Help analyzing Round diamond

[Fritzer527]

Hi, this is my first post. I''m preparing to purchase a ring for my girlfriend next week in the Diamond District, NYC. I figured I would practice looking at some rings online and viewing their GIA reports.

I found this diamond off of JamesAllen:
Diamond Details
Item Number: 1169595
Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.21
Cut: Ideal
Color: J
Clarity: VS2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 62.3%
Table: 55.0%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Girdle: Thin to thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.76*6.79*4.22

GIA report shows 55% table, 62.3% depth, 35 crown angle, 40.4 pavilion angle. Also shows 2 clouds, 1 feather, and 2 pinpoints on the table.

Since this is a VS2 clarity, should I not be overly concerned with these inclusions considering the excellent cut? My ring budget is $5k including the setting. Would I be able to find something better than this in the DD? I''m not going to purchase this ring online, but if I saw this in the DD would it be a good buy?

Fred

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/6/2009 3:09:19 PM
Author:Fritzer527
Hi, this is my first post. I'm preparing to purchase a ring for my girlfriend next week in the Diamond District, NYC. I figured I would practice looking at some rings online and viewing their GIA reports.

I found this diamond off of JamesAllen:
Diamond Details
Item Number: 1169595
Shape: Round
Carat weight: 1.21
Cut: Ideal
Color: J
Clarity: VS2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 62.3%
Table: 55.0%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Very Good
Girdle: Thin to thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 6.76*6.79*4.22

GIA report shows 55% table, 62.3% depth, 35 crown angle, 40.4 pavilion angle. Also shows 2 clouds, 1 feather, and 2 pinpoints on the table.

Since this is a VS2 clarity, should I not be overly concerned with these inclusions considering the excellent cut? My ring budget is $5k including the setting. Would I be able to find something better than this in the DD? I'm not going to purchase this ring online, but if I saw this in the DD would it be a good buy?

Fred

Hi Fred

An Idealscope image would be very useful for this diamond, particularly for the shallow pavilion angle, do you have the link please?

Girdles, avoid extremes, if the thickness given is correct then it is best to look for thin to slightly thick, thin to medium etc, thick girdles can waste weight but it depends - if the thick part only covers a small portion of the girdle it might be ok, a trusted vendor or appraiser can advise further.

Also be very careful shopping in the diamond district, it is a minefield for the rookie buyer. Here are some vendors who have great reps you can try from the DD, but you will need appointments.

www.exceldiamonds.com

www.jamesallen.com also have offices in NYC but an appointment would be needed.

www.engagementringsdirect.com

www.goodoldgold.com are in Long Island but would be well worth the journey if you can get there. You would again need an appointment with Jon.

Inclusions shouldn't normally be an issue with VS2 clarity but it is hard to generalize, I would suggest getting the diamond you choose inspected by an independant appraiser during any return period you might have.

Here is the appraisers tool , there are some in the NYC area listed.

Also here are some numbers you can use as a guide to help you find a well cut round diamond.

depth - 60 - 62% - although my personal preference is to allow up to 62.4%
table - 54- 57%
crown angle - 34- 35 degrees
pavilion angle - 40.6- 41 degrees
girdle - avoid extremes, look for thin to slightly thick, thin to medium etc
polish and symmetry - very good and above

note - with crown and pavilion angles at the shallower ends ( CA 34- PA 40.6) and steeper ( CA 35- PA 41) check to make sure these angles complement in that particular diamond - eyeballs, Idealscope, trusted vendor input - check as appropriate!

As the above implies, configurations depend on each other. A little give here can still work with a little take there.

From expert John Pollard.

With that said, here's a "Cliff's Notes" for staying near Tolkowsky/ideal angles with GIA reports (their numbers are rounded): A crown angle of 34.0, 34.5 or 35.0 is usually safe with a 40.8 pavilion angle. If pavilion angle = 40.6 lean toward a 34.5-35.0 crown. If pavilion angle = 41 lean toward a 34.0-34.5 crown.

GIA "EX" in cut is great at its heart, but it ranges a bit wider than some people prefer, particularly in deep combinations (pavilion > 41 with crown > 35).

 

[stone-cold11]

This stone has a shallow pav angle, need Idealscope image, you can request that from JA. Als, the thick in the girdle will hide some weight, coupled with the high crown will make the stone face up slightly smaller diameter than ideally cut stone of similar weight.

Why not?

JA has an office in NYC. Just get an appointment with them. Other PS vendors in NYC are Exceldiamond, Idjewelry, EngagementRingDirect, and GoodOldGold in Long Island.

 

[Fritzer527]

I''m planning on going with my father on Tuesday and wasn''t planning on making any appointments. I also wasn''t planning on making any quick decisions as we''ll be spending the majority of the day walking around and comparing. I''ve also heard good things about David S Diamonds there...is this true? I also won''t have access to an ideal-scope so I''m trying to learn a bit more about recognizing a steal vs a bust without one.

any other thoughts?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/6/2009 3:18:18 PM
Author: Fritzer527
I'm planning on going with my father on Tuesday and wasn't planning on making any appointments. I also wasn't planning on making any quick decisions as we'll be spending the majority of the day walking around and comparing. I've also heard good things about David S Diamonds there...is this true? I also won't have access to an ideal-scope so I'm trying to learn a bit more about recognizing a steal vs a bust without one.

any other thoughts?

In that case just have fun and look and compare, see what you like. See if you can view some AGS0 cut grade round diamonds ( assuming you want a round stone), that way you will see some well cut diamonds in person to have a point of reference. Sorry, I haven't heard of this vendor, you could try a search for them using the tool above right, it might bring up some threads from the archives on this company.

You could purchase an ASET or Idealscope if you prefer to shop from a jewellery store, it would be immensely helpful to you.

You can purchase here.

 

[Fritzer527]

Thanks for your thoughts so far - another question:

As I said my overall budget for rock + setting is 5k. In your honest opinion, what would you say the stats might be of the best diamond I could expect with this budget. I''ve kind of been assuming 1k for the ring, 4k for the diamond and was hoping I''d be able to find something like 1.2 - 1.3 Carat, VS2 or VS1, F G H or I. Do you think this is possible (assuming 58-63 depth, 53-62 table)?

Do you think that cost is too low for the stats above? Should I not be ''scared'' of J or SI1? I am, can i be convinced otherwise?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/8/2009 4:59:55 PM
Author: Fritzer527
Thanks for your thoughts so far - another question:

As I said my overall budget for rock + setting is 5k. In your honest opinion, what would you say the stats might be of the best diamond I could expect with this budget. I''ve kind of been assuming 1k for the ring, 4k for the diamond and was hoping I''d be able to find something like 1.2 - 1.3 Carat, VS2 or VS1, F G H or I. Do you think this is possible (assuming 58-63 depth, 53-62 table)?

Do you think that cost is too low for the stats above? Should I not be ''scared'' of J or SI1? I am, can i be convinced otherwise?

You might want to consider J colour and SI clarity to help the budget, the trick with SI clarities is to make your expectations very clear to the vendor concerning the visibility of any inclusions, if you don''t want to see anything from any angle or distance then make sure they know that so you are on the same page. J colour can still look very white if the cut is good, maybe view some in person to see what you think.