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A little help choosing the right diamond, ladies and gents

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Weapon_R

Rough_Rock
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Jan 12, 2007
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Hey guys, fantastic work with the forums! I'm new and i'm very glad to have found such an active forum. I have been looking at making the plunge and asking my girl of 2.5 years now and im being driven up the wall choosing the right diamond.

I have, however, narrowed it down to these two. I have a friend who works at a local jewelry store, and he gave me his recommendation but i'd like yours before I make a final decision. Both are 100% completely natural diamonds.

The first diamond:

1.14 carats
G Color
VS2 Clarity
67.6% table
71.5% depth
5.77 x 5.73 x 4.08
AGS certified
AGS IDEAL "Triple 0"
Price: $6,300USD


The second diamond:

1.02 Carats
E Color
VS2 Clarity
5.63 x 5.58 x 4.04 mm
72.4% depth
71% Table
GIA certified
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: Faint
slightly thick girdle
Price: $4,800USD


Now, is this enough information to make an educated guess on whether either is a good diamond? My jeweler friend says that a sarin report is negligible, since both diamonds have third party certifications, excellent finishes and they wouldn't be given such high ratings if they weren't nice. The first diamond is being sold by a more knowledgeable salesperson, and it comes with a sarin report whereas the second does not. The GIA report [to me] is more favorable than the AGSL report, and is widely recognized here whereas AGS is not. Obviously, the cost factor is also favoring the 2nd, and the color also.

So, with what I have here (and i've tried to supply as much as I could), what would you guys decide? Im also interested in some info about facet counts on princess cut diamonds. Do all princess cut diamonds have the same amount of facets? Is this an important # to find out?

Thanks in advance for your help! I'm looking forward to hearing your responses and chattin with you guys!
 

mrssalvo

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Jan 3, 2005
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19,132
Hi weapon r and welcome to Pricescope. I am no expert on princess cuts but I''m pretty sure it doesn''t get any better than an AGS000 for a princess stone. Hopefully some of the princess experts will chime in but I did want to say welcome..
 

Weapon_R

Rough_Rock
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Tbank you for the warm welcome. I''ve been a lurker for a while and now that i''m about to make a decent purchase I thought i''d ask the best. From what i''ve heard, the Excellent and VG of the GIA stone is near perfect also, which complicates things further.
 

JulieN

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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VG is not "near perfect;" but it is...very good.

No, princesses have several different facet #s. I don''t think different crowns have a huge influence on how it looks, but different pavilions, yes. There are 3 different pavilions.

"Now, is this enough information to make an educated guess on whether either is a good diamond?" Well, the AGS 0 designation...

You don''t know the crown height on the GIA one without a Sarin...but you have your eyes.
 

Weapon_R

Rough_Rock
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Thanks again. The diamond will be purchased online, so seeing it in person isn''t an option. Both companies are highly regarded. I just want the best I can get for the money.
 

starryeyed

Ideal_Rock
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Nov 6, 2006
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2,398
Hi Weapon R. I don''t know anything about princess cuts, but I wanted to welcome you anyway!
35.gif


I guess I would trust the AGS000 designation on a sight-unseen stone. A couple of questions come to mind:

1. Are you color sensitive? G is usually a great value and and most folks don''t see the color at all.

2. Do both vendors have good upgrade policies? Does that matter to you?

3. How do plan to set the stone?
 

jaz464

Ideal_Rock
Joined
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I would choose an AGS 000 over a GIA very good any day of the week. I would choose #1 if you are comfortable spending the extra $$.
 

Weapon_R

Rough_Rock
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Date: 1/13/2007 7:35:04 PM
Author: starryeyed
Hi Weapon R. I don't know anything about princess cuts, but I wanted to welcome you anyway!
35.gif



I guess I would trust the AGS000 designation on a sight-unseen stone. A couple of questions come to mind:


1. Are you color sensitive? G is usually a great value and and most folks don't see the color at all.


2. Do both vendors have good upgrade policies? Does that matter to you?


3. How do plan to set the stone?
Thank you for your responses.

Both vendors offer 100% money back guarantees, no questions asked. The upgrade policy is not an issue to me, as my girlfriend would never sell our engagement ring regardless of what we found later in life. I am not color sensitive, but my gf is and she can see the yellow in a G and H color diamond quite easily. I plan on simply setting the stone at any local jeweler once we find the right band (and yes, i'm aware that some won't do it, but i've found several reputable places that have no problem doing so).

Any more opinions? I'm honestly leaning towards the GIA diamond, simply because of the color and price. I'm just not sure I want to pay $1500 more for the AGS000 when im not quite convinced that it's the better diamond, but i'm here to see if i'm wrong...and why.
 

JulieN

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Messages
13,375
So you are shooting for F+?

No SI1 either?

No problem, call in the E for an Ideal Scope or ASET. Once you put these things under a reflector, vs an AGS stone, you can almost always tell why it costs less.

2 chevron stones have more broad flash. You put more chevrons on the pavilion, it becomes more pinfire. Most, if not all of the Infinity princesses are two chevron. The Whiteflash ACA are 3.
 

starryeyed

Ideal_Rock
Joined
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Messages
2,398
Hi Weapon R.

I''m color sensitive too, so I know where you''re coming from. Personally a G would be ok for me in this carat size if it''s a high G. Also, if you are not planning to put the stone in a tension setting or a setting where you see a lot of the pavilion, the color may be less obvious, if visible at all.

Julie has an excellent suggestion - ASET images are pretty handy for understanding the light performance of fancy-shapes. She might even have some good alternates for you!
 

Weapon_R

Rough_Rock
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Date: 1/13/2007 10:04:32 PM
Author: JulieN
So you are shooting for F+?


No SI1 either?


No problem, call in the E for an Ideal Scope or ASET. Once you put these things under a reflector, vs an AGS stone, you can almost always tell why it costs less.


2 chevron stones have more broad flash. You put more chevrons on the pavilion, it becomes more pinfire. Most, if not all of the Infinity princesses are two chevron. The Whiteflash ACA are 3.

Hi Julie, could you please elaborate a bit? I'm not actively looking for SI1 stones, and i'm limiting myself to F+ if I can afford it.

What is an ideal scope or ASET? Can I do this myself? Can a GIA rated stone with the above specs really not be a nice looking diamond? We aren't pros, and we aren't concerned with anything more than whether it looks white and sparkles nicely...

I'm open to alternatives. I'm just getting a little sick of searching. Every time i find something I like, there is something that ruins it. I might have set my standards a touch high for my budget, but i'm convinced that I can find something really beautiful if I look hard enough.
 

JulieN

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
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Messages
13,375
Yes, a GIA stone can be nice, and it's probably what you should be looking for if you want F+ VS2+ in your price range. But you need more information. You don't /know/ if it's a nice diamond or not.

Using an Ideal Scope or ASET requires one of those, as well as the stone in hand. Otherwise, you request them from the vendor.

Ideal Scope: http://www.ideal-scope.com/using_reference_chart.asp
Here's a video on Ideal Scope: http://diamondscope.pricescope.com/?src=IdealScope101.wmv

Here's some ASET stuff: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ags-grading-system-aset-angular-spectrum-evaluation-tool.30509/
This is how AGS grades: http://diamonds.pricescope.com/agsideal.asp You'll see why we're big fans of AGS's scientific way of grading stones; takes a lot of guesswork out.
 

Weapon_R

Rough_Rock
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Jan 12, 2007
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Do you have any alternatives to these diamonds you could show me that are in the same range and better?

How are the prices for these diamonds? I can negotiate the AGS000 down to 6,000 even I think, but the GIA diamond he will not budge a cent (i tried already).
 

Weapon_R

Rough_Rock
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Jan 12, 2007
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These are some pictures of the D stone GIA mount. Do these help at all whatsoever?











 

tanalasta

Shiny_Rock
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Dec 28, 2006
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323
If you are mounting it on a ring, then only a perfectionist (or someone who is accustomed to the difference and is looking closely) would probably be able to tell a well-cut princess AGS000 as a 'G' colour.

The price difference includes the markup for an AGS000 but if you are much less likely to go wrong with an AGS000 than an unknown graded GIA cut. Although the numbers look good, there are too many variables between the multiple crown/pavillion combinations of a princess - which are not quite as well studied as a round-brilliant to go by the 'maths' alone.

AGS000 means that the stone well ... looks AGS000.

Go the more expensive Princess unless you were on a budget.

Or you could compare the stones side-by-side.
 

Weapon_R

Rough_Rock
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Jan 12, 2007
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Once again, I cannot compare the stones side by side as they are both available through online retailers. Both are reputable, but I don''t want to buy one and have to return it if i''m not happy. Either stone locally would cost considerably more than I can buy it from a local seller, which is why im buying online :)
 

grapegravity

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Messages
486
I would go for #1. because it''s bigger, and it''s AGS0...
 

diamondseeker2006

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
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Messages
58,547
Same here, the first stone is larger..princess stones look smaller because of the depth. So I''d for sure go for the first one because it is AGS0 and larger than the other. Very few people would be able to tell an F from G, and rarely will a diamond be sitting next to a whiter stone anyway.
 
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