Diamond choice help please :)

[Mattehwsre]

Hello fellow PriceScopians! (can I say that?)

First of all I would like to thank all of the PriceScope community for being such a great place to learn from! I found PriceScope and have been reading, searching, and lurking for several weeks now (months maybe?) to try and figure out how to get the right ring and diamond for my special lady.

After searching through goodoldgold, blue nile, brian gavin, and James Allen I have decided to stick with James Allen and this setting:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/wedding-sets/18k-white-gold-bar-set-and-three-sided-pave-engagement-ring-.93ct-bar-set-and-pave-set-wedding-ring-item-5357

Things I have heard from her about rings is that she cares about having diamonds visible from the side, and she cares a lot about how the band looks by itself as she will probably only wear that while working. I think she will like this set.

Now for the diamonds. I have been spinning hundreds of diamonds for several days on the James Allen site (I really like the spin feature for the diamonds on their site). I have also been speaking with Erika who has been extremely helpful with everything, but I need to narrow down my diamond choices and was hoping I could get some help from all of you.

One of my initial top choice that I currently have on hold is this one:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-198649

In comparison I thought this diamond looks much whiter than several of the other G/H diamonds, but I am afraid that it might look a little cloudy in comparison and not have as much sparkle as some of the other choices (this is really hard to determine). I also noticed that it has a much lower sku number, which makes me think that this diamond might have been around for a while and there could be a reason others are not choosing it (I tend to over analyse things sometimes and this is probably one of them).

Here are the next 4 diamonds I have been considering and if possible I would like to know if there is one or two that stand out as some of the better choices and/or if there are some that I should stay away from (including the one mentioned above).

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-243093

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-241405

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-236584

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-227300


Also I thought I would share a really helpful Windows feature that has helped me a lot when comparing rocks. If you open 2 different diamonds in separate windows, you can hold down the WINDOWS key and press the LEFT arrow to fill the left side of the screen with one window/diamond and do the same with the RIGHT arrow when the other window/diamond is selected to fill the right side of the screen.

 

[mcosme]

I would like to recommend this one. It faces up the same size as the 0.8 carat you listed and is G color!
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.74-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-213413

And this one if eye clean
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.75-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-232599

 

[tyty333]

Did you run the numbers through the HCA tool?

 

[msop04]

James Allen setting:
http://www.jamesallen.com/engagement-rings/wedding-sets/18k-white-gold-bar-set-and-three-sided-pave-engagement-ring-.93ct-bar-set-and-pave-set-wedding-ring-item-5357

Things I have heard from her about rings is that she cares about having diamonds visible from the side, and she cares a lot about how the band looks by itself as she will probably only wear that while working. I think she will like this set.

Now for the diamonds. I have been spinning hundreds of diamonds for several days on the James Allen site (I really like the spin feature for the diamonds on their site).

One of my initial top choice that I currently have on hold is this one:
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-198649

First of all, I love the "spinning" comment! It made me think of a dj spinning records!

I think the stones you've picked out are pretty. Run the HCA calculator for all of them to make sure they're <2. I also wanted to commend you for taking your GF's requests into consideration -- there are so many men that simply go out and get what they like or let the salesperson pick everything, so GOOD FOR YOU!!

Is your GF set on a more substantial setting and band? The reason I ask is that you could spend more on the diamond and just get the blingy band, and she'd get a larger stone (which will look even bigger when in a more delicate setting) or a larger stone paired with a thinner setting and wband. Just a thought...

To be honest... I feel like that particular set, although very nice, will dwarf the center stone. It is a substantial, heavier look, so when the rings are put together with a 5.6-5.8 mm stone, I'm afraid all you would see would be the bands. If this is the looks she loves, then by all means get her what she wants. But I'd have her at least try on something with the same diameter bands and stone to see if she likes the proportions.

 

[Mattehwsre]

I would like to recommend this one. It faces up the same size as the 0.8 carat you listed and is G color!
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.74-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-213413

And this one if eye clean
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.75-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-232599

Thank you for sharing these, it does bring up a few more questions for me though:

I noticed both of these are "True HeartsTM Ideal", is there a huge preference for that over the "triple excellent"?

The first one that you recommended looks like it has an incision/feather in the middle of the table and the second one has a few incisions to the bottom right off of the table, would something like this have much of a difference? Would it be better to get a True Hearts cut with these marks and smaller sizes?

I have been trying to pick diamonds that have very un-noticeable marks on them, am I putting too much importance on this and should I be looking at other factors?

 

[msop04]

I would like to recommend this one. It faces up the same size as the 0.8 carat you listed and is G color!
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.74-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-213413
I think there is a good possibility this stone will be eye clean, as the inclusion is mostly white and very faint. Have JA look at it.

And this one if eye clean
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.75-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-232599

I noticed both of these are "True HeartsTM Ideal", is there a huge preference for that over the "triple excellent"?
I would not pay the premium for a H&A (branded) diamond. I'd try to find a XXX that just missed the mark for H&A. You will not be able to tell the difference. However, if you found one that happened to be H&A at the right price, then go for it!

The first one that you recommended looks like it has an incision/feather in the middle of the table and the second one has a few incisions to the bottom right off of the table, would something like this have much of a difference? Would it be better to get a True Hearts cut with these marks and smaller sizes? <------ NO. You will still see the inclusion just as you would in a XXX.

I have been trying to pick diamonds that have very un-noticeable marks on them, am I putting too much importance on this and should I be looking at other factors? A lot depends on the type of inclusion and where it is on the stone. Sometimes a VS2 inclusion can be seen if it's on the table and an SI2 will be eye clean if in the right spot.

 

[Mattehwsre]

Did you run the numbers through the HCA tool?

I have seen the HCA number come up in quite a few threads but glossed over it until now, I will dig further into this and learn more about HCA when I get home tonight and have some more time. Thank you for pointing this out

 

[msop04]

Did you run the numbers through the HCA tool?

I have seen the HCA number come up in quite a few threads but glossed over it until now, I will dig further into this and learn more about HCA when I get home tonight and have some more time. Thank you for pointing this out

Definitely read up on it... it's really handy to weed out stones based on projected light performance. You want a stone to be from 0-2. Here is a link to the HCA calculator on PS:

https://www.pricescope.com/tools/hca

 

[mcosme]

I would like to recommend this one. It faces up the same size as the 0.8 carat you listed and is G color!
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.74-carat-g-color-si1-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-213413

And this one if eye clean
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.75-carat-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-232599

Thank you for sharing these, it does bring up a few more questions for me though:

I noticed both of these are "True HeartsTM Ideal", is there a huge preference for that over the "triple excellent"?

The first one that you recommended looks like it has an incision/feather in the middle of the table and the second one has a few incisions to the bottom right off of the table, would something like this have much of a difference? Would it be better to get a True Hearts cut with these marks and smaller sizes?

I have been trying to pick diamonds that have very un-noticeable marks on them, am I putting too much importance on this and should I be looking at other factors?

branded H&A doesn't necessarily sparkle more or look better to the human eye
I wasn't able to find many that scored under 2.0 and might be eye clean except this one
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.73-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-223877

What's your budget and criteria?

Even though we can see the inclusion at 40x magnification they can often be eye clean when the inclusions are light in color. It's best to ask the vendor if it's eye clean by your standard (e.g. from 6 inches)

 

[Mattehwsre]

First of all, I love the "spinning" comment! It made me think of a dj spinning records!

I think the stones you've picked out are pretty. Run the HCA calculator for all of them to make sure they're <2. I also wanted to commend you for taking your GF's requests into consideration -- there are so many men that simply go out and get what they like or let the salesperson pick everything, so GOOD FOR YOU!!

Is your GF set on a more substantial setting and band? The reason I ask is that you could spend more on the diamond and just get the blingy band, and she'd get a larger stone (which will look even bigger when in a more delicate setting) or a larger stone paired with a thinner setting and wband. Just a thought...

To be honest... I feel like that particular set, although very nice, will dwarf the center stone. It is a substantial, heavier look, so when the rings are put together with a 5.6-5.8 mm stone, I'm afraid all you would see would be the bands. If this is the looks she loves, then by all means get her what she wants. But I'd have her at least try on something with the same diameter bands and stone to see if she likes the proportions.

Thank you for all of the responses and I am sorry it took me so long to respond, it has been hard for me to get some time away the last couple days to do some research without her knowing.

I have been doing a bunch of reading on the HCA and this was one of the easiest to understand pieces of material I found in another thread: http://www.diamond-cut.com.au/23_bicfic.htm
It seems like just looking at the Crown in the ranges listed in that ink and a pavilion around 40.5-41 are some of the easiest ways to roughly gauge if the stone will have a good HCA.

After running my previous selections through the HCA tool I have decided against them and have again started "spinning" several more stones.

I also noticed that it is really tough to find a diamond with color H in this range that is below 2.0 HCA (found a few between 2-3). When I change my criteria to include "I" color, I found several more options. Would it be worth it to Drop down to I and go for a < 2 HCA?

I completely agree with you in regards to the band being fairly heavy. It seems very much her style and her ring size is 4.5 so I am thinking that as long as I stick above a .7 stone (leaning closer to . should look pretty nice on her finger. (here is a .72 on this setting http://www.jamesallen.com/engagemen...amond-engagement-ring-item-98-purchased-10541). She also has mentioned that she likes when the diamonds go further around the band.

This set also seems very different and unique from what I have typically seen, and although it was more than I wanted to spend I think it is something she will really like. Basically finding this set has forced me to up my setting budget AND diamond budget, since this set probably wouldn't work out very well with a .5 carat.

branded H&A doesn't necessarily sparkle more or look better to the human eye
I wasn't able to find many that scored under 2.0 and might be eye clean except this one
http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.73-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-223877

What's your budget and criteria?

Even though we can see the inclusion at 40x magnification they can often be eye clean when the inclusions are light in color. It's best to ask the vendor if it's eye clean by your standard (e.g. from 6 inches)

My diamond budget has been inching up from 3000 to 3500 (and there is some wiggle room for the perfect stone)

here is my typical filtering criteria:
Color: H+ (trying to decided if I should consider I)
Clarity: VS2+ (Some SI1's still look good and have been considered)
Carat: .7+
Cut,Polish,Symmetry: Triple Excellent

and now it seems like HCA < 2.0


Also thank you again and I am sorry it took me so long to respond, here is my current list of Diamonds being considered (Notice they are mostly I).

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-h-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-244582
HCA 2.3

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-224827
HCA 2.5

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-149526
HCA 1.9

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-i-color-vs1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-189330
HCA 1.1

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-245246
HCA 1.6

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-dia...i-color-vvs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-184079
HCA 0.9

http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.77-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-sku-243443
HCA 1.1

Please let me know from your expert point of views if any of these stand out as "what are you waiting for, that diamond is AMAZING!" as I am trying to determine my 3 to get the idealscope images for

 

[mcosme]

I like the arrows on the last stone and would also check out the other I si1 as that one has fluorescence that can help the stone appear whiter. A lot of here on pricescope don't believe in paying for clarity you can't see I'd rather pay for higher color than VS1,VVS2

 

[JulieN]

HCA 2-3 is still excellent.

Of the ones you posted I would probably pick for review 243443, 244582, and 149526