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Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts!

J

JanesJewels

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
248
Hi,

So, as some of you may know, I'm upgrading the diamond in my Brian Gavin yellow gold solitaire bracelet. I think I've found a beauty at Blue Nile, but as I am an enthusiast rather than an expert, I need your help! To me, the cut looks absolutely fantastic, scoring HCA 0.5 "Excellent" on all counts, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. In addition, it's approx $230 cheaper than comparable diamonds because it has medium blue fluoro. I have no other diamonds with fluoro so that would be a first for me. It doesn't really worry me - I hear that medium fl. is nothing to worry about. If you beg to differ, do tell! Am not worried about resale value. (And if it looks oily or anything, Blue Nile is amazing at easy refunds.)

Here are the stats:

Price: $467
Carat weight: 0.25
Color: D
Clarity: VS1
Cut: Blue Nile Signature Ideal
Symmetry: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Fluorescence: Medium Blue
Table %: 56
Depth %: 60.2
Crown: 34.0
Pavilion angle: 40.6
Culet: None
Measurements: 4.09 x 4.11 x 2.47 mm
Girdle: Thin to Medium (Faceted 3.0%)
HCA score: 0.5

What say you? Any red flags?
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Ñumbers look fine. Its worth having shipped to take a look.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Thanks. I'm a little concerned because I read on PS somewhere that diamonds with HCA scores between 0.9-2.0 tend to perform better in terms of light return than those in the really low range, like this one at 0.5. I'm not sure why that is. Anyway, the price is very low, in my opinion, for a quarter carat D VS1 with fabulous cut...guess I'm just wondering if there's a catch? Or maybe it's not as good a price as I think.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?pt=sig&filter_id=0#diamonds_pid=LD02542193 I'd go for this one personally, for 90 dollars more.

Signature Ideal line is eyeclean. You won't be able to tell the difference between an F and a D especially when set. BUT you will totally be able to tell the difference between a 4mm stone and a 4.4 mm stone.


Or this one for 50 dollars more: http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?pt=sig&filter_id=0#diamonds_pid=LD02423882
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Gypsy, thanks so much for taking the time to look up BN diamonds. Do you think the light performance will be as good as the numbers on the D?

I was really trying to stay at .25 as I wanted the delicate look. Also my friend has a D and I love its iciness. Rationally though, I know an F is amazing and as good. And also maybe .30 is good, in case of diamond post-purchase shrinkage! I want this to be a fab if small diamond, since it will be on my wrist and I'll see it.

Can you see anything negative about a very low HCA score? I tried to post the GCAL report but the diamond is on hold and has disappeared.

Thanks for your help, Gypsy.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

HCA is pass fail. And it's a rejection tool not a selection tool. So any score under 2 is as good as any other.

I can't advise you on the rest as it is all preference. Color, size are all up to you!
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

A 34 crown with a 40.6 pav is a little shallow--there could be obstruction issues. Stones scoring below 1 on the HCA (like yours at 0.5) could possibly show obstruction. That's probably what you were reading about. Since there's no ASET or idealscope image, we can't be sure though. If you want to be safe, either select stones that score between 1 and 2 on the HCA, or buy a stone that has ASET and idealscope images. Blue Nile has a good return policy though, so you could always get it and look at it in person. Good luck!
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Why D VS1? You can get a larger still-white and eyeclean diamond with more value-conscious specs.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Numbers should be fine, what is the lower half number? Can you link the GCAL report number? There should be light performance, symmetry image on the report that will provide additional info on the cut of the stone.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Thanks everyone. And thanks for the advice about the obstruction - I didn't know about that.

I would have linked to the GCAL report, but when the diamond went on hold, it disappeared from view.

I've bought it anyway. I've never had a diamond with these numbers before, or one with fluoro, so it should be quite interesting.

Milton: re. the value-conscious specs, I wasn't actually looking for a D VS, but this one was cheaper than all the others of 0.25 in the Signature Ideal line in the higher color range. The others were all approx $700. This one is $457 (as I had a $10 voucher) for 0.25, D, VS, and an apparently excellent cut. I did a PS search and this appears to be fantastic value, but I was wondering if there's a catch. I asked BN and they said it's partly the trade nervousness about fluoro, but also that different vendors just price differently.

Anyway, it's coming in a few days, so I guess we'll see. When I get a micro-second (husband and I both work from home and are currently sharing ONE computer, if you can believe that!) I will scan the GCAL report, as the light performance seemed as if it couldn't really be better....again, am wondering if there's a catch!
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

I am pretty happy about the trade discounting fluorescence because it is one of the few things that benefits the buyer! I feel confident that the diamond will be fine for your purpose!
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

It's great to get such a big discount on fluoro on a diamond with high colour and clarity. That medium blue will add that extra touch of iciness in the sun too.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Hi, so the diamond turned out to be a disappointment.

I think there are obstruction issues - it turns dark at certain points, and it also looks dark blueish/gray to me. But then, I'm really color-sensitive.

However, the main issue is the size. It's a 0.25 but looks barely bigger at all than my BGD 0.14, and what's really confusing is that my Tiffany 0.22 looks about a third bigger than this 0.25! (Also, I have some WF 0.30 ctw studs and my friend has the same weight studs from BGD. Mine are ACA melee and hers are Signature melee, so they should be the same. My studs look about a third bigger than hers. I really don't understand the variation in the appearance of diamond melee.)

When the light is not obstructing, the diamond sparkles beautifully, but for the extra money the look is really about the same as what I've already got. So I'd be spending $457 for not much gain really. To get a different look would be more money and I'm not in the market for any more at the moment, so I think I'll just send the diamond back and put the bracelet back in the drawer.

I was curious, anyway, and I'm glad I took a look at the diamond.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Jane, I'm sorry the diamond didn't work out. I don't know much about diamonds to aid in any way but I just wanted so say that.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Thanks! It was only an idea, anyway - just happened to see this diamond and thought it looked good.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

It is likely that the 0.5 HCA score (not between 1 and 2) predicted the obstruction issue which is what you saw. This is also related to the dark blue/gray colour you observed, which probably made the diamond look smaller too. Remember that our eye perceive brightness as bigger and darker as smaller.

I am rather curious as to the perceived size difference between WF and BGD's signature diamonds, together with the rest. To fully understand this, what are the mm measurements? When you viewed them, were they clean? Dirty diamonds will be less sparkly and appear smaller. What about the setting? This can also alter perceived size.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Next time I see her, I'll get a comparison pic. The WF setting is much thicker and heavier, so maybe that's why.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

JanesJewels|1351784406|3296861 said:
Next time I see her, I'll get a comparison pic. The WF setting is much thicker and heavier, so maybe that's why.
Click to expand...

Hi,
I'm a bit late here to chime in, but wanted to say I had a diamond that scored .5 on the HCA and performed very nicely. It was an E and looked like a little chip of sparkling ice. The one thing is, I too did notice it looked smaller than the three other diamonds I had of the same weight, but it was because of the table % and the setting.
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Hmm, interesting, MC. I'm wondering if the darkness is my imagination, or the fact that all diamonds look dark in some lights. It does really, really sparkle in some lights - seriously fiery. It would probably make a good earring.

I would take pics, but I'm right in the middle of the most massive spring-clean (yes, yes, wrong time of year, I know!) and I basically have the contents of my house out of all the closets and on the floor. So I'm disarray right now and can't seem to locate the camera - also have a ton to do to get this place cleared up! But sometime in the next few days, I'll try to take some pics of this diamond and you can all tell me what you think. It's so interesting that yours seemed small also. With mine, I feel it shouldn't be the case because it's shallow, so the spread is wide. I'm confused!

Of course, the diamond is loose, so perhaps it would look larger when put in a bezel setting like the BGD dimond is currently.

I actually thought about asking BGD if I could upgrade the diamond using one of theirs, and maybe they would take back the 0.14 for a credit. I don't like to ask, though, since custom is final sale and I'm not sure they'd want to re-customise a custom piece!! Also, I'd have to ship it back, etc etc whereas my local jeweler just down the street makes lovely bezels.

I think it's safe to say that I don't really know what I want with this project!
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Yeah, that is odd if it has a wide spread. The thing is even my husband noticed with mine and the diamond had a great spread. The prongs were really delicate and I think that was part of it. I have a .38 that is nicely cut, but not ideal, and it looks substantially bigger than my ideal .42 because it's in a bezel (DBTY). Also, I recently did a reset of a different project and the new prongs are smaller and as a result, the size looks smaller.

Once you have a .25 you like in a bezel, it'll look a lot bigger... But, maybe you should just go up in diamond size a bit more?
 
Re: Found My Diamond: Cut Looks AMAZING but need the experts

Hi, Jane, I am sorry the diamond didnt work out. But the good thing that your options are still open. As for the size issues, i happen to have 0.12, 0.20 and 0.31 in BGD bezels and I must say that 0.12 and 0.20 are not that too far apart optically, but the 0.31 is a whole different story, it does look larger than 0.20. May be you can try to find a deal for 0.30 range and up. Considering your budget I think it is more than possible.
 
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