Mind Clean

[Gypsy]

I have to say that all my diamonds are mindclean though.

My engagement ring center is a F VS1... so definitely. And the cut on the asscher is exceptional. Which is nice. Plus the way it is now set (third time is a charm) really maximizes the light return too.

My .32's for my Aurora are all G SI AGS0

My Odds and End's larger diamonds are OECs at I color on the .4 and L on the .6 and I love both. The color on the .6 is beautiful and I love it-- plus it was recut by BGD for light return. I've looked at it on my finger, and as a ring it would fine too. Because it's an old cut, though.

I wouldn't compromise on CUT quality but I would compromise size and clarity to get better color and cut quality.

 

[marcy]

Very interesting to see what everyone wants, has and thinks. I think my G VS2 is my sweet spot.

I had a .53 ct E VS1 AGS000 and LOVED it but after wearing it for about 4 years I wanted a bigger diamond.

For Christmas last year I got a 3/4 ct GIA EX F VS2 and while it was a pretty diamond in my mind it never performed like my 1/2 carat. DH told me I was being nit picky but within 6 months I was looking to upgrade.

I started looking for a .90 ct range colorless AGS000 but couldn't find one at the store where I would be trading my diamond. I ended up getting a 1.03 ct G VS2 AGS000 and am very happy with it. While I actually can't see any color in the diamond I do occasionally check that store's inventory for E and F 1 ct AGS000 - even to go to a F is over $2000 more for the same carat weight. That's just not worth it to me when this diamond is very white.

When looking I was willing to go to Si1 clarity to go up in color but DH always ruled them out. He knows me well enough to know if I spotted any of those inclusions naked eye I'd be looking to trade it in for a VS2 of VS1 diamond.

I am very happy with the 1 carat size. I generally don't like large jewelry on me (it's pretty just not my style) so I doubt I'll be trading in my diamond at any time in the near future.

 

[lknvrb4]

I have exactly what I want an F SI1 that is eye clean. I do not see any yellow in my pear. Now if I had an old OEC cut I would want the warmth of a higher colored diamond.

 

[Regular Guy]

Nobody's picked up on my additional criteria, "ethically sourced."

But...well...dated today, Martin Rapaport has put out a sleepy little piece, giving some guidance on a proposed "how to."

Here:

http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=36643&ArticleTitle=After+Kimberley…+Now+What?

Really, and despite no one having picked up and reinforced this suggestion...it is exactly a "mind clean" issue, and really does belong perfectly here, in this very thread.

I'm going to alert admin. I think it would get lost in the sticky. At least it should go in the blog. I do think the analysis spins current discussion, and maybe even does it only slightly. But, it's not from a whack job. It's from a guy who knows the industry inside and out.

I think the decision to reflect on "post-Kimberly" reflects on the substantive nature of this turning of the time and tide.

I hope others on Pricescope will take some interest, too.

Ira Z.

 

[lyra]

Haha, Dreamer, I think we have the same mind clean issues exactly. I favour my .76 G VS1 etoile over my 1.77 K VS1. I could easily go to an H, and near ideal cut will work for me also. I could definitely go to VS2 but below that bothers me. What I plan to do eventually is make a 3 stone ring with the K and 2 AVC's, since a lot of those will be similar in colour to the K and would create an antique look (double prongs on all the stones). I think that would fix my issues. Like you, I really do not see going up in size, I have too many other priorities in life and don't play the lottery.

 

[Dancing Fire]

if i had a lot of money...a well cut F VS1 will do the trick.

 

[coati]

Nobody's picked up on my additional criteria, "ethically sourced."

But...well...dated today, Martin Rapaport has put out a sleepy little piece, giving some guidance on a proposed "how to."

Here:

http://www.diamonds.net/news/NewsItem.aspx?ArticleID=36643&ArticleTitle=After+Kimberley…+Now+What?

Really, and despite no one having picked up and reinforced this suggestion...it is exactly a "mind clean" issue, and really does belong perfectly here, in this very thread.

I'm going to alert admin. I think it would get lost in the sticky. At least it should go in the blog. I do think the analysis spins current discussion, and maybe even does it only slightly. But, it's not from a whack job. It's from a guy who knows the industry inside and out.

I think the decision to reflect on "post-Kimberly" reflects on the substantive nature of this turning of the time and tide.

I hope others on Pricescope will take some interest, too.

Ira Z.

Ira-

I included Rapaport's piece in a blog earlier today.
Kimberley Process News Roundup - August 2011

And, here is another blog on Fair Trade.
Video: Rapaport Fair Trade Diamond, Jewelry Panel Discussion

An "ethical jewelry" guide is in the works so stay tuned.

To answer Dreamer's question, mind clean for me equals a diamond I deem "ethical." I no longer purchase new goods. I buy vintage, antique or second-hand diamonds, as the cuts suit my taste, and I feel good about recycling. I do this with many other purchases-not just with diamonds. As far as color and clarity are concerned, I don't have mind clean issues per se. If I can't see it, or if it doesn't bother me, then it works for me. I tend to go for lower colors to get larger carat weights, and I buy higher clarities, because I have loupe-vision. (extremely near sighted) But if I find a feather through the microscope at 30X, and I can't see it with my naked eye, then I couldn't care less.

 

[kenny]

Is mind clean like brainwashing?

 

[coati]

Is mind clean like brainwashing?

More like OCD.

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Color - G or better
Clarity - SI1 or better
Cut - since I've found that I like fancy cuts in a cushion type shape then I would say "sparkly"

 

[jaysonsmom]

I current have a 1.81 H SI1 Triple Ex

Although I'm happy for the most part, I wouldn't mind upgrading in clarity and color eventually. In most lighting my "H" color is very white, but under the golden california sun, I detect a little warmth which I'd rather not have. I'm pretty color sensitive. My previous trade-ins were "F" and "E" in color.

As for clarity, my SI1 is sparkly, and 100% eyeclean from the top, but from the side there are clouds that look like fuzziness that I can't scrub clean, and it bothers only myself because no one else is going to view my diamond from close range and view it from the pavillion.

Size- anything 1.5ct and up.
Color - G or better
Clarity - VS2 or better
Cut - Nothing short of Ideal (AGS) or GIA (Excellent)

 

[pregcurious]

Cut: My ering holds a half carat G SI1 with blue fluor and a fine cut (just graded by the jeweler, but I think it's pretty accurate). The cut is a mess. My husband bought it for me when he was a student, and we both knew very little about diamonds at that time. Recently, I was offered an upgrade, and I decided to keep it and reset, and also start building a red spinel 3 stone ring with diamond sides (still not built) instead of trading in and spending the same amount one big diamond solitaire.

The old ering stone reminds me of our humble beginnings, but I still drool over AVCs and well cut emeralds/asschers. I tell myself that I'll get over it.

 

[Phoenix]

I wonder if diamond prices would start to fall soon, now that the stock markets around the world are falling and there seems to be a risk of a double-dip recession. China is slowing down too, so maybe the Chinese will stop plonking money into diamonds!

 

[centralsquare]

I wonder if diamond prices would start to fall soon, now that the stock markets around the world are falling and there seems to be a risk of a double-dip recession. China is slowing down too, so maybe the Chinese will stop plonking money into diamonds!

This would be great for my diamond collection....but bad for my retirement, job security.....quite a dilemma!

 

[Phoenix]

I wonder if diamond prices would start to fall soon, now that the stock markets around the world are falling and there seems to be a risk of a double-dip recession. China is slowing down too, so maybe the Chinese will stop plonking money into diamonds!

This would be great for my diamond collection....but bad for my retirement, job security.....quite a dilemma!

Definitely a worry yeah, if the world slips into a second/ double-dip recession in such a short time after the last! Not that a recession any time is *ever* good.

 

[jstarfireb]

My engagement ring diamond is a 1ct I/VVS2 AGS ideal princess. The only thing that bothers me about it is the color. I'm starting to see the hint of color on the pavilion view, so I really wish I would have gone with a G or H. Everything else is fine. So I think my mind-clean stats for an engagement ring are:

Cut: AGS ideal princess...I'd accept nothing less!
Color: G, maybe H, or whiter
Clarity: VS2 or cleaner
Size: 1-1.5ct

 

[kenny]

In colorless diamonds I prefer E/F VVS, but have gone down to H VS2 for the Octavia since the cut was rare and that's all they had.

In colored diamonds I prefer Fancy Intense/Vivid/Deep and don't mind paying for VVS but will settle for eye clean since FCDs are so rare.

 

[Black Jade]

*BUMP

I think my F SI1 AGS 000 is the prettiest diamond I have ever seen and the plain platinum ring it is in is just to my taste exactly. It is not only eye clean but since the inclusion is not dark, it is hard to see even with a loupe. I have to confess something very silly though. I ADORE this diamond but was provoked that when I got it it was not much admired because many people think it is small. It is .66, which is about the the perfect size so far as I am concerned. I childishly got really annoyed with always others' over 1 carat diamonds admired while mine was ignored. So I went ahead and bought a J I1 diamond purely for size. I wanted to know that I had a 'bigger' diamond too when I got annoyed at the larger (and usually much uglier) diamonds of others getting admired. But a funny thing happened. I found I liked the J I1 diamond,when I got it, quite a lot. It is very pretty and sparkly and I find the color does not annoy me. And I do not see the inclusion, which is hidden in the faceting. So now I love both.

But I have to admit, I had to buy the J I1 with my own money because I could not stand the thought of my husband gifting me with a large but 'lower quality' diamond. "Mind clean" is only important to me when it is a gift from him. My original is an H VS2, (but uncerted) then he bought me the F SI1 and finally H VS2 earrings. Its very strange, the earring stones are larger than the stone in the ring he bought, but I did not want to switch them because I loved wearing an F on my hand and looking into the side, clear as ice. I didn't want a lower color. Yet, as I said, I do find myself enjoying the J a lot.

However, the smaller F is the stone I love the most, and wear the most (on my right hand, I always wear the original on my left) and I love knowing I have an AGS F diamond. If I could only wear one from now on (which I'm glad is not the case) I would wear the F.

I did also buy a D VVS or IF just to be able to say that I own one. It is truly teeny--.08 carat but very sparkly, so much so that it does make the illusion setting it is in, into a real illusion--from a slight distance away you would swear that the ring was set with a very sparkly .25 carat.

 

[Haven]

I have a dirty mind.
It doesn't take much for a stone to be mind clean for me.
I just have to love love love the way it looks. After that, I'm sold, and I run off into the distance and wear it happily, ever after.

This is probably why I ended up going for my current stone after learning that it was certified an O/P even though I thought it was around a J. The color didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now. I love the way it looks, and I've never regretted it since. I've owned two SI1 diamonds and cannot see the inclusions in them, and knowing where they are doesn't phase me, either.

I guess you could say I'm easy.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I have a dirty mind.
It doesn't take much for a stone to be mind clean for me.
I just have to love love love the way it looks. After that, I'm sold, and I run off into the distance and wear it happily, ever after.

This is probably why I ended up going for my current stone after learning that it was certified an O/P even though I thought it was around a J. The color didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now. I love the way it looks, and I've never regretted it since. I've owned two SI1 diamonds and cannot see the inclusions in them, and knowing where they are doesn't phase me, either.

I guess you could say I'm easy.

A good way to live my friend!

 

[Laila619]

I have a dirty mind.
It doesn't take much for a stone to be mind clean for me.
I just have to love love love the way it looks. After that, I'm sold, and I run off into the distance and wear it happily, ever after.

This is probably why I ended up going for my current stone after learning that it was certified an O/P even though I thought it was around a J. The color didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now. I love the way it looks, and I've never regretted it since. I've owned two SI1 diamonds and cannot see the inclusions in them, and knowing where they are doesn't phase me, either.

I guess you could say I'm easy.

Me too. Nothing really bothers me at all, except feather inclusions. Other than that, bring it on! Low color or clarity--fine with me.

 

[Rhea]

Colour I'm not bothered by - I like vintage rings.
Clarity and faucet pattern are very important to me.

My engagement ring - 1/2 carat RB, shines like mad. It sits too high for me and is too delicate, I find I like chunkier rings that take up more of my finger. It's colour is fine, it's clarity isn't high enough - it's never been certed. To be honest, if I had it appraised and it came back as a VS or SI1 I think I'd stop thinking about the clarity. It has a small chip in it, which I am bothered about.

Another ring I wear - 1/3 carat OEC in a filigree setting is lovely which takes up more real estate on my finger. It's more mind clean. The stone is smaller and less noticable (because of job and area I live I feel more comfortable with that). It's roughly G-H colour. It does have a small chip in it, which i obsess about, but can't see without a loupe. It's hard to find OECs and older stones with an entire smooth girdle!

 

[Cehrabehra]

VS2 is my sweet spot. I don't need more than that, but I am uncomfortable with less. I am certain there are stones out there SI1 that I would accept with no issues whatsoever, but it isn't a guarantee and clarity is something important to me - not sure why.

Color though - I wish I'd gone lower. I wish I'd gone with an LMN stone.

 

[cereal_diamond]

My main concern for some reason has always been clarity... I tried reading lots n lots of posts here and there and I get the eyeclean msg but for some reason I just don't like any feathers in my stones, no matter how small they are visible or not... it just bug me and that's rather sad coz it really limits my choices... but I'd say VS2 is good enough for me For color I've opted for an E this time as its for an engagement ring and I wanted it to be closest to colorless as possible but Mama always told me G should do the trick and I stand by her word I think for a ring size 4.5 1ct does it but ideally 1.5-1.7ct would be what I want to upgrade to next

 

[basil]

I have a dirty mind.
It doesn't take much for a stone to be mind clean for me.
I just have to love love love the way it looks. After that, I'm sold, and I run off into the distance and wear it happily, ever after.

This is probably why I ended up going for my current stone after learning that it was certified an O/P even though I thought it was around a J. The color didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now. I love the way it looks, and I've never regretted it since. I've owned two SI1 diamonds and cannot see the inclusions in them, and knowing where they are doesn't phase me, either.

I guess you could say I'm easy.

Me too. I had a 1.57 H S12 AGS 0 that I could see inclusion in if it got dirty, which it did frequently. I could only see if I looked much closer than anyone else would look, and it sort of reminded me to clean it. I lost it - and it truly broke my heart. What I wouldn't give to have that stone back.

I now have a 1.22 G I1 with the main inclusion hidden under a prong. I can't see the inclusion even though it's supposedly bigger than the old stone. I had actually forgotten that it was I1 until I looked it up recently!

In both stones I can see color when I hold them next to a CZ or something. But I can't see it when I'm wearing it so I don't care.

 

[Jennifer W]

Interesting thread! When I thought about the question, to type my answer, I realised I don't have any mind clean issues at all. I'm with Haven on this one - if I love the way it looks, then it's clean!

 

[kindred]

I think mind clean for me would be G color or higher. This is my one regret with my engagement stone. I have an I color and I see the tint most of the time. I really wish I had spent more time looking at it in natural light.

I am not too picky about clarity. An eye-clean SI2 is good enough for me. I like being able to see the inclusions with a loupe.
Size wise, I prefer 1.05 ct. (in case of a chip, it could probably still be re-cut to a 1 ct. size) to a 1.55 ct.
I'd like to stay with a AGS triple 0 H&A cut.

 

[stargurl78]

Cut - GIA Excellent or better (has to be 2 or lower on the HCA to be "mind-clean")
Color - F or better
Clarity - VS2 or better

I also like faint-med flouro but its not a must have.

My e-ring is a .79ct E VS2 GIA Excellent (lower than 2 on the HCA) with faint flouro so its definitely mind-clean for me and I'm glad my fiance picked this stone (the proposal was a surprise so I wasn't involved). However, size was sacrificed to meet these criteria. Eventually I hope to upgrade to something between 1.25 - 1.5 ct. I'll be perfectly happy with my current stone for many years though (maybe forever if diamond prices don't come back down!).

 

[MissGotRocks]

Truly mind clean for me would be D IF! Then I wouldn't have to worry about a thing! I currently have a 2.22 AGS0 G, SI1. There are many little dots around the edge of the stone - none of which are visible to me and even with a loupe, it's hard to see them. My criteria was that the table area had to be completely eyeclean because that's the area I focus on when I look at the stone. This stone was great in that it was graded an SI1 because of the number of dots and not because of one or two large inclusions. Previous to this stone I had a 2.02 that had a twining wisp right under the table. You could not see it with the naked eye but the loupe showed it immediately. Even though I could not see it in normal conditions, it bothered me because I knew it was there. Hence, the last upgrade!

G color works well for me as well. It's not a D color but I don't see yellow in this stone (unless it is in a yellow room). I personally don't care for yellowish cast in stones so this fits the bill just fine! I've seen some beautiful D-E stones but don't think I'd pay the premium for it - the G color doesn't bother me so I'm good there as well. Having said all of that, I have traded stones many times to get to my level of personal satisfaction with size, color and clarity. I've had this stone for 6 years now so I guess I'm sold on it!

 

[MrsBettyBoop]

I've been really thinking about this. I have a dirty mind too I think. I really just have to love it. I am very near sighted so clarity would be my biggest issue. While I think at first I would cringe to say that I had an I1 stone (in an e-ring) as long as it didn't impact the beauty or outright glare at me, I wouldn't care in the end. I just like 'em BIG!