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Go below the "1 ct standard" for a better quality stone?

1ct + with an ideal cut from ES or .75+ from ACA H&A?

  • .75+ ct ACA, H&A.

    Votes: 1 100.0%
  • Total voters
    1
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ChicagoJohn13

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jun 5, 2007
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39
Going into my search, I pretty much set my benchmark as a 1ct stone of good quality and nice band with diamond accents. My thinking is that the band should be nice enough that she''ll love it forever (i''m sure she will anyway, but you know...), and the stone could be upgraded in the future once my income increases.

Anyway, I''m torn between purchasing something in the .75-.8 range that''s ACA H&A or something that''s 1 ct or higher from the ES ideal cut.

She''s not the type who would be put off by a stone less than 1 ct; that''s just a benchmark that I set. Plus I''ve also heard (from you guys, of course) that stones in that smaller range but of greater quality often "show larger" because of their superior cuts and the shine/reflection they give off.

While I realize this probably boils down to personal preference, what do you think?
 
Well, I know many people would prefer the bigger stone, but I''m not one of them. We spent a significant portion of our ring budget on a gorgeous Ritani setting. For that amount of $ I could have gotten a 1ct. instead of my .81. But you know what? My RING is gorgeous and I love it. It''s part of a package deal to me, so it was important that I have a setting I loved too even if my stone was a bit smaller.

And not to mention that my .81 cushion looks MUCH bigger than many 1ct. stones out there, especially where I live. So my stone actually faces up a LOT bigger than most people''s in the area, even if they are 1ct.
 
You are on the right track John, either an ACA or Expert Selection would be a great choice. It is a case of whether you want the ACA 'pedigree' or the ES, but you can't go wrong with either. Personally if there was an ES larger in the colour and clarity I wanted, I would grab it, but this is my preference, yours might be to go the whole hog and get an ACA. I think most would prefer larger, lets see what the poll says.
 
I''d pick the 1+ ct. I really don''t think there would be enough of a difference just by looking at it to go with the ACA vs ES.
 
If the ES is ideal cut, I'll take it over the ACA provided they both are the same colour and clarity. Are they? You are talking about the difference between 6.5 mm and 6 mm. An ideal cut ES is a very good quality stone, and most people will not be able to tell the difference between an ES and the ACA. Sometimes, the ES just missed the ACA mark due to some microscopic "fault" not viewable to the naked eye so you get excellent optics at a savings (with no premium name markup).
 
Date: 6/7/2007 11:18:54 AM
Author:ChicagoJohn13
Going into my search, I pretty much set my benchmark as a 1ct stone of good quality and nice band with diamond accents. My thinking is that the band should be nice enough that she''ll love it forever (i''m sure she will anyway, but you know...), and the stone could be upgraded in the future once my income increases.

Anyway, I''m torn between purchasing something in the .75-.8 range that''s ACA H&A or something that''s 1 ct or higher from the ES ideal cut.

She''s not the type who would be put off by a stone less than 1 ct; that''s just a benchmark that I set. Plus I''ve also heard (from you guys, of course) that stones in that smaller range but of greater quality often ''show larger'' because of their superior cuts and the shine/reflection they give off.

While I realize this probably boils down to personal preference, what do you think?
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Hey John,

You know what I think and I think you are on the right track!!!!

You can go wrong with an ACA!!!!!!

MWG
 
I voted for the .75 ACA H&A for the simple fact that that is the route I''m going for my gf.
 
Thanks...can someone give me a "Diamonds for Dummies" explanation of what exactly "facing up" means? I''ve yet to read up on the guides as much as I need to, but I definitely will before making a purchase.

Thanks!

John

As you might have imagined....the poll is at a draw right now. I''m not really looking to make a decision on this today, but I just wanted to get a few different opinions.
 
I''m not voting...just because I''d prefer you consider the same idea, but stretch higher. Like .9 - .99. Like this one.

Then, you could have the trouble between spending that, or $1K less to get this one, but that JA is always a troublemaker. I went this way.
 
Date: 6/7/2007 11:31:49 AM
Author: ChicagoJohn13
Thanks...can someone give me a 'Diamonds for Dummies' explanation of what exactly 'facing up' means? I've yet to read up on the guides as much as I need to, but I definitely will before making a purchase.

Thanks!

John

As you might have imagined....the poll is at a draw right now. I'm not really looking to make a decision on this today, but I just wanted to get a few different opinions.
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"Facing up" means its appearance when viewed from the top (looking downward at the diamond's table). Also could sometimes refer to the actual dimension of the diamond, but is most likely my first explaination.
 
Date: 6/7/2007 11:31:49 AM
Author: ChicagoJohn13
Thanks...can someone give me a 'Diamonds for Dummies' explanation of what exactly 'facing up' means? I've yet to read up on the guides as much as I need to, but I definitely will before making a purchase.


Thanks!


John


As you might have imagined....the poll is at a draw right now. I'm not really looking to make a decision on this today, but I just wanted to get a few different opinions.
Click to expand...

You know how you see measurements of the diamond next to it? Well the first two numbers are the dimensions of the TOP of the stone. So one that is 6x6 will appear smaller than one that says 6.2x6.2 EVEN IF the 6.0 one is a HIGHER CARAT WEIGHT. This can be explained by the third number (depth) or a thick girdle, etc. Diamonds can "hide" weight and then you're paying for something you can't see.

Many poorly cut diamonds hide a LOT of weight in the girdle or depth, thus, you are paying for weight you can't SEE from the top.
 
It''s kind of a money thing, depends on what your budget is. I say get the prettiest stone and don''t sink more dough into it than you need to. The measurements between the .75-.8 range in a well cut stone won''t be that different than 1 carat. But, the price difference can be about $2500 or more. For that, you could buy her earrings, or a bracelet, pendant, etc. This $2500 also gives you the $ to buy a beautiful setting and wedding band. But hey, I guess if you want the 1 carat, go for it!
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I voted for the ACA H&A slightly smaller stone.

28.gif
 
I think "facing up" means what it looks like from the top (regular) view. When talking about size, it might ''face up'' to look like 1 carat because it is similar in diameter to other stones that weigh 1 carat.

I have two small diamonds (0.34 each) from WF in earrings and one is ACA and the other is ES. I cannot tell the difference between them. Both are AGS000 stones (ideal cut grade) and I think all the ES stones are AGS000. In my opinion the ES are a great value and still superior cut to most other stones out there. So with the options you have presented, I would rather have the bigger ES. Also, Bob at WF told me that many ES''s were cut to be ACAs. Also, on the appraisal document that was included with my earrings (from an independant appraisor in Houston) both earrings stones were valued at the same amount (not sure how much that matters).

In my opinion, cut and then size are most important. Color doesn''t bother me (I just got a J pendant and it "faces up" very white) and clarity I don''t care about at all, as long as it is eye clean.

Have you talked to anyone at WF yet? They are really helpful!
 
By the way is the ACA .75 the same price as the ES 1 carat? I''ve only browsed the smaller stones, but I didn''t find the price difference between ACA and ES to be that much for a given set of specs.
 
Are the prices of a 1ct ES and a 0.75ct ACA about the same? On a quick search, it looked like a 1ct ES would still be about 80% more in price than a 0.75ct ACA.

If you can afford it, I''d get the larger stone. I went with the smaller under-1ct ACA myself because anything over 1ct (even ES) had a premium I couldn''t afford.
 
Before my upgrade, I compared my .80 to 1.0 ct diamonds and, to my eye, saw a considerable difference in size. I eventually chose a 1.234 ct ACA. I can tell you that this cut is remarkable!! You might have the .80 ACA and the 1.0 ES sent to you for comparision. Then you can choose what really speaks to you
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As has been pointed out above, look at the dimensions of the stone for face-up size. This will also make a difference.
 
I''m with Risingsun on this one. I''m one of those people that has to see the stones to pick between them. These two probably look very similar but you might like one more than the other.

Also the price would come into play for me.
 
I''d take the 1 carat ES stone..
 
Date: 6/7/2007 4:25:51 PM
Author: mrssalvo
I''d take the 1 carat ES stone..
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Me too!!
 
Those ES stones are beauties - I''d probably get the bigger stone.
 
Date: 6/7/2007 4:27:39 PM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 6/7/2007 4:25:51 PM
Author: mrssalvo
I''d take the 1 carat ES stone..
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Me too!!
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Yep! Both are ideal cut so I''d take the larger one! I have a one carat stone and .75 stones for earrings, and .75 is definitely smaller than a 1 carat stone.
 
To me, this is a no-brainer.

If your question was "a .75''ish ACA OR a 1.00+ ''good'' make?" (not ideal) the answer would be the smaller, ideal cut stone. No BOUDT ADOUT it!
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But that wasn''t your question. You are asking about ACAs vs. ES, and ES''s are without a doubt gorgeous stones. They just miss the mark of ACAs, but Brian has eyeballed every one of them, and they are beautiful, stunning diamonds. None of her friends will be able to tell by looking at an ES that it isn''t an ACA but beleieve me, they WILL notice the SIZE!
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1+ ES
1.gif


I have ACA earrings and an ES pendant, and while it may be an unfair comparison since the pendant is bigger, I actually prefer my ES stone. It''s the most beautiful diamond I''ve ever seen in real life and any flaw that caused it to miss the ACA distinction is not perceivable (at least to me). However, I do agree with those that say it really depends on the numbers. Good luck with your search!
 
Wow....well the votes were resoundingly in favor of the 1 ct ES.

So now for the options.....

One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine

That''s everything above 1 ct from the ES collection in my range. If anyone wants to recommend another site to check I''m all for checking it out.

As you''ll notice, they''re listed ascending by price. The first one came up in the search, but even my amateur eye can tell that one is of inferior quality.

Looking forward to any and all feedback. Hopefully I''ll put one on hold tomorrow!

Thanks!

John
 
To reopen the discussion (even though the votes are clear), here are some ACA''s in that range:

One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight

I''m sure it''s not the best idea to search by cut and then sort by price range, but again, I''m a newbie, so I would never be able to find a bargain and I''d imagine a reputable site like this prices appropriately.

Thanks!
 
Wink, standing on soapbox, clearing throat, now ready, speaking....

Oh, darn.

I was all ready to go into my quality versus rarity presentation, but sadly this is the wrong place and time, so I shall have to address the actual question. Poor lonely little soap box will just have to wait.

You have been given many opinions, some of them stating that smaller stone will face up larger than bigger more poorly cut stones. That is true if you are comparing against bigger more poorly cut stone.

However. You are comparing ACA stonez with Expert Selection stones and frankly, unless you have a very sophisticated eye you will not perceive the difference in the cut with your eye.

I have not taken the time to look at your various options, nor will I, but it can not be that the price differences in the .75''s and the 1''s are caused only by the cutting, so it must be the rarity factors of color and clarity that are involved as well as the size. My advice to you is to choose a stone based on your budget and color and clarity choices and to compromise color and clarity (rarity factors) before compromising on quality of cutting (quality factor).

Both of your chosen qualities, ACA and ES are in the top 1% of all stones cut today and are worthy of being chosen and given with pride.

Wink
 
Date: 6/7/2007 7:08:30 PM
Author: Lynn B
To me, this is a no-brainer.


If your question was ''a .75''ish ACA OR a 1.00+ ''good'' make?'' (not ideal) the answer would be the smaller, ideal cut stone. No BOUDT ADOUT it!
2.gif



But that wasn''t your question. You are asking about ACAs vs. ES, and ES''s are without a doubt gorgeous stones. They just miss the mark of ACAs, but Brian has eyeballed every one of them, and they are beautiful, stunning diamonds. None of her friends will be able to tell by looking at an ES that it isn''t an ACA but beleieve me, they WILL notice the SIZE!
31.gif
Click to expand...

Ditto!!! Lynn has said perfectly what I was going to say . . . 1 carat ES all the way.
 
Date: 6/8/2007 1:53:19 AM
Author: ChicagoJohn13
As you'll notice, they're listed ascending by price. The first one came up in the search, but even my amateur eye can tell that one is of inferior quality.
John
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I might be wrong here so someone correct me if I am . . . but that first one you listed is NOT an Expert Selection diamond. Just because a diamond on WF has 4 stars doesn't automatically make it an ES. It has to say "round_ideal_cut" ??

For example if you look at the weblink addresses for #1 and #2, notice how #1 says round cut diamond while #2 says round ideal cut diamond? That may explain why #1 isn't as good?

www.whiteflash.com/round/Round-cut-diamond-140227.htm
www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-283333.htm
 
Yeah...it came up in a ES Round search though...that''s what confused me. Oh well.
 
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