Ideal vs Excellent cuts

[andrewk]

I would appreciate an explanation of the difference between ideal and excellent cut diamonds? I''m aware of the prescribed ranges of values for AGS ideal cut, but I would like to think that a "well-proportioned" excellent cut could be just as beautiful as an ideal cut with imperfectly matched parameters. Any thoughts about this?

As with most folks on the forum, I''m trying to strike a balance between beauty/quality of the stone and what I can afford. I made my first trip to the jeweler today. We talked for about an hour and looked at both set rings and loose diamonds. I mentioned what I can reasonably afford ($4500 plus or minus 10%) and he indicated that for an SI1, G/H stone, this would mean about 0.75 ct in ideal cut, or 0.90 ct in excellent cut. He then called two suppliers for quotes (with me sitting in front of him) and to have those stones sent in for me to look at later this week. When I see them (and their certs), I can post the specifications for furhter comment.

Before I go back and look, I''d appreciate comments on what to look for in a quality "excellent" cut, and what to avoid in a less-than-ideal "ideal" cut.

Thank you!

 

[elmo]

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On 8/10/2004 7:30:31 PM andrewk wrote:

I'd appreciate comments on what to look for in a quality 'excellent' cut
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In addition to a nice appearance

some things I might look for are a 58-59% table, non-ideal say VG polish or symmetry, same crown and pavilion angles as a nice ideal. Some things I'd avoid in a stone like this are thick or extremely thin girdles, stone too deep, poor optical symmetry, and a price that is very close to what a nice ideal can be purchased for.

 

[wonka27]

I don't know what your feelings are about online shopping, but I got a Good Old Gold .79 H/SI1 Ideal H&A with amazing optics for about $3100. It is GIA certed, but all the proportions fall into the AGS0 Ideal Cut. Keep in mind too there are some AGS0 Ideal Cut diamonds that don't necessarily perform up to their Ideal billing.

 

[elepri]

With your budget you can easily get a G/H SI ideal cut close to a carat from most of the pricescope vendors.

 

[andrewk]

Elepri (and others),

Thank you for your comments. I appreciate them.

Elepri, I am looking to only buy certified Canadian diamonds (for ethical reasons), so I imagine I'll be paying some sort of premium for them due to the (I imagine) increased cost of their production and branding. I know there are some online vendors that supposedly offer these diamonds as well, but I'm a little gun-shy about going through the process. Maybe I'll put up another post regarding this matter.

andrewk

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On 8/11/2004 9:03:59 AM elepri wrote:

With your budget you can easily get a G/H SI ideal cut close to a carat from most of the pricescope vendors. ----------------

 

[oldminer]

Excellent or Ideal, both will have a very nice "look" to nearly anyone. Just because we split hairs to define the top performing stones, does not mean this is what YOU MUST choose. One may select a color other than D or a clarity other than Flawless. It simply stands to reason that one may select a Premium cut versus an Ideal cut as one of the many ways to modify the asking price of diamonds.

If you wear a 1 carat round, Ideal cut, D IF and compare it to a 1 carat round Premium cut, F VS1 youmight not be able to see any real difference. Then again, you may see something. The price will be very different however.

One must be VERY cautious about selecting a diamond that has cutting faults. I would want to be certain that a Premium cut is, in fact, very close to ideally cut. It ought to be, but that depends on how liberal or strict the lab made their parameters to define "Premium". I am afraid many less than well cut stones might be included in Premium cut. SO be careful.