First of all, thank you for all of the information. I''m surprised by the amount of information I''ve picked up in a couple of days. Anyway, I''m looking at RBs. I began this search stressing quality over size, and am leaning toward an ACA from WF.
I initially narrowed it down to 3 stones:
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Compare_Diamonds.aspx?idnos=1428878,1177137,1911785#
I have eliminated the middle one as it is out of budget ($32k+). The remaining two take me back to my initial issue, size over quality. The larger one is 2.124 H/VS1 and the smaller one is 1.73 G/VS1, and a few thousand cheaper. With respect to clarity, I have decided on VS1 because I''ve read that 1 in 100 can see inclusions in a VS2 and (being an eagle eye) Im afraid I''d never reach eye clear, much less mind clear.
The issue of color, however, is more troubling. I''ve read that the untrained eye cannot tell the difference between a G and an H, even when placed next to each other. Despite this, I asked WF to send me a photo of the 3, including face down to see if there are any discernable color differences. (I''ll attach the photos next, but I''ve erased this message twice already trying to paste them in.) It appears to me that the stone on the left is, in fact, somewhat more cloudy. I know it could be the focus, lights or position in the photo, but it looks less clear than the other two. Am I wrong, paranoid, worse? Smaller G, or bigger H? Or, Keep looking?
Also, after reading up on IS images, I initially thought: the redder the better. Then, however, I read a recent post about this issue wherein it was suggested that some leakage may actually improve the stone''s performance. Now I''m confused. Looking at the 2 IS images in the link above, the smaller stone appears to have minimal leakage. Very little white. The larger one however, has leakage on the edge and along the interior, which someone suggested will make for a more brilliant effect. I am now confused as to the difference between Fire and brilliance. I thought I wanted a lot of fire, but now I''m unsure. The HCA score suggests the larger stone has more brilliance and fire, despite the extremely red IS image on the smaller stone. So, I guess I''d like some input in that regard as well.
Finally, I am looking at the WF Tiffany knife edge setting for these stones. I went to the Tiffanys on Michigan Ave. in Chicago and looked at a 1.80 G/VS1 which I liked very much. I may have liked the setting even more. (However, at $32k, plus taxes - almost 10% - I decided to get eductaed and see what else was out there.) I Haven''t been back since, but the WF knife edge setting looks to be very close, and very pretty nonetheless. What are your thoughts, especially with regard to the above stones?
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this.
I initially narrowed it down to 3 stones:
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/Compare_Diamonds.aspx?idnos=1428878,1177137,1911785#
I have eliminated the middle one as it is out of budget ($32k+). The remaining two take me back to my initial issue, size over quality. The larger one is 2.124 H/VS1 and the smaller one is 1.73 G/VS1, and a few thousand cheaper. With respect to clarity, I have decided on VS1 because I''ve read that 1 in 100 can see inclusions in a VS2 and (being an eagle eye) Im afraid I''d never reach eye clear, much less mind clear.
The issue of color, however, is more troubling. I''ve read that the untrained eye cannot tell the difference between a G and an H, even when placed next to each other. Despite this, I asked WF to send me a photo of the 3, including face down to see if there are any discernable color differences. (I''ll attach the photos next, but I''ve erased this message twice already trying to paste them in.) It appears to me that the stone on the left is, in fact, somewhat more cloudy. I know it could be the focus, lights or position in the photo, but it looks less clear than the other two. Am I wrong, paranoid, worse? Smaller G, or bigger H? Or, Keep looking?
Also, after reading up on IS images, I initially thought: the redder the better. Then, however, I read a recent post about this issue wherein it was suggested that some leakage may actually improve the stone''s performance. Now I''m confused. Looking at the 2 IS images in the link above, the smaller stone appears to have minimal leakage. Very little white. The larger one however, has leakage on the edge and along the interior, which someone suggested will make for a more brilliant effect. I am now confused as to the difference between Fire and brilliance. I thought I wanted a lot of fire, but now I''m unsure. The HCA score suggests the larger stone has more brilliance and fire, despite the extremely red IS image on the smaller stone. So, I guess I''d like some input in that regard as well.
Finally, I am looking at the WF Tiffany knife edge setting for these stones. I went to the Tiffanys on Michigan Ave. in Chicago and looked at a 1.80 G/VS1 which I liked very much. I may have liked the setting even more. (However, at $32k, plus taxes - almost 10% - I decided to get eductaed and see what else was out there.) I Haven''t been back since, but the WF knife edge setting looks to be very close, and very pretty nonetheless. What are your thoughts, especially with regard to the above stones?
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this.
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