4 replies to this topic

[bggarric]

Hello everyone,
I've been lurking off and on for quite sometime now, and just wanted to start by saying I'm very impressed with the community and all the help that you are all willing to give.

I'm hoping to take advantage of your generosity tonight!


A quick synopsis of my diamond hunt thus far:

My soon to be fiance really likes cushion cuts (which I was ecstatic to hear anything but a round since they are soooo expensive). I have been to 3 different places (2 single location local jewelers, 1 local diamond/jewelry wholesaler). I have been diamond shopping at 2 of the locations before with a friend when he was diamond shopping (he eventually bought from the wholesaler from whom he got a pretty great deal).

On to the stones. I started my search only considering GIA. I had done a lot of reading and while I understand that I will ultimately never look at (nor will my fiance ever) the certificate again, it gave me a peace of mind to know that my diamond that I spent so much money on would be graded accurately and would be what I was told that it was.

My price range for the actual stone is in the 5000-5500 range and I was looking for a stone with 120 to 130 points. I have seen the following stones:

GIA:

1) VSI, I, larger tabled cushion cut
2) SI2, F
3) VS2, H

Diamonds 1, 2, and 3 were all between 120 and 125 (sorry I didn't write it down), and all fell within a few hundred dollars of each other between $5K and 5.5K.

Of the 3 I liked the F stone the most (couldn't really tell you why, though. Just did)

Next I saw:

4) GIA, 1.20 carat, G, SI2 (really liked this one)
5) GIA, 1.20, H, SI1 (will see tomorrow)

both of these were about 5400

Now what I'm really struggling with: I saw another stone yesterday that I liked the most out of any I have seen thus far (I'm starting to go crazy and really would like to settle on a stone soon!).

The stone:

DIamond #6:

EGL-USA, VS1, H, 1.23 carats - price $5400

Here are my problems with this stone:

#1) EGL-USA cert - I just am reluctant to feel good about this. Even if I say this would be a VS2/SI1, I GIA stone, it makes me a little nervous. (an I color doesn't really bother me. When stones 1, 2, and 3 were next to each other I could not tell a difference in color).

#2) Price - After looking at stones with similar specs and size that were GIA certified in the same price range, it makes me wonder if this EGL stone is overpriced even with these specs? I also went to JamesAllen and BlueNile last night and looked up stones with the exact same or very similar specs and were EGL certified. The most expensive of the 15 or so that came up was $4800 with the lowest being about $3500. I realize the price will be more expensive in a B&M store due to seeing more diamonds, overhead, staff, extras included in purchase etc, but this seems like an excessive markup. Any thoughts?

As far as other specifications for all of the diamonds, I don't have any more specifics other than to tell you they were all what I was looking for as far as dimensions and there were none that I hated. However Diamond #6 has bee my favorite.

I'm very sorry for the such a long exhaustive post. I just want to make sure I am getting a fair quote on diamond #6. All of the others have come up with very comparable results online and in other stores for similar diamonds, however when searching for similar diamonds to #6, they were all much cheaper (which would be great if this one was priced similarly, because I thought it looked stunning. I have been told EGL-USA is one of the more strict EGL labs?).

Thanks for any comments or advice. I will ultimately be making a decision tomorrow after having seen all of the diamonds and hearing your advice!


Thanks so much!

Edited by bggarric, 13 December 2011 - 04:30 PM.

[AN0NYM0US]

1) Are you able to view the EGL "I" with the GIA "I" for comparison sake? It would be almost impossible to recall accurately from memory what the previous diamonds color looked like compared to the present. VS1 in this size SHOULD be absolutely eyeclean with no visible inclusions. Really scrutinize and check the plot and verify the inclusions under a loupe. Would you feel comfortable paying $5400 for a GIA SI1 J ?

2) Is it overpriced? Compared to what? Even comparing EGL to EGL is going to be difficult considering the inconsistencies that often occur during their grading. You would have to physically look at the diamonds to decide if they should even be compared. This is also true with the better labs ie GIA, AGS, etc...but with the better labs it is usually cut that is the biggest concern, not whether this "H" is really an "H" or is this clarity grade correct. This alone would steer me away from looking at EGL graded diamonds. I wouldn't want to waste so much time having to compare those diamonds just to see if they are in the same ballpark. This isn't American Idol, we don't need weeks of auditions.

To be honest that mark up doesn't sound extraordinary, but again you can't really tell if the James Allen stone is better, worse or the same as the one offered by the B&M.

And yes, it is often said that EGL-USA is the better of the EGL family. Is that acceptable? I guess it's really up to you what level of inconsistency is acceptable to you.

The prices of the GIA and EGL stones you posted are virtually the same, why not stick with the GIA graded ones. Or if you really have your heart set on the EGL have it sent to GIA for grading. It'll take a few weeks, but you'll "know" what you have.

TL;DR stick with GIA graded diamonds.

[denverappraiser]

I'm a big fan of buying what you like best even if it is a little bit higher priced. The trick, as Annonymous points out is making sure you are being fair in your cmparisons. Lighting can make a big difference but also things as subtle as what you had for breakfast and how you're getting along with your kids at the moment can play a role. You might want to go back and look at that SI2/F at the other store and see if you can figure out why it was your favorite from that bunch. Then go back immediately and look at your 1.23 and see if it has those same attributes.

You may be able to print out a few of the ads from JA and use those as a bludgeon to beat up the jeweler on price for a few hundred dollars but no, I don't think their price sounds unreasonable unless there's a serious grading problem (and there may be serious problems with the JA stones too by the way. That's the problem with using EGL's as comps). Before you get into fighting about the price, decide if it's the one you want. The right price on the wrong thing is no bargain.

Edited by denverappraiser, 14 December 2011 - 09:03 AM.

[DiamondAnalyzer]

Certainly no need to apologize as this is obviously a very important purchase for you and you want to be thorough. To answer your long question with a short answer, I too was very recently in the market for a Cushion diamond and a budget that was similar as well. Using your specifications (Cushion, $5,000 -$5,500) I found a diamond that I actually looked at myself. Check it out, it is from James Allen, and I couldn't be happier with the diamond I ultimately purchased from there myself. Shape
Cushion Carat
0.90 Color
D
Cut
Ideal Clarity
VVS2 Certificate
GIA
Depth
69.0% Table
64.0% Polish
Very Good Symmetry
Very Good Fluorescence
None Measurements
5.79*5.03*3.47 Ratio
1.15
[url]http://diamondhelpcenter.com/diamonds/Cushion-0.90-Ideal-D-1175429[/url]

[davidelevi]

Just one word of warning: the word "Ideal" as a cut grade on a cushion cut diamond is the seller's evaluation. As such, do ask them what they mean, how it compares to other grades, and why they awarded that grade to that particular stone... you may be surprised at the answers (or lack thereof).