Young, broke, but in love

[mrfourpointo]

OK, typical story, I''ve been to every jewelry store and website on earth and I think this is the diamond I want. I do obviously have a limited budget. I am insistant on the clarity because I can see the flaw in a diamond from across the room. "I" color is OK with me because I can''t seem to tell a huge difference and need to save some money somewhere. I am however completely lost on the measurements, depth, and table. Are there any rough guidlines to follow, any for sure reason I shouldn''t get this stone? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Clueless in Texas



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Item Code: 6588068
Price: $3,813.00
Report: GIA
Shape: Asscher
Carat: 1.01
Color: I
Clarity: IF
Depth: 76.7
Table: 65
Girdle: STK
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good
Culet: None
Fluorescence: No
Measurements: 5.37-5.32X4.08
Length/Width: 1.01

 

[strmrdr]

need pictures to tell if an asscher is any good.

 

[mrfourpointo]

No pictures yet, it is on Whiteflash.com, which seems to be generally trusted around here. I''m just not sure if any of the measurements will automatically rule it out. I was wanting to order it so ensure I liked it, apparently their look & return policy seems legit.

 

[cinnabar]

Date: 7/13/2005 12:44:32 AM
Author:mrfourpointo
I am insistant on the clarity because I can see the flaw in a diamond from across the room. ''I'' color is OK with me because I can''t seem to tell a huge difference and need to save some money somewhere.

Women are often more color-sensitive than men ... are you sure your fiancee-to-be isn''t going to find an I a bit too yellow in a step cut diamond?

 

[mrfourpointo]

It was actually her choice not mine!!! Of course, at this point she would probably accept a Lifesaver if it fit on her finger. She can''t seem to tell a difference between any of the stones we''ve looked at except gut reaction, luckily we have very similar taste in that area.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 7/13/2005 1:48:28 AM
Author: mrfourpointo

can't seem to tell a difference between any of the stones we've looked at except gut reaction

Then go for it ! And it surely can be VS1, no ?

Anyway... except for shape and brighteness that should show in person (gut reaction is a great judge - especially after you have seen a stone or two), you could compare these diamonds by size. Given cut details, the size of1 carat square emerald cuts (=generic ascher cut) varies quite a bit. It may be worth looking for that detail. In general, very deep stones or those with a thick girdle look small for their weight. I would probably avoind thick girdle for this reason, but you never know. If you find a couple of stones that you both like, take one minute to compare their size by diameter (not weight). Apparently, .2mm starts to show side by side although it is subtle for me, and .5 makes a bit of difference IMO.

I couldn'ttell what is a 'standard' size for 1 carat square emerald cut diamonds, but close to 6mm sounds good for now. The most would be smaller than that, and I would surely excuse a nice stone from hitting the target. Shape and brilliance are at least as important.

Most such stones on the database here are close to 5.5mm. That size can well be .9cts or 1carat. So... you might want to consider some a bit below 1 carat (or above) if a certain size is the target.

Just in case...

.93cts F VS1 at Diamondsbylauren
link to source

 

[moremoremore]

I think that''s too deep, no? And I would lose the IF and go to Vs1 and get a higher color...just my 2 cents.

 

[strmrdr]

It is on the deep side but some of the best asschers are that deep.
Like I said earlier need pictures.
WF will bring it in and get you pictures on request.
You can get a shallower one that will face up a little bigger but any IF is hard to find and if that is what you want it limits your options.
If it was me id drop down to vs1, find a slightly shallower stone, up color to an H.

Most importantly get pictures!!

 

[moremoremore]

I''ll trade ya a *slightly* "worse" asscher for a slightly bigger one!

 

[mrfourpointo]

OK, no pictures on the origional diamond in question, however on paper it is still my front-runner. The salesperson also sent me these two to look at and said she could get me pictures on the other if I had them bring it in house. (Small fee if I did not want it though.) Any thoughts? My biggest concern is that I do not want anybody to be able to look into the stone and see any flaws, even upclose! The whole beauty of a stepped stone is to look down into the clarity that only a diamond can hold, am I right, or do I just have engagement ring fever?

http://www.whiteflash.com/asscher/Asscher-cut-diamond-629938.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/asscher/Asscher-cut-diamond-1226185.htm

 

[strmrdr]

Better color, better cut, and faces up bigger than either of those and better price:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/0_92ct_e_vs1_asscher.htm

 

[Maxine]

Date: 7/16/2005 12:46:06 AM
Author: strmrdr
Better color, better cut, and faces up bigger than either of those and better price:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/0_92ct_e_vs1_asscher.htm

Don''t know much about asschers, but love the picture of this one, Storm................

 

[MrsFrk]

You are not going to be able to see inclusions face up in most instances. I have an EC that is a VS1, and I cannot see the inclusion, though I have eagle eyes and know where to look for it from the GIA plot. Sometimes if I tilt it sideways I can find it (again, naked eye). With a loupe, I can find it like that.

I don''t know much about Asschers, but I would definitely look at clarities besides IF.

 

[mrfourpointo]

I''m not neccesarily afraid of fluoro, from what I can tell more educated people seek it than are turned off by it. But the phrase "Very Strong" does not neccesarily put me at ease. Other than that, yes I do think it is gorgeous.


?- For those who have seen online pictures compared with actual stones; do some websites do a better job of presenting their stones online than others?

 

[Maxine]

Best bet is to call the vendor and ask those questions.......(re: Fluoro).....just want to be sure it doesn''t give stone cloudy appearance....but these vendors will be up front about it....

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 7/16/2005 1:12:51 AM
Author: mrfourpointo
I''m not neccesarily afraid of fluoro, from what I can tell more educated people seek it than are turned off by it. But the phrase ''Very Strong'' does not neccesarily put me at ease. Other than that, yes I do think it is gorgeous.



?- For those who have seen online pictures compared with actual stones; do some websites do a better job of presenting their stones online than others?

I love fluoro in asschers.

The v-thin girdle does need to be looked into also.
I suspect its going to be a natural kicking it down cuz the sarin looks good. As long as its a small area its no problem.

Yes some do a much better job of it but you cant turn a sows ear into a silk purse either.

 

[strmrdr]

If its v-thin on more than a very small part then its a pass unless your mounting it in a bezel and have GOG set it.

Otherwise you could have GOG and or WF pull some more in for you to consider.

 

[laughinggravy]

Hi - congrats on the pending engagement

Do think over the IF aspect. Unless it is some how symbolic, you can get totally eye-clean stones at a much lower clarity rating. Remember they are graded at a magnification of 10x. If I were you I would drop to VS1 and go a bit bigger. I hestitate to mention the dreaded 'stone shrinkage syndrome' and perhaps your fiancèe is going to be impervious to it's dastardly clutches but it is a common disease

(Stone shrinkage = your diamond seems to get smaller after a few months. When I got mine, an 'asscher', 1.17 a touch under 6x6, I thought I wouldn't want to wear it out of the house it seemed so big and for the whole of that winter wore it turned around on public transport and was happy to put on gloves in public places. Now it seems just the right side of too small. Sad to admit

but horribly true!)

Nave fun looking and above all, take your time

Abi

 

[icekid]

I LOVE that GOG asscher- esp w/ the strong blue fluoro. wow

hmm, wonder if it''s too late to trade in my RB...

 

[pearcrazy]

I also think you need to reconsider the whole IF grade. Going to a VVS2 will still give you a very clean diamond and you can go higher in color (which I think you should strongly consider in a step cut diamond as they show color more than highly faceted cut shapes).

 

[blueroses]

Gotta agree w/ the consensus here re: color and visibile clarity in a step-cut stone....there is simply NO WAY you''d see flaws w/ an untrained eye in a VVS stone (and most VS stone) from across a room, let alone up close w/o a loupe! But you could easily stick to VVS1-2 to give yourself peace of mind so that you could come up a bit in color or size.

I would LOOOOVE strong blue w/ an E--YUM!

Good luck and lucky fi-to-be!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

I agree with everyone else. I would seriously look at GOG''s asschers and WF too. Loose the IF, go for VVS, and flouro is a good thing in asschers. Good luck!!!!

 

[aphisiglovessae]

I have an SI1 and it's totally eye-clean. You'll just have to actually look at it and see if it's eye-clean or not.

 

[Mara]

I third, fourth and fifth the lose the IF grade...an adjective like ''broke'' does not correspond well with an IF grade IMO.

knock it down to VS that''s eye clean and you''ll be fine.

and listen to storm about the asscher advice, he''s an asscher nut!!!

 

[reena]

yeah, sorry, but unless you have microscopes for eyes, there aint no way you''re seeing flaws in any stone VS1 or higher!