Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant)

[rar25]

I'm very happy to have found this forum of experts because I'm very much a novice when it comes to diamonds--and I could use your help!

I'm interested in finding a GIA-certified, round brilliant diamond that's from Canada for an engagement ring. (I know there's some discussion about whether those interested in buying conflict-free diamonds should really buy from Canada, but suffice it to say that it's important to my girlfriend that the diamond be Canadian.) I've shopped around at some local vendors, but the Canadian stones they showed me weren't of very impressive quality and, for one reason or another, it's been difficult to find a vendor I can trust. All of this has brought me to the internet.

I'm working with a budget of about $7,000. (I'm a graduate student and won't be able to go much higher than that.) Like most people, I'd like to get the largest-looking diamond that I can for that price, and so I've been thinking of prioritizing carat and cut and sacrificing clarity (to an SI1 or SI2, for instance). But I don't really know how wise that is, and I do know that a lot depends on the particular stone.

If with my budget I can get a diamond a bit over 1 carat, that would be ideal for me. I know that this becomes less possible as the stones approach, say, 1.2 carats, but I'd like to see what's available.

I'm going to continue doing some reading, and I'll start to get in touch with online vendors. I'm not really sure how this works from here, but if anyone has any leads, suggestions, or advice, I'd greatly appreciate your help. I'm beginning to feel like I'm in over my head.

Thanks in advance!

 

[smoothmoose]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

Hi Rar25,

Welcome. I recently got engaged and bought my Canadian diamond from ID Jewelry in New York and got a custom setting made here in Toronto by Leif Benner. Where in Canada are you? I have posted a summary of my experience and tips and tricks in this post:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/toronto-online-buying-experience-reviews.176871/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/toronto-online-buying-experience-reviews.176871/[/URL]

Read it through and let us know if you have more questions.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

This is an awesome diamond:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/8378/

I'll see if I see any others.

 

[rar25]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

Thanks to both of you for all of this helpful information! Diamondseeker, that does look like a stunning diamond.

Smoothmoose, I'm actually in Indiana, but it's important to my girlfriend that she have a Canadian diamond. (The condensed long version is that she's terrified of getting a conflict diamond and satisfied that a Canadian diamond means a conflict-free one.) So these write-ups about vendors are very helpful.

I should also say that I've learned more in the past few days after browsing through the posts and guides on this forum than I have in three weeks of talking to different local jewelers. One jeweler had me looking at some 1.06 ct I1 stones (all I could get for my budget, she claimed) and made me hunt for the inclusion myself while she exclaimed in my ear "Oh! That's just a gorgeous stone!" Of course it wasn't, and the inclusion was visible even to my highly untrained eye. Then I had to play twenty questions in order to get the basic specs about the diamond. "The cut says 'very good.' What is the scale?" I asked. "It's a round brilliant diamond," she responded. "But the cut--I know there's 'ideal' at the top." "Yes, 'very good' is below 'ideal.'" It's been like this with several people. Hence my trust issues, and hence my profound relief to find this forum and your help.

Thanks for your quick responses! By the way, if I'm ever slow to respond, I apologize. My girlfriend and I work in proximity, and it's sometimes difficult for me to read the forum without her knowledge. But I'm checking as often as I can, and I'm very appreciative.

I'm off to do more research. Thank you!

 

[smoothmoose]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

Rar25, the diamond diamondseeker found is a great one.

Here's a couple from Bluenile that are bit cheaper. You'll need to call ID Jewelry to call it in for photos and visual check. I think I read Good Old Good does it as well:

http://www.bluenile.com/canadian-diamonds?track=head#diamonds_pid=LD02322611
- HCA = 1.3, Strong Fluorescence
http://www.bluenile.com/canadian-diamonds?track=head#diamonds_pid=LD02560034
- HCA = 1.7, No Fluorescence

 

[rar25]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

Thanks for these great options! I got in touch with ID Jewelry, and they recommended this one (in the spirit of going a little bigger, I think), which they could get me at right around my budget:

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=head#diamonds_pid=LD02271529

If I'm doing the HCA right, it's 1.8, "Excellent."

What do you think of this one, if I can ask? I'm still taking a look at the others you've suggested, too.

 

[smoothmoose]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

Thanks for these great options! I got in touch with ID Jewelry, and they recommended this one (in the spirit of going a little bigger, I think), which they could get me at right around my budget:

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=head#diamonds_pid=LD02271529

If I'm doing the HCA right, it's 1.8, "Excellent."

What do you think of this one, if I can ask? I'm still taking a look at the others you've suggested, too.

It looks good. The only thing I would say is have IDJ do good check of the clouds that affect the clarity. This is based on the comment in the GIA report "Additional clouds, pinpoints, and graining not shown". It seems to be the least clear SI1 out of the options here from the report. Again you said size and cut are more important so maybe it's not a big deal. I would also have IDJ check it in sunlight as there have been recent posts that the clouds make the certain diamonds look milky, though I think those were SI2 diamonds.

Finally make sure you get them to take imagescope, ASET and H&A pictures.

 

[rar25]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

Thanks so much, smoothmoose! IDJ has this diamond, and they sent me the pictures below. I'm working on making sense of them with the tutorials in the forum, but to be honest, I'm not making much headway. So any interpretation from a trained eye would be helpful.







They've mentioned, as you were suggesting, that there's a "small inclusion in the center of the table," but they've also said twice that it's "100% eye clean." You're right that it's the potential size that tempts me here, but that word "inclusion" does bother me. If this is closer to an SI2 stone, I'm going to have to think about it.

They haven't sent me shots of the diamond itself. Could I tell if it's eye clean from those, or is that a waste of time? I suppose I could get a better feel for the color from pictures, at least.

I can ask about sunlight, too. Thanks--I wouldn't have thought of that. IDJ is also apparently closed for the next two weeks, so this gives me time to think and to shop.

Thanks, as usual!

 

[webdiva]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

If it's a white inclusion, you won't be able to see it. Look at my ring thread, I have a pretty big inclusion smack dab in the middle of my diamond (it's an I1) and you can't see it. If the price is right and it's eye clean at 8-12", I think you're good to go.

 

[smoothmoose]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

The pics look pretty good. I'm no expert either but based on other pics these are pretty good. The hearts photo does has a ring of dots around where i think the table is. I've never seen that before though, i wonder if others can comment on it.

 

[thbmok]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

The dots in the hearts image are most likely reflections of the inclusion in the center of the stone in the top down images. IMO, based on the images the center inclusion is most likely not clear/white. It's generally not possible to tell whether a stone is eye clean or not based on images.

What does eye clean mean to you? Unable to see the inclusion from 12 inches? 6 inches? 3 inches? Top down? From the sides? From all angles? Make sure your vendor understands what you are looking for and is clear about their assessment of how eye clean the stone is.

 

[rar25]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

Thanks very much, everyone! Based on your comments and what I'm seeing, I'm still interested in the stone.

In my naivete, I thought that "eye clean" meant more than it does, so I'm going to ask IDJ some more direct questions about the inclusion: white or black, at what distance and angles it's eye clean, etc. At every step in this process, I'm reminded that I'm a complete beginner, and so I really appreciate your feedback and help. I do take some solace in the fact that others on this forum have had good experiences with IDJ, but that won't stop me from getting more precise information about this stone.

By the way, I thought I had another candidate of about the same size that a friend found for me in a different state. Come to find out, it was EGL certified. A quick search on this forum told me why I should stay away from that. The search continues. I'll be back in touch once I hear from IDJ again.

 

[BrendaS]

Re: Please Help Me Find Best Canadian Stone (Round Brilliant

Have you checked out www.brilliantearth.com?? We wanted to focus on a"green" wedding and were specifically looking for ethical, conflict-free diamonds made from recycled gold. We found our wedding rings at Brilliant Earth and were totally pleased and happy knowing where the diamonds came from.