$7500 for a RB - how to find the best stone

[mollerd]

Hi After months at looking at princess cut diamonds, I have decided I cannot live with the boy tie effect even though I love the shape. I tried on a 28,000 princess in Tiffany''s and was still bothered by the dark shadows.

So I am going to start looking at rounds. I have a call into Good Old Gold. Size does matter to me though and I would like something at least 1.25. How can I get the most bang for the buck. Should I be looking at H&A at all? I do not want to go down past H in color. Also it sounds like GOG only gives you an hour when you get there so I need some help narrowind down which stones I should look at.

Also many of there stones have minimal florescence. Is that ok? Also is faceted girdle better or non faceted. I have spend much time looking at princess I am not sure on what rules apply to rounds.

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[laney]

Hi,

Well, your changing shape.. so there''s lots to learn. You can educate yourself pretty good on rounds in the knowledge section here - and Johnathan has an excellent tutorial on the good old gold website you should read.

If you are visiting - you''ll be in good hands. I did the "hour" at good old gold and it''s great. You''ll learn a lot there - and you''ll be able to look directly at the stones.

I think your budget is fine. Yes, you should be looking at H&A''s if you want to.

They''ll show you what they have - and just for kicks - you might want to look at D-F stones and an I or a J. I have an H -and it''s totally fine - but I would discount a high performing "I" if you want to extend your budget.

I have an SI2 stone.. this is my second SI2. I don''t think in RB''s you need to be in the VVS, or even the VS range. SI ranges - when eye clean can also extend your budget.

Flourecence(I always spell that wrong) - is sometimes desired in lower color stones G-J. However it''s a personal preference. As long as the stone isn''t "milky" then it can be fine in any color. Some stones may be discounted if there is medium-strong flour in a D-F colored stone.

The group at GOG is top notch - and has done a significant amount of research on their stones. Usually - what you''ll see there is pretty much reviewed and been "weeded out" as far as average vs ideal is concerned (or they''ll let you know).

Have a great time!

 

[decodelighted]

If you still like the square or octagonal shape ... when you visit Good Old Gold''s website, check out their other "squarish" stones besides princess ... especially the square H&A ... Good Luck!!

 

[Mara]

Ditto what Laney said.

I personally love SI's if you can find a nice eye-clean one which is definitely possible. an H SI is a sweet spot IMO.

Fluor would be great in an H and give it a bit of a more unique aspect IMO, maybe look for faint or medium...

Faceted or not on the girdle is really just a preference, aka my 1.60 J is not faceted but my previous stones were. I have read that sometimes in the lower colors like the J that some cutters don't feel that faceting the diamond helps the appearance of the stone, and maybe leaving it frosted helps the diamond appear to face up more white...but with an H I would think that you would have no problem finding most faceted girdles. Oh and for visuals, I really can't tell a difference on faceted vs not, my girdle is v-thin - thin and it is a very very slight white frosty line that I actually find a bit cool like it separates the bottom from the top visually for me and almost makes it look bigger?

re: H&A vs not, see what you can afford with your budget, but there are some great unbranded H&A's out there, just make sure to price compare so you do not overpay for an unbranded when you could have a branded etc. Some unbrandeds can cost a bit more than others so just do your homework!

Anyway, I'd find a few stones and post them...you are already checking out GOG but also look at WF and DCD (James Allen) for rounds.

 

[valeria101]

A square radiant might just do the trick. To get rid of the black reflections you would need to find one looking red & pink under the IdealScope with no or little black - basically, what is black under the 'scope is black when you look at the stones upclose - those bits of facets just act like mirrors pick up your shadow. I think Jonathan at GoodOldGold presents these stones as having 'contrast from minimal leakage as opposed to 'mirror facets'.

Btw, the arrows of the H&A cut are such reflective (=black) areas. Normally, you should only see them dark from a very short distance or in a carefully taken picture (when they reflect the camera sitting precisely above and lined up to the table of the diamond). So... if you do not like those dark reflections, H&A may not be the best choice.

Otherwise, these areas are just bright spots - somewhat like shards of mirror

, but so they do in princess cuts and you have already voted them out.

For example, THIS seems to have the right looks, just isn't square! 'Bet they could find a square one for you too.

Also, you might want to look at some of the branded 'original radint cut' diamonds. A couple are pictured HERE. Not all of these stones are made with the all-white look your posts made me think of, but your description corresponds to the overall immage I have about this cut. The stones do not come with IdealScope images, and something tells me you would need to ask twice for one to say the least. But your description should make sense to the seller and an there is always that return policy that you can use to inspect stones. Not to mention DBL is in NYC even though they do not sell otherwise than via the net - as much as I know. Among the (former?) posters here, 'Nicrez' ended up with one of those radiants after a search similar to yours - she did not like the dark reflections either and hunted down a solution for quite a while.

 

[mollerd]

Thanks very much. Does the square H&A still have the bow tie effect? Is it less obvious? thanks alot.

 

[aljdewey]

If you are going to look at his round stones, I''d suggest these:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/1_202ct_h_si1_h%26a.htm
http://www.goodoldgold.com/1_276ct_j_si1_h%26a.htm (I know you said H or above, but look at it while you''re there....represents an excellent value and you may be stunned at how white it faces up.

The only downside is that these are being sold/priced as H&A stones and therefore you are paying the premium. Unfortunately, Jon doesn''t list an inventory of "expert selection" type stones that may offer value for the money....i.e. just off perfection instead of complete perfection. There are vendors who do, but that''s not Jon''s specialty....his focus is more on premium goods and gadgets.

I''m sure, though, that if you tell him what you want in advance, he could get something in for you to look at.

 

[mollerd]

Wow. these look great! thank you so much. I downloaded all the software to look at the sarin and 3d views etc. not that I know what the heck I am looking at. i''ll let you know how I make out. This site has been so helpful. I don;t feel so alone anymore trying to do this. You guys/gals are the best!!!!