Help please: Round cut diamond approx. 2ct

[acm193]

Hello,

I have been using this site as my main resource for diamond research. I am looking to purchase a loose diamond for my girlfriend's engagement ring. I want an eye clean ring that really stands out. Below are the specs that I am looking for:

Budget: approximately $20,000
Shape: Round
Carat: 2 (I would strongly prefer to be above 2. If I can't get a quality ring in my price range, I will consider diamonds under 2 cts
Cut: Excellent/Ideal
Color: H or better
Clarity: SI1 or better

These specs were based on my research. Feel free to let me know if I think I should alter my specs in anyway.

I currently have 3 rings on hold at James Allen undergoing gemologist inspection. Please let me know your thoughts on the diamonds below or recommend a different diamond from a credible retailer. I am not an expert so any help on issues noticed or preferences would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if the links eventually stop working due to being on hold.

1. 2.03 ct True Hearts Diamond. Scores 1.7 in HCA. Ideal-scope images in the link below. I chatted with a rep and he stated that "This particular diamond to the untrained eye will appear eye-clean in the face-up position. Now when turning the sides at certain angles, there may a hint of a clear dot mark that is slightly visible but will not be offensive. This angles are more when looking at the diamond along the side. The diamond is beautiful and would be one I have no problems recommending as these clarity characteristics are much more harder to see when mounted into a ring setting and with a great light performance"
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-267576

2. 2.01 ct Excellent Cut. Scores 1.9 in HCA. The rep stated that this diamond is slightly more eye clean than the true hearts diamond. Ideal-scope image will be available in a few business days.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-267636

3. 1.91 ct Excellent Cut. Scores 1.0 in HCA. Ideal-scope image will also be available in a few business days.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-313311

I appreciate any feedback on any of the diamonds linked above or any other recommended diamonds.

Thanks in Advance! Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Welcome to PS!

1. Great stone but the clarity probably would bother me (I really prefer VS2 or higher, though).

2. I can't do the black inclusion under the table that is reflecting in the stone. At least the first one has clear inclusions.

3. I just wouldn't go under 2 cts if your budget allows for over 2 cts with H SI1. I'd only go under 2 cts if you decide to raise color or clarity. This one looks pretty good, though.

I will take a quick look and see if I see anything else.

 

[acm193]

Thanks for the feedback! Please let me know what you find

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I looked a couple of other places and the prices were higher or they didn't have H SI1. Let's see how these images turn out. I will try to look more later today.

 

[acm193]

Thanks for your help.

Is it worth it to buy from B2C Jewels to get an excellent cut, H color, VS2, and HCA of 1.4? The price seems too cheap to be accurate.
http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-6233631...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com

I also found a few more diamonds of interest at JA.
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-359890
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...arat-h-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-261292

Any other opinions/suggestions of these diamonds or the other 3 that are currently under the review by the gemologist at JA would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[pyramid]

I would put the B2C diamond on hold until Gypsy or some others have a look at it. It seems a good diamond if you are
happy with an H color. Scores a 1.4 on the HCA too. Ask for a reflector image of it. The price may be lower because of the medium blue flurorescence. The high crown should make it a firey stone with lots of colors?????

 

[pyramid]

The two James Allen diamonds have 60% tables, which is a look some like but not what we originally termed here are ideal.

 

[pyramid]

Of the first three James Allen stones numbers 2 & 3 have the best cuts. Number one has a 58% table - nitpicking I know and is still a great diamond. The black inclusion in No 2 would
not be visible I think to the naked eye.

 

[acm193]

Thanks for the feedback.

I put the diamond on hold at B2C. I received an email with additional images.
http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-6233631...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com

I am looking to make a decision shortly. I am by no means an expert, so any advice or observations would be greatly appreciated







Thanks!

 

[pyramid]

I like how the diamond looks. Not a hearts & arrows with the clefts and ofcourse some hearts are smaller but has great look of
symmetry and is not sold as a h&a stone. The reflector images look great. See what some others think? Gypsy, Diamondseeker2006 etc.

 

[pyramid]

Not sure about the white around the perimeter on the asset scope, can someone advise if this is leakage?
If so it would make the stone look smaller so may not be a good diamond after all and may explain the price?

 

[pyramid]

Think the asset is taken with a white background. Looking at other assets look different on a black background. So I think
those facets are supposed to or do leak anyway. See what some of those who can advise say.

 

[acm193]

Thanks Pyramid. I greatly appreciate your help.

Diamondseeker2006/Gypsy/ anyone else, do you mind taking a look?

Thanks!

 

[acm193]

B2C notified me that this diamond is overseas, so they could not place the diamond on hold. I had to place an order w/o providing any payment details, so B2C can take possession and have their gemologist review the diamond.

This is the biggest purchase of my life. They are sending wire instructions in the morning, so I have to make up my mind before then.
Any critique/thoughts/recommendations of the images above/GIA report would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[acm193]

Hate to be a pest, but could someone take a look at the above images and provide additional feedback (B2C diamond). I have to make a decision tomorrow morning.

I appreciate the help. I don't know where I would be without all the information on this site and forum

 

[JulieN]

It looks fine.

 

[akoakoako]

It looks beautiful. I would think that this would qualify as true heart at james allen. the hearts all looks even to me. Great symettry.

do you mind telling me how much are you paying for this?

 

[pyramid]

Hearts & Arrows diamonds are also about each heart being perfectly a match to the next hearts, no slits in the top, and
they are very strict about the shape. I don't know about True Hearts brand but if you look up any of the Whiteflash
A Cut Above diamonds you will see a big difference to the hearts here. However this is not sold as a diamond with that
pattern, the diamond is large and a good color and the symmetry is noted by GIA as Excellent. The Optical Symmetry is
what H&A branding is about not about how round the diamond is or how the facets meet at each point evenly.
Adding H&A into the mix would have taken this diamond out of the posters budget or he would have had to go down
on the three C's. This is an Excellent cut just not H&A pattern.

 

[acm193]

Thanks JulieN and Pyramid for the reassurance.

I purchased the diamond today for a little over $19k (wire discount included). I'm not sure why this ring was so much cheaper than comparable diamonds with a similar HCA score. A chart noted that a diamond with medium blue florescence (H color and VS2 clarity) would discount the diamond 1-3%.

I plan on taking the diamond to David Atlas for an appraisal.

 

[pyramid]

It does seem a bit strange. Doing an inhouse search the few listed are more expensive. Wonder if the crystal is
visible - does anyone think so? Any other ideas?

Dave Atlas will certainly be able to tell you though.

 

[pyramid]

If a stone is a low H say as opposed to a high H color (as I have seen folks writing) does that mean a stone would vary in
price? Does a low color in the same color grade cost less or the same? Not saying this one is ofcourse, just wondering what
difference could be? I remember a jeweller told me once that a G color I was looking at could have 5 different color ranges/markers within its G grade.

 

[ebadevil]

it doesn't seem like a huge price difference to me honestly... granted, I'm not sure how much you paid exactly and and how much those other diamonds are for comparison... but think about it this way... it has medium blue fluorescence, which you said is 1-3% off... when I was researching for my diamond, it seems that that range could have been wider... but even at 3%, off $20k, that's $600 off

also, with no disrespect to places like JA, BGD, WF, their diamonds seemed just more expensive compared to BN and B2C... you of course get much much better service and they provide you with better tools to make a better informed decision... but those tools also come at a cost... and I'm of course not saying that the extra cost isn't worth it, but the diamond market is very imperfect... to me, it looks like they mark up their diamonds more over BN/B2C which have worse service but lower markups and therefore prices

so between fluoro, buying from a "discount" merchant, and wire transfer, it seems like you could have very well accumulated the price difference in "savings"...

I think I'd be worried if it was like $16k and everything else was $20.5k... $19k & $20k seems to be well within reasonable range to me, but I'm no expert of course...

 

[pyramid]

Yes I have just done a search and notice that the Whiteflash stone for $28000 is really the one which is more, but this is
a hearts & arrows with no fluorescence. Solomon Bros has one lower priced but I don't know if they are a large company but
are not on this forum like B2C and JA are. I really hope the diamond is as beautiful as it seems, you will be in great hands with
Dave Atlas though so it is not like it could be a big mistake and only a disappointment if it is not so good.