Brand Spanking New - Help would be appreciated

[tmnt25]

First off, wow.

This site is incredible and all your posters have included so much valuable info. on here. After about 2 weeks of reading through PS, I finally made it to the B & M shops to put my knowledge into practice and visualize what I wanted.

1)I felt more knowledgable about diamonds than all the employees I spoke with, including Mayor's, Zales, and Kay; 2/3 didn't know what cut was or ignored my questions about it
2)What I was looking for seemed about $1K more at the stores

So here I am with my first post, and seeking guidance form the masters. I am set on quality over size, I really want that thing to sparkle. I've read previous posts that certain angles can make a diamond look bigger than it really is.

Budget for the diamond $2500
round
Cut:Ideal/excellent (bluenile has something called "signature ideal", not sure what that means)
Clarity:vs2 or better
Color:H or better
Carat: .7<

Am I asking for too much here?

I've looked at bluenile and jamesallen, but admittedly it has been tough to narrow how many choices there are. If someone wanted to lend a hand, it'd be awesome.

I'll keep everyone updated as I go through the steps

 

[tmnt25]

To add, I will be buying online. I keep seeing suggestions stating that when purchasing online, you need to make sure its eyeclean...Is this simply asking the seller nicely to verify that its eye clean? Seems too simple...

I understand i can''t have this w/ bluenile since the diamonds are somewhere else...

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/12/2009 12:59:26 AM
Author:tmnt25
First off, wow.

This site is incredible and all your posters have included so much valuable info. on here. After about 2 weeks of reading through PS, I finally made it to the B & M shops to put my knowledge into practice and visualize what I wanted.

1)I felt more knowledgable about diamonds than all the employees I spoke with, including Mayor's, Zales, and Kay; 2/3 didn't know what cut was or ignored my questions about it
2)What I was looking for seemed about $1K more at the stores

So here I am with my first post, and seeking guidance form the masters. I am set on quality over size, I really want that thing to sparkle. I've read previous posts that certain angles can make a diamond look bigger than it really is.

Budget for the diamond $2500
round
Cut:Ideal/excellent (bluenile has something called 'signature ideal', not sure what that means)
Clarity:vs2 or better
Color:H or better
Carat: .7<

Am I asking for too much here?

I've looked at bluenile and jamesallen, but admittedly it has been tough to narrow how many choices there are. If someone wanted to lend a hand, it'd be awesome.

I'll keep everyone updated as I go through the steps

Hi tmt!

Ok lets see what we can do to help you! Cut quality is what gives a diamond its beauty so very important to concentrate on that aspect, that is what makes it sparkle, not the colour and clarity. Your specs look fine, is the budget just for the diamond or does it have to include the setting also?

The eyecleanliness factor is relatively straightforward if you are buying from a trusted vendor with in house diamonds and you make your expectations clear to them, BN are a trusted vendor but apparently most of their diamonds are not on site so they need to find out from the source if the diamond is eyeclean. And what is eyeclean can vary tremendously according to standards, eyesights and so on.

I will have a look for you using your specs and see what comes up initially.

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/Whiteflash-ACA-cut-diamond-2113978.htm

 

[JABacchetta]

Here''s my choice based on the specs you gave: .70 carat

0.70 carat
G
VS2
H&A Ideal
HCA - 1.0
AGS0
$2420

James Allen offers trade ins, 30 day return policy, and two year buy back program. Just ordered mine last night. Waiting for its arrival

I wouldn''t bother with the signature ideal from bluenile. From what I understand, it just means that the diamonds are cut specifically for bluenile which allows them to brand it as signature and then charge you a few hundred dollars extra.

 

[Lorelei]

I was too late to edit, but the diamond I posted should be around your budget if you pay by bank wire.

 

[Ellen]

You've gotten a couple nice contenders so far. Couple notes. On JA H&A stones, they don't give heart pics, so tough to actually compare against the WF stone. Also, they have a rather strict upgrade policy, so please be aware.

I'll throw one more in the mix, bankwire is discount.

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/5949/

 

[stone-cold11]

3 suggestions, non-H&A, just normal ideal cut, price just above your budget if you wire. Request for an Idealscope image if you are interested.

0.74c G VS2
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1238141.asp

0.74 H VS1
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1238139.asp

0.83c H VS2
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1240622.asp

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/12/2009 7:07:05 AM
Author: Ellen
You''ve gotten a couple nice contenders so far. Couple notes. On JA H&A stones, they don''t give heart pics, so tough to actually compare against the WF stone. Also, they have a rather strict upgrade policy, so please be aware.

I''ll throw one more in the mix, bankwire is discount.

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/5949/

Nice one

 

[Lula]

Date: 6/12/2009 7:33:20 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 6/12/2009 7:07:05 AM

Author: Ellen

You''ve gotten a couple nice contenders so far. Couple notes. On JA H&A stones, they don''t give heart pics, so tough to actually compare against the WF stone. Also, they have a rather strict upgrade policy, so please be aware.


I''ll throw one more in the mix, bankwire is discount.


http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/5949/

Nice one

I like this one the best. The size is a bit smaller than the others mentioned, but the price is great for the quality, and it''s GOG so you get lots of info (e.g., the hearts images) on the stone along with a great trade-in policy. Just a caution -- if any of these suggestions appeals to you, call the vendor right away to put a hold on the stone!!

What are you ideas about settings?

 

[tmnt25]

Lorelei

to respond to your question, the $2500 budget is just for the diamond. I am trying to narrow it down that way.

The band complicates things for me.

I know H & A stands for hearts and arrows, but does that designation mean that the H& A picture is avaiable,or that there is something "better" about an H & A.

In regards to some of the pros and cons folks listed; I like the 30 day return policy, the 10 day at WF is a little too tight. Also, I don't really have a concern about the trading up, I doubt she would ever want to upgrade on her own.

 

[tmnt25]

Date: 6/12/2009 7:29:04 AM
Author: Stone-cold11
3 suggestions, non-H&A, just normal ideal cut, price just above your budget if you wire. Request for an Idealscope image if you are interested.

0.74c G VS2
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1238141.asp

0.74 H VS1
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1238139.asp

0.83c H VS2
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1240622.asp

Stone-for the third choice here, you stated that it''s an ideal cut...The GIA says excellent and the website says "premium".

Am i missing something here?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/12/2009 10:37:43 AM
Author: tmnt25
Lorelei

to respond to your question, the $2500 budget is just for the diamond. I am trying to narrow it down that way.

The band complicates things for me.

I know H & A stands for hearts and arrows, but does that designation mean that the H& A picture is avaiable,or that there is something 'better' about an H & A.

In regards to some of the pros and cons folks listed; I like the 30 day return policy, the 10 day at WF is a little too tight. Also, I don't really have a concern about the trading up, I doubt she would ever want to upgrade on her own.

With some h&a diamonds all the images aren't always available, for example James Allen will provide Idealscope images which show the arrows but not for hearts. Hearts images are extremely important in order to evaluate overall cut precision of any so called h&a cut diamond. The JA diamonds are very well cut but hearts images are needed to know the whole story. Also the proportions are the most important factor with any diamond, with the branded h&a diamonds we often see here they are top performers due to their excellent proportions and will also show a perfect hearts and arrows pattern, conversely you can find diamonds that also show arrows which aren't great performers if the proportions aren't good. H&A are dependant on precision cutting and top optical symmetry ( this is not the same thing as lab graded symmetry on a report).

Go with the vendor you feel most comfortable with, if you prefer one with a longer return policy then you can do so.

 

[tmnt25]

Date: 6/12/2009 7:07:05 AM
Author: Ellen
You''ve gotten a couple nice contenders so far. Couple notes. On JA H&A stones, they don''t give heart pics, so tough to actually compare against the WF stone. Also, they have a rather strict upgrade policy, so please be aware.

I''ll throw one more in the mix, bankwire is discount.

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/5949/

this one looks really nice!

 

[treefrog]

Date: 6/12/2009 10:37:43 AM
Author: tmnt25

In regards to some of the pros and cons folks listed; I like the 30 day return policy, the 10 day at WF is a little too tight. Also, I don''t really have a concern about the trading up, I doubt she would ever want to upgrade on her own.

I recently got a beautiful H&A diamond from Whiteflash. They were excellent to work with. To correct the above, their H&A diamonds have a 30 day return policy. Check numbers 3 and 6 here:
http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds_info/t/confidence.aspx?articleid=8&zoneid=2

 

[stone-cold11]

Date: 6/12/2009 10:43:31 AM
Author: tmnt25

Date: 6/12/2009 7:29:04 AM

Author: Stone-cold11

3 suggestions, non-H&A, just normal ideal cut, price just above your budget if you wire. Request for an Idealscope image if you are interested.

0.74c G VS2
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1238141.asp

0.74 H VS1
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1238139.asp

0.83c H VS2
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-VS2-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1240622.asp

Stone-for the third choice here, you stated that it's an ideal cut...The GIA says excellent and the website says 'premium'.

Am i missing something here?

No idea why JA would list it as premium cut, an Idealscope image might tell us more but look good from the numbers and magnified image and the price is good. GIA top grade is Ex cut, I should say excellent cut, near tolk, and not ideal cut in my original post. Ideal cut is used by AGS for their top cut grade and by a lot of vendors even for GIA Ex cut, don't get confused by vendor grading.

 

[Lorelei]

The terms Ideal Cut, Premium Cut and so forth can be used widely by vendors to describe certain cut qualities in their diamonds, these terms can be used rather loosely also and are no guarantee of a well cut stone. So don''t go by those so much but evaluate each diamond carefully on its own desirable physical and visual properties.

 

[treefrog]

Date: 6/12/2009 12:59:26 AM
Author:tmnt25
.
.
.
So here I am with my first post, and seeking guidance form the masters. I am set on quality over size, I really want that thing to sparkle. I''ve read previous posts that certain angles can make a diamond look bigger than it really is.

I like the way you think. I felt the same way recently.

I have a couple others to add to your list. Definitely get a second opinion from the others here though as I''m still labeled as a "Rough Rock". I wish there were better, clear, and more focused images to look at but these may be worth a look:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1225109.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1225110.asp

Treefrog

 

[stone-cold11]

Treefrog, the 0.72c is not that good from the Idealscope image, some leakage under the table, not as red as the other stone you pick.

JA stone I would not want to pay a premium for their H&A stone as no heart images are supplied to verify if it is a H&A to my specification.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/12/2009 1:46:15 PM
Author: treefrog

Date: 6/12/2009 12:59:26 AM
Author:tmnt25
.
.
.
So here I am with my first post, and seeking guidance form the masters. I am set on quality over size, I really want that thing to sparkle. I've read previous posts that certain angles can make a diamond look bigger than it really is.

I like the way you think. I felt the same way recently.

I have a couple others to add to your list. Definitely get a second opinion from the others here though as I'm still labeled as a 'Rough Rock'. I wish there were better, clear, and more focused images to look at but these may be worth a look:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1225109.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1225110.asp

Treefrog

They are both good diamonds Treefrog, the second one is slightly steep deep angled despite being an AGS0, you can see a little leakage on the IS image, however that might not be perceptible in reality - the first diamond is excellent. You did well for your first suggestions - great job!!

 

[treefrog]

Date: 6/12/2009 2:01:36 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Treefrog, the 0.72c is not that good from the Idealscope image, some leakage under the table, not as red as the other stone you pick.

JA stone I would not want to pay a premium for their H&A stone as no heart images are supplied to verify if it is a H&A to my specification.

Yes, I see that now. Actually, it is probably one of the best examples I''ve seen in my searches. I continue to learn and be a ''rough rock''... which is why I made sure to point that out.

I totally agree with your H&A comment. Anybody can call anything a H&A. They may not be perfect hearts or arrows but it may fit whatever criteria the vendor has. It is totally subjective and I don''t like not seeing it for myself. Especially when you know an addition is reflected in the price for it. It could meet the JA criteria but be nowhere near somebody else''s criteria. I didn''t want to be a total Whiteflash snob though and the only other one I saw was the one Lorelei already pointed out.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/12/2009 3:02:09 PM
Author: treefrog

Date: 6/12/2009 2:01:36 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
Treefrog, the 0.72c is not that good from the Idealscope image, some leakage under the table, not as red as the other stone you pick.

JA stone I would not want to pay a premium for their H&A stone as no heart images are supplied to verify if it is a H&A to my specification.

Yes, I see that now. Actually, it is probably one of the best examples I've seen in my searches. I continue to learn and be a 'rough rock'... which is why I made sure to point that out.

I totally agree with your H&A comment. Anybody can call anything a H&A. They may not be perfect hearts or arrows but it may fit whatever criteria the vendor has. It is totally subjective and I don't like not seeing it for myself. Especially when you know an addition is reflected in the price for it. It could meet the JA criteria but be nowhere near somebody else's criteria. I didn't want to be a total Whiteflash snob though and the only other one I saw was the one Lorelei already pointed out.

You are doing fine Treefrog, new members who want to help out in RT and are willing and express a desire to help and learn rather than trying to run before they can walk are always welcome!

The diamond in question is a great diamond, just that the angles are a bit steep and deep ( what we call a borderline steep deep) which can result in light leakage as you can see on the IS image. Now it is important to remember that in reality we are discussing something which is smaller than a pencil eraser and that slight leakage on an IS image such as the above may not be visible in real life. The image isn't as good as the other but it could still be a great diamond.

Learning is a process that is continuous here, yes I have a good knowledge that I have worked hard over the years here to acquire, but I will never stop learning or lose the desire for more education. I think even the experts would say the same.

 

[stone-cold11]

Ya, just wanted to point out to you so that you can see for yourself and learn. I am still learning too.

JA stones, usually search in their database when the OP is not really interested in a H&A, just wanting an ideal cut, they are more bang for bucks then.

 

[treefrog]

Date: 6/12/2009 2:20:26 PM
Author: Lorelei

They are both good diamonds Treefrog, the second one is slightly steep deep angled despite being an AGS0, you can see a little leakage on the IS image, however that might not be perceptible in reality - the first diamond is excellent. You did well for your first suggestions - great job!!

One out of two. Not too bad I guess. Don''t take me to Vegas though with those odds though! I wish the images were more clear. I''m not sure I''m a fan of the arrows on them though. They''re close, probably closer than many.

Treefrog.