At this point, don’t know what I should be searching for under the microscope. Would love to see some suggestions from you and/or commentary. Also see that by expanding the carat search size to 1.01 opens it up to even more diamonds.

Appreciate your expertise. Thank you.

A: I’m very happy to help! As for these two suggestions, I don’t like the H SI2 since it only has an excellent grade from AGS – which is akin to a VG grade from GIA. I do like the I SI1 very much, though.

As for your budget, does that include the setting as well?

Q: Thanks for the reply.  I would like to spend total of 6k including the platinum setting, so right around 5k for the diamond. Ideally would like to stay under total of 6k, but could spend a little more if you think it makes a big difference from a diamond standpoint.

If you could send some links for me to evaulate that would be great. Also, does using your discount code get you proper sales credit?

Thank you

A: If you’ve clicked on any links from my site to JA, then I’d actually get credit even without you using the coupon. But the coupon does add a level of security just in case the tracking software doesn’t work for whatever reason. Anyway, here’s some suggestions for you:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1332376.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1338554.asp

Let me know what you think of those!

Q: You are the man. I went with the first and put the order in. Let me know where I can leave you feedback because you took the guess work out of this important purchase. Can’t say how much I appreciate your help on this. Thank you!

A: Hey! That’s great news! Congrats! Please stay in touch and let me know what you think when it arrives.

Thanks!

Q: I’ll let you know when I receive the ring. Thanks again for your help!

A:  Please do stay in touch. I would love to hear what you think when the ring arrives.

lovepromiseandring.com

For example, Jeff Jaffe of Harold Jaffe Jewelers in Toledo, Ohio, told JCK Magazine, “We don’t believe in any certificates – even from the better labs. If I agree with the diamond grading document, I’ll use it. But we usually go downward – not upward – when comparing our diamond evaluations to grading reports from a lab.”

Likewise, Craig Underwood of Underwood’s Fine Jewelers in Fayetteville, Arkansas, now presents customers with his own diamond reports since he felt there were too many inconsistencies in the reports he received from various gemological labs. He explains, “We’ll give the customer a lab-issued diamond grading report if the customer specifically asks for it, but that rarely happens. Most of the time the lab-issued grading report is filed in our archives and never shown to the customer. The only report the customer receives is our Underwood Diamond Report.”

More than just a response to inconsistencies in major lab reports, independent jewelers are also motivated by cutting costs – thus eliminating the third party evaluation. Retailers began their own reporting in the 1990s as a measure to gain quality control, but certainly the savings involved in this move were also an important factor.

Jaffe insists that his store now certifies fewer diamonds, that “it’s not about the paper; it’s about the diamond value for the dollar.”

And finally, local jewelers can create their own language of certification beyond the traditional four C’s of carat, color, cut, and clarity. Mike Fleck of Occasions Fine Jewelry in Midland, Texas, says, “We use terms such as face-up whiter, or a 90-point spread as big as a carat. Each parcel paper will have three to four Value Notes on it.”

But doesn’t all this creativity miss the point of streamlined evaluation that big labs and jewelers all over the world have been practicing for decades? How can we talk about the characteristics of a diamond without the four C’s – the standard shoptalk for any diamond dealer and consumer?

Indeed, Michael Fried, editor of TruthAboutDiamonds.com, is wary of in-house certifications for exactly this reason. He explains that we could understand if retailers wanted to conduct their own grading system in addition to the standard reports they receive from GIA or AGS, but to reject the traditional certification entirely seems like bad news for you, the diamond consumer.

How are you to compare a diamond you find in one store without this certification versus a diamond in another store with independent evaluation notes like “face-up whiter”? And an even more fundamental question: how are you to make an educated, objective decision about a diamond that is not 100% based on the retailer’s opinion and smooth talk?

As always, dear diamond customers, be careful and use us as your resource. We are happy to provide that reassurance or be the source of quality information that you need.

Source:

http://www.jckonline.com/2011/12/21/why-jewelers-are-doing-their-own-diamond-grading?utm_source=JCK+eNewsletters&utm_campaign=a1710510db-2011_01_14_Top_Story_Saturday1_13_2012&utm_medium=email

Originally I put this one on hold with JA a couple of days ago. It’s $4190.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1356786.asp

But THEN today I found this one for $3500 and it looks better to me?! The inclusion seems to blend in with the arrow – do you think it’d be visible?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1306905.asp

I’m looking for brilliant eye clean with value. I would MUCH rather but a S1 or S2 that is eye clean than a more expensive VS1 or VS2.

You suggested some .9s to me before but I waited too long and they’ve been snatched up. Would you mind throwing another one or two into the hat for me to consider?

I plan on purchasing this week, and of course will attribute the sale to you.

Thank you

A: It would be my pleasure! Here’s what I like:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1344749.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1353862.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1334233.asp

All look great. I think the H SI2 you linked to wouldn’t be eye clean.

Q: Thank you Ira! Out of those three, I think I like the 2nd one better but really have no basis for that. Do you have an opinion on your favorite of the three you linked below?

Can I run this one by you? Do you think that blue ‘arrow’ is going to stick out like a sore thumb in person?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1352980.asp

A: That stone you linked to is also very nice. The blue spot in the arrow is just a reflection of light. YOu would never see that in person. You basically just caught the sparkle in mid sparkle.

I think I actually prefer this one:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1344749.asp

because it seems like all the inclusions are around the edges.

Q: Okay, I’ve got a question about that one you like. It comes up when we search for “Ideal” cuts but if you open the GIA certificate for it, it is rated only as a ‘VG’ cut instead of ‘Excellent’.

Don’t I want to hold out for a ‘Excellent’?

It is $800 more than this one (that I showed you below), which has an Excellent rating.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1352980.asp

This is such a confusing process that I’m tempted to buy three diamonds from JA so I can see them in person, and then return 2 of them. I wonder if they’d be open to that.

A: I stand corrected. I apologize for that slip up. The stone I suggested looked from the picture like an EX cut – it must be very borderline. The stone you linked to just now is probably a better choice. It, too, looks to be eye clean.

Q: Thank you Ira! I am going to buy this one -and- another one for $800-1000 more to see if I can tell a difference in person. If not, it will be an easy decision and either way I will send one back. I will let you know what happens in the end!

I have been reading the heck out of your site these past couple of weeks so I hope that JA has the cookie it needs to attribute the sale to you!

Thank you very much for your help,

A: Sounds like a plan! Just don’t mistakenly swap the stones with each other!

Q: Thanks again for your help! I’m excited to see the difference between a $3000 .9 and a $4000 .9 to evaluate S1 versus S1 is worth the 25% premium.

All the best!

Click on image for enlarged view

Here are the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):

Shape: Round

Cut: Excellent

Carats: 0.80

Diamond Color: I

Diamond Clarity: SI1

Measurements:  5.90*5.96*3.70

Depth: 62.5%

Table: 57%

Diamond Polish: Excellent

Diamond Symmetry:  Excellent

Diamond Fluorescence: None

Diamond Price:$3,110

Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen

Click on diamond for enlarged view

Here are the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):

Shape: Princess

Carats: 0.86

Diamond Color: H

Diamond Clarity: VS1

Measurements:  5.15*5.08*3.77

Depth: 74.2%

Table: 72%

Diamond Polish: Very Good

Diamond Symmetry:  Very Good

Diamond Fluorescence: None

Diamond Price:$2,640

Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen

Here are the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):

Click here to view enlarged image of diamond.

Shape: Round

Cut: Excellent

Carats: 1.51

Diamond Color: I

Diamond Clarity: SI1

Measurements:  7.31*7.37*4.53

Depth: 61.7%

Table: 59%

Diamond Polish: Very Good

Diamond Symmetry:  Excellent

Diamond Fluorescence: None

Diamond Price:$11,100

Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen

Here are the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):

Click on image for enlarged view.

Shape: Round

Cut: Excellent

Carats: 0.63

Diamond Color: J

Diamond Clarity: VS2

Measurements:  5.48*5.51*3.41

Depth: 62.1%

Table: 56%

Diamond Polish: Excellent

Diamond Symmetry:  Excellent

Diamond Fluorescence: None

Diamond Price:$1,730

Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen

Click on image for enlarged view

Here are the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):

Shape: Round

Cut: Excellent

Carats: 1.02

Diamond Color: H

Diamond Clarity: SI2

Measurements: 6.45*6.48*4.00

Depth: 61.9%

Table: 59%

Diamond Polish: Excellent

Diamond Symmetry:  Excellent

Diamond Fluorescence: Faint

Diamond Price:$6,020

Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen

Click diamond for enlarged image.

Here are the Stats (Or Click Here for a Copy of the GIA Certificate):

Shape: Cushion

Carats: 1.28

Diamond Color: H

Diamond Clarity: VS2

Measurements: 6.35*5.97*4.10

Depth: 68.7%

Table: 57%

Diamond Polish: Very Good

Diamond Symmetry: Very Good

Diamond Fluorescence: None

Diamond Price:$6,360

Click here to be Brought to the Diamond on James Allen

I’m currently in Bahrain with the Navy and am planning on proposing to my girlfriend a few months after I get home (need to have the ring made). She likes a modern-looking ring and is particularly enamored with a platinum half-bezel solitaire setting (I don’t have the link to the site; will get it to you later).

I’ve heard stories of guys who have had diamonds they bought here appraised for significantly more than they paid for them. However, I only have a few more days here and don’t want to pull the trigger too fast just to have a diamond – I just want a beautiful stone that I’ll be glad I bought and that she will love.

I’d like to keep my budget around $6-8k for the stone and ring; more if I have to. My girlfriend hasn’t set any requirements for size or anything, which is nice, but I’m starting my search around 0.90ct and going up to 1.5ct or so. Based on the setting, a round brilliant makes the most sense to me, though a princess cut would be fine (though I’m nervous about there not being an organization that will classify princess cuts).

I’m torn right now because I did find an absolutely beautiful stone last night – a 0.9ct round brilliant, SI1 D GIA certified stone that was absolutely radiant compared to the other stones I saw. The dealer quoted me $3,600 or so for the stone alone, and I feel like I’m paying a lot for the perfect color (which will be relatively unnoticeable once the stone is set) that I could get back in a little more size for the same money.

Any guidance you could provide would be wonderful – thanks in advance.

A: Thanks for writing! I hope I’m able to help. If that dealer was showing you a 0.90ct round diamond for $3600, then that’s an unbeatable deal. It’s so good, in fact, that it makes me wonder if you’re being cheated. If it’s GIA certified with a dossier (small cert), then the girdle of the diamond should be inscribed with the cert number. You should check that to make sure it’s the same diamond on the cert.

Also make sure the cut is at least VG and it doesn’t have strong blue fluorescence.

Let me know what you discover!

Q: I’ll check the diamond tonight – is the laser engraving relatively easy to see on the girdle with 10x magnification? I looked at your loose diamond pricing tool last night as well and from everything I could see, it looked like I was getting the diamond about $700-1000 below comparable stones, which is hard to believe.

I had been planning on going back to buy it yesterday evening, but became engrossed in the rest of your articles. Assuming that the diamond is the one on the cert, I’m thinking that I’m paying a lot for the D color, which will end up being far less important, and could even get a larger stone for roughly the same money.

Again, I’m not part of the “bigger is always better” crowd, but my girlfriend is tall (6′) and wears a size 7 ring, so I don’t want to get her a diamond that’s going to look underwhelming on her. Thoughts?

Last – some of the stones I looked at seemed to positively explode with fire, and others seemed completely lackluster. Obviously the latter I’m staying away from, but what’s the difference with the others? Is it simply the cut is that much better?

Thanks again!

…….

So I returned to the store tonight and confirmed that indeed it is the diamond in question – the ID number on the stone matched the paperwork. However, I also determined that while the stone exhibits no fluorescence, it’s rated a fair cut, not VG like you recommended.

I just looked up the pricing for a similar stone on your website and included the additional fluorescence, polish (rated excellent) and symmetry (rated good), and only two stones were left in the category, one at $4,219 and one at $4,470. Obviously I’m not exactly comparing apples to apples since you don’t have a “Fair” cut option, but equally obvious is the fact that I’m not looking at as great a deal as I initially thought.

I’m probably talking well past my experience level, but the diamond in question is exceptionally brilliant, more so than any of the other stones I’ve looked at in the last few days. There are two conclusions I can draw from this. One possibility is that most of the other diamonds are pretty inferior stones as a whole, so this one simply shines in comparison (there are very few stores here that carry GIA certified diamonds – most are IGI and I’ve been less than impressed with most of them). The other option is that the cut was rated a little low due to it being borderline in some way, which I find hard to believe.

I only have a day left in town, so any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated. I also haven’t bargained with the proprietor much, and that’s pretty common here–what would be a truly fair price for the stone as it is right now? Of course, if you believe I’m barking up the entirely wrong tree, point me to the right one.

A: Now everything makes more sense. If it’s a “Fair” cut, then the price you were shown is really nothing special. THe reason is simply that a 0.90 with a fair cut is most likely a stone that is cut too deep, so even though it weighs 0.90cts, it’s going to look like a 0.70ct stone. You’d do much much better with your money just buying an ideal cut 0.70ct stone which will be the same size (in terms of diameter) and be much more brilliant. You should most definitely pass on this stone.

For example:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1308045.asp

This stone has an “excellent” cut from GIA, and I’m willing to bet that it’s got larger dimensions than the 0.90ct stone you’ve been shown.

Q: Glad I decided to pass before I got your email! You were pretty adamant on the cut quality being there in your email and articles, so I decided to take your word. I don’t have the dimensions of the stone I was looking at in front of me, but I think you’re right – the “excellent” stone from JA has larger dimensions…

Thanks for steering me the right way; I’ll be sure to touch base with you again when I get back to the States and have a chance to look at some more GIA diamonds in person. I’m continuing to read your articles and get smarter about this process for later on.

Thanks again!

A: My pleasure! Stay safe. And if you stop by israel on your way home, you’ve got a cold beer waiting for you!

Q: I’m back – have finally had a chance to look at what my girlfriend likes and have an idea of where to start at least. The ring she’s interested in is linked below:

http://www.turgeonraine.com/detail.asp?pid=1032

I hadn’t been looking at anything except round diamonds before so I’m trying to get a handle on this area. I’m also finding out the proportions of the CZ that’s in the linked picture; will advise when I have that info. She seemed to be picking things with approximately a 1.5 ratio. Right now I’m thinking 0.95-1.49 carats, VS2-SI2 clarity, F-H color. My budget is still $6-8k for the diamond. Any ideas you could give me would be excellent – I appreciate your help.

A: Looks like you got out of Bahrain just in time! What shape is she looking for? In the past we were discussing rounds, but now you said you’re looking for something with a 1.5 ratio.

Q: Ira, thanks for the quick reply! You’re right; I was just talking to my friends about how lucky we were to get out of Manama when we did…

My apologies on not mentioning the actual cut – she’s liking the look of an oval now. Any ideas? Thanks again!

A: Here are some I like:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-SI2-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1353366.asp – have JA inspect this one. If they say it’s eye clean, then this is a real winner. It’s borderline to me based on its picture.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1342819.asp – not quite as elongated, but still very nice.
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VS1-Premium-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1337284.asp – another beauty

Have a look at those and let me know what you think!

Q: Thanks for getting back to me so quickly as usual. I’ve got an email in to JA to inspect the first diamond for eye cleanliness; I agree, the quality of the picture isn’t as good and I wonder how much it will really “pop” and scintillate based on that picture.

I had seen the second one but wondered a little about the lower color grade (we’re debating 18k white gold or platinum; my girlfriend is leaning more towards the white gold now) and the inclusions on the right side of the picture. The facet pattern seemed a little odd to me on this one as well, somehow; the clouds of reflections on the sides of the diamond seemed a little off-putting, but what do I know?

We both really like the last one you picked; I think that’s a winner. We’ll talk about it some more and I will definitely let you know how it all turns out. Thanks again for all your expertise and help – you’re truly one of a kind.

A: My pleasure! I look forward to hearing from you!