Help buying an unsighted diamond

[firsove]

Hi,

Hoping one of the experts around here is able to help me out with buying an unsighted diamond. I live in Australia but will be spending some time in the US in the next couple of months, and seem to be able to get a lot more value for money buying from one of the big online retailers compared to buying in Aus.

I guess I am just a little concerned about spending a lot of money on something I haven’t physically seen…

My budget is 9-11k USD for diamond and setting. I’m looking at round cut, 1.0+ carat, H-F color, around VS1/2 clarity, and excellent cut. From what I can gather, the cut is the most important when buying unsighted?

The three websites I’ve been looking at are whiteflash, jamesallen, and bluenile. Is it a good idea to try only choose from their respective true hearts/cut above/signature ideal/ etc collections, to limit my risk of getting a diamond which looks good on paper, but doesn’t look as good in person? Or is this unnecessary, and as long as the cut falls in the 1-2 range on the HCA I should be safe?

Does anyone have any further advice they can offer? Based on my specifications/budget, is there anything I should change (put more emphasis on color, less on clarity, etc.) or is it really just down to personal preference? (Or rather preference of my partner, to which I have no idea other than round diamond in solitaire setting!)

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer!

 

[firsove]

Another question - I have found a diamond which appears to match my requirements from James Allen – “This True HeartsTM diamond, 1.15 Carat H Color VS2 Clarity has ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from AGS” - http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.15-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-ideal-cut-sku-73728

AGS Grading report shows AGS Ideal 0000… but when I put the numbers into the ‘Holloway Cut Advisor’ it gives me a 2.9?

Other diamonds not in the ‘True Hearts’ range return a better score – i.e this one which is an ideal cut, but no AGS grading, returns a 1.6 - http://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut/1.06-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-280182

If I were to compare these two diamonds on the basis of cut, should I be ignoring the HCA score and place more emphasis on the AGS report?

 

[CanuckAB]

You don't use the HCA tool on AGS 000 stones. The lab has already checked the stone's performance for you. AGS 000 is a proven top performer and is therefore a very safe bet for you. You will still need to look at the inclusions to decide but I see from the one you posted it is a VS2 so you should be fine. Many here would drop to SI clarity to get a larger stone but I'd advise against that with you being from Australia. The VS2 you posted looked very nice but I didn't notice "eye clean" written anywhere so as a precaution you should confirm it is eye clean to your standards ( from 6", from the side as well if that's important to you).

Good luck!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I wouldn't consider vendors who don't supply pictures and idealscope images at the very least. The 1.15 H VS2 is a good stone, but when you look at the center, you can see why it has the higher HCA score as it definitely has some minor leakage. This is a stone that probably would be a second tier stone at WhiteFlash and Good Old Gold. It might still be a good deal, but I'd have to compare price to similar stones at the other vendors.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Okay, here is a 1.19 H VS2 ACA at $9498. You can see how solid red the center is. It also has a 6.82mm diameter which is better than the 6.67 of the other.

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3060892.htm

or 1.14 H VS2 at $9009 (6.68 x 6.70 mm):

http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-3063745.htm

or 1.13 H VS2 (6.69 x 6.71 mm) at $9006

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/10920/

 

[firsove]

Great, thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

I do like the look of both diamonds you've posted from whiteflash. Is there any major difference between the 1.19 and 1.14, other than the higher carat? Is it worth the extra $400 in your opinion? As i have absolutely no experience with diamonds, other than reading the beginner tutorials on this website, it is hard for me to tell based on the images/reports they provide, considering all other specifications are the same.

I'm not too fussed on the higher carat if the 1.14 was to be better in other areas.

Thanks again for your help.