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Diamond - keep or exchange?

Krista Williams

Shiny_Rock
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Jan 17, 2018
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Hello everyone,

I finally received my diamond upgrade on Friday. I spent a long time looking for the perfect (within my budget) 1.00 carat diamond.
When I opened the parcel, I was stunned at how beautiful AND LARGE the diamond was.

Its gorgeous, but there is just something about it that makes me unsure if I LOVE it.
I had a quick peek, and I found another diamond that I am interested in..... would YOU keep the diamond I currently have, or exchange? The price is almost exactly the same, so thats not a concern.

Here is the diamond I have..... it is 1.05 H VS2


Here is the diamond I am thinking of exchanging for... it is 0.91 E VVS2
 

Attachments

  • 1.05 H VS2.JPG
    1.05 H VS2.JPG
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  • 1.05 H VS2 pro.JPG
    1.05 H VS2 pro.JPG
    12.8 KB · Views: 39
  • .91 E VVS2.JPG
    .91 E VVS2.JPG
    26.3 KB · Views: 25
  • .91 E VVS2 pro.JPG
    .91 E VVS2 pro.JPG
    23.7 KB · Views: 40
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AV_

Ideal_Rock
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Nice pickings!

The E is tempting. The H, just fine.
 

Krista Williams

Shiny_Rock
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I screwed up my attachments trying to redo one of them!!!!!

@AV_ just fine as in, stay with that one... or meh... its an OK diamond? It wont be hard to change it up....

Im not overly worried about going from 1.05 to 0.91 .. but originally I wanted exactly 1 carat.... 0.91 is close enough right?
 
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AV_

Ideal_Rock
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The H seems to have better symmetry - the pattern of reflections is faultless, as much as the picture can show [the H&A view is harsher]; the E slightly less. The color difference is not a big deal to me, and the nine points of weight entirely not important. Two fine stones difficult to rank!

I suspect that it is just a quirk of photography that makes the E appear clearer, with higher contrast & allot of 'fire' [flecks of colour from dispersion]. The difference of color grades does not justify this, glare in the photo of the H would [this is my first guess] & clarity characteristics might [what does GIA mention on the report? I only need the names of clarity characteristics including the mention of those 'not shown' on the plot, if such note exists.]

-


Digressing,

I have a weakness for colourless diamonds with fluorescence - with no tint at all, the subtle blue comes through. I cannot tell if this E has any. I'd wish!
 

SimoneDi

Ideal_Rock
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Can you share the clarity plot & comments of the h/vs2 one?
 

AprilBaby

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I would take size over color.
 

tyty333

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Can you put into words why you are not loving the H? Without knowing what the issue is its a bit difficult to tell you to go buy something
else.

The numbers on the H are very good. The E is good too.
 

Krista Williams

Shiny_Rock
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Here is what the H stone shows/says 1.05 H VS2 clarityplot.JPG

The E stone clarity characteristics is just pinpoint ... it also has faint fluorescence.......
 
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Krista Williams

Shiny_Rock
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I can not really put it into words... I dont really know what it is.... its gorgeous, but for the price, I want to LOOOOOVEEEEE It.........
Maybe the diamond is slightly too big? I know that sounds crazy.. especially since when I was looking, I was trying to figure out a combo I would be happy with so I could get at least 1.2+ carats...... I upgraded from a 0.76 G SI1 ... I'm very plain jane (not that it matters).... does it sparkle as much as it should???? Am I seeing a slight yellow tint??? Is it clear enough?
 
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OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
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Have you looked at the stone in a wide range of lighting environments, to check out the performance? (Take care when doing so if it is not mounted!)

Have you been handling it with your fingers (so potentially giving it a greasy film that needs to be cleaned off for best performance)?


It is hard to buy online when one is inexperienced with diamonds - do we know what to look for? Are we being hoodwinked by jewellers with expensive lighting when we do go into a store? It looks nice but is it as nice as it could be?? :???:

Ultimately, though, you have to LOVE it and it has to call to you. If you are not sure then you are not sure, and now (in the Returns/Exchange period) is the time to swap/return.

The 0.91 will still look substantial and barely different to a 1ct in the 'real world' (when you don't have grading reports and comparison stones next to it) and the E and VVS will bring the 'mind-clean' you might be looking for :)
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
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No clarity issue on the report of the H.

-

Does the seller have a convenient upgrade policy? If yes, the decission what to keep until the next upgrade, is less dramatic.

tuppence
 
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Krista Williams

Shiny_Rock
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@OoohShiny I have looked at it in a wide range of lighting.... in my kitchen, in front of the Christmas Tree, in the car (in the sun, on a gloomy day, and at night) and finally in a home hardware store. It is beautiful, and it actually did impress me in the home hardware store lighting.... but as you said.. it has to sing to me.... and I dont think it does.

Am I just being ridiculous? Previously I had a G SI1, and I had set out to get a G VS1, but with my budget, a 1.00 + ct, G VS1 wasn't an option. I honestly felt like the selection for "perfect proportions" was extremely slim, and the H VS2 was the best I found over a 3 week daily search. Is my brain just being stubborn over the colour and clarity?

Above all else, I want cut to be the most important..... an E VVS2 slightly excites me.. but if the H VS2 is a better cut, then I would probably stick with it....
 

tyty333

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Could you perhaps hold on to the H and order the E so you can do a side by side comparison?
 

Krista Williams

Shiny_Rock
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I found a video of the E VVS2 diamond.. but unfortunately I dont have a video of the H VS2.. unless I am able to upload a video I took in front of the christmas tree LOL

 
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OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
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Glad to hear you are checking it out thoroughly!

Sometimes we just have a certain mental block over some things, and if E and VVS is what gives you the tingle, it's what you need - the heart is not rational, and no amount of encouragement on the internet from strangers will make you love something your head says it should ;-)

As @tyty333 suggests, if you were able to order the E and then have them side-by-side, that would give you the opportunity to compare and see which calls to you most, and remove the 'what if' questions from your mind.

I appreciate we are not all able to do that, though, so I think a Return and exchange for the E would still be a sensible choice - if the current stone is not calling to you now, you might as well send it back and try again, and if the E is not for you, there are plenty more stones to look through!

Do check the situation WRT what happens about Returns if the E also doesn't sing to you, though :)
 

Krista Williams

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I definitely can't order the E VVS2 as well.

I guess I just wanted other eyes (that know a thing or two about diamonds) to tell me if the H VS2 is a quality diamond..... and if the E VVS2 is good (or better than the H).

I knew what proportions to look for but that's about it. I was slightly concerned with the clouds in the H VS2.
 

distracts

Ideal_Rock
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I would stay with the 1 ct... .9 is noticeably smaller to me.

If the problem is just that you don't "love" the diamond - is it a loose diamond? Did you see your current diamond loose before setting and did you feel you loved it then? Is it possible the problem is more that you love an entire ring vs love a diamond? I personally think with something like a round brilliant where there are a million of them that are basically alike, you have to buy rationally based on your priorities since there's probably NOT going to be that zing that makes you like one more than another emotionally, once you get to small differences. For me, with equal cut quality, eye-cleanliness, and color I am fine with, the priority would be size.
 

Krista Williams

Shiny_Rock
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Jan 17, 2018
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It is set in the setting I originally purchased with the 0.76 G SI1

I've been looking at it while watching a movie. I almost wonder if it's just set slightly off centre... BN would think I'm mental if I send it back to ensure its straight. I'm going to post two pictures if it. I'll try and get pictures that show how I think it's off centre but probably not until it's daylight.
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
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I have not realized how difficult it is to find anything comparable with the E / VVS for cut etal! I do see D-E VVS-VS options over the 1 carat marc, but not larger - stones toward 65% depth from 6 to 6.2 mm. A few are not ugly at all, cut with wide pavilion facets like a sort of revival transitionals; I would consider such a stone if proportions work & the small spread is discounted [it is for the ones I looked at at all]. These being said, IDK for the one carat mark & like your E already. The others are intriguing.

2p
 

whitewave

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I can not really put it into words... I dont really know what it is.... its gorgeous, but for the price, I want to LOOOOOVEEEEE It.........
Maybe the diamond is slightly too big? I know that sounds crazy.. especially since when I was looking, I was trying to figure out a combo I would be happy with so I could get at least 1.2+ carats...... I upgraded from a 0.76 G SI1 ... I'm very plain jane (not that it matters).... does it sparkle as much as it should???? Am I seeing a slight yellow tint??? Is it clear enough?

Clean it. Surprisingly, this fixes a lot of issues it seems. Diamonds get filthy fast
 

Krista Williams

Shiny_Rock
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Jan 17, 2018
Messages
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@AV_ were any of the stones you found from Blue Nile? If you have good suggestions I would love to see them.
 
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whatamilookingat

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It's very pretty, but if you don't love it, you just don't. It doesn't really matter if it's rational or not. Have you had a chance to look at different diamonds? Maybe those particular proportions don't suit your taste.

Though I understand the appeal of an E colored diamond, I'd be hesitant to drop below a carat since you were initially looking for a stone above the carat mark. Although the 1.05 may seem a bit too large now, you will probably get used to it. Would going to a .91 eventually become a mind clean thing for you?
 

SimoneDi

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Here is what the H stone shows/says 1.05 H VS2 clarityplot.JPG

The E stone clarity characteristics is just pinpoint ... it also has faint fluorescence.......

Thanks for posting. Ok, to me the diamond very clearly has transparency issues due to cloud being the clarity setting inclusion and “additional clouds not shown”. I thought I saw that the stone looked cloudy/not crisp in the photo, but this confirms it for me. I am actually quite surprised that one else is seeing this. Nonetheless, don’t feel that you need to stick with a diamond that doesn’t make you happy. Exchange it for the E/VVS or another stone. There are so many diamonds out there, so my advice is not to settle.
 
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OoohShiny

Ideal_Rock
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1.25 cts www HCA .7

That grading report clarity plot looks scary! but the stone looks very clean in the video.

Nice find! (As always! :)))
 
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