As far as I know, there are no taxes for loose diamond if you import into Malaysia from the US.

Personally, I would say buying from US is a rather straight-forward process and the shipment will most likely be insured if they opt for FeDex of DHL.

As for the diamond itself, I would say it is easier than buying an electrical item from overseas since electrical item may spoil and we will need to claim warranty, while for loose diamond, it is what it is. Of course, there is still a slim chance that things may go very wrong, but I think for me, if the loose diamond is cheaper, it is worth the risk, again, just my personal opinion.

My other concern will be getting the ring set, you will need to find a jeweler that is willing to set your loose diamond, and I will say better get a quick quotation first before pulling the trigger just in case the total price for both diamond and ring is not worth it.

I won't suggest you to buy the whole engagement ring (diamond + ring) and import in from the US because that will be count as a jewelry piece and it is taxable. I am not sure about the tax percentage though.

Wow this helped alot, I never know that getting a whole ring form overseas is taxable since the customer services told me that I will only be paying the amount shown at checkout and not any additional duties and taxes.

Maybe I will consider getting just the loose diamond in this case.

Is there any recommend jeweler to set the loose diamond?

if you are in PJ area, I do provide such service, or you can also ask around jewelers like Boa Jewels, ZCOVA, Tailored Jewel, iDo Jewelry etc.

I think even local chain stores can help to set. Try asking.

Hello! It took around 3 weeks to reach as the diamond was not from US, they got it shipped to US then to Malaysia. I bought loose stone only, there’s no tax charged. They used DHL to ship it here. I then went to ZCOVA to get it set, with the temporary setting service, plan to go back and get a pave type setting once done with my ROM

Alright will def take a look into that, Thanks!


Hurmm 3 weeks is still acceptable imo since its international shipping

hi guys, My 20th anniversary is coming soon in 4 weeks, I'm looking at this diamond for my Mrs. I'm a noob in diamond and my only criteria is for the diamond to look bright and bigger than its weight lol

Here are the diamonds I'm looking at currently :

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...t&start=diamond
GIA 6405855422

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...t&start=diamond
GIA 6402204160

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...t&start=diamond
GIA 7453342861

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...t&start=diamond
GIA 7401976361

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...t&start=diamond
GIA 3455389111


Appreciate any comments or feedbacks which one I should go for, thanks in advance!

This post has been edited by entaro: Jan 28 2023, 01:07 AM

Among all these, and limited to only all these few diamonds, I think my top pick will be GIA 6402204160. Reason is that the arrows seem decent enough, the proportions look decent, the inclusions seem transparent enough for my untrained eye, and there is medium blue fluorescence, which in theory can help to negate some yellow tint of the diamond, if any.

Followed by GIA 3455389111. The proportions are decent. Inclusions doesn't seem obvious. Strong fluorescence is not really necessary since it is still a G colour diamond. But it does help to lower down the price.

For both diamonds, I will check with ZCOVA for milkiness, just for peace of mind. They should have the BGM data, whereby M stands for milkiness. B, G, accordingly to the internet stands for Brown and Green. They represent a hue on the diamond, and if my memory serves me right, this hue doesn't affect colour grading, but a G colour diamond with Brown hue is not preferred compares to a G colour diamond with no hue (or something like that). You can YouTube about this diamond hue thing, I think Jann Paul (famous hearts and arrows jeweler in SG) shared before.

For what's worth, engage ZCOVA for assistance. You will need all the assistance you can get because... You have only 4 weeks. Not that you don't have enough time, but if you need time to process through and think through alot, then is another story. Therefore, do keep an eye on the time. Good luck man.

This post has been edited by kambingkoh: Jan 28 2023, 05:51 PM

thanks kambingkoh , you are a saviour! I know time is tight, last minute only decided to buy a diamond, much cheaper than rolex, can you believe it lol. I have booked a consultation with zcova next week. hope they can meet the timeline. you are a legend bro! will update how it goes,anything else I need to ask the SA, hope they can allow viewing for me to compare the actual diamond

BTW, what is GemEx certification ,is it important to have the certification?

Is LUMOS by zcova overrated ?

This post has been edited by entaro: Jan 29 2023, 10:52 AM

Gemex is just one of the proprietary way to measure the light performance of a diamond. Good to have, can probably give you better peace of mind. Blue Nile Astor collection also uses the same, but their standard might be higher when it comes to light performance to qualify for Astor badge. LUMOS accepts High to Very High to become LUMOS. https://blog.zcova.com/2020/04/02/zcova-in-...-certification/

Lumos is just a marketing term to coin their top picked diamonds. Something good to have, and as far as I can tell, they don't seem to apply additional premium on LUMOS diamonds, which is a good thing.

They might apply a premium if the diamond is stored in-house, but this is just my guess, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Thanks for the insight kambingkoh! 6405855422 is LUMOS but the inclusion seems obvious especially the cloud, probably won't be too visible to the naked eyes but still something to ponder about...

This post has been edited by entaro: Jan 30 2023, 03:27 AM

You can probably request to talk to their gemologist and seek for his opinion. Personally, I too, don't really like the inclusion because it looks dark.

Their gemologist boss chi yi suggest this diamond :

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...5?start=diamond
GIA 6411683095

My only concern is the strong blue flourence but it does make the diamond value for money (it means it falls within my budget lol) and he said to naked eye the flourence could make the diamond looks whiter and only in strong direct sunlight there maybe slight blueish emit. He also said it won't be milky to naked eyes. Anyway, my wife is not expert, guess she wont notice it kua lol. And I dont think we will resell the diamond since it's a 20th Anniversary gift lol. He also did not recommend 6405855422 due to the dark inclusion on the surface, basically same opinion as you.

In your experience kambingkoh handling so many diamonds, do majority of strong blue diamond will display milkiness characteristic to naked eye?

BTW guys, currently ZCOVA has promotion for 1Carat diamond, free setting worth RM1650, if above that amount need to top up. I took the safe option LIA 6 prongs as it's a surprise for wifey, she does not get to choose the setting, hope she loves it hahahaha, A DIAMOND IS FOREVER! ...........

This post has been edited by entaro: Feb 1 2023, 03:28 PM

Hi i visited lavin . It seems their price fluctuates a lot. After few days I visited them the price can drop by 300-400 . They claim due to new stock lower fx rate. I compared their diamond with zcova they said zcova doesn’t not keep stock hence they price might be lower now because fx rate is lower.

Anyway I saw this diamond seems not bad as it doesn’t have feather in clarity. Currently priced at rm3800. Any advice ?

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=2436916357

I don't handle alot of diamonds. Just like a hobby, but I don't think fluorescence always exhibit milkiness. There is a BGM rating that you can refer to for a particular diamond. I find that blue fluorescence that is not milky possess good value for money. I personally own a 0.3x CT strong blue florescence diamond from Brian Gavin. Looks decent.

I think expert will tell you the pavilion angle is too steep, I think this one is better :

https://zcova.com/mined-diamond/selected-di...8?start=diamond

this has the perfect CA/PA and not much inclusion

This post has been edited by entaro: Feb 6 2023, 02:26 AM

Thanks kambingkoh, yeah hope it turns out nice, agreed with the value for money point.

Confirm rating is "No BGM", I just noticed I think only me is getting a J color SI2 ring among all of you here lol....

All of you here go with D, E, or F with ideal and VS1/2 or VVS... power ler...

Actually J colour is quite common. May be more common than you might think... Lol

BTW @kambingkoh, the HCA tool allowed only 3 times checking, how do you check HCA score now after used up the 3 allocations?


This post has been edited by entaro: Feb 9 2023, 03:26 PM

I believe it was refreshed daily.