Do You Compromise on Color, Cut, or Symmetry?

[longwood50]

I am looking for a diamond of approx. 3 - 3.5 carat.

I know I want an excellent or ideal cut.

From that point on, I am a bit confused and looking for a recommendation. My budget is in the $25,000 to potentially " if it warrants it" a stone just over 30k.

I know that when you drop grades in color, clarity, cut, or symmetry, and polish there is an impact on price but not necessarily the brilliance of the diamond.

I am thinking in the I or J color
S1 to S2

Does one pick a stone of a higher color and compromise on symmetry or polish. If you drop from an excellent in symmetry to a very good, or polish from an excellent to very good which has the greater impact on the appearance of the stone? Polish or symmetry?

For those out there far more knowledgeable than I, what would you suggest?

 

[milton333]

Are you looking for a round stone? Must it be a new, modern-cut RB, or are you open to antiques and old-cut stones?

 

[Laila619]

Well they say in general, the naked eye can't tell the difference between excellent polish/symmetry and very good. So dropping to very good shouldn't be a big deal at all. That usually doesn't affect the price as much as color or clarity though. If you can find an eye clean SI2, that might be your best bet, since SI2 is a great value. I would not compromise on cut!

 

[milton333]

While waiting for your response, I'll note that it's going to be very difficult for you to find a reliably-graded, ideal or excellent cut 3+ ct diamond in your price point, no matter the color, clarity, polish or symmetry.

So, here are some things for you to consider:

This might be a real steal. It's inclusions are primarily twinning wisps, which look bad under magnification, but are often invisible to the naked eye. This does have "clouds not shown," but JA will have a gemologist evaluate it for you. It scores 1.8 on HCA, and should be fiery. 3.0 J SI2, $29,117 PS wire price http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/J-SI2-Excellent-Cut-Round-Diamond-1420671.asp I'd personally have this one put on reserve for evaluation ASAP.

2.51 Old European Cut, GIA-graded J SI1 $23,650 http://jewelsbyericagrace.smugmug.com/Jewelry/Loose-Diamonds/251ct-Old-European-Cut-Diamond/23477402_vpXkGj#!i=1897369907&k=8J3WtHh

 

[LibbyLA]

Have you used the search feature here? There are at least some candidates within your budget that are graded by GIA or AGS. Best to stay away from EGL.

Most of the ones that are showing up may not be eye clean and the cut may not be the best, but at least there are some to start with.

liz

 

[longwood50]

I am looking for a diamond of approx. 3 - 3.5 carat.

I know I want an excellent or ideal cut.

From that point on, I am a bit confused and looking for a recommendation. My budget is in the $25,000 to potentially " if it warrants it" a stone just over 30k.

I know that when you drop grades in color, clarity, cut, or symmetry, and polish there is an impact on price but not necessarily the brilliance of the diamond.

I am thinking in the I or J color
S1 to S2

Does one pick a stone of a higher color and compromise on symmetry or polish. If you drop from an excellent in symmetry to a very good, or polish from an excellent to very good which has the greater impact on the appearance of the stone? Polish or symmetry?

For those out there far more knowledgeable than I, what would you suggest?

I did forget to mention that I am looking for a Round Brilliant

 

[kenny]

Keep in mind exactly what polish and symmetry (P&S) are, and are not.
Though GIA does take them into consideration when assigning the cut grade, they are not a grade of light performance (my definition for good cut).
P&S grade the cutter's craftsmanship, even if the cutter cut it to proportions that produce horrible light performance.

Think of each diamond as a meal prepared from a recipe, a cut recipe.
There are good recipes and bad ones. (Good light performance and poor light performance.)
But there are also good cooks and bad ones. (A good cutter not only follows the diamond owner's cut recipe as closely as the rough allows but is skilled enough to earn Ex Ex P&S grades.)

IMHO to get a diamond with good cut the cutter has to start with a recipe for good cut, like a Royal Asscher, ACA or an Octavia, or a non-branded cut from a vendor who understands good light performance and cares.
Now if a diamond only got P&S grades of VG or Good I'd still rather have that diamond than one with Ex Ex P&S grades cut to the very common recipe called "Retain Weight".

Unfortunately buyers and sellers of diamonds focus on stuff easy to quantify, like weight, color, polish, symmetry grades, but a good cut recipe is much more important to how beautifully a diamond performs with light.
Good cut is the least-understood, while it SHOULD be the most-understood.

Here's a great article from GIA about polish and symmetry.

http://www.gia.edu/diamondcut/pdf/polish_and_symmetry.pdf

 

[Christina...]

I just wanted to mention that you should definitely stick to GIA or AGS graded stones. They are the most reputable and consistent labs in the world. I thought that I should also mention that body color will be evident as ct weight increases. You may not notice a lot of body color in a .75ct J ideal cut, but will probably notice it at 3cts.

GIA and AGS allow for larger inclusions in larger ct weights and still maintain a specific clarity grading. So again, you may not notice crystals or feathering in a .75 but they will be much more evident in a 3ct.