Feedback on potential purchase?

[lostinspace]

Hi, I'm a newbie when it comes to shopping for diamonds, but it's time to tie the knot with my girlfriend of 10 years (okay, it's long overdue). I know that I want to buy a round brilliant solitaire in the 1.4 carat size range. I've tried to do as much research as possible and educate myself, but that's still no substitute for the real world experience of folks on this forum. The fire/brilliance of the stone is important to us. Therefore, a high priority of mine is the cut. Basically, it should "sparkle". Through a good friend of my brother's, I believe that I've found a nice diamond in my price range with my desired parameters.

Here are the specs:
GIA Round Brilliant
7.22 x 7.24 X 4.44 mm
1.41 carat
H color
VS1 clarity (only thing I can see on the GIA report is a small spec on the far left edge of the diagram)
Excellent cut, polish, and symmetry
No Fluorescence
Price: $8700

I used the HCA tool and it showed 1.5 for total visual performance. The Accedited Gem Appraisers tool graded all the categories as 1A, except crown angle, which was 1B (overall was 1A). Attached is the GIA report.

So far, this seems to be a good performing diamond, but like I said before, I have very limited experience with this. Does the quality or potential performance of this particular diamond seem fair in relation to the price or can I do "better"? Do these quantitative figures and measurements really give a good indication of the real world performance of a diamond? Am I overlooking any other important considerations when evaluating this diamond?

Thanks for your help in advance and your patience with all my questions. This is a big step and purchase for me and I definitely welcome any feedback. My fiancee and I appreciate it.

 

[lostinspace]

I don''t know if my attachment was uploaded in the previous message so i''m trying it again...

 

[whatmeworry]

Looks like a good candidate at a good price. Take it out for a test drive under lots of lighting conditions.

 

[lostinspace]

Thanks for the reply, whatmeworry. I will attempt to evaluate the diamond under different conditions, but unfortunately, with my untrained eye, everything above a certain level looks terrific to me. I am also a little colorblind. Yes, I am probably an unscrupulous seller''s dream customer!

I plan to put it in a platinum 6 prong "Tiffany''s" style setting. Will a step up in color (G instead of H) be noticeable at all against the platinum? I couldn''t see the diffence between G and H in the store, but as I mentioned, I am also a little colorblind so probably not the best judge...

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome to PS.

Looks like a possible great pick!

 

[lostinspace]

Thanks for the welcome, Lorelei. This forum has been a great source of information. I've decided to go with the diamond mentioned in my original post above. I really don't think that I would have gotten anything nearly as nice had I not learned so much from this site. Now, I just have to decide between the SuperbCert Tiffany style setting or a Elaineh inspired, WF modified knife edge setting. I really like both quite a bit and don't think I can go wrong with either, but it will still be a tough choice. I'm excited to be this close though and looking forward to officially popping the question in July.

 

[Jenn5504]

Hi Lostinspace! Congrats on finally taking the plunge! How exciting! I LOVE the look you're going for (.......I would........seeing as how I just posted the Elaineh inspired WF ring post!

) I think the stone you've listed looks promising! The numbers remind me a lot of the stone I just got! The color and clarity are great! I get the impression that the 1.4 range is really hard to find with all the cutters trying to hit 1.5, so way to go on getting in under the 1.5 price hike. VERY smart. I don't think you'll notice any difference between G and H. I'd go for H. VS1 is also more than you "need" to be eye clean, so you're more than fine in that department, could go down to VS2 or maybe even SI1 without noticing a difference even. I just wanted to let you know that my WF experience was exceptional. I did purchase my stone through them though and let their eyes/expertise guide me because my main reason for re-doing my re-do was to get an upgrade policy.

Good luck, can't wait to see the final details and ESPECIALLY THE PICS!!!!! If money was no object, I think H SI1 would be my sweet spot. I'm a size whore though and dropped way down to get bigger. My stone budget was also almost a couple grand below what you're working with.

 

[lostinspace]

Hi Jenn, Actually, the pictures of your ring, along with Elaineh''s postings, really inspired me. My girlfriend and I love that classic look with the solitaire in the 6 prong platinum setting. Both of your rings are beautiful examples of that. Thanks for posting up the pics.

Yes, it is tough to find many good choices in the 1.4 carat range due to the reason you mentioned. If I wanted 1.5+, there seems to be a lot more diamonds to choose from...but the prices jump up accordingly. I could have probably done it by going down a step or two for color and clarity, which would still be gorgeous with the right cut...but my girlfriend is tiny (a size 3 ring is loose on her!), so 1.4 is a nice sweet spot. I will definitely post up pictures once everything is completed. Is there a specific person at WF that you would recommend for me to work with?

 

[kcoursolle]

VS1 is a little overkill, but other than that this stone looks great. Great numbers and I like that it''s just under 1.5.