Diamond rating and questions
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by Giangi » January 27th, 2003, 10:07 am
Hi Joe,
the stone is certed by IGI Antwerp, right? Since the number starts with F3B53, the report is quite recent and it's from the new generation. I've found IGI Antwerp grading to be pretty strict this year... Nonetheless, get it checked by an appraiser who will check if the infos are accurate. The proportions are very good (using HRD standard, which is very recognised here in Europe but it's very broad), but the table is a bit large. You might want to check also a few stones with 55-58 tables. The HCA score is 2.7, which is very good. The price looks good... On pricescope.com I found a GIA graded 0.79 IF H depth 58.7% table 62% asking price $3538. I guess that your stone has a bit higher depth percentage, since it has a medium girdle. Where did you find that stone? Internet? Locally? Giangi 
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Just out of curiosity, what is the thought process behind considering an H IF diamond? I would suggest going up in color and down in clarity. With a VS1 stone you will see the EXACT SAME thing you will see with an IF stone unless you use a loupe to view the stone (and even then with a 10x you won't see anything), and the color is much more obvious to the eye than the clarity is when you are talking H vs E or F.
You could get an excellent cut F VS1 stone of the same carat weight, Hearts and arrows, SuperbCert stone for $3700 (paying a little extra for the excellent cut and the higher color). View the one I found here: http://search.virtcert.com/cgi/u/1012/v.cgi?stock=731030&_s=1012&_p=sdf348gd743&_c=&_fs=1&prestock= The link and info is just an FYI..but if you are interested you will see all the reports, including the brilliancescope images, photo of the stone, etc. As the previous poster noted, your stone has a bit of a large table meaning it is not an ideal/excellent cut stone. Why pay for the IF but not get an excellent cut stone? The fact that the previous poster found a similar large tabled stone similar to the one you are considering for $3500 means that an excellent cut stone for $3700 is a great deal in my eyes. Not that I don't like large tabled stones, I do..mine is one. But to pay for the IF and get an 'okay' cut just doesn't seem worth it. Not when you could pay a few more bucks and get a stunner of a stone on all accounts. Just my two cents !
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Giangi,
Basically, it's a friend of a friend of my brother's who does this on the side. I've been trying to do as much research as possible and that's why I'm really interested in the quality of the cut. The color is decent and the clarity is great, but I don't think the cut is what I'm looking for. I'm not in a rush, for once, and I want to make a good choice. Where do you think the best place is to purchase (local, internet, someone on the side)? Let me know what you think. Thanks for your help, Joe 
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Hi Joe,
Since you're not in a hurry take a bit of time and do a research(locally or using the internet). The clarity of the stone is excellent, but since the color is H, if you look closely, probably you can see a bit of color and I don't know if this bothers you. Follow Mara's advice and check that superbcert that has a very good clarity and excellent color, has the same weight and the price is close. Most probably it will blind you  !!!Check out whiteflash.com (they have beautiful hearts and arrows), goodoldgold.com and superbcert.com. Tell us if you like the 'ideal' cut look or if you prefer the appareance of your diamond which has a larger table. It's a matter of personal taste. Let your eyes be the judge. Hope that helps. Giangi
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Rhino at GoodOldGold has a stone on his site that is a classic example of the larger tabled stone..it's a 1.23 H VS I believe...so surf his site at www.goodoldgold.com under 'For Sale' in the 1.0-1.49 carat range and find that one to see the specs, closeup shots, the sarin and the brilliancescope.
On his site also you will find many AGS0 'Ideal' Stones, mostly Hearts and Arrows. So you can view much of what he sells and make your own decisions. However I do have to say that it seems to be that people don't necessarily choose a large tabled stone when searching online, they prefer to go for an ideal cut, as that is the best way to get a great diamond without seeing it first. Many people who ended up purchasing large tabled stones seem to have done so offline where they loved the look of the stone in person, or wanted the extra 'spread' that comes with such a stone (e.g. a 1.23c large tabled, shallow depth stone may look more like a 1.3c so you don't pay for the extra carat weight but you compromise in other areas such as fire inside the stone). So if you are looking at buying virtually, you are probably better off getting a technically ideal cut stone which will please you in all variables vs. a larger tabled stone that almost is a preference look. You will get an idea of this when you view the GOG site but from what I can see except for the H&A shots and IdealScope images, its hard to get an idea of what a large tabled stone will look like in person from brilliancescope and idealscope images. Just my two cents. Someone recently bought a large tabled stone and then posted pics of it in the ring recently, though I can't recall who. I should get my ring in a few days and then I will post a few pix of it...you will then be able to see what a large tabled stone looks like, though only virtually. Good luck! |
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Giangi emailed me the picture, I saved it as a JPG and here it is. Here is the information from his email about the picture and the stones displayed:
'The first diamond has a table diameter of about 67%, the second one has a 61% table and the third is a SuperbCert. I measured the tables myself using a table gauge (the instrument I use to grade diamonds' tables).' I (Mara) wanted to note that the SuperbCert is considered a SuperIdeal Hearts and Arrows diamond (e.g. the best of the best in many people's eyes) so it is a great example of what could be construed as an 'ideal' type of stone. 67% is a HUGE table, 61% is what we have seen alot of listed on Pricescope when people ask for advice. Hope this helps! Thanks for emailing me that Giangi! |
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G, I definitely can see the difference between the two larger tabled stones and the SuperbCert but I think the SC is magnified more also so that may be it.
 but between the two larger tabled stones, you can see a huge difference in just what appears to be the amount of room taken up on the stone by the table..and then compare that to the SC stone and you will see the difference.Also the two larger tabled stones don't have obvious arrows inside, rather they appear to be more 'mysterious' while the SC looks more clear. Though again this could be magnification, it could be lighting, etc. I've attached an amateur picture of my stone when we were considering purchasing it, to show how it sparkles. I have better pictures of this at home, but this the only one I have here at work. My stone is a 1.23c and has a 61.4 table and a 56.9 depth, 29.9 crown angle, 41.1 pav angle. The spread is around .11c so this stone looks more like a 1.34c due to the large table and shallower depth. In this picture it's actually on my middle finger as the "ring" clasp that was holding the stone was too big for my ring finger and it kept falling over while I was trying to snap a pic.
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