Diamond Question

[bunnycat]

My bf and I have been reading this forum for a couple of months and studying (well, mostly me studying). It's been enlightening and we've found lots of great information thanks to PS. We've considered sapphire for an ering and are now also considering the diamond option. We definitely have a budget I am trying to stay in, and a few other constraints and so I have found some possibilities I would love an opinion on, or other suggestions. I let the color slide because we'll be going with yellow gold no matter what (we both hate white gold) and so are trying to stay SI1 or above and let the stone get a little larger.

We looked mainly at JA because we liked the idea of being able to see an actual image of the diamond.

Here's a few options:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VS2-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1457045.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Very%20Good-Cut-Round-Diamond-1459342.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VS2-Very%20Good-Cut-Round-Diamond-1450894.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Premium-Cut-Round-Diamond-1402552.asp

 

[JulieN]

I would get Ideal Scopes for the I color stones.

 

[LD]

Have you considered looking at an I/J/K that has medium or strong fluorescence? That may well make the diamond appear whiter and also lowers the price. I have an I colour pear that honestly looks white nearly 99% of the time. It has strong blue fluor and is sensational.

 

[bunnycat]

Thanks!

I did end up requesting IS images for 3 of them and I like the idea of some fluorescence but nothing was coming up. I may check again and set that specific item in the filters this time.

Just from the images you see, are there any pointers or suggestions you have from the visual and the posted statistics on them?

When I talked to one guy with JA on the phone, he mentioned he thought the K stone (even though it was a K and had a larger table) said the cut angles looked better than one of the other ones (the one with the best table) and it may have the best light return. However, the one with the best table and better color had some oddities in the angle. So it seems to be a trade off maybe.

 

[bunnycat]

I would get Ideal Scopes for the I color stones.

JulieN- Is there a reason not to get them on the others, or a specific reason to ask for it on the I stones?

 

[JulieN]

That K doesn't look very good.

What's your budget?

 

[bunnycat]

I'm also having more confusion now. When I looked at the links, I notice the links say "premium" or "very good" cut, however, the information I was going on was in the stone description and I had put in my parameters "excellent" cut, which is what all but one of the descriptions read. Can any one tell me why the link title is classified differently than what I see in the descriptions of them?

 

[bunnycat]

That K doesn't look very good.

What's your budget?

Around $3K

How about this one? Its got some fluorescence, it's Ideal cut too.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1452367.asp

 

[JulieN]

What do you want... to look white and big?

Or would you be ok with an antique look, such as a very high crown? It will look more yellow, and smaller, than a modern look.

Or just middle of the road?

 

[bunnycat]

What do you want... to look white and big?

Or would you be ok with an antique look, such as a very high crown? It will look more yellow, and smaller, than a modern look.

Or just middle of the road?

I'm not really sure to be honest. I don't really have any experience at all with antique stones.

I'm looking for eye clean and sparkly so I figured to focus on cut (with the apparent confusion between posted statistcis and overall grade now it seems).

The carat weight is not overly important to me, but we've finally come to an agreement on our top 2 settings and the one we like best of the 2 has 8 prongs and we think it will look better if the stone is a little bigger physically, if that makes sense.

 

[bunnycat]

Hello-

I've scratched everything I was looking at before, now that I found he HCA tool and studied up a bit more on H/A.

I've got a few new ones I am looking at. If anyone has any suggestions or comments about any of these, I'd appreciate any info I can get. I'm not likely to ever do this sort of in depth looking for stones again and just want to try and get it right this one time. All of these are in the .79 to .82 range, only negligible fluorescence in any of them. Feel free to also tell me to scrap this and look for something a little smaller and better, if you really think these suck. I do have a second choice setting that would work there.

HCA 1.8 : (ex vg vg vg) H SI2 (it looks pretty clean in the photo, but the SI2 daunts me a little) and its AGS Ideal cut

HCA 2.0 : (vg x4) I SI 1 This one is GIA, excellent cut, so no IS picture with out me asking.

HCA 2.5 : I SI1 This one is AGS, ideal cut and I looked at the IS image and it seemed good to me, similar to the 1.8 above.

HCA 1.5 : J SI1, AGS H/A, (ex ex ex vg). The main thing that throws this one for me is the J color....

 

[Christina...]

Hello-

I've scratched everything I was looking at before, now that I found he HCA tool and studied up a bit more on H/A.

I've got a few new ones I am looking at. If anyone has any suggestions or comments about any of these, I'd appreciate any info I can get. I'm not likely to ever do this sort of in depth looking for stones again and just want to try and get it right this one time. All of these are in the .79 to .82 range, only negligible fluorescence in any of them. Feel free to also tell me to scrap this and look for something a little smaller and better, if you really think these suck. I do have a second choice setting that would work there.

HCA 1.8 : (ex vg vg vg) H SI2 (it looks pretty clean in the photo, but the SI2 daunts me a little) and its AGS Ideal cut

HCA 2.0 : (vg x4) I SI 1 This one is GIA, excellent cut, so no IS picture with out me asking.

HCA 2.5 : I SI1 This one is AGS, ideal cut and I looked at the IS image and it seemed good to me, similar to the 1.8 above.

HCA 1.5 : J SI1, AGS H/A, (ex ex ex vg). The main thing that throws this one for me is the J color....

Can you post links to these stones? We couldn't give you any opinions with the information that you have provided. Remember too, that HCA is just the first step in the process.

 

[bunnycat]

Hello-

I've scratched everything I was looking at before, now that I found he HCA tool and studied up a bit more on H/A.

I've got a few new ones I am looking at. If anyone has any suggestions or comments about any of these, I'd appreciate any info I can get. I'm not likely to ever do this sort of in depth looking for stones again and just want to try and get it right this one time. All of these are in the .79 to .82 range, only negligible fluorescence in any of them. Feel free to also tell me to scrap this and look for something a little smaller and better, if you really think these suck. I do have a second choice setting that would work there.

HCA 1.8 : (ex vg vg vg) H SI2 (it looks pretty clean in the photo, but the SI2 daunts me a little) and its AGS Ideal cut

HCA 2.0 : (vg x4) I SI 1 This one is GIA, excellent cut, so no IS picture with out me asking.

HCA 2.5 : I SI1 This one is AGS, ideal cut and I looked at the IS image and it seemed good to me, similar to the 1.8 above.

HCA 1.5 : J SI1, AGS H/A, (ex ex ex vg). The main thing that throws this one for me is the J color....

Can you post links to these stones? We couldn't give you any opinions with the information that you have provided. Remember too, that HCA is just the first step in the process.

Sure. I shoud have done that earlier.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1416820.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1443635.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1398077.asp

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1455001.asp

I feel like I at least got better results using the HCA by perhaps weeding out the worst choices, but that and the photos and IS pictures are all I have to go by right now. I have very little experience with diamonds, and certainly none before with with diamond selection.

Thanks in advance.

 

[0-0-0]

Are you open to other vendors? The stones you picked look promising but may not be eye clean depending on your standards. They all look like they have dark inclusions.

Consider these:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1397797.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1390221.asp
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9006/
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2733336.htm

 

[bunnycat]

Are you open to other vendors? The stones you picked look promising but may not be eye clean depending on your standards. They all look like they have dark inclusions.

Consider these:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1397797.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1390221.asp
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9006/
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2733336.htm

hi there-

thank you for the extra links. I'm going to go have a look at them. The reason I was looking on JA was because I could see photos of the actual stones, but feel free to direct me somewhere to look at something promising. I just don't feel like I have enough experience to know without seeing something other than a "sample" image.

For grins, are the any particular of the ones I posted that you think might be considering more in depth? Making a phone call about or anything?

ETA- thank you again- that first one looks like something that I might like to add to the list!

 

[bunnycat]

I went ahead and opened up my parameters some more and came up with this one (.81 J VVS2):

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1449526.asp

HCA score: .7 GIA but only very good cut (pol/sym listed as excellent) med blue fluorescence. Someone told me that if a diamond leans to yellow (which I don't mind), that it fluoresces blue. Is this true?

My goal is to come up with maybe 3 or 4 I can call about and ask further questions.

 

[frankiextah]

the H SI2 you picked is my have so far ...

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1416820.asp

 

[bunnycat]

the H SI2 you picked is my have so far ...

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1416820.asp

thank you for the input.

One thing I keep asking myself in this diamond when I look at the picture is that is just doesn't look like SI2, or what I would think of as IS2 in my limited experience. I see something fuzzy on the left when I mouse over with the virtual loupe, but don't know how much it would show IRL. Are there any suggestions from the photo as to why it is labeled an SI2? As I searched I saw some SI2 that looked (even to me) really gross in the photos, and even some SI1's I thought to myself "eww, how can that be SI1?" and some SI1's that seemed pretty ok to me. They kind of look like they are something to be taken on a case by case basis, if you are willing to put in the time. Does it have anything to do with being GIA or AGS? Does AGS grade a little stricter? I seem to remember something like that somewhere in my explorations.

 

[Dreamer_D]

the H SI2 you picked is my have so far ...

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1416820.asp

thank you for the input.

One thing I keep asking myself in this diamond when I look at the picture is that is just doesn't look like SI2, or what I would think of as IS2 in my limited experience. Are there any suggestions from the photo as to why it is labeled an SI2? As I searched I saw some SI2 that looked (even to me) really gross in the photos, and even some SI1's I thought to myself "eww, how can that be SI1?" Does it have anything to do with being GIA or AGS? Does AGS grade a little stricter? I seem to remember something like that somewhere in my explorations.

That photo is really obscuring the inclusion. If you look at the clarity plot the grade making inclusion is a large crystal under the table, you can see it in the shaft of the 10 o'clock arrow. I wager the stone is not eye clean, but you'd have to check.

Clarity grades can come form many inclusions that are smaller or one large inclusion. This is the latter type.

 

[bunnycat]

the H SI2 you picked is my have so far ...

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1416820.asp

thank you for the input.

One thing I keep asking myself in this diamond when I look at the picture is that is just doesn't look like SI2, or what I would think of as IS2 in my limited experience. Are there any suggestions from the photo as to why it is labeled an SI2? As I searched I saw some SI2 that looked (even to me) really gross in the photos, and even some SI1's I thought to myself "eww, how can that be SI1?" Does it have anything to do with being GIA or AGS? Does AGS grade a little stricter? I seem to remember something like that somewhere in my explorations.

That photo is really obscuring the inclusion. If you look at the clarity plot the grade making inclusion is a large crystal under the table, you can see it in the shaft of the 10 o'clock arrow. I wager the stone is not eye clean, but you'd have to check.

Clarity grades can come form many inclusions that are smaller or one large inclusion. This is the latter type.

OK- point taken on that one. You'd just have to see it to see what to think.

 

[bunnycat]

I've got a couple on hold to get more information.

Someone asked me if I was interested in OEC, and I hadn't really looked much at them, but so far, as I've surfed the forum, I like what I see.

 

[SweetAsscher]

Idk about white flash, but GOG does have actual photos of the diamonds. Speaking from experience, they are very helpful in evaluating stones and sending comparison pics or eveb videos if you are undecided between a few stones. Actually I think Blue Nile is the only one that DOESN'T have pics.

 

[0-0-0]

Are you open to other vendors? The stones you picked look promising but may not be eye clean depending on your standards. They all look like they have dark inclusions.

Consider these:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/K-VVS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1397797.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/H-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1390221.asp
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/9006/
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2733336.htm

hi there-

thank you for the extra links. I'm going to go have a look at them. The reason I was looking on JA was because I could see photos of the actual stones, but feel free to direct me somewhere to look at something promising. I just don't feel like I have enough experience to know without seeing something other than a "sample" image.

For grins, are the any particular of the ones I posted that you think might be considering more in depth? Making a phone call about or anything?

ETA- thank you again- that first one looks like something that I might like to add to the list!

JA/GOG/WF all offer actual images of their in-house stones.

I think it's worthwhile to ask JA whether the ones you posted are eye clean to your definition, and whether they have dark inclusions. In my experience dark inclusions are less likely to be eye clean from all angles and tend to be more visible in some lighting.

 

[bunnycat]

Thank y'all for the extra information. I forgot that GOG also has images also.

I did put 2 on hold at JA pending further reports and reviews for color and clarity and I'm going to ask about one on GOG also.

I also found a site selling OEC stones, which I am beginning to find fascinating (at least in photos and video) and my boyfriend certainly does as he can see them better (he has some special vision limitations, hence I am doing the ring and stone searches) and says he finds them more interesting to look at as apposed to H/A. It also occurred to us that OEC might look really nice with the setting we hope to use which looks like:




Her are a couple I saw. Unfortunately, I know even less about how to rate these guys based on a photo. Does anyone have any guidelines for searching for these, or what kind of questions I should be asking the vendors? Should I post a new thread? I did some preliminary searching for info on vendors here on PS last night but will clearly have to go back and do more. There is also at least one stone in town that carries a few we can go see.

http://goodoldgold.com/diamond/8664

http://www.oldworlddiamonds.com/detail.php?ID=1564&SHAPE=EU

http://www.oldworlddiamonds.com/detail.php?ID=835&SHAPE=EU

 

[bunnycat]

The reports came back in on the three stones I was interested in at JA.

H SI2: no go. Kudos to who suggested the inclusion interferes with the stones light return.

K VVS2 : Gemologist says great fire and brilliance, faces eye clean with faint yellow tinge. the score on the HCA was 1.0





And the conundrum stone:

J VS2: Gemologist says great light performance, faces eye clean and faint yellow tinge, but the IS image isn't so good (probably similar to an image for an average stone?) and the HCA score was 4. Gemologist feels the IS image is misleading.



Any further thoughts are greatly appreciated. The bottom one is slightly more "in round" than the first one, and that is it's one bonus with the type of setting I'm looking at.