Help! $4,700 for F I2 Earrings, 1.42 t.ct.w.

[sparkly]

Is that a good price? The inclusions are white but visible to the eye. Is the I2 clarity acceptable for earrings? The vendor claimed that the stones were ideal cut but I don''t know how to verify that.

If I want ideal (or excellent) cut stones with 1.40 total ct weight, what is the best possible color and clarity that I can purchase for a budget of $4,700?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

You can verify the cut with an ideal-scope photo from the vendor and post it here, or buy one for $25 and DIY.

I2 is pretty bad - and can be even worse if it is the vendors grade, not from a lab

 

[Maxine]

Run a search at the top of the page....it looks like you should be able to get better clarity for that price....Whiteflash sells matching stones....most of the vendors will match the stones...settings are not that expensive....

 

[valeria101]

The price sounds pretty high... those could well be SI1 not I2 ! perhaps H&A cut rounds would be a bit more (F/G-SI1/2, 0.7cts each) but a pair with good proportions perhaps not.

One 0.7cts F/SI1 with idea proportions (no H&A) comes here at $2400... GIA & att. Without the extra cut pedigree, this would heve been below 2k. There are other where this comes from. And many more options come on a quick search.

 

[sparkly]

Thank you all for your advice. I did some extra research on Pricescope and recommended vendor sites and found two more appealing options:

E/F SI1 1.43 t.ct.w. (both scored 1.4 on the HCA) $5,150 w/o settings

E/F SI1 1.25 t.ct.w. (Ideal, H&A) $3,900 w/o settings

Ideally, I''d like to stay under $4,800; so I''d like to look for something in between the above two options. However, I found it rather difficult to look for matching diamonds with similar quality and proportions on the sites. Although Whiteflash does offer the "Matching Diamonds" search option, it returns way too many choices and does not let you further narrow/refine the results.

How close should the proportions be on matching diamonds for earrings? I only look at the first measurement and try to keep the difference under 0.2. Is this approach correct? Any advice?

Thanks!!!

 

[Maxine]

They look really nice......I agree that you should get the best possible cut diamonds with that budget!!!! Remember that really well cut diamonds often actually look bigger than a similarly sized diamond which is less well cut!!!!!

 

[asblackrock]

Hi Sparkly
You ask
"How close should the proportions be on matching diamonds for earrings? "

It is very difficult to tell even quite big differences between diamonds when they are actually worn as earrings, BUT they may be reset in the future (eg as side stones in a 3 stone ring), so it is good to leave your options open and match them as closely as possible.

In 30 odd years I have frequently had jewellery reset - you get the thrill of a new piece while keeping the cost down!

 

[Mara]

i like the first option you posted for 5150, spend a few hundred more...honestly if you are spending 4700 or 4800, what's 5150 for exceptionally cut stones of the ctw you wanted?! ESP since you were thinking of paying that 4700 for I2!!!

thank god for Pscope!

oh and in terms of earring matching, you can get away with a lot more than if they are stones for a ring, you wear earrings on the opposite sides of the head, so smaller nuance will not be as visible. aka i would even go a different color, aka E vs F and/or SI or VS...and you can get away with diameter differences as well...aka 5.5mm vs 5.45mm won't be visible at all, etc.

lastly, in terms of color, i also think you can get away with alot more in terms of color and clarity for earrings. e.g. I would suggest G or H for earrings, its not the same as scrutiny on an e-ring stone, people never get up close to your head and stare into the stone. So G/H SI for my stones is the perfect situation...but I would definitely go I or J for my stones, I have a set of I SI from WF ACA and they are stunningly white on the earrs and eye clean and a bargain!

good luck!

 

[Mara]

Oooh if I had $4700 to spend on earrings, here is what I would get, based upon loving my existing set of I SI earrings from WF (which could be bigger

)....

http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1133345.htm
http://www.whiteflash.com/round_ideal_cut/Round-Ideal-Cut-cut-diamond-1133343.htm

Both are .73c I SI Expert Selection WF stones, $2300 and $2150...for a total of around $4400, which leaves $300 for the white gold 3 prong martini settings that are a MUST...oh my I think I am having heart palpitations!!!!

Then again I am not an E/F person for earrings...and G/H would be great if you have the funds, but I would take a well matched excellently cut pair of I SI''s anyday if my budget dictated.

 

[sparkly]

Thanks again for the additional advice, which have been very helpful. I came across another pair of stones but have a difficult time deciding on the trade-off between cut quality and $ savings.

0.7 F SI1 Tbl 59% Depth 60.6% VG, G
0.7 E SI2 Tbl 58% Depth 63.3% G, G

Since they do not come with a Sarin report, I don''t have their proportions to plug into the HCA. Bummer!

These stones will save me approx. $800 than those with ideal proportions and Excellent polish and symmetry. Can someone really tell the difference on a pair of earrings of this size? These stones look fine to me but I''m just an amateur. Since everyone seems to desire ideal cut rocks these days, will they hold their value better than lesser cut quality rocks? I wonder if GIA also starts grading cut in the near future, what would happen to the prices of diamonds based on their cut grade? Will less-than-ideal cut stones depreciate over time?

I don''t know what to do now... please advise.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 2/6/2005 2

5:50 PM
Author: sparkly
Thanks again for the additional advice, which have been very helpful. I came across another pair of stones but have a difficult time deciding on the trade-off between cut quality and $ savings.

0.7 F SI1 Tbl 59% Depth 60.6% VG, G
0.7 E SI2 Tbl 58% Depth 63.3% G, G

Since they do not come with a Sarin report, I don''t have their proportions to plug into the HCA. Bummer!

These stones will save me approx. $800 than those with ideal proportions and Excellent polish and symmetry. Can someone really tell the difference on a pair of earrings of this size? These stones look fine to me but I''m just an amateur. Since everyone seems to desire ideal cut rocks these days, will they hold their value better than lesser cut quality rocks? I wonder if GIA also starts grading cut in the near future, what would happen to the prices of diamonds based on their cut grade? Will less-than-ideal cut stones depreciate over time?

I don''t know what to do now... please advise.

there is not enough infor on the stones plus you chose 2 stones that is .70 ct where the price per ct jumps up. the e si2 looks too deep @ 63.3% it will look small for the weight.try to find a pair just under the .70 ct but better cuts.

 

[pqcollectibles]

If you had the diamonds you most recently posted side by side with better cut stones you would probably see the difference in performance.

Also, as DF noted, the one is cut a bit deep so it won''t have the diameter of a better cut 0.7 carat. The extra depth is also a place for light loss so one diamond might appear a bit more sparkly than the other.

Those diamonds probably won''t depreciate. More likely they just won''t appreciate as much as better cut stones will.

 

[sparkly]

Dancing Fire and pqcollectibles,

Thank you both for your advice. I have decided to pass on those two stones and keep looking for better cut stones within my budget. I did notice that one stone appeared to be "darker" than the other one. At first I thought maybe it was the color difference between an E and F color stones. Now that I think about it, the darker one might actually be the E color stone, which had the smaller diameter.

When will GIA start grading cut? Will that affect the value of older GIA certified stones'' value since the certs did not have cut grading?

 

[valeria101]

I don''t think GIA announced a precise deadline just yet, and then... from that date to whenever prices would stabilize for the new brand it will be a wile. One more grade on the cert cannot make them cheaper.

For now, EGL and AGS grade cut: one type of cert is less expensive, the other a bit more than GIA. There are allot of comments about either lab''s cut grade faults and merrits on Pricescope. However, both reports list enough data to use HCA on them.

Other labs do grade cut as well. Blue Nile uses GCAL reports for their "Signature Collection" diamonds. Those list measurements are (more precise, IMO) brilliance metrics and photos.

There''s no shortage of cut grades, it seems

 

[sparkly]

I guess it would be safer to stick with better cut stones in terms of retention of value or even appreciation.

 

[Giangi]

Unless the 0.70 F/SI1 has a thick girdle. I doubt it will look sufficiently matched with the 0.70 E/SI2. The pair Mara suggested seems to be a very wise choice, in terms of color, clarity, excellent cutting, pricing and...definitely not least...Size!
I, too, think I/SI is an excellent combo for earrings, as they don''t get scrutinized as closely as it might happen with a ring. Are you really sold on an E-F colored stone?

Keep us posted with your decisions!