For small diamonds, can you tell the difference?

[jenkins]

Between, say a walmart diamond and a good/average quality diamond?

We''re talking .5ct and .25ct.

 

[researcher]

I sure can!

 

[bookworm21]

Yep. Cut quality affects the overall sparkle of the diamond. I have a .45 carat round that has a slightly worse than average cut, and it doesn''t sparkle as much as other rings that are slightly smaller. Look for cut quality!

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome Jenkins Sir! or M'aam! I am not quite clear here, but if you compare an excellent cut diamond to a poorer one you will DEFINITELY see a difference

Colour and clarity in those sizes wouldn't be as noticeable depending, but cut quality you can really tell the difference. I don't know about Walmart as I have never seen their diamonds or know what cut quality they are offering.

Quick hijack here, I have never seen so many members on PS at this hour before!

Is it a holiday I don't know about?????

 

[bookworm21]

Quick hijack here, I have never seen so many members on PS at this hour before! Is it a holiday I don''t know about?????

LOL Lorelei, I was thinking the exact same thing. Maybe it''s the full moon? Or the excitement of the holidays? I''m usually dead asleep at this hour, but for some reason, I''m wide awake right now.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 12/14/2005 4:56:56 AM
Author: Cinderella

Quick hijack here, I have never seen so many members on PS at this hour before! Is it a holiday I don''t know about?????

Yeah!

About the half carat...... I''d say that is where cut counts most. If it was 20 cts, even an uncut pebble would get some attention from some folk.

It is not like you see ''the cut'', it is a quality that makes the diamond show off more. IMO at least.

 

[jennalyns]

YES!!! It makes a huge difference. Even in the tiny melees, I can tell the difference between well stones and crappy ones, because bad ones just don''t sparkle. I have a 1/2 carat stone and you can definitely tell that it is a top of the line cut- it outsparkles most rings I see, and you can defnitely tell the difference between it and the average stone.

I had a .33 stone from a mall store, and it was pretty and sparkly, but you could see inclusions. We got it replaced with a cut above stone from whiteflash, same size, and you can absolutely tell the difference in the sparkle- the well-cut one blew the average-cut one away!! Cut definitely makes a difference, at any size!

 

[rainbowtrout]

Date: 12/14/2005 5:09:44 AM
Author: valeria101

Date: 12/14/2005 4:56:56 AM

Author: Cinderella


Quick hijack here, I have never seen so many members on PS at this hour before! Is it a holiday I don''t know about?????

For the younger folks, it''s exams....we''re not sleeping.

As to the diamond, not to be redundant, but it DOES still matter. If you look at sidestones that are about that size or smaller in prefab settings, even under jeweler''s lighting the dratted things look like flat champagne.
(ok,perhaps too creative there...they look dead)

 

[Lorelei]

OK, for all those of you taking exams GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!!!

 

[blodthecat]

Hi Jenkins !

I am more worried that you even had to ask that question! I suggest you stick around this site and do some homework before you spend any money on a diamond.

dyanne

 

[JohnQuixote]

Date: 12/14/2005 4:33:03 AM
Author:jenkins
Between, say a walmart diamond and a good/average quality diamond?

We're talking .5ct and .25ct.

The better and more precise the cut the better the 'mirrors' in the diamond line up with each other and reflect/refract light correctly through the diamond and back to the viewer. Of course all diamonds look their best under bright lighting like you will see in jewelry sales areas because the sheer volume of light bombarding the diamond assures that a lot will return to your eyes (did you suspect there was a reason for those lighting setups?).

The angles and precision of cut in a diamond determine how efficiently that light return will continue through a broad range of lighting conditions away from direct lighting. More planning and effort is required to get the angles and precision 'just so,' so it costs more to produce diamonds of higher quality (and more effort means more rough is polished away so they finish out smaller as a result).

This is why most diamonds on the world market are of average quality.

 

[goldengirl]

Yes. Not only yes, but euw, yes.

 

[bookworm21]

Date: 12/14/2005 6:18:00 AM
Author: Lorelei
OK, for all those of you taking exams GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!!!

Thanks! Do any other students out there have a problem with procrastination like I do? I have an 8 page final that''s due on Thursday and I haven''t even started it yet....

 

[icekid]

you know, I''m only in the middle of the hardest year of med school- and reputedly the hardest exam of the year on Friday... and here I am!

We need to be kicked in the butt, eh?

and YES YES YES, the quality matters even in smaller diamonds!

 

[Kaleigh]

Get off Ps and study girls!!!

Back to diamonds, yes cut matters even in small diamonds.

 

[strmrdr]

Yep it makes a difference.
Now if your were talking the difference between near h&a and h&a in the smaller sizes the details arent going to be as aparant as say a 2ct.
With the larger sizes id go true h&a super-ideal anyday but with the .25s id be more likely to step down a notch in cut and up in size.
It is a tough balancing act with them.
.50 its getting into the range where the price per carot is enough that you dont get a lot bigger for the same money by steping down so id stay near the top.

 

[sylvesterii]

procrastination? What is that? (i''m studying for law school finals) Intellectual Property Law...reading pricescope...intellectual prop...pricescope...


reminds me of my favorite "motivational poster" of all time. it is from here

 

[Gonzodogg]

I want that poster

 

[Gonzodogg]

alright I set that poster as the desktop on my computer - that should motivate me for exams

 

[bookworm21]

Date: 12/14/2005 3:39:28 PM
Author: sylvesterii
procrastination? What is that? (i''m studying for law school finals) Intellectual Property Law...reading pricescope...intellectual prop...pricescope...


reminds me of my favorite ''motivational poster'' of all time. it is from here

Darn. Now it''s just going to make me much lazier than I already am. And I''m already really lazy. I have a feeling I won''t be writing that final until tomorrow morning...

*groan*

 

[skphotoimages]

I had a .25 from a mall store and it was goergous! That was long before I knew better, and we (my exhusband and I)picked it because it was the prettiest one in the store. It had more fire than anyone elses diamond I knew. It was probably a good cut that snuck through

. My next diamond (with my current husband) was a .50, and once again I knew nothing about the cut. This time I was educated, but I picked it because it was the best looking one there. It outshined most anyone elses diamond in that size range. My new diamond I bought part by the numbers, and part by sight, and I love it. I was in a mall store yesterday, and all the diamonds, including the Leo''s looked dead compared to mine. Lesson learned, if you have a good eye, there are diamonds in the rough (no pun intended) to be found out there. But you can tell the difference petweem a poor cut stone and a good one...at ANY size. My neighbor had a .25 original diamond that was cloudy white because it was so poorly cut. You mentioned walmart, and I have seen a few good stones at Sams, but then again, they were few and far between.

 

[runner0382]

Absolutely, you can tell the difference! In my short time on here, I learned never to sacrific cut, and I''m a happy guy. A recent purchase of .30 TW white gold studs in 3 prong martinis from Whiteflash (VS2 F) far outshone a pair of .33 SI2''s G from BlueNile. I bought both and there was no comparison - now, the clarity (the SI2''s were really pretty clean) and color couldn''t alone be responsible for the huge return of light on the Whiteflash stones. The BlueNile set (alas, $190 cheaper) were dull when held up next to the Whiteflash set in all lighting conditions. Now, this may not be an apples and oranges comparison but it does at the least speak to the quality of the WF cut! I returned the BN pair and am happy with the premium on the WF pair given the quality difference. They''re beautiful!

A local jeweler said the $440 WF pair would cost about $350 to make, so their markup isn''t horrible. To get that price in a B&M store, it''ll have to be someone who thinks they''ll get repeat business. No stores in Downtown L.A. could even touch the $440 price!

Too bad I forgot to ask for the Pricescope discount - they DID NOT offer it. Also, they WILL charge you $40 shipping if you return anything - this is a little-known tactic that WF does not advertise, fyi.

 

[gailrmv]

I think you can even tell in tiny diamonds. I saw the mall $99 special pendent with tiny (1 or 2 point?) melees. I had never seen tiny diamonds look seriously opaque before.... Who is buying this???!!! My favorite is when there are diamonds alternated with metal that is styled to look like a diamond... and they call it fine jewelry.
Well that is another topic, but yes, there is a huge difference!

 

[Mara]

oh yeah it makes a difference!!!

i had crappily cut .50c earrings that probably faced up more like .40c''s due to the depth and bad cut, now i have .38c''s and they look just as big to everyone who sees them AND they are 1000% more sparkly. i always wondered why my earrings were kind of flat before.

cut is king in my opinion, even in smaller stones. melee of 1 pointers, don''t know that it would make AS much difference but the larger you go, the more you can tell. i even have 10 pointers in my ebay diamond ring and it sparkles but not as much as a well-cut 10 pointer ring would.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 12/14/2005 4:38:52 AM
Author: Lorelei
Welcome Jenkins Sir! or M'aam! I am not quite clear here, but if you compare an excellent cut diamond to a poorer one you will DEFINITELY see a difference

Colour and clarity in those sizes wouldn't be as noticeable depending, but cut quality you can really tell the difference. I don't know about Walmart as I have never seen their diamonds or know what cut quality they are offering.

Quick hijack here, I have never seen so many members on PS at this hour before!

Is it a holiday I don't know about?????

Lorelei

yes.....today is DIAMOND DAY in the U.S.

that's why so many girls are up early or up late.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 12/15/2005 12:20:46 AM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 12/14/2005 4:38:52 AM
Author: Lorelei
Welcome Jenkins Sir! or M''aam! I am not quite clear here, but if you compare an excellent cut diamond to a poorer one you will DEFINITELY see a difference

Colour and clarity in those sizes wouldn''t be as noticeable depending, but cut quality you can really tell the difference. I don''t know about Walmart as I have never seen their diamonds or know what cut quality they are offering.

Quick hijack here, I have never seen so many members on PS at this hour before!

Is it a holiday I don''t know about?????

Lorelei

yes.....today is DIAMOND DAY in the U.S.

that''s why so many girls are up early or up late.

please Sir DF, what is Diamond Day?

Every day is Diamond Day for me!

 

[Lynn B]

Just echoing what others have said. It makes SUCH a difference. My (ideal-cut) diamond stud earrings are ~half carat each and when comparing them to mall earrings... whoaaaa baby - a *HUGE* difference! UNBELIEVABLE!

Never scrimp on "cut"! (That oughtta be my new tagline!)