A 1CT Ideal VS2 I or Leo VS1 F?

[tjc]

I am getting ready to spend some money and am having trouble deciding between these two stones. Does anyone have any input? I think they are equally beautiful. There is about a $3,000 price difference when it's all said and done, the Leo being cheaper. The VS2 is through an independent jeweler, the Leo through Kay. The VS2 has a cert. through AGS (AGI?) and the Leo has a cert. through IGI. The info. on the Leo is as follows: Symmetry/Polish - Good, Table 55.7%, Depth - 66 %, Culet - None, Girdle - Thick/Very Thick Facetted, Measurement - 6.04 - 6.09 x4.02, Color - F, Clarity - VS1. These stones are both Round Brilliant cut.

 

[marriahlyn]

I would without doubt choose the ideal cut and NOT the Leo. The depth on the Leo is 66% which is horrible and you''re paying for a lot of weight that it hidden deep under the diameter........I personally like depth of RB''s to be 61% or under. An ideal RB should have a diameter of 6.5mm round and the Leo doesn''t even come close. I am also not a fan of Kay''s Jewelers from a very bad past experience.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

For the same price as the Leo, you can definitely have a 0.80 Ct super-idea F-VS1 from a local jeweler, while your stone would have the same diameter as the Leo, and will outsparkle it enormously under any circumstances.

In other words, the only good thing about this Leo is that it weighs 1 Ct. It is horribly cut, has absolutely no light performance, and it has a diameter of a 0.80 Ct, which means that it looks a lot smaller than its weight.

Therefore, if the 3000$ extra is the problem in this comparison, you can go for a smaller weight in the most perfect cut, with the same colour, clarity and diameter as that Leo, and end up at around the same price. On top of that, such a stone will sparkle like hell, and because of that, it will look even bigger than its actual weight.

Live long,

 

[valeria101]

For 1 carat, the "normal" brilliant should be larger looking than the Leo - is it ?

It sounds like the LEO was discounted for the smaller size... and that makes the price look great if you compare weights, not sizes.

If the round brilliant is called "ideal" because of the AGS lab report, there might be better or worse ideals out there. AGS is revising their cut grades and not without reason. A diamond cut for brilliance that carries GIA not AGS lab report may be a better deal (hard to tell, without the actual prices infront).

Anyway, a 6mm F/VS1 ideal cut might be about 4k. Is this better or worse than the Leo ?