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Help a noob choose...

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New_man

Rough_Rock
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I''ve been lurking since I was told this was a good place to choose a diamond/engagement ring...

It''s trigger time so I thought I''d ask for second opinions before pulling it. I''m looking for:
Cut: Best possible, or close to it. My priority, since my understanding is that it''s the most important ''C''
Carat: 1.0 to 1.25
Color: E to G, maybe H
Clarity: VVS1 to VS2 (if it''s SI or lower, I have to worry about it being eye clean, right?)
Budget: $6-7K, give or take another 1. I figure another 1.5 to 2 for the setting including roughly .20 ct accents/sidestones

Am I on the right track with these?

GOG 1

WF ES

ERD 1

ERD 2
 

Stephan

Ideal_Rock
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Date: 4/13/2009 2:02:54 PM
Clarity: VVS1 to VS2 (if it''s SI or lower, I have to worry about it being eye clean, right?
In princess cuts, most of the SI1 are eye clean.
So many small facets... that I have a hard time to find inclusions.
I wouldn''t say that for round diamonds.

I can''t help you choose a princess because I don''t love them, I think that they are ugly and cut for weight retention.
11.gif
 

TheDukeZip

Rough_Rock
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I was at GOG last Friday and saw that stone you picked out in person. (They actually pulled it in for me along with 2 others.)

It is spectacular. I didn''t choose it because it was at the edge of my price range, and there was a 1.1 F that looked just as beautiful that fit my budget a bit better.

Great choice!!
 

stone-cold11

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Date: 4/13/2009 2:15:38 PM
Author: New_man
Date: 4/13/2009 2:06:55 PM

Author: Stone-cold11

No comment on the ERD stones as they do not have IS/ASET images.

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=272

So I take it the GIA grade regarding ''cut'' is not strict enough? It''s supposed to be their Premium cut, FWIW.

That stone looks good, too. 5% bank wire discount for pricesope members sounds good, too

GIA do not grade Princess cut''s cut grade just carat, color and clarity. So any cut grade assigned to the stone is based on the vendor and not the lab. Might be good, might be bad, so we need to see ASET/IS image of those to judge. AGS is the only lab that grades Pincess cut in the cut grade, although we still prefer to see an ASET to verify the grade given and see if the pattern is appealing.
 

New_man

Rough_Rock
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Oh, I see. It''s the vendor''s grade
 

New_man

Rough_Rock
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Any comments on pricing between the GOG, WF and HPD stones mentioned here? Any of them a particularly good or bad value (or are they all pretty much reasonable)?
 

Lorelei

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Date: 4/13/2009 2:44:25 PM
Author: New_man
Any comments on pricing between the GOG, WF and HPD stones mentioned here? Any of them a particularly good or bad value (or are they all pretty much reasonable)?
All 3 vendors are excellent, the Infinity from HPD are branded AGS0 Princess and are of top cut quality. The GOG diamond is a beauty ( looks gorgeous from the link) and the WF diamond a definite contender, it depends on your preferences.
 

Lorelei

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Date: 4/13/2009 2:15:38 PM
Author: New_man



So I take it the GIA grade regarding 'cut' is not strict enough? It's supposed to be their Premium cut, FWIW.

That stone looks good, too. 5% bank wire discount for pricesope members sounds good, too
AGS are the only lab that grade Princess for cut quality at this time, GIA only grade rounds. Therefore any cut grade such as Premium Cut is usually given by the seller and is no guarantee of a certain level of cut quality.
 

New_man

Rough_Rock
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Lorelei: It''s great to hear such reassuring words...
As for the WF stone, only 3 stones showed up on the Princess Expert Selection under my parameters. They were all very close in weight and all G. The 1.030ct VS1 is $5,445 while the 1.025ct IF is $6,235. Maybe the VS1 is a better value (is "IF" worth any bragging rights to girls)?
 

Lorelei

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Date: 4/13/2009 3:09:45 PM
Author: New_man
Lorelei: It's great to hear such reassuring words...
As for the WF stone, only 3 stones showed up on the Princess Expert Selection under my parameters. They were all very close in weight and all G. The 1.030ct VS1 is $5,445 while the 1.025ct IF is $6,235. Maybe the VS1 is a better value (is 'IF' worth any bragging rights to girls)?
Glad to help - you are well and truly on the right track and won't go wrong! As to IF....Personally I wouldn't go that high for clarity as VS is a super quality to me ( and I would also go for an eyeclean SI clarity to increase size
9.gif
), so my choice would be for the VS1 in this instance - but it is really down to personal preference and budget.
 

New_man

Rough_Rock
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Date: 4/13/2009 3:20:48 PM
Author: Lorelei
Date: 4/13/2009 3:09:45 PM

Author: New_man

Lorelei: It''s great to hear such reassuring words...

As for the WF stone, only 3 stones showed up on the Princess Expert Selection under my parameters. They were all very close in weight and all G. The 1.030ct VS1 is $5,445 while the 1.025ct IF is $6,235. Maybe the VS1 is a better value (is ''IF'' worth any bragging rights to girls)?

Glad to help - you are well and truly on the right track and won''t go wrong! As to IF....Personally I wouldn''t go that high for clarity as VS is a super quality to me ( and I would also go for an eyeclean SI clarity to increase size
9.gif
), so my choice would be for the VS1 in this instance - but it is really down to personal preference and budget.

Even with broader color/clarity parameters, I have yet to see anything above 1.12ct at GOG, 1.11ct at HPD and 1.03ct at WF ES. How noticeable is 1.12 from 1.0 (or 1.20 from 1.11)?
 

Lorelei

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Date: 4/13/2009 3:33:19 PM
Author: New_man

Date: 4/13/2009 3:20:48 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 4/13/2009 3:09:45 PM

Author: New_man

Lorelei: It''s great to hear such reassuring words...

As for the WF stone, only 3 stones showed up on the Princess Expert Selection under my parameters. They were all very close in weight and all G. The 1.030ct VS1 is $5,445 while the 1.025ct IF is $6,235. Maybe the VS1 is a better value (is ''IF'' worth any bragging rights to girls)?

Glad to help - you are well and truly on the right track and won''t go wrong! As to IF....Personally I wouldn''t go that high for clarity as VS is a super quality to me ( and I would also go for an eyeclean SI clarity to increase size
9.gif
), so my choice would be for the VS1 in this instance - but it is really down to personal preference and budget.

Even with broader color/clarity parameters, I have yet to see anything above 1.12ct at GOG, 1.11ct at HPD and 1.03ct at WF ES. How noticeable is 1.12 from 1.0 (or 1.20 from 1.11)?
This depends on the actual physical dimensions of the diamond, so compare diameter measurements to see how they compare for face up size.
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Date: 4/13/2009 4:00:15 PM
Author: New_man
Any opinions on these rings/settings?

GOG 1

GOG 2

I just realized HPD doesn't do rings (yet)?
8.gif


WF 1

WF 2 & matching band

WF Tiff
Just email Wink and he will let you know what he has available, he does have some beautiful settings! GOG also have access to far more settings than they have on their website.

I vote for the second GOG setting.
 

stone-cold11

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Date: 4/13/2009 4:00:15 PM
Author: New_man
I just realized HPD doesn''t do rings (yet)?
8.gif
HPD does rings, just that their website is under construction and the settings section is not ready yet. Same goes for GOG, they also have a much larger selection than what is online. So give them a call. They carry several designer series so if you find a setting from one of the designers that you like, you can ask them for it.
 

New_man

Rough_Rock
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Date: 4/13/2009 3:20:48 PM
Author: Lorelei
Date: 4/13/2009 3:09:45 PM

Author: New_man

Lorelei: It''s great to hear such reassuring words...

As for the WF stone, only 3 stones showed up on the Princess Expert Selection under my parameters. They were all very close in weight and all G. The 1.030ct VS1 is $5,445 while the 1.025ct IF is $6,235. Maybe the VS1 is a better value (is ''IF'' worth any bragging rights to girls)?

Glad to help - you are well and truly on the right track and won''t go wrong! As to IF....Personally I wouldn''t go that high for clarity as VS is a super quality to me ( and I would also go for an eyeclean SI clarity to increase size
9.gif
), so my choice would be for the VS1 in this instance - but it is really down to personal preference and budget.

How would a well-cut I color VS1 look in real life? Like this one
 

jstarfireb

Ideal_Rock
Joined
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6,232
It might look very much like my well-cut I color VVS2 ACA (my avatar)! In other words, nicely white in most lighting, completely clean...and that diamond is bound to be a fireball! Seriously though, I can't tell the difference between my I color and my friend's F princess. On the one hand, I'm not all that color-sensitive, but on the other hand, it's mostly about the cut. Jon also has a video on princess cut color which shows how subtle the differences are in well-cut stones. Check it out here.

FWIW, that diamond (the 1.20 I) is my clear favorite of the bunch. I can't see the Infinity you're linking to, though...and Infinity diamonds are always well-cut, so it can definitely be a contender. The WF isn't a top-notch cut but will still be pretty, probably with only a minor visual difference from a top-cut stone. Can't comment on the ones from ERD without pictures and ASETs.

ETA: You could reserve both the I and the E from GOG (which also looks great), buy the I, and utilize the return policy if the color bothers you.
 

New_man

Rough_Rock
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Date: 4/13/2009 6:19:29 PM
Author: jstarfireb
It might look very much like my well-cut I color VVS2 ACA (my avatar)! In other words, nicely white in most lighting, completely clean...and that diamond is bound to be a fireball! Seriously though, I can''t tell the difference between my I color and my friend''s F princess. On the one hand, I''m not all that color-sensitive, but on the other hand, it''s mostly about the cut. Jon also has a video on princess cut color which shows how subtle the differences are in well-cut stones. Check it out here.


FWIW, that diamond (the 1.20 I) is my clear favorite of the bunch. I can''t see the Infinity you''re linking to, though...and Infinity diamonds are always well-cut, so it can definitely be a contender. The WF isn''t a top-notch cut but will still be pretty, probably with only a minor visual difference from a top-cut stone. Can''t comment on the ones from ERD without pictures and ASETs.


ETA: You could reserve both the I and the E from GOG (which also looks great), buy the I, and utilize the return policy if the color bothers you.

So I watched that video (thanks for the link)....I''m not sure what the take-away or conclusion is? To my untrained eye they all looked pretty much the same colorwise. Was that the point? Can most people tell an H or I from an F or G?
 

stone-cold11

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Yap, that was the point, most people can''t tell colorless and near colorless grade.
 

New_man

Rough_Rock
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So anyone else find the 1.20 I a strong contender?
 

New_man

Rough_Rock
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Apr 13, 2009
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Anyone know the ballpark price of the Tacori crescent silhouette ring?

Their ''email us for price'' link doesn''t seem to work. I''ll call them if no one here knows
 
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