Help a Conflicted Engineer Review a Few Diamonds

[andlours1]

Hey everyone,

I want to start off by saying this forum and PriceScope have been incredibly helpful. They’ve prevented me from buying a few dud diamonds and have given me a nice beginner's grasp of how to select a diamond. Thank you for all the great information!

I’m an engineer by trade and have a tendency to over analyze just about everything (probably how I stumbled upon this website in the first place). I’m looking to purchase a diamond that’s over 2.0 carats, wanting to keep the cost of the stone under $17k. My criteria are as follows:
- > 2.0 carats
- Eye-clean
- GIA or AGS certified
- HCA score of < 2.0
- Willing to go down to J color
- Yellow gold shank with platinum prongs
- think fluorescent diamonds are kind of cool

I’ve found the three options below and am curious as to what you all think about them? I know they’re shallower cuts, but they all have solid HCA scores. Does any one of them stand out as better than the others? Am I crazy and they’re all junk and I should consider something different?

Thank you in advanced for all your help. Hopefully you can help this indecisive engineer become a little bit more decisive in the coming days.

2.64 Carat J-VS1 Excellent Cut Round Diamond

This 2.64 carat round diamond J color vs1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.bluenile.com

2.39 Carat J-VVS1 Excellent Cut Round Diamond

This 2.39 carat round diamond J color vvs1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.bluenile.com

2.21 Carat J-IF Excellent Cut Round Diamond

This 2.21 carat round diamond J color if clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.bluenile.com

 

[DejaWiz]

Hello and welcome to PriceScope, @andlours1 !
The first one out of these three.

 

[andlours1]

Hello and welcome to PriceScope, @andlours1 !
The first one out of these three.

Thanks for the quick response! Are you basing that off the more favorable depth and table percentages?

 

[Kim N]

Hello and welcome to PriceScope, @andlours1 !
The first one out of these three.

I agree!

I like the proportions and the look of the stone best.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Wow what a good time to be buying natural diamonds! Such huge stones for your budget!

I also enjoy the more classic proportions of #1.

 

[DejaWiz]

Thanks for the quick response! Are you basing that off the more favorable depth and table percentages?

Yes indeed! The PA/CA/TW combo is right in the sweet spot for a great balance of brilliance and fire.

 

[0-0-0]

First one is a really nice find!

 

[LightBright]

Hi, you are getting good advice on the cut. I want to be sure that the person you are buying the ring for has given you their opinion on the color of the diamond they want. J can be look warm, or it can look less warm depending on tint (not described in a lab certification) and fluorescence. An excellent cut or superideal cut can also compensate for lower color. I love the size that you are selecting and the white prongs with yellow gold setting is beautiful, but wonder if you have made sure that your color parameters are on target. And you will need to see the stone in person to gauge color before setting, IMO. Sorry if this is an annoying point!

 

[MissGotRocks]

The first diamond for sure - if she is ok with J color!

 

[andlours1]

Hi, you are getting good advice on the cut. I want to be sure that the person you are buying the ring for has given you their opinion on the color of the diamond they want. J can be look warm, or it can look less warm depending on tint (not described in a lab certification) and fluorescence. An excellent cut or superideal cut can also compensate for lower color. I love the size that you are selecting and the white prongs with yellow gold setting is beautiful, but wonder if you have made sure that your color parameters are on target. And you will need to see the stone in person to gauge color before setting, IMO. Sorry if this is an annoying point!

Definitely not an annoying point! I’m thankful for you chiming in with your expertise. From my talks with my girlfriend, she would be just fine with a slightly warmer diamond. To be honest, I might be the one who’s more bothered with it than her haha.

With Blue Nile’s excellent return policy, my plan was to order a nice J stone and see how I like it in person and in different lighting conditions. I’m hoping that the combination of a good cut and medium fluorescence will help take some of the warmth out of the stone. I just can’t be sure without seeing it in person. If I end up feeling like J is too yellow, I’ll sacrifice a bit on weight and get a higher color grade.

How yellow do you think J stones appear in person? Is it pretty noticeable?

 

[andlours1]

Thanks everyone for the continued input! It seems like the first stone is the winner so far.

Out of curiosity, if you had a budget of ~$15k for a diamond would you go a different route than what I’m thinking? Are there other options I should be exploring? I know it’s a unique, personal preference, but I’m curious if you all think I’m putting too much value on carat/cut and not enough on color/clarity.

Thanks!

 

[Dreamer_D]

A nicely cut J will look warm compared side to side with a less tinted stone, but for most people in daily life they just see white light return.

 

[DejaWiz]

Thanks everyone for the continued input! It seems like the first stone is the winner so far.

Out of curiosity, if you had a budget of ~$15k for a diamond would you go a different route than what I’m thinking? Are there other options I should be exploring? I know it’s a unique, personal preference, but I’m curious if you all think I’m putting too much value on carat/cut and not enough on color/clarity.

Thanks!

Couple of important questions:
1. What is your absolute max budget cap for just the loose diamond?
2. What is the minimum carat weight (or diameter) at you're sticking to?

We'd be more than happy to search BN (and other sellers) to see if there may be even better candidates to pick from.

 

[0-0-0]

I really hope you love the first stone in person! It looks well cut and quite colorless for a J. I think you’ll likely have to go to a H to see an appreciable difference in color. For the same budget an eye clean well cut H will likely be under 2 carats and that’s a huge difference in size!

 

[andlours1]

Couple of important questions:
1. What is your absolute max budget cap for just the loose diamond?
2. What is the minimum carat weight (or diameter) at you're sticking to?

We'd be more than happy to search BN (and other sellers) to see if there may be even better candidates to pick from.

Thanks for being willing to help! I’m really impressed with this community so far.

1) Max I would be willing to spend is $17250 ($18000 with tax) on just the stone. I would prefer to keep things around $16k if possible though.

2) My minimum size would be 2 carat or 8mm.

 

[DejaWiz]

Thanks for being willing to help! I’m really impressed with this community so far.

1) Max I would be willing to spend is $17250 ($18000 with tax) on just the stone. I would prefer to keep things around $16k if possible though.

2) My minimum size would be 2 carat or 8mm.

Check this one out... proportions and angles that lean a bit more fiery.
Also listed at their sister company James Allen for the same price.

2.13 Carat J-VS1 Excellent Cut Round Diamond

This 2.13 carat round diamond J color vs1 clarity has Excellent proportions and a diamond grading report from GIA

www.bluenile.com

 

[molecule]

Definitely not an annoying point! I’m thankful for you chiming in with your expertise. From my talks with my girlfriend, she would be just fine with a slightly warmer diamond. To be honest, I might be the one who’s more bothered with it than her haha.

With Blue Nile’s excellent return policy, my plan was to order a nice J stone and see how I like it in person and in different lighting conditions. I’m hoping that the combination of a good cut and medium fluorescence will help take some of the warmth out of the stone. I just can’t be sure without seeing it in person. If I end up feeling like J is too yellow, I’ll sacrifice a bit on weight and get a higher color grade.

How yellow do you think J stones appear in person? Is it pretty noticeable?

While your perception of the ring is important, please consider proposing within the return period as people perceive color differently.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

And also consider trade up policies between vendors.

cheers--Sharon

 

[LightBright]

Hi regarding color, it is so interesting. I personally like the pure yellow or pinkish brown tint versus a greenish yellow or orangy tint. I think the first stone you selected that everyone likes seems to have a yellow tint and the diameter looks great (almost 9mm!). Seeing it in person as you plan on doing is a great idea. I hope you love it!

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

I hae a small 5.90 mm square radiant J next to a G Asscher same size in a bracelet. It just looks a bit grayer to me, but minimal, not enough to bother me. I think J's can swing many directions, so case-bycase. See it in person.

 

[andlours1]

UPDATE!

I got the 2.64 stone in the mail today and it looks fantastic. The performance under my ideal scope even looks good (to my untrained eye, of course).

I pulled out my UV torch to take a look at the fluorescence and noticed something interesting; I think this stone has phosphorescence too! When I remove the UV torch it glows a pale yellow/orange for several seconds.

Do any of you know how common this is? Also, is there anything I should be concerned about with a little phosphorescence?

 

[0-0-0]

6 out of 7 diamonds I have with strong or medium blue fluorescence have phosphorescence

https://imgur.com/8JZOcXU

https://imgur.com/a/JpCyDwG

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

If you like the diamond you got an added bonus. I'd love to have that.

 

[andlours1]

Thanks for the input everyone! I’m pretty excited about this stone. I’ll report back once I have it mounted.