Help!!! I''''m planning on proposing in 3 weeks. I need to find the perfect princess cut.

[bigearnucsd]

One of my friends told me about this website and after spending numerous hours and days here, i learned a lot about diamond. But i still feel uncomfortable finding the "perfect-cut" diamond. Based on my budget and my research through this website, the following is the criteria that i set for myself. Please give me any feedbacks and the best way to find the diamond that meets the following criteria.

Princess Cut
Carat 1.00~1.15
Color D~G (i would prefer F because i went to the store today and compared the F and G and I felt like I was able to tell the difference easily)
Clarity VS1~VS2
Cut: Ideal Super Wow Crazy
Symmetry Ideal~VG Ideal~VG
Polish Ideal~VG Ideal~VG
Fluorescence None
Culet No Culet~medium
Table% 62~72 no greater than 75
Depth% 64~75 no greater than 75
Table smaller than Depth
Crown Height% 10~15 no smaller than 10 no greater than 15
Crown Angle 33~35
Pavillion Depth % mid50s to low 60s 42.5~43.5
Girdle 0.4%~4.5% Thin to Slightly thick
Price:5000~6000


Based on the Cut quality search from pricescope, I got the following diamond and I thought it was pretty good. What do you guys think?
1.04
F
VS2
Sym:VG
Pol:VG
5.57 x 5.37 x 3.98
Depth:74.1
Table:71
Crown angle: 44
Crown height:12%
Pav Angle: 39.6
Pav Depth:57.9%
Price $5083

 

[MissAva]

I think the diffrence of .2 mm in l/w would bother me. How close to a perfect square do you like?
1.0 E SI2 4245$ 5.19x5.19 GOG
1.011 H VS2 5.46x 5.41 4797$ GOG
1.07 G VS2 5.23 5.59 5137$ GOG This one is pretty far off of square but has a nice IS image.
With a fancy cut it helps to have magnified pictures and Indeal Scope Images.

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

If you want real ''Ideal Super Wow Crazy'', you need to change pavilion depth in your preference to between 71 and 78%.

And your desired crown angle between 33 and 35° is, although very strict, also a very good choice. Therefore, why would you consider a stone with a crown angle of 44°?

In order to give a good assessment of this stone, we also need the other pavilion angle, and if possible, the other crown angle.

Live long,

 

[perry]

You are looking for stones rated as "AGS 0" under thier new rating system. They are not cheap - but are Wow Wow Wow compared to ordinary princess cut diamonds.

Paul from Infinity is one of the key suppliers of these diamonds.

Wink Jones (Winfields) has 2 in stock - but not in the 1 carat size.


Hope this helps.

Perry

 

[earn]

man, i''ve been having hard time trying to login the whole day. I thought it was because i was trying to log in at work but that wasn''t the case. so i''ve decided to create another account. Thanks matatora about pointing out the w/l aspect. generally if the ratio is between 1 to 1.05 than it should be pretty close to the perfect square right?



Item Code 8284508 8284444 8284448 7280225 7356172
Shape Princess Princess Princess Princess Princess
Carat 1.13 1.04 1.05 1.04 1.09
Color E F E F F
Clarity VS2 VS2 VS2 VS2 VS2
Measur 5.72-5.57X4.02 5.48-5.32X3.98 5.65-5.62X4.08 5.48-5.32X3.98 5.55-5.52X4.11
Table % 70 71 70 71 72
Depth % 72.2 74.8 72.6 74.8 74.5
Polish Very Good Excellent Very Good Excellent Excellent
Symmetry Very Good Very Good Very Good Very Good Very Good
Girdle STK-TK TK-VTK VTN-STK TK-VTK M-STK
Culet None None None None None
Fluorescence No No No No Faint or Faint Blue
Certificate GIA GIA GIA GIA GIA
Price $5,760.00 $4,770.00 $5,192.00 $4,865.00 $5,599.00


I picked out some diamonds from white flash website. What do you guys think about these diamonds. I think i really like the third one with 1.05 carat. Would there be a huge difference between the first one and the third one? Would the 1.13 carat look much bigger than the 1.05 one?

Also, i found the setting that i really liked. Look at the below link.
My only concern is that i kind of scare to pick this setting without actually looking at it. What do you guys think i should do? Should ask them to take a picture and send it to me? It''s hard to get the real feel from looking at these professionally done pictures.


http://www.jamesallen.com/image.asp?view=zoom&ItemId=286
http://www.jamesallen.com/image.asp?pic=big&ItemId=286&col=2

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/14/2005 2:34:57 AM
Author: earn

if the ratio is between 1 to 1.05 than it should be pretty close to the perfect square right?

Beyond that the stones would be called ''rectangular'' on the lab report. IMO, the 1.05/1 limit is very conservative - it takes more to see they are non square.



I picked out some diamonds from white flash website. What do you guys think about these diamonds.

There isn''t much to say without seeing them. This is a nearly blind pic - IMO.


I think i really like the third one with 1.05 carat.

Well, I''d take out ''very thin'' girdle - perhaps this stone is still OK, but who can tell you that without inspecting the stone?



Would there be a huge difference between the first one and the third one?

There''s barely any difference between any on the list showing in the details available - one may look indeed allot nicer - we''ll never know

Would the 1.13 carat look much bigger than the 1.05 one?

Weight is not quite the same as size. You have the size of stones given as diameter and those two are extremely close. About .2mm makes a detectable difference on loose stones side by side (to me), it takes more to show in settings when the two rings considered are not side by side.



Also, i found the setting that i really liked. Look at the below link.
My only concern is that i kind of scare to pick this setting without actually looking at it. What do you guys think i should do?

You could also have the stone set in a simple and relatively inexpensive setting by the seller of the diamond. Put the stone to good use and then ask your fiancee to choose her setting. Some did that.


Should ask them to take a picture and send it to me? It''s hard to get the real feel from looking at these professionally done pictures.

And then... who will set the diamond? Also, who would take the loss if it is damaged during setting (thinking of the ''very thin'' girdle again...). It would not be a third jeweler who just receives the loose stone and the setting to put them together. You may find out that local shops are not enthusiastic to provide such service either. If you find someone to set the stone like this, you may want to make sure the setting fits precisely - how, I am not sure.

My 0.2

 

[earn]

Princess 1.05 F VS1 Ideal GIA 72.2% 72% EX/VG $ 5,270

One more. What do you guys think about table and depth being equal. Most people recommended table to be smaller than the depth but would this be something that''s worth looking into?

Right now, I''m just trying to narrow it down to 2 to 3 diamonds using the available data. Once i narrow it down, I was gonna ask for those more detailed reports and images to make the final decision.

 

[llebllib]

I just want to add my 2 cents to your setting dilema. I like many other guys out there I''m sure do not have the best eye for style in jewelry. I went into the research and selection by myself because I did not want anyone to know I was doing this. I never discussed ring style with my then girfriend as to what she liked as far as settings. I knew what type of diamond she wanted. So, I was a wreck when I was researching for diamonds... like you trying to choose the perfect stone. I went at least a month and a half before I finally felt comfortable and chose one. I eventually chose a 1 carat Radiant cut from Blue Nile. Ahhhh relief! But no it wasn''t over! The crisis of now having to choose the setting overwhelmed me even more! I felt I had to get that right more so than the actual diamond.

I finally came to my senses and realized that the ring was not going to be on my finger but my wife''s and she should be able to choose the setting she wanted. As much as I wanted to pick the perfect setting there was that doubt that I would make a bad choice not knowing what she liked. The best decision I ever made was to let her decide. So, I had the diamond set in a very simple and classic solitaire 4-prong(platinum) setting with a 18kt white gold band. I don''t want to say it was cheap but it was economically perfect to serve its purpose so I could simply pop the question. It actually looked beautiful in the classic style and the diamond was the headliner.

We ended up taking the ring to a local jeweler to design a new custom ring and setting. They were able to use the platinum prongs from the solitaire to save some money and not put it to waste. We ended up creating an 8 stoned setting(1/4 ct wt for the side stones) with a white gold(my wife prefers that over platinum) band and it ended up costing less than we thought for a custom design.

Hope this helps and good luck with your search and congrats on your upcoming engagement!!!

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/14/2005 4:04:42 AM
Author: earn


Right now, I''m just trying to narrow it down to 2 to 3 diamonds using the available data.


Sounds difficult, but... what else anyway.

I would look for size (diameter) too, pay less attention to precise table / depth balance because it says little anyway. Perhaps keeping both small and close means something.

The ''In-house'' search above gives a ''spread'' measure that may help picking the ones with reasonably large size for their weight. Brilliance does not show anywhere on the lab report...

As far as I can tell, some of the table < depth discussion came because of THIS. You may want to read the original take on it.


To make use of the database somehow, I''d keep both those numbers well under 70, take better than ''good'' symmetry if given the choice and call a seller about a couple of stones. I don''t think they will ''call in'' more than 1-2 anyway. So there will not be much of a comparison among stones - only against some benchmark you would have agreed on. And this is where the cut grading gizmos start to act.

E.g.:

Carat Color Clarity Depth Tbl Lab Gdl Cul Sym Pol Flr Measurements L/w
1.04 G VS1 68.9% 64% GIA stk-tk no ex ex no 5.71x5.53x3.81 1.03 (square)
1.03 G VS1 67.6% 65% GIA stk-tk no gd vg ft 5.62x5.61x3.8 1.00 (square)
1.02 E VS1 67.8% 65% GIA m no vg vg no 5.83x5.65x3.83 1.03 (square)

Each are on the lists of several sellers.


Have you seen THIS? (AGA tables for princess cuts)? There has been quite a bit of discussion around here about what these stats are good for and what they can''t tell etc.

At a quick take, the AGA cherry stats for princess cuts run: 62-68 table, 64-75 depth, 10-15% crown height etc. If given options, I''d stick with the lower range of depth, look for medium or thicker girdle (there are some thick ones on the list above - but... choice is not unlimited).

The crown height is not given on most lab reports - the ''Signature'' princess cuts at James Allen and Blue Nile come with this extra bit of info and have been selected to have a higher crown to being with.


Anyway, I would think the point of all this is to guess what the diamond might look like and how much room of improvement there is for the cut. Neither can be done well with the available information.

I picked those and wrote this because the thread was started about this particular method of shopping (looking on lists first).


Hope some of this helps