Help choosing a diamond

[smoothsailing]

Sorry, I posted this in the wrong sub-forum earlier.

I'm picking out a loose diamond with my boyfriend as the center stone for a solitaire engagement ring. Which diamond is better? They are both round diamonds.

Diamond #1:

Carat: 1.50
Cut: Very Good
Color: E
Clarity: VS1
Depth: 64.5%
Table: 55.0%
Girdle: Thin to Thick
Symmetry: EX
Polish: EX
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Strong Blue
Measurements: 7.17x7.19x4.63mm

Diamond #2:

Carat: 1.21
Cut: Signature Ideal
Color: D
Clarity: VS1
Depth: 61.6%
Table: 57.0%
Girdle: Medium to Medium
Symmetry: EX
Polish: EX
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Medium Blue
Measurements: 6.83x6.86x4.22mm

Diamond #1 has a crown angle of 37.5 and a pavilion angle of 40.6. GIA report number: 2135776551.

Diamond #2 has a crown angle of 34.5 and a pavilion angle of 40.8. GIA report number: 1126821201. Also has a GCAL report (which I've never heard of).

Also, I can get almost the same diamond as #2 with a few things slightly different (if it is better). Girdle is thin to medium instead of medium, depth is 61.1%, table is 57%, crown angle is 35.0 and pavilion angle is 40.8. GIA report number: 2135020213. 

All diamonds were found on Blue Nile and Diamond #2 and the alternate for #2 are the Blue Nile
Signature Ideal cut.

Is the signature ideal cut worth it instead of an ideal cut?

 

[TrueBlueLS]

Is there a price range you're looking to stay within and are you trying to use BN's financing?

 

[smoothsailing]

No, I can't use Blue Nile's financing because they only offer it up to $10k and Bill Me Later up to $12k. I want a better quality diamond and bigger in carat than that price range allows. I was aiming for at least 1.2 carat, at least F in color, and at least VS1 in clarity. The $14k-$16k range is perfect for me I think.

 

[centralsquare]

Do the signature ideals have images you could post? Seems that only BN has stones with your parameters in your price range

Would G color be OK? Here is a G: http://www.whiteflash.com/loose-diamonds/round-cut-loose-diamond-2275598.htm

There are also some VS2 options...I don't think you can visually see the difference between VS2 and VS1, so I'd consider that as well.

 

[CedarRapids]

Diamond #1 is not good. Too deep. A 1.5-carat diamond should have a diameter of around 7.5 mm. The one you list is only 7.1 mm.

The BN Signature line diamonds are cut better than diamonds which they call Ideal (note that their definition of ideal is a little loose). They are hearts & arrows diamonds (i.e., good internal symmetry). As a result, they are nice diamonds that are also more expensive than non-signature line diamonds.

 

[slg47]

Diamond #1 is not good. Too deep. A 1.5-carat diamond should have a diameter of around 7.5 mm. The one you list is only 7.1 mm.

The BN Signature line diamonds are cut better than diamonds which they call Ideal (note that their definition of ideal is a little loose). They are hearts & arrows diamonds (i.e., good internal symmetry). As a result, they are nice diamonds that are also more expensive than non-signature line diamonds.

I don't think the signature ideal are cut better than the ideal...they just have restrictive table/depth ranges. They also claim to be H&A but do not provide any images.

 

[smoothsailing]

I don't think the signature ideal are cut better than the ideal...they just have restrictive table/depth ranges. They also claim to be H&A but do not provide any images.

Actually, on the signature ideal cut on BN's site they include a GCAL report that shows images of the actual diamond. I'd post it here but I don't think I can do it from my phone.

 

[CedarRapids]

I don't think the signature ideal are cut better than the ideal...they just have restrictive table/depth ranges. They also claim to be H&A but do not provide any images.

Actually, on the signature ideal cut on BN's site they include a GCAL report that shows images of the actual diamond. I'd post it here but I don't think I can do it from my phone.

I agree, SLG, that BN doesn't quite 'prove' that their Signature line are H&A diamonds. It's a good question to ask BN.

Whether the signature line is cut better than non-signature diamonds, I won't say it's an absolute truth. But on average, I believe it to be true. Especially given that BN's designation of Ideal is not consistent with AGS's definition of Ideal.

I might be wrong, but I sort of see that BN has widened their definition of Ideal in order to make room for the Signature Ideal line. Thus, they can charge more for them.

H&A aside, you can definitely find non-signature diamonds in BN's inventory with wonderful proportions. But, I agree that BN's H&A claim is perplexing. If they were H&As, they should go out of their way to show it like everyone else. I'm not a diamond imaging expert and so the GCAL report that comes with the signature line kind of confuses me. I guess the "optical symmetry analysis" is supposed to show H&As. I don't know how to interpret those things.

 

[Amys Bling]

Sorry, I posted this in the wrong sub-forum earlier.

I'm picking out a loose diamond with my boyfriend as the center stone for a solitaire engagement ring. Which diamond is better? They are both round diamonds.

Diamond #1:

Carat: 1.50
Cut: Very Good
Color: E
Clarity: VS1
Depth: 64.5%
Table: 55.0%
Girdle: Thin to Thick
Symmetry: EX
Polish: EX
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Strong Blue
Measurements: 7.17x7.19x4.63mm

Diamond #2:

Carat: 1.21
Cut: Signature Ideal
Color: D
Clarity: VS1
Depth: 61.6%
Table: 57.0%
Girdle: Medium to Medium
Symmetry: EX
Polish: EX
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Medium Blue
Measurements: 6.83x6.86x4.22mm

Diamond #1 has a crown angle of 37.5 and a pavilion angle of 40.6. GIA report number: 2135776551.

Diamond #2 has a crown angle of 34.5 and a pavilion angle of 40.8. GIA report number: 1126821201. Also has a GCAL report (which I've never heard of).

Also, I can get almost the same diamond as #2 with a few things slightly different (if it is better). Girdle is thin to medium instead of medium, depth is 61.1%, table is 57%, crown angle is 35.0 and pavilion angle is 40.8. GIA report number: 2135020213. 

All diamonds were found on Blue Nile and Diamond #2 and the alternate for #2 are the Blue Nile
Signature Ideal cut.

Is the signature ideal cut worth it instead of an ideal cut?

have you used the HCA tool for these stones. My guess is that the first stone you posted will score pretty badly since it's deep and faces up smaller than a 1.5 should. In my opinion I would get a stone with the best cut.... have you checked BGD signature H&A stones, or Whiteflash expert selection? I would try to go with a vendor that will provide images- idealscope-aset- so you can assess the cut in multiple ways before pulling the trigger since you are buying sight unseen.