finally ring shopping! help a newbie, please

[phanct]

Hello, all! My bf and I are finally ring shopping! I am a complete newbie when it comes to purchasing diamonds and have been trying to do research on my own, but I am getting confused. I would love a round diamond and I want quality over carat size, although I would love 1.7 to 2.0 carat. The budget is around $15k, but we are willing to go a bit higher if the quality is worth it. I've looked through several websites, including the results from Pricescope's searches, but it's a lot to take in. Would you all be able to help me find a diamond? So far, here are a couple that I like and would love opinions on:

https://www.eternitybyyoni.com/diamond_detail.php?id=2894343

https://www.eternitybyyoni.com/diamond_detail.php?id=2474738

https://www.eternitybyyoni.com/diamond_detail.php?id=2900979

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4069590.htm

This is what I've been using for my searches, but I just want something that is eye-clean and looks white to the naked eye
table: 54-58
depth: 60-62.3
carat: 1.7-2.0
color: H or better
cut: excellent/ideal
clarity: vs1, vs2

 

[Matthews1127]

Hello, all! My bf and I are finally ring shopping! I am a complete newbie when it comes to purchasing diamonds and have been trying to do research on my own, but I am getting confused. I would love a round diamond and I want quality over carat size, although I would love 1.7 to 2.0 carat. The budget is around $15k, but we are willing to go a bit higher if the quality is worth it. I've looked through several websites, including the results from Pricescope's searches, but it's a lot to take in. Would you all be able to help me find a diamond? So far, here are a couple that I like and would love opinions on:

https://www.eternitybyyoni.com/diamond_detail.php?id=2894343

https://www.eternitybyyoni.com/diamond_detail.php?id=2474738

https://www.eternitybyyoni.com/diamond_detail.php?id=2900979

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4069590.htm

This is what I've been using for my searches, but I just want something that is eye-clean and looks white to the naked eye
table: 54-58
depth: 60-62.3
carat: 1.7-2.0
color: H or better
cut: excellent/ideal
clarity: vs1, vs2

If you are looking for ideal standards, stick with WF, HPD/CBI, and BGD.

 

[lovedogs]

CBI will look whiter than other stones of the same color bc of the cutting (same with ACA line from Whiteflash).

I think this one is beautiful, even though it's an I color.
https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD10013

 

[tyty333]

Ditto...if you want quality stick with a Super Ideal Branded stone. They will be AGS000 graded and will be H&A. They have all the imagery you need
to see that they're nice stones (ASET, Ideal scope, H&A, videos).

Here is a nice H. They also have the best trade up policies. Just pick any stone that cost more than your current stone. Makes it easy when the time
comes to upgrade to a 2 or 2.5 carat!
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4091542.htm

The GIA reports would not load for the yoni stones but in general, they appeared deep or had large tables.

 

[phanct]

Ditto...if you want quality stick with a Super Ideal Branded stone. They will be AGS000 graded and will be H&A. They have all the imagery you need
to see that they're nice stones (ASET, Ideal scope, H&A, videos).

Here is a nice H. They also have the best trade up policies. Just pick any stone that cost more than your current stone. Makes it easy when the time
comes to upgrade to a 2 or 2.5 carat!
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4091542.htm

The GIA reports would not load for the yoni stones but in general, they appeared deep or had large tables.

this is beautiful, but i'm looking for vs2 or vs1.

 

[lovedogs]

this is beautiful, but i'm looking for vs2 or vs1.

I wouldn't worry about an SI1 with a WF ACA. You can even ask them to take an IRL video or picture to confirm how "eye clean" it is.

 

[phanct]

Ditto...if you want quality stick with a Super Ideal Branded stone. They will be AGS000 graded and will be H&A. They have all the imagery you need
to see that they're nice stones (ASET, Ideal scope, H&A, videos).

Here is a nice H. They also have the best trade up policies. Just pick any stone that cost more than your current stone. Makes it easy when the time
comes to upgrade to a 2 or 2.5 carat!
https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4091542.htm

The GIA reports would not load for the yoni stones but in general, they appeared deep or had large tables.

The one you linked has an inclusion that I know would bother me cuz I'm crazy like that lol. Is there a difference in quality between what you linked and the whiteflash diamond I linked besides the specs on paper ?

 

[lovedogs]

The one you linked has an inclusion that I know would bother me cuz I'm crazy like that lol. Is there a difference in quality between what you linked and the whiteflash diamond I linked besides the specs on paper ?

Yes. You linked one withouy any images or way to assess quality. She linked an ACA which is guaranteed to be a top performer.

 

[lovedogs]

Also the one you linked doesnt come with any of the WF guarantees and isn't in house for them to inspect for you

 

[phanct]

Ohhh thank you !

 

[phanct]

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4066978.htm

Can I get an opinion on this one ? It looks to be pretty clean/good quality.

 

[phanct]

Also, if anyone can give me their thoughts on fluorescence, that would be wonderful. I thought it was ideal to have faint to no fluorescence, but I'm reading that may not be true anymore ?

 

[tyty333]

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4066978.htm

Can I get an opinion on this one ? It looks to be pretty clean/good quality.

This is also a nice stone. AGS000 H&A... It also hits the 8mm mark.

Strong Fluorescence - only on rare occasions can be bad (look oily). If you pick a stone with Strong Fluor ask the vendor to have it evaluated to make
sure it does not turn oily.

 

[lovedogs]

This is also a nice stone. AGS000 H&A... It also hits the 8mm mark.

Strong Fluorescence - only on rare occasions can be bad (look oily). If you pick a stone with Strong Fluor ask the vendor to have it evaluated to make
sure it does not turn oily.

100% agree on all points. I almost never worry about flour--it's almost always fine, but just ask the vendor.

 

[phanct]

My search for a diamond is well underway thanks to you guys. I recently came across a very nice 2 carat diamond, F color, very eye clean si1, excellent cut, BUT there is medium yellow fluorescence. Now I know you guys said fluorescence is hardly something to worry about, but was that just with blue fluorescence? Should a medium yellow fluorescence be something to be concerned about ?

 

[ringo865]

I personally would avoid yellow fluorescence on a colorless *or near* colorless stone. Blue helps negate yellow which makes blue fluorescence more beneficial in “whitening” on “clear” stones.

But i would consider yellow fluorescence on a yellow (or possibly other) colored stone.

 

[phanct]

http://www.msureshco.com/msg_report.asp?packet_no=1900700

If y'all could be so kind as to give me input on this one, that'd be much appreciated

 

[Athena10X]

http://www.msureshco.com/msg_report.asp?packet_no=1900700

If y'all could be so kind as to give me input on this one, that'd be much appreciated

First, the company is located in Mumbai. Not sure where you reside, but if you are state-side, I’d recommend working with a vendor that is also state-side.

Moving onto the diamond posted:
There is much left to be desired from the H&A (lacking uniformity), ideal scope (obstruction) and ASET images (potential light leakage under the table). It is far from “super-ideal”. Since you are prioritizing cut per your original post, I would recommend sticking to the vendors previously suggested (Whiteflash, HPD/CBI, Brian Gavin). A few others that offer adequate images also include Victor Canera, Enchanted Diamonds, James Allen (upon request and for True Hearts line), B2C Perfection. I’m sure others will chime in, but IMHO, I’d pass as can do better with your budget.

 

[natasha-cupcake]

http://www.msureshco.com/msg_report.asp?packet_no=1900700

If y'all could be so kind as to give me input on this one, that'd be much appreciated

I would pass on this stone. The video shows really subpar performance. Dullness under the table; misaligned arrows that don't materialize in a coordinated fashion; and uncoordinated firing of the crown facets. ASET and Ideal Scope shows significant light leakage under the table. There's also dullness in the table area in the still photos. H & A's are messed up--huge clefts in the hearts and uneven gap-y arrows. HCA score is 2.1, just past the recommended cut-off, but this stone is a mess.

Run!!

 

[Athena10X]

Forgot to mention that this is a 60/60 stone, which offers more white-light return; yet the crown and pavilion angles fall within FIC range., which tends to give off more fire. Would ask community on how these parameters interact with each other irl.

 

[lovedogs]

Yup, I agree with others that this isn't an ideal cut stone by a long shot.

 

[phanct]

Thank you!

 

[rockysalamander]

https://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-4018632.htm

https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-di...color-vs1-clarity-true-hearts-cut-sku-5390976
{nice images and diamond; good spread}

https://www.hpdiamonds.com/en-us/diamonddetail/HPD10673 {love this one! and in budget and in specs}

JA will give you 100% of the cost of the diamond if you spend double on an upgrade. WF and HPD only requires that you spend $1 more. HPD also has a lifetime buyback at 80% of the cost (which is HUGE, if you need to sell the stone privately, you'd be lucky to get 40-50%).

I'd trust both WF and HPD to judge eyeclean for me. JA, its more of a variable response.

 

[phanct]

I'm still trying to see if I can get lucky and find a diamond from a source other than wf, bg, etc just to see if I can find something that's still good quality, but not as expensive. There's one other diamond I'm interested in that looks good to my untrained eye, but I'd love your options. The vendor said there's no idealscope images and I've used up my hca allowance on this site.

http://dnitin.com/DiamondDetail_WithOutMaster.aspx?sid=52378

 

[ringo865]

if you want to get a pricescope-esque stone without the superideal vendor, reach out to Yuketiel at IDJewelry in NYC. Tell him pricescope sent you and what you want and what your budget it. Ask him to give you cert numbers and images of any stones he recommends, which you will post here for feedback.

 

[AdaBeta27]

I'm still trying to see if I can get lucky and find a diamond from a source other than wf, bg, etc just to see if I can find something that's still good quality, but not as expensive. There's one other diamond I'm interested in that looks good to my untrained eye, but I'd love your options. The vendor said there's no idealscope images and I've used up my hca allowance on this site.

http://dnitin.com/DiamondDetail_WithOutMaster.aspx?sid=52378

If you like the look of the Whiteflash ACA, or Hearts On Fire, or Brian Gavin diamonds, or CBI, you sure won't like any of these no-names with 60-62% tables or larger. 57%-58% is going to be the cutoff for table size, and 55-56% may be better. You get what you pay for in the diamond buying realm. The best-cut diamonds will get snatched up fast and offered as in-house diamonds. Second and third tier will remain on the "virtual list" because they somehow didn't have the peak performance that the big vendors will put their private brandname on. AN AGS000 report means the diamond had already passed muster, performance-wide. Any GIA triple excellent, you still need to be concerned with HCA score and/or does the diamond face up small for it's weight, painting & digging, or other issues.

B2C Jewels and I.D. Jewelry are the vendors known for finding people nice diamonds to fit their budgets. The polish grade may be lower than on an AGS000 or some similar thing that's just missed the spec and may or may not be visible to the naked eye, but still counts when assigning a grade. But cutters shop the grading labs, and generally if the stone will grade AGS000, it's going to be sent to AGS to get that 000. If not, it would be sent to GIA because their 3X is more lenient and it includes stones that AGS000 would exclude.

Did you take a look at niceice.com education section, the 5 -15 minutes to success section? That's where the Pricescope parameters originated.

 

[Athena10X]

If you are set on finding a non-branded diamond with near “super-ideal” parameters, I’d recommend sourcing from the vendors @AdaBeta27 provided or using a reliable concierge service such as August Vintage. @Rhino found my new beauty, a non-branded GIAXXX H&A, and is currently working on my custom setting. He even made two informative videos for me. Here’s my thread: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/help-with-aset-and-giaxxx-specs.246262/

 

[Dancing Fire]

I'm still trying to see if I can get lucky and find a diamond from a source other than wf, bg, etc just to see if I can find something that's still good quality, but not as expensive. There's one other diamond I'm interested in that looks good to my untrained eye, but I'd love your options. The vendor said there's no idealscope images and I've used up my hca allowance on this site.

http://dnitin.com/DiamondDetail_WithOutMaster.aspx?sid=52378

Not a well cut stone...big table + a flat crown =

 

[phanct]

Per @ringo865 's suggestion, i contacted IDJ and asked them to source me diamonds according to PS's standards. They just sent me 3 GIA certificates to review as a starting point. I'm attaching the GIA reports here for your feedback. I think I like diamond 1's specs best, but I also have no idea what I'm talking about lol. There are no videos/photos at the moment. Thank you again!

Diamond 1:



Diamond 2:



Diamond 3:

 

[Dancing Fire]

I think I like diamond 1's specs best, but I also have no idea what I'm talking about lol. There are no videos/photos at the moment. Thank you again!

Diamond 1:

Yup, The #s look good but is it eye clean?