Thanks Pricescope!!!

[mr_sloppysam]

Hi all I''''m a long time lurker and finally decided to register and post. I just wanted to thank Pricescope and everyone on here for the information that''''s provided here!

Honestly I don''''t know how I would even begin to find a diamond without the help of everyone here.

I''''m really close to getting my engagement ring and you can be sure that I''''ll keep you all posted on my endeavor and my diamond buying experience as it took a interesting turn over the past month.

Sam

 

[Sparkalicious]

Hi Sam!

Welcome to PS!

Oh come on ... you can''t keep us hanging like that, can you?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/11/2008 12:58:31 AM
Author:mr_sloppysam
Hi all I''m a long time lurker and finally decided to register and post. I just wanted to thank Pricescope and everyone on here for the information that''s provided here!

Honestly I don''t know how I would even begin to find a diamond without the help of everyone here.

I''m really close to getting my engagement ring and you can be sure that I''ll keep you all posted on my endeavor and my diamond buying experience as it took a interesting turn over the past month.

Sam

Best of luck Sam, and let us know if we can help in anyway!

 

[Skippy123]

Thanks for popping in and saying hello; welcome!

 

[mr_sloppysam]

Ok, so here goes! My apologies in advance as this is a really long post...

As many newbies looking for an engagment ring, I started out at a B&M store, but I was really dissatisfied with the snooty service that I received from some of them, and also the high prices. So next stop online! I started out checking out Blue Nile since my brother and sister both got their engagement rings from BN, but as I looked around I was more curious about what other information I *should* be aware of when looking for a diamond, and low and behold I found Pricescope! I read all the articles and looked through countless threads, and I felt that I was finally ready. But more importantly I read peoples testimonials on various online vendors other than BN. So naturally, I decided to check them all out. I was amazed at the information some of the online vendors like James Allen, White Flash, GoG, Excel Diamonds provided. It was definitely more than BN, and the prices were very comparable as well. So after a month or so of looking through their inventory online, and getting familiarized with cuts and angles and plugging in diamonds on the HCA, I (hesitantly) ended up purchasing two stones. One from Whiteflash, and one from James Allen. Now I did buy both with the intention of only keeping one because honestly, I really wanted to compare the two and pick the nicer one out of the two. BTW, I did mention this to both the reps from JA and WF and they were very understanding.

Now this is where things got interesting... I was hearing how everyone was saying how sparkily WF diamonds where with their ACA, and let me say, I completely agree! Even though both JA and the WF diamond had a HCA under 1.7 the WF one (HCA 1) was by far out shined the JA diamond (HCA 1.5) (not that the JA diamond didn''t sparkle well ). But the only downside was that the stone was a little smaller than I wanted and after comparing them, the WF was a .810 G-VS2 and the JA was a 1.01 H-VS2, and I really wanted to get a stone closer to the magical 1 carat range...

So after I received them both I did go to a few independent appraisers around the bay area (I had their gemologist look on it on site instead of sending it in for an appraisal), and what was surprising to me was that most of them had said the JA diamond was actually a bad VS2 and it''s bordering the SI1 range due to where the inclusions where and the amount of black inclusions that were visible on the table... but they all said that the WF one was a winner... but I still wanted the larger diamond! So i came to reasoning, and then decided that I should return the WF one, because I was content on sacrificing a little sparkle for the larger diamond... WF was very understanding and was professional in the whole return process and I actually think I might go back to get some diamond studs or necklace in the future.

And just when I thought I was ready to settle on the JA diamond, I actually found The Diamond Broker in Los Altos. I went there to look at settings originally, but I had them look at the diamonds again (before returning the WF one), and sure enough, they said the same thing as the other appraisers, and they also said that if I would be willing, they could bring some equivalent diamonds in in the same spec for me to compare. I figured why not, it might be worth while, so I told them this was what i was looking for the specs diameter, proportions, angles etc etc, and Paul was really surprised at how much knowledge I had (This was all thanks to PS of course ). So after a couple of days, I received a phone call from Paul letting me know that the comparable diamonds were in and I did compare them side by side and I was shocked to see how much more sparkle their diamond had for the 1.01 H-VS2. I was then even more curious to see how the diamond ranked on the HCA, and this was the biggest shock. Their diamond, which to my eyes had much more scintillation, light return and fire, scored a 2.5 on the HCA!!! I would say it was on par with the WF''s diamond that I had just returned. It was clearly visible which one was the winner. And mind you during this whole time Paul did not say a word, and just let me do my own evaluation... He mentioned that if I was interested, he would price match that diamond for what I paid for the JA diamomnd, and at that point I was thinking, sure why not. For the same price I would have a comparable diamond on paper at least, but was a better performer... I told them I would hold off for now and would come back, and he was fine, but I also mentioned if he would have a diamond in the high .9 to 1 ct range, in the similar price, but in a VS2-VS1 range with G-F range. He said that he''ll check for me again, and give me a call. So after a few more days, he called me and said that he found some really nice ones and that I could come in to see for myself and compare with the 1.01 that I had seen earlier. And sure enough, he found me some .9 to .95 that ranged from VS1 to VS2 and from H to E.

I took a few hours to look at each diamond, and to make a long story short, I ended up picking out a .91 VS2-F that was alot cheaper than the JA diamond or their comparable diamond and I couldn''t be happier because it also shined equally as well as the WF ACA diamond. If i had the money i would have picked the VS1-E that they had (it performed just as well). It was a toss up between the VS2-F or the VS1-E, and ultimately cost won...

I really have to thank Pricescope, I was able to educate myself and find the right diamond. I also really really wanted to give my thanks and endorsements to the people at Whiteflash, and James Allen. They were great and spent a lot of time on me, in sending me the SARIN Reports and the Idealscope images as well. I''ll be buying from them in the future for necklaces and earrings for sure. And also props to the folks at the Diamond Brokers for taking the time to speak with me and working for me in this process.

From what I learned in this whole process, if you''re going to buy online,
1. Educate yourself prior to making your purchase
2. go with the PS recommended vendors, you can''t go wrong, esp with the service they provide and the testimonials people have about them
3. make sure you also get the vendors to send you the SARIN reports, IdealScope Images, or other reports they provide. Since you as an online buyer are not able to see the actual stone first, your safety net depends on the raw data and images they can give you.


Cheers,

Sam

Can''t wait for the engagement ring to arrive!

 

[evolve]

Thank you Sam for the detail information.

I do have a question, what independent appraisers did you go to in the bay area?

 

[mr_sloppysam]

Hi Evolve, I went to Diamonds of Palo Alto, and the Diamond & Jewlery Center (They''re in the same building as REI in San Francisco). They had their GIA gemologist on staff and evaluated the stone there.

 

[evolve]

Thank you Sam. I will look into your advice.