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jwaters

jwaters

Rough_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jul 23, 2009
Messages
32
I''m going to propose to my gf sometime, so I''m looking for a diamond for an ering. I''ve got the actual ring already. We went to several places and she finally found one she liked at a small family-owned jeweler that made their own bands. She''s pretty little (size 5 ring), so most rings just look big and gaudy. It had a 0.24 carat stone in it, but I had them take it out. Since she has such small hands, I''m not looking for a big diamond. We looked at 0.5 and 0.75 carat diamonds with the ring and 0.75 looks pretty big (its all relative, right
1.gif
).

The band was ~900. It''s got micropave halfway down each side and two very small princess diamonds already in it on the sides. I''m trying to find something around ~2.5-3k. I could afford a lot more, and I don''t want to be cheap, but she''s not going to care and I really think this is a case where more isn''t necessarily better. Correct me if I jumped off a cliff there.

Here''s what I had in mind. I''ve done some reading about the ''4 Cs'', but I really don''t have a clue about table/crown/those things.

cut: round
size: 0.75-1 carat
clarity: vs2/si1 (eye clean, could care less about "mind clean")
color: D-G (colorless to the eye)
excellent/ideal cut
excellent/vg polish, symmetry, etc.

Here''s a few I''ve found just browsing around.

1) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01225539
HSA: 1.2

2) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01101702
HSA: 1.7

3) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01176202
HSA: 1.3

4) http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204040.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
HSA: 1

note: after looking at the image, definitely doesn''t look eye clean, looks horrible. makes me worried about getting an SI1
8.gif


5) http://www.solomonbrothers.com/DiamondDetail.aspx?sku=IR531021&affiliate=9318613A-AD0C-4530-A456-0409DFEFB8DE
HSA: 1.7

Anyway I could do this all day. That''s kinda what I''m looking at. I see that as long as it''s below 2, its considered a good diamond, but 1 isn''t necessarily better than 1.5. What criteria do you use to judge at that point?
 
Request an Idealscope image to further select. Unfortunately, only JA supplies those by request, BN and SB do not as they are true drop-shippers.

OK, saw JA's idealscope image, looks good to me. Check with them if it is eye-clean. Do not worry about the image, that is taken in a lighting condition for easier viewing of inclusions.

BN's signature ideal are safe, although GCAL has not come out on what their performance grading method are.
 
Date: 7/23/2009 3:13:12 PM
Author:jwaters
I'm going to propose to my gf sometime, so I'm looking for a diamond for an ering. I've got the actual ring already. We went to several places and she finally found one she liked at a small family-owned jeweler that made their own bands. She's pretty little (size 5 ring), so most rings just look big and gaudy. It had a 0.24 carat stone in it, but I had them take it out. Since she has such small hands, I'm not looking for a big diamond. We looked at 0.5 and 0.75 carat diamonds with the ring and 0.75 looks pretty big (its all relative, right
1.gif
).

The band was ~900. It's got micropave halfway down each side and two very small princess diamonds already in it on the sides. I'm trying to find something around ~2.5-3k. I could afford a lot more, and I don't want to be cheap, but she's not going to care and I really think this is a case where more isn't necessarily better. Correct me if I jumped off a cliff there.

Here's what I had in mind. I've done some reading about the '4 Cs', but I really don't have a clue about table/crown/those things.

cut: round
size: 0.75-1 carat
clarity: vs2/si1 (eye clean, could care less about 'mind clean')
color: D-G (colorless to the eye)
excellent/ideal cut
excellent/vg polish, symmetry, etc.

Here's a few I've found just browsing around.

1) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01225539
HSA: 1.2

2) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01101702
HSA: 1.7

3) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01176202
HSA: 1.3

4) http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204040.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
HSA: 1

note: after looking at the image, definitely doesn't look eye clean, looks horrible. makes me worried about getting an SI1
8.gif


5) http://www.solomonbrothers.com/DiamondDetail.aspx?sku=IR531021&affiliate=9318613A-AD0C-4530-A456-0409DFEFB8DE
HSA: 1.7

Anyway I could do this all day. That's kinda what I'm looking at. I see that as long as it's below 2, its considered a good diamond, but 1 isn't necessarily better than 1.5. What criteria do you use to judge at that point?
Click to expand...




I will fix the links to make it easier for others to help you then take a look for you.

1) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01225539
HSA: 1.2



2) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01101702
HSA: 1.7



3) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01176202
HSA: 1.3



4) http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1204040.asp?b=16&a=12&c=77&cid=131
HSA: 1



note: after looking at the image, definitely doesn't look eye clean, looks horrible. makes me worried about getting an SI1





5) http://www.solomonbrothers.com/DiamondDetail.aspx?sku=IR531021&affiliate=9318613A-AD0C-4530-A456-

One and three from BN could be good choices if eyeclean. The JA diamond also looks promising, as to whether it is eyeclean ask them to look at it for you and make your expectations clear. If you don't want to see any visible inclusions from any angle at close scrutiny make sure they understand that so you are both on the same page.
 
Ok lets say we take these two:

1) http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1247491.asp
HSA 1.7

2) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01225701?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0
HSA 1.3

They both look very clean. Looking at the GCAL report for 2) everything looks pretty nice. Same for 1) (need to request IS). 1 is 0.85C, 2 is 0.79C. 1 is probably cheaper with the PS discount factored in. What else should I look at to compare them? 2 would seem to have more fire, sparkle than 1, but at this level is that noticeable? Would the extra 0.06 carat be more noticeable?

Thanks for the opinions!
 
Size wise, diameter of #1 is about 6.1mm while #2 is about 5.95mm. Side by side probably noticeable, in setting by itself, probably not.
 
Date: 7/23/2009 4:30:01 PM
Author: jwaters
Ok lets say we take these two:

1) http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1247491.asp
HSA 1.7

2) http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-g-color-si1-clarity_LD01225701?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=0
HSA 1.3

They both look very clean. Looking at the GCAL report for 2) everything looks pretty nice. Same for 1) (need to request IS). 1 is 0.85C, 2 is 0.79C. 1 is probably cheaper with the PS discount factored in. What else should I look at to compare them? 2 would seem to have more fire, sparkle than 1, but at this level is that noticeable? Would the extra 0.06 carat be more noticeable?

Thanks for the opinions!
Click to expand...
You wouldn't really notice the size difference, maybe at direct comparison but not otherwise. Without an IS image I prefer the proportions of the BN diamond so far.
 
I''ve requested IS images of the previous JA diamond, but I''ve also found this one which seems to be a better comparison to the BN one.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1250146.asp

HSA 0.9

Seems to have good proportions, ideal cut and the inclusions aren''t very noticeable even on the magnified image. Also only 2580$ which seems rather cheap. I''ll post the IS images when I get em.

Thanks!
 
Date: 7/24/2009 2:57:59 PM
Author: jwaters
I''ve requested IS images of the previous JA diamond, but I''ve also found this one which seems to be a better comparison to the BN one.

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/G-SI1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1250146.asp

HSA 0.9

Seems to have good proportions, ideal cut and the inclusions aren''t very noticeable even on the magnified image. Also only 2580$ which seems rather cheap. I''ll post the IS images when I get em.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

This one looks good, check it is eyeclean to your standards and that the grade setting cloud isn''t impacting brilliance, if not it could be a super choice!
 
I don''t know if it''s eye clean or not, but I love the nr 4 you''ve posted.
 
I've attached the image of the 4th one (JA, 0.9 HSA). It looks eye clean to me, guess the SI1 rating is mainly due to the cloud instead of inclusions (small one at 9 o'clock, but hardly noticeable magnified). How do I know if that's affecting the brilliance? Will the IS image show that at all or just the cut.

ww_Picture1.jpg
 
Just ask the vendor if the cloud is affecting brilliance, won''t know otherwise.
 
Will: I've got a question about diamond 1250146.

Will: The GIA certificate says it's cloudy. I was wondering how much it affected the brilliance in this case.

Darin: Absolutely not, this is a beautiful diamond.

Darin: 100% eye-clean and brilliant.

Will: Is there a reason it's priced lower than other diamonds of the same cut/clarity/size?

Darin: Nothing that stands out, our diamond prices are based on the specific stone.



I don't know if that was the right way to ask, but seems like its a good stone.
 
Date: 7/24/2009 3:50:54 PM
Author: jwaters
Will: I''ve got a question about diamond 1250146.

Will: The GIA certificate says it''s cloudy. I was wondering how much it affected the brilliance in this case.

Darin: Absolutely not, this is a beautiful diamond.

Darin: 100% eye-clean and brilliant.

Will: Is there a reason it''s priced lower than other diamonds of the same cut/clarity/size?

Darin: Nothing that stands out, our diamond prices are based on the specific stone.



I don''t know if that was the right way to ask, but seems like its a good stone.
Click to expand...
This sounds fine.
 
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