Help needed - is this a good pear shape diamond?

[tobiez]

Hi all

I've recently put down a $200 deposit for the below ring, in order to get the stone analysis done.
I've attached the results here, however want to get more understanding re: the 40x microscopic pic, it seems to me there is a slight tinge of yellow around the pointy end of the stone? What could be the explanation for this? As the stone is D - IF, shouldn't it be clear?

High mag (x40) photo:


ASET image


GIA Cert:


The total price is $8000 AUD (~$6400 USD)
I've asked the supplier reasons for this, however feel that his explanations could be biased towards him wanting to sell the ring.

Appreciate any responses.

Cheers!

 

[rockysalamander]

Unfortunately, no. That is not a good pear. What you are seeing in the ASET is that the only facets that returning strong light are in the belly. Pear ASET are never pretty, but this looks pretty to be at the pretty grim end of the spectrum. The tip looking colored has more to do with the poor light return. You really need to see video to evaluate a pear. Its really about the facets and how they turn on and off -- and if the belly is lively.

Pear a very hard to select and take enormous patience to find a well-deserving one. Did your intended specifically ask for a pear? Is the D IF required, or can you drop to F (still colorless) and open up your clarity to eyeclean VS?

Ignore size and details, just look at the videos. These are good looking pears (borrowed list from @tyty333 ).

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/0.51-carat-f-color-if-clarity-sku-876699
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/0.90-carat-f-color-si2-clarity-sku-3037215
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/0.90-carat-f-color-si1-clarity-sku-2343246

 

[tyty333]

To piggyback on what RS is saying...please dont limit yourself to D/IF stones. Its hard enough to find a well cut pear without limiting yourself
to a small range of stones.

Color is graded from the bottom of the stone. Areas of the stone that do not reflect light well could hold on to some color. I doubt you would really
noticed the tint in real life. I have a D pear and if you dont keep them clean they really eat light.

I have an oval example of areas that dont return light well. The donut hole is returning light but the donut area is not. You can see the perceived color
difference. Shorter, fatter pears usually do a better job at returning light because the rounded end returns light more like a round brilliant.


Do you have a video of the stone you posted above by any chance? I find you really need good videos to tell whats going on. James Allen has good
videos...blue nile's arent bad but they are flooded with light (so are some of James Allens).

If you let us know your budget/specs we might be able to show you some stones that look good.

Edit...so here is a nice looking pear in the colorless range...what you want to see is well defined facets
reaching up towards the top of the stone and down towards the pointed end of the stone as the stone
rotates.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-e-color-vs2-clarity-sku-1134593

 

[doberman]

Hmm. The only strong colors are in the center of the stone along the bowtie facets. The rest of the stone looks pretty bland. A pear is not going to reflect light with the brilliance of a round diamond, but you could find one with a better ASET/light performance. You may have to give a bit on the D IF grades, but really it's all secondary to a good cut.

 

[ringo865]

If you NEED D/IF, you might consider a round, as you will have a better chance to get a well-performing stone.

Or, if you can open your color/clarity choices, people here could find you a nice pear within your (generous for a sub-carat stone) budget.

 

[OoohShiny]

I wonder if @diagem would be able to cut a pear to order...

He has lots of different cuts on his http://gemconcepts.net website and if anyone can cut a decent pear, it must be him!

Either that or @Rhino needs to get a Pear developed now he's finished the August Vintage Inc. Opulence Oval

 

[tobiez]

Appreciate the responses all. It’s so hard looking at stones as they all look the same to me
My budget is between $5000-8000AUD.
The other half has not explicitly asked for a pear but I have heard her comment on pears before. I only looked at color D and clarity IF as I thought they were the best specs in a diamond. ‍
I do have a 360 link of the diamond - https://www.jogiadiamonds.com.au/diamonds/analysis.php?code=GIA1273500678-anim

I did look at James Allen as well but as mentioned, couldn’t tell differences. Please send through more examples so I can compare.

Thanks again

 

[OoohShiny]

Man, pears are very difficult to shop for and are not something I'm that knowledgeable on, personally speaking. We need @pearaffair and @valeria101 to chime in with their thoughts!

You will always see more tint at the pointy end than the fat end of a pear, as I understand it, but D-F should not have any visible tint IMHO, and even a G might be fine. In a similar vein, VVS will be completely eye-clean and so should VS1, although VS2 can be tricky as some inclusions seem quite obvious.

On that basis I've had a look at some stones in those ranges to see what appeals to me and might appeal to you. The advice given in the posts above is excellent so do take it into account when looking at any options - my comments on the ones below might well be wrong so I am happy to have them corrected as needed!

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/0.90-carat-d-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-4048549
Seems to be fairly lively across the whole stone, with a good mix of brightness and contrast patterns.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.02-carat-d-color-vs1-clarity-sku-3279117
As per above comment, with perhaps a stronger/bolder facet/contrast patterning.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-f-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-4304873
Some strong facet/contrast patterns in the fatter end but the pointy end is perhaps too lifeless (when compared with the first stone above).

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-d-color-vs1-clarity-sku-4297338
Am undecided on this one - unstructured faceting towards each end but seems to have quite sparkly light return in these areas still, combined with a reasonable centre section.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.00-carat-d-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-4277069
I think this one is quite a strong performer in all but the very tip of the pointy end?

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-d-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-4297346
Decent performed in the centre section but a bit too much 'mush' at each end?


Have you talked about getting engaged with your partner? Do they know you are looking for stones? Many on here would recommend shopping together so you both get something you are happy with, although I appreciate the element of surprise is what can make an engagement proposal very memorable!

Does your partner have Pinterest or similar, which you might be able to check to see what has been 'pinned'? Or would your partner's friends help you sound out what your partner wants?

It has been noted on here before that what one likes in a shop window is not always what looks good on one's finger, so I think we would urge caution until/unless you know for sure!

That said, if you are planning to purchase from one of the pricescope-recommended vendors and then propose within the Returns period, you should be covered in case your partner decides a pear is not for them

 

[thecat]

If you are looking for D/IF with a $8k budget, I like this very much. If you cannot open the link, key LD08725208 into BlueNile search.

https://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/diamond-details/LD08725208?refTab=DIAMONDS

 

[pyramid]

Pears are on trend in the UK just now, following Ovals last year, are they the in shape in Australia just now too for engagements?

 

[tobiez]

To piggyback on what RS is saying...please dont limit yourself to D/IF stones. Its hard enough to find a well cut pear without limiting yourself
to a small range of stones.

Color is graded from the bottom of the stone. Areas of the stone that do not reflect light well could hold on to some color. I doubt you would really
noticed the tint in real life. I have a D pear and if you dont keep them clean they really eat light.

I have an oval example of areas that dont return light well. The donut hole is returning light but the donut area is not. You can see the perceived color
difference. Shorter, fatter pears usually do a better job at returning light because the rounded end returns light more like a round brilliant.


Do you have a video of the stone you posted above by any chance? I find you really need good videos to tell whats going on. James Allen has good
videos...blue nile's arent bad but they are flooded with light (so are some of James Allens).

If you let us know your budget/specs we might be able to show you some stones that look good.

Edit...so here is a nice looking pear in the colorless range...what you want to see is well defined facets
reaching up towards the top of the stone and down towards the pointed end of the stone as the stone
rotates.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-e-color-vs2-clarity-sku-1134593

To piggyback on what RS is saying...please dont limit yourself to D/IF stones. Its hard enough to find a well cut pear without limiting yourself
to a small range of stones.

Color is graded from the bottom of the stone. Areas of the stone that do not reflect light well could hold on to some color. I doubt you would really
noticed the tint in real life. I have a D pear and if you dont keep them clean they really eat light.

I have an oval example of areas that dont return light well. The donut hole is returning light but the donut area is not. You can see the perceived color
difference. Shorter, fatter pears usually do a better job at returning light because the rounded end returns light more like a round brilliant.


Do you have a video of the stone you posted above by any chance? I find you really need good videos to tell whats going on. James Allen has good
videos...blue nile's arent bad but they are flooded with light (so are some of James Allens).

If you let us know your budget/specs we might be able to show you some stones that look good.

Edit...so here is a nice looking pear in the colorless range...what you want to see is well defined facets
reaching up towards the top of the stone and down towards the pointed end of the stone as the stone
rotates.
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-e-color-vs2-clarity-sku-1134593

Thanks for this, my mate also got his ring from JA and though happy with the stone itself, he was surprised with an additional 10% tax when the ring arrived. I will need to take that into account also. Can you share some with the revised budget of 5-6K AUD?

 

[tobiez]

Pears are on trend in the UK just now, following Ovals last year, are they the in shape in Australia just now too for engagements?

Yeah, it seems pears are making a comeback down under.

 

[tobiez]

If you are looking for D/IF with a $8k budget, I like this very much. If you cannot open the link, key LD08725208 into BlueNile search.

https://www.bluenile.com/build-your-own-ring/diamond-details/LD08725208?refTab=DIAMONDS

Sorry - now revised budget of 5-6k AUD. the diamond you sent through ended up converting to ~10k australian dollars.

 

[tobiez]

Man, pears are very difficult to shop for and are not something I'm that knowledgeable on, personally speaking. We need @pearaffair and @valeria101 to chime in with their thoughts!

You will always see more tint at the pointy end than the fat end of a pear, as I understand it, but D-F should not have any visible tint IMHO, and even a G might be fine. In a similar vein, VVS will be completely eye-clean and so should VS1, although VS2 can be tricky as some inclusions seem quite obvious.

On that basis I've had a look at some stones in those ranges to see what appeals to me and might appeal to you. The advice given in the posts above is excellent so do take it into account when looking at any options - my comments on the ones below might well be wrong so I am happy to have them corrected as needed!

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/0.90-carat-d-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-4048549
Seems to be fairly lively across the whole stone, with a good mix of brightness and contrast patterns.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.02-carat-d-color-vs1-clarity-sku-3279117
As per above comment, with perhaps a stronger/bolder facet/contrast patterning.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-f-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-4304873
Some strong facet/contrast patterns in the fatter end but the pointy end is perhaps too lifeless (when compared with the first stone above).

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-d-color-vs1-clarity-sku-4297338
Am undecided on this one - unstructured faceting towards each end but seems to have quite sparkly light return in these areas still, combined with a reasonable centre section.

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.00-carat-d-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-4277069
I think this one is quite a strong performer in all but the very tip of the pointy end?

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/pear-shaped/1.01-carat-d-color-vvs1-clarity-sku-4297346
Decent performed in the centre section but a bit too much 'mush' at each end?


Have you talked about getting engaged with your partner? Do they know you are looking for stones? Many on here would recommend shopping together so you both get something you are happy with, although I appreciate the element of surprise is what can make an engagement proposal very memorable!

Does your partner have Pinterest or similar, which you might be able to check to see what has been 'pinned'? Or would your partner's friends help you sound out what your partner wants?

It has been noted on here before that what one likes in a shop window is not always what looks good on one's finger, so I think we would urge caution until/unless you know for sure!

That said, if you are planning to purchase from one of the pricescope-recommended vendors and then propose within the Returns period, you should be covered in case your partner decides a pear is not for them

Appreciate this, i did go through them all to try to learn to compare and look out for the things you pointed out. If i'm going to go through james allen, will need to revised budget to 5-6K AUD. There some tax that i will need to pay once the ring arrives in australia. Would get great if you can share some other stones with the new budget.

Mrs knows i'm looking for a ring, she is quite easy going and her casual nature means i could get her a moissanite and she will still be over the moon LOL but yeah i did show some designs on pininterest and she did comment on the pears.

 

[thecat]

Sorry - now revised budget of 5-6k AUD. the diamond you sent through ended up converting to ~10k australian dollars.

I didn't realised initially that your budget is AUD, not USD. I like this one too. Ask if they have an aset for it.

https://www.bluenile.com/build-your...AMONDS&track=viewDiamondDetails&action=newTab

 

[OoohShiny]

What is 5-6k AUD in USD at the moment?

 

[tobiez]

Using xe.com, its $4000-4800 usd.

 

[OoohShiny]

I've not got time to look properly but a quick skim on JA for D-G, IF-VS1 $3500-5000 brought up nothing that immediately jumped out at me - have a look yourself and see if anything appeals

 

[thecat]

I see that the second one I linked is sold. It was in your specs and budget. Did you get it? Do you have an aset?

 

[tobiez]

nope, that wasn't me