Have I lost my mind?? I think so....

[TLS]

I need an honest opinion as to whether i have gone off the deep end here.

I am looking at super ideal cut diamonds and have now become officially obsessed with getting a perfectly cut diamond..... (color and clarity are negotiable and based on what we can afford).

Am I completely insane? have i lost it? I keep feeling like I am cheating myself out of a bigger diamond by being obsessed with an ideal cut diamond. I am now worried that I am sacrificing size here for something nobody else will know or see the difference with. I really want at least a 1.25 but the scarcity of what I am looking for in our price range has me dipping somewhat below this size.

Can someone honestly tell me whether the average person would be able to see the difference between a super ideal cut diamond and say a AGS 2 for example?

I just can''t get it out of my head now that I want to buy the best possible cut. but I am also worried that the smaller tables in these ideal cut diamonds will make the diamond look smaller!!! If I could relax on the diamond cut I could probably get myself into a bigger diamond, but then the other issue becomes that I am buying online and most online vendors seem to only supply the sarin information for their ideal diamonds. I would have to figure out all the specs for ags 1 or 2 and then try to search based on those - ugh that doesn''t sound fun either!

 

[perry]

Count me in on the deep end too (and there is a story in progress that I will only tell in the end).

What really swayed me to focus exclusively on very well cut diamonds was the two months or so of looking at rings on actaul people''s fingers in real life. Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead,.... out of hundreds of rings I have only seen a total of 3 diamonds that had any life in them at all. My GF also has noticed the same thing once I told her to start looking.

A smaller stone cut very well will outpreform a larger stone cut not so well.

My vote is for the kinds of stones that Good Old Gold and NiceIce stock as a routine (the very best of the best), and that can be found on some of the other sites by searching through their inventory. Yes, in the end I will be getting smaller diamonds than otherwise (for a 3 stone ring): But the diamonds in that ring will be nothing short of ''STUNNING."

Perry

 

[YoungPapa]

Perry,
You''ve only seen three pretty diamonds out of hundreds, huh? You think every one of those diamonds are a poor cut, or maybe just a few girls need to invest $20 into an ultrasonic cleaner?

TLS,
Yes, you should buy a well cut stone. But don''t think an appreciation for "super-ideal" will translate beyond this website. The rest of the world (your girlfriend included) are much more concerned about anything other than the ninth degree of diamond perfection, and will just be happy the two of you are married.

 

[orbaya]

Date: 12/1/2004 10:44:57 PM
Author:TLS
I need an honest opinion as to whether i have gone off the deep end here.

I am looking at super ideal cut diamonds and have now become officially obsessed with getting a perfectly cut diamond..... (color and clarity are negotiable and based on what we can afford).

Am I completely insane? have i lost it? I keep feeling like I am cheating myself out of a bigger diamond by being obsessed with an ideal cut diamond. I am now worried that I am sacrificing size here for something nobody else will know or see the difference with. I really want at least a 1.25 but the scarcity of what I am looking for in our price range has me dipping somewhat below this size.

Can someone honestly tell me whether the average person would be able to see the difference between a super ideal cut diamond and say a AGS 2 for example?

I just can''t get it out of my head now that I want to buy the best possible cut. but I am also worried that the smaller tables in these ideal cut diamonds will make the diamond look smaller!!! If I could relax on the diamond cut I could probably get myself into a bigger diamond, but then the other issue becomes that I am buying online and most online vendors seem to only supply the sarin information for their ideal diamonds. I would have to figure out all the specs for ags 1 or 2 and then try to search based on those - ugh that doesn''t sound fun either!

You aren''t insane...you just can''t make up your mind as to what is most important to you. Size or cut? You''ll have to make a sacrifice on something and only you can decide what that will be. Do you know what color and clarity you want? Maybe you could go down on clarity and/or color a bit and get the 1.25. Another thing is to look at 1.24 and under, there are price jumps once you get to "magic numbers." If you contact some vendors here and tell them what you are looking for, they may be able to find something close to what you want.

Also if you haven''t, Pricescope your desired specs in the search area above and it will list what different vendors have to offer. Good luck!

 

[TLS]

Hi All - thanks for your comments... I actually am the girlfriend (and many of you are probably feeling some pity for my boyfriend right now based on my quest for the ideal cut diamond). He has been very tolerant of me thankfully!

Jim, I know you are probably right that not many people outside those in this forum will be able to appreciate the difference between an ideal cut and everything else, but i just can''t kick this obsession!

Part of what is hard is that I don''t think I have actually seen a true "ideal" cut up close and personal. I have read and researched them to the 9th degree, but am not really sure how different these look in person. The B & M stores I have visited seem to carry either low grade or mid grade diamonds and that is why I think I am going to rely on a pricescope vendor for an ideal cut diamond, though I am not even sure how different visually it will really be. I hope it can live up to my expectations at this point.

Thanks for the input!

 

[windowshopper]

you guys have drunk too much of the kool-aid........................

 

[Jennifer5973]

I agree with Jim--99.999999% of people won''t be able to tell a difference between a "Super ideal" and a really well cut stone. Personally, I would search for well cut stones, using the HCA as a tool (ONE tool) and relying on your eyes and heart when you find "the one." I have a 57% table stone and it''s just small enough to create a great stone but big enough to be visually spready. Compare smaller tabled stones with larger tabled stones (within ideal range) and see what you like best.

I respect the quest for the finest cut and if that''s what makes you happy, take a deep breath and fight the good fight. But in my humble consumer opinion, cut is very important but I don''t think anyone really sees a difference when you start splitting hairs on angles, etc. I drove myself nuts over this exact issue when I upgraded my stone and looking back, it was a massive waste of time.

PS Here is a good analogy--there is a thread today about "Platinum snobs" and I responded that I wear platinum becasue of the weight-I can feel a difference, but NO ONE can tell the difference between paltinum and quality white gold....maybe upon intense inspection but who does that? I think this is somewhat related--the difference between super ideal and ideal/really well cut will yield the same "non result." But if knowing you have the elite of the elite on your hand gives you joy and happiness, then you should go for it.

 

[windowshopper]

you are the VOICE OF REASON-------------

 

[perry]

Jim:

I''ll give you that a dirty diamond will not sparkle well; however, the vast majority of the diamonds on the gals hands (and they all like to be asked about their ring) came from local jewelers. Having purused most of the local jewelers it is obvious that they are focusing on the lower cut stones - and then having gone back with an Ideal-Scope to what I thought was the better jewelers... Let''s just say that I think there is a reason beyond dirt on why the vast majority of those diamonds didn''t sparkle in ordinary light.

Now, can a person tell the difference between a "super super ideal" and a super ideal. Perhaps not. However, as discussed in another thread about internet vendor ratings on stones - there are all kinds of claims for "ideal" stones that are nothing of the sort.

In my case, I''ve decided that why should I chance it. I want diamonds that I know will have maximum optical performance; and the price difference is not that great (OK, so I get a .85 Carat instead of a 1 Carat - That will not make a bit of difference -especially when comparining it to all the dead stones on people''s hands). But first, I have to find the side stones to match.

Perry

 

[Kamuelamom]

First, welcome to Pricescope!

Jflo, you have spoken like a true consumer, and there to me lies the true value of this site. This is a great place to come for information, guidelines, parameters. But the bottom line is that it can be daunting as a regular consumer. So after I learn all that, I''m like, "numbers shmumbers," just show me a stone that is cut well (not necessarily even "the best" cut) and sparkles like crazy and I''m there.

Let your eyes and your heart do the work and remember that this is supposed to be a fun time. I didn''t get real hung up on the numbers of my stone to the point of "splitting hairs" like I''ve seen in many instances here. It fell within certain tolerances, I had it looked at by an independent appraiser and said yes to the stone after I knew it was a good performer. The rest is history and I love my ring. Once you have it and are able to enjoy it, only then you may realize what Jflo is saying. However, if you''re scientific minded and are into that, sure, it can be an interesting part of the process, but in the end those very hair splitting numbers may not matter to your eyes one bit if the stone sings to you all the same.

Good luck with your search & keep us posted.