Q&A: GIA Certified Asscher Cut Diamond: Is it worth it?

The attached file is a scan of the plastic card that I received a couple of days ago. I purchased the diamond from Samuels Diamonds here in Austin, TX.

gemstone certification

Well, that’s not encouraging. What she really liked about the stone is the cut and the way it set in the halo setting. She liked the setting because of the way it complimented the cut of the diamond.

She and I are prudent in our investing and with our money; however, I want to have something she is proud of and will enjoy wearing.

Originally in my mind I wanted to spend between $4000-$8000. Being at $11,000 is higher than what I planned but based on your website and your connections it sounds like you may be able to find me an asscher cut diamond around the same size (more or less) for a better price. What do you think?

Thank you for your quick response and for your time. The diamond looks perfect. It meets all of your criteria but one (the depth is 1% over) but for the price it’s amazing. Looks like a very reputable company as well, plus I get a GIA certification which is very helpful. I can’t think of any reason why not to buy it; I know she will love it and it saves me almost $4000.00 over what I’ve currently have on 30 day review.

You must be a bit of a mind reader; the split band setting is almost identical to one we were looking at over at Helzberg Diamond except that the stone was one of their trademark princess cut diamonds with the corners cut off to make it have “the maximum brilliance”. She likes the split band but we decided against it because we could not figure out how to fuse a wedding band to it and get it up under the halo. The band is an absolute “must have” for her, and even by creating a custom band and fusing it on she felt it detracted from the ring and that it looked “lopsided”. Also, my soon to be fiancé has small hands and fingers and she thought that the split band with the wedding band fused on the side looked too wide on her finger.

The setting at Samuels is a single band with diamonds on both sides of the ring (similar to the one in the picture but they didn’t go down quite as far). It has a halo very similar to the picture of the one you sent me except it may be a little wider (maybe it has another square track of diamonds?). However, the one in the picture you sent me is nice and I don’t think would be a deal killer for her. The main reason she went with the single band is so a notch could be cut along the back side of the halo and the thin wire on top of the wedding band could be slid up inside of it to hold it in place thereby making the wedding band sit perfectly flush against the single band of the ring. Do you know if they have one that is closer to the one I have described?

I am already getting very excited about the possibility of getting my fiancée exactly what she wants and having money left over from the savings to put towards the wedding and/or a great honeymoon. Already many, many thanks for your help thus far.

Hmm… That may be a possibility. I’m going to discuss some options with my future fiancée later tonight and see what she thinks. I’ll let you know what we come up with tomorrow. Thanks again.

I spoke with her yesterday. She agrees that getting the other diamond and saving $4000+ is a no brainer. We looked at all the settings at James Allen and she didn’t really like any of them; she said they all looked too “modern” for what she is looking for. The one we have on hold at Samuels has a bit of a “Victorian” feel to it, more “vintage”. The halo sits on top of what I can only describe as a small looking pill box or even a tiara. The sides of the band connect into it and it has three very small diamonds on either side. The halo then sits on top of it.

Do any of your sources have vintage wedding bands?

I think I’m going to buy that diamond today. The set I ordered from Samuels is ready. Unless we find another band I’m thinking about asking them to remove the diamond they put in there and setting the one I’ll get from James Allen. Of course the set the original diamond for free; is there anything I need to watch out for when negotiating with them? For instance, if they say “OK we will remove the diamond we put in there but we are going to charge you to set the other diamond for you” what would be a reasonable price for this service? They may try to jack up their price to reset it because they are losing the sale on the diamond (but still getting the band so they should be happy with that). Would there be any other games you can think of that they would try to play?

PS I spent about two hours on your site and read the part about “the truth about the truth about diamonds”. It is important to me to make sure you get credit for the sale of the James Allen Diamond.

Lisa and I went shopping yesterday to several more local jewelry stores and we found one called Benold’s that had the “mother load” of vintage style settings. She narrowed it down to four that she loved and would be very happy with. Therefore at this point I’m thinking of returning the other ring and moving forward with one of these four settings and having them set one of the stones from James Allen.

We have looked at the other Asscher cuts and I want to ask your opinion about the following: Do you think the increase in price is worth it to go with one of the two 1.20+ carat diamonds over the one you already suggested? Is the increase in carat size be noticeably different?

Here is the one you suggested before:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1254225.asp

Here are the other two we are considering:

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1336830.asp

https://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1279737.asp

Also, here are three of the four settings she likes:

http://www.simongjewelry.com/shop.php?search=mr1840&submit.x=19&submit.y=14&submit=submit (one difference – the wedding band will not be curved – it is straight and will go up under the halo)

http://www.verragio.com/

The fourth one is a Chad Allison Halo; I’ll send you a link if I can get it; we searched their website and can’t locate it. Benold’s said the style number is ME219.

We are ready to move; please let me know what you think as soon as you can. Thanks again.

Hey! Just wanted to let you know we received the loose diamond today from James Allen; it came in a nice box with the GIA document. I showed it to Lisa and she loves it! After looking at it she decided to go with the Simon G setting because she really wants the setting to draw attention to the stone.

I’m very thankful that I found your site and for all your assistance. I feel like I got her what she wanted at a very good value.

When I ordered the diamond online I typed in the “special shipping instructions” box your name and that you assisted me. Please let me know if you need anything else from me; I want to make sure you get credit.

If I don’t talk with you again best of luck and God bless. Who knows, if we ever get a chance to travel to Israel maybe you and your wife could join us for dinner (my treat of course)!

I’ll certainly go to ivouch and write a very positive review.

That’s most auspicious about your wife being a tour guide; I’ll certainly be in touch if we ever have the opportunity to visit.

Your site and guidance have been a tremendous help; I feel good about the diamond that I purchased. You saved me almost $4000.00 over the other stone I had purchased plus the one I have now has GIA certification, etc. etc. Thanks again!

…….

How are you? I hope things are going well. Thanks again for all your help – the entire setting turned out to be gorgeous.

I forgot to fill out a review on ivouch. When I clicked on the link below it said that the link had expired.

If you can please send me a new one and I’ll go online and fill it out.

Take care and all the best to you and your family.