Calling all 1.5 carat J and I princess cuts

[realron75]

This board has been so great. With my own research, a trip to the mall, and everyone''s help I''m very close to getting a 1.5 carat princess cut diamond. I only care that the diamond is eye clean and white, not when compared to a F diamond unmounted, but white when set and looking down.

Question, does anyone have a similar size diamond out there with these specs that you bought and absolutely love? It just seems like such a waste of money to buy a D, F , or even G princess if I can get a J or I color for much less $$$.

I plan on seeing the diamond in person before I buy it. Any advice on how to make sure it won''t look too yellow or off white once mounted? I''ll be viewing it unmounted.

 

[kevinraja]

Before you make the purhcase,

1) Ask the vendor, whether the diamond has a certificate, like GIA or EGL certificates.
2) Post here all the measurements that you get about the diamond of your interest.
3) Ask for a sarin report which will clearly tell you about the crown/paviolion angles.
4) Use AGA "DIY cut grading" to have an idea of what pricess cuts are about, and what measurements mean?
5) If you are on a budget, go for a color anywhere between F-H, I would not go to I or J as princess cuts show color.
6) Go for a clarity VS1/2 clarity.
7) When looking for color, try to guage the color through the diamond table (face up) and not face down. No one is going to look at your set diamond through its tip
Take your time to shop around. You can use the pricescope to get an idea of how much princess cuts of your interest are selling for.

 

[fuffi]

My princess is 1.52 ct, H VS1 (GIA grading) and while it's white enough for me, I don't think I would go any lower than that.  I would sacrifice a bit of clarity before color if I had to, but that's my own personal preference.  You really need to view some I/J stones in person to decide how they look to your eye but body color is far more noticeable in a princess than in a round cut.

 

[belle]

ahhhh!

kevin you scared me!! what happened to you!?
anyway, back to the post, i would not get a "j", but then again i am color sensitive (though at 1.5, even the "noncolor" sensitive might see it). you can make your sacrifice in the clarity.

 

[valeria101]

Just an idea...

A brilliant stone would look better than it's gardes, but with no clear cut standards (yet, AGS is preparing one) for princess cut quality it may be a bit harder to shop princess cuts for brilliance. 'Guess two things can help with this: an EGL (USA) report and an Ideal Scope when shopping in person.

The good thing about EGL is their more detailed description of cut - there's crown height and pavilion depth on the report. Crown height makes a resonable guess-timate tool for brilliance. Not very precise, but better than nothing (as on GIA reports).

Now, EGL seems to practice somewhat looser color grading than GIA, so looking for EGL's "G" may be a safe bet. Same for VS2. Prices for EGL graded diamonds already account for the grading slackness - and you can always compare with GIA pedigree one grade down.


AGA cut grades make a sensible place to start (at least they are not put up by the seller!). There is some fresh news about these grades you might want to look up HERE