A little help!

[hawk8203]

Hello all! I''m fairly new at this game. I recently purchased a diamond ring from an online dealer. I was curious to see your opinions on my purchase. Hopefully you guys/girls can reassure me that I got a good deal. I bought a 1.52ct round diamond to be set in a platinum setting with two round pink sapphire accents. The diamond specs are below. I know that for my first purchase I shouldn''t be worried about the degrees or %''s, or at least I don''t think that I should be. Now I paid roughly $8600 for the diamond and a little more for the setting. All together I paid around $9800. My ring appraised at $17000 so I''m thinking I did something right. I was hoping that some of you could help out with the specs.

Specs:

Size: 1.52ct Round Brilliant
Measurments: 7.43-7.49 x 4.56mm
Color: I
Clarity: SI1
Cut Grade: GIA Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None
Table: 59%
Depth: 61.1%
Crown Height: 14%
Crown Angle: 34 deg
Pavillion Angle: 41.6 deg

 

[chrono]

Date: 7/26/2007 2:20:10 PM
Author:hawk8203

Hello all! I'm fairly new at this game. I recently purchased a diamond ring from an online dealer. I was curious to see your opinions on my purchase. Hopefully you guys/girls can reassure me that I got a good deal. I bought a 1.52ct round diamond to be set in a platinum setting with two round pink sapphire accents. The diamond specs are below. I know that for my first purchase I shouldn't be worried about the degrees or %'s, or at least I don't think that I should be. Now I paid roughly $8600 for the diamond and a little more for the setting. All together I paid around $9800. My ring appraised at $17000 so I'm thinking I did something right. I was hoping that some of you could help out with the specs.

Specs:

Size: 1.52ct Round Brilliant
Measurments: 7.43-7.49 x 4.56mm
Color: I
Clarity: SI1
Cut Grade: GIA Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None
Table: 59%
Depth: 61.1%
Crown Height: 14%
Crown Angle: 34 deg
Pavillion Angle: 41.6 deg

Why do you say that? I would think that the first diamond purchase, especially for an engagement ring that she has to wear and look at forever, you should be looking to get the best cut diamond you can get.

The stone scores VERY poorly on the HCA. TIC 5.9 and would only be rated an AGS5. Is there anyway you can swap out the stone for something that sparkles better?

 

[hawk8203]

I''m in Iraq right now but I have 45 days to return the ring. I actually didn''t see anything on the HCA until after I purchased the ring. I figure that I''ll take a look at it and see how it looks. I plan on popping the question while we are in the Bahamas in September so I''m under a little bit of a time constraint since I have to send everything through the Military post office. I''m keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for your help though. How precise is the HCA? So just because GIA rates the diamond as Ideal or Excellent doesn''t necessarily mean that it''s a nice looking diamond?

 

[chrono]

The HCA is very good at weeding out poor performers; anything under 2 is an eye stopper. Yes, a GIA Excellent stone does not mean it is a good performer. AGS is better because their rating is based on light performance (using the ASET), hence a AGS0 never fails to please.

 

[sugarplum]

Sorry to say Hawk, but that pavillion angle is bad news.

Personally, if I''m spending a significant amount of money on something that will have a lot of sentimental value, I''d make sure I was getting quality goods. Is it too late to exchange it for a better cut stone?

 

[sugarplum]

Date: 7/26/2007 2:39:01 PM
Author: Chrono
The HCA is very good at weeding out poor performers; anything under 2 is an eye stopper. Yes, a GIA Excellent stone does not mean it is a good performer. AGS is better because their rating is based on light performance (using the ASET), hence a AGS0 never fails to please.

I second Chrono. I experienced firsthand that a GIA "Excellent" can be far from excellent! Gotta make sure you look at and evaluate the numbers...

 

[Jenn5504]

If you have the ability to exchange, I would......we kept a poorly cut diamond back when we got engaged in ''02 and it got to me more and more over time. As chance would have it, that diamond broke (chipped girdle) and thankfully insurance covered it and I got a GORGEOUS superbly cut AGS000 and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. NIGHT and DAY difference in performance. For your budget, you can easily find a better cut stone. I paid less than $6800 for a 1.59ct round brillant J SI2 AGS000 and LOVE LOVE LOVE my diamond!!!!!!!!!!! And not sure if the place you bought your stone has an upgrade policy, that was another thing I always regretted the first round and this time we bought from a vendor who does offer an upgrade policy. Almost $10k is a LOT of $ to spend------you really deserve and should demand TOP QUALITY CUT when you''re plopping down that kind of $ IMO. Cut matters much more than color and clarity in many cases.

 

[kcoursolle]

The table is a little large and the pavillion angle is a little large. You didn''t get ripped off, but you didn''t get a super performing stone either.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/26/2007 2:35:57 PM
Author: hawk8203
I'm in Iraq right now but I have 45 days to return the ring. I actually didn't see anything on the HCA until after I purchased the ring. I figure that I'll take a look at it and see how it looks. I plan on popping the question while we are in the Bahamas in September so I'm under a little bit of a time constraint since I have to send everything through the Military post office. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for your help though. How precise is the HCA? So just because GIA rates the diamond as Ideal or Excellent doesn't necessarily mean that it's a nice looking diamond?

The thing is, if you haven't seen very many superbly cut stones, you may not know how this one really compares.

And as someone else pointed out, no, unfortunately GIA's range of Ex cuts include some rather undesirable combos.

I take it from your post you don't have it. If the vendor hasn't sent it yet, I'd really recommend switching this out, and just go with an AGS0, that will ensure a pretty stone, and no worries for you.