2 Diamonds on Hold! Need a Bit More Encouragement! Help Me Decide!

[3shebabes]

Hey out there! Still shopping for 10th anniversary diamond/setting upgrade. Very Excited. Very Stressed! I know I am in a very lucky position - but I still wanna do the right thing!

I posted a few days ago asking P-scopers to help me compare 2 diamonds - one I''ve seen and 1\the other I have not. I am so confused! This stuff is so exciting and yet so stressful because you so desperately want to be IN LOVE with your diamond or setting or whatever new jewel you are wishing for when you finally take that plunge!

I''m not gonna give tons of detail on either stone (I did that before) other than to summarize my debate and see what tidbits of wisdom or encouragement ya''ll can give. I have 2 diamonds on hold:

1st one is a 2.72 RB H color SI1 - B & M store 3 hours from me - beautiful, eyeclean (I saw it & gazed at it for 2 hours!). It is GIA certed and gets a VERY GOOD in sym, pol, and in cut grade. Loved it. ONLY CONCERNS: H color (my current stone is E and I love whiter diamonds) and the cut grade only being Very Good. I was kinda hoping for an awesome cut this time - and yet it looked beautiful to me. Also looked super white in shaded sunlight -- only saw a slight tinge of yellow in full glary sunlight.

2ns stone is a 2.86 RB G color SI1, AGS certed as Ideal Triple 0 - and though the cert doesn''t label it as H & A, James Allen does call it H & A in their description of it - (online vendor is James Allen). This diamond has a tiny increase in diameter over the other one (may not even be visible it is so small a difference) but has higher color and an AGS 000 cut. Ideal rating in every category, etc.CONCERNS: Haven''t seen it in person, while I have seen the other. Table % (while ideal) is on the small end of ideal (54.2% - what does that mean, visually? Does that make a diamond look smaller face-up or since it is in the ideal range, should it look fine?) plus this diamond is $3100 more than the diamond above. Not a huge deal to me, but don''t think my husband didn''t notice that difference between the two!

Anyway - both diamonds are on hold. First diamond is held with a deposit (refundable) for a month! The second is simply held for 24 hours at this point.

Ideally, I may order the 2.86 G to have a look at it and if it thrills me I may even take it for a side by side comparison to stone 1. I put this quandry out here a few days ago and several patient P-scopers suggested that to me.

I just wanted to ask everyone one more time:

*Would you order the AGS G - Ideal Cut Triple 0 even though you hadn''t seen it?
*Should a 54.2% table on that diamond concern me in any way? What visual effect will that have?

Please - any more tips or advice would be appreciated!

I''m excited, but obsessed and stressed!

3shebabes

 

[hgau999]

Novice speaking, I believe the face up position of the stone is not determined by the table size rather the spread. Which based upon the pavillion depth and girdle thickness. The smaller table would mean less light entering the stone, which would mean a lower light return however I think typically with smaller table you get more fire. Correct me if I''m wrong experts. I think ppl can give you more help if you posted the entire specs.

 

[Ellen]

Yes, the G should be a tad more firey.

I personally would order the G, and compare them well, in lots of lighting, or as much as you can. Then forget the numbers and choose with your eyes.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 9/19/2007 1:03:45 PM
Author: Ellen
Yes, the G should be a tad more firey.

I personally would order the G, and compare them well, in lots of lighting, or as much as you can. Then forget the numbers and choose with your eyes.

I agree with Ellen. This is a significant purchase, and worth comparing the 2 side by side if possible. Since one is already at a local B&M, I''d order the JA stone and compare them.

 

[Shay37]

Well, call in that G and make it prove it''s worth the extra money, or not. I would think it would be exquisite. Is it $3100 more exquisite, only you can say once you''ve seen it.

shay

 

[diamondseeker2006]

That is a small price difference to go from an H to a G, I think. I consider the G stone as superior to the other stone. I''d certainly order it to look at. The 54% table is in the ideal range. It has nothing to do with the diameter of the stone. You look at the mm measurements for that. If I was spending that amount of money, I''d far rather have an AGS0 and color grade higher. I wouldn''t pay $30,000 (or whatever it was) for that other stone. I know I''d regret it later. Once you know about ideal cut, it is hard to settle for less than that from a mental standpoint, at least.

 

[3shebabes]

Thanks everyone for your input!

Diamondseeker - thanks to you especially for your last reply -- it really stuck with me when you said you wouldn't pay $30k for a stone that wasn't Triple 0 Ideal, etc...and when you said you thought the G stone was worth $3k more than the H stone - at least to you. I had said that same thing to my husband. I told him I honestly thought there was a good chance that the step up in color, several steps up in cut grade and SLIGHT (I mean really, really slight - possibly invisible) increase in diameter would be worth the extra money. (Will a TEENY increase in mm size be visible? I may do a post on that...)

I feel tense and jittery and excited - as my husband called an hour ago while I was walking into my gym to tell me "Have a good workout" like he does almost every day (

) and added that he was ordering the diamond today so we can see it.

Though this diamond is being considered for an anniversary gift (21st of November) and I am unsure so far as to the exact setting I want, I told him I considered his ordering of the stone my birthday gift. My 42nd (GULP) b-day is Saturday and I told him beyond a shadow of a doubt that receiving this stone in the mail to study, admire, play with in different lighting, etc...was more than I could hope for as a birthday gift anyway - so I expect and want nothing else. Our 3 daughters will be happy if we just go out to eat and have cake.

So, if all goes as planned, I may be posting pictures this weekend of this diamond - and will anxiously await your comments & feedback. It's a big soccer weekend this weekend (We have FOUR soccer games with one out of town) so I may be frustrated trying to find "play time" to experiment with this stone! We'll see...

Will I know when I see it whether this very rock was meant to be on my finger? Will it grab me? Will it blow me away?!? I hope so! It pretty much has to - or I don't think I could justify keeping it!

 

[hgau999]

If all else was the same but the size I would tell you to go with the cheaper stone. Since .14mm is not big difference, however these two stone are not really comparable I think. The James Allen is a H & A which commands a premium already. Although it doesn''t add any to the diamonds performance it does add to sentiment and the knowledge that you bought a highly symmetrical diamond that was cut by a very skilled craftsman. It being a 2+ ct, G color, H & A & AGS "000" means that your getting the best. So my vote is for the James Allen.