Trying to make up for the worst diamond ring story...

[sixzero]

I''m going to post a list of possible candidate diamonds from whiteflash. I''m getting persuaded to not purchase a SI though... does anybody think I should consider SI? Why or why not?

 

[sixzero]

Date: 12/12/2005 6:56:19 AM
Author: allycat0303
Sixzero,


Personally I love the story because it makes the whole purchase thing a lot sweeter. I don''t know a lot about princesses, but the two that Ebree posted look beautiful! On another note, I have an S1 and it''s beautiful inclusion free (it came from WF) The stone was is SO beautiful, I wasn''t disappointed at all, I think with all the tools that GG offer you, and with the help of some REALLY knowledgeable people on this site, you''re going to pick a KILLER diamond. Maybe even better then you could have picked in person. I find it really difficult (under all of the intense lighting) in a store to get a sense of how much the diamond ACTUALLY sparkles in comparision to others. They all look good under those lights (store in Canada, don''t let you check it under different lighting

) actually the last time I tried on a 1 cara I1, the clerk chained it before letting me try it on.) So it''s nice to walk around and check the diamond in all sorts of lighting conditions, without the clerk waiting impatiently for it back!


Keep us updated!

you mentioned you purchased a SI1 from whiteflash. When I called them today they were steering me away from SI''s... not sure why I am really open to any diamond SI and up as long as it''s inclusion free to the naked eye...

 

[sixzero]

Date: 12/12/2005 5:48:37 PM
Author: researcher

Date: 12/12/2005 5:18:09 PM

Author: sixzero

yes, I did see it and will be viewing all my options. I liked the stones you sent me, also the 1st ebree sent me. I will be following up on those tomorrow when I contact gog. Not sure why my wife selected that stone but I think she''s trying to get the biggest stone she can get while not compromising the quality as much.

The most important factor is cut. The others are just subjective, what ou view as quality. For me, as long as the diamond is 100% (and I mean 100%) eye clean from all angles I could care less what the clarity rating is. It does not matter to me if my stone has 2 inclusions or 10, as long as no one can see them without a loupe. As for color, there are some people here who will not go lower than an F because they want the icy whiteness of the colorless stones. There are just as many people who say the best deals are stones in the G-I range as they face up EXTREMELY white when they are well cut. And after all, if the only time you''re going to see any hint of color is when the stone is face down on a white piece of paper and next to other stones, who cares if it''s not the highest color grade? There are even TONS of examples of people who have purchased J colored stones that face up white as can be. So, you and your wife just need to decide which of the ''C''s'' are most important to you. For me, they are in this order:


Cut--I will not sacrifice

Carat--Bigger is better in my book!

Color--I will not go below an AMAZING I/J in color (I is my max in 3+ carat stones, J my max in <3 carat stones)

Clarity--I prefer VS2-SI1 100% eye clean stones as I think paying for something you can''t see is pointless


But, you have to decide what will work for you. When I looked at stones in the mall, I did not think I would ever consider a stone lower than G in color. The reason? None of those stones were well cut. But, when I started visiting local B&M shops that carried higher quality stones I began to notice that I could go lower in color if the stones were GIA/AGS certified and had a great cut. It''s something to consider if your wife wants the ''biggest bang for the buck'' like me

I agree with you 100% the C''s in that order are important to me. I am not to knowledgable with the cut aspect of diamonds, I know about carat, color, and clarity. If I tell WF or GOG that I want a SI that is 100% eye clean.. will it be that when I receive it? How do you decide between so many different diamonds if they meet your cut expectations.

 

[sixzero]

What would you say are the negatives to this ring?:

http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2092810.htm


Price: $5,635.00
Report: GIA
Shape: Princess
Carat: 1.30
Color: I
Clarity: VS1
Depth: 74.8
Table: 71
Girdle: THN-STK
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Culet: None
Fluorescence: No
Measurements: 6.10-5.95X4.45
Length/Width: 1.03

Everything was to the standards you sent to me to use as a guide, except I wasn't sure about the girdle, culet, flu, or measurements. The table/depth is a bit off but how big is the difference. You told me if the table is 70, the depth should be 70 as well right? What would you say is wrong with this ring?

http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2131799.htm

The diamond above is also very similiar but $600 less... why?

http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2069776.htm

This diamond is an SI, smaller, and is a H in color instead of an I and is more expensive then the last 2 I posted... I don't understand this and I think this is why I'm confused. I would think that this ring be less expenisve because it's an SI, and smaller.

I think I might be understanding this a bit more:

http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1786569.htm

This diamond's table/depth is according to the standards you mentioned, good color, great polish/symm. What would you consider this diamond?

 

[MiniMouse]

sixzero,

Without doubt, cut should be your top priority. Without a good cut, you will not get the best sparkle out of your diamond. Whiteflash have fabulously cut diamonds. We picked my diamond from their Expert Selection and we are still (6 months later) blown away with it.

As for SI1. So long as you make sure Whiteflash are aware that it has to be totally eye clean, then you can trust their judgement. I know their working definition of eye clean is No inclusions visible at a distance of 25cm (AGS grading standard), in natural light with 20/20 vision. We ended up buying a VS2 from them but we could have very well gone down to an SI1 because we have never scrutinised the diamond right up close or under a loupe (we''ve realised we''re not that particular about it). It just depends on what you personally call eye clean. If you and your wife want to stick your noses as close to the diamond as you can get, then sure, you may well see SI1 inclusions (unless hidden by a prong). However, most people do not look that closely. In my opinion, so long as an inclusion is not staring me in the face during the course of a normal day (at least 30cm away), then it is eye clean to me, however other people differ and don''t want to see a single spec at any distance. Decide how strict you and your wife are on what you consider to be eye clean and discuss it with Whiteflash, they are good at understanding what diamond will work for you and what won''t. They really do listen to their customers and will come up with what you''re looking for. I''m very excited for you and your wife. Your story is wonderful. GOOD LUCK and keep us posted.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/12/2005 5:36:16 PM
Author: NanStacy

...I''m not a big fan of them because of the shallow crown and huge table. Basically, the lower part of diamond without much top.

However, the princess cuts with the AGS ''0'' grade are fabulous! ...

I''d give this a second thought - not that nice ones are not out these without the AGS pedigree, but the cut grading just gives some incentive to make such cherry proportions.

Unless you have decided on a seller already, there''s always the possibility to look on a cutter''s list for such stones.

This is what I am talking about: Link

Paul Sledgers from Infinity Diamonds posts here as ''Paul-Antwerp''.

 

[researcher]

I''m not sure why they are telling you to stay away from an SI stone. My guess is that, in your time frame, they might be concerned that the stone will not be 100% eye clean (when viewed up close) and it will slow down the process. But, they should be able to get an idea of the clarity with the GIA or AGS report.

My stone is an SI1, and it is 100% eye clean. I was scared at first because the GIA report had several inclusions marked on the plot, but none of them are visible without a loupe--even when I hold my stone right up to my face, with or without my contacts. It was pretty funny when I first got my stone because I was sure I''d be able to see something, so whenever my ring would get dirty I would tell my SO that I could see an inclusion. He would sigh, wipe my stone with his shirt, and the "inclusion" would be gone. Horrible, I know, but I really did not want a stone that I would not want people to examine close up. After scrutinizing my stone for about a month, I decided it''s great having an SI stone because you can easily identify it with a loupe, but when you get a good one it is only with a loupe that you see the inclusions.

Oh, and I have seen VS stones with visible inclusions. As MiniMouse mentioned, "eye clean" is graded from 10 inches away in natural light, so VS stones that are eye clean may just have fewer inclusions--like one big black one that is visible from 5 inches away

 

[researcher]

Date: 12/13/2005 1:58:13 AM
Author: sixzero
What would you say are the negatives to this ring?:


http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2092810.htm



Price: $5,635.00

Report: GIA

Shape: Princess

Carat: 1.30

Color: I

Clarity: VS1

Depth: 74.8

Table: 71

Girdle: THN-STK

Polish: Excellent

Symmetry: Very Good

Culet: None

Fluorescence: No

Measurements: 6.10-5.95X4.45

Length/Width: 1.03


Everything was to the standards you sent to me to use as a guide, except I wasn''t sure about the girdle, culet, flu, or measurements. The table/depth is a bit off but how big is the difference. You told me if the table is 70, the depth should be 70 as well right? What would you say is wrong with this ring?


http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2131799.htm


The diamond above is also very similiar but $600 less... why?


http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2069776.htm


This diamond is an SI, smaller, and is a H in color instead of an I and is more expensive then the last 2 I posted... I don''t understand this and I think this is why I''m confused. I would think that this ring be less expenisve because it''s an SI, and smaller.


I think I might be understanding this a bit more:


http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1786569.htm


This diamond''s table/depth is according to the standards you mentioned, good color, great polish/symm. What would you consider this diamond?

I just wanted to clarify about the depth. If the table is 70%, the depth should be AT LEAST 70%. There will be exceptions, but you have a better chance of finding a good stone if the depth is equal to or greater than the table. I answered all of your questions in the PM, but maybe others will provide you with their explanations as well

 

[sixzero]

I wanted to let everybody know that I have made a decision on the ring I will buy for my wife. Here are the details:

http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2069776.htm

Item Code: 8544865 Price: $5,237.00
Report: GIA Shape: Princess
Carat: 1.26 Color: H
Clarity: SI1
Depth: 71.1
Table: 69
Girdle: TN-M
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Culet: None
Fluorescence: No
Measurements: 6.16-6.13X4.36
Length/Width: 1.00
What do you think? Good choice?
The other diamond we were considering I posted the link in my other post it was a 1.30 for $400 more. Whiteflash told me they would assure this SI is 100% eye clean. If you would like to see the other diamond here is the link:

http://whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-2092810.htm

Price: $5,635.00
Report: GIA
Shape: Princess
Carat: 1.30
Color: I
Clarity: VS1
Depth: 74.8
Table: 71
Girdle: THN-STK
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Culet: None
Fluorescence: No
Measurements: 6.10-5.95X4.45
Length/Width: 1.03
I am going to purchase this diamond today with a platinum cathedral band. I guess the only other issue I am having is now finding the best cathedral band for the best price. Ebree posted a link to a cathedral band earlier in this thread but my wife thought the diamond was a bit low on that band. She would like the diamond a bit higher… does anybody know what she''s talking about and does whiteflash have something like this?
I also spoke to gog but they could not get me a ring before christmas and that ultimately led to my decision. I will however contact them today just to inform them that I appreciate they took helping me.
Thanks everyone that assisted me in this process. I will post pictures when I receive the ring.

 

[researcher]

Before you purchase, you will want to know the crown/pavilion info and see an ideal scope image. Has WF provided you with these yet? They will help tell you if the stone is a true winner.

As for setting the diamond higher, they can do that very easily. Brian will know exactly what you''re talking about