Advice on three options

[brady]

First, I just want to say how informative this site has been for me. I never thought I would learn so much about diamonds.

Second, I''ve narrowed my choices down to three options. Any adivce on which would be better, if any, would be great! Thanks!

#1

Cut: Round Ideal
Size: 6.52-6.58 X 3.99
Carat: 1.045
Color: H
Clarity: SI1
Depth: 61%
Table: 57%
Crown: 34.3
Pavillion: 40.7
HCA Score: 1
Polish/symmetry: ideal/ideal
Cert: AGSL
Price: $5206

#2

Cut: Round Ideal
Size: 6.55-6.58 X 4.08
Carat: 1.082
Color: H
Clarity: SI1
Depth: 62.2%
Table: 55%
Crown: 34.9
Pavillion: 40.7
HCA Score: 1.2
Polish/symmetry: ideal/ideal
Cert: AGSL
Price: $5065

#3

Cut: Round Ideal
Size: 6.69-6.73 X 4.13
Carat: 1.128
Color: G
Clarity: SI2
Depth: 61.5%
Table: 57%
Crown: 34.7
Pavillion: 41.1
HCA Score: 2.7
Polish/symmetry: ideal/ideal
Cert: AGSL
Price: $4717

All good SI1''s or SI2.

 

[magna2]

Brady,

Is a toss up between the first two diamonds. If you are able to compare the first two side by side with your own set of eyes it might become apparent to you which of the two you should go with.

I think it is going to come down to whether you like brilliance over fire. If brilliance, then go with the first otherwise the second. However, I suspect that the two will perform closely to each other given that the HCA score is not that far apart.

Best wishes in choosing your stone.

 

[Fancy]

No. 1 or 2 ... I think that the SI2 just doesn't have the same market value. Maybe you can get pics of the first two stones and make a decision .. .can you see them first?

 

[Mara]

Wow what a tough decision. I like size so I would almost say #3 but I don't like that HCA score as much as the first two. Have you seen any of these in person? If they look very similar, then I would definitely say #3 because if in person you can't really tell a difference in the cut, sparkle, fire, scint etc then bigger for less money is my choice, esp with a G color and a good SI2...you can get more bang for your buck with the size and stay really crisp on the color.




But if you have not seen them and can't tell if there is a difference, virtually the HCA score turns me off the #3 stone. Try punching the #'s for the #3 stone into the HCA and put in 41.0 for the pav angle. See if that changes the score significantly. I have found that 41.1 is a pav # the HCA does not quite like as much as 41.0 or 40.9. In person though, is that difference really visible? The angle is an average range, do you have the Sarin info?




Between the first two, definitely the second. I like the larger size of it and it's cheaper too. The HCA score difference will not be visible at all esp since they both score EX EX EX VG.




Tough decision, best of luck!!

 

[Mara]

I also found these few cheaper stones which seem to fit your bill....are you shopping online or is this strictly an offline purchase? These would not be considered true H&A stones for the most part, but they all exhibit hearts and arrows patterns, and have FireScope images to show light return (pretty nice). All are HCA scores under 2.0.




http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail_sb.cfm?did=6838728


1.12 G SI2 $4600 HCA Score 1.5 EX AGS 0




http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail_sb.cfm?did=6838729


1.12 H SI1 $5300 HCA Score 1.6 EX AGS 0




http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail_sb.cfm?did=6838725


1.09 G SI2 $4500 HCA Score 1.1 EX AGS 0

 

[brady]

Thanks for all the help. All three diamonds are online, so I haven't seen any of them. I have been on the phone while someone looked over diamonds #2 and #3, so I feel more comfortable buying one of those. #2 didn't seem to have anything that could be seen with a 10X loop. #3 has a small wisp on the outer edge, but still is "eye perfect". With the HCA on #3, using a pav. angle of 41.0 gives a 2.1, and a 40.9 gives a 1.8.
In the meantime, I've also found a very clean 1.02 G SI1 with an HCA of 1 for $4957 (#4). I know these are minor details worrying about small differences in the HCA and a G vs. an H, but I still want to make the best decision. Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Mara - good suggestions from dirtcheap. I actually had these looked at already and they're not very clean so I passed on them.