Bang for the Buck under 25k?

[tnflagg]

I am looking at the purchase of the following: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1501491.asp

I was curious to know how one would rate this stone. My concern is it is a J color, but I have done some reading online and found that many say that as long as the cut of a round brilliant is excellent, the color will not matter as much within a setting face up. From what I can tell this seems to be a good buy, but I was curious to hear from those who look at stone more often than one buying for an engagement.

Please let me know. You can find certs and images of the stone at the above link.

 

[Mikla]

I'm not an expert by any means, but my personal preference would be to purchase a higher color and lower clarity. Color does matter, or consumers wouldn't pay such a high premium for the higher colors, and it's what you see immediately and all the time. I understand clarity is also important, but you can go down a lot from a clarity of VVS2 before you would ever notice a difference between a higher and lower clarity grade. Just my two cents!

 

[AnneinGA]

I had three diamonds posted with HCA and my stupid computer bombed.

Try these; you need to ask if they're eye-clean to your standards and get ASETs. Note the pricescope prices

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1505867.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1441086.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1496839.asp

 

[Christina...]

It looks to have a very nice cut. Have you requested IS images yet? As for color, the SBF will help it appear whiter in some lighting environments but not all. I have a J, and at first I was a bit concerned about the body color. It in no way appears yellow, and the only time that I can see color is through the pavilion. Often times, depending on which setting you choose the prongs will obstruct this view point so you may never notice it. Have you seen a J before? I'm not color sensitive and I prefer stones with a slight warmth over an icy white appearance, but not all people feel that way. If you were to purchase this stone I would have it sent loose first so that you can evaluate it in it's naked state. Loose, the stone will show more color than it ever would set, so if you are fine with the color in this state,then chances are you will be happy once it's set. Diamonds above two cts though do tend to show more color than say under a ct

As far as the clarity, my DH is a stickler for clarity and prefer stones in the VVS range. However, I think that you would be safe going down to the VS range and still finding an eye clean stone. Many PSers prefer not to pay the premium for something that they can't see. That said I know that well cut diamonds in this ct weight are difficult to find, so I wouldn't NOT purchase it because of it's high clarity rating.

 

[tnflagg]

First, I'd like to thank everyone for your responses thus far.

In response to your question Christina, the only picture I have been able to obtain is the following attached.



I have seen some J color in person, but I was not as sensitive to the color myself, but I could see the difference when compared to 2 or 3 colors better. (i.e. G compared to J); however, that was only from the side view of a round brilliant.

To your point on paying for something you cannot see, that is one of the reasons I guess I am leaning toward this stone at this price. The others I have seen ni lower clarity ratings are at a higher price for the comparable stone. Even if it appears "eye clean" I have to believe the imperfections in the stone require a lot more analysis when ordering something online.

I guess when all things are considered, I am trying to understand the best relationship to price of the 4Cs.

The cert from GIA: https://myapps.gia.edu/ReportCheckPortal/getReportData.do?reportno=1146655386&weight=2.26#

 

[Christina...]

OH, it is a JA stone, for some reason I was under the impression that it was at BN. It looks like a beautiful stone. I assume that you have requested IS images and are waiting for the GG evaluation? I think that you have seen J's at this ct weight and are fine with the body color then this is likely a very good candidate. As far as value goes, I think that most PSers feel that G-H VS1-SI1 constitute the best overall value because the stone still faces up very white and the inclusions are typically invisible to the naked eye. However I can appreciate your predicament, when I was shopping for my asscher I was looking for G-I VS1-VS2 and was having a terrible time finding a well cut stone in this criteria so I ultimately purchased an I VVS1. If time isn't an issue for you then you may prefer waiting for another stone to come up, but if time is a factor and the color is fine to your (her) eye, and you don't object to the premium for the clarity then I think that this is a very good candidate, of course we still need to see the IS to confirm.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I would go to an H or I VS stone, personally. I can start seeing the tint in J color stones.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1479893.asp

Hmmm, well I just noticed that the J stone has strong blue fluorescence which makes me like it a little better. But I'd rather have I color, more than likely.