Getting engaged soon...confused about diamond

alaska · Jun 12, 2008

Long time lurker, first time poster...

I am getting engaged soon and I was recommended Pricescope by friends. It is a fantastic website! I have never seen so many beautiful diamonds in my life. I bow down to the beautiful, shiny things

Back on topic! Although I know the type of diamond ring that I would like (1.2 carat, E to J colour, VS1 to SI1, round, brilliant cut diamond solitaire) I am unsure of what some of the other diamond terms mean.

I have read the "Rocky Talk" threads and the pages on how to buy a good quality diamond, but I am still unsure of what the following terms mean and if they are really important to the diamond (and why):-

* depth
* table
* crown angle
* crown
* Star
* Pavilion Angle
* Pavilion %
* Lower Girdle %
* Girdle
* Culet
* Fluorescence

Why do they have percentages next to some of them? What is a good percentage? What does girdle mean on a diamond? ( I thought this was something my grandmother used to wear!)

aargh@!!!! I'm so confused!

My soon to be fiance is taking me to have the ring designed this Saturday and I would like to have an idea of what they are talking about

Thank you in advance for your help!

Lorelei · Jun 12, 2008

Date: 6/12/2008 6:46:26 AM
Author:alaska
Long time lurker, first time poster...

I am getting engaged soon and I was recommended Pricescope by friends. It is a fantastic website! I have never seen so many beautiful diamonds in my life. I bow down to the beautiful, shiny things

Back on topic! Although I know the type of diamond ring that I would like (1.2 carat, E to J colour, VS1 to SI1, round, brilliant cut diamond solitaire) I am unsure of what some of the other diamond terms mean.

I have read the 'Rocky Talk' threads and the pages on how to buy a good quality diamond, but I am still unsure of what the following terms mean and if they are really important to the diamond (and why):-

* depth
* table
* crown angle
* crown
* Star
* Pavilion Angle
* Pavilion %
* Lower Girdle %
* Girdle
* Culet
* Fluorescence

Why do they have percentages next to some of them? What is a good percentage? What does girdle mean on a diamond? ( I thought this was something my grandmother used to wear!)

aargh@!!!! I'm so confused!

My soon to be fiance is taking me to have the ring designed this Saturday and I would like to have an idea of what they are talking about

Thank you in advance for your help!

Welcome!

See this diagram as the above refer to parts of a diamond you list above. http://diamonds.pricescope.com/crn_pav.asp Basically you only need to be concerned with -

depth
table
crown angle
pavilion angle
girdle thickness
diameter measurement

and how well they work together to help a diamond return light, or performance / sparkle.

at the moment, to avoid overcomplicating things! Fluorescence has many fans here, although some prefer a diamond without, you may not notice any effects from it anyway, unless you have medium to strong blue. Very rarely, strong blue can cause a negative effect such as making the diamond look cloudy in some lights, but this is unusual. See this page for more info.
http://diamonds.pricescope.com/fluor.asp

Also with the links I provided, if you look to the sub headings on the left, that should answer a lot of your questions and give you a good grounding in the basics. Also in the archives, if you use the search tool, that will bring up many more threads and info on many things pertaining to diamonds.

CUT is critical for a beautiful diamond, so those links should give you the info you need, or if not, just ask!

Ellen · Jun 12, 2008

Hi alaska,

I would suggest opening your size area up just a bit. Zeroing in on one specific ct. weight may prove extremely difficult to find, and rule out some great stones in the process.

Also, E-J is a big range, and there''s nothing wrong with that, if, you are ok with lower colors, and, realize E,F,G will be much more expensive.

Lorelei · Jun 12, 2008

Date: 6/12/2008 7:16:05 AM
Author: Ellen
Hi alaska,

I would suggest opening your size area up just a bit. Zeroing in on one specific ct. weight may prove extremely difficult to find, and rule out some great stones in the process.

Also, E-J is a big range, and there''s nothing wrong with that, if, you are ok with lower colors, and, realize E,F,G will be much more expensive.

Missed that bit - Ellen is right!

honey22 · Jun 12, 2008

Welcome to PS Alaska! What an exciting time for you and your soon to be fiance!!

I have done a quick search on WF for you, just to give you an idea of what a ideal cut RB stone will cost. These are online prices though, it will be more expensive at a B&M store, but you will have an idea of how colour will effect price. These are all ACAs will are branded H&A stones, top of the line, will sparkle like mad!! If you wanted to purchased online, anyone of these would be fantastic. Also try Good old gold if you do buy online.

When you go on Sat, ask if the vendor stocks AGS OOO stones for you to look at. These are true Ideal cut stones and are the best quality, so you can compare cut quality with other stones you are looking at. They will be more expensive but definately worth it - cut is what makes a diamond sparkle, you don't to sacrifice cut. If you want to, you can post details on any stones you are looking at and we can give you an honest idea of what kind of quality it is. Good luck and enjoy Saturday!

ETA - I'm a doofus, it would help if I added the link hey?

http://www.whiteflash.com/diamonds/SearchResult.aspx?isStatic=false