Down to a few stones, would love some help narrowing it down

[gadawgs17]

I posted a similar topic a couple of weeks ago using stones from blue nile and solomon brothers but since then I have done some more reading and have decided I am uncomfortable spending a lot of money without having the IS and ASET images, and also I am leaning towards AGS graded stones over GIA. What I am looking for is something that is 1.0 - 1.25 cts, D-H in color, IF-SI1 in clarity (must be eye-clean), and AGS Ideal cut in the 7,000-8,500 range.

Whiteflash seems to be popular and meets all those criteria for me so I have been working with one of their consultants who has provided me with some options. I don't have as sharp as an eye as the experts so am hoping for some input to help narrowing it down. Also should I ask that any of these be further inspected by one of their gemologists? If so I don't know what exactly to ask them.

The first link compares 4 stones in a similar price range and the second is one stone that is more expensive but seems to have the best cut/color combination. I did run all of these through the HCA and came up with the following scores:

Stone 1 - 2.2
Stone 2 - 2.1
Stone 3 - 1.5
Stone 4 - 1.1
Stone 5 - 1.5

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/compare.aspx?idnos=2792424,2782651,2673406,2782648
http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2805418.htm

 

[webdiva]

Re: Down to a few stones, would love some help narrowing it

If you're looking up to the H, that disqualifies the Is. The 1.038 H is a really nice stone. The 1.052 gets a cut grade 1 instead of 0 from AGS...so I'm inclined to go with that one.

 

[tampabull]

Re: Down to a few stones, would love some help narrowing it

I'm a relative amateur at this, but I'd count out the 2+ HCA stones. It looks like the numbers are very similar on all of the stones, so I'd use the HCA as a point of differentiation to rule out the lower performers.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Re: Down to a few stones, would love some help narrowing it

Tampabull....You don't use the HCA with AGS Ideal cut stones. They have already been graded as ideal in light performance. We use the HCA to help find the best stones within GIA Excellent.

I would go with H over I color since it is in budget, and of these, I'd pick the H SI1 ACA:

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2805418.htm

However, my own daughter's e-ring came from WhiteFlash and is a premium select 1.15 H SI1, and it certainly looks perfect as well! So if the ACA is over budget, then I'd choose the premium select H SI1 (it just gets the cut grade of 1 because polish is ideal instead of excellent, which is something you can't see).

 

[webdiva]

Re: Down to a few stones, would love some help narrowing it

Doh! I looked at the AGS cert too quickly and didn't scan down! Good catch, DS!