Deciding Between Two Diamonds. Please help ASAP!

[jl_minicooper]

Hi All,

I am relatively new to the diamond-buying process, but I have spent some time reading various threads in this forum, as well as other websites online.

I am stuck between two stones, and I''m purchasing one of them tomorrow!

1.63 - G - SI2 - GIA Certified
Cut Grade: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
(Sorry, no other information available at the moment)

1.80 - F - SI1 - EGL Certified
Cut Grade: Excellent
Total Depth: 60.8%
Table Width: 58%
Crown Height: 13%, Crown Angle: 32.5
Pavillion Depth: 44%
Girdle Thickness: Medium, Faceted
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Excellent
"Excellent Ideal Cut" - (whatever that means..)

The 1.80 F SI1 will be a couple hundred dollars more than the GIA, but I do like the size. My main concern is buying an EGL stone. Please provide any insight. Thanks!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/16/2010 8:37:29 PM
Author:jl_minicooper
Hi All,

I am relatively new to the diamond-buying process, but I have spent some time reading various threads in this forum, as well as other websites online.

I am stuck between two stones, and I''m purchasing one of them tomorrow!

1.63 - G - SI2 - GIA Certified
Cut Grade: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
(Sorry, no other information available at the moment)

1.80 - F - SI1 - EGL Certified
Cut Grade: Excellent
Total Depth: 60.8%
Table Width: 58%
Crown Height: 13%, Crown Angle: 32.5
Pavillion Depth: 44%
Girdle Thickness: Medium, Faceted
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Excellent
''Excellent Ideal Cut'' - (whatever that means..)

The 1.80 F SI1 will be a couple hundred dollars more than the GIA, but I do like the size. My main concern is buying an EGL stone. Please provide any insight. Thanks!

The EGL diamond is not actually higher in color than the GIA, since EGL grades color and even clarity on a different scale than does GIA. The diamond from EGL may be 2 or more grades lower in color and clarity. But you cannot know for sure. So generally I do not recommend EGL stones unless someone has them appraised by a skilled independent apraiser who can estimate the GIA cut grade, thereby allowing you to determine its actual value on the market.

But besides all that, the EGL stone is not well cut.

When you get the information from the GIA cert let us know! Can''t say much more until then!

 

[jl_minicooper]

Hi Dreamer,

What makes the EGL stone not well cut? I do prefer medium girdles, but what else should I be looking for?

Also, the jeweler does not have the certification in for the GIA, but I''m assuming he could get it in shortly? He is willing to sell me the GIA stone for $9,700.

The EGL stone is priced at $10,100.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 3/16/2010 8:47:12 PM
Author: jl_minicooper
Hi Dreamer,

What makes the EGL stone not well cut? I do prefer medium girdles, but what else should I be looking for?

Also, the jeweler does not have the certification in for the GIA, but I''m assuming he could get it in shortly? He is willing to sell me the GIA stone for $9,700.

The EGL stone is priced at $10,100.

the bottom half is too deep at 44% and the top half is too flat at 13%....JMO

 

[Firestone]

EGLs are not reliable. I wouldn''t consider purchasing a stone with EGL certification. If the other stone is GIA certified, then the jeweler knows the exact GIA number and can give the number to you to look it up. There is no excuse for a jeweler not providing you with a GIA certificate.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 3/16/2010 8:47:12 PM
Author: jl_minicooper
Hi Dreamer,

What makes the EGL stone not well cut? I do prefer medium girdles, but what else should I be looking for?

Also, the jeweler does not have the certification in for the GIA, but I''m assuming he could get it in shortly? He is willing to sell me the GIA stone for $9,700.

The EGL stone is priced at $10,100.

The angles and proportions of the diamond are not compatible to create the best light return. It will not sparkle and be as bright as you want. Cut matters above all else with diamonds. Without that information, the rest is meaningless to me, and to many other PSers. I already told you why I do not think EGL is a good lab, its up to you if that matters to you. Diamonds of those specs graded by WGL range from $8500 to $10000 using the PS search tool, above.

As a note, girdles are really not all that important to assessing cut quality. It is the combination of the table and depth, along with the crown and pavilion angles that matter.

To check whether those angles are compatible, use this tool: http://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp Plug the information in and see what the score is. Anything over 2 should be rejected as being incompatible angles. Anything undr 2 is worth considering further.

Don''t buy a diamond without a cert, and without seeing the cert in first. It is like buying a car from some dude on the side of the road. You don''t know what you are getting

 

[jl_minicooper]

Thank you everyone for all of your replies! I received a copy of the certification for the GIA diamond. Please tell me what you all think! I would really prefer an SI1, but I''m sure it''ll be much, much more.

Carat Weight: 1.63 carat
Color Grade: G
Clarity Grade: SI2
Cut Grade: Excellent

Measurements: 7.51 - 7.57 x 4.68 mm

Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None

62.1% depth, 56% table, 34.5° crown angle, 41° pavilion angle
-Comes out to a 1.9 Total Visual Performance in the calculator.

Thanks in advance!

 

[stone-cold11]

can you post the GIA report number?

 

[Lula]

Date: 3/17/2010 7:57:01 PM
Author: jl_minicooper
Thank you everyone for all of your replies! I received a copy of the certification for the GIA diamond. Please tell me what you all think! I would really prefer an SI1, but I'm sure it'll be much, much more.


Carat Weight: 1.63 carat

Color Grade: G

Clarity Grade: SI2

Cut Grade: Excellent


Measurements: 7.51 - 7.57 x 4.68 mm


Polish: Excellent

Symmetry: Excellent

Fluorescence: None


62.1% depth, 56% table, 34.5° crown angle, 41° pavilion angle

-Comes out to a 1.9 Total Visual Performance in the calculator.


Thanks in advance!

Hi, JL, this stone could be just fine. Can you post the lower half number from the report? Or if the report the jeweler sent you has a diagram of the diamond with numbers on it, see this tutorial about how to find the lower half number on the GIA diagram.

lower halves

 

[jl_minicooper]

Proportions:

Depth: 62.1%
Table: 56%
Crown Angle: 34.5°
Crown Height: 15.0%
Pavilion Angle: 41.0°
Pavilion Depth: 43.5%
Star length: 50%
Lower Half: 80%
Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted (3.5%)
Culet: None

 

[Lula]

Date: 3/17/2010 8:30:15 PM
Author: jl_minicooper
Proportions:


Depth: 62.1%

Table: 56%

Crown Angle: 34.5°

Crown Height: 15.0%

Pavilion Angle: 41.0°

Pavilion Depth: 43.5%

Star length: 50%

Lower Half: 80%

Girdle: Medium to Slightly Thick, Faceted (3.5%)

Culet: None

Thanks, JL.
80% for the lower half means that this stone has good potential. There are a lot of old threads in the Pricescope archives about lower half numbers, if you want to learn more about this. But what matters for you tomorrow is that this stone is worth considering. I''m assuming you''ll get to see this stone in person tomorrow, so just make sure to look at it in all lighting conditions, not just the lights around the jewelry cases. Hold it below the case, where the lighting is dim and check to see if the stone stays bright. Look at it in daylight, too. And what I like to do is make a "tube" by curling my fingers into a circle, and holding my hand over the diamond. This is a quick way to shut out all of the light coming from the sides of the stone, so you can observe how much light the stone is reflecting out of the top of the stone. Sounds weird, I know, but it works. You''ll want to see if the stone goes "dark" in the middle under any lighting conditions. Good luck!