Hi there,
I'm a first time buyer and hoping to lean on your guys' experience in choosing between a couple of diamonds I've shortlisted:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.20-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-6579850
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.20-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-6563714
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.26-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-6811797
A couple of notes for context:
- Budget is around $10.5k CAD (or ~$8k USD)
- Will be used for engagement ring. Planning on going with a yellow gold solitaire setting and small pave band.
- Prefer to keep to an 'H' as minimum color grade; fairly color-sensitive, was initially looking at "I" color but decided to move up after inspecting a few diamonds in person.
- Preferred L/W ratio is between 1.35 - 1.42.
- I attempted to screen the available inventory on JA based on my preferences and tried to select diamonds that did not display a prominent bow-tie, displayed even scintillation across the crown/table and had crisp faceting.
- I reached out to JA to see if they can provide ASET images for each diamond. I will share those if/when available.
My observations of the diamonds:
#1 - small black inclusion on north side of table. Not sure if this is significant enough to be visible without magnification
#2 - recognize VVS2 clarity is a bit 'overkill' but I thought the diamond had really good visual performance when comparing to other options at around the same price point.
#3 - most prominent bowtie of the three in my opinion. There are a few slight angles where there is sharper contrast in the bowtie but does not extend to the crown and is pretty scattered across otherwise. Not sure how visually distracting this will be in person.
I looked at a handful of SI1 diamonds within my price range, but didn't really like the appearance of the larger Ct stones available. The price difference at the 1.2ct mark is not that significant enough for me to consider going down in quality.
Hoping you guys can offer some feedback. Thanks in advance!
I'm a first time buyer and hoping to lean on your guys' experience in choosing between a couple of diamonds I've shortlisted:
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.20-carat-g-color-vs2-clarity-sku-6579850
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.20-carat-h-color-vvs2-clarity-sku-6563714
https://www.jamesallen.com/loose-diamonds/oval-cut/1.26-carat-h-color-vs2-clarity-sku-6811797
A couple of notes for context:
- Budget is around $10.5k CAD (or ~$8k USD)
- Will be used for engagement ring. Planning on going with a yellow gold solitaire setting and small pave band.
- Prefer to keep to an 'H' as minimum color grade; fairly color-sensitive, was initially looking at "I" color but decided to move up after inspecting a few diamonds in person.
- Preferred L/W ratio is between 1.35 - 1.42.
- I attempted to screen the available inventory on JA based on my preferences and tried to select diamonds that did not display a prominent bow-tie, displayed even scintillation across the crown/table and had crisp faceting.
- I reached out to JA to see if they can provide ASET images for each diamond. I will share those if/when available.
My observations of the diamonds:
#1 - small black inclusion on north side of table. Not sure if this is significant enough to be visible without magnification
#2 - recognize VVS2 clarity is a bit 'overkill' but I thought the diamond had really good visual performance when comparing to other options at around the same price point.
#3 - most prominent bowtie of the three in my opinion. There are a few slight angles where there is sharper contrast in the bowtie but does not extend to the crown and is pretty scattered across otherwise. Not sure how visually distracting this will be in person.
I looked at a handful of SI1 diamonds within my price range, but didn't really like the appearance of the larger Ct stones available. The price difference at the 1.2ct mark is not that significant enough for me to consider going down in quality.
Hoping you guys can offer some feedback. Thanks in advance!