advice needed on EC please

[Miss Sparkles]

Hi All,

I could do with some of your expert opinions on an emerald cut diamond from BlueNile. The specs are:

BlueNile Stock number: LD01170867
Cut: BN signature ideal
Carat: 0.92
Color: G
Clarity: VS1
Table: 65%
Depth: 66.3%
Crown: 11.3%
Fluorescence: Med Blue

The link is here: http://www.bluenile.co.uk/diamonds_details.asp?__fun_frm=i&track=btntext_viewselect&elem=img&pid=LD01170867&filter_id=0

I''ve read lots of the posts here and the advice has been great, really helpful for a complete newbie like me!

Many thanks,

Miss S

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome!

The colour and clarity combo should be fine, but the trouble is with emerald cuts, that you can't tell much by the numbers or labels such as Ideal cut used by some vendors. You really need photographs of the diamond and ideally an ASET image to be able to judge the cut quality and if the EC has the personality you like. To the best of my knowledge, BN doesn't provide either of these services at the moment. However BN does have a 30 days return policy that you can look at the diamond to decide if it is right for you or not.

However numbers can give you a baseline and eliminate the lesser cut diamonds, going by this chart, this diamond may be worth considering.

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fnc2.asp

 

[Miss Sparkles]

Thank you for the reply, that is really good advice.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/12/2008 8:58:43 AM
Author: Miss Sparkles
Thank you for the reply, that is really good advice.

You are most welcome! I really hope it is what you want if you order it, but if you need any more help, EC suggestions or places to look , don't hesitate to ask!

Also I forgot to post the info about ASET earlier, so here it is now, it shows what a useful aid an ASET image can be.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/why-we-prefer-aset-to-ideal-scope-with-fancy-shapes.73949/

 

[Miss Sparkles]

Thanks again Lorelei, that was illuminating.

I'm not actually looking to buy a particular stone just yet, still in the research and planning stages! Given the importance of viewing ECs, what is the best way to go about it? Online sites seem to be the best way to research but that's not much good if you want to compare different stones side by side. I noticed from one of your other posts that you are in the UK too. Do you have any recommendations rather than the usual high street stores?

 

[chrono]

If you want to compare ECs side by side, my suggestion is Mark at www.engagementringsdirect.com (who charges no shipping to do so), and Jon at www.goodoldgold.com will bring in 2 stones (for no extra shipping). GOG will also do a video for you. These two vendors are great for ECs.

 

[Lorelei]

I would definitely consider buying online still, especially with the exchange rate at the moment, you could get a great diamond even with the additional charges to send to the UK from the States. I would also definitely prefer BN to the high street stores!

As Chrono says, the above 2 vendors and also add Whiteflash to the mix, can do videos, send pics and give you their expert advice on an EC to help you make the right choice. Also these guys have a decent return policy.

Check this out for an example - www.goodoldgold.com and check out the video section to get an idea of the info you can get from them.

 

[Miss Sparkles]

Thank you for those suggestions, I''ll definitely look into them further. The videos on Good Old Gold were great,they seem to take so much care over the choice of stones it would really take the worry out of buying unseen.

I''m glad to hear that you still recommend buying online especially with the exchange rate factor too.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/13/2008 1:42:25 PM
Author: Miss Sparkles
Thank you for those suggestions, I''ll definitely look into them further. The videos on Good Old Gold were great,they seem to take so much care over the choice of stones it would really take the worry out of buying unseen.

I''m glad to hear that you still recommend buying online especially with the exchange rate factor too.

Glad to help! I definitely recommend buying online, especially now as the exchange rate is so good for buying USD. It seems that cut quality is unheard of in the UK, but it is so important to get a good looking diamond!

Please let us know if you have any more questions or need more help

 

[sklingem]

With fancy shapes you really have to look at stones and compare. During my search for the "perfect" radiant I also realized that numbers take you only so far. While some of the guidelines for table%, depth% girdle etc. for emeralds are a good starting point, you could fall in love with one that does not correspond to the "ideal" combination of specs. As perviously mentionned, clarity will have to be a bit better with EC as compared to other shapes. Good luck!
PS: don't drive yourself crazy either. Sometimes we want to rely more on technology and numbers to tell us what is best (f.e. ASET)than what we see with our own eyes!

 

[krisvrn]

i think the specs look fine. But with EC cuts or other step cuts, u may want to see the diamond IRL so u can tell if it is truly eye clean.