Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or Jam

[pearaffair]

I'm wondering if there is a chance a person could look at the numbers, pay attention, get as much data as they can... could they select a stone that performs almost as well as a Whiteflash ACA? I don't love the ring setting options on Whiteflash, so that's why I'm curious if Blue Nile or James Allen could work.

 

[bmfang]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

I think it is possible, but it requires a lot more work. With Whiteflash and the other super-ideal vendors, a lot of that information is already provided to you on the listings whereas with BN or JA, you'll have to source the IS or ASET imagery after you narrow things down first.

Having said that, a lot of BN's Signature Ideals don't have good as good hearts images compared with JA's super ideals or the other super ideal vendors. That's just based off what one can see in the GCAL report. Again, just my 2c worth.

 

[ac117]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

Pearaffair, here is a very helpful link that has a lot of info from gypsy on this topic. This thread in particular is what led me to search for a top performing GIA XXX stone when upgrading bc the super ideal price point was way over budget for the size I was looking for: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/likelihood-of-finding-a-signature-super-ideal-diamond.174235/

Yssie, a top member here on PS, hunted and ordered an amazing 4ct stone from BN and was thrilled - specs and images on pg 14 (middle of pg) [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/lets-talk-branded-pieces-yssie-ds-and-all-other-fans.213919/page-14']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/lets-talk-branded-pieces-yssie-ds-and-all-other-fans.213919/page-14[/URL] and more real life pics on pg 15.

 

[bunnycat]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

I'm wondering if there is a chance a person could look at the numbers, pay attention, get as much data as they can... could they select a stone that performs almost as well as a Whiteflash ACA? I don't love the ring setting options on Whiteflash, so that's why I'm curious if Blue Nile or James Allen could work.

You also ought to be able to order a setting from JA and send it to WF to have a stone set. Double check, but I can't see why not. You just want to have the people you are getting the stone from to set the stone.

Or, like me the first time, I bought a stone from one place, a setting from another, and a local jeweler set it...no big deal.

 

[ChristineRose]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

I think it likely that Whiteflash can get you most settings Blue Nile or James Allen can. Is it an exclusive?

 

[whitewave]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

Stick with blue nile signature and run through ACA. You have a 30 day return period.

Now some things you just have to have ACA for... like I will buy an ACA 3 prong tennis bracelet.

I tried taking pics of my BN signature studs, but they are .42 each so.... I'll post anyway but remember how hard it is to take pics of diamonds ... they are color E and VS2

And please excuse my terrible fingernails! Digging in clay for diamonds really dries out the nail bed...

 

[whitewave]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

I'm wondering if there is a chance a person could look at the numbers, pay attention, get as much data as they can... could they select a stone that performs almost as well as a Whiteflash ACA? I don't love the ring setting options on Whiteflash, so that's why I'm curious if Blue Nile or James Allen could work.

You also ought to be able to order a setting from JA and send it to WF to have a stone set. Double check, but I can't see why not. You just want to have the people you are getting the stone from to set the stone.

Or, like me the first time, I bought a stone from one place, a setting from another, and a local jeweler set it...no big deal.

Yes, I would call whiteflash and see what they can do for you.

 

[whitewave]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

Let me show you this so you can see that my blue nile signature studs aren't hearts and arrows:

 

[wildcat03]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

I have three gorgeous diamond from Blue Nile that rivals the 2 ACAs I've seen. I did pick a dud originally, though. I would say that if you are going to pick a diamond blindly from Blue Nile, stick to a depth in the 60-62.3 range, Pavilion 40.8, Crown 34.5, table 55-57. This really leaves very few Blue Nile stones, but the 3 I have picked that way have been absolutely gorgeous. The largest of the three (0.71) is truly the most beautiful stone I've ever seen!

 

[whitewave]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

Right. Its a lot of work finding a blue nile diamond with good numbers and HCA. I checked one last night and it was a 6 HCA!!!

 

[kmarla]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

I just wanted to make sure you know that Whiteflash can order you any setting from any of the designers they carry. You're not limited to only the settings they have posted on their site. Best of luck!

 

[Niel]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

what setting do you like?

 

[pearaffair]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

Wow, you guys have taught me so much already! I'm a really big planner, so essentially as I amass my diamond-buying fund, I like to plan out where I will purchase from. I would like to get a high-performing diamond, and I think ACA or CBI could be the top of the line. Great to know that I have more setting options than I had previously thought.

Thanks for linking me to the other thread ac117! And to gypsy for making that thread! And to whitewave for the pics! And to everyone else for the helpful advice

I love PS

 

[whitewave]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

High performance diamonds has CBI.

 

[marcy]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

I think you can find a great diamond anywhere if you look through a lot of them but IMHO spending a few more dollars to get a super ideal like ACA or CBI is worth it. The most important thing is you love the diamond you end up with for your ring.

 

[mrs-b]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

Hi Pearaffair

I wanted to add some photos of my non-Signature cut stone, bought from the BN site. I've explained this a bunch of times, but it bears repeating: the ONLY difference between the BN sig cuts and other stones listed on their site is that the Sig stones are cut in the US by BN. The other listed stones are cut by various cutters around the world. This does not make them automatically a better or worse cut stone. They have to be checked individually to work that out. I set narrow specs for my (dozens of) Blue Nile diamonds so I give myself the best chance of getting the best stones I can find. Here is my 3.61ct I VS2 stone, which I wear as my e-ring. Its hearts and arrows are glorious!

By the way, BN Sig cut stones OFTEN have a 35.5% crown angle. 34.5 stones are out there, but look around till you find one. There are also a reasonable number of AGS triple 0 stones on the BN site. Just search till you find what you want; their stock is changing continuously.

ETA I just wanted to disagree with the above poster that it's difficult to find a lot of stones with great cut specs on BN. This is incorrect. There are HEAPS of diamonds with great stats on BN - but there's a lot of diamonds in general - so make sure you enter in the right parameters on the filters.

The ones I use are ex/sig ideal cut, ex pol, ex sym, depth - 60.5 - 62.1, table - 55-57. That will cut out most of the ones you wouldn't want. Then just click through them one at a time; personally, I tend to look for a depth in the 61-61.8 range, table as close to 56 as I can get (this is personal preference), pavilion angle of 40.6-40.8 and crown angle 34-34.5. If it's a huge bargain I might push the crown angle to 35 and the pavilion angle to 41 (not both at the one time; I'll compromise on only one of these at a time in the one diamond). Then I check the combo against the HCA. Then I look for a video - BN is aiming to have video for every diamond in the near future. If not, I ask for a photo. If not, I tend to just go by the specs and ask them to get whoever is holding it to eyeball it for me; the feedback I've received this way has always been very honest. There are THOUSANDS of great diamonds on the BN site. Just look.....

 

[gm89uk]

Re: Could you get a diamond that looks ACA from Blue Nile or

Hi Pearaffair

I wanted to add some photos of my non-Signature cut stone, bought from the BN site. I've explained this a bunch of times, but it bears repeating: the ONLY difference between the BN sig cuts and other stones listed on their site is that the Sig stones are cut in the US by BN. The other listed stones are cut by various cutters around the world. This does not make them automatically a better or worse cut stone. They have to be checked individually to work that out. I set narrow specs for my (dozens of) Blue Nile diamonds so I give myself the best chance of getting the best stones I can find. Here is my 3.61ct I VS2 stone, which I wear as my e-ring. Its hearts and arrows are glorious!

By the way, BN Sig cut stones OFTEN have a 35.5% crown angle. 34.5 stones are out there, but look around till you find one. There are also a reasonable number of AGS triple 0 stones on the BN site. Just search till you find what you want; their stock is changing continuously.

ETA I just wanted to disagree with the above poster that it's difficult to find a lot of stones with great cut specs on BN. This is incorrect. There are HEAPS of diamonds with great stats on BN - but there's a lot of diamonds in general - so make sure you enter in the right parameters on the filters.

The ones I use are ex/sig ideal cut, ex pol, ex sym, depth - 60.5 - 62.1, table - 55-57. That will cut out most of the ones you wouldn't want. Then just click through them one at a time; personally, I tend to look for a depth in the 61-61.8 range, table as close to 56 as I can get (this is personal preference), pavilion angle of 40.6-40.8 and crown angle 34-34.5. If it's a huge bargain I might push the crown angle to 35 and the pavilion angle to 41 (not both at the one time; I'll compromise on only one of these at a time in the one diamond). Then I check the combo against the HCA. Then I look for a video - BN is aiming to have video for every diamond in the near future. If not, I ask for a photo. If not, I tend to just go by the specs and ask them to get whoever is holding it to eyeball it for me; the feedback I've received this way has always been very honest. There are THOUSANDS of great diamonds on the BN site. Just look.....

Out of curiosity, why do you prefer 34/34.5 compared to 35 crown? Is it your preference to a brighter diamond or do you just find them to be more likely to be better cut?

I stumbled across this FSI1 while helping a friend look for a diamond. This is a 36/40.6 57 table with 61.8. This was NOT a superideal and just found in virtual inventory, extremely well priced for the specs (and deemed eye clean)




The hearts are not perfect with slight clefts but I think most would agree they're pretty good! Slight increased gap at 9oclock and you may be disappointed if your superideal H&A looked like this. As the ASET shows, excellent arrows and edge to edge brightness with no painting or digging to my eyes. Ever so slight reduced light return at 2oclock, not discernible to the human eye. Could people tell the difference between this and a superideal without a loupe? I'd think for the majority it would be no, but the saving is in the region of 4 to 5
thousand dollars for this ~1.5.

I think a lot of 35.5/36 crowns are excluded but have every potential to be just as pretty with more fire than their shallower crowned counterparts. The excess fire may translate into slightly less brightness as is such for FIC but it's merely a different personality rather than inferiority.

Personally I'd only consider a superideal if I'm in a rush, or I require a flexible upgrade policy as is often the case with super ideals (not all). I think with patience and persistence you can get pretty close to perfect without the price tag.