Feedback on this lab diamond please

[DoeEyes]

Here are the details, sorry if the formatting is weird. Are there other details you need to determine if it's good or not? This one has a video and to my eye it looks great, I'm basically ready to just order it and hope for the best, but figured I should post here first. It's the top of my budget and within my carat range (.75-1). I could go higher carat size and sacrifice clarity, but the videos of SI and even VS that I looked at, I could see the imperfections. Really wish I could see them in person, I know the videos are magnified so I might not notice those imperfections in person.

Anyway on to the specs. Thoughts?
Carat Weight:0.80
Shape:Round
Cut:Ideal
Color:I
Clarity:VVS1
Measurements:5.97mm x 5.93mm x 3.70mm
Table:57.0%
Depth:62.2%
Symmetry:Excellent
Polish:Excellent
Girdle:Thin - Medium
Culet: Pointed
Fluorescence:None
Crown Height - Angle: 15.5%-35.7%
Pavilion Depth - Angle: 43.5%-41%

When I plugged this into the HCA it said "The total Depth % entered suggests the girgle is overly thick, or the data entered is incorrect." It doesn't not give me any results.

 

[OoohShiny]

I think you must have made a typo - perhaps you were entering the crown and pavilion height percentages rather than the angles?

I get HCA 4.5, so basically it is a steep-deep diamond.

You can do better, keep on looking!

 

[whitewave]

Here is a comparison. This is 1.9 HCA, not great angles, but better than what you have.

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-de...DiamondDetails&action=newTab&catalogView=true

.76 I Si1 $1896

 

[whitewave]

I found a lab diamond:

https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/6301699/

.84 H Vs1 $1990
HCA 1.3

This is a better choice than the one you bought.

 

[whitewave]

https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD10511327

HCA 1 .80J Si1 faint Fluor $2310.00

 

[soxfan]

Not good. And lightbox is going to be selling them for $800 a carat soon. I'd cancel the order.

 

[DoeEyes]

@whitewave Thank you, but those are both more than I really wanted to spend. $2k total for the ring setting included. If the one I ordered ends up being a dud, I'll have to decide if I want to go to a lower size or raise my budget. We'll see.

 

[whitewave]

The problem with overly deep diamonds is that you are paying for volume that you can’t see and that hurts performance.

But I totally hear you with what you wrote on the other post and the only thing that matters is that you think it is beautiful, forget the numbers.

If your heart sings when you see it in all lighting conditions, then it’s the diamond for you.

I would love to see hand pics no matter what it looks like when you get it. Thanks.

 

[OoohShiny]

@whitewave Thank you, but those are both more than I really wanted to spend. $2k total for the ring setting included. If the one I ordered ends up being a dud, I'll have to decide if I want to go to a lower size or raise my budget. We'll see.

So you've ordered the HCA 4.5 one?

If it performs as the score indicates, it will look dark/leaky in the centre under the table, if I understand things correctly.

Make sure to view it in a range of lights, not just sparkly store lights.

 

[DoeEyes]

@whitewave Thank you for everything. I'll definitely post pictures when I get it, even if I have to say YOU GUYS WERE RIGHT THIS THING SUCKS! Lol. I hear you about the deep diamond issue. Keeping expectations low.

 

[DoeEyes]

@OoohShiny I ordered a different one, it actually performed even worse on HCA, I think it was 5.5. It's a .9 Ideal cut J SI2. I just emailed them asking to send the IGI report, it was on the website before but since I bought it it's not visible anymore.

 

[dhoang132]

https://www.brightsdiamonds.com/diamondDetails?id=10

try this place, seems pretty cheap compared to the bigger companies.

 

[dhoang132]

even thought it's SI1 the inclusion is off to the side and not in the center of the stone.

 

[DoeEyes]

I requested to cancel the order. If anyone wants to go on the hunt, I'm looking for a lab diamond .75-1 ct preferably from BE but will consider anywhere that has a setting I like and free returns. Total budget with setting and shipping $2k. With the BE 6-prong petite comfort fit setting, that leaves about $1500 for the stone.

 

[dhoang132]

don't get I or J color unless you like that yellow color diamond. IGI isn't as strict as GIA. I generally go for a color up when selecting from IGI diamonds. H for GIA is good enough but for IGI I go for G.

 

[kindred]

@frogplus, Glad to hear that you canceled the order. Do you want to order a diamond now or do you want to hang on a couple of weeks to see if Lightbox offers clear diamonds of .75 carat or more this month? It all depends on your timeline. I would wait for the Lightbox diamonds because of the price difference, but it sounds like they will not be grading them, so you would have to order and wait and see how it looks. They will have a 30 day return policy, though.

 

[DoeEyes]

I saw a local jeweler yesterday who showed me his cheapest lab diamond, .74 H SI1 Ideal for $1590. Little over budget and bottom of size range but it was gorgeous. I definitely would not need any whiter than H, and I think I or J lab would also be fine.

 

[DoeEyes]

@kindred You're right, I probably should wait. I'll have to talk to my boyfriend to see how he feels about supporting DeBeers though.

 

[HappyNewLife]

Can you share a link to the setting that you like from BE, so if we find a nice diamond elsewhere we can also check that they have a similar setting?

 

[dhoang132]

oh pkay i see, I just recall from an experience I had about 5 years ago when I order a 1 ct EGL "I" color diamond. I kid you not it was a bright yellow color that you could spot a mile away. from that moment on, whenever I order from online sites I generally go a color up. lots of hassles sending them diamonds back for a refund.

 

[dhoang132]

I have order a pair of .36 ct Lab grown diamond vvs1 color "D" for earrings. and they are beautiful, and shiny, but for some reason my wife doesn't like them. just think of them as cheap stones. to me if it looks a duck and quacks like a duck then it's a duck to me... but for my wife, "not expensive, not the same thing". If i could I would swap out her natural diamond that i brought 10 years again for a lab grown in a heart beat to save that 5k in price difference. but guys and females don't think alike.

 

[DoeEyes]

Here's the setting from BE https://www.brilliantearth.com/Six-Prong-Petite-Comfort-Fit-Ring-White-Gold-BE1199H6-1912136/

It doesn't need to be exact. 14 or 18k white gold. 6 prongs. Thin band no wider than 2mm. I also like the tapered look but BE doesn't have that in 6 prongs, only 4.

 

[dhoang132]

https://www.cleanorigin.com/

I think this place has very good diamond prices, however they don't have your 6 prong setting. I think if you give them a call i'm sure they could special order it for you. the 6 prong is pretty common and easy to find.

 

[DoeEyes]

@dhoang132 I did a search on that website for $1500 and under and the two most expensive ones had 4+ HCA ratings. I VVS2 .87, and G VS1 .72, both ideal cut.

 

[HappyNewLife]

I'm just going to throw this out there, feel free to ignore me.

If it were ME, I'd buy this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3981508.htm

plus this:

https://www.whiteflash.com/engageme...ffany-style-solitaire-engagement-ring-582.htm

cost: $95 over budget if you pay by wire

I have a not great cut .8 carat diamond and it looks the same in size as my ideal cut .66 WF ACA diamond.

Then, you'll walk around with a firebomb on your finger, but if you ever want to upgrade, you can.

OK, sorry. Back to lab-created diamonds now

 

[Akalahab]

Frogplus - can you tell your boyfriend that you are really stressed out by this process? If he wants to marry you, then maybe he'll want to help a little! What is it you'd rather be doing/spending your $ on if you did not "have" to buy a diamond ring? Maybe you're better off with a band and not even getting an e-ring? I have several friends who did this and I don't think they're missing out that much, personally. And then there's no dds or comparing or wondering about something better etc.

If you want a diamond and you'd rather not put anymore work into this, why not just put it in the hands of IDJ - you call them, tell them your budget and that you want a PS quality (lab) diamond ring close to 1 carat, they do all of the work to find you one, you post the images here, if it checks out then you buy it, they set it, you're finished and receive a ring in the mail and rest assured that you got a good price on good quality. The end!

 

[DoeEyes]

@Akalahab He knows I'm stressed and he thinks it's ridiculous that I'm spending time on this when it clearly isn't making me happy. His solution wouldn't be for him to get involved, it would be for me to stop obsessing and either pick one or not get one at all. Honestly I'm completely fine with that, I don't want him involved. He has a lot of other things on his plate (self-employed, major house renovations) whereas I sit in an office all day with plenty of time to read and research.

The idea about just putting it in IDJ's hands is basically what I was going to do, but when I started giving him all the information and stuff he basically stopped me and said I need to come in person so he can show me things and get an idea of what my tolerance is for color, cut etc so he can then find me the best deal. I live in Philly so this means 4 hours of travel, spend like 5 hours in NYC seeing IDJ and OWD and having lunch, we both have to take off work (he's self employed so this is actual money not being made, for me I have to use PTO) plus the cost of Megabus tickets because **** driving in NYC. All of that added up it's just like such a huge effort.

We had scheduled the visit and it had to be cancelled, and I honestly felt relieved at that point so I thought, why am I doing this? Why don't I just do the easy brilliant earth option.

Maybe I should reach out to IDJ again and explain how I'm feeling and see if he'll just do what you said.

 

[Akalahab]

I'm so sorry for the headache that you've been through! I think you can do all of this without going to NY in person. IDJ might still be better than scouring the internet for something and even if you order through Brilliant Earth, it's hard to gauge what tint their lab stones will be etc. I hope this turns out more fun for you - you've done more research than most people already by coming here! Really excited to see what you end up with!

 

[whitewave]

Some choices:

https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/6250114/
.78H vs2


https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/6245562/
.82 G vs2

https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/6072154/
.93 j vs2

 

[DoeEyes]

Thanks @whitewave! So how would you pick between these if you were happy with all sizes? I would assume the most expensive one? The size would be perfect and while the price is slightly over budget, it would be fine if it's substantially better than the first one. If I probably wouldn't notice the difference between the first and second in terms of how sparkly and beautiful they are, I would probably rather save the $300.