Gray on IS and ASET

[Zappy]

Hello,

I have two images of an AGS000 and I am wondering if I am seeing leakage. This stone scores 2.7 on the HCA with VG on all categories. It has a higher crown and if the pavilion was one tenth of a degree lower, it would score under 2. The jeweler said its a really bright stone and I am splitting hairs. Based on these images, am I seeing light leakage, or was the stone at an angle when photographed?

 

[ac117]

I believe the HCA calculator is supposed to be used on stones that are triple excellent. The area you identified does seem to have less light return but I don't think it will be profoundly visible. More importantly, the stone seems to be heavily included - are you sure it's eye clean? I know you're looking for an upgrade and don't mind some inclusions. Why don't you post your budget so we could at least have a look for you?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Umm, the inclusions are so horrible in that stone that it is bound to have a negative effect on the appearance of the stone. Do you have a magnified photo of the diamond? What is the clarity grade? That little bit of leakage is the least worry in regard to this diamond.

 

[Karl_K]

Umm, the inclusions are so horrible in that stone that it is bound to have a negative effect on the appearance of the stone. Do you have a magnified photo of the diamond? What is the clarity grade? That little bit of leakage is the least worry in regard to this diamond.

Yep, well said
There is some leakage however. It look like some of the lower halves are wonky.

 

[Zappy]

Thanks for the feedback. I've been looking at stones under $7,500. This is An I1 and all of the ones I find are at that grade. I have spent hours looking and I've tried picking the ones with promising light return. I thought I1 would be okay since mine looked a lot like this one online but is stunning in person. With clarity coming in as the number one concern, however, it doesn't seem to be working out for me right now, so I'm going to take a break from this project.

Please don't think that I never wanted your help looking. I've always been concerned about lurkers purchasing diamonds that are suggested on here.

Thanks for your input!

Yep, well said
There is some leakage however. It look like some of the lower halves are wonky.

 

[Zappy]

Yep, well said
There is some leakage however. It look like some of the lower halves are wonky.

Karl, do you mind explaining what looks off with the lower halves? I would like to know what to look out for in the future. Thanks.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

He is saying that is the reason for the leakage you have circled in your images above.

 

[Zappy]

Update: I was honestly going to take a break from this search but I just got an email from Martin (USA Certed) about a diamond he really wanted me to check out. It is a J I1 and he and his supplier are raving about it. He said it is brighter than the other stones I've been looking at and it's eye clean. I could really hear the excitement in his voice when I called him about it just now. Sometimes things do work out better in my life when I don't try so hard. I'll update you all with a new thread If I decide to buy it.

 

[gretag]

Wow he is excited about selling you something. Should you be excited? I'd say post the GIA report and idealscope images here first.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

With an I1 stone you are giving up things like brightness and fire vs people being able to see the inclusions (or bigger chance of breakage). Personally I would go for brightness and to hell with what others say or see.

 

[Zappy]

gretag, It's not fair to assume that the enthusiasm about this new diamond is about making a sale. Martin has never come off as pushy to me. He has shown me several diamonds recently and I have even worked with him in the past for other projects. He tells me his honest opinions, which are not always favorable, and lets me decide for myself in my own time.

 

[Zappy]

With an I1 stone you are giving up things like brightness and fire vs people being able to see the inclusions (or bigger chance of breakage). Personally I would go for brightness and to hell with what others say or see.

Thank you. I know that I1 is not a Pricescope favorite, but I simply can't drop 10k-15k+ right now. This is why my post is about light return. I am aware that I will see some imperfections in the stone, but as long as it is not too obvious to me, I will be happy to have a bright and sparkly stone. I found a fabulous deal with my current I1 engagement ring and I am hoping to do that again.

This is just a fun upgrade to celebrate an end to the hellish year my husband and I have had. Life threw a lot at us, but it never got in the way of our marriage. I'm hoping this upgrade will work out.

 

[fair75]

It is possible to get an eye-clean I1, but you need to be lucky. However, the I1 diamond you showed here is terrible. For the most part, if you want an I1 to be eye clean, you basically have to find either a dark crystal or some feather inclusion on or near the edge of the diamond so you can prong over or partially cover it. Since you are working with a tight budget, I would recommend dropping the color to H or I first if you are setting the diamond on the white gold or platinum setting. Generally speaking, you would probably find that getting an eye-clean SI2 is A LOT easier.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

What I am advising is drop the eye clean and go for brightness. You are using my tools to get the best cut but shooting yourself in the foot buying a stone with light destroying inclusions

 

[Zappy]

What I am advising is drop the eye clean and go for brightness. You are using my tools to get the best cut but shooting yourself in the foot buying a stone with light destroying inclusions

Got you. Thanks guys.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I will agree with Garry. I'd 10000 times rather have a smaller SI1 clarity stone than any size I1. An eyeclean I1 may mean a large feather or feathers, which are cracks. Buy the best quality stone you can in your budget. An I1 isn't a wise choice because of the reasons Garry stated, and they surely are hard to resell when you decide you want a better stone.

 

[fair75]

In addition to what Garry said, I will show you pictures of what an eye clean and ideally cut SI2 diamond(there is a feather) looks like. I hope this will help you select a better diamond. This diamond has the following proportions:

Crown angle 34.5
Pavilion angle 40.8
Table 58
Depth 60.5
Girdle 3%





The ideal scope image doesn't look nearly as professional as the ones you see from many online vendors. I only have my phone to work with.

I wouldn't consider this to be a super ideal diamond because it isn't. However, it is certainly well cut.

 

[gretag]

gretag, It's not fair to assume that the enthusiasm about this new diamond is about making a sale. Martin has never come off as pushy to me. He has shown me several diamonds recently and I have even worked with him in the past for other projects. He tells me his honest opinions, which are not always favorable, and lets me decide for myself in my own time.

I am not easily impressed by any vendor comments and have no idea who Martin is. But I can tell you first and foremost they are trying to make a sale and that is not emphasized enough around here.

Guy walks into a store is shown 3 "beautiful" diamonds. Looks at them under various lighting conditions, gets great customer service, vendor pulls out an Idealscope shows the customer and then vendor says with enthusiasm for sure this is the best one of the three that you should choose.

Customer thinks well this vendor is a good guy and this is the best one of the three and makes the purchase.

Customer walks down the street to another shop and sees 3 more diamonds from a Superideal vendor that are all more beautiful than the previous and similarly priced.

What good was the all that "customer service" really?

I'd take the impartial opinions of customers here over some vendor's comments and I don't care who the vendor is.

 

[absolutme77]

I tend to agree with the others. I think the prosumers here will give better advice as they don't have a financial stake in the purchase. I do understand you've purchased from USA Certed before but any reason you are focusing just on them (i.e. are you getting credit towards the upgrade)? I didn't see a need help looking thread but it looks like you want a 2ct stone (from another thread) - are you color sensitive, how low would you be willing to go? I'm sure a prosumer here can help you find that "diamond in the rough". I'm fairly new to diamonds but even when I saw the original aset I could tell that was a badly included diamond. I'm hoping they can find you a much better choice for your upgrade.