shape
carat
color
clarity

Any advice for me?

dneal12

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 14, 2014
Messages
90
So the big day is coming up in a few months and I am getting more and more excited. I have my proposal planned out. I have been saving over the past year (grad student) and have reached my goal for saving for a ring. My budget for the diamond is $3200. From getting her tastes, she has said that bigger is better when it comes to a diamond, meaning of the 4 C's carat is most important to her. She wants a classic yellow gold setting. I am going to go for a solitaire round. And we both want to get a Canadian diamond (for several reasons, not just ethical). So here are the diamonds that I am currently looking at:

.91 carat
Good cut
J color
SI1 clarity
$2635

.90 carat
Good cut
J color
VS2 clarity
$2729

.90 carat
Very Good cut
J color
VS1 clarity
$2945

.90 Carat
Ideal cut
J color
SI2 clarity
$3066

Any comments on the pros and cons of each. Should I wait until something else comes along? Should I be looking at some different diamonds entirely?
 

JulieN

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 25, 2005
Messages
13,375
"Good" cut is really an industry way of saying poor cut.
Do you have any other information? GIA reports? Pictures?
 

JulieN

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 25, 2005
Messages
13,375
OK, I see you pulled your list straight from Blue Nile's Canadian diamonds.

Stone 1: Girdle is too thick, the face-up size is too small. A round of .9 cts should be about 6.2mm
Stone 2: again, girdle too thick -->faces up too small.
Stone 3: girdle too thick -->faces up too small
Stone 4: Ask if eye-clean, ask for picture. Ask if there is any haziness due to fluorescence.
 

Gypsy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
40,225
Here is what you need to know:
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? Well first you want to stick to stones that have a crown angle of 34 (33.5 okay for 60/60 style stones) and over, a pavilion angle of 41 and under, and no deeper than 62.5
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.
 

dneal12

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 14, 2014
Messages
90
That was the one I was leaning towards since it had the best cut and was still withing my price range. I will chat with them when they open in the morning to ask those follow up questions if they can answer them.... Will update this post if I find out more.
 

dneal12

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 14, 2014
Messages
90
I put the last diamond into the HCA and got a 2.6, right at the edge of where you said to reject... I also realize that the lack of ideal scope image is why a lot of people don't recommend bluenile but they seem to be the only site that allows you to explicitly search for Canadian diamond (well so does brilliant earth but they have the same problem). But they do have a generous return policy so I can have it examined and sent back once I get one that may fit the bill. Thanks for all your comments so far.
 

dneal12

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 14, 2014
Messages
90
That looks like a very nice diamond. It looks like it might fit the bill to take a closer look. What makes you think that it might be Canadian? It didn't show up when I was searching among diamonds they have labeled as such....
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top