Absolute Newb: Where to start?

[Jmlleiva]

Looking to propose to my girlfriend of 3 years soon. Don't know where to start when it comes to diamonds. I have a budget in mind, but I don't want to go into one of the major retailers without knowing a few things. I want to get the best value. My buddy got a ring custom made and when he got it appraised, it was worth more than what he paid for. Looking for a deal like that. I'm willing to do the research.

Thanks for the help.

 

[tyty333]

Looking to propose to my girlfriend of 3 years soon. Don't know where to start when it comes to diamonds. I have a budget in mind, but I don't want to go into one of the major retailers without knowing a few things. I want to get the best value. My buddy got a ring custom made and when he got it appraised, it was worth more than what he paid for. Looking for a deal like that. I'm willing to do the research.

Thanks for the help.

Have you done any covert investigation to figure out what your GF may like for an engagement ring?

Are you looking at rounds or fancy cuts? Rounds are fairly straight forward while fancy cuts take a little more work.

You can use the Knowledge Pulldown menu option to learn more about stones if you're wanting to have a better understanding.

You can also tell us your budget/specs and we can point you to what you can get for your money on-line. Most PSers buy on-line
because of a bigger selection and usually lower prices.

Rings/Jewelry are usually over appraised so dont be impressed by that. If you use the appraisal for insurance purposes it results
in you paying higher premiums. You actually want an appraisal that is just over what you paid in case prices go up in the
next 5 years or so. There are different kind off appraisals. Know what kind to ask for before you go and have it appraised.

So, let us know where we can start helping you?

 

[Jmlleiva]

Looking to propose to my girlfriend of 3 years soon. Don't know where to start when it comes to diamonds. I have a budget in mind, but I don't want to go into one of the major retailers without knowing a few things. I want to get the best value. My buddy got a ring custom made and when he got it appraised, it was worth more than what he paid for. Looking for a deal like that. I'm willing to do the research.

Thanks for the help.

Have you done any covert investigation to figure out what your GF may like for an engagement ring?

Are you looking at rounds or fancy cuts? Rounds are fairly straight forward while fancy cuts take a little more work.

You can use the Knowledge Pulldown menu option to learn more about stones if you're wanting to have a better understanding.

You can also tell us your budget/specs and we can point you to what you can get for your money on-line. Most PSers buy on-line
because of a bigger selection and usually lower prices.

Rings/Jewelry are usually over appraised so dont be impressed by that. If you use the appraisal for insurance purposes it results
in you paying higher premiums. You actually want an appraisal that is just over what you paid in case prices go up in the
next 5 years or so. There are different kind off appraisals. Know what kind to ask for before you go and have it appraised.

So, let us know where we can start helping you?

Thanks for the help. To answer a few questions.

I haven't done any covert investigation. I'm looking for something simple, so I'm assuming I would want a round cut. I'll look at the Knowledge Pulldown to further educate myself.

My budget is around $8K-$12K.

What insurance do you have from buying online?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Krod]

The advice which was given to me and something I now pass on to others is to look at diamonds in person before you look online. Pictures dont always tell the entire story and being able to see and gauge what you are looking for will help you narrow down your search.

Even if you have no interest in buying from a store, they still can teach you invaluable lessons about the range of Cs and which Cs matter most to you. Seeing diamonds side by side are especially important to see what color grade you would be happy with, how many inclusions are you ok with in clarity, etc.

Jareds does an amazing job of explaining and educating diamond purchases. Take that information and then narrow down what you want to give your girlfriend. I would suggest getting a ASET/Ideal Scope (and/or ask for photo of each when shopping online). Holloway cut Advisor is another great tool for weeding out poor preforming diamonds, but is not a selection tool (only a filtering tool). Your selection tools are the ASET/Ideal Scope.

You will get lots of advice along the way, but only you need to be happy with the decision you make.

 

[Jmlleiva]

The advice which was given to me and something I now pass on to others is to look at diamonds in person before you look online. Pictures dont always tell the entire story and being able to see and gauge what you are looking for will help you narrow down your search.

Even if you have no interest in buying from a store, they still can teach you invaluable lessons about the range of Cs and which Cs matter most to you. Seeing diamonds side by side are especially important to see what color grade you would be happy with, how many inclusions are you ok with in clarity, etc.

Jareds does an amazing job of explaining and educating diamond purchases. Take that information and then narrow down what you want to give your girlfriend. I would suggest getting a ASET/Ideal Scope (and/or ask for photo of each when shopping online). Holloway cut Advisor is another great tool for weeding out poor preforming diamonds, but is not a selection tool (only a filtering tool). Your selection tools are the ASET/Ideal Scope.

You will get lots of advice along the way, but only you need to be happy with the decision you make.

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely go to a store now just to see.

 

[ringo865]

Be sure you ask stores to show you only GIA or AGS stones, so you will have an accurate benchmark of your personal tolerances for when coming back online to shop.

 

[msop04]

Looking to propose to my girlfriend of 3 years soon. Don't know where to start when it comes to diamonds. I have a budget in mind, but I don't want to go into one of the major retailers without knowing a few things. I want to get the best value. My buddy got a ring custom made and when he got it appraised, it was worth more than what he paid for. Looking for a deal like that. I'm willing to do the research.

Thanks for the help.

First of all, welcome to PS and congrats on your upcoming engagement!! So exciting!

Just to clarify, appraisals are typically very inflated, so you can't really go by them at all.

Is your budget of $12K max just for the diamond, or is for the setting + stone?

 

[msop04]

Be sure you ask stores to show you only GIA or AGS stones, so you will have an accurate benchmark of your personal tolerances for when coming back online to shop.

Have your girlfriend view the stones in natural light, shade, or basically anywhere they'll allow it instead of just viewing in the lights in the jewelry store. They are very deceiving and mask undesirable qualities in the diamonds... i.e. every diamond will look great in jeweler's lighting. This way, she can decide what her color preferences are... Also, there is no need to view stones from face down. This will exaggerate any body color that won't be seen when it's set (face up).

 

[Jmlleiva]

Looking to propose to my girlfriend of 3 years soon. Don't know where to start when it comes to diamonds. I have a budget in mind, but I don't want to go into one of the major retailers without knowing a few things. I want to get the best value. My buddy got a ring custom made and when he got it appraised, it was worth more than what he paid for. Looking for a deal like that. I'm willing to do the research.

Thanks for the help.

First of all, welcome to PS and congrats on your upcoming engagement!! So exciting!

Just to clarify, appraisals are typically very inflated, so you can't really go by them at all.

Is your budget of $12K max just for the diamond, or is for the setting + stone?

$12K Max for Setting and Stone.

 

[ghostm42]

I just bought engagement ring and spent a year researching diamonds to understand the best diamond to get. Meanwhile, when my sister got engaged, she went to a local store, pointed to a pre-made ring that she thought looked nice and ended up getting that. There's nothing wrong with either approach, but I'm certain that the diamond I purchased was a better value.

The first thing you'll want to know is the 4C's (cut, carat, clarity, color). You can read about that anywhere. Once you have a good idea of how they rank each of the 4C's, go into a store that you're not likely to buy from (ie. Jared's) just to get a frame of reference of what each of those 4C's mean. For example, you'll never know what carat, color or clarity you'll want unless you see it in person. The first time I went into a jewelry store (it was Jared's), I already understood the 4C's and could tell that I wanted something in the 1-1.5 carat range (that's a big range), better than color "J" and clarity that was clean to the eye (usually SI1). Your preference and budget may vary, but take note. Then leave the store without buying anything because you don't know enough yet.

If you're paying $8-$12K, that diamond better come with a certificate. GIA and AGS are the only certificates that people seem to respect on these forums. Then there are details you want to fill in regarding polish, symmetry and fluorescence.

The next step is cut. This forum is HUGE on diamond cut and its members will say it trumps all the other C's. A good cut will reflect the light internally back at you and, depending on how it reflects, will give you better brilliance, fire, sparkle. But it's harder to measure a good cut. Most local jewelry shops I go to just go by the certificate's cut rating (ie. GIA excellent cut). For many, that's good enough. But PriceScope users go further than that. They use the Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA) calculator to rule out any diamonds that are not good "light performers" even though they received an Excellent cut rating. You plug in the values from the certificate and you reject all diamonds above 2. I should point out that my local jeweler had only seen one other person use HCA and does not use it herself. That's likely because she's in the business of selling diamonds - good or bad. You're in the market for only one diamond, so you want it to be good.
https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

If you reach this point, you probably know more than the average diamond shopper. But if you want even more out of the diamond like these other PriceScope members, you'll then start looking into IdealScope and ASET images. These are color pictures of the diamond that reveal how the light reflects back to your eye. Certain online providers have IdealScope and ASET listed, some can get it upon request, some don't provide any at all. For me, since I was going to spend so much money, I wanted to have the pictures.

You're going to question whether buying online is safe and if it's a good idea to buy a diamond without seeing it in person first. This is a tough question to answer because I haven't actually received the end product yet of my purchase. I would say it's the best value you'll get - you'll get a much better diamond than if you bought it at some large retail jewelry chain (Jared's, Kay, Zales). But it's not completely without some potential pitfalls if you decide that you don't like the diamond you bought.

 

[msop04]

OP, does your girlfriend have a favorite shape? Has she indicated what type of setting/metal she likes?

 

[msop04]

For example, if she likes rounds, this would be a stone to consider. It's white at H color and should be eye clean (minimize to about 5x to see for yourself)...

$10,900
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-888081

in this setting ON SALE!! for $773 (this is one of the nicest settings JA has in a solitaire -- it is very similar to the classic Tiffany & Co.):
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/18k-white-gold-six-prong-knife-edged-solitaire-engagement-ring-handmade-item-22590

You can even scroll over and see what it would look like in a 1.5 ct stone...

JA also offers a Pricescope referral discount. It's not much, but every little bit helps!

 

[Jmlleiva]

OP, does your girlfriend have a favorite shape? Has she indicated what type of setting/metal she likes?

I haven't figured out what her favorite shape or what type of setting/metal she likes.

 

[Jmlleiva]

For example, if she likes rounds, this would be a stone to consider. It's white at H color and should be eye clean (minimize to about 5x to see for yourself)...

$10,900
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.50-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-888081

in this setting ON SALE!! for $773 (this is one of the nicest settings JA has in a solitaire -- it is very similar to the classic Tiffany & Co.):
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/18k-white-gold-six-prong-knife-edged-solitaire-engagement-ring-handmade-item-22590

You can even scroll over and see what it would look like in a 1.5 ct stone...

JA also offers a Pricescope referral discount. It's not much, but every little bit helps!

Thanks for the advice

 

[msop04]

OP, does your girlfriend have a favorite shape? Has she indicated what type of setting/metal she likes?

I haven't figured out what her favorite shape or what type of setting/metal she likes.

Gotcha! See if you can do some sleuthing and let us know!

 

[Jmlleiva]

I just bought engagement ring and spent a year researching diamonds to understand the best diamond to get. Meanwhile, when my sister got engaged, she went to a local store, pointed to a pre-made ring that she thought looked nice and ended up getting that. There's nothing wrong with either approach, but I'm certain that the diamond I purchased was a better value.

The first thing you'll want to know is the 4C's (cut, carat, clarity, color). You can read about that anywhere. Once you have a good idea of how they rank each of the 4C's, go into a store that you're not likely to buy from (ie. Jared's) just to get a frame of reference of what each of those 4C's mean. For example, you'll never know what carat, color or clarity you'll want unless you see it in person. The first time I went into a jewelry store (it was Jared's), I already understood the 4C's and could tell that I wanted something in the 1-1.5 carat range (that's a big range), better than color "J" and clarity that was clean to the eye (usually SI1). Your preference and budget may vary, but take note. Then leave the store without buying anything because you don't know enough yet.

If you're paying $8-$12K, that diamond better come with a certificate. GIA and AGS are the only certificates that people seem to respect on these forums. Then there are details you want to fill in regarding polish, symmetry and fluorescence.

The next step is cut. This forum is HUGE on diamond cut and its members will say it trumps all the other C's. A good cut will reflect the light internally back at you and, depending on how it reflects, will give you better brilliance, fire, sparkle. But it's harder to measure a good cut. Most local jewelry shops I go to just go by the certificate's cut rating (ie. GIA excellent cut). For many, that's good enough. But PriceScope users go further than that. They use the Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA) calculator to rule out any diamonds that are not good "light performers" even though they received an Excellent cut rating. You plug in the values from the certificate and you reject all diamonds above 2. I should point out that my local jeweler had only seen one other person use HCA and does not use it herself. That's likely because she's in the business of selling diamonds - good or bad. You're in the market for only one diamond, so you want it to be good.
https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

If you reach this point, you probably know more than the average diamond shopper. But if you want even more out of the diamond like these other PriceScope members, you'll then start looking into IdealScope and ASET images. These are color pictures of the diamond that reveal how the light reflects back to your eye. Certain online providers have IdealScope and ASET listed, some can get it upon request, some don't provide any at all. For me, since I was going to spend so much money, I wanted to have the pictures.

You're going to question whether buying online is safe and if it's a good idea to buy a diamond without seeing it in person first. This is a tough question to answer because I haven't actually received the end product yet of my purchase. I would say it's the best value you'll get - you'll get a much better diamond than if you bought it at some large retail jewelry chain (Jared's, Kay, Zales). But it's not completely without some potential pitfalls if you decide that you don't like the diamond you bought.

Wow, thanks for all the help.

 

[Jmlleiva]

Looking to propose to my girlfriend of 3 years soon. Don't know where to start when it comes to diamonds. I have a budget in mind, but I don't want to go into one of the major retailers without knowing a few things. I want to get the best value. My buddy got a ring custom made and when he got it appraised, it was worth more than what he paid for. Looking for a deal like that. I'm willing to do the research.

Thanks for the help.

Have you done any covert investigation to figure out what your GF may like for an engagement ring?

You can also tell us your budget/specs and we can point you to what you can get for your money on-line. Most PSers buy on-line
because of a bigger selection and usually lower prices.

So, let us know where we can start helping you?

Investigation into what she might like: She has always said that she likes yellow diamonds.

A few questions about ordering online:

Is it safe?
How can I be guaranteed of the quality?
Which are the reputable online stores?
How long does it take to arrive if I order it?

Thanks

 

[Krod]

I know people will swear against them on here, but you cant go wrong with Tiffany for yellow diamonds. Its something they are really pushing these days and their colored diamonds look great. The down side will be their price. However, their stuff is really nice quality and you will have hard time going wrong with them.

Colored diamonds in of themselves can be all over the board. They can range from a subtle hue of color to extremely saturated with a particular color.

James Allen is a good online store, which a number of people trust on here and you can view their colors diamond section quite easily to see the varying levels of yellow a diamond can have. Blue Nile is another option. I am sure other will be able to mention further sites to look into. You want to find a company who had been around a while, provides GIA Cert, good return policies, etc. Whomever you go with, ask for a ASET image/ Ideal Image of a diamond especially when buying online as you cant see how the diamond will perform in person.

 

[ac117]

Diamonds by Lauren has a lot of really nice fancy color diamond rings in your budget and in several styles:

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/index.php/categories/diamond-rings#colors=diamond_color_yellow&intensity=&shapes=&carat-min=&carat-max=&price-min=1&price-max=12001&cat_id=199&ring_types=&page=1

They also sell loose stones if you wanted to design your own setting. Leibish also is super reputable for FCDs.

Knowing that she likes yellow diamond is a great start but it may be worth finding out what type of setting she likes (halo, 3 stone, solitaire)!

 

[chrono]

If you are shopping for an FCD (fancy coloured diamond), then the HCA and ASET will not be useful because the price is set mostly by the colour grading.

 

[piano]

First, when you said "soon", I hope it is at least 3 or 4 months away. Take time to educate yourself and time to search for the best e-ring.
Second, to make life more simpler, try to get the following info in advance.
+ ring size? Nobody wants to resize a ring right after purchase it.
+ ring width would be helpful
+ setting style? solitaire or others
+ stone style? round or fancy cut.
+ does she want quality or size? which one matter to her more.

Get those items from her, you don't have to ask her directly but you can create some topic and try to get a debate about it from her, that's how you know.

I'm sure you can find the 4Cs everywhere. Try to understand about them.
I'll post my note when I get home.

 

[teobdl]

For sure, #1 point of business is to figure out if she would prefer a yellow diamond or colorless diamond. Totally different worlds in terms of evaluation and what setting to get. When I was searching for my gf at the times engagement ring, I spend too much time looking at yellow diamonds because she'd mentioned that it'd be cool to have a yellow diamond ring. When pressed, though, turns out she wanted a colorless so I had to start over again. Worked out very well in the end, but definitely find out what kind of diamond she wants before doing anything else.

 

[Gypsy]

Okay so. You have a great budget for a yellow OR a white diamond. 12k max is very healthy, and we can help you find something great.

First thing you need to do is some sleuthing.

1. Does she want a colorless diamond or a yellow diamond?
2. What shapes does she like? I purposely stated this as a plural because with yellow diamonds you may not be able to get your first choice shape, so having a second choice is very wise.
3. What size does she wear?
4. What styles does she like. Including metal preferences.

Check her Pinterest board if she has one. They are usually a great source of information.

As for assurances shopping online.

Well, for one thing the PS vendors we recommend have been in business for YEARS and we recommend people to them every day. We also get lots of feedback. So if there is a vendor you are considering you can ask us for our personal experiences with them. We do not get paid, and we are all consumers, not professionals. We get no kickbacks.

But most of our vendors are brick and mortar stores. And you can yelp them and see what their local reputations are. They are members of the jewelry councils, they are members of BBB, and they all have FANTASTIC return policies.

If you do shop in person (and you should definitely at least go to Tiffany and Hearts on Fire) please be aware a lot of jewelers will tell you lies to scare you about buying online. They cannot compete with the pricing OR the quality and will tell you such things as: "The diamonds on line are left overs. Not the first choice." WHAT?? Anyway. Just be prepared for a lot of "scare tactics" if you mention buying online.

 

[arkieb1]

We only recommend vendors we have all dealt with successfully on here. I live in Australia and have bought a ton of stuff online from these vendors without drama. Half the bricks and mortar shops you go into will rip you off blind and frequently sell non GIA certified poorly cut stones, so being able to go into a store doesn't give you more chances of getting ripped off if you do not do some research.

For yellow diamonds someone like Lebish;

http://www.leibish.com/

Or DiamondsbyLauren;

http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/

Mark Broumand;

http://www.markbroumand.com/

Preloved;

http://www.jewelsbygrace.com/rings/estate-modern/1-26ct-fancy-light-yellow-cushion-cut-diamond-double-halo-ring-by-brilliantly-engaged#.VyQnBygVq5Q

For a white diamond you need to give us some idea of colour, size and shape preferences and everyone will recommend stones within your budget.

 

[Gypsy]

I just bought engagement ring and spent a year researching diamonds to understand the best diamond to get. Meanwhile, when my sister got engaged, she went to a local store, pointed to a pre-made ring that she thought looked nice and ended up getting that. There's nothing wrong with either approach, but I'm certain that the diamond I purchased was a better value.

The first thing you'll want to know is the 4C's (cut, carat, clarity, color). You can read about that anywhere. Once you have a good idea of how they rank each of the 4C's, go into a store that you're not likely to buy from (ie. Jared's) just to get a frame of reference of what each of those 4C's mean. For example, you'll never know what carat, color or clarity you'll want unless you see it in person. The first time I went into a jewelry store (it was Jared's), I already understood the 4C's and could tell that I wanted something in the 1-1.5 carat range (that's a big range), better than color "J" and clarity that was clean to the eye (usually SI1). Your preference and budget may vary, but take note. Then leave the store without buying anything because you don't know enough yet.

If you're paying $8-$12K, that diamond better come with a certificate. GIA and AGS are the only certificates that people seem to respect on these forums. Then there are details you want to fill in regarding polish, symmetry and fluorescence.

The next step is cut. This forum is HUGE on diamond cut and its members will say it trumps all the other C's. A good cut will reflect the light internally back at you and, depending on how it reflects, will give you better brilliance, fire, sparkle. But it's harder to measure a good cut. Most local jewelry shops I go to just go by the certificate's cut rating (ie. GIA excellent cut). For many, that's good enough. But PriceScope users go further than that. They use the Holloway Cut Advisor (HCA) calculator to rule out any diamonds that are not good "light performers" even though they received an Excellent cut rating. You plug in the values from the certificate and you reject all diamonds above 2. I should point out that my local jeweler had only seen one other person use HCA and does not use it herself. That's likely because she's in the business of selling diamonds - good or bad. You're in the market for only one diamond, so you want it to be good.
https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

If you reach this point, you probably know more than the average diamond shopper. But if you want even more out of the diamond like these other PriceScope members, you'll then start looking into IdealScope and ASET images. These are color pictures of the diamond that reveal how the light reflects back to your eye. Certain online providers have IdealScope and ASET listed, some can get it upon request, some don't provide any at all. For me, since I was going to spend so much money, I wanted to have the pictures.

You're going to question whether buying online is safe and if it's a good idea to buy a diamond without seeing it in person first. This is a tough question to answer because I haven't actually received the end product yet of my purchase. I would say it's the best value you'll get - you'll get a much better diamond than if you bought it at some large retail jewelry chain (Jared's, Kay, Zales). But it's not completely without some potential pitfalls if you decide that you don't like the diamond you bought.

This is great advice for a white round brilliant.
Confusing and misleading for any other shape or a FCD.
Context is very important with ring shopping and with posting advice on this board.
As for pitfalls. All our vendors have exceptional return policies. Not on custom settings, of course. But on diamonds and stock settings yes. Much better return policies than the majority of brick and mortar stores.

 

[piano]

I'm sure you can find these info in the forum but I post my note here anyway, as just a quick reminder.


1. Cut
2. Color
3. Clarity
4. Carat

Fluorescence: best ---> worst.
None ---> Faint ---> Medium ---> Strong (blue) ---> Very Strong (blue)

Should buy Medium/Faint, especially from F-E-D
G-H-I-J-K, get Medium blue one.

HOW FLUORESCENCE AFFECTS PRICE
V. STRONG STRONG MEDIUM FAINT
D - F IF - VVS2 -10 to -15% -7 to -10% -3 to -7% -1%
VS1 - VS2 -6 to -10% -3 to -5% -1 to -2% 0%
SI1 - I3 0 to -3% 0 to -1% 0% 0%
G - H IF - VVS2 -7 to -10% -5 to -7% -1 to -3% -1%
VS1 - VS2 -3 to -5% -2 to -3% 0 to -2% 0%
SI1 - I3 0% 0% 0% 0%
I - M IF - I3 0 to +2% 0 to +2% 0 to +2% 0%

In general with rounds, you will want:
+ A table 60% or less (or 54 - 5
+ A depth between 59 and 62.4 (or 60 - 62.4)
+ Crown angle 33.5-36 (or 34 - 35)
+ Pavilion Angle: 40.6-41 (there is a little give on this).
And the crown and pavilion angles must be complimentary which is what the HCA checks for you.


Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones generally, though you can. In general, AGS0 trumps HCA though as one examines the actual stone and the other does not.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
HCA tool

However, using HCA tool for rejection (anything above 2.5), not for selection as it is not a good tool to help us determine the diamond is good or bad.
For the purpose, use ASET or IdealScope to scan for light leakage.

 

[Gypsy]

I'm sure you can find these info in the forum but I post my note here anyway, as just a quick reminder.


1. Cut
2. Color
3. Clarity
4. Carat

Fluorescence: best ---> worst.
None ---> Faint ---> Medium ---> Strong (blue) ---> Very Strong (blue)

Should buy Medium/Faint, especially from F-E-D
G-H-I-J-K, get Medium blue one.

HOW FLUORESCENCE AFFECTS PRICE
V. STRONG STRONG MEDIUM FAINT
D - F IF - VVS2 -10 to -15% -7 to -10% -3 to -7% -1%
VS1 - VS2 -6 to -10% -3 to -5% -1 to -2% 0%
SI1 - I3 0 to -3% 0 to -1% 0% 0%
G - H IF - VVS2 -7 to -10% -5 to -7% -1 to -3% -1%
VS1 - VS2 -3 to -5% -2 to -3% 0 to -2% 0%
SI1 - I3 0% 0% 0% 0%
I - M IF - I3 0 to +2% 0 to +2% 0 to +2% 0%

In general with rounds, you will want:
+ A table 60% or less (or 54 - 5
+ A depth between 59 and 62.4 (or 60 - 62.4)
+ Crown angle 33.5-36 (or 34 - 35)
+ Pavilion Angle: 40.6-41 (there is a little give on this).
And the crown and pavilion angles must be complimentary which is what the HCA checks for you.


Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones generally, though you can. In general, AGS0 trumps HCA though as one examines the actual stone and the other does not.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
HCA tool

However, using HCA tool for rejection (anything above 2.5), not for selection as it is not a good tool to help us determine the diamond is good or bad.
For the purpose, use ASET or IdealScope to scan for light leakage.

I love that all the new posters are replying and paying things forward.

Please note: When you refer to the HCA you MUST PREFACE THAT BY SAYING IT APPLIES TO MODERN ROUND BRILLIANTS ONLY.

Okay? If you post this for someone, like this poster, who has not yet determined what shape they need to focus on it is very confusing to have this information posted. In another post the person was looking for an oval, didn't know this, and freaked out when the HCA came back with horrible score.

Please make sure when you are helping, you are not confusing people further.

 

[piano]

Sorry, my bad.

To OP and all readers, if you are looking for anything but ROUND, please disregard my previous post.

 

[Jmlleiva]

Thanks for all the responses.

Was busy this week so I couldn't get a chance to respond to your questions. I'll answer in short notice. Thanks.

 

[rubybeth]

Investigation into what she might like: She has always said that she likes yellow diamonds.

A few questions about ordering online:

Is it safe?
How can I be guaranteed of the quality?
Which are the reputable online stores?
How long does it take to arrive if I order it?

Thanks

I know you're going to post more info, but I thought I could at least answer these. When you said yellow diamonds, I immediate thought of Brian Gavin's Cape Diamonds. Some of these might not be considered 'fancy' colors, but they are round stones cut to Brian Gavin's very exacting standards and some of the lower colors (M-Z range, while most 'white' diamonds are in the D-I color range) are really lovely, could make them look even more yellow by doing a yellow gold setting or a halo of white stones to make the color more visible: http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/diamonds/signature-diamonds/cape

As for buying online being safe, quality, reputable sites, and order time, I will say that I have used a few different vendors found via Pricescope (Whiteflash, Brian Gavin Diamonds, Love Affair Diamonds) and all of these dealers are very reputable. I have never felt that ordering online is 'unsafe,' but you do take precautions as with any large transaction--I always use a credit card for additional protection. As for quality, I really believe that the online vendors recommended on PS are far and away offering quality diamonds/jewelry, over and above what you can find locally in most areas.

If you find out more of what she likes, PSers will recommend good reputable vendors. You can usually e-mail or call these vendors directly to ask questions about order time/shipping time. If they have the item in-house and you are selecting a standard setting style, it can be very quick from order to delivery--but if you want to go custom for any part of the process, that can add additional time, like a month or more, depending on how busy the vendor is.

Another tip: I don't want to discount what newer PS posters have to say, but generally, someone like Gypsy with 37,000 posts (!!!) is a regular longtime PSer and you can read many threads with good advice and good results from her help.

Edited to add: as for insurance/servicing, that's how a lot of bricks & mortar stores scare you into going with them vs. "online." The thing is that most people clean their jewelry at home, and you get insurance to cover loss/theft. I use Jeweler's Mutual, as do many here on PS, and when I've had a major jewelry problems, it's been very easy to use the insurance. As for checking prongs, any good local jeweler will inspect your prongs, or you can buy a loupe and look at your own prongs. I've had Whiteflash do repairs on my jewelry purchased from them, and the process was also very easy. Don't be scared by bricks & mortar stores into paying their inflated prices.