Advice on specific diamond

[peterbrown]

Hi,

I am fairly new to diamonds and have been trying to educate myself. I am looking to propose this year and have a diamond in mind:

I am putting cut and colour above carat.

http://www.samarajames.com/acatalog/engagement-ring-6-claw-elegant.html

I am going to get this in a 4 claw with:

Carat: 0.3-0.5
Colour: D
Clarity: IF
Cut: Hearts & Arrows - I have been told the GIA cut grade will be very good to excellent.
Metal: Platinum

As the carat is small could I go for an E colour?

Do you think it the diamond will be to small. Also does anyone have an opinion on the quality of the diamond, as it were.

I don't have a massive budget to play with, but want to get the best cut and colour for my money.

If anyone has any feedback, that would be great.

 

[ecf8503]

IF is complete overkill - no need to pay through the teeth for something you literally cannot see and at that clarity will have no bearing on light performance at all. I'd drop down to VS1-2, maybe SI1.

D color is nice - but you likely won't see any difference between a D, E, or F. G is the "sweet spot" - still very white and yet you aren't paying for "colorless".

You really need more information to make the most informed decision. Cut quality is king - nothing affects the look of a stone (it's brightness and how much it sparkles) more than the quality of the cut (the angles and facet alignment, not the shape of the stone). An ideal cut stone will face up larger and whiter than a poorly cut stone of the same carat weight and color.

Stick with GIA excellents and AGS 0's. Then if it's a GIA, put the stats in here: https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca If it scores under 2, get an idealscope image.

 

[JulieN]

I don't see you specify a diamond you are looking at.

Cut is the most important thing. You need to buy from somewhere that provides pictures, and preferably Ideal Scope or ASET.

E color is totally fine. Actually, H or I color is totally fine.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

>>Carat: 0.3-0.5
Colour: D
Clarity: IF
Cut: Hearts & Arrows - I have been told the GIA cut grade will be very good to excellent.
Metal: Platinum<<

I love the “First Class” nature of this request. To me, there’s an added layer of romance with collection category diamonds.

GIA VG isn’t in-line with the rest of the target, however. Even GIA EX is wide enough that you should seek a smaller, richer target within EX. And if you’re seeking H&A you should work with a seller who can satisfy top H&A standards. Especially to sew up a rare D IF XXX H&A.

If graded by AGS I think this would be called a five-zero? D (0) IF (0) Ideal perf, pol, sym (000).

 

[charks]

Just curious Peter.

If you have time why are you buying in the UK?

I'm in the UK and wouldn't dream of buying here.

US vendors offer much better value - both money wise and quality wise.

IF stones are really expensive and, to be frank, are collectors items not meant to be worn, especially every day as an engagement ring.

It sounds really romantic giving an IF diamond but isn't practical.

And no one will know it's an IF.

Anyway, that's my view.

As a UK women I would prefer a bigger stone.

Charlotte

 

[Dancing Fire]

I would shop a D VS1