Diamond Comparisons

[NorthFace51]

Here are four diamonds and would like to the reasoning by which one is the best. Regarding color, carat, and clarity are understandable but dimensions, table, depth, and girdle are not very well understood on how they contribute to the valueof the diamond. Also if someone could hammer out the following, it would be very helpful:

1) Is a round the best cut to get over fancy cuts such as princess?
2) I heard that it is a MUST to get the diamond looked at after purchase by a thrid party. What happens if the characteristics are different? What recourse do you have? Especially if you purchase online, couldn''t they just say you swapped diamonds?


(All are princess cuts)
Diamond #1 Diamond #2 Diamond #3 Diamond #4
Carat Size 1.09 1.08 1.04 1.03
Color F G F F
Clarity VS2 VVS2 VVS2 VVS1
Depth 73.4% 69.6% 71% 74.2%
Girdle STK-TK STK-TK STK M-STK
Polish X VG VG G
Flu: n n n n
Table: 73% 76% 74% 75%
Culet: N N N N/A
Sym: G G VG G
Dim: 5.61x5.52x4.05 5.85x5.85x4.07 5.6x5.56x3.97 5.82x5.46x4.05

Thank you

 

[belle]

Date: 10/7/2005 4:41:40 PM
Author:NorthFace51
Here are four diamonds and would like to the reasoning by which one is the best. Regarding color, carat, and clarity are understandable but dimensions, table, depth, and girdle are not very well understood on how they contribute to the valueof the diamond.

they contribute to the quality of the diamond in terms of cut, which is the most important factor in getting a good performing diamond.

1) Is a round the best cut to get over fancy cuts such as princess?

rounds are timeless and classic. in terms of cut quality, they are on top because of longevity and demand. other cuts like princess are cut for weight retention with little regard to cut quality. a good princess can be tough to find but as of this year, ags began grading princesses as ''ideal''.

2) I heard that it is a MUST to get the diamond looked at after purchase by a thrid party. What happens if the characteristics are different? What recourse do you have? Especially if you purchase online, couldn''t they just say you swapped diamonds?

it depends on where you buy it from. many of the vendors here are highly reputable and i would not hesitate taking delivery of a stone without ever getting a second opinion on it.

(All are princess cuts)
Diamond #1 Diamond #2 Diamond #3 Diamond #4
Carat Size 1.09 1.08 1.04 1.03
Color F G F F
Clarity VS2 VVS2 VVS2 VVS1
Depth 73.4% 69.6% 71% 74.2%
Girdle STK-TK STK-TK STK M-STK
Polish X VG VG G
Flu: n n n n
Table: 73% 76% 74% 75%
Culet: N N N N/A
Sym: G G VG G
Dim: 5.61x5.52x4.05 5.85x5.85x4.07 5.6x5.56x3.97 5.82x5.46x4.05

Thank you

you can''t really judge fancy cuts on table/depth alone. if you are not able to compare in person, i would suggest trying to at least get idealscope images. (and shoot for smaller tables)

 

[researcher]

I can''t answer your questions any better than Belle (who did an excellent job, I might add), but I will say that, as a non-expert, I am most drawn to the first stone. Why? I don''t see a need for paying for clarity, and I prefer stones with tables smaller than the depth as they tend to have more potential for a good crown and nice angles. As for the girdle, all of these are in a great range (you just want to avoid stones with extra thin or thick girdles as they will either be fragile or hide a lot of the carat weight making the stone appear smaller than its size).

Keep in mind that, as Belle said, you really need an ideal scope image to examine light leakage and a Sarin report showing the angles to make a better choice in selecting the right stone.

 

[koko]

A round stone seems to have timeless appeal, especially to a romantic, traditional type. I prefer a emerald cut, because I like simple, clean lines, and the same size stone would look larger than the equivalent round. However, if sparkle was what I were after, it would be round all the way! I have always heard that the table & depth on a fancy shape should be between 60 & 65% with the table being the smaller #.