Need Help: Cannot Decide

[ktc]

I have two round brilliant cut diamonds here (GIA Certificate). Which one appears to be good?


1)
Price: $6800
Carat: 1.05
Clarity: VS2
Color: F
Depth: 60.9%
Table: 54%
Girdle: Extreamly Thin to Medium, Faceted
Culet: None
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Flourescence: - None
Measurements: 6.59 - 6.64 x 4.03

2)
Price: $6500
Carat: 1.06
Clarity: VS2
Color: G
Depth: 63.1%
Table: 55%
Girdle: Medium, Faceted
Culet: None
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Excellent
Flourescence: - None
Measurements: 6.49 - 6.53 x 4.11


--------------------------
Please give me your thoughts.

Thanks in advance...

 

[blodthecat]

Hi KTC,

I don''t think i would go for either of those.

#1 girdle extremely thin to medium :0(

#2 depth 63.1 is a bit too deep :0(

Which vendors have you been looking at?

I would also come down on clarity too. You can get a fantastic eye clean SI1/2 for a more reasonable price. (don''t pay for what you can''t see) Depending on how color sensitive you are, I would have no problems going up to I in color. I would also want a bit more information too regarding the spec.

Take your time with this, it''s the CUT that give a diamond the WOW factor. I am sure some of the guys on PS will find a few alternatives for you to consider.

Blod

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome too

The crown and pavillion angles are crucial to help assess cut quality and it seems you don't have them which is the case with many GIA certs until the new ones filter through. Does the vendor have any cut quality info to help such as a Sarin report or Idealscope Image, Brilliancescope etc?

I agree with all Blod says. I will see if I can find a nice example for you to compare with.

Ok check out this one http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-2173432.htm# as an example of a great cut with nice numbers - scores a 1 on the HCA too. This is the sort of diamond to look at for great performance and within budget too.

 

[ktc]

blodthecat and Lorelei,

Thanks for your comments. I found them at a local jewelry shop. These two diamonds looked great to me as a diamond newbie.

I don''t have the cut grade info but I guess it''s at least "Very good" or better since they were sparkling as bright as what was graded "Very good" at a different shop. I could tell that G was just a little yellow-ish compared to F.

1) Regarding the girdle, I understand why Extremely thin is :0(
2) Regarding the depth %, how would a diamond look like when it is out of the "ideal" range? To my untrained eyes, they all looked almost the same...

Thanks again for your help.
-ktc

 

[Lorelei]

A diamond with too much depth can look a little smaller than it should for it's carat weight. A good depth to me is around 60 - 61% give or take a tad. Thin girdles can be more prone to chipping in some instances, med to thick girdles can hide weight there, You want to see the " weight " of the diamond where you can see it face up. The depth is only one factor with cut which basically can waste weight or appearant size in a diamond, much more important are the crown and pavillion angles which help you discern how well light is reflected in the diamond and back to your eye( very basically!) and how sparkly, firey and brilliant it appears. Numbers are one thing, but if you find a diamond beautiful with a less than ideal set of numbers or unknown, if you are happy and love the diamond that is the most important thing. Trust your eyes and bear in mind most diamonds look great in jewellery store lighting to see if you can view the diamonds in outside light. You could order an idealscope ( details available at the top of the page or by searching) which will help you to tell if a diamond is well cut or not, handy little tool. Take your time, read the tutorials under knowledge and decide what you want from a diamond. You have a good budget and could find a fantastic diamond that would blow the old socks off with a little time spent learning and researching. There are a lot of diamonds out there, don't settle or buy before you are ready unless you are absolutely sure one of the above you posted is the diamond for you. There is a lot to finding the right diamond. Hope this helps. Also the more diamonds you look at the more skilled you become at noticing the subtle differences between them.

 

[Gemguy]

Hi

My recomend not to buy either one

Look for better cut stone''s,The amaunt that you are going to spend is not a Joke.Try to be depth vise 60%- 62%





Gem Sezgin

 

[ktc]

Thanks for all of you guys who gave me great inputs. I will check some other places.
Will keep you posted.

Thanks,
ktc

 

[ktc]

I have been checking local shops, and have started checking online stores.

And I''ve found these stone. Which one would you recommend?

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-714348.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-499911.htm
http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00493802

Thanks,

-ktc