Is this a good Radiant Cut Diamond ??? PLEASE HELPPPPP

[JustinVu]

Thanks Gypsy,

I think I should start having a list of questions based on my research & your comments to slap at the jeweler's face. I know you're saying this is not a buying expedition, I think I'm very likely falling into her sugar-coated talk. Just kidding, I've found some reference images on what to expect on radiant's cut ASET images:

Mediocre - Bad:


Average - Good:


Excellent - Ideal:


Do you think these can be used as a carry-on reference for me before viewing the diamond in person ?

I can see that in the bad range, there's a lot of white (light leakage). But in the excellent range, there seems to be quite a bit of white too. It's not like in contains all intense red or green. Or it's just the way radiant cuts perform - ie: less big fire, more of small sparkles.

Damn, can't really focus at work anymore because of this.

 

[Gypsy]

Heheheehe.
At least you admit it.

Listen, the jeweler does sound like a good one.

So here's the thing. Rectangular radiants, in general have poorer performance than square radiants. You can get MUCH MUCH better ASETs out of square radiants than any of those above.

I don't agree that the bottom row are "excellent" ASETs for rectangular radiants. I would say they are just barely acceptable. And not even that for a square one.

I would expect your stone to ASET out like the below. And that would be okay, probably. Minimally acceptable. There is a TON of leakage (all the white/clear)



And as you can see the facet pattern on that one is similar to yours it has that circular shatter pattern going on.






See areas of concern here:


"The red ovals show a pattern ..

The blue zones are obstruction...because we do not have a standard for your photo's - all we have is the ASET to go by - it seems that most observers would see these dark zones and therefore the stone would not be "even""

Quoted from Gary in this thread: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/discussion-of-aset-in-simple-terms.150589/page-3']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/discussion-of-aset-in-simple-terms.150589/page-3[/URL]

For a SQUARE radiant you can get much better performance. See below:


http://www.vimeo.com/14985843

And the one I posted above for you (and the cushions I posted) all have MUCH MUCH MUCH better light return and will be significantly brighter and more sparkly.

Here is a great square radiant:


Since you specifically are looking for a square stone, frankly you are going for the most poorly performing type.

Which is why I was urging you not to go for it. Aside from the fact that it's a poor value because of the spread. If you are going to buy it, you will want to negotiate that price down by as much as you can. It faces up as a 1.2 square radiant. And that should mean discount.

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI JustinVu,
Just stopping in to point out that there's different points of view on what constitutes a well cut radiant. Just one example: Leakage is an essential element of a well cut radiant.
The video just posted was done by a member who was banned- in part due to misleading videos like the one in the post above. It's a computer generated simulation designed to make the stone on the right look better.
IN terms of ASET, it's a good sign the dealer has one, and it may be interesting to look at..... but in terms of spending your hard earned money you'll be far better served using your eyes on the diamond directly.
I agree it's smart to look outside direct spotlighting. With your eyes- not aset.
Tilt the stone and look at it through a range of motion.
You may mot be well schooled on particulars, but you'll be able to spot static dark areas, if they exist in in the stone.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi justin,
To help give you a better idea, here's a few shots of a stone that is not well cut. Although it's light yellow, it does illustrate what a bad leakage pattern looks like. The dark band going across the center of the stone is rather static. A dark facet that flashes bright with a small amount of movement may be no problem- and it also might be very attractive. Positive leakage, as it were.
But if the area stays dark thorough a range of motion, it's generally considered not attractive.

 

[JustinVu]

HI JustinVu,
Just stopping in to point out that there's different points of view on what constitutes a well cut radiant. Just one example: Leakage is an essential element of a well cut radiant.
The video just posted was done by a member who was banned- in part due to misleading videos like the one in the post above. It's a computer generated simulation designed to make the stone on the right look better.
IN terms of ASET, it's a good sign the dealer has one, and it may be interesting to look at..... but in terms of spending your hard earned money you'll be far better served using your eyes on the diamond directly.
I agree it's smart to look outside direct spotlighting. With your eyes- not aset.
Tilt the stone and look at it through a range of motion.
You may mot be well schooled on particulars, but you'll be able to spot static dark areas, if they exist in in the stone.

Thanks Buddy,

I'll try to get ASET image, real diamond image, some video perhaps and post up here by tomorrow.

What do you think of the diamond that I posted, in general ?

So Excited now, hopefully the stone doesn't disappoint me.

 

[Rockdiamond]

You're welcome Justin- in thinking about how to approach the comparison you will make when looking at the diamonds, and using the aset:
I suggest using you eyes to find the look that pleases you, and the aset to confirm what type of aset signature that diamond has. This will allow you to use aset images for online shopping, if you decide to take that route.
Once someone can relate what the actual appearance of a given aset signature is, it becomes more useful IMO.
Also to mention I agree with a lot of what Gypsy has suggested.

ETA- we were posting at the same time.
As a vendor, I can't make comments on any specific diamond.
I can say that, in general, I've seen diamonds that may have photographed like the one you posted that looked very nice in real life, and other that have not.
There's certain elements that are exceptionally difficult to capture in one style of cutting - in fact, looking again at the Video Gypsy posted- the stone on the left does show less bright white light- but it also shows a gazillion times more "light activity" - "crushed ice"
That's a big part of the beauty. And it involves leakage so it makes a "worse aset" - a well worn debate here on PS

This element is incredibly difficult to capture in a picture.
If you've already purchased the diamond and it's on the way , I'd say best advice is don't judge the diamond based on a single photo.

 

[JustinVu]

So it's come to the moment of truth.

I finally found the diamond in person. Don't really know how to express my feeling.

Yes, it is very sparkly and has a lot of fires. I'm just now sure if that's what I want. It's just too hard.

I couldn't get an ASET image, but I can describe that it looks pretty close to the one you posted as below, except with more red in center.

More red and green than this one


I will post a video very shortly.

Hopefully you guys can help me assess this diamond.

For the ring design, I'm going to be a bit simple yet elegant. I've picked also a rare pink diamond ($$$ ) to be sitting right underneath the centre stone.

Width: 2.1mm at half way and taper from half way - coming to a tip taper when connecting to the support rail.

Depth: 1.8mm

The band is pave set with round brilliant diamonds half way. The diamond is completely visible from front view and features a pink diamond bezel set under the center diamond - 1 x 1.35mm 3PP - Argyle diamond, with 4 eagle claws prong

the ring + pink diamond sets me back $3.8k AUD which is $2.8 USD

 

[JustinVu]

Here is the video which I use my crappy iphone 5 with its flash:

from a normal view:

https://vimeo.com/172071121

and from a slow mo view:

https://vimeo.com/172071166

 

[Rockdiamond]

HI Justin,
It's possible that others will answer with their opinions- as a trade member I can not comment on a stone being sold by another vendor.
I will say that regardless of anyone else's opinion, it's your opinion that counts- and of course the recipient.

As an analogy: say you posted a piece of art and asked for opinions......you know what they say about opinions

 

[tracylt]

Opinion of a "everything diamond" girl (AKA me. lol), not an expert, is that is one gorgeous diamond!

 

[E B]

Here is the video which I use my crappy iphone 5 with its flash:

What kind of lighting were these taken in? Spot lighting at the jewelers? If so, most diamonds look sparkly in that kind of lighting. If you can, try to take it in different types of lighting, including outdoor.

 

[tracylt]

Here is the video which I use my crappy iphone 5 with its flash:

What kind of lighting were these taken in? Spot lighting at the jewelers? If so, most diamonds look sparkly in that kind of lighting. If you can, try to take it in different types of lighting, including outdoor.

I think it's just an iPhone's flash light as OP said he used his "crappy iphone 5 with its flash".

 

[JustinVu]

HI Justin,
It's possible that others will answer with their opinions- as a trade member I can not comment on a stone being sold by another vendor.
I will say that regardless of anyone else's opinion, it's your opinion that counts- and of course the recipient.

As an analogy: say you posted a piece of art and asked for opinions......you know what they say about opinions

True!!

Although what I lack of now is a standard / benchmark for my own assessment.

I never had diamond in my life. For me it's eating a premium steak and being asked if it's nice. Yes it is, but is that a wagyu/ kobe kinda nice?? I don't know. For me now any diamond is the same, unfortunately . Yes, i think the stone is very sparkly, has a lots of fire with the blue and red reflections. I just don't know if it's the right one to go with.

Arrrrgggghhh!!! This is so annoying.

 

[JustinVu]

Here is the video which I use my crappy iphone 5 with its flash:

What kind of lighting were these taken in? Spot lighting at the jewelers? If so, most diamonds look sparkly in that kind of lighting. If you can, try to take it in different types of lighting, including outdoor.

Yes Tracy was right. It's jst the light from my iphone. Surprisingly there is not spotlight direcly towards where I sat. And it sparkles pretty crazy as you can see and just as much under direct sunlight.

 

[Gypsy]

I can't comment much on the videos, I am on my phone and it looks smaller than small.

What other Stones did you see?

 

[Gypsy]

My best advice is this: buy this one: https://enchanteddiamonds.com/diamonds/view/Radiant/GIA-Certified-1-56-Carat-E-Color-SI1-Clarity-Diamond-7YT3LD

Take it in and do a head to head comparison. Return it if the other one still has your heart. If this one wins- keep it and use your deposit toward a setting for the diamond with this vendor.

 

[JustinVu]

I can't comment much on the videos, I am on my phone and it looks smaller than small.

What other Stones did you see?

I saw a 1.5ct radiant, 1.5ct well-cut princess and 1.2ct round diamond. admittedly, my stone is the smallest of all, the cheapest of all and the highest 'theoretical specs" of all, as per paper-based GIA report.

in terms of sparkle, my one seems to be having a decent amount of fires, spread evenly across the entire stone, but the fires are rather small and tiny vs big bling from the princess and round. Sorry for my description, just that I don't know how to explain. To me they all look similar unfortunately.

One thing I can comment about the ASET image (handheld version) is that it has a lot of red in the centre, with green spread all over. I saw some white leakages too but it seems the norm with radiant.

True it is small, lot smaller than I thought. but having said that, it would be hard to find a D VS1 1.5ct of radiant or princess in that price range of $9-$10k or $8-$9k if taking account the deposit that will be forfeit if I choose not to go ahead, which I still can. The jeweller has a same size finger as my gf and I think it looks proportionate, not huge but should be just fine. it's more about the performance i guess

 

[JustinVu]

Went to see some Tiffany diamond and was shocked to see how sparly their diamonds are. is that jst coz of their in-store spot lighting ?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Justin, the best cut rounds will beat out 99.9% of radiants ANY day! If you want to get her a very fine cut diamond, go with an ideal cut round. You get what you pay for. If she has not expressed a preference, I think you are making a HUGE mistake considering a radiant! You cannot even approach the light performance of a well cut round as you could see in Tiffany. And we can direct you to better cut stones than they carry, in fact.

What shape is her mother's diamond, by the way?

 

[JustinVu]

Justin, the best cut rounds will beat out 99.9% of radiants ANY day! If you want to get her a very fine cut diamond, go with an ideal cut round. You get what you pay for. If she has not expressed a preference, I think you are making a HUGE mistake considering a radiant! You cannot even approach the light performance of a well cut round as you could see in Tiffany. And we can direct you to better cut stones than they carry, in fact.

What shape is her mother's diamond, by the way?

Thanks for your comment.

She never wore or had any diamond jewellery. She did say she likes round although it can be anything. I just thought round is way too common so I wanted princess or square radiant for a modern look. Though recently a friend of mine got engaged with a princess so I decided to go on with the square radiant. The only one thing that she wants is D colour, that's all she knows about diamond. Other than that, everything else is fine.

Since I have paid the deposit to the jeweller, I need a good reason to back off from the stone to justify the $500 - $1,000 AUD lost (not sure exactly how much, should really be the amount to cover delivery and insurance costs for them).

I was like WOW when I saw the brilliance and huge fires from Tiffany's round diamond and quite disappointed to see my diamond has such tiny random sparkles ...

What can you recommend for me for an under $10k USD diamond, D colour eye clean (preferably VS2 VS1) for a round, princess, radiant or even cushion?

Thanks in advance

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It would be my pleasure to look! I am going to strongly recommend a round. That shape is timeless, and shapes like radiants go in and out of style. They will never be as brilliant as a round. Most cushions will not, either. I think princess cuts are on their way out. Rounds are never out of style.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, D color costs $$$! But look at these ASET images compared to the radiant. Seriously, there is no comparison.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3143291.htm

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-search/1.10-ascendancy_heart_arrows-EX-GIA--VS2-diamond-stock-13964-cert-2101340159

http://highperformancediamonds.com/shop/d/HPD7768/?shop=yes

 

[JustinVu]

Okay, D color costs $$$! But look at these ASET images compared to the radiant. Seriously, there is no comparison.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3143291.htm

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond-search/1.10-ascendancy_heart_arrows-EX-GIA--VS2-diamond-stock-13964-cert-2101340159

http://highperformancediamonds.com/shop/d/HPD7768/?shop=yes

Thanks Ds2006 for looking up some very nice diamonds for me.

Took her out pretending I'm doing some window shopping and she seemed to like round, although admitted it's too popular. The shop didnt have any radiant for me to show her but she likes the princess as well.

Perhaps you could have a look another video I recorded on that day, without the flash.

https://vimeo.com/172377542
https://vimeo.com/172377541

Let me know what you guys think. I'm having final thoughts on it jst to ensure I wont have ring regret after the purchase.

Thank y'all again.

 

[Gypsy]

You. Do. Not. Need. D color. Your wellcut E will outperform her mother's diamond.

I posted a whole list on winners for you. Get the E VS cushion.

 

[Gypsy]

As for good reason: your lady doesn't like radiants and you want to use deposit toward a setting from them.

Ok????

 

[LLJsmom]

Justin, I read everything. I think most importantly you need to step back and take a breath. You did just discover how amazing a well cut round can look. You can't un-know that. DIAMONDSEEKER is right. You should seriously consider going with what is more brilliant and fiery, which you have found to be a round. True Tiffany lighting makes a difference, but even outside of Tiffany you will be able to see the difference. Don't for the sake of a small deposit, and I say small in view of the BIG PICTURE, which is your future wife wearing that ring for THE REST OF HER LIFE, compromise and not go for what is more beautiful. In two years you won't even notice the $500/$1000 dollars. But you both will be staring at that ring forever. Trust Gypsy and DIAMONDSEEKER. They will point you in the right direction. And even though you know she will be happy with anything, clearly you want to do the best you can. It's a learning process. Don't beat yourself up and don't tie yourself down to a mistake. Remember Econ? Just treat as a sunk cost, a cost of learning. An expensive dinner with wine pairing. And let it go...

 

[JustinVu]

You. Do. Not. Need. D color. Your wellcut E will outperform her mother's diamond.

I posted a whole list on winners for you. Get the E VS cushion.

Hi Gypsy,

I trusted you, I really do. Let's just say radiants can't outperform round, period! You obviously know some details of our situation. Can you suggest me the best shape out of the following 4 shapes: round, cushion, princess and radiant. I think my gf doesn't like emerald, pear or other fancy shapes.

I'm now leaning more towards a round diamond so Could you also suggest me just a one stone (D,E VS1/2) so that I can get my jeweller to order that in. I will have a head to head comparison for the last time before locking it down. My budget is still around 10k USD mark more or less.

I do understand that buying a round diamond will have a lot less uncertainty because of so many established parameter that we can rely on to assess the stone: HCA, ideal scope, ASET, GIA cut grade, etc. and I got to admit the fires and sparkle from the round is hard to beat.

 

[JustinVu]

Justin, I read everything. I think most importantly you need to step back and take a breath. You did just discover how amazing a well cut round can look. You can't un-know that. DIAMONDSEEKER is right. You should seriously consider going with what is more brilliant and fiery, which you have found to be a round. True Tiffany lighting makes a difference, but even outside of Tiffany you will be able to see the difference. Don't for the sake of a small deposit, and I say small in view of the BIG PICTURE, which is your future wife wearing that ring for THE REST OF HER LIFE, compromise and not go for what is more beautiful. In two years you won't even notice the $500/$1000 dollars. But you both will be staring at that ring forever. Trust Gypsy and DIAMONDSEEKER. They will point you in the right direction. And even though you know she will be happy with anything, clearly you want to do the best you can. It's a learning process. Don't beat yourself up and don't tie yourself down to a mistake. Remember Econ? Just treat as a sunk cost, a cost of learning. An expensive dinner with wine pairing. And let it go...

Don't get me wrong here. I'm willing to learn. The only reason why I'm getting radiant is because of something different to the rest. But the more I read / research the more I understand that it is super difficult to buy an outstanding radiant because there is just not a lot of radiant cutter + it's hard to evaluate a radiant stone.

I gotta admit the way a round diamond sparkles is just mesmerising. Probably I'm gonna have a round, and I'm willing to lose the deposit for that. like you said it's a lesson cost, well absorbed and I often consider that as stupidity cost - the cost of learning.

And I thank you for your input.

Cheers

 

[JustinVu]

I'm not sure if I should go for AGS A Cut Above@ or GIA EX cut. but it looks like as though GIA grade is a bit broader than the AGS ones which I tend to prefer.

This particular stone is from Whiteflash, I think it looks nice with only 2 small problem being 1: a bit over my budget (I can live with that) an 2: it's only a F colour VS2 (not sure if the amount of feather would be an issue). I really like the fires and sparkles and true hearts & arrows and everything, especially the carat weight being 1.188 (nice number for asian culture).

Let me know what you guys think please.
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3689778.htm?source=pricescope

 

[Rockdiamond]

Wow Justin- you're diligent!!

A few suggestions:
1) If a store carries Radiant Cut diamonds, they'll also carry round- maybe you can save your deposit by going back to the place that showed you the radiant cuts, and ask them for round diamonds.
After all they have been working on your behalf.

2) I would not worry about switching from D to F color. Even an expert would have a very hard time telling the difference between a D and an F once the diamond is set.
If it's a "mind clean" thing, then probably don't switch- but if colorless is what you're after, you can definitely go with an F.