Advice needed: Princess cut diamond

[El_Yani]

Hi all,

I've decided the time is right to propose to my girlfriend and as is the case with many I'm looking for the 'perfect' diamond within my budget.

I've been lurking around the forum for some time now and reading both the knowledge articles on this forum and others from various other sources, trying to expand my knowledge on diamonds before taking the plunge. I'm looking for a princess diamond with a budget of $6,500 - 7,500 + the mounting. I'm looking to purchase the diamond online, to benefit from the competitive prices and large selection, however this is the first time doing so and naturally there are some worries. Most importantly I will not get to see the diamond before purchasing, and since I'm no expert I would like to hear some comments from those on the forums regarding the diamonds I'm considering before moving forward.

Just so all are aware I have been researching various companies and I'm currently considering using one of Union Diamond, Whiteflash or James Allen.

Before commencing my search I read up on the different certifications and decided I would be more comfortable purchasing a GIA certified diamond.

Here are a couple of diamonds I'm currently looking at that I would appreciate your comments on:

1)

Cert GIA
Carat 1.4
Color I
Clarity VS1
Cut Select Ideal
Measurment 6.18 - 6.15 - 4.42
Depth 71.9%
Table 69%
Girdle Thin-Thick
Cutlet None
Polish Ex
Symmetry VG
Fluorescence None
Price $6,589

2)

Cert GIA
Carat 1.53
Color I
Clarity VS2
Cut Select Ideal
Measurment 6.56 - 6.28 - 4.54
Depth 72.4%
Table 70%
Girdle Thick
Cutlet None
Polish Ex
Symmetry VG
Fluorescence None
Price $7,454

3)

Cert GIA
Carat 1.52
Color I
Clarity VS2
Cut -
Measurment 6.48 - 6.33 - 4.55
Depth 71.8%
Table 72%
Girdle Thin - Slightly thick
Cutlet -
Polish Ex
Symmetry Ex
Fluorescence None
Price $7,110

4)

Cert GIA
Carat 1.51
Color I
Clarity VS2
Cut Premium
Measurment 6.10 - 6.08 - 4.56
Depth 75%
Table 73%
Girdle Thick - very thick
Cutlet None
Polish VG
Symmetry VG
Fluorescence None
Price $6,920

I don't currently have photos of any diamonds as I wanted some feedback from yourselves before enquiring about the diamonds. I do have grading reports for 3 of the diamonds obtained from the respective websites if that would be of help.

Many thanks for looking and for your help!

 

[JulieN]

The spread on the 4th is quite poor; it is smaller than the first 1.4. Other than that, without picture, we can't really say anything.

Many of us like AGS for princess, since AGS has a light-performance based cut grading system. Here's one that fits your specs: http://www.bluenile.com/princess-diamond-1-carat-very-good-cut-i-color-vs2-clarity_LD01902617

 

[hoofbeats95]

I'm not an expert my any means. I have a princess that I am currently upgrading to another princess. I would ONLY consider AGS stones for a princess. The best princess will be an AGS000. Look at WF ACA Princesses and BGD Signature Princesses. You really need to look at the ASET image to get a good performing princess. You can't really judge a princess by the numbers you posted. You can use some numbers in conjunction with the ASET, as I learned from talking with Brian at BGD about my upgrade. However, I urge you to research princesses specifically on this forum. There are several princess experts on here and they can certainly help, bu everyone will request an ASET in order to help you decide. I will say that either a WF ACA or BGD Signature will be a well performing stone and you won't be sorry. BGD had very strict standards on which stones they will rate as signature. So a lot of your work is done for you.

 

[tyty333]

Solasferas are also one of my favorites but you pay for the brand.
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7715/

 

[slg47]

it's really hard to tell just by the number for princess cuts, you would need images and ASET images. JA will provide up to 3 ASET images, and WF's ACA/ES stones have ASETs posted. BGD and GOG (mentioned by other posters) also provide ASET images. Also, like the other posters said, I would definitely consider AGS stones as well since AGS grades cut quality of princess cuts and GIA does not. It is definitely possible to find a nice GIA princess but again you would want an image and an ASET image for sure.

 

[El_Yani]

First off thanks to all for your replies, all very helpful indeed.

I checked WF ACA but theres no princess cuts within my price range, whilst there are a few BGD Signature but slightly on the smaller side.

So essentially from the information you have given me so far for princess cuts AGS reports tend to be better since they grade the cut by the light performance of the princess cuts, however AGS graded diamonds seem to be relatively hard to come by. If I was to end up going for a GIA graded diamond an ASET image would be a must.

Thanks again for your replies - I've learned some new things so I'm going to go off and look everything a bit more and will report back with my findings.