Thanks for all of your advice.

 

[Bonfire]

That sounds like a very pragmatic course to take.
Enjoy your new home when it’s finished!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Well, after having a long discussion with hubby Websailor, he thinks that I should wait and order a 10mm Cut To Order CBI after we finish building our house in AZ.

The 2.79 F-VS1 is special in that it was graded on a milestone wedding anniversary.

Thanks for all of your advice.

A house is more important than diamond??

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

Your new diamond will be worth the wait. Congratulations on your new home.

 

[MamaBear]

Sounds like a solid and wise plan. I’m sure it will be worth your patience!

 

[cflutist]

Yeah, leave it to hubby to be analytical while I was emotional (would have still been nice to enjoy a 3+ ct it in the meantime).

Here is what we have been working on with the architect for the last 10 months (way longer than the original projection of 6 months to get a building permit) ... A story for another day, aggggh. My current house is 3250 sq ft, this one will be 4956 sq ft with one less bedroom.

 

[cflutist]

Conceptual landscape plan.

 

[Sprinkles&Stones]

Conceptual landscape plan.

That will be huge and beautiful, congrats! Although it stinks to wait, I think your plan is a good one. You can sit by the pool in your new beautiful house and admire your 3ct diamond together. Although it’s stinky to wait

 

[sledge]

Love the house and pool! I don't make this offer for just anyone, but if you need me to house sit and pull security on your precious CBI's then I'm available.

Seriously. Super nice digs in AZ. While it may be painful to wait for 10mm, I think you are doing it right.

I custom built a house that was somewhat similar to your general layout but with a very different exterior facade -- modern isn't huge here .

I'm going to make a few comments and hope they are taken in the positive manner in which they are meant. Some of this may be non-issue, as the clarity wasn't too good and I couldn't read the dimensions.

1. You probably have an electrical set of plans, so I didn't mark these up, but you may want to double check that you have some floor outlets in that living room space. In my scenario I took for granted the builder would include them, and came to visit the site the evening before the concrete pour and spent time laying out and roughing them in just barely in time. Fast forward to living in the house, and I was SO thankful I caught that detail.

2. My house had the master on the left and the spare bedrooms on the right. That entire wall between the kitchen and master I put in extra insulation for sound barrier. In your case, you have guest/kid rooms on the left side. For the small expense, I would still insulate for sound barrier. Also, I showed it extended on that side to provide some barrier between the two different rooms, using the bathroom as a separation point. On the other side of the house I did a similar thing for the master areas. Depending if the office is for true work and the sensitivity of information being discussed, you may want to do that entire room as well.

3. Your kitchen is much nicer & bigger than the one I designed. However, living with it, I ran into a few issues. The sink, dishwasher and stove layout is nearly identical and when doors were open/down it was a mess getting through the area. Again, I couldn't see well enough, so you may have wall ovens and that would help the situation considerably. If you don't, it may be a consideration. Also, from having family gatherings, etc in my home, I would suggest making that space as wide as possible for at least 2-3 people to fit there.

You may run into frustration if the pantry door is open and/or whatever device is there on the end (assuming it too has a door that opens). Hence why I drew the unhappy face.

Lastly, back over towards the end, it looks like you may have a refrigerator in that space. If so, that is where I ran into problems. It was a real bear to get it installed and every single time I opened the door, I had to be positioned properly or I blocked myself out of the fridge and definitely blocked others out of that passage way.

4. Your call on the master closet & master bath areas but I made a few suggestions you may or may not like. Around here, newer homes have the master closet access from the master bath. Separated entries are less desired and are considered "dated" for this region. So I showed one possible alternate.

Also, while it sounds funny, I've had private toilet rooms in the past and came to like them. The house we are in now doesn't have that privacy and both the wife and I hate it. Definitely personal preference, but it seems easy enough to angle the entry and add a door if you wanted.

And I am not sure if either of you are shower people, but me and my wife are and especially myself. I would do a glass wall that extends to the tub and terminate on the tub surround. Install a seat in that area. Do some custom tile work. Install multiple heads so the wife could join me, along with rainfall shower heads, wall jets, etc. I've had the new style of "doorless" showers and hate them. Too breezy, lol. My preference is glass to the ceiling, sealed off and installing steam jets in the shower area. The wife and I stayed at a modern sky cabin that had such a shower and I spent an hour in there. It had some iPad looking device that was the brain of it all and it worked like a champ! I never felt so relaxed in my life. In this region, things like this help improve home values considerably. I've not lived in CA or AZ so I can't comment on the preferences there.

5. Ask your builder/plumber if putting the plumbing on those exterior walls are going to be an issue. It's obviously much warmer in AZ so I don't anticipate freezing issues, but that is kind of a no-no where I last built because access isn't stellar either.

6. If I was going to splurge a bit, I would consider adding a small outdoor kitchen and bar area around the pool area. But I love to smoke & grill. Obviously YMMV.

7. As a guy, I like the kitchen height bathroom counters. The house we are in now has a split setup so wife's side is lower than mine. Which theoretically works, but we use each other's space and I grumble (to myself) each time I use her sink because it sits so low.

Again, super cool house. I hope you share some progress and finished photos of your project in paradise!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Beautiful house!. The next PS GTG will be at CF/Websailor's new house!

 

[John Pollard]

@John Pollard why does GCAL grade clarity it at VS1 while GIA and AGS have it at VVS2? In the past I thought that GIA was supposed to be most strict?

@cflutist , I'm coming to answer this after looking at some specifics for you.

I know you already know color and clarity grading occur on a sliding scale and remain somewhat subjective, so the occasional +/- 1 grade deviation is generally accepted among professionals.

https://www.pricescope.com/education/diamond-certification#deviation

Practically speaking - while this is logical from an analytic standpoint - even a one grade variance impacts valuation. For this reason it’s important for a buyer and a seller to mutually agree on what lab will produce the document of authority, prior to sale.

Regarding strictness: In the big picture many industry pros - especially those long in the tooth - feel clarity grading standards have softened somewhat over time. GCAL has only one location and maintains pretty tight control of their standards.

That may not be what's in play here, however. There's also a difference in approach which may be interesting to know. Traditional clarity grading involves microscopy using darkfield and reflective lighting to set the overall grade and determine what inclusions to plot.

GCAL has replaced hand-drawn plots with high resolution imaging. When you cross-reference the GIA and AGS plots to the GCAL images you can almost 'see' the graders at work.



GIA Comments: Additional pinpoints not shown. Clouds are not shown.

^ The GIA graders plotted a cluster of 4 pinpoints low in the table and 1 pinpoint high in the table - so pinpoint was considered the grade setting inclusion. They noted the additional pinpoints and cloud/s in the comments as 'not shown' which means they were seen, but considered a non-factor.



AGS Comments: Additional pinpoints not shown

^ The AGS graders considered the table pinpoint cluster a cloud, and the grade setting inclusion, and plotted 4 pinpoints in the pavilion. The comments also noted additional pinpoints as 'not shown' - thus a non-factor.



GCAL Clarity characteristics and locations: Clouds in Table. Pinpoints in Table, Upper Girdle, Bezel.

^ The GCAL graders saw the pinpoint cluster in the table as a cloud, and the grade setter, the same way AGS did. Seen in their various images and video, I would agree to its classification as a cloud, rather than individual pinpoints. The pinpoints they note in table, upper girdle and bezel correlate to what GIA and AGS plotted - and noted as not shown.

On the whole it's extremely consistent analysis and documentation between three different grading teams.

Bear in mind that the difference between VVS2 and VS1 is very small. I would wager that the location and relief (visibility) of the pinpoint cluster, aka cloud, is what tipped GCAL's graders to VS1, rather than VVS2.

 

[cflutist]

@John Pollard thank you for your thorough answer. Fascinating information.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Cheryl, that sounds like an excellent plan regarding the diamond! Your new home plans look absolutely beautiful, too! My current home is similar in size to your current one, but I am hoping to downsize for our final move!

 

[cflutist]

@sledge
Thanks for the comments.

Yes, we have multiple in-floor electrical outlets specified for the Great Rm, Family Rm, and the Master Bedroom. The AV guy will wire the house for ethernet, phone, cable, and sound.

The architect originally had the walk-in closet accessed via the Master Bathroom. We wanted to access the closet directly as there are many times we don't need to use the MBA when we want something from the closet.

No Professional Range for us, we are too old to bend down to get a roast out of a lower oven. Getting double 30-in wall ovens instead. The 48-in 6-burner gas rangetop is away from the ovens so it won't get so congested.

Would have preferred to swap the freezer and refrigerator columns with a 4-ft wide tall cabinet for a better work triangle, but the overhead cabinet doors would have looked like a city skyline.

We have gas at our outdoor firepit and can add an outdoor BBQ at a later date. Besides we like our Weber Summit BBQ.

The architect originally had the toilet in a separate room but my hubby wanted the door removed and the wall lowered so he wouldn't be so claustrophobic.