Help - Brilliance vs. Firescope

[MattC]

Fist time posting-looking for an engagement ring and I am trying to decide between 2 stones. Both are of same carats. One is a H/VS2 and scores extremely high on GemEx and Firescope (no leakage). The other is a G/VS2 and scores well on both GemEx and Firescope but not as high as the H stone. Both are the same price. So in my mind, I am giving up one color category for the GemEx and Firescope results. Which stone should I buy? Also, I could buy a F/VS2 that also doesn''t score as high on GemEx and Firescope as the H stone for more. Should I step up in color to F or G and sacrifice brilliance? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I guess I would have a couple of questions:

What do you mean by "scores well but not as high" as the other stone? Are we talking very high plus versus medium/high? Are we talking very high plus versus high/very high? In other words, is the G stone an ideal cut that performs very well, just not as well as the H, or is it an average to above average stone that is not displaying arrows, etc?

If the G stone is a H&A with at least one very high, I might go for the G. If it's not, I would go for the H.

You can ask the vendor (if they're from the same place) for a comparison -- is it a high or low G? High or low H? If it were a high G versus a low H, I might go with the G. If they are closer in color, I might go with the H.

Are there any other factors--such as one having a larger diameter, or one having a questionable inclusion, or one having a girdle that is too thin or thick--to help you make your decision?

What about the F . . . does it perform as well as the G? How much more is it?

With just the information that you gave me, I would probably go with the H, but like I said, there are a lot of "if P, then Q"s involved in making an important decision like this.

 

[MattC]

Thanks for your response - i'm a little new to this, so sorry that I didn't include all the details. Basically, the G scores high for both white light and scintillation and scores just in the very high for color light. Also, the H has no leakage under firescope and the G has some leakage. The H scored very high in all 3 categories. Also, if I remember correctly, the F scored similar to the G on brilliance and also had some leakage. The vendor is basically been recommending that I should look for more brilliance/firescope vs. color. Also, the F is about 15% more than both.

 

[aaronka99]

I agree with the above post. While brillance is always a consideration, the difference in brilliance is important. Personally, I would always take the stone with a higher brilliance/scintillation rating simply because the quality of light return often times covers up the imperfections of the stone (lower color grade...)

 

[hoorray]

Sight unseen, I would probably go with the H and max out the performance. H is not a bad color... (and I'm a color snob...) An alternative would be to have the G&H both sent to a local appraiser so that you can view them side by side and make a decision. At the end of the day, specs are just specs, and it is all about what looks best to you. I don't see a compelling argument to go with the F.

 

[MattC]

by the way everybody, i really meant to title this post brilliance vs. color. not sure what i was thinking...

 

[phoenixgirl]

Yes, I would go with the H too. It sounds like a real sparkler! One shade difference in color will not be noticeable when set in a ring, but better light return will be.

 

[hoorray]

But...Phoenixgirl had good advise about checking out the diameters, girdles, inclusions, etc to see if there are any other differences that should be taken into account. Assuming they are all equal...then I'd go H or try to take a look at both...

 

[valeria101]

How about that F stone? "High" on the scope already means very much better than average light return. In terms of cut, you could be choosing among the 2% top performers anyway. In terms of color, H is not F by an arm length... Is this important at all to you: some find some difference between these color grades only with stones side by side or bottom up, and some PS posters would consider an F color 'tinted'. The only way to choose your camp from these two is to get to see some stones... in my opinion.

Also, there is no saying about what these stones would look like in different light conditions. The Bscope tells about direct light. It is very likely that the ranking of these stones could differ in indirect light conditions - as the stones are more likely to get while worn.