Assistance Needed

[tornandconfused]

Hi all,

I am currently in the market for a diamond and have narrowed down the candidates. My criteria for the color and clarity is a bit more stringent, it is what it is I guess I am deathly scared of buying this ring, not because of the monetary factor, I think I have long ago just given up to the fact that I will have to spend a good chunk of change to buy this quality of diamond, but to the fact that I am not getting the most bang for my buck. Any help on some of the questions below is much appreciated.

Will there be a noticeable difference in size between a 1.01 and a 1.14?

Is there a significant difference between a H&A diamond to one that is also excellent cut? I have been trying to read and gather as much as I can, but its just so overwhelming.

I know that anything below a 2.0 on the HCA scale weeds out the poorer performing diamonds, but would something with an HCA of 0.6 shine more than something with an H&A with an HCA of 1.8?

One of the diamonds I am looking at is a 1.148 round H&A ASG000, F color, IF clarity, HCA ranks it a 1.8 (61.5% depth, 56.5% table, 34.7 degree crown, 40.9 degree pavilion angle) My now hesitation on this is that when I plugged in into the HCA tool, only Light Return came back as excellent, the other three categories came back as Very Good. First, does this seem like a solid diamond? Secondly, what would be considered a good market price for this?

If the diamond has a diameter of 6.71, would a band width of 2.4 mm seem a bit thick or would 1.8 mm be more preferable? My girlfriend, hopefully soon to be fiance has told me she would like a thinner band, but that is if the ring was just in a solitaire setting, I am thinking about a pave setting.

Thank you everybody in advance for your help on this, sorry I am asking so many questions, as my username says, i'm just torn and confused.

 

[Regular Guy]

Others may comment on the band, but...

not sure about the difference between 1.01 and 1.14; two diamonds with those proportions might be crafted so the 1.14 appears smaller, and I believe appearance will probably be the driver you have in mind when you discuss "bang for the buck" as the focus of your question.

That said, although IF has it's own nice things about it, and you may have reasons for seeking this other than ready availability, but since an IF usually appears no more "flawless" than a VS1, I would caution you to overpay for what you will not be able to notice the difference for.

Otherwise, the general rule of under 2 for HCA is correct, I'll affirm that, and since H&A characteristics are in play, I'd also affirm the non-advantage of the lower vs higher HCA number, with both under 2.

Since you'e provided no cost info, and seemed to be just exploring general principles, those are my thoughts.

Ira Z.

 

[Amys Bling]

When talking about scores under 2.0 on the HCA, one score is not better than another. When they are under 2- lower does not mean better.

 

[centralsquare]

I echo the comments above about clarity; I don't think you need to pay for IF when you see no difference from VS (or maybe even SI). For the band...can you post some options. If you're thinking of pave it will really depend (in my opinion) what the band looks like.

 

[tornandconfused]

Hi all,

Thank you very much for your feedback, not to sound too rude or anything, but as I stated before, I do have a certain clarity and color set. Why do I need to buy a diamond Color D-F, Clarity FL - IF, just because I know that is what she wants, she rather take quality over size, and even though I have read countless countless articles and forum posts about how there is no noticeable difference at all if I were to step it down a notch or two, it would give her some kind of peace of mind and satisfaction knowing that the criteria she set has been met, and that is the main point, for her to be happy with the ring. For me personally, couldn’t care less, but then again, I’m not wearing it.

But one of my questions was, is there a noticeable difference between an H&A and an Ideal cut diamond?
For the diamond I mention, would $19,000 be too much for the diamond? I know some of you will still be thinking I am paying too much for this diamond and can get something similar for less, but this is not the point of my post, so please bear with me and amuse me with my request.

I have tried to add pictures to this post but my computer is acting funny, I have attached the links for the different bands instead.
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/petite-open-cathedral-diamond-engagement-ring-1539.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/engagement-rings/diamond-settings/petite-diamond-engagement-ring-773.htm

Thank you again

 

[centralsquare]

Is this a WF stone ? Are there photos you could post, or link to the stone? Looks like a fair price for those specs.