Drizzle
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2014
- Messages
- 79
For background, please refer to the previous thread:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...lor-clarity-or-compromise-cut-with-ja.235191/
I decided to start a new thread because the previous thread's title was no longer fully reflective of the situation and missing one key player Crafted by Infinity.
TLDR: BF and I were looking for a RBC diamond that's 2.25 carat+, G color+, eye-clean, and H&A ideal with HCA score <2 within $25k. After lots of research online, I picked out a stone from James Allen (GIA 3X, also falls under AGS0 parameters) which I thought was a solid performer based on the specs. However, having never seen a "super ideal" diamond that's often highly regarded here on PS, I felt like I would regret making the final decision without the chance to compare them in real life first. To me, the Whiteflash A Cut Above always come to mind when I think of "super ideal" cut diamond, so we ended up ordering a WF ACA in addition to the JA. On top of that, several other PSers introduced me to another brand of "super ideals" called Crafted by Infinity. @Wink from HPD was able to ship a few CBI stones to a partner local jeweler in my city, where I was able to compare all 3 stones in person under multiple lighting.
I know for me personally, one of the frustrations when diamond shopping online was not having enough visual aids. Even with more and more vendors providing videos, photos, ASET/Ideal Scope, and even generous 30 day refund policy to "try it", I still found myself wishing to be able to see them IRL and compare.
While I found several YouTube videos comparing different diamond colors or cut grades (H&A, Excellent, Very Good, Fair etc) I haven't found too many reference points for "Super Ideals." So I thought it might be helpful to share the videos I took from my comparison.
The details on the 3 stones below:
James Allen: 2.31 ct G/VS1/medium fluorescence/HCA 0.8
https://www.jamesallen.com//loose-d...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3530614
White Flash A Cut Above: 2.22 ct H/VS2/no fluorescence/HCA 1.1
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3905123.htm
Crafted by Infinity: 2.31 ct H/SI1/no fluorescence/HCA 1.2
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD8620
Now onto the videos - please note it was hard to capture what I saw in real life to the fullest extent on my (not so great) iPhone 6 camera - so take them for what they are.
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...lor-clarity-or-compromise-cut-with-ja.235191/
I decided to start a new thread because the previous thread's title was no longer fully reflective of the situation and missing one key player Crafted by Infinity.
TLDR: BF and I were looking for a RBC diamond that's 2.25 carat+, G color+, eye-clean, and H&A ideal with HCA score <2 within $25k. After lots of research online, I picked out a stone from James Allen (GIA 3X, also falls under AGS0 parameters) which I thought was a solid performer based on the specs. However, having never seen a "super ideal" diamond that's often highly regarded here on PS, I felt like I would regret making the final decision without the chance to compare them in real life first. To me, the Whiteflash A Cut Above always come to mind when I think of "super ideal" cut diamond, so we ended up ordering a WF ACA in addition to the JA. On top of that, several other PSers introduced me to another brand of "super ideals" called Crafted by Infinity. @Wink from HPD was able to ship a few CBI stones to a partner local jeweler in my city, where I was able to compare all 3 stones in person under multiple lighting.
I know for me personally, one of the frustrations when diamond shopping online was not having enough visual aids. Even with more and more vendors providing videos, photos, ASET/Ideal Scope, and even generous 30 day refund policy to "try it", I still found myself wishing to be able to see them IRL and compare.
While I found several YouTube videos comparing different diamond colors or cut grades (H&A, Excellent, Very Good, Fair etc) I haven't found too many reference points for "Super Ideals." So I thought it might be helpful to share the videos I took from my comparison.
The details on the 3 stones below:
James Allen: 2.31 ct G/VS1/medium fluorescence/HCA 0.8
https://www.jamesallen.com//loose-d...g-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-3530614
White Flash A Cut Above: 2.22 ct H/VS2/no fluorescence/HCA 1.1
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3905123.htm
Crafted by Infinity: 2.31 ct H/SI1/no fluorescence/HCA 1.2
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD8620
Now onto the videos - please note it was hard to capture what I saw in real life to the fullest extent on my (not so great) iPhone 6 camera - so take them for what they are.
- Under the jewelry store ceiling light - from bottom to top (JA, WF ACA, CBI)
. If the 
). While going "dark," it exhibits crazy amount of fire and scintillation and is still very sparkly. I will be 100% honest and say I was a bit thrown back by this at first as well. I did a lot of research and found numerous threads on PS as well as other forums, where people are asking why their "super ideal" stones go dark in direct sunlight. To put it simply, it's a biological phenomenon where the human eye cannot process the overload of light return coming from the diamond under intense lighting that the pupil closes a little, resulting in a darker looking stone. Forgive my poor explanation, here are a few of the threads I found on the matter for those of you interested.
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