Comparing 2 Diamonds

[DavR]

Hello Everyone,
I am currently looking at 2 diamonds, but have a few questions about which one is better, or if i should pass on both.
They are both AGSL certified.



The first one is: AGS 0010388304
Color: F
Clarity: VVS2
Depth: 61%
Table: 56.1%
Light Performance: 0
Polish: 0
Symmetry: 0
Girdle: Thin to slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Negligible
Measurements: 5.44*5.48*3.33



Crown Angle: 34.2°
Crown %: 15.0
Pavilion Angle: 41°
Pavilion %: 43.3
I am concerned a little about the red patch on the lower arrow, but again I am very new at this.

ASET Image from Report:

 

[DavR]

I do not have the ASET image for this next one but i do have a Idealscope image.

Hello Everyone,
I am currently looking at 2 diamonds, but have a few questions about which one is better, or if i should pass on both.
They are both AGSL certified.

AGS 0010337905
Color: D
Clarity: VVS2
Depth: 61.4%
Table: 55.8%
Light Performance: 0
Polish: 0
Symmetry: 0
Girdle: Thin to medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Negligible
Measurements: 5.40*5.44*3.33

Crown Angle: 33.9°
Crown %: 14.90
Pavilion Angle: 40.9°
Pavilion %: 43.1THis image looks very pink to me, is this an indication of something wrong? Or just the quality of the picture....

Ideal Image from Website:

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 10/10/2009 1:04:14 PM
Author:DavR
Hello Everyone,

I am concerned a little about the red patch on the lower arrow, but again this I am very new at this.

i read somewhere that the computer generated aset on the report can sometimes be wonky
i dont think it is a cause for concern

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/10/2009 1:16:00 PM
Author: haagen_dazs

Date: 10/10/2009 1:04:14 PM
Author:DavR





Hello Everyone,

I am concerned a little about the red patch on the lower arrow, but again this I am very new at this.

i read somewhere that the computer generated aset on the report can sometimes be wonky
i dont think it is a cause for concern

This is right and often the case. I personally prefer actual ASET or Idealscope images to the computer generated ones, so if you could ask the vendor for either then that would be helpful. The proportions are excellent and it should be a super diamond.

The second also looks great, the image is slightly distorted or tilted and the lighting is uneven, but I can see enough to believe this is also an excellent diamond, the pink in the image is the result of lighting and is not of concern. I take it a colourless diamond of high clarity is your preference? Just to let you know you could lower both a bit if you wanted without visual sacrifice if the cut is excellent but this is of course a personal preference and if you prefer D VVS etc then that is absolutely fine!

Also if either of these are sold as hearts and arrows, do you have the hearts images for each please?

 

[DavR]

The first diamond is not being sold as a HOF diamond, but I was told that it would be considered one. The company does not have any other information about it, so I can not get an Ideal Scope or heart picture of it. As for the second one the hearts image is not online, but they are sending me one along with an ASET scan sometime early next week. What to you indicates that the picture is distotred/tilted and that it is not infact the diamond? Will the ASET image better represent the diamond?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/10/2009 1:52:05 PM
Author: DavR
The first diamond is not being sold as a HOF diamond, but I was told that it would be considered one. The company does not have any other information about it, so I can not get an Ideal Scope or heart picture of it. As for the second one the hearts image is not online, but they are sending me one along with an ASET scan sometime early next week. What to you indicates that the picture is distotred/tilted and that it is not infact the diamond? Will the ASET image better represent the diamond?

Ok, if the first diamond isn't sold as h&a then really no need for a hearts image although an actual Idealscope or ASET image would be useful.

I can see from the image of the second that it is distorted or tilted by looking at it and some of the arrow shafts are shorter which can happen in these cases, if you could make the image larger or link to the diamond's page if the image is uploaded there that would help to get a better idea - but I can see the lighting is uneven which is commonplace with these particular images.

 

[DavR]

Was not too sure about the rules on linking, but here is the link for the first stone:

http://www.bluenile.com/princess-diamond-1-carat-or-less-good-cut-g-color-si2-clarity_LD01533443#

I called BN twice to ask about images, but they said they can not do it.

and second:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1261610.asp

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/10/2009 2:29:50 PM
Author: DavR
Was not too sure about the rules on linking, but here is the link for the first stone:

http://www.bluenile.com/princess-diamond-1-carat-or-less-good-cut-g-color-si2-clarity_LD01533443#

I called BN twice to ask about images, but they said they can not do it.

and second:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/D-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1261610.asp

Ok, if it is from BN they won''t supply images, must be a glitch as the link says Princess diamond!

The JA diamond does look promising, as it is sold as h&a ask for the hearts image for the diamond, that will tell us more.

 

[DavR]

Wow, after reading through this thread again I noticed a ton of typing errors on my part, and even a repeat of my intro statement, so much for doing this on 4 hours of sleep....

I have thought a lot about the clarity and color grading and understand that if I lower either one, or both I can get a larger diamond. I am also fully aware that I most likely would not even see a difference between a D and an F in this size diamond, or the difference between VVS2 and a VS1. I have come to the conclusion that these differences represent some intrinsic value that even though my budget is very limited (2650 max for the stone) I can still buy a diamond that is nearly as 'perfect' as they come for a woman that is absolutely perfect, while still having a fairly nice sized stone.

Based on my searches it seems that my size ceiling while still maintaining an F color VS2 is ~.7 - .74 I do not feel like an increase from a .6 to a .7 (roughly .5mm more in diameter) justifies a downgrade in these characteristics. Hopefully my GF will feel the same, (this will be a huge surprise). Is a .6 carat a good size for a 4.5 finger size?

Of course I am new to all of this, and I am very fortunate to have stumbled onto this place while doing all of my research and welcome as much feedback as possible.

I just noticed the typo in the BN link; it works so all is good heh.

I really like the fact that JA can provide all of the documentation and tests necessary to have an educated purchase, so I am probably going to choose the second one if the ASET and hearts images look good to me and everyone here. Should I request an updated ideal scope to make sure that it is in fact a mechanical issue with the picture and not the diamond, or will the Aset imaging be enough to clarify any misgivings?

Thanks,
D

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/11/2009 3:17:27 AM
Author: DavR

Wow, after reading through this thread again I noticed a ton of typing errors on my part, and even a repeat of my intro statement, so much for doing this on 4 hours of sleep....

I have thought a lot about the clarity and color grading and understand that if I lower either one, or both I can get a larger diamond. I am also fully aware that I most likely would not even see a difference between a D and an F in this size diamond, or the difference between VVS2 and a VS1. I have come to the conclusion that these differences represent some intrinsic value that even though my budget is very limited (2650 max for the stone) I can still buy a diamond that is nearly as ''perfect'' as they come for a woman that is absolutely perfect, while still having a fairly nice sized stone.
Absolutely right, also an F colour is still colourless and VS clarity high quality, but as you say it would indeed make more of the budget so you could get a larger diamond.

Based on my searches it seems that my size ceiling while still maintaining an F color VS2 is ~.7 - .74 I do not feel like an increase from a .6 to a .7 (roughly .5mm more in diameter) justifies a downgrade in these characteristics. Hopefully my GF will feel the same, (this will be a huge surprise). Is a .6 carat a good size for a 4.5 finger size? .6ct is a good size although with these size diamonds small increases are more noticeable than with larger stones, but whatever you decide .6ct is a lovely size.

Of course I am new to all of this, and I am very fortunate to have stumbled onto this place while doing all of my research and welcome as much feedback as possible.

I just noticed the typo in the BN link; it works so all is good heh.

I really like the fact that JA can provide all of the documentation and tests necessary to have an educated purchase, so I am probably going to choose the second one if the ASET and hearts images look good to me and everyone here. Should I request an updated ideal scope to make sure that it is in fact a mechanical issue with the picture and not the diamond, or will the Aset imaging be enough to clarify any misgivings? JA only supply ASET for fancy shapes, you could ask them if they could look at the diamond to make sure of the optical symmetry and if the IS image is tilted ( looks like it to me) but ask them to get reassurance. The hearts image is the next step as the hearts are critical for judging a h&a diamond, so very important to get that image.

Thanks,
D

 

[DavR]

Due to it being the weekend I have not gotten any updated pictures, but I have found some much larger images of the diamond from using the pricewatch comparison search. Hopefully I will have more to update tomorrow or tuesday.

Here is the link to the actual diamond http://www.jamesallen.com/diampics/B205-257PIC.JPG

and here is a larger version of the idealscope:

 

[DavR]

I think I have eliminated the first AGS diamond (from BN) due to the lack of information I could obtain for it but have found a BN signature that seems to compete fairly well with the JA diamond

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-d-color-vs1-clarity_LD01395984

Color: D
Clarity: VS1
Depth: 61.6%
Table: 55%
Polish: EX
Symmetry: EX
Girdle: Thin to medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 5.42*5.46*3.35
Crown Angle: 34.5°
Crown %: 15.0
Pavilion Angle: 40.8°
Pavilion %: 43

These are advertised to have the hearts and arrows. Attached is the only documentation (besides the GIA) report that demonstrates both the heart pattern and the light output. I have actually downloaded the certificate from the GCal website, but due to the lamination it is not easy to make out all of the details. In everyones opinion how does this diamond rate with regard to the .595 carot JA diamond as they are essentially the same price.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/12/2009 12:16:54 AM
Author: DavR
Due to it being the weekend I have not gotten any updated pictures, but I have found some much larger images of the diamond from using the pricewatch comparison search. Hopefully I will have more to update tomorrow or tuesday.

Here is the link to the actual diamond http://www.jamesallen.com/diampics/B205-257PIC.JPG

and here is a larger version of the idealscope:

This diamond looks great.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/12/2009 12:32:58 AM
Author: DavR

I think I have eliminated the first AGS diamond (from BN) due to the lack of information I could obtain for it but have found a BN signature that seems to compete fairly well with the JA diamond

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-d-color-vs1-clarity_LD01395984

Color: D
Clarity: VS1
Depth: 61.6%
Table: 55%
Polish: EX
Symmetry: EX
Girdle: Thin to medium
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 5.42*5.46*3.35
Crown Angle: 34.5°
Crown %: 15.0
Pavilion Angle: 40.8°
Pavilion %: 43

These are advertised to have the hearts and arrows. Attached is the only documentation (besides the GIA) report that demonstrates both the heart pattern and the light output. I have actually downloaded the certificate from the GCal website, but due to the lamination it is not easy to make out all of the details. In everyones opinion how does this diamond rate with regard to the .595 carot JA diamond as they are essentially the same price.

This diamond looks good but no way to judge it accurately without clear images, the photomicrographs BN provides I don't find very useful personally.

 

[DavR]

I have finally gotten the heart image for the .595 diamond. I was told that the diamond wasn''t perfectly tangent when they took this picture because the hearts tips at 9:00 don''t line up. Is this still a great buy at 2620 or should I move on to a different one.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/13/2009 1:14:33 PM
Author: DavR
I have finally gotten the heart image for the .595 diamond. I was told that the diamond wasn't perfectly tangent when they took this picture because the hearts tips at 9:00 don't line up. Is this still a great buy at 2620 or should I move on to a different one.

Yes the image/ hearts are off, if having a h&a diamond is important to you with very precise patterning, I would ask them if they could retake the image.

 

[stone-cold11]

Ditto Lorelei.

 

[DavR]

I went ahead and asked them to retake it, it will probably be sometime tomorrow before they do it.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/13/2009 1:56:15 PM
Author: DavR
I went ahead and asked them to retake it, it will probably be sometime tomorrow before they do it.

Ok, sounds good.

 

[DavR]

The service at JA is amazing, the new heart image is in, they say it is verty slightly tilted but overall a much better image. Thoughts, opinions? I notice one arrow extends into the middle, but I am not sure of what that means.

 

[DavR]

for easy comparision with IS:

 

[stone-cold11]

Looks good, but depends on how anal you want to ensure you are getting a H&A.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/13/2009 4:39:26 PM
Author: DavR
The service at JA is amazing, the new heart image is in, they say it is verty slightly tilted but overall a much better image. Thoughts, opinions? I notice one arrow extends into the middle, but I am not sure of what that means.

It is a better image but still some disparity with the hearts can be seen, but as SC says it depends on how strict your standards are - its a great diamond and excellently cut, the optical symmetry is a little off possibly as shown by the hearts but that is something that you won't be seeing once you have the diamond and its set in a ring. You can read more here on how hearts and arrows are graded.

 

[DavR]

It is close enough and the combination of cut, quality, and size excedes any of the diamonds I have looked at with my budget of 2700. I have gone ahead and ordered it so I should be getting it in tomorrow. I will go ahead and test drive it tomorrow when I get it, and take some pictures for the site. Is there anything I should really keep an eye out for?

D

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/14/2009 12:51:35 PM
Author: DavR
It is close enough and the combination of cut, quality, and size excedes any of the diamonds I have looked at with my budget of 2700. I have gone ahead and ordered it so I should be getting it in tomorrow. I will go ahead and test drive it tomorrow when I get it, and take some pictures for the site. Is there anything I should really keep an eye out for?

D

Congrats!!

Just take it out and give it a good test drive in as many different lighting conditions as you can, try under a tree and watch the sun hit the diamond through it - this is one of my favourite places to view diamonds as you can get some lovely fire, plain daylight, with the sunlight behind you and lighting inside the house. Just enjoy the show and make sure the diamond is pleasing to you, it is a very well cut stone!

 

[DavR]

After a failed attempt to get any decent pictures inside I took the diamond outside and have had great success (I think) getting images of the fire.

Thoughts?

 

[DavR]

another...

 

[DavR]

and one more.. it seems they have zoomed in a lot, after i trimmed the image, sorry for the bad resolution.

 

[DavR]

Dim lighting next to a window.

 

[stone-cold11]

Congrats, looks good to me. How do you like it?