Advice needed please - F VS2 or G VS1???

[dallasstar12]

Hello everyone,

I would appreciate advice on a decision between two very similar stones. My fiancee and I have compared both stones side by side and have inspected them endlessly. My fiancee is very sensitive to the clarity of the stone, and prefers Stone #1 because she cannot see any inclusions even with the loupe (VS1, G color), while I am more sensitive to color and prefer Stone #2 (VS2, F color). Both stones are gorgeous, and are extremely similar. However, Stone #2 is $2,000 USD more than Stone # 1 (presumably because of the increase in color grade and slightly better measurement dimensions).

Is the price increase for Stone #2 worth it for slightly better color and measurements or should I save my money? Any suggestions on which stone to go with?

Stone 1:
Round brilliant
2.01 carat
G color
VS1 clarity
Excellent Cut
Measurements: 8.09-8.13 x 5.05
Total Depth: 62.3%
Table Width: 56%
Pavillion Depth: 44.0%
Girdle thickness: thin-medium faceted
Excellent polish
Excellent symmetry
Fluorescence: none
GIA certified
$24,000 USD.
Stone 2:
Round brilliant
2.01 carat
F color
VS2 clarity
Excellent Cut
Measurements: 8.17 - 8.21 x 4.97
Total Depth: 60.7%
Table Width: 57%
Pavillion Depth: 43.0%
Girdle thickness: thin-medium faceted
Excellent polish
Excellent symmetry
Fluorescence: none
GIA certified
$26,000 USD.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[jstarfireb]

IMO, gaining 1 color grade is not worth an extra $2000. Nobody will tell the difference once it''s set, unless you hold it up to a master color set against a white background (and even then, many people will have difficulty telling F from G). The clarity grade doesn''t make any difference to me, as VS1 and VS2 are virtually always eye-clean. What it really comes down to, and what I WOULD pay an extra $2k for, is a better cut. We would need the crown % or angle in addition to the numbers you''ve already given us to help you judge that.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/18/2009 2:19:02 AM
Author: jstarfireb
IMO, gaining 1 color grade is not worth an extra $2000. Nobody will tell the difference once it's set, unless you hold it up to a master color set against a white background (and even then, many people will have difficulty telling F from G). The clarity grade doesn't make any difference to me, as VS1 and VS2 are virtually always eye-clean. What it really comes down to, and what I WOULD pay an extra $2k for, is a better cut. We would need the crown % or angle in addition to the numbers you've already given us to help you judge that.

Welcome DallasStar,


Ditto, and the star and lower girdle facet percentages would be useful also, but the angles are the most important thing we need. I would however suggest leaning towards the diamond your GF likes best as she will be the one wearing it, but get the above info and that will tell us more.

 

[dallasstar12]

Thanks very much for your responses! The additional angle and other specified information is as follows:

Stone #1:
crown angle: 35.0 degrees
pavillion angle: 41.4 degrees
crown height: 15.5%
total depth: 62.3%
star length %: 55%
lower half-length %: 80%

Stone #2
crown ange: 34.5 degrees
pavillion angle: 40.8 degrees
crown height: 15.0%
total depth: 60.7%
star length %: 45%
lower half-length %: 80%

Again, any information on which cut is better (and whether Stone #2 is worth the extra $$) is greatly appreciated!

 

[stone-cold11]

From the numbers, #2 has the much better cut.

 

[Steel]

I would rule out stone 1 purely based on the depth of 62.3. IMHO, depth over 60- 61% is wasted ct weight.

I wonder if either stone is great if you can find colour difference between a G and F and significant inclusion difference between VS''s.

Find a better G and cleaner VS''s, better still widen the net and get to looking at some I/J''s etc with flour and SI1''s. That will shift you well over the 2ct mark.

Why are these 2 the only options?

 

[ct-appr]

Here is another option for a little over $20K

http://www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-2106443.htm#

 

[dallasstar12]

Great feeback, thanks everyone! We had narrowed it down to these two stones after looking around for quite awhile and feeling that the price range was pretty good for what we were getting in the two stones. However, we both view this purchase as a significant investment (in both time and money) and so are not ready to buy until we are absolutely certain we have found the best stone & best deal out there... I don''t think we are there yet.

My fiancee is very concerned about inclusions and seems to have an eagle eye for spotting marks and feathers with the naked eye that I simply cannot see. My own focus has been on finding stones with excellent cut & color, while she is more concerned about better clarity and feels like just knowing the inclusions are there (even if they are hard to see) will bother her. Ideally we didn''t want to spend over $20,000 USD, but our combined preferences have unfortunately caused the price for a 2 carat to increase quite dramatically

One other question my fiancee had was whether inclusions that are barely visible will intensify as the stone gets dirtier over the normal day-to-day wear. Her concern is that while the inclusions may be hard to spot in the store, this is because the stone has just been steamed, polished, etc., and that when she begins to wear it around, that the marks will become more noticeable to the naked eye without the constant polishing they do before you buy it. Any insight as to whether this is true & inclusions become more noticeable when the stone is not freshly steamed & cleaned?

 

[stone-cold11]

Diamonds are the hardest material on Earth, almost impossible to scratch unless with another diamond or you are very lucky/unlucky. You don''t polish a stone everyday, doing that usually is to remove chips from old stones, due to wear, to improve the clarity grade of the diamond. You will probably loose some weight doing that. You only need to clean them once in a while to get the best optics as oil/dirt will reduce the ability of the diamond to transmit and reflect light. Some inclusions are hidden using optical performance, those may show up as the stone get''s dirty and looses it''s optical performance.

 

[glitterata]

Well, it''s true that inclusions will show more when the diamond is dirty. (It''s also true that a flawless diamond may look like it has flaws when it''s dirty--specks of dirt will look like flaws.)

But she can easily keep it clean by a quick, gentle scrub with a little dishwashing liquid and a soft toothbrush. A jeweler''s cleaning is nice but by no means necessary.

 

[Steel]

Date: 9/18/2009 5:52:13 PM
Author: dallasstar12

...


One other question my fiancee had was whether inclusions that are barely visible will intensify as the stone gets dirtier over the normal day-to-day wear. Her concern is that while the inclusions may be hard to spot in the store, this is because the stone has just been steamed, polished, etc., and that when she begins to wear it around, that the marks will become more noticeable to the naked eye without the constant polishing they do before you buy it. Any insight as to whether this is true & inclusions become more noticeable when the stone is not freshly steamed & cleaned?

I am not so sure about this. That inclusions become more visible when the stone is covered in grime? I would venture that with detritus on the stone you might as well buy an I1 as waste your money on an IF because who will know what inclusions might be lurking under there

.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

If she prefers VS1, then I''d get VS1. I also prefer VS1 for an e-ring and I wouldn''t want stone #2 for that reason. However, I also think you can do better on the cut than #1. So I''d keep looking for another G VS1 with a depth closer to 61.