Buying ASAP - Need the PRO''s to read - Do I understand it all???

[find45di2]

So I am ready to purchase a diamond locally. I''ve done some light shopping and have researched the forums and pricescope plenty. Now I am ready to make the move.

My post is detailed so I appreciate the time anyone takes to reply.


Do I understand the Criteria of Diamond shopping? Am I right on, or way off? I am trying to find just the right balance in a diamond and purchase from someone who obviously understand the importance of the criteria, and get a nice diamond overall.

I am trying to buy anything in the 1 carat and larger size in the $6500 to $7000 price range.

From what I''ve read, it seems like many in the forums suggest this as a criteria for an all around nice diamond. I also know that everything I read is mainly people opinions so if I have something way off, just understand that I am writing based on what I''ve learned with jewelers and reading the forums - IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER- Can you also help me understand which are most important??? PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK In any area you wish

1.) CUT - Should ideally go for an GIA-Excellent or AGS0. Can I consider GOOD, and VERY GOOD, or stick with the best only? I understand this is the most important because it will make the diamond look the best, shine the nicest, and is better overall. I will be entering all diamonds into the Holloway Cut Advisor before I make any purchase either way.

2.) CLARITY - The diamond should all around be eye clean with no real visible imperfections from the top. I''ve seen many diamonds and I think I will be happy with an SI1 as the very lowest I will consider. Seems like many say this is the most practical on your pocket. Anyone say I can consider a clean SI2 if everything else checks out? Or should I go with a VS1 or VS2 as a minimum?

3.) COLOR - For price value I can consider anything in between G,H,I range, but should not go lower and should try to stay as high on this scale as my dollar can bring me. I know that D,E,F''s are colorless but come with a higher price.

4.) GIRDLE - I''ve read that it is good to try to keep the least amount of variation on the scale. So keeping it thin to medium, or something that isn''t too drastic in between is smart. Also, one guy told me that a girdle only adds weight so as long as it isn''t too thin and fragile, it is better in the smaller area to keep weight down. Can anyone share any specifics on this?

5.) FINISH
Polish and Symmetry- On a GIA Report, should should I consider GOOD, VERY GOOD, or only EXCELLENT? My guess is that it should only be EXCELLENT or VERY GOOD at the least.


The Holloway Cut Advisor has helped me understand how the different dimensions really make a huge difference compared to the other 3 criterion''s I have listed above.

1.) TABLE % - 54 to 57 range??? What is considered a good range?
2.) DEPTH % - 60 to 62 range??? What is considered good in this range?
3.) CROWN ANGLE - I only know what I''ve learned by typing in specs from GIA certificates. What is good here?
4.) PAVILION ANGLE - Again, I do not know what I should expect other than what the Holloway Advisor tells me on this.


and lastly, the Eye Clean test. I have looked into probably two dozen diamonds and know which flaws I can live with from the bottom side, and I know that I don''t want any to show from the top. I would rather have a crystal/cloud/feather over an actual black dot.


PLEASE HELP
I am hoping to hear more on what I have read around and hope more feedback can be shared to make sure I am understanding everything correctly.

LET''S HEAR IT!!!
Thanks

 

[strmrdr]

Get an ideal-scope or an aset scope and take it with ya.
GIA/AGS I-SI1(eyeclean) is my sweet spot on the bling for a buck scale.
Wouldnt turn down a J for the right price if I found one I liked.
Polish/sym VG/VG or better.
If you want too take it one step further towards a top stone take a h&a scope and check the hearts.

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 8/6/2007 9:08:16 PM
Author:find45di2

So I am ready to purchase a diamond locally. I've done some light shopping and have researched the forums and pricescope plenty. Now I am ready to make the move.

My post is detailed so I appreciate the time anyone takes to reply.


Do I understand the Criteria of Diamond shopping? Am I right on, or way off? I am trying to find just the right balance in a diamond and purchase from someone who obviously understand the importance of the criteria, and get a nice diamond overall.

I am trying to buy anything in the 1 carat and larger size in the $6500 to $7000 price range.

From what I've read, it seems like many in the forums suggest this as a criteria for an all around nice diamond. I also know that everything I read is mainly people opinions so if I have something way off, just understand that I am writing based on what I've learned with jewelers and reading the forums - IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER- Can you also help me understand which are most important??? PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK In any area you wish

1.) CUT - Should ideally go for an GIA-Excellent or AGS0. Can I consider GOOD, and VERY GOOD, or stick with the best only? I understand this is the most important because it will make the diamond look the best, shine the nicest, and is better overall. I will be entering all diamonds into the Holloway Cut Advisor before I make any purchase either way.

2.) CLARITY - The diamond should all around be eye clean with no real visible imperfections from the top. I've seen many diamonds and I think I will be happy with an SI1 as the very lowest I will consider. Seems like many say this is the most practical on your pocket. Anyone say I can consider a clean SI2 if everything else checks out? Or should I go with a VS1 or VS2 as a minimum?

3.) COLOR - For price value I can consider anything in between G,H,I range, but should not go lower and should try to stay as high on this scale as my dollar can bring me. I know that D,E,F's are colorless but come with a higher price.

4.) GIRDLE - I've read that it is good to try to keep the least amount of variation on the scale. So keeping it thin to medium, or something that isn't too drastic in between is smart. Also, one guy told me that a girdle only adds weight so as long as it isn't too thin and fragile, it is better in the smaller area to keep weight down. Can anyone share any specifics on this?

5.) FINISH
Polish and Symmetry- On a GIA Report, should should I consider GOOD, VERY GOOD, or only EXCELLENT? My guess is that it should only be EXCELLENT or VERY GOOD at the least.


The Holloway Cut Advisor has helped me understand how the different dimensions really make a huge difference compared to the other 3 criterion's I have listed above.

1.) TABLE % - 54 to 57 range??? What is considered a good range?
2.) DEPTH % - 60 to 62 range??? What is considered good in this range?
3.) CROWN ANGLE - I only know what I've learned by typing in specs from GIA certificates. What is good here?
4.) PAVILION ANGLE - Again, I do not know what I should expect other than what the Holloway Advisor tells me on this.


and lastly, the Eye Clean test. I have looked into probably two dozen diamonds and know which flaws I can live with from the bottom side, and I know that I don't want any to show from the top. I would rather have a crystal/cloud/feather over an actual black dot.


PLEASE HELP
I am hoping to hear more on what I have read around and hope more feedback can be shared to make sure I am understanding everything correctly.

LET'S HEAR IT!!!
Thanks

Strm's advice is good.

You have things well in hand.I think everyone here will agree that cut should be your highest priority if you want the diamond to do what diamonds ‘do.’Clarity and color are personal choices with no right or wrong decisions. You want face-up eye-clean which is practically a given with AGS/GIA VS clarities and very doable with SI.Know precisely what ‘eye-clean’ implies to you when you shop and view any diamonds you consider out of jewelry store lighting. Diffused/fluorescent is best for color/clarity judgments. If you decide to shop sight-unseen be sure the seller is on the same page as you are as far as 'eye-clean' goes.Your take on color is fine. A well-cut diamond can face-up more colorless than its lab grade.It’s difficult for a casual observer to see a difference between several color grades in well-cut rounds. There is no visible difference between VG/EX/Ideal polish and symmetry (GIA/AGS).Once above VG the grade is rewarding subtleties of craftsmanship and how well the diamond took a polish.

I happened to put up some girdle graphics the other day:See this thread.

As for proportions, remember a small difference in pavilion angle will make a big difference in the HCA rating.Also remember that the HCA is a tool for rejection, not selection.It’s great for finding potential winners…but there is much more to a diamond than 5 numbers and if you're shopping live seeing the diamond in several different lighting conditions will tell you more than anyone here can. The numbers you’ve identified are near Tolkowksy, which is a popular ‘fine-make’ category of round the HCA and cut grading systems all reward.There are other categories.What you’ll see in many commercial markets are 60/60 diamonds (table & depth both near 60%).These are a bit spreadier and have more brightness at the expense of fire, but can be just as appealing depending on what you like.

I’d also mention that the search box on PS is pretty rewarding.Feel free to use it – many subjects around here have been discussed, debated, exploded, repaired and invited over for dinner.

 

[SpeedracerII]

You say you want to purchase the diamond locally. You may have a hard time finding a large selection of stones that meet your criteria in your local B&Ms. You will find lots of stones graded by other labs beside GIA and AGS. Make sure you understand the differences in the quality of the various labs reports you may see. I too thought I'd buy locally as I never dreamed of buying a diamond on-line. Yet the more I learned the more I realized the best selection of stones meeting the criteria I was looking for was on-line and not locally. I ended up buying on-line and got a good value on a very pretty stone. I had them checked out by a local appraiser before I bought. It brought peace of mind and confirmed I was getting what I thought. Next time I buy a diamond I will definitely go back on line.

For example, here is a nice one that seems to meets all your criteria and an HCA of 1.4. And it's under $6K

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/3002/

I'm sure you'd find many others without much trouble.

If you wanted to spend more into your budget, here is a very nice 1.28 that is well within your prices range. This is one of the stones I've seen in person and had verbally appraised. It has a great cut and faces up very nicely.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2713/