Newbie politely asking for help

[Cmhollis]

Hi everyone I'm currently getting ready to pull the trigger on a ring/loose stone, but am quite clueless when it comes to this subject. Due to ethical and environmental concerns my future fiancé prefers a lab grown diamond. I have one that I think fits the bill but am skeptical since the price is significantly cheaper than similar diamonds.

This is the one I am looking to buy off gemesis: http://gemesis.com/1-2ct-round-vvs2-i/ . I'm afraid that the blemishes on IGI lab report diagram will be very noticeable?

The budget for the loose stone is around $5500, and have a deposit on this setting:http://www.tacori.com/engagement/ht2545rd65y.html

I would greatly appreciate anybody's knowledge/help.


Thanks

 

[JulieN]

The proportions/cut on it is not good.

 

[Cmhollis]

Thank you for confirming what I feared. From the lab report what are the indications that it was cut poorly , and what should I be looking for?

Also is it true that with a yellow gold setting the color is slightly less important? Thank you so much for your help.

 

[JulieN]

You can use HCA as a quick and dirty proportion checker: https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

 

[Cmhollis]

Would this one be a noticeably nicer albeit smaller diamond? http://gemesis.com/1-04-ct-round-vvs2-i/

 

[RockyRacoon]

Have you heard of Brilliant Earth?

They focus on the exact concerns of your fiance.

If you MUST have a lab grown stone, get some more info about this one:
http://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/665771/

BUT... with the way Brilliant Earth has it set up, they sell natural diamonds, as well. They claim to only stock stones that were mined, cut, and polished according to 'exacting ethical stands.'

They stones with a mark-up and vary widely in quality. The thing about many of their stones is that they're available to other vendors (at a considerable discount).

So, if your fiance can be convinced to go the natural diamond route with the Brilliant Earth stipulations:
1. Dig around and find a great stone on Brilliant Earth
2. Search the GIA report number on the site of the vendor you'd like to buy from
3. Get a stone with the 'exacting ethical' conditions, at a reasonable price.

 

[Cmhollis]

Thanks for your reply Rocky. I'm slightly confused as to what you're saying to do for the ethically mined stones. Are you saying there's a way to find them for cheaper than what is listed on the site?

 

[JulieN]

Would this one be a noticeably nicer albeit smaller diamond? http://gemesis.com/1-04-ct-round-vvs2-i/

The numbers are borderline. Once you find a stone with acceptable HCA (like this one) you need to ask the vendor for pictures and an Ideal Scope image.

 

[Gypsy]

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only. EGL is a bad option: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/[/URL]
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.

 

[Lorelei]

Would this one be a noticeably nicer albeit smaller diamond? http://gemesis.com/1-04-ct-round-vvs2-i/

The numbers are borderline. Once you find a stone with acceptable HCA (like this one) you need to ask the vendor for pictures and an Ideal Scope image.

Hi cmhollis and welcome!

The others have given you good advice. With the diamond above, as Jules mentions, the numbers are borderline so the proportion configuration might work well or not depending on factors we can't know without images, if you could get an Idealscope image for this diamond, that would tell us more. If you want a BE or other stone, we might need to take a different approach to the one we normally take with more conventionally mined diamonds as the choices of cut proportions might be more limited but I am sure we can still help you find something to suit your and your fiancé's needs.

 

[RockyRacoon]

Thanks for your reply Rocky. I'm slightly confused as to what you're saying to do for the ethically mined stones. Are you saying there's a way to find them for cheaper than what is listed on the site?

I am saying exactly that!

Most stones on the Brilliant Earth site have a GIA Report #.

Stones that are available to multiple vendors are often referenced by their GIA Report #.

If you end up finding a stone you like via the Brilliant Earth website, provide this GIA Report # to a Pricescope vendor, and they may be able to call the stone in for you, without the huge markup. They would also be able to provide light analysis data (to analyze the cut), which Brilliant Earth cannot do.

 

[Cmhollis]

I've been plugging diamonds I've found into the HCA, and came across this one: http://gemesis.com/1-07-ct-round-vs2-i/

Is the fact that it's a VS1 and not a higher clarity something that she'll be able to notice, and also is it true that an I color is acceptable for a yellow gold setting? This one is obviously under budget at $4,180 so if it's not ideal I still have some wiggle room to work with.

I've been trying to get lab reports from Brilliant Earth, but it seems like it takes them a day to process their requests.

I really appreciate the willingness to help here.

 

[Cmhollis]

These are a coupe of the other ones I have found so far http://gemesis.com/1-21ct-round-vs1-i/ , which is over budget but a possibility


And http://gemesis.com/1-12-ct-round-vs1-h-35368/ which is right around budget.

 

[WinkHPD]

Have you heard of Brilliant Earth?

They focus on the exact concerns of your fiance.

If you MUST have a lab grown stone, get some more info about this one:
http://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/665771/

BUT... with the way Brilliant Earth has it set up, they sell natural diamonds, as well. They claim to only stock stones that were mined, cut, and polished according to 'exacting ethical stands.'

They stones with a mark-up and vary widely in quality. The thing about many of their stones is that they're available to other vendors (at a considerable discount).

So, if your fiance can be convinced to go the natural diamond route with the Brilliant Earth stipulations:
1. Dig around and find a great stone on Brilliant Earth
2. Search the GIA report number on the site of the vendor you'd like to buy from
3. Get a stone with the 'exacting ethical' conditions, at a reasonable price.

I have not visited Brilliant Earth but if they are claiming only to stock stones that were mined, cut and polished according to exacting ethical standards, then they are doing exactly what every Internet vendor is also doing. The penalties for selling diamonds that do not meet the Kimberley Accords are draconian.

If they are offering diamonds on the wholesale data base list then they are also doing the exact same thing that any vendor with a subscription to the Rap.net list can do.

Senor Rocky has given you excellent advice and it can save you a great deal of money.

In my opinion, the synthetics are not quite ready for Prime Time as they still cost way too much for a man made product, but it depends on how much your fiance wishes to avoid a natural diamond.

Wink

 

[Cmhollis]

Have you heard of Brilliant Earth?

They focus on the exact concerns of your fiance.

If you MUST have a lab grown stone, get some more info about this one:
http://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/665771/

BUT... with the way Brilliant Earth has it set up, they sell natural diamonds, as well. They claim to only stock stones that were mined, cut, and polished according to 'exacting ethical stands.'

They stones with a mark-up and vary widely in quality. The thing about many of their stones is that they're available to other vendors (at a considerable discount).

So, if your fiance can be convinced to go the natural diamond route with the Brilliant Earth stipulations:
1. Dig around and find a great stone on Brilliant Earth
2. Search the GIA report number on the site of the vendor you'd like to buy from
3. Get a stone with the 'exacting ethical' conditions, at a reasonable price.

I have not visited Brilliant Earth but if they are claiming only to stock stones that were mined, cut and polished according to exacting ethical standards, then they are doing exactly what every Internet vendor is also doing. The penalties for selling diamonds that do not meet the Kimberley Accords are draconian.

If they are offering diamonds on the wholesale data base list then they are also doing the exact same thing that any vendor with a subscription to the Rap.net list can do.

Senor Rocky has given you excellent advice and it can save you a great deal of money.

In my opinion, the synthetics are not quite ready for Prime Time as they still cost way too much for a man made product, but it depends on how much your fiance wishes to avoid a natural diamond.

Wink

Is there a quality difference between two identical diamonds, one being mined and one synthetic? Also, is it possible to get a mined diamond in the same price point as a comparable synthetic?