First-time buying a diamond, seeking opinions

[Maniacal]

I have just recently started looking at engagement rings (and diamonds, for that matter) and have found a marquise solitaire I find to be quite attractive and in my price range. Do you think this is a good deal?

IGI certification
marquise shape brilliant cut
weight: 0.40 carat
meas: 7.22 x 3.59 x 2.49
color: E
clarity: SI1
pol/sym: good/good

not treated, no clue on fluorescence, laserscribed, blah blah...

The cert. cited "surface grain lines," but I didn't see anything looking at it under 10x. The stone itself was quite beautiful to my untrained eyes, showed no inclusions, minimal bow-tie, and really good light reflection.

Price for stone in 14k yg tiffany setting: $900. What do you think? Thanks.

edit: I guess my most notable concern is in the depth of the stone. I am not familiar with how to figure out depth percentage on marquise stones because of the varying diameter measurements across the stone. If someone could provide me with some insight on this as well, it would be much appreciated.

 

[niceice]

We're not fond of IGI graded diamonds, in our experience their grading practices are not as strict, nor consistent as more recognized laboratories like the GIA or AGS.

Isn't the total depth of the diamond stated on the lab report?

You will probably find this explanation of the more prominent type of clarity characteristics including "graining" that we recently added to our web site.

 

[Maniacal]

I had noticed inconsistencies in IGI gradings a bit in my searching (or what I would think were inconsistencies), particularly in clarity grading, but I found this particular stone to be one of the nicest SI1 stones I'd looked at.

As far as depth, the only numbers I've got are those of the measurements (7.22 x 3.59 x 2.49). From research this morning on marquise cut stones and related calculations, I calculated the depth to be a rather undesirable 69.3%. Being new to this, could someone confirm that number as valid or flawed (if flawed, a reason and correct number would be great)? I didn't notice a lack of light performance in the table, but I will have to take a much closer look when I see the stone again.

The graining explanation was quite helpful. Thanks for the link.