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Diamond advice

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
Hi Guys,

I'm new to the forum and new to buying diamonds.

I'm purchasing an engagement ring and want to make sure I get the right one. I've read up a lot recently and decided that I can afford around £6000-£7000ish.

I've been looking at diamonds with these characteristics: 0.90-1 Carat, excellent cut, colour F, VS2, excellent symmetry, excellent polish, no fluorescence. However, I really don't have the understanding about angles etc to know what makes a great diamond.

I'd never heard of the Holloway Cut Adviser until I randomly came across it.

A jeweller is trying to sell me this one:

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=6251423326 - but when I've ran it through the Holloway software it rates it as 4.0 Good - Only if price is your main criterion, costs around £6000 when mounted on a platinum ring.

But in my limited understanding, these two seem to be better?

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=6187553324 - 1.5 Excellent within TIC range - £7000ish when mounted on a platinum ring.

https://www.gia.edu/report-check?reportno=5182455841 - 0.9 Excellent within BIC range - £6000ish when mounted on a platinum ring.

Do the above seem like good value or should I be looking at something better for the money?

I would greatly appreciate any help that can be given as I need to arrange the purchase over the weekend.

Many thanks guys.

Regards,

Chris.
 

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
Sorry to be a pest, but is there anyone who could help with this?

All opinions welcome.

Thanks.

Chris.
 

drk14

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
1,061
You're getting no responses because you've posted in the wrong forum (this is a forum strictly for proposal stories and proposal ideas).

Press the "Report Concern" button on your top post and write a note to the administrators requesting that the thread be moved to the RockyTalky forum.
 

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
Hi drk14,

Many thanks for the advice. I've requested that the post be moved.

Sorry for the late reply, I've actually been away in Portugal and proposed now, but advised to the jeweler that I'll want to change the stone. So any advice regarding the above would be gratefully appreciated.

Many thanks,

Chris.
 

drk14

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2014
Messages
1,061
Congrats on the engagement!

I'm not an expert on round cuts, so hopefully someone will be around to advise you soon. Here's some key info from the reports (to save others the trouble to assemble this information):

All three diamonds are GIA-XXX, F, VS2, No fluorescence.

Stone #1 (HCA=4):
0.90ct, 6.16 - 6.18 x 3.82 mm
Depth 61.9 %
Table 59 %
Crown Angle 35.0°
Pavilion Angle 41.2°
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 75%

Stone #2 (HCA=1.5):
0.96ct, 6.35 - 6.39 x 3.84 mm
Depth 60.3 %
Table 60 %
Crown Angle 34.5°
Pavilion Angle 40.6°
Star Length 45%
Lower Half 80%

Stone #3 (HCA=0.9):
0.90ct, 6.18 - 6.22 x 3.78 mm
Depth 60.9 %
Table 57 %
Crown Angle 31.5°
Pavilion Angle 41.0°
Star Length 45%
Lower Half 80%


Are all of these sourced by the original jeweler? Can he provide reflector images (IdealScope, ASET, Hearts & Arrows)?
 

Rockdiamond

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jan 7, 2009
Messages
9,711
Hi Chrisduk,
Although round diamonds are pretty much standardized as compared to fancy shapes- there are different "flavors".
Remember that a HCA .09 is not "better" than HCA 1.5
Will you be able to look at the stones in person?
I like stone #2 based on limited info- it will certainly look bigger- but also cost an additional grand.....
Hopefully you can compare in person...
 

farrahlyn

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 22, 2015
Messages
1,170
Are you limiting your search to ONLY F colored stones with only VS2 clarity? You could be overlooking some really nice stones!

With the 3 you've listed, i like #2. The crown angle on #3 is just really low.

suggested angles if you have your jeweler continue looking (note: i absolutely copy/pasted from one of diamondseeker's posts.) This paired with the HCA should help a lot.

table: 54-58

depth: 60-62.3

crown angle: 34-35.0 (up to 35.5 crown angle can sometimes work with a 40.6 pav angle)

pavilion angle: 40.6-40.9 (sometimes 41.0 if the crown angle is close to 34)
 

Snowdrop13

Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Aug 27, 2011
Messages
2,960
Don't rush into anything- please! Diamond buying in the UK from a jeweller can be tricky, they often will not offer a huge selection and usually emphasise colour and clarity over cut. They mostly won't have Idealscope or ASET images, probably won't have heard of them! Your jeweller is at least showing you GIA XXX stones but not all of these are cut the same- stick to the angles described above. Also consider dropping down to G or even H colour and remember many Si1 stones will be eye clean.

Blue Nile has a huge selection of diamonds- have a play with their search facility, you can dial in table and depth percentages and see images of some of the diamonds. You can also look at "recently purchased" rings to get an idea of different stone sizes and settings.

Here's an example,

https://www.bluenile.com/uk/build-your-own-ring/diamond-details/LD08839586

(BN links don't work unless you cut and paste or open in a new tab)

Platinum settings cost from £550 or so up.
 

OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
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Messages
8,228
+1 to the difficulty buying in the UK!

@Chrisduk2002
What timescales do you have to work with?
Have you seen different colours of diamond (D through to, say, J) to know what you and your other half prefer?
Has your other half made any jokey comments about the current stone's size? (too small/large?)
 

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
Hi All,

Many thanks for all the advice and taking the time to look through the info, it's very much appreciated.

I'm using the term 'jeweler' loosely, I got the initial ring from 77 Diamonds based in London, UK. I live by Liverpool so all my contact with them has been electronic based, they have sent me photos etc, but nothing as detailed as reflector images. Although they do have quite a good online filter and sorting system.

I based my criteria in the following order (I only looked at GIA certified diamonds):

- Excellent cut first (with excellent symmetry, excellent polish and no florescence)

- Carat size (I wanted 1 Carat really, but didn't want to go down in quality and couldn't afford a top quality 1 carat diamond, so looked between 0.90 and 1 Carat)

- Colour F as it was the lowest colourless rating (I want a platinum ring and set)

- VS2 as i thought that was the lowest you could go with the diamond still being eye clean

- I was then viewing the GIA certificates and entering the details from this into the Holloway Cut Advisor

Obviously you guys have a lot more experience than me, so my criteria and ranking order may be completely wrong, so again any further advice on this is greatly appreciated?

77 Diamonds seemed to be comparable price wise with blue Nile etc, but like I say this is my first time purchasing a diamond, so i don't really have a clue what i'm doing, just going from what I've read. does anyone have any good or bad experience with 77 diamonds?

Kind Regards,

Chris.
 

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
As Drk14 kindly summarised, the diamond I currently have is this one which with the platinum ring cost around £6000:

Stone #1 (HCA=4):
0.90ct, 6.16 - 6.18 x 3.82 mm
Depth 61.9 %
Table 59 %
Crown Angle 35.0°
Pavilion Angle 41.2°
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 75%

Do people agree that for the £6000 I could get a better diamond based on it's score etc?

I have 18 days to return this to get my money back or exchange the diamond.

I could exchange it for diamond number 2 but that would be an extra £1300 or look for a better around the same price, £6000 when set. Diamond 3 is around £6000 when set.

I'll see what else I can find and post here, again I appreciate all your time and effort guys, i can't tell you how thankful I am for your aid.

Regards,

Chris.
 

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
Hi Guys,

farrahlyn thanks for the dimensions, I'm trying to fins stones that match these.

OoohShiny, she hasn't said anything about the stone size so I'm assuming she's happy with it. It was more me that wanted it to be 1 Carat, but don't want to lose too much quality.

Price isn't my main criterion, just want to make sure I get as much 'bang for my buck' as possible.

What do you all think to this stone compared to the three above, is it better than number 3, even though number 3 scored Excellent in nearly every area? it's £250 less when mounted:

Stone #4 (HCA=1.8 Excellent within TIC Range):
0.90ct, 6.15 - 6.20 x 3.81 mm
Depth 61.6 %
Table 59 %
Crown Angle 35.5°
Pavilion Angle 40.6°
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 75%

Girdle Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted, 4.0%

Light Return Very Good

Fire Excellent

Scintillation Very Good

Spread Very Good

Kind Regards,

Chris.
 
Last edited:

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
And of course Stone number 5, kindly suggested by Snowdrop13, cost of around £6,050 when mounted:

Stone #5 (HCA=1.0 Excellent within TIC Range):
0.90ct, 6.15 - 6.20 x 3.81 mm
Depth 61.8 %
Table 56 %
Crown Angle 34°
Pavilion Angle 40.8°
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 75%

Girdle Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted, 4.0%

Light Return Excellent

Fire Excellent

Scintillation Excellent

Spread Very Good
 

ecf8503

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 14, 2005
Messages
4,091
Stone #5 so far has the most appealing numbers to me. Many of the others are known as 60/60 stones - they can face up a bit larger due to the shallower depth, but you lose some fire (colored light return) as a trade off. I'd open up to G color as well - I am fairly color sensitive, thought I needed a D to make me happy, but I now have several G's and they face up very white without any tint at all, and you don't have to pay the markup for a "colorless" stone. You can get over 1ct if you just do that, but keep in mind there is a significant price hike at 1ct, so a 0.99ct will be cheaper and face up the same size.
 

farrahlyn

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gm89uk

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May 26, 2015
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1,491
Hi Chris, your preconceptions that F and VS2 are the lowest you should go are incorrect and exactly my mindset when I started initially. I recommend going to see actual G and H coloured GIA graded stones in the UK and you'll be surprised at how 'colourless' they appear. With you budget you could afford a more sizeable stone that is better cut. I'm in Birmingham by the jewellery quarter, there's a nice website I remember called aspire diamonds that lets you see some pictures in their virtual inventory as well (when viewed through a desktop, not mobile site). I think they have a sister company called diamond heaven that have a branch in London. I found their prices to be a bit better than bluenile and 77diamonds in the UK.

Personally I bought my diamond from James Allen from the states. Some friends bought from b2c. You might find buying from the US With VAT still works out cheaper than buying from the UK. The only problem is finding a buyer to sell you a setting if you didn't purchase the diamond from them.
 

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
Hi All,

Many thanks again for all the contributions, really appreciated and I've considered everything you've said.

I did try dropping down to a colour G and going up in carat but the price seemed to stay above £6,250 and I think I've decided that is my sort of limit.

I've found this stone which I'm thinking of going for, comes in at £6,000 when in a classic solitaire 4 claw 950 platinum set, which is what she wants. What do you guys think? Do you think it is much better than the stone I currently have detailed above?

Stone #6 (HCA=1.4 Excellent within TIC Range):
0.90ct, 6.14 - 6.18 x 3.84 mm
Depth 62.2 %
Table 57 %
Crown Angle 34.5°
Pavilion Angle 40.8°
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 80%

Girdle Slightly Thick, Faceted, 4.0%

Light Return Excellent

Fire Excellent

Scintillation Excellent

Spread Very Good

Kind regards,

Chris.
 

rockysalamander

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 20, 2016
Messages
5,105
So, you want us to compare #5 above with this one? Just want to be clear.
 

Chrisduk2002

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
9
Sorry rockysalamander. I meant number one (as that's the one I have in hand) with number six that I just posted?

Many thanks for the help!

Chris.
 

rockysalamander

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 20, 2016
Messages
5,105
Assuming I have these two correct (see below). #1 should be out of the running as unacceptable. Big NO.

#6 is MUCH better. The proportions of the cut are more complimentary and will give better performance. Re-reading this thread, everyone found #1 unacceptable, which is why you were given a large number of options. If anyone liked #1, they would have said so...:mrgreen2:

Stone #1 (HCA=4):
0.90ct, 6.16 - 6.18 x 3.82 mm
Depth 61.9 %
Table 59 %
Crown Angle 35.0°
Pavilion Angle 41.2°
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 75%

Stone #6 (HCA=1.4 Excellent within TIC Range):
0.90ct, 6.14 - 6.18 x 3.84 mm
Depth 62.2 %
Table 57 %
Crown Angle 34.5°
Pavilion Angle 40.8°
Star Length 50%
Lower Half 80%
 
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