|
| |
|
|
| From www.diamondtalk.com 4-29-30 |
 |
http://www.diamondtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52432
Thumbs up for SUPERBcert
I meant to post this testimonial over 2 months ago, but things went a little crazy after I proposed. But here goes: After spending a few weeks doing internet research, going to jewelry stores, and lurking on diamond forums, I had the ring narrowed down to a few styles that I knew my girlfriend (now fiancee) would like. I ended up getting a gorgeous Verragio platinum setting with side stones (round, G-H, VS2-SI1, 0.36 ct combined) from Mervis Diamond Importers at Tysons Corner in Northern Virginia (DC metro area).
About Mervis: they were recommended to me by 2 friends who had bought engagement rings there, but I have a mixed review. On the one hand, their prices were fantastic for the settings. I had priced the same designer rings online and in other local jewelry stores, and Mervis was 20% cheaper than anybody else. There's a catch, though. When it got to the point where it was time to pick out a diamond, the sales woman (who shall remain nameless) brought out 3 for me to look at. They were all "ideal" cuts based on table and depth percentages, but they were EGL certs, and they even looked a bit yellow to my untrained eye. They were supposed to be H color. When I questioned her about EGL certs, she was dismissive of everything I had read on diamondtalk and elsewhere, saying that only the NY diamond dealers push GIA, and that's because they can walk across the street and get them certed easily. Okay, I thought, she's entitled to her opinion, and I let it drop. I left the store with the setting, and told her I'd come back when I was ready to buy the stone. I did a little more research on what she showed me, and they were asking about a third more than online diamond dealers. No thanks, I was done with Mervis.
One other place worth mentioning in the same area was Khoury Brothers at Tysons (and Crystal City). I don't know what to think about these guys, but I would recommend that you stay away. They tried to charge me nearly twice as much for the exact same settings, and tried very hard to scare me about the quality of platinum that other jewelers peddle...even though the settings came from the same designer. I did a lot of searching, and I couldn't find anything to substantiate their comments, and other jewelers looked at me like I was crazy when I asked them about the "problems" that Khoury Bros said I had to watch out for. I still left them my phone number and filled out a request for information on engagement rings from a certain designer, but they never even bothered to call me back, probably because I wouldn't go over $5000. Well, I put the same ring with a better diamond together for a few hundred less than that, so it's their loss.
On to the diamond hunt: I started looking for an H, SI1 in the 75-85pt range - anything larger was too expensive for me on my graduate student stipend, and too large for my fiancee's small hand. Whiteflash was very helpful, but I was looking for ideal cut diamonds, and they kept getting bought up before I could take a look at them. I was trying to purchase a couple weeks before Valentine's Day, so maybe that was the problem. The people at DirtCheap were also helpful over the phone, but after some more searching, I decided to take a look at Superbcert. I hadn't even considered looking at a hearts and arrows diamond, mainly because I didn't think they were worth the premium, and I doubted that it would make any difference once mounted. But what really drew me to Barry's site was all the information he had about each stone.
I was able to look over detailed information, including a Gemex report, a Megascope report, the GIA cert, and photographs before inquiring about a diamond. He happened to have one that was exactly what I was looking for at what seemed like a very low price.
So I contacted Barry about having the stone shipped to an appraiser before I bought it. There are only 2 appraisers in the Washington, DC area. One of them lives in DC itself, and one is at Tysons Corner, Virginia a couple miles from Mervis. I had a lot of trouble with the appraiser in DC, who was very bad at communicating with me and Barry, and who was downright rude over the phone. I didn't feel comfortable, so after 3 days of back and forth with that person and Barry, I asked if he would send it to the more expensive appraiser at Tysons. The appraiser's name is Martin Fuller, and if you do a search on diamondtalk, you'll see other posts about how great he is.
My experience with Martin, his wife, his associate Gary, and his assistant Alison was just fantastic. I visited their offices a total of 3 times, and they went over everything with me in great detail. The first time, Martin spent an hour with me and the diamond. He thought the stone was stunning, especially impressed with the frosted girdle, and he said a fair market price was 29% more than what Barry was asking - his jaw hit the floor when I told him what the asking price was. Even without factoring in the Superbcert diamond kit (loupe, ideal scope, polishing cloth, tweezers, reference zirconiums.
Martin figured that the profit could not have been much more than $100. Needless to say, I wired the money the next morning, Martin released the diamond to me a couple days later, and I had it set at Quest.
Let me just emphasize that I had several conversations with Barry and his son, and they were wonderful to talk to, and very patient when we were having trouble with the first appraiser I contacted. I got a gorgeous hearts and arrows diamond at a non-hearts and arrows price, and 3 months later, the diamond still shocks me with its brilliance. I highly recommend SuperbCert and Martin Fuller.
Cheers, Oneover137
Url of Jeweler: http://www.superbcert.com
Lab: GIA
Shape: Round
Carat: 0.77
Color: H
Clarity: SI1
Price: $2745
Measurements: 5.93 - 5.98 x 3.62
Depth: 60.8
Table Percent: 55.7
Crown Height: 14.7 (14.4-14.9)
Crown Angle: 34.2 (33.8-34.4)
Pavillion: 43.2 (43.0-43.5)
Pavillion Angle: 40.9 (40.8-41.2)
Girdle: Thin -Medium, 1.4 (1.2-1.7)%
Culet: None,
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None
The preceding form was filled out on our Ask DT page. |
|
| - |
|
|
