First Time Buyer Question

[sang]

Hello everyone. I''m a first time diamond engagement ring buyer trying to sort out what I can afford with my budget. I have two specific questions regarding Color & Clarity -- I''ve done a fair bit of reading on pricescope.com and understand the grading scales, but can the folks on this forum give me their personal impressions on the following:

1 - Is there really a marked difference (to a sharp but untrained naked eye) between F color and G color diamonds? For that matter, what about H stones?
2 - Is there a marked difference (again, to a sharp but untrained naked eye) between VVS2 and VS1 diamonds?

If it helps...my initial search criteria will be leaning towards 1.6 - 2.0 ct diamonds for an engagement ring -- round cut and my budget is about $18k for the stone. I''m sure that there''ll be many more questions but any help here will help me narrow my search down...thanks in advance!

Sang

 

[Deelight]

Date: 8/29/2008 4:46:18 AM
Author:sang
Hello everyone. I''m a first time diamond engagement ring buyer trying to sort out what I can afford with my budget. I have two specific questions regarding Color & Clarity -- I''ve done a fair bit of reading on pricescope.com and understand the grading scales, but can the folks on this forum give me their personal impressions on the following:


1 - Is there really a marked difference (to a sharp but untrained naked eye) between F color and G color diamonds? For that matter, what about H stones?



2 - Is there a marked difference (again, to a sharp but untrained naked eye) between VVS2 and VS1 diamonds?



If it helps...my initial search criteria will be leaning towards 1.6 - 2.0 ct diamonds for an engagement ring -- round cut and my budget is about $18k for the stone. I''m sure that there''ll be many more questions but any help here will help me narrow my search down...thanks in advance!


Sang

 

[Lorelei]

Ditto Miss Dee, welcome to Pricescope Sang

 

[HariSeldon]

Date: 8/29/2008 4:46:18 AM
Author:sang
Hello everyone. I''m a first time diamond engagement ring buyer trying to sort out what I can afford with my budget. I have two specific questions regarding Color & Clarity -- I''ve done a fair bit of reading on pricescope.com and understand the grading scales, but can the folks on this forum give me their personal impressions on the following:

1 - Is there really a marked difference (to a sharp but untrained naked eye) between F color and G color diamonds? For that matter, what about H stones?
2 - Is there a marked difference (again, to a sharp but untrained naked eye) between VVS2 and VS1 diamonds?

If it helps...my initial search criteria will be leaning towards 1.6 - 2.0 ct diamonds for an engagement ring -- round cut and my budget is about $18k for the stone. I''m sure that there''ll be many more questions but any help here will help me narrow my search down...thanks in advance!

Sang

1) Some people are more color sensitive to others. However, ideal cut diamonds can face up white even in the K color range. I''m really color sensitive so I went with a F color. Another reason I picked a colorless grade is that the setting I picked shows a lot of the side and pavilion of the diamond and this is where you usually see big differences in color.

take away: it really comes down to how color sensitive you are and what setting you pick.

2) VVS2 and VS1 inclusions are only visible under a 10x lupe when viewing face up. Therefore, to the naked eye there will be no difference. This is where the term "eye clean" comes in. Many stones even down in to the SI2 range can be "eye clean" meaning theres no visible inclusions to the naked eye when viewing the diamond from a certain distance (up to individual preference). The diamond I just purchased was SI2 and was "eye clean" to my standards.. you couldnt see any inclusions unless you held it almost as close as your nose and turned it a certain angle.

 

[stone_seeker]

Date: 8/29/2008 4:46:18 AM
Author:sang
Hello everyone. I''m a first time diamond engagement ring buyer trying to sort out what I can afford with my budget. I have two specific questions regarding Color & Clarity -- I''ve done a fair bit of reading on pricescope.com and understand the grading scales, but can the folks on this forum give me their personal impressions on the following:

1 - Is there really a marked difference (to a sharp but untrained naked eye) between F color and G color diamonds? For that matter, what about H stones?
2 - Is there a marked difference (again, to a sharp but untrained naked eye) between VVS2 and VS1 diamonds?

If it helps...my initial search criteria will be leaning towards 1.6 - 2.0 ct diamonds for an engagement ring -- round cut and my budget is about $18k for the stone. I''m sure that there''ll be many more questions but any help here will help me narrow my search down...thanks in advance!

Sang

The difference between F and G is not noticeable at all. I''ve had people who say they are very color sensitive and unable to tell the difference. Focus on cut and that difference will not matter. The difference between F and H may be more noticeable. All esle being equal, if you had to go down on one of the C''s, I would pick clarity as I think VVS is overkill. VS1 and VS2 stones have no naked eye inclusions so you could get more size, stay in the F color range and get more diamond.

 

[Ellen]

G is safe at almost any size, for all but the highly sensitive. H is more than fine for many. As for clarity, I would suggest looking all the way to SI1, there are many out there that are totally eyeclean!

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 8/29/2008 8:29:31 AM
Author: Ellen
G is safe at almost any size, for all but the highly sensitive. H is more than fine for many. As for clarity, I would suggest looking all the way to SI1, there are many out there that are totally eyeclean!

I agree with Ellen; G should fit all but the most uber-color-sensitive folks, and her clarity comments are right on as well.

 

[dockman3]

Yep, you''re getting some good advice here. You shouldn''t be able to tell the difference between two grades that are next to each other, so F to G or G to H, but some people say that can tell a difference between F and H. I find that this is true only when they are placed next to each other and usually unmounted. If they are set, then the odds of you being able to tell that something is a H or an F are pretty slim.

As for the clarity, you should not be able to see anything is a VS, let alone a VVS. As Hari said, even SI2 stones can be eye clean. I''m another one who bought an SI2 and I can''t see a thing even though I''ve got great 20/20 vision. You should be very safe with a VS2 if you don''t want to worry about eye clean.

 

[sang]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! This forum/site is amazingly beneficial. So based on the comments received so far, I''m going to narrow my search to G VS2 and focus on getting a stone that''s well cut. If I don''t find any potentials in my price range..then I can extend the search to S1. A few more queries...

3 - Having said that...what''s the best way to ensure that the stone is well cut when buying online? Do I ask the vendor for an Ideal-Scope image and post here? Is that enough?

4 - If I buy a stone and then take it to a local jeweler for the setting, how can I ensure that the shop is going to return the diamond that I purchased and not a imposter?

5 - If seems like PS''ers are very comfortable with some of the vendors who list their inventory online at PS. Is there a short list that I should primarily consider doing business with?

I apologize if these questions are common knowledge items...please point me to a FAQ if one exists with this info.

Thanks again!
Sang

 

[stone_seeker]

Date: 8/29/2008 10:12:07 AM
Author: sang
Thanks everyone for the quick responses! This forum/site is amazingly beneficial. So based on the comments received so far, I''m going to narrow my search to G VS2 and focus on getting a stone that''s well cut. If I don''t find any potentials in my price range..then I can extend the search to S1. A few more queries...

3 - Having said that...what''s the best way to ensure that the stone is well cut when buying online? Do I ask the vendor for an Ideal-Scope image and post here? Is that enough? For round stones, you can search for AGS0 or GIA Ex cut grades or also use the HCA (under tools) to get an idea of light performance. But Ideal Scope and ASET are also good to see and posting here will get you some great input

4 - If I buy a stone and then take it to a local jeweler for the setting, how can I ensure that the shop is going to return the diamond that I purchased and not a imposter? This would be highly irregular. For the truly paranoid, you can take it to an appraiser or other jeweler with the cert who may be able to see if the face up inclusions match the cert. Or you can just have it set by an online vendor.

5 - If seems like PS''ers are very comfortable with some of the vendors who list their inventory online at PS. Is there a short list that I should primarily consider doing business with? James Allen and WhiteFlash have great reputations. Also check out Good Old Gold for some options.

I apologize if these questions are common knowledge items...please point me to a FAQ if one exists with this info.

Thanks again!
Sang

 

[HariSeldon]

Date: 8/29/2008 10:12:07 AM
Author: sang
Thanks everyone for the quick responses! This forum/site is amazingly beneficial. So based on the comments received so far, I'm going to narrow my search to G VS2 and focus on getting a stone that's well cut. If I don't find any potentials in my price range..then I can extend the search to S1. A few more queries...

3 - Having said that...what's the best way to ensure that the stone is well cut when buying online? Do I ask the vendor for an Ideal-Scope image and post here? Is that enough?

4 - If I buy a stone and then take it to a local jeweler for the setting, how can I ensure that the shop is going to return the diamond that I purchased and not a imposter?

5 - If seems like PS'ers are very comfortable with some of the vendors who list their inventory online at PS. Is there a short list that I should primarily consider doing business with?

I apologize if these questions are common knowledge items...please point me to a FAQ if one exists with this info.

Thanks again!
Sang

3 - If you get the table%, depth%, crown angle, and pav. angle (or just post the certificate) coupled with an Idealscope image, then post them on here, I'm sure the experts will give you lots of quality feedback on the diamond.

4 - if you dont trust the jeweler dont let them work on your diamond! one good way to make sure you get the same diamond you give them is to pay attention to the inclusions and the inclusion plot on the certificate. if your diamond is inscripted then thats another way to check.

5 - Winfields (www.winkjones.com), Good Old Gold, Whiteflash are all PS recommended vendors. i just purchased an ER from Winfields and they had outstanding costomer service.

 

[sang]

Thanks for the responses everyone! It looks like my search has now expanded to include cushion cuts. Any good resources to learn about the different cushion cut?

Thanks again!