AGS J vs GIA J

[Gypsy]

Actually AGS trades at a premium.

That's probably the difference between an in house stone and a stone that has to be called in.

 

[Gypsy]

Incidentally in 40 pointers I'd be looking for J's and K's with strong blue fluorescence. Well over half my PS friends have J/K studs and I gotta tell you, you can't tell. They face up seriously white. And when do you ever look at the profiles of your earrings up close?

Also I wouldn't get a hearts and arrows diamond for earrings. Waste of money. Just GIA Ex/Ex stones with good idealscope images.

 

[bliss_cathy]

Actually AGS trades at a premium.

That's probably the difference between an in house stone and a stone that has to be called in.

So a J SI1 Virtual Selection, VG polish and Sym, is $200 more than an I SI1 A Cut Above AGS because of the expected shipping fees??

Interesting, I always thought the in house stones were more expensive than the virtual stones.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Actually AGS trades at a premium.

That's probably the difference between an in house stone and a stone that has to be called in.

Yes, and they primarily want to sell in-house stones and not virtual, so I am not sure how meaningful their virtual prices are. That last example makes no sense to me.

 

[Gypsy]

Here. I'm about to blow your mind.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.45-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-260066 H SI1
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.41-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-255603 H VS2

Both 60/60 stones with great HCA scores (2 and under). Put on hold. Get an idealscope. Find out if eyeclean.

 

[Gypsy]

Actually AGS trades at a premium.

That's probably the difference between an in house stone and a stone that has to be called in.

So a J SI1 Virtual Selection, VG polish and Sym, is $200 more than an I SI1 A Cut Above AGS because of the expected shipping fees??

Interesting, I always thought the in house stones were more expensive than the virtual stones.

No. It's not more expensive because of shipping fees.

In house stones, especially the ACA and BGD ones, were purchased in bulk from the rough or from the cutting house. They are 'home grown' and they are owned by the store. The store has set the mark up from the bulk buy they made-- equals more profit at lower price point.

The stones that are not in house are not owned by the store. Someone else owns them. In order to get them for you, the store has to pay the owner for them, then add a markup so they make some sort of profit. Equals higher price.

Neither are drop shippers. So outside stones cost more for you, and make less money for them.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Here. I'm about to blow your mind.

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.45-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-260066 H SI1
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.41-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-255603 H VS2

Both 60/60 stones with great HCA scores (2 and under). Put on hold. Get an idealscope. Find out if eyeclean.

Gypsy, one of these is 4.7mm and the other is 4.9mm. I like H color but I'd want my diameters to match better than that.


Here are two ACA's at $851 each (with ps/wire discounts):

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2970627.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2970628.htm

 

[Gypsy]

Your head sits between them when worn. .2mm isn't going to be noticeable when worn. I'd be fine with it personally. To each their own.

I think the H VS2 is a keeper. I'd try to find a good match to that one, if you don't like the one I picked.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

But looking at pricing, even their in-house stones have some inconsistent pricing, and it may have something to do when the stones came in. This .40 I SI1 Expert Selection stone is priced higher than the ACA's above at $915 (PS/wire price):

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2983110.htm

I always ask if I see a pricing discrepancy because they very well will adjust the price. But in this case, the ACA's are lower priced, so I'd want to reserve them before they go up!

 

[Gypsy]

Here's a closer match: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.40-carat-h-color-vs1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-248880

with the H VS from before: http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.41-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-255603

 

[bliss_cathy]

Thanks Gypsy and Diamondseeker. I'm starting to get a headache from the spinning diamonds and the refreshing search engines.

My original search had me at the J 0.4 (hence the beginning of this thread) so if I change to a higher colour search I will need to adjust my budget slightly.

To be honest, in the past I've gotten bogged down by the JA website and the BN one, which is why my only online purchase has been through BGD. The WF website feels very similar to the BGD one which is why I probably ended up there.

So if I'm going to change my criteria to no longer look for AGS I'd like to spend some time searching BN and JA. Thank you very much for all your links, I really appreciate it.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

The reason I personally don't bother with JA too much is that their prices are so close to WF now, that it just doesn't seem to be worth it when WF has the idealscope images posted and a better upgrade policy. Here are two H VS2's and the pricing just isn't that much different at $924 and $992 (with PS/wire discounts):

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2983110.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2949883.htm

But I thought you were looking at I-J to begin with which is why I posted the I color pair. JA did not have a better I SI1 pair that I could see, but you may be able to add higher clarity and find some others. And BN is impossible because you don't have pictures or idealscope images. You will get a headache going in that direction!

 

[Gypsy]

Like I said, personally for earrings I'd just ask someone to source me J/K's with strong blue GIA EX with a nice IS, in the largest eyeclean size they could find for my budget.

No one gets close to your ears. Not even nosey PSers get that close.

 

[bliss_cathy]

How's this for a spanner in the works!!!

I was looking at BGD expert select and found two GIA Ms, 0.5 carat for $831 at BGD.

http://m.briangavindiamonds.com/Diamonds/diamond-details/0.500-M-SI1-Round-Diamond-GIA-47894994

I've never seen an M....after hemming and hawing over Js, it'd be pretty funny if I ended up with Ms!

As for the fluorescence, I can understand the logic of getting that for earrings, as anything to enhance the brightness would be beneficial. I've not seen strong blue fluorescence in real life so have to admit that is something I have not looked for...

 

[Gypsy]

I had an M-N stone. It was too tinted for me. And it was an OEC, not even a MRB, and I'm more tolerant of color in OECs.

 

[bliss_cathy]

I had an M-N stone. It was too tinted for me. And it was an OEC, not even a MRB, and I'm more tolerant of color in OECs.

Good to know - thanks for your feedback.

 

[lalala]

Okay, lab discrepancy theories aside, when I was looking for my last diamond, here is a side view I took. See the two stones on the left? One was graded I (possibly GIA) and the other is definitely AGS J. Can you see more color in one than the other? I could, and I could see it in the face up view as well. That is why I personally prefer I or higher in AGS stones. But again, that is just MY own personal preference.

AGS J in the middle? GIA I on the left?

Do you know where I could find an image of AGS J vs. GIA J?

 

[ChristineRose]

AGS J in the middle? GIA I on the left?

Do you know where I could find an image of AGS J vs. GIA J?

There are way too many variables for a picture like that to be useful. What you need is a picture of stones face down on a white background. Even then you will need multiple stones because there can always be a fluke--if someone has noticed a difference and wants to show it off, the chance that they have a fluke is very high.
Maybe one of the dealers who post here can put something together.

 

[HDer]

AGS J in the middle? GIA I on the left?

Do you know where I could find an image of AGS J vs. GIA J?

Looks like you resurrected an old but fun thread about GIA and AGS color grading.

I think the key takeaway here is that a single letter color difference is very hard to tell apart even for the professionals at the grading labs. Different people might assign the border at slightly different values, and from what Paul was saying even if he's just tired, under the same lighting in the same office, he might be off by one letter. So I wouldn't worry too much about it given you'll be looking at the diamonds in a much less controlled lighting environment and without the benefit of the decades of experience.

As for the difference between the GIA J and the AGS J I think the consensus among the professional posters is that if there's a difference it'll be between how they treat a borderline J/K stone. So even if a stone is graded J by any lab, it could be a borderline I/J stone, a middle of the pack J, or a borderline J/K stone. If you compare the a J "reference" stone from GIA and AGS I don't think there would be any difference at all.