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Diamond novice - are these any good?

S

Schmoo

Rough_Rock
Joined
Sep 16, 2012
Messages
3
Hello all! This is my first post and I'm a little nervous! I apologise if I'm asking really basic stuff :oops:

I am looking at buying a Princess Cut diamond, and after reading through mountains of posts regarding the difficulty in choosing a good quality diamond online I am more confused than ever!

I have found two possible diamonds but I just don't know how to tell if they're really any good?? I guess I'm looking for white colour with lots of sparklies! I'm not after a big big diamond, so these two sizes are about right:

http://www.bluenile.com/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-d-color-if-clarity_LD02637645?click_id=697931310

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=head#diamonds_pid=LD02781120

After what I think I have learned on PS, it appears to me that the second diamond is possibly better?

Also, ASET images, are they something I can request from Blue Nile? They seem easier to judge...the more red the better, yeah?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you :)
 
Is there a reason you want a D IF stone? There certainly isn't anything wrong with that, but you could find a stone that looks the same visually if you lowered the color to a G VS1, and you could then increase the size of the stone significantly. Princess cuts face up smaller than many other cuts, so for *me* it would be important to get the largest eye clean, white, and bright stone I could find.

I'd also have trouble purchasing a stone that I couldn't see photos of. Princess cuts vary in their appearances. The benefit with shopping with a vendor that offers photos and aset images is that you remove a lot of risk from the purchase. It appears that BN does offer a GCAl report for it's signature ideal stones, and that is at least more information than just a lab report, but is it enough? They also have a good return policy if you aren't happy with the stone. Have you checked out JA, Whiteflash, GOG, BGD? They all offer images and ASETs of their stones.
 
Thanks Christina :) The reason I am not going for a larger diamond is because I am replacing my existing stone in my engagement ring so I don't want to go too much bigger than my original stone was (4.55x4.42), a little bigger would be nice, but not so much as to throw out the proportions of my ring. So, I figured if I'm not going for size, why not up the quality as much as I can :)

I actually asked Blue Nile (after posting on here) if they could provide any more information, such as an idealscope picture, and they replied saying:

"We have found that photographs do not accurately portray diamonds as it can be difficult to properly catch how well the diamond reflects the light that enters the stone. A poor quality stone can appear very nice in a photo and vice-versa.

The best way to determine what a diamond will look like in-person is the diamond grading report. The strict grading of the GIA and AGSL goes far beyond what the human eye can perceive in a photograph."

But I thought the best way for a princess cut is also through viewing those ASET images or idealscope images (whats the difference between them?)

I have looked at a few other sites, including those you have suggested, but haven't really found anything that matches up to the 0.65 Blue Nile one. There is one on B2C Jewels comes close tho http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-3154701-0.70-carat-Princess-diamond-D-color-IF-Clarity.aspx?sku=3154701&utm_source=pricescope.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com But again, no other images. :(
 
I have been shopping around for a princess diamond form a little while now and the thing I found most helpful to me was the videos that GOG has posted on ther YouTube channel - diamondinfoman. Rhino compares various elements (4C, branded vs. non-branded, various shapes) of diamonds and gives you informative advice on how to choose the right diamond for you.

Just as Christina said you really don't need to get a D IF diamond for it to be the most sparkly - cut is most important. Take a look at some of the Solasfera comparisons Rhino does on his videos.
 
Schmoo|1347922659|3269906 said:
Thanks Christina :) The reason I am not going for a larger diamond is because I am replacing my existing stone in my engagement ring so I don't want to go too much bigger than my original stone was (4.55x4.42), a little bigger would be nice, but not so much as to throw out the proportions of my ring. So, I figured if I'm not going for size, why not up the quality as much as I can :)

I actually asked Blue Nile (after posting on here) if they could provide any more information, such as an idealscope picture, and they replied saying:

"We have found that photographs do not accurately portray diamonds as it can be difficult to properly catch how well the diamond reflects the light that enters the stone. A poor quality stone can appear very nice in a photo and vice-versa.

The best way to determine what a diamond will look like in-person is the diamond grading report. The strict grading of the GIA and AGSL goes far beyond what the human eye can perceive in a photograph."

But I thought the best way for a princess cut is also through viewing those ASET images or idealscope images (whats the difference between them?)

I have looked at a few other sites, including those you have suggested, but haven't really found anything that matches up to the 0.65 Blue Nile one. There is one on B2C Jewels comes close tho http://www.b2cjewels.com/dd-3154701-0.70-carat-Princess-diamond-D-color-IF-Clarity.aspx?sku=3154701&utm_source=pricescope.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com But again, no other images. :(
Click to expand...

I'm happy that you have done research and are able to realize when you are being fed a load of bull! ;)) There are obviously several reasons why seeing photos of the diamond would be more helpful than the lab report alone and an ASET would certainly offer you much more information about the light performance. That said, Blue Nile does offer a good return policy and ultimately your eyes are going to be the best judge anyway. Of course the other information would reduce the risk of having to send stones back and forth which can be both costly and time consuming. I'm not an expert but based on the limited information that you have on this particular stone, I think that it show promise. Have you thought about purchasing your own ASET? You could order the stone and view it through the ASET, photograph it and post the images here for more opinions if you were still on the fence. I'll take a look around and see if I can find some other suggestions for you and hopefully some others will chime in as well.
 
None of these are D IF but because of the fantastic cut they will look whiter and brighter and larger than other princess cuts that aren't cut to such exact proportions. They will also appear flawless to the naked eye, in fact the inclusions on some of them will be very difficult to locate even with a 10x loupe.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2763522.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2803909.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2812724.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-2681933.htm

this one would have to be checked to be sure that it was eye clean to your standards...
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/princess-cut-loose-diamond-336518.htm
 
Thank you so much for your help. Christina, thanks for confirming my thoughts regarding the pics. Everything I read seems to tell me its very hard to judge a princess cut on numbers alone, yet they were trying to tell me the opposite! :eek:

And thanks DylanAU for recommending those videos! They're fantastic, I hadn't even thought of You Tube - thats a whole new avenue of research I can try! I think I know what I'm going to be doing tonight!

And thanks both for the links, I hadn't heard of Solasfera before...something for me to look into! I'll let you know how I go!

Thanks again,
Nicola
:)
 
Good Luck Schmoo! I can't wait to see what you decide to do! =)
 
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