H&A SI2??

[KM4]

Hi, I''m new here but I''ve read a lot of the posts and you all seem very knowledgable. My boyfriend and I are shopping for a diamond together. I am, by choice, the researcher of our diamond-search adventure, and I feel pretty confident in my knowledge of cut by this point. I want a beautifully cut diamond even if it is smaller. The diamond we are looking at right now is a .63 carat unbranded H&A, G color, SI2 with an AGS cert. I am confident in the cut. Money is a bit of an issue, thus the reason we are looking at an SI2, I really don''t want to go any smaller in size. I haven''t seen it in person but I am told it is eyeclean, and it can be returned upon inspection, so I''m not asking whether we should buy it or not. My question is also not really whether an SI2 should be eyeclean or not, because I know that sometimes they are, sometimes not. My question is, would a diamond with a borderline clarity of SI2 be cut to such exacting proportions if the inclusions were bad? I''m more curious than anything. I would think that the people who are interested in buying a top-notch cut wouldn''t stand for eye-visible inclusions. Or would the extra sparkle and brilliance actually help mask any minor, small eye-visible inclusions there are? any insight would be appreciated. thanks

 

[Mara]

Hi KM....

By definition SI2 does not need to be eye-clean...SI1 is the end of the truly eye-clean range. However you will still find eye-clean SI2 depending on the grader and the set of eyes viewing the stone. Or maybe the inclusion is something that can be hidden by a prong on the side so it is not a big deal as it will never be seen while set. Or maybe it's smack dab in the middle of the table but the sparkle will hide it--which definitely can be the case with a smaller eye-visible inclusion. Or maybe it's along the edge of a facet and can only be seen when turned at a certain angle and viewed in a certain light. There are many possibilities. If the vendor is reputable and they are telling you that the stone is eye-clean, you can choose to trust them, esp if they have a good return policy. Maybe also get them to agree that when the stone arrives, if it is NOT eye-clean, you don't want to have to pay any out-of-pocket expenses for re-shipping the ring back etc.

H&A and well cut stones will in fact face up whiter and hide slight inclusions due to the amount of brilliance and sparkle that is returned to the eye, as opposed to a badly cut stone which will not sparkle, leaving eye-visible inclusions obvious with nothing to mask.

One last caution is that if the stone is graded by EGL overseas then I would worry a little on the SI2--they may be a little lenient on their grading at times. But if it is GIA or AGS, you are probably fine as those labs tend to be more strict with their grading.

Sounds like you have done your homework....so I would just be sure the return policy is confirmed, that you have an appraiser lined up to double-check the stone within your return window, and then wait for your new pet rock to come home!

 

[Giangi]

If the stone is GIA or AGS graded, you should be pretty safe that the stone at this size will appear clean to the naked eye. Keep in mind that if you don't like it, you can return it... I'm sure it's a beautiful stone!

 

[KM4]

thanks. this is probably the one we'll go with. Dimension-wise it's almost as big as some 3/4 carat's with lesser cuts we've looked at, yet costs significantly less, so sounds like a decent compromise to me.

 

[okaynow]

I think the only SI2 I would buy would be a H&A. The difference in price between an SI2 and an SI1 can be tremendous. If that diff is what is gonna get you the size and cut you want then it is definitely worth it. I'm not sure about the answer to the question of whether its worth cutting a borderline SI2 to H&A standards. I would say that there is a market for that spec. If the inclusion is eye visible only under certain lighting conditions and angles then I personally wouldn't disregard it as an option.

 

[trichrome]

Who said that a 64 pointer is a small diamond???

Don't listen to all those Californians....they all think that diamonds grow in the trees.....

Well they don't, they grow from the money we have in our pockets!!!!

And 1ct size diamonds are considered HUGE in many countries in the world.

Trichrome.
The Canadian.

 

[Mara]

Hey go easy on the Californians!!

 

[niceice]

Just because a diamond is graded as SI-1 by the GIA or AGS does not mean it is going to be "eye clean" we reject a lot of the SI-1 clarity diamonds that we bring in for evaluation because they are not eye clean and all we sell are GIA and AGS graded stones... Today we rejected a 1.18 carat, F color, VS-2 clarity, GIA Graded diamond because it was NOT eye clean! The diamond has a collection of diamond crystals and a cloud plotted along the left edge of the table facet and we can see one of the diamond crystals without magnification every time we set the stone down and pick it up again... This is without a loupe... Every stone must be evaluated on it's own characteristics regardless of the clarity grade assigned to it by the labs... We've seen a few, very few, SI-2 clarity diamonds that we would consider to be "eye clean"... The odds increase to about 70% with the SI-1 clarity grade and increase to almost 100% with VS-2 clarity diamonds from what we've seen... We reject maybe four VS-2 clarity diamonds a year for not being eye clean...

By the way... For historical reference ONLY... By strict Japanese standards, Zenhokyo and CGL standards, a diamond was not considered to be "Hearts & Arrows" if the inclusions reflected through the pattern which is why most of the original H&A production tended to be in the higher clarity ranges of VS-1 to FL in all ranges of color so that the diamonds would still be affordable to the general population of Japan.

 

[Giangi]

Trichrome... FYI I live in Italy... I'm not one of those californians

 

[trichrome]

Giangi,

héhéhéhéhéhéhéhé

Trichrome

 

[Giangi]

LOL!