Diamond Shopping List

[anika]

All I hear is prices are going up; I wish I had bought my upgrade 2 years ago. So I may go for it.
If my jeweller sources off specs, what would you diamond conniseurs, experts, ask for a crisp, clear, well cut stone? I want a stone that is clear, not cloudy or hazy, very well cut, nil flourosence. Also kind symmetrical you know when the whole stone shines and there are no dull spots. How do you translate this into diamond specs? It should be a ball of fire.
I am going to ask for
GIA: Excellent cut, Excellent polish, nil flouroscence. SI 1- should be eye clean and I''d like to know the nature of the inclusions.
What is the make- is that the polish?
Mara mentioned a depth of 60.5-60.8 gives a nice spread.
Is H&A good? Apparently this is an option too and in the price quoted to me.
I know this is quite a subjective question as beauty is in the eye of the beholder but if I want to give the jeweller a tight spec; what would you recommend.

Thanks!!
Anika

 

[Mara]

I wouldn't limit it to GIA EX...look for AGS0 but I would also consider GIA VG's if the specs fit all your other requirements. I don't trust the GIA EX grade personally.

In terms of specs, I'd be REALLY specific with your jeweler. Tell him you only want to see stones that fit your requirements as you don't want ot compromise on your cut quality.

This is what I personally look for in my super picky stone searches:
Depth: 60.5-60.9 (61-61.9 can typically be great too BUT then you lose some diameter in the depth and I'm all about size as long as the cut is fab so I tend to go for a little shallower cuts as long as all the other specs are spot on)
Table: 55-56 (57 *maybe* but I'm not a fan of larger tables really)
Crown Angle: 34.4-34.8 (34.9 if necessary)
Pavilion Angle: 40.5-40.8 (40.9 if necessary)
Girdle: Thin-Medium; Medium; Thin to Slightly Thick if absolutely necessary but I prefer Thin-Med.
Culet: None (though I think my old stone had a VS one and it was fine!)
Polish/Symmetry: EX or ID
Fluor: I know you said NIL but if you get a lower colored stone some faint or medium might help. Not sure what your color threshold is.
Diameter Range: Try to keep it tight...this means that if the stone is 7.45-7.47mm then there is little variation in the diameter so it's very very close to that perfect round. Typically stones are not perfectly round, so some range is acceptable, but stay from something that is too wide or a range and leaning towards out of round, aka 7.45-7.57mm.

You mention inclusions for an SI search. Say you want white inclusions if possible, not dark, and small and scattered through the stone for me is what typically works. Especially if they are white, it makes it very hard to see them if they are tiny. Make sure to say you want an eye clean stone FROM ALL ANGLES, not just top down. Meaning that you can't see anything glaring from the sides either. No funky pattern inclusions that ricochet. Make sure no feathers or similar protrude and reach the surface or any girdles. If there are inclusions along the edges but not surface reaching, you may be able to hide them with a prong.

I'd also find out if you can get an IdealScope image and if they cannot get you one, order one yourself online and bring it in to view their candidates. Look for crisp arrows and lots of red light return. It doesn't even HAVE to be an H&A if it shows a good arrow pattern and has all of the above if it's too difficult to source an H&A. But an H&A would be a perk definitely.

This is how I would shop if I were going with a local jeweler or someone not PS related, BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE....good luck!!!

 

[Lorelei]

Mara this is a really great post, would be very useful in the FAQ forum so that newbies can refer to it. This is how to buy a great diamond in a nutshell IMO, emphasizing cut and best bang for the buck colour and clarity wise.

 

[anika]

Mara,
Awesome; this is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much!! Can I ask; out of all these specs; which is the one that tends to limit your selection? I mean when you are looking; which spec made your selection narrower. Some of your specs are very tight- did you find it hard to tee them all up? If I go to my jeweller with this (I can just see his face now

); it would be good to know which is the one he is gonna say "for that you are going to have to be prepared to wait". I''m prepared to wait though to get the right stone; its just good to know the rationale and how picky one is being (picky= good). I have some HRD reports which I am checking against these specs and see that Tables are typically bigger- what don''t you like about a bigger table? Also do you know if GIA uses total depth or pavillion depth and crown height or crown angle. He will have to buy off GIA reports.
This is really a great reference post.
I really want to do my homework on this upgrade and make it count.

thanks, Anika

 

[ladykemma]

might want to consider changing your position on fluorescence. I have several stones with strong blue fluorescence. They are stunning, look like you plugged them into a light socket.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Anika,

I think you will find all these qualifications together will be limiting for a local jeweler. I gave mine much broader specs at the beginning of my search just to give him a chance to match the internet prices, but his suppliers didn't even have any stones that matched my specs. A few of thse vendors have realtionships with H&A cutters and they have greater access to those kinds of stones. All jewelers will not. So just realize that an upgrade with a local jeweler will not be as easy as it is with one of these. I am not having an easy time getting exactly the specs I want with these guys!

ETA: I agree that there is nothing wrong with faint to moderate florescence, too.

 

[MikeM]

I''m sure all of you probably know/read this already, but just in case...

http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fluor.asp

A GIA survey found that fluorescent diamonds were favored over non fluoro stones, especially in lower colors, but even in the higher colors (D, E and F) which are often discounted by the trade.

 

[Mara]

anika, there are a few things in my particular requirements which will definitely limit you. do i think that it will be hard for your offline jeweler to find something that fits everything? maybe. because i'm more used to shopping with the online vendors that frequent this forum so pretty much 99% of what they carry is going to fit my specs. but offline it's a different story...you can get much more of a mixed bag. however, since you say your guy will be shopping off of GIA certs AND that he has access to H&A's...i think that you probably have a better chance of finding something really spectacular than 'joe's mini mart and diamond store'.

honestly i think that the depth that i have in here may be problematic depending on the kind of stock he can get. the range i put in here is very tight. you can definitely go up to 61.9 but i see alot of stones even on our own PS Vendors that hit 62%. that's just not my thing...because i don't want lost diameter in that stone hanging out in the pavilion where i can't see it. what's the point really. it's not deep enough to actually trigger extra fire, and it just loses you diameter. to me it's a lose lose IF you can find a stone that is in the 60.5-61 kind of range. but i have seen beautiful stones with 62% depth, so it may be a negotiating point if you are prepared to lose a little diameter spread. i just know you are trying to get as large a stone as possible, so i figure keep depth slightly more shallow.

the table being large depending on the other specs will give you more brilliance and take away a little bit of fire from the equation. having already had a very large tabled stone (62) i am totally not into the large tables and even sometimes feel like my 56 table is too big. it's just leftover hangups for me from my old stone but i have been really happy with the 3 stones i have had that are all 55-56 but i would consider a 57 if i could see it in person to ensure it didn't detract at all for me, and it fit all my other specs. some people like larger tables...up to 58 or so. but i wouldn't be super picky if i didn't have very tight ranges!

for me the angles can't be modified much, those are definitely the sweet spots. however, i have seen some great stones that have 40.4 pav angle if the corresponding numbers and crown angle are complimentary, but i wouldn't just lump it into the range there. i think something close to the ranges i put below but just outside may be a stone worth seeing...but you won't know until you see it visually.

the culet, fluor, girdle, symm, polish etc should all be fine as i listed, esp if he is looking for GIA EX's and similar.

but anyway i hope this helps, and if you giving him all this information and tight specs and he comes back with 1 stone...that may be the right one. it's better IMO than giving him more leeway and a wider range and then having him pull 5 stones all of which may have one or two things that just aren't right and then you are disappointed. also, from my experience with looking at stones in person...it's very easy to get emotionally tied in and say 'well i'm here now and this one is REALLY close to what i wanted and i don't want to wait anymore so maybe i'll just take it'...but if you stick with stricter specs, you know you may have to be patient and wait a little bit but at least you know when he DOES find you something wtihin those ranges, it is almost guaranteed to be a stunning stone. i would give him these specs first and let him freak out and tell him you are prepared to wait and go from there. if a month passes and he still has nothing and is telling you that this is impossible, maybe loosen up a few things a little. play it by ear!