help for newbie

[snowgirl]

Ok, so all of you probably deal with newbie questions ALL the time, but i would really appreciate some help. we have started searching for stones, and are learning along the way. We want a princess stone, btw 1.50 and 1.80 ct. what is the ideal table% for a princess stone to get the best spread? Also, we''ve been looking on blue nile a lot, but does anyone have any other diamond sites that they would recommend?

thanks a bunch!!

 

[jaz464]

BN is not one of my personal faves. Whiteflash and Good Old Gold will supply much more info like pictures, IS images, and a sarin.
They will also send the diamond out for you to see in person before committing to it.

To find a beautiful princess, you may want to look at this:

http://www.gemappraisers.com/chartFrameset.htm

You can also call either of the above vendors, tell them your budget and what you would like and have them locate a gorgous diamond for you. Both are excellent at describing a diamond over the phone and choosing one they believe you will be happy with, even if it means steering you toward a cheaper diamond.

http://www.whiteflash.com/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/

 

[Garysax]

Date: 2/12/2006 9:04:56 PM
Author:snowgirl
Ok, so all of you probably deal with newbie questions ALL the time, but i would really appreciate some help. we have started searching for stones, and are learning along the way. We want a princess stone, btw 1.50 and 1.80 ct. what is the ideal table% for a princess stone to get the best spread? Also, we''ve been looking on blue nile a lot, but does anyone have any other diamond sites that they would recommend?


thanks a bunch!!

Just keep in mind that you''ll want to see more than just specs for a princess--you really need to see the diamond in person or get some light performance info on it. You never know what numbers are going to get you great performance, though the AGA guidelines show which types of stones are likely to get good performance.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

The correlation between table-size and spread is a very dangerous avenue to follow.

You will have the highest probability of the biggest diameter in a princess, with the thinnest crown. The result will probably be that the highest diameter corresponds with the biggest table (somewhere around 80% or bigger).

I do however wonder whether that is what you want, because the result will be a very spready stone, but basically without any life.

Table-sizes do not tell you much either. You can have 65% table with crown-angles of 33° and of 48°. Huge difference there.

What I seem to observe, is that many cutters are afraid of delivering princess-cuts with too high a depth. This is probably due to history, and to the charts of David Atlass, where a depth over 75% is considered as bad. These cutters therefore choose a somewhat more shallow pavilion angle, thus getting a less deep pavilion depth. The intelligent ones try to compensate it by increasing the crown angle considerably, and in this way, they stay just under 75% total depth.

I personally feel that the result could be a lot better without this fiddling.

Live long,