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Frustrated radiant lover - what to do?

D

dizbug

Rough_Rock
Joined
Nov 24, 2004
Messages
29
WHY did I have to fall in love with radiants? I'm getting so frustrated because cut is so important to me, but it's just so hard for me to evaluate how good the cut is on a particular stone. I have done my research and realize that depth and table should typically be within certain ranges, etc. etc. so I know the general parameters. I also know that I should compare a particular stone to other stones with my own eyes, and yes, sometimes I can see differences, but it's hard for me to even know if those differences are good or bad. I'm not a diamond expert and it would take so much work to become proficient in eyeballing these suckers, and I just don't have the time to be frank, even if that's something I wanted to do. If I'm going to spend this amount of $$$ (looking for a stone in the 2.5-2.75 carat range), I want to make sure the cut is great and the diamond will perform well. But who do I have to trust? The person selling it to me (sorry, just don't trust anyone trying to make a buck off of me) and ME. And that's it. Rounds are nice, don't get me wrong, but I wanted a little bit more unique stone shape. But I'm getting frustrated trying to figure things out on my own. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
You must have an ASET image or better still see it thru the ASET and tilt a bit while looking
 
Radiants are hard to pick. I hear your frustration. Can you tell us what you're looking for? Elongated, more square, little twinkles, or some big flashes and
little twinkles? Do you have a color range/clarity range you want to stick to? Budget?

ASET images help tell how well a stone is returning light. It would be nice to work with a vendor that can provide them.
 
You are shopping for a 2.5~2.75ct colorless radiant. There are less than 30 diamonds from JA that fit your criteria. Plus you obviously want something well cut and eye clean, which make shopping even more difficult.
This just takes time and alot of searching.
 
What I am looking for:
- G color or better
- SI1 preferably
- not too square, not too long, I like 1.2-1.3ish length to width
- big fat chunky sparkles, not little itty bitty ones, the more fire the better! (How do I get this, I don't know...)
- something that is cut well but also faces up well for the carat weight
- I live in FL so lots of UV light so preferably no flourescence? I guess?
- trying to stay not too far away from 20k, I know I'll probably have to go a bit over

I did find a stone in person that I posted about in another thread yesterday (2.63, E, SI1, 8.57x7.25x5.04, VG polish, Good symmetry, med blue flor, table 65%, depth 69.5%, slightly thick, $22,500). I really liked it but it's only my first time out shopping and I had no clue what I was looking at really. Have no idea if it was cut well or not? Is there such a thing as purchasing it and taking it to an independent appraiser? Can I ask the jeweler this? My husband is more inclined to purchase online, doesn't trust brick and mortar places as he feels they must have more overhead to account for. Not sure how to proceed.
 
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…" Theodore Roosevelt ;))

:wavey: fellow radiant lover. I found rounds to be kind of :snore:... Don't get discouraged, you will find the ONE.

When you asked: "...But who do I have to trust?" Why don't you trust your own eyes when it comes to what is pleasing to you?

GIA report is important, but at the end of the day, you don't wear the report around, but the radiant diamond.

What happened to the 2.63ct, E, SI1?

I've been enjoying mine for 15 years and still LOVE it. The depth of 65.2% according to GIA.

1a.JPG

See post #103 & #108 below for more photos if needed.

2 carat Radiant cut

@Matthews1127 - it is a bit “squatty”. I would have preferred 1.3:1. I wish the length was closer to 8.2 mm and the smaller width.
www.pricescope.com
 
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Just for fun...

Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes & fiancee Brittany Matthews.jpg
 
Rad_Fan said:
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…" Theodore Roosevelt ;))

:wavey: fellow radiant lover. I found rounds to be kind of :snore:... Don't get discouraged, you will find the ONE.

When you asked: "...But who do I have to trust?" Why don't you trust your own eyes when it comes to what is pleasing to you?

GIA report is important, but at the end of the day, you don't wear the report around, but the radiant diamond.

What happened to the 2.63ct, E, SI1?

I've been enjoying mine for 15 years and still LOVE it. The depth of 65.2% according to GIA.

1a.JPG

See post #103 & #108 below for more photos if needed.

Opinions on this Radiant Diamond!

Hi everyone, Your opinions on this Radiant Diamond would be greatly appreciated! We're hoping we've finally picked our diamond but I am a little worried that I see a bowtie. Is it too prominent/should I find a better diamond? Or should I not be worried about it? We also know windowing is seen...
www.pricescope.com
Click to expand...

Hey Rad_Fan! Boy are you sporting a stunner! LOVE your ring!!! Congrats!

To answer your questions... Well, the 2.63 is still hanging out at the local jeweler's. Going to visit it again this weekend I think. I guess my issue is, if I've only ever seen a couple of radiants, how do I know if a radiant is well cut or not? Sparkly or not? I will say I was comparing two of them and one seemed lighter, like more white with tiny little sparkles, and the 2.63 seemed a little darker, like deeper I would say (I mean it was deeper), and with chunkier sparkles and more fire. I don't know which is preferred? Is darker bad? And I tried taking it outside to see because the store lighting is so confusing, but it was hard. I was a little nervous with the GINORMOUS security guard there and the possibility of me dropping it since it was just balanced on a setting.
 
If you wanna know my dream ring, here she is... Be still my beating heart!!! You wouldn't think pear side stones with a squarish stone, but these proportions and the overall look just make me swoon!radiant inspiration.jpg
 
Is the other one also an E?

Maybe you need to decide what type of scintillation you prefer first.

Now that I saw your preference, I think you prefer the chunkier type of sparkle? 2.63 looks to have that type of cut to me. I love the square with pear side design! :kiss2:

Next time you go, try to hold the loose diamond on your palm instead.
 
Nice quandary!
Personally I don’t use ASET. I understand why it’s recommended but I still prefer to use the eyes. No explanation needed.
You don’t have to learn how to use them, you already know
This might not exactly help... but after many years selecting radiant cuts, there’s many times two competing stones have different, yet equally appealing looks.
I understand what you mean about one stone having some dark areas, on the other one looking lighter… Again, it’s not necessarily going to be so clear cut.
I don’t know how much help this is, but you need to go with your gut, if you’re working with a trustworthy vendor.

I also understand your point about trusting someone who’s trying to sell you something. But again, use your experience with human nature to try and see if someone’s peeing on your foot while telling you it’s raining:)

to make it more interesting… There are less colorless radiant cuts on the market now then I can recall- ever!
 
I think you should not worry about perfect cuts & numbers right now.
Go look, hold, examine & try on as many as you can.
You will learn to define more what you love & speaks to you.
After that you can either decide to go with what you live visually, even if it doesn't have perfect stats, or come here and ask for recommendations of stones or how the ones you like stack up to the numbers.

Personally I think stats, asets, numbers, perfect proportions are less important than what you love.

You will find threads of ppl who got stones without perfect stats but are blown away & love them irl.
And that is what matters most imo.
Loving the stone.
 
OP, have you found the one yet?
 
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