Comparing 3 Diamonds- need help (poll and questions)

[roman182]

Hi all-

Pretty new, and looking for some general help on selecting a diamond. I am aware of the C's, and have narrowed my search down to the 5-6k price range and am specifically looking at the attached 3 diamonds.

1. Out of the 3, 2 of them have the 'hearts and arrows' not sure what the first one would look like- and if that is a big deal?
2. Also how do these stack up compared to a Tiffany's diamond, and the criteria they use?
3. Lastly- which would you select and why?

Thanks ahead of time for your help!
-Pete

 

[JulieN]

The hearts and arrows doesn't mean anything. The red pictures are just a stock image, not of the actual diamond. Don't buy EGL International.

For a 5-6K budget you're shooting for about 1 ct for the H VS/SI you are targeting. A 1.5 ct for 6000 will either be at least a K color or I1

 

[roman182]

Thank you for your quick reply! I realized I posted my range after a 1.1k discount I was receiving, so all of the diamonds were in fact in the 6-7k range. At the 6-7k range I found many diamonds listed with H, VS1,2SI1, and Excellent cut, which is where I selected the 3 diamonds attached.

For the hearts and arrows- I noticed the first certificate did not mention it at all, but the overall level of fiery, bright, scintillation levels were higher overall than the diamonds without the hearts and arrows listed on the certificate. I was wondering how this could be possible, or meaningful from a visual aspect at all- or just an artifact of the documentation.

 

[JulieN]

There is the PS database, you can pull prices from many online retailers. https://www.pricescope.com/diamond-search-results/

"We have 0 Round diamonds between 1.5-1.7 carat, $0-$7000, D-H color, FL-Sl1 clarity , Excellent-n/a HCA, labs: GIA, AGS"
"We have 7 Round diamonds between 1.5-1.7 carat, $0-$7000, D-I color, FL-Sl2 clarity, Excellent-n/a HCA, labs: GIA, AGS;" And all 7 are poorly cut

With the vendor you are using, are you able to select only GIA/AGS reports. EGL International is notoriously loose with their grading.

From a cut perspective, #1 is the best one. Ask the vendor what color and clarity they think GIA would grade it to be.

 

[roman182]

Wow! Thanks for this information- I would have never guessed that this grading system/certification was questionable...this is very insightful for buying diamonds online. The site I am using is http://www.genesisdiamonds.net/ which seemed legit..I will take your advice, and let you know my results!

 

[JulieN]

There is nothing wrong with buying a K/L/M or whatever lower color diamond, or a good SI2/I1. As long as you know what you are getting for your money. The problem with EGL International is that you have no idea what it is. Stick to GIA/AGS.