Diamond Check

[Anthony_E]

Hello All,

First, I'd like to thank everyone on this site. While this is my first post, I've been spending a lot of time on here trying to educate myself. my GF and I finally viewed some stones in person yesterday. I originally wanted to stay around a G or better on color. I discovered that a) she's not at all color sensitive; she could barely make out a difference between a well cut I and a well cut F; and b) whereas I was color sensitive, being able to discern between an G and H, I actually prefer to warmer tones of the lower rates stones. Of the ones we looked at, our favorite was a GIA Excellent 1.7 carat stone with a sub 2.0 HCA. With this new information in mind, I refined my search parameters and even opened things up to include Js. I have a few candidates, but this is the most promising on paper (in my very, very green opinion).

Carat: 2.0
Cut: GIA Ideal
Color: J
Clarity: VS2
Flouro: Strong Blue
HCA: 0.6 (triple excellent)
Dimensions: 8.12-8.15 X 4.97 mm

Price ~$11,500

Any immediate issues jump out with this stone? Like I mentioned, I have a few other contenders in mind, but this is the most promising.
, especially when factoring in price. I want to be under $15k with the setting, and this gives me a lot of room to work. Even with her preferring size over color/clarity, this seems like a good deal. I'm open to SI1, but I haven't found anything much larger in this range.

TIA. All feedback is very much appreciated. And I also apologize in advance for any typos. I'm typing this on my phone while hoping my boss doesn't walk by.

 

[Snowdrop13]

I just had a very quick look at a couple of vendors online and the price seems quite low, maybe it's the SB fluorescence. Have you seen the stone? Is it online?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Very good that you are researching and learning how to buy a well cut stone before buying! It is also great that you are finding out HER preferences!

We'll need to see the measurements of that stone: table, depth, crown angle, pavilion angle to give you an opinion on the stone.

 

[Anthony_E]

Thanks for the replies. No, I have not seen the stone in person; I found it online. And I agree with the comment regarding th price...that's why I'm a bit cautious with the stone. FWIW, I found this through a mainstream vendor and not a PS vendor. Whereas it appears the latter assesses a small premium to lower color stones with high flouro, the same doesn't hold true with the former. They see SB fluorescence and automatically discount the stone. But this is all just conjecture on my part.

Anyway, here are the specs.

Depth: 61.1
Table: 55.0
Crown: 34.0
Pavilion: 40.6

 

[Anthony_E]

While I have a thread open, I may as well ask about another diamond I came across...

Carats: 2.5
Color: J
Clarity: SI2
Cut: GIA Very Good
HCA: Under 2

Measurements: 8.63 X 8.65 X 5.34
Depth: 61.7
Table: 57
Crown: 35.5
Pavilion: 42.5

Despite the size, I'm still more interested in the first diamond I inquired about. My main concerns being that at the price they're asking, I can't imagine it's anywhere near eye clean and that with a stone this size, the lower color grade may be more obvious. I like the warmer look, but only to a certain extent. FWIW, it's priced below the first one...

 

[Anthony_E]

Any thoughts? I requested additional information and pictures of the 2.5, but I haven't heard back yet. Any other stones worth inquiring about? We discovered Leigh Jay Nacht today and we were both blown away. I'm super excited because I think a warmer stone will look brilliant in any of their settings, and it gives me more room with size.

 

[kenny]

HCA is a rejection tool, not an acceptance tool.
Why?
Because the crown and pavilion angles plugged into the HCA are actually averages of 8 numbers.

It's possible all 8 angles around the round diamond are the same (a good thing).
It's also possible they are all over the place but average out to that good average number (a bad thing).
This wonkiness would be revealed in an Idealscope picture.

Selecting a well cut round is s two-step process.
Step 1 is an HCA score under 2.0.
Step 2 is an Idealsocpe image. https://www.pricescope.com/tools/ideal-scope
Compare it to this chart or post it here for feedback.

http://ideal-scope.com/reference-chart-ideal-scope-images/



If your vendor will not provide a properly-taken IS pic either buy your own IS and only buy from a vendor with a good return policy or find a new vendor.

Next ensure that the strong fluorescense does not cause the diamond to become cloudy/milky in sunlight.
Next ensure there is not a comment on the GIA report that is of concern, such as clarity grade base don clouds not shown.

 

[Anthony_E]

Awesome information, thank you!

I've been using HCA as intended. Hopefully the vendor gets back to me soon. When (if) he does, I will update this thread with a picture. In the meantime, I'm having a LOT more fun with this entire process than I anticipated, so I'm in no real hurry to rush things. I'm already starting to look forward to sourcing diamonds for other pieces of jewelry after the e-ring is done, LOL.