Diamond Advice - Pls Help

[cadycat]

Hi everyone,

I''m new to PS but have been lurking around for a few months checking things out - I am in the market for some 10th anniversary upgraded bling

. I have the following diamonds scoped out and would love to get anyone''s feedback which would be the best (and why):

#1: http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00429827

#2: http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00987501

#3: http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00376642

#4: http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00982857


I also have this diamond to consider - here''s some of the information, let me know what else you would need - I''ve got the GIA report to work off of...

Weight: 2.01
Color: G
Clarity: VS2
Depth: 59.2%
Table: 61%
Measurements: 8.24 - 8.31x4.90mm
Girdle: thin to slightly thick, faceted
Culet: very small
Fluorescence: None
Polish: VG
Symmetry: G

Any thoughts? opinions? emotional outbursts?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[strmrdr]

short answer cuz of lack of time.

I wouldnt go with any of them.

Start plugging some specs into the search by cut above and you will find better diamonds.

 

[cadycat]

Thanks - will do...When you have a second, can you provide some perspective on why not? Thanks again!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You might want to read the section on cut under the knoweldge part of this site. Also, go to the Good Old Gold site and look at their tutorial on the 4 C''s. You''ll learn that cut is the most important factor in a beautiful diamond. I just glanced at a couple of those links, and the cuts were not great. Some of the PriceScope vendors specialize in top quality cut, so you have a more sure chance to get a great diamond at a fair price.

Tell us your budget and any preferences and perhaps a few people might post you some examples of great stones.

 

[jaz464]

You will need the crown and pavillion angles. BN is not one of my favorite vendors because they don''t provide enough info on the diamonds they sell.

 

[whatmeworry]

Hi Cadycat, welcome to Pricescope!

Of the four BN stones you listed, I like #2 the best, because of the crown/pavillion angle combo. You can use the Holloway Cut Advisor (at the top of the page) to help you as you go along. Good luck and congrats on your 10th anniversary!

 

[cadycat]

Thanks everyone for the feedback - I''m learning so much, so thanks for that...OK spending some time on the cut advisor and doing a cut quality search...here''s what I''ve got to work with.. From a budget standpoint I would like to stay under 24-25K.

#1: http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/diamond_Details.aspx?itemcode=GIA-15123570

#2: http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00376642

#3: http://www.bluenile.com/diamonds_details.asp?pid=LD00987501


Can an SI1 diamond be eye clean (one of my major concerns) - and can cut and color compensate at all for SI1 vs VS2?

I''m such a diamond newbie and appreciate all your help!

 

[whatmeworry]

Hi Cady, if you told this board what you are looking for in terms of color/size/and clarity it would help. It looks like you are looking at G color or higher, SI1 (eye-clean) or higher, and at least 2 carats for 25k?

Yes, an SI1 can be eye-clean but if you have eagle eyes you should probably see the stone in person. Lots of folks here have said that their SI1s are eye-clean.

As far as grading goes, cut and color wont really affect the clarity grade because grading is done at 10x magnification. But some folks say that the brilliance of a well cut diamond will make the inclusions harder to see.

My comments on your choices. The dilemma of online shopping is you can''t see all your choices to compare at the same time but somehow you must choose based on paper.

#1. This is an interesting stone and has been discussed in another post. It has excellent proportions yet only gets a GIA cut grade of Very Good because of "brillianteering". GIA''s top cut grade is Excellent and Very Good is one grade below. There are many posts discussing whether GIA''s deduction for "brillianteering" (see painting/digging). This is a contentious issue to say the least. I would not dismiss this particular stone because of that GIA deduction. In fact, I prefer this over the other 2 but I would call Whiteflash to discuss this very issue if you are interested in this one.

#2 This is a 60/60 stone (because the table/depth are close to 60/60). Again you can find many posts here discussing 60/60 stones versus Tolkowsky ideal proportions. While this does have great Cut Advisor scores, I would rather see the "x" in the Cut advisor inside the outline of the white box, inside the AGS0 candidate box. As a warning, when you read the number from the GIA certificates and put them into the cut advisor, the numbers are not as accurate as you would believe because of rounding. So think of the results as ballpark. For example, GIA will list a 34.3 crown angle and a 34.7 crown angle as 34.5. So that 34.5 you are entering in could be something else. A Sarin report will also give a more accurate reading on the angles.

#3. This gets the highest GIA cut grade of "Excellent", yet only has a Very Good/Very Good for Polish/Symmetry. I just think that if you are getting the highest cut grade the Polish/Symmetry should be Excellent as well. Having said that, I know that I wouldn''t be able to visually discern a Very Good Symmetry from an Excellent. So it''s a paper thing, as is the case when choosing online diamonds.

Good luck on your search and your upgrade!

 

[cadycat]

Thanks whatmeworry - your information was very helpful.

To answer your question re: what I am looking for...I''m looking for a well cut diamond that''s E, F,or G in color, 1.75 to 2.00 carats (closer to 2, or 2 is ideal) and is eye clean - thinking this would at least be VS2 or above, but I would take an SI1 if it was eye clean. From a budget standpoint, I would like to stay under 25k - the more under the better

I''ve looked at Whiteflash and Blue Nile predominantly. When checking Good Old Gold recently, I didn''t find anything the last time that fit the parameters.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 6/28/2006 12:46:09 PM
Author: jazmine
You will need the crown and pavillion angles. BN is not one of my favorite vendors because they don''t provide enough info on the diamonds they sell.

Actually, they''ve gotten better in that they are including grading reports more consistently, and since GIA added cut grade proportion information onto their reports, more stones actually have all the data one needs.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 6/29/2006 9:10:00 AM
Author: cadycat
Thanks whatmeworry - your information was very helpful.

To answer your question re: what I am looking for...I''m looking for a well cut diamond that''s E, F,or G in color, 1.75 to 2.00 carats (closer to 2, or 2 is ideal) and is eye clean - thinking this would at least be VS2 or above, but I would take an SI1 if it was eye clean. From a budget standpoint, I would like to stay under 25k - the more under the better

I''ve looked at Whiteflash and Blue Nile predominantly. When checking Good Old Gold recently, I didn''t find anything the last time that fit the parameters.

Please make a phone call to Good Old Gold and tell them your parameters. They have access to more stones than they list on the site! Jonathan is looking for a stone for me now. By all means with your budget, I wouldn''t consider going below VS. People on a strict budget might need to get an SI stone, but I see no reason for you to sacrifice clarity or color with that budget. Jonathan would be able to find you a stone with excellent cut and the other features you want.

 

[cadycat]

Thanks diamondseeker, I sent something off to Jonathan this morning to see what he can find. I''m in a little bit of a time crunch, so hopefully what I''m looking for is not that difficult to find (although it seems like it is - but that''s more than likely because of the timing). If I am honest, the idea of going to SI1 does make me a little nervous, especially knowing I would be more than likely purchasing online (which for buying diamonds is a first for me).

Thanks again for your response!