2ct

[gjnkelvedon]

Good afternoon/morning,

I am considering the following two stones for an engagement ring. I would be grateful for any thoughts:

Stone A:

Cut Carat Col Clarity Flor Culet Polish Symetry Girdle Table Crown Pav Depth
Excellent 2.04 f vs2 nil Pointed v.good v.good thn to med 55.5% 35.3dg 40.5dg 61

Stone B:
Excellent 2.02 D VS2 v.slight pointed v.good v.good thn to s.thick 55.5% 35dg 55.5dg 62.7

The certification on both is IGI - Antwerp (which I think I''m comfortable with - unless anyone has any stories why I shouldn''t be).

Is there any particular feature about either stone that screams "yes" or "no" over the other and if so, what?.

Is there anything about either stone that says "start your search again"?

Is there any particular price difference between the two that one should expect to see?

My thanks in advance.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/2/2008 7:34:55 AM
Author:gjnkelvedon
Good afternoon/morning,

I am considering the following two stones for an engagement ring. I would be grateful for any thoughts:

Stone A:

Cut Carat Col Clarity Flor Culet Polish Symetry Girdle Table Crown Pav Depth
Excellent 2.04 f vs2 nil Pointed v.good v.good thn to med 55.5% 35.3dg 40.5dg 61

Stone B:
Excellent 2.02 D VS2 v.slight pointed v.good v.good thn to s.thick 55.5% 35dg 55.5dg 62.7

The certification on both is IGI - Antwerp (which I think I'm comfortable with - unless anyone has any stories why I shouldn't be).

Is there any particular feature about either stone that screams 'yes' or 'no' over the other and if so, what?.

Is there anything about either stone that says 'start your search again'?

Is there any particular price difference between the two that one should expect to see?

My thanks in advance.

Welcome!

The first stone looks to be a possibility, can you check the pavilion angle for the second one please? The second is also a little deeper, this may not be an issue as the pavilion angle is the deciding factor, so it would be useful to get that info.

You may have already read this page on grading reports, but I thought I would link it anyway for you -

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/grading.asp

 

[gjnkelvedon]

My apologies - the Pavillion angle on the second is 41.3 degrees. (55.5 is the percentage number).

My thanks for your swift reply.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/2/2008 7:44:44 AM
Author: gjnkelvedon
My apologies - the Pavillion angle on the second is 41.3 degrees. (55.5 is the percentage number).

My thanks for your swift reply.

You are most welcome!

Ok the pavilion angle coupled with the 35 degree means this stone is what we call a steep deep -very basically as a result it could leak light and not sparkle as well as it could do, so I would concentrate more on the first stone.

Have you looked at many diamonds? Also have you seen these in person or are they with an online vendor?

 

[gjnkelvedon]

I have looked at quite a few - I live in Dubai and we have a number of Gold and Diamond "malls". I''ve looked at a number of online sites for the purposes of price comparison (which is a little Apples and Oranges, as most online sites source the GIA).

I confess however, that my research-time has rather been dominated by trying to get up-to-speed on the terminology used. Inevitably, this has meant that I''m disregarding certain stones, even though to my untrained eye, they look splendid. I believe the expression is "mind happy v eye happy".

I have yet to see the "first stone" described above - I''m going to take a look at it tomorrow evening. The specs on it look encouraging. Do you have any other thoughts on it?

I did take a look at the "second stone" last night. It looked fine to me. Your advice however has made me wary.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/2/2008 8:01:12 AM
Author: gjnkelvedon
I have looked at quite a few - I live in Dubai and we have a number of Gold and Diamond 'malls'. I've looked at a number of online sites for the purposes of price comparison (which is a little Apples and Oranges, as most online sites source the GIA).

I confess however, that my research-time has rather been dominated by trying to get up-to-speed on the terminology used. Inevitably, this has meant that I'm disregarding certain stones, even though to my untrained eye, they look splendid. I believe the expression is 'mind happy v eye happy'.

I have yet to see the 'first stone' described above - I'm going to take a look at it tomorrow evening. The specs on it look encouraging. Do you have any other thoughts on it?

I did take a look at the 'second stone' last night. It looked fine to me. Your advice however has made me wary.

I would indeed be a bit wary of that one...It may look fine in the jewellery store but once you get it in ' normal light' then you might notice a dark area on the top of the stone which could be light leakage. I will post a thread for you to see what I mean - I am sure Kelli won't mind as she loves to help. This is a steep deep stone she had recut - you will see you won't always notice the effects of these steep and deep angles in all lighting.

Here is the thread - Kelli's diamond was more steep deep than the one you looked at, but it could be prone to showing dark areas in some lighting in a similar way. As you can see at the start of the thread, it was a lovely stone in some lighting then showed the darkness in others.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/loads-of-pics-finally-1-44-ct-rb-i-vs2.91304/page-3

It bothered Kelli so she had it recut to adjust the angles and now she has one of the most beautiful diamonds I have ever seen!

The first diamond looks promising, see what you think when you see it. Have you seen any AGS0 cut grade stones where you are? These can normally be a good choice and take much of the guesswork out of finding a well cut stone.

 

[gjnkelvedon]

That is extremely helpful - thank you so much.

I haven''t been on the look-out for AGS0, although will keep any eye out when I head back tomorrow. Thank you once again!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/2/2008 8:28:14 AM
Author: gjnkelvedon
That is extremely helpful - thank you so much.

I haven't been on the look-out for AGS0, although will keep any eye out when I head back tomorrow. Thank you once again!

You are very welcome! See if you can find any AGS0 cut grade or AGS1 and also GIA Excellent cut grade - that should narrow down the better cut stones. AGS are strict with cut grading, GIA Excellent allows for some less desirable combos such as the steep deeps we were discussing earlier. One thing you could do to eliminate the poorer performers, write down all the info and report back here, or while you are in the store if the seller will allow you access to his or her computer, you can enter the depth, table and angles into this tool here -

https://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp

This is the Holloway Cut Advisor. It isn't used for selecting stones, but it may help you to weed out the less desirable ones such as the steep deeps etc. The aim is to score 2 or below to see which stones " pass' or ' fail' to be worthy of consideration. If you like a diamond which scores over 2 - say a 2.8 for example, sometimes these can be worth further evaluation, just make sure to check it out as carefully as you can away from the store lights.

Also unless you are set on colourless D to F diamonds, you might consider G and H colour as these can still look very white if the cut is great.

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 11/2/2008 8:33:38 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 11/2/2008 8:28:14 AM

Also unless you are set on colourless D to F diamonds, you might consider G and H colour as these can still look very white if the cut is great.

That is assuming a GIA/AGS stone. Color grading for a EGL/IGI stone might be looser and you might end up with a I/J stone when graded by GIA/AGS.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/2/2008 8:59:21 AM
Author: Stone-cold11

Date: 11/2/2008 8:33:38 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 11/2/2008 8:28:14 AM

Also unless you are set on colourless D to F diamonds, you might consider G and H colour as these can still look very white if the cut is great.

That is assuming a GIA/AGS stone. Color grading for a EGL/IGI stone might be looser and you might end up with a I/J stone when graded by GIA/AGS.

I think the poster understood that as he said is going to look for AGS graded diamonds and he implied he is familiar with IGI labs in his first post.

 

[gjnkelvedon]

I''m keen to stay within the D-F range - and am comfortable with the IGI - Antwerp lab.

Its an interesting debate though - even some of the store owners I have spoken to here in Dubai suggest that some of the other labs within the IGI stable (for example, Dubai, India) may be less stringent than the Antwerp lab in their standards. This is an absolute minefield for a lay-person such as me!

I''m heading along to the store this evening and will keep an eye out for the AGS0. The stone I''m now looking at seriously scored a 0.5 on the Holloway Cut Advisor you sent me (thanks!), so I''m pretty "mind-excited" now (assuming that I entered the numbers correctly). Let''s see if it looks okay!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 11/2/2008 11:53:52 PM
Author: gjnkelvedon
I'm keen to stay within the D-F range - and am comfortable with the IGI - Antwerp lab.

Its an interesting debate though - even some of the store owners I have spoken to here in Dubai suggest that some of the other labs within the IGI stable (for example, Dubai, India) may be less stringent than the Antwerp lab in their standards. This is an absolute minefield for a lay-person such as me!

I'm heading along to the store this evening and will keep an eye out for the AGS0. The stone I'm now looking at seriously scored a 0.5 on the Holloway Cut Advisor you sent me (thanks!), so I'm pretty 'mind-excited' now (assuming that I entered the numbers correctly). Let's see if it looks okay!

I thought that was the case.

All you can do is be informed and read up on the various labs - then make your decision from there. I know it IS a minefield but we are here to help you through it. If you do ultimately choose an IGI diamond, do you have any good independant appraisers there? If so, a good appraisal might be able to give you some reassurance concerning the grading of your diamond - especially if you want an undisputed D - F colour - however AGS0 and GIA you should be fine.

With the HCA all scores under 2 are considered equal, so this is what to aim for - then choose the one you like best from there as you can see them in person. I am glad you are getting excited about it, buying diamonds can be fun!

 

[gjnkelvedon]

Hello.

I had a scoot around some of the stores but couldn''t find any AGS0s. I then went to the store holding the stone that we have been discussing in this forum. I could see even before it was presented to me on the table that it was magnificant - far more so that the others that I have recently been viewing.

I examined the stone with a loupe - the certificate indicated a very minor inclusion on one of the "faces"(?) of the crown, which frankly, I struggled to see. No other inclusions were present on the certificate and the store-keeper indicated that were it not for that minor one, it would have been a VS1. The certificate also "commented" to the effect that it was a "brilliant" stone.

I bought it there and then. I have since chosen a simple but elegant platinum setting. I fly to Cape Town at Christmas to ask her grand-father''s permission to wed. I intend proposing on top of Table Mountain shortly afterwards.

Thank you for your input on the process (your help was invaluable) and for allowing me to annonymously share my excitement with someone!

GJN

 

[Lorelei]

Well MANY congratulations to you!!!! Very glad that we were able to be of help to you, that is always nice to know!!! I wondered how you were getting on and I am so pleased you found the right stone!

Best of luck with the proposal

And if you could, some pics of the finished ring would be wonderful....