HELP! Question about extra facets

[afguy]

Hello all. This is my first post, but I have been all over this site for the past couple of days. Love all the information there is to be absorbed, yet very overwhelming. I''m planning on popping the question to my girlfriend after I get home from deployment, and hopefully by Christmas. I''ve learned a great deal about diamonds over the past few days, and feel very confident at being able to look at a diamond''s specs and knowing what is good and not. Mainly, Fluorescence and Clarity Enhanced is bad, and "Cut is King" lol. But the knowledge i lack is how extra facets affect the diamond in price and brilliance. Is it ok or a big no no? Can you still achieve and "Ideal Cut" with an extra facet? Basically, should I look at it as good or bad?

Here are the specs of the diamond i am currently looking at on uniondiamond.com

Shape: Princess
Cut: Select Ideal™
Carat: 1.10
Color: H
Clarity: VVS1
Regular Price: $3643
Wire Transfer Price: $3537

Diamond Proportions:
Measurements: 5.94-5.69-4.14
Length to Width: 1.04
Depth Percentage: 72.8 %
Table Percentage: 70 %
Girdle: TN
Culet: None (Pointed)
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: None (Inert)

Oh and BTW, what does "TN" mean for the Girdle? sorry for the long post, I just want the ring to be perfect. I appreciate any and every helpful response.

Thanks

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome afGuy

I hope your deployment goes quickly for both you and your GF!

Bascially an extra facet is quite commonly seen with Princess cuts. " An extra facet is usually just to remove a small surface inclusion or other feature. It does not effect the grading, that’s why it’s in the comments section of the report."

This is a nice explanation I found in the archives for you which hopefully will help. Also when choosing your diamond, it is best not to go by labels so much as Ideal cut , Premium cut etc, these are often used by vendors and in some instances, don't always mean much. It is best to use a vendor who has the diamonds in house and has the cut technologies to assist you, along with their own expertise. Whiteflash, Good old Gold, James Allen, Wink Jones and Engagement Rings Direct are popular Pricescope vendors with an excellent rep here. If you look into the diamond you posted more thoroughly, ask if they have an ASET image which would be helpful, possibly an Idealscope Image and a photo of the diamond they can send you. I don't know if UD provide this service or if this is an in house diamond, but it may be worth asking. As to the numbers, I don't know much about Princess cuts to help you, but someone should be along who can help more.

Also TN for the girdle means thin. Fluorescence isn't a bad thing, many of us love it here!! It is a matter of preference, it seems it has gone in and out of style over the years, colourless diamonds with blue fluoro were often referred to as blue whites, some love this effect in these rocks, others prefer none. Many here are delighted to find a diamond in a lower colour grade with fluorescence, as it is said that it can help the diamond face up whiter.

Mainly the negatives are rare with strong blue, in the occasional diamond, it can make it look cloudy or milky in some lights, but to put this into perspective; we have a vendor here who has sold thousands of diamonds over the years. Out of these diamonds, only a few with strong blue fluorescence have shown any negative effects, but of course it is prudent to ask the vendor if you are considering a diamond with SB that it doesn't have any adverse effect on the diamond.

Also lastly, yes, cut is very important for a diamond's beauty!! Round diamonds are easier to judge by the numbers than fancy shapes, but your cut technologies are very useful to help with evaluating a Princess cut, along with the numbers to give you a start, so a vendor who can offer these is invaluable.

 

[afguy]

Thank you Lorelei for your time in replying to my post. I never imagined trying to find the perfect diamond would be so intense past the 4C''s. haha.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/19/2007 10:05:42 AM
Author: afguy
Thank you Lorelei for your time in replying to my post. I never imagined trying to find the perfect diamond would be so intense past the 4C's. haha.

You are most welcome! And yes, that is why so many of us have stuck around here for years as there is so much to learn!! But I can promise you, it will be time well spent researching and comparing, you will end up with a diamond that will blow your GF's socks off!!

Also I missed it in your first post, you could easily drop the clarity from VVS to VS or even an SI - especially if you work with a vendor who has the diamond in house, that way they could verify if it is eyeclean or not. Of course it is a personal preference, but some here call it not paying for what the eye can't see as many lower clarities are eyeclean. But it depends as some like VVS for purity reasons, I just wanted to let you know that you could go lower for clarity and still have a very clean diamond.

 

[afguy]

I''ll definately keep that in mind. Thank you again.

 

[afguy]

To The Top. Just wondering what other opinions are out there.