GIA Triple X 1.66 IF - but only HCA 4

[Clem]

Hi everyone,

I ordered this diamond from Blue Nile for $12,600 which seemed like a great deal given the excellent GIA certificate:
- triple X rating, Internally Flawless, and H colour with medium blue Fluorescence

Today I learned about the HCA and checked the rating which is only 4.

The diamond will arrive next week, should I cancel and aim for a better HCA score (with trade offs on clarity / colour) or is it worth receiving and having it assessed?

There are no idealscope images available and I only received below picture.

Edit: this is an alternative I'm considering with HCA 1.1: https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD09365753

Many thanks for your help!

 

[Clem]

... in addition below the HCA evaluation.

 

[ringo865]

35.5 crown angle pairs better with a 40.6 PA. And because it's "steep/deep" the diameter will be smaller than a stone with less steep angles. Is there a cultural reason for such high clarity? If not, you can open up your options, and get more weight (diameter) for your budget.

 

[Clem]

Thanks for your reply! There is no cultural reason. I had initially a budget of 10k, a target of 1.5ct, and was aiming for excellent cut and H+ clarity but the price per Carat for this IF at 1.66 was better than so many other VS2 diamonds so I went up to $12.6k. It was only afterwards that I learned about the HCA ratings.

My alternative now is this one with the same diameter (at 1.58ct) and HCA 1.1. It is VS1 but seems eye-clean: https://www.bluenile.com/diamond-details/LD09365753

 

[WinkHPD]

GIA has a very wide excellent group. Basically, a GIA XXX means that it could be great, or it could be horrible. Cutters make much more money cutting GIA XXX that are horrible than really great.

This is why rejection tools such as HCA are needed, and also why it is a "really good" idea to get ASET or Ideal-Scope images when you are looking at diamonds with GIA XXX rankings.

If you spend some more time here learning what should look great and how to use the available tools, you will ensure yourself of making a great choice in the end.

Wink