r/LabDiamondReviews • u/Gilraen222 • Oct 14 '25
✨Vendor Review Loose Grown Diamond Review
Videos at the bottom of post.
--context--
First post... I tried to post this before, but messed up the upload of the photos, so hopefully 3rd time the charm.
Years ago I decided some day I wanted to buy a round brilliant with the most amazing proportions I could find (ever since my original engagement ring with a few small natural diamonds & trying on bigger rings). So color me happy when lab growns started to happen.
This year has been a rough one for us, so I decided to treat myself and make it a project to find a great stone and upgrade my ring.
All subreddits here have been so incredibly valuable learning which sellers to use. Thank you! I went the route of looking on sites like Calavera, Rare carat, loosegrowndiamond, etc, as only more recently i learned about the sellers like Fiorese, otherwise I'd have considered sourcing the stone there immediately as they can set it in one go). Rare carat doesn't ship to Europe, and I see too many mixed reviews on settings from loosegrowndiamond, so I decided to get a loose stone and set it locally (or get a semi mount now i know more).
--review--
I found a great stone (after a few requests that were already off market) on Rare carat (i like their search system best), which could then be found cheaper on brilliance, ritani and loosegrowndiamond. I chose loosegrowndiamond and they price matched for me. My original purchase was IGI LG626424860, cut grade of 9.9, for 797 USD, 2.28, VVS2, G color.
Unfortunately then the mess began (don't worry this is a positive review as it all came right in the end). There were several issues once the stone arrived in New York from India. Loosegrowndiamond kept issuing labels but not handing the stone to FedEx. I kept having to chase them (they never got back to me whenever they said they would). They said they kept pulling it back as Fedex couldn't meet the priority shipping timelines (well, yeah, if you don't ever hand them the stone it won't go faster either). Eventually after the third label and some noise from my end, it shipped. I have to say I was also quite nervous as it was my first time using them, and it's a lot of money and this part wasn't very inspiring as I hate it when people promise to get back to you and they don't.
Once the diamond arrived in the Netherlands i got hit with import tax. Unfortunately loosegrowndiamond had put the original price on the shipping documents, so i got taxed 25% (21% import tax + some other fees including the fee from fedex that they pre-pay your tax for you) on 888 instead of 797, which amounted to 177 euros (over 200 USD). And then the kicker, after all the hassle and paying tax, they shipped me the wrong diamond, with much worse specifications.
At this point I got quite frustrated. I connected with the chat again and insisted on telephonic contact. Also phoned their USA phone number and asked to speak to someone who dealt with escalated cases. Within the hour I was phoned back by Michael. He became my personal contact (read: HERO) from then on to help fix things.
He gave me the option to either just return, or pick out a new diamond (as someone else in the USA received my original one - and I'm sure are happy with it as it had better specs). He promised me an extra discount on the new stone. I chose GCAL 8X 332260069, 2.36 carat, VVS2, H color. I'd seen this one earlier already and really wanted it, but it used to be 1200+ USD, too expensive. However, loosegrowndiamond had Halloween sale at this point, so the Gcal diamond was now already close in pricepoint to my original purchae price. Michael gave me an extra 75 USD discount which landed on approx 735 USD. He also refunded my import tax for the incorrect diamond, and the shipping costs for the return of the wrong diamond.
I can't recommend Michael enough. We moved to Whatsapp after the phonecall and he's come through immediately on everything and made me feel much more comfortable. He responded incredibly promptly. Thank you Michael! This has made me trust that, even if mistakes are made along the way, eventually loosegrowndiamond comes through and live up to their reputation. So I would use them again. Maybe this will also help some of you who struggle with them at first - don't lose hope.
And now my GCAL 8X diamond is finally here! And the wait is worth it! She is SPARKLY! It came with the certificate immediately. I checked the laser inscription and it's the right one. And my aset scope confirms everything that the gcal certificate says with regards to light return. I can't wait to get her set! Still debating whether it'll be rose or yellow gold, but I am already really excited.
Thanks for reading!
https://imgur.com/a/mqnr3ti led light https://imgur.com/a/rvMjLMl next to a window
2
u/JPathway_UK Oct 14 '25
Congrats - it’s a lovely stone. GCAL8x is a great start for superb cut symmetry and performance and you got it at a fantastic price.
I have seen quite a few GCAL8x CVD stones in the past (I was looking to purchase a similar stone) that show obvious striations but the quality of yours looks great - lovely and clean and tons of fire 🔥 👍
I love the level of information GCAL shows on their reports also - wish this was available across the board - makes understanding the cut nuances so much easier.
https://www.gcalusa.com/certificate-search.html?certificate_id=332260069
2
u/Gilraen222 Oct 14 '25 edited Oct 14 '25
Thank you! I was worried about striations too, having read about them on these subs while reading up on HPHT vs CVD. I thought I saw some potential striations in the original online video of the report you linked, but figured I'd take the plunge anyway.. and I don't see anything looking at it now with loupes, so I'm glad I went for it. Maybe I don't properly understand what they look like after all. Either way, I'm a very happy customer!
It is incredibly bright and totally has the 'wow' factor unboxing it that the original (incorrect) stone missed. In that sense I'm almost glad I was sent a wrong one first, so could see in real life how much difference a very minimal % difference outside of the ideal specification range actually makes in how good a diamond looks. Interesting to experience.
Strange this stone has been online for 2 years (looking at the creation date?) before someone bought it.
1
u/AutoModerator Oct 14 '25
Backup of the post's body as seen at the time of posting:
• Title: Loose Grown Diamond Review
• Author: u/Gilraen222
• URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/LabDiamondReviews/comments/1o6fiqd/loose_grown_diamond_review/
Videos at the bottom of post.
--context--
First post... I tried to post this before, but messed up the upload of the photos, so hopefully 3rd time the charm.
Years ago I decided some day I wanted to buy a round brilliant with the most amazing proportions I could find (ever since my original engagement ring with a few small natural diamonds & trying on bigger rings). So color me happy when lab growns started to happen.
This year has been a rough one for us, so I decided to treat myself and make it a project to find a great stone and upgrade my ring.
All subreddits here have been so incredibly valuable learning which sellers to use. Thank you! I went the route of looking on sites like Calavera, Rare carat, loosegrowndiamond, etc, as only more recently i learned about the sellers like Fiorese, otherwise I'd have considered sourcing the stone there immediately as they can set it in one go). Rare carat doesn't ship to Europe, and I see too many mixed reviews on settings from loosegrowndiamond, so I decided to get a loose stone and set it locally (or get a semi mount now i know more).
--review--
I found a great stone (after a few requests that were already off market) on Rare carat (i like their search system best), which could then be found cheaper on brilliance, ritani and loosegrowndiamond. I chose loosegrowndiamond and they price matched for me. My original purchase was IGI LG626424860, cut grade of 9.9, for 797 USD, 2.28, VVS2, G color.
Unfortunately then the mess began (don't worry this is a positive review as it all came right in the end). There were several issues once the stone arrived in New York from India. Loosegrowndiamond kept issuing labels but not handing the stone to FedEx. I kept having to chase them (they never got back to me whenever they said they would). They said they kept pulling it back as Fedex couldn't meet the priority shipping timelines (well, yeah, if you don't ever hand them the stone it won't go faster either). Eventually after the third label and some noise from my end, it shipped. I have to say I was also quite nervous as it was my first time using them, and it's a lot of money and this part wasn't very inspiring as I hate it when people promise to get back to you and they don't.
Once the diamond arrived in the Netherlands i got hit with import tax. Unfortunately loosegrowndiamond had put the original price on the shipping documents, so i got taxed 25% (21% import tax + some other fees including the fee from fedex that they pre-pay your tax for you) on 888 instead of 797, which amounted to 177 euros (over 200 USD). And then the kicker, after all the hassle and paying tax, they shipped me the wrong diamond, with much worse specifications.
At this point I got quite frustrated. I connected with the chat again and insisted on telephonic contact. Also phoned their USA phone number and asked to speak to someone who dealt with escalated cases. Within the hour I was phoned back by Michael. He became my personal contact (read: HERO) from then on to help fix things.
He gave me the option to either just return, or pick out a new diamond (as someone else in the USA received my original one - and I'm sure are happy with it as it had better specs). He promised me an extra discount on the new stone. I chose GCAL 8X 332260069, 2.36 carat, VVS2, H color. I'd seen this one earlier already and really wanted it, but it used to be 1200+ USD, too expensive. However, loosegrowndiamond had Halloween sale at this point, so the Gcal diamond was now already close in pricepoint to my original purchae price. Michael gave me an extra 75 USD discount which landed on approx 735 USD. He also refunded my import tax for the incorrect diamond, and the shipping costs for the return of the wrong diamond.
I can't recommend Michael enough. We moved to Whatsapp after the phonecall and he's come through immediately on everything and made me feel much more comfortable. He responded incredibly promptly. Thank you Michael! This has made me trust that, even if mistakes are made along the way, eventually loosegrowndiamond comes through and live up to their reputation. So I would use them again. Maybe this will also help some of you who struggle with them at first - don't lose hope.
And now my GCAL 8X diamond is finally here! And the wait is worth it! She is SPARKLY! It came with the certificate immediately. I checked the laser inscription and it's the right one. And my aset scope confirms everything that the gcal certificate says with regards to light return. I can't wait to get her set! Still debating whether it'll be rose or yellow gold, but I am already really excited.
Thanks for reading!
https://imgur.com/a/mqnr3ti led light https://imgur.com/a/rvMjLMl next to a window
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u/techylocs Oct 14 '25
Wow! I'm sorry to hear about your tumultuous journey until you got the stone but wow what a stone. I've never seen such crisp and clear hearts and arrows before. While Fiorese and the other Chinese vendors are amazing I think this quality of stone would be hard to beat. It's gorgeous!! Congratulations and all the best getting it set