Beginning the search

[plymthrock]

My b-friend and I have come to the wonderful decision to take the next step & since that typically involves a considerable purchase, I've elected to read up on the subject. Thanks to this website, I'm a slightly more educated consumer. I've even compiled my own Idiot's Guide, a one page set of crib notes that seems to be a great key when searching on line.

Suffice it to say that I am sold on the concept of Ideal Cut. After seeing my friend's 2 carat ideal cut diamond this weekend that her husband bought on bluenile.com for $17K, I'm convinced after some searching, that the color is between H-J and clarity VS-SI. If this is the case, then it's all about CUT and everything else can take a backseat, albeit a somewhat important backseat. The diamond was brilliant, thanks to the cut (am I on the right track at least??).

So what I am trying to establish is a set of minimum standards (not the self-entitled kind of standards, but the "I wanna get the most for my $" standards). I won't bend on ideal cut and I can live with a lesser clarity if you can't see it with the naked eye, same goes for color.

I haven't looked at enough diamonds to discern my limit for color and clarity. If I looks slightly off-color, is it safe to say that H and above are indistinguishable enough that H is a reasonable limit? Is SI (1 and 2) really not visible to the naked eye?

I guess what I am wondering is, if a "sparkly" (brilliant, ideal cut) diamond that's free of "black flecks" (SI 1&2 and above), oh and did I say as big as it gets within $ limits, is what I am looking for, then what do you think about these constraints?

Cut: Ideal (Lab Certified, Table, Crown Angle, Pavilion Depth, etc w/in industry standards)
Culet: Very small, pointed, or none
Color: H and above
Clarity: SI2 and above
Girdle: Slightly Thick, Thin, or Medium
Polish/Symmetry: Good, Very Good, Excellent
Fluorescence: Faint, Weak, None (Blue only)
(Carat contingent upon amount we decide to spend.)

Krista

 

[pricescope]

Hi Krista, I like it

page?

"Buy the ‘smallest biggest’ diamond you can. Buy the lowest Clarity you will accept in the highest Color you can afford."


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Cut: Ideal (Lab Certified, Table, Crown Angle, Pavilion Depth, etc w/in industry standards)
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Ideal cut is a great thing. Keep in mind though there are great looking diamonds outside traditional “ideal” range – hence less money. Check tutorial for explanations. Some people do and some don’t see a difference between ideal and just very good cut. Best way to find out is to see and compare different stones.


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Culet: Very small, pointed, or none
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Medium culet shouldn’t be a problem as long as you don’t see it as a dot or hole in the center of your diamond.


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Color: H and above
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Sounds fair, but again look at I and J and decide whether you are able to see a difference especially with well cut stones. Plus, blue fluorescence will make I-J stones look witer.


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Clarity: SI2 and above
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with SI clarity make sure you don’t see inclusions with the naked eyes in face up position. You still might see inclusions in SI stones from a side or bottom.


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Girdle: Slightly Thick, Thin, or Medium
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Girdle doesn’t affect the beauty very much. It’s just very thin girdle increase risk of chipping while thick girdle is a dead carat weight. One can have very thin girdle but with secure setting it shouldn’t be a big problem while can save some money.


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Polish/Symmetry: Good, Very Good, Excellent
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Nobody can distinguish Excellent polish from Good without a loupe. Symmetry is something you might appreciate. The best way is to compare stones with different symmetry grades yourself.


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Fluorescence: Faint, Weak, None (Blue only)
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Fluorescence can be even strong blue as long as your diamond doesn't look oily in the daylight. It will save some money and make lower color stones look whiter.


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(Carat contingent upon amount we decide to spend.)
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Sure!

Fascinating, isn’t it?


[/u]

 

[fire&ice]

Great job Leonid.

My recommendation to get the biggest bang for you buck:

H/I w/ medium to strong blue fluor. (check in daylight to make sure the fluor doesn't make the stone look milky or oily)

SI1 (or SI2 w/ no feathers - as long as its relatively eye clean)

Ideal cut is in the eye of the beholder. I would shoot for a really well cut stone.

Girdle - not to thin (may chip) - not to thick (clunky plus takes up unseen carat weight

Sym, Polish - good

CHECK THE MEAUREMENTS!!! It is an indication on how well cut the stone is as well as hidden carat weight (as in the girdle)

Good luck - at the end of the day just go for the stone that is the biggest & brightest - don't rely wholly on the paper specs.

 

[pricescope]

F&I - thanks


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Good luck - at the end of the day just go for the stone that is the biggest & brightest - don't rely wholly on the paper specs.
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I personally agree with you. Yet people are different and some are of perfectionist type, which is ok too!

 

[barry]

You're certainly on the right track!

"Cut" is the most important of the "C's".

A beautifully cut diamond will tend to make the stone
'face-up' whiter than it's actual graded color
and because more light is shooting out at you, tend to 'mask' internal inclusions. Thus, you can readily go for a SI-1 / SI-2 clarity grade and have the diamond appear eye-clean. Ideal-Cut I-J color graded diamonds easily
'face-up' as G-H.

Barry
www.superbcert.com
"When Good Isn't Good Enough"

 

[plymthrock]

Thank you all for your great advice!