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Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help!

S

Smith1942

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Oct 24, 2012
Messages
2,594
So, Blue Nile sent these Light Performance docs on the pair of D/1.12 ctw/Si2 studs that I'm thinking of upgrading to. Their numbers indicated I might be able to get stones with Signature performance without paying the Sig premium. Blue Nile has indicated the stones are eyeclean.

Please can the resident diamond experts tell me what they think of the light performance? One stone seems to have more dark blue areas than the others. Both also have some ASET-like images.

I am happy with my current Signature studs so don't HAVE to upgrade. If I do, I want to be sure I'm not wasting my money. So please - tell me what you think! Thank you so much in advance.

Edit: Just realised that the GIA reports for these stones both state 41 degree pav angles but the GCAL reports shown here show 40.8!

ld02776985.jpg

ld02962621.jpg
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

I found out that these measurements are done with a Sarin. I asked BN why they are different from the GIA ones and they basically said that Sarins are very sensitively calibrated so they defer to GIA's measurements.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

It looks fine.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

Thanks Julie.

I can't read the diagrams at all - I'm far from an expert. Does the light performance look super-ideal to you, or just ideal? Wondering if I should cough up for the Signature range. To my amateur eyes, one stone does look as if it has some leakage at the edge, and the other has a funny mark over the table on one of the coloured images.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

Ideal is the best grade a stone can get for light performance. And super ideal means precision cut hearts and arrows stones, and you cannot tell this from the information on the GCAL report. I am not all that familiar with GCAL, but I will say that in ideal versus super ideal cut stones, most of us won't be able to tell the difference with our eyes.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

OK, good to know. I had assumed that the eye would be able to tell a lesser sparkle on an ideal as opposed to a super-ideal. But if not, then these stones would probably be A-OK and definitely no point paying for the Sig range.

DS, what do you think of these docs in terms of leakage? Can you see anything that indicates leakage at the edge? Also, in the first doc, there seems to be something funny on the table. Like a smear, or something.

But the big question is: Do I go for the stud upgrade, or keep my current still-lovely studs and go for a new jewellery piece such as this:

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=27910777&mcat=&cid=&search_params=s+1-p+1-c+-r+-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+Venezia+lantern+earrings&search=1 Last time I was in Tiff's the SA suggested them to me, so I tried them and they looked good. I balked at the 1k price tag for gold only, but I do like them.

or these:

http://www.bluenile.com/bezel-diamond-earrings-white-gold_4888 Have admired these from afar for ages - they're just my style.

Or this:

http://www.bluenile.com/sapphire-diamond-ring-14k-white-gold_21366 I love this ring but I do already have a princess eternity that is all diamond, so perhaps it's too similar.

Or, the diamond sunburst brooch in E.B. Horn for $1,100.

I think the D ideal studs for 1.12 and $2856 are a really good deal, but I almost feel I'd be getting more jewellery for my money if I kept my studs and got one of these new pieces.

I really feel like treating myself to something - I consider it a public duty to help the economy recover, haha - but can't decide which way to go, stud upgrade or new jewellery piece.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

I would just go big if you're upgrading to make a real difference between the ones you have now. Nothing higher than H color, at the most.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

Good suggestion. So,I just checked in the H-I range on Blue Nile, and I found a pair of H/SI2/Ideals for $3,566, carat weight 1.29.

There was also a pair of J/Si1s, 1.40, $3,672, but the cut is not Ideal. They arein he Very Good category. I don't think this pair is great value.

It's not that I need Ds, it's just that that particular pair seemed to represent good value - a weight increase of 0.68 to 1.12, for $2856 which is right on the threshold of the minimum upgrade spend.

I should add that my max budget is $3700 including the $1411 credit.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

Maybe I'll wait a bit until BN's inventory has refreshed. I guess I'm just not sure about these Ds and ASETs would really have helped.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

I would really love to know if anyone can see leakage at the edge of these stones, and what the funny smear on the table is on the first one. Thanks!
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

A little leakage at the girdle is normal, BN has already confirmed they are eye-clean.

I think these might make a stunning pair IF they are eye-clean:
This guy is kind of cheap, so I want to make a pair of it if it is eye-clean: http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD02008424
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD02903855

If not, these are VS and should be eye-clean.
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD03112353
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD02877379
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

Thanks Julie. I checked them out and saw they are from the pool of single diamonds, not the pairs section. So I phoned BN to make sure I could get them, and they said yes, but they seemed to think that a consumer would be unable to match diamonds up appropriately! They said the computer crunches the numbers and comes up with pairs which are well-matched, with all angles being within 1% of each other - which does not describe the pair I have on hold! So I don't know what they were going on about....BUT, you've turned me on to the fact that there are many, many more diamonds in the single pool than the pairs pool on BN!

Now, as great as the stones you picked look (and I'm super-grateful for the help) my e-ring is an AGS I colour and it's a bit too yellow for me. I wonder if I might not like the J, although I know they can face up very white. My e-ring does face up very white, but in some lights there is a definite tint.

Anyway, I've promised myself to make a decision today, as this has gone on long enough!! Thank you very much for looking up those diamonds for me.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

How big is your e-Ring?
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

Hi Julie, it's 0.70.
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

same size, so J color might be too tinted, but color is not as noticeable on the ear as on the hand, as people probably do not stare intently at your ears as you might gaze at your ring.

Here is one possible pair:
http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-f-color-si2-clarity_LD02701799
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD03190901

Another possible pair:
http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-i-color-si2-clarity_LD03070564
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#diamonds_pid=LD03150269
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

For earrings I would get biggest possible I-J color and passably eye clean SI2s. They are seen from such a distance that I am more interested in size than color and clarity. Also, I would not worry too much about super-louper ideal for earrings. AGS0 or GIA Ex is enough for me in terms of ensuring acceptable cut. And I am a cut nut ;))
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

Thanks, Dreamer. I'm still looking at all the options and deciding what to do. I've got a bunch of work to do today so not even sure if I'll get to it till tomorrow.

As a cut nut, perhaps you can answer a question. I've read a lot about how you can go with lower specs for earrings, but I've always wondered why. I took my E/F Sig Ideal studs to E.B. Horn in Boston last week to investigate their trade-up policy and they were absolutely amazed that my studs had such high specs.

So here's my thinking: Why would one not want one's ears to sparkle every bit as much as one's hand? Meaning, in my view, that I'd get a superlative cut and something in the colourless or near-colourless range. I'm a bit of a heathen when it comes to clarity anyway, since most inclusions you have to squint to see, barring nasty big black carbon spots. Therefore I always get quite low clarity.

People see your earrings more, I would think, since they look at your head when you speak. I don't think people look at your hands as much. And an ideal or super-ideal cut means that your earrings sparkle even at people who are quite a few feet away. I compared my I colour e-ring with my D pendant and my E/F studs in different lighting last night, and unless the lighting is full-on, I do think the higher colours are brighter/show up more. With earrings, I've always tried to go full-tilt at all the specs the way I would with an engagement ring (except clarity which I don't care about) because I want the sparkliest ears possible!
 
 
Re: Excitement! Light Performance Docs are in, But Need Help

Smith1942|1362329610|3395172 said:
I saw these....1.40 J SI2 from BN's Very Good range.

Too deep.

And these from the Ideal range, 1.27, J.

The J SI2 pair I picked, linked above, is bigger and cheaper.

And these, from the Ideal range, 1.29 H.
Could be ok.
Click to expand...
 
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