GCAL reports... are the images within IS? Thoughts on this diamond...

[Colorblind729]

Just pulled the trigger on a stone from BE for my g/f’s engagement ring. Been looking for several weeks now and we both agreed to go with a lab stone after visiting a few local jewelers. I started out knowing less than nothing, but I feel like I have a much more solid footing after researching online about what to look for these last few weeks.

Finally narrowed it down to a couple stones I found on Brilliant Earth- an IGI graded .92ct H VVS2 (HCA 1.2) and a 1.07ct GCAL graded J VVS2 (HCA 1.6)

Link to .91 : https://www.brilliantearth.com/lab-diamonds-search/view_detail/6509108/

The GCAL J looked better (and whiter) in the video online and I ultimately purchased that one yesterday morning... should be here Monday. I had requested ASET or IS images on the IGI and was told the request was sent, but I have yet to receive.

The GCAL report, however, appears to have IS- like images included. Are those to be trusted? The 1.07 looks good (to my eyes) in the report images. I’ve contemplated purchasing an IS to look at the stone myself, but wanted to get the boards opinion in the meantime.

Worst case scenario, the diamond comes in and looks a bit lackluster and I have to send it back and keep looking. But hopefully I “unearthed” a good one!

 

[Colorblind729]

 

[OoohShiny]

I have to say that I'm not 100% sure on those ASET-like images - to be annoying (and with apologies for being so!), I would perhaps ask if @Rhino might be able to chime in, as the reports on his MMD listings also have the same report styles and images.

I am assuming that they are ASET-based images, but they do look different and it would be good to be completely clear on any differences!


On a side note, I am pleased to see that MMDs are being cut to great HCA scores!

 

[denverappraiser]

The GCAL images are similar in approach to ASET (In fact I think there was a lawsuit over this) but they are not the same thing and are not directly comparable. It's not just the colors that are different, and that there are more of them, the demising angles between the colors are also different. IS has nothing to do with it. If you want to use this, compare them only with other GCAL pics. That's sort of inconvenient but bright side of these is that they are extremely consistent. A weak point of ASET and IS is that the photography setups can vary wildly from one to the next and this has a big effect on the final image. I've never seen anyone other than GCAL themselves take those GCAL images and they're very consistent in their approach.

 

[OoohShiny]

The GCAL images are similar in approach to ASET (In fact I think there was a lawsuit over this) but they are not the same thing and are not directly comparable. It's not just the colors that are different, and that there are more of them, the demising angles between the colors are also different. IS has nothing to do with it. If you want to use this, compare them only with other GCAL pics. That's sort of inconvenient but bright side of these is that they are extremely consistent. A weak point of ASET and IS is that the photography setups can vary wildly from one to the next and this has a big effect on the final image. I've never seen anyone other than GCAL themselves take those GCAL images and they're very consistent in their approach.

Thank you, Neil, that's very useful information!

 

[Colorblind729]

Thanks, guys.

The diamond should be arriving today and I can’t wait to see what it looks like. I don’t have access to an ideal scope,but may still purchase one.

 

[OoohShiny]

Thanks, guys.

The diamond should be arriving today and I can’t wait to see what it looks like. I don’t have access to an ideal scope,but may still purchase one.

An IS is a very useful purchase and can be used for future bling!

 

[Stephan]

Nice find!
Not easy to find ideal cut MMD.
I'm following this matter very closely and once the prices go down, I will be covered in bling.
Can I ask how much it did cost?

 

[Colorblind729]

Received the ideal scope today and managed to take a couple of pics. I’m colorblind, so it’s difficult for me to differentiate the pink from red, but it looks pretty good to me! Ha!

 

[Colorblind729]

Can I ask how much it did cost?

$2300 from brilliant earth.

 

[Stephan]

Very nice!

 

[OoohShiny]

Great quality pictures, nicely done!

Cutting looks very tight - lighter circle under the table might just be the backlight being too strong - HCA of 1.6 would seem to indicate that is the case!

Higher crown and smaller table should increase coloured fire - please do post up your thoughts and some pictures, if you don't mind doing so!

 

[Colorblind729]

Here’s a couple of pics of the stone and then after we had it set.

Ended up proposing this past Sunday while we were visiting her family! Her aunt owns a jewelry shop and admittedly there was some bad feelings when we started looking local rather than their shop (which was 12 hours away and while it would have been nice and may have been a little less expensive, it just wasn’t feasible)
The aunt, of course, gave it a good look and ultimately the ring got her seal of approval lol
She said it looked like a G or H rather than the J that it is

 

[OoohShiny]

Congratulations! It looks really nice

I think you were wise to avoid buying from family - mixing business and pleasure rarely goes well...

Please do post handshots if you are both happy to do so!

 

[Colorblind729]

Here’s the only one I have on her hand

 

[OoohShiny]

It looks beautiful

 

[NoviceAP]

Nice find!
Not easy to find ideal cut MMD.
I'm following this matter very closely and once the prices go down, I will be covered in bling.
Can I ask how much it did cost?

Hi Stephan! Good to see you again here too.

I’ve moved my search to lab grown diamonds (thinking about selling my (mined) diamond and purchasing a new MMD as it is just a much better value, instead of upgrading to a (mined) diamond through BN), and was wondering what you meant by “once the prices go down”. Do you think they will go down significantly over the next few months/years? How much do you think we should wait for the prices to go down?

Thanks!

 

[Stephan]

I don't have any answer, but I would be interested when:
- MMD costs 40% of natural equivalent
- natural diamonds HPHT color treated costs 60% of untreated.
And of course, I would like them to be cut to H&A standards, and it doesn't happen often enough.

 

[NoviceAP]

I don't have any answer, but I would be interested when:
- MMD costs 40% of natural equivalent
- natural diamonds HPHT color treated costs 60% of untreated.
And of course, I would like them to be cut to H&A standards, and it doesn't happen often enough.

Yeah I’ve been looking on various websites and it seems difficult to find ones that have been cut well. And when I find them, they are so expensive! (not too different from pricing for natural diamonds :/)
Maybe I should wait a bit too...