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Having a hard time picking between two diamonds

I

ImmaSquashYou

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 30, 2012
Messages
33
Hey guys, so it was that time for me, where i had to shop for a diamond. Let me just say that i had an easier time buying a car. MUCH easier. Anyhow. I've narrowed it down to these two diamonds. I've done my fair share of extensive research and came upon these two diamonds. Please let me know which one you would choose. Main difference between the two is this.

Diamond A: 1.2 ct, Color H, eye clean, $100 cheaper, the inclusions on the GIA report are smack in the middle but bluenile stated it was EYE clean (which is from 6-8 inches).
Diamond B: 1.15 (.5 ct smaller), not really eye clean, $100 more, but the color is G, instead of H.

Please keep in mind that both these diamonds are from blue nile and i won't be able to see them physically until purchase. But based on what blue nile said, which one would you choose? I've also looked at local jewelers, but so far, all the diamonds i've seen are 1.1 for around $6200. That is also not considering the fact that i have to pay tax and won't be able to use fatwallet cashback. I also still have to hear back from my friends jeweler that has been their diamond supplier for more than 30 years, but from just talking to him, he said i would most likely be looking at a 1.0 - 1.05 for a GIA certified diamond. My lean is on Diamond A, but want to know what your input is. Thanks for all your help in advance!

Diamond A (the one i wanted to go with) -
Bluenile says that this one is eye clean.
1.2 ct, Clarity - SI2, cut - excellent, Gia certified, H COLOR, $6300
HAC calculator gave it a 1.8
here is the link to the GIA certificate
https://myapps.gia.edu/ReportCheckPortal/getReportData.do?&reportno=5141042033&weight=1.2

Diamond B -
Bluenile says that it is mostly eye clean, but there is a small black inclusion on the side.
1.15 ct, Clarity - SI2, cut - excellent, Gia certified, G COLOR, $6400
HAC calculator gave it a 3.7
here is the link to the GIA certificate
https://myapps.gia.edu/ReportCheckPortal/getReportData.do?&reportno=1136162248&weight=1.15
 
So after doing some reading, i shouldn't even be considering the second diamond because of the HCA scale. And the fact that the table is bigger than the depth. So besides diamond A, should i be looking at another diamond? The only thing that is holding me back is that the diamond has the inclusions right in the middle. But the fact that bluenile says it is eye clean, and that the cut is excellent, and hca scale of 1.8, i'm hoping the inclusions wouldn't be noticeable even if its closer than 6-8 inches.

P.S. I've also been lookin at 1.1, but doesn't seem like anything is better than the 1.2 i currently am looking at.
 
Glad you realized that #2 needs to be marked off the list. #1 is the better choice of the two.
 
You should take a look at the stone that ariel posted, the ct weight is less but the dimensions of the stone are almost identical. You also have all the information that you need to know that you are getting a quality stone with ideal light performance. It's also a VS1, so not questions about it's eye cleanliness! ;)

edit: of course it's a J but the flourescence may help that a bit, but you will have to consider how color sensitive you and your gf are. have you seen a well cut J?
 
Thanks ariel. I was really hoping not to go with a color less than H. I was even hoping to move up to G. I've been trying to see if i can sacrifice the carat for clarity. I've also been avoiding anything with fluorescence although i've been reading that sometimes strong blue florescence can actually help the color. I've looked at good cuts, very good cuts, and excellent cut. That is ONE thing that i really don't want to move on, excellent cut. From my search criteria of a budget no more than $6500, I won't be able to get ANY vs2, with color no less than h, with an excellent cut grade. The biggest i can get with a si1 is 1 carat with excellent cut grade at H color. But it seems like a lot of the si1 have a lot more inclusions than the current si2 i'm looking at.

P.S. I've moved my budget up a few times from $5800. But, because of the fatwallet cashback, i was able to do $6500 MAX. I want to be able to buy this diamond while the current cashback is still at 5%. I'm going to the local jeweler tomorrow to see what they have for me. But i doulbt it would stray me away from this 1.2, si2. I just want to know if there really is a better diamond out there right now under $6500. I've been searching for about a week now, and i can't seem to find a diamond that is better than what is now my current choice.

Price - $5000-$6500
Carat - 1.0-1.25
Clarity - si2-si1
Cut - Very good - excellent
Color - h-g
Flouresence - none
Culet - none
GIA certified
 
I just put that diamond in the hca calculator and comes back wit ha grading of 3.2 I know that GIA certified diamonds are more strict that ags and egl. Imo, a newbie like me, shouldn't stray from gia certified right? Christina - you are correct. Lowest BN goes is si2
 
AGS is a world renowned lab and their grading is as consistent as GIA, in fact their cut grading is even narrower. :)) Because AGS already grades their stones for light performance and supply an ASET image of the stone on the report, you don't need to run the numbers through the HCA. Unfortunately the HCA is only based on 4 measurements and can't take many others into consideration such as minor facet variations and cutters tricks. But you are correct, you should only consider ideal and excellent cuts by GIA and AGS. This one would be beautiful if it is in fact eye clean, the first stone you selected from BN looks to have some promise as well. In fact I just purchased one with very similar dimensions. It appears as though the stone from BN should be bright and have lots of fire. I really like a small table and high crown. :love: The risk is in not being able to view Idealscope or ASET images. Of course BN offers a nice return policy so if you are unhappy you can return the diamond. Its probably worth having a JA gemologist review the AGS stone as well, at least to get an impression and find out if the stone is in fact eye clean. :))

edit: you may be confusing AGS with IGI, IGI has softer grading as does EGL, both should be avoided, but AGS 0 ideal cut diamonds are often sold at a 10% premium over GIA excellent graded diamonds because their cut grading is stricter than GIA. They are very sought after and people are happy to pay the premium for them.
 
thanks christina! I haven't looked at ANY ags diamonds and didn't realize they do a light test. Thats pretty interesting considering the HCA showed it would of done poorly (but that just got me thinking that some of the other diamonds i looked at that showed bad with hca might actually be good!!!) I might pull the trigger on the 1.2 from blue nile in a couple of days just to see how it looks in person. But till then!! its back to the drawing board!!!
 
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