Finding the right 3ct princess cut online

[Jaysas]

Hello all,

New to the community, and new to diamonds in general! I have been doing quite a bit of research since becoming interested in buying an engagement ring

I'm looking for a 3CT princess, with eye clean appearance, and eye clean color with great sparkle. Blue Nile only has GIA grading on most of its diamonds and light performance is next to impossible to tell with fancy cuts GIA specs. James Allen does allow for ASET measurements, and I am waiting for the results. But I wanted the communities opinion on this specific diamond, and if you think this is what I am looking for!

https://www.jamesallen.com/mobile/l...ut/3.01-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-sku-2452283

Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated! I am very stressed with this learning curve.

Will this diamond appear white (H color of 3ct size)? Will this diamond have good sparkle/scintillation/fire, or will it look flat and mirror like. It appears to be graded as a "ideal cut" but I'm not sure how James Allen came to that classification.

I am not too concerned with clarity, as it's vs1 and the inclusions seem not terribly noticable at the 20X mag. I'm more concerned with color H at this size and the light performance.

Thank you very much in advance

 

[rockysalamander]

Are you buying this for yourself or your future FI? If for your future FI, has she specifically said she likes Princess cuts? They are often a love/hate kind of cut. You also have to set them very carefully to protect those corners as they are fragile. That can limit your settings options.

The H color will show as 'color' in such a large stone.

Princess cuts also face-up smaller than a round as a lot of the weight is in the belly of the stone as compared to a round. So, they are more expensive for the same appearance. See below comparison of 2.22 princess to 2.15 round. The round is less weight and larger for 1.3 mm in spread! That is enough to be visible.

Wink may be able to get you larger stones, so I'd reach out to him if you are looking for something larger to give you some options against your JA choice.
2.22 c princess, 7.09 - 7.09 X 5.51 mm, http://highperformancediamonds.com/shop/clarity/HPD8565/
{VVS1 is probably overkill}
2.15 round, 8.28 - 8.33 X 5.12 mm, http://highperformancediamonds.com/shop/clarity/HPD7430/
2.57 round, 8.8 - 8.82 X 5.42 mm, http://highperformancediamonds.com/shop/clarity/HPD7954/
2.67 round, 8.92 - 8.99 X 5.49 mm, http://highperformancediamonds.com/shop/clarity/HPD8244/

 

[tyty333]

I think it has potential. Post the aset when you get it so we have a better idea how it's looking in
the light return category.

What is your budget?

 

[Jaysas]

Thank you so much for your responses! It's great having an impartial opinion from knowledgeable people. I can only put so much weight on what a salesperson is telling me.

Rockysalamander: this ring is for my future FI. I initially was focused on round cuts, for the reasons you stated (Show as whiter stones, have larger top diamaters per carat, are generally more brilliant, have GIA cut grades, and are generally more popular)

Wanting this to be a surprise, I asked my future FI to tell me what she would recommend for a friend of mine, and she said princess cut and sent me a picture of a princess with a channel setting. She doesn't seem to like the round ones.

One of the reasons I'm so focused on light performance is I am hoping this will help"mask" the H color. Last thing I want to do is have her Wear a yellow ring. When I intially went to Tiffanys, they actually tried putting me in a more yellow color saying that I wouldn't be able to notice the yellow color with a well cut Tiffany stone- and the sales person was right, I had a great deal of difficulty seeing the difference-albeit at that time I was still looking at 2ct round diamonds. Also I've seen similarly GIA graded princess cuts with substantially different look based on optics, so I want to make sure it sparkles and doesn't look flat and glassy

Tyty- I should have the ASET by Monday, and then 24 hours to act, so I will make sure to post it ASAP.

I would like to spend around 34kUSD, James Allen includes the setting in this price.

If pricescope feels that I should pay more for a G color I most certainly will, I don't mind spending a bit more to know this will not have a yellow appearance; but my ultimate goal is to get a "eye clean, eye white, good sparkle rock" for the most value possible, and that's why I intially was focused on H, VS2, and ideal cuts. Should I adjust my parameters?

Again thank you very much for any insight/guidance!

 

[rockysalamander]

Whew! I'm glad she loves princess stones. You've got clear direction on both the stone and setting.

You can have a look at SI1 stones, if they are 'eye clean', but I did not see much inventory at JA or BG. You could call ID Jewelry. He is great at finding 'eye clean' SI1 stones.

While you are waiting...do you have her ring size? Channel settings are among my favs, but they are difficult (not impossible) to resize.

I like this setting with carre shaped side stones. This setting has the prongs emerge so there won't be rubbing between a wedding band and the prongs. It also has great cleaning access from below. I don't love the prongs, themselves, and would rather see double split claw prongs (see below shown on a round) or pointier ones (second image).

• https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...ess-shaped-diamond-engagement-ring-item-22648

If you don't like the carre side stones, they have the same setting with princess cuts on the sides.

 

[Jaysas]

Thanks Rockysalamander! I haven't gone as far as looking at the settings yet, but I think the one you linked looks like it's going to be the one. I actually like the Carre side stones quite a bit.

I haven't gotten the ring size yet, but I appreciate the heads up about resizing, I will try to measure it in a stealthy way.

I will also try calling ID jewelry on Monday.

Any thoughts on the JA stone in question with regards to color? Do you think it will appear as white? I will make sure to post the ASET once I have that info to get opinions on light performance.

 

[rockysalamander]

I spent quite a bit of time (hehe) looking at JA's stones in a range of colors. That H looks pretty white in comparison, even from the side. So, I'd keep it in the running.

 

[Jaysas]

Thanks again for your time and input! It's much appreciated

 

[Jaysas]

Hello all, I have received the ASET from JA. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Also there seems to be a feather on one of the corner areas. Should this be cause for concern?

 

[tyty333]

I think it looks good...lots of red under the table (good light return). A little more red outside
the table would have been a bonus but it has plenty of green and very little leakage.

Here is the carre cut channel setting...
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...rre-shaped-diamond-engagement-ring-item-22647

This is carre and princess cut (I like the full carre better) but if you bring up the princess cut examples
you can see a 2.05 carat stone in it to see what a big stone looks like in this setting. It is basically
the same setting as the full carre. (just for example)
https://www.jamesallen.com/engageme...cess-shaped-diamond-engagement-ring-item-1889

 

[Jaysas]

Tyty, thank you so much for the speedy response! I have until 2pm Eastern tomorrow to finalize the sale, so I appreciate the input.

The only other concern I have is the feather inclusion visible on the GIA report in the corner. I have read some people say this a big deal, other say on a Vs1 it's no compromise to structural integrity. Any feedback?