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Help choosing an Asscher (0.5 - 0.8)

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tungsten

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 3, 2009
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Hi,

I am looking for an asscher in my price range (~2k) for a solitaire setting in white metal, probably palladium. This seems to bring me in the 0.5-0.75 ct range. I went to the LA Diamond DIstrict and saw only a few Asschers in my range and they all had big tables and not the type of look I was expecting. Granted, I had been hanging out here looking at much bigger asschers and or course the 10 mile deep effect is easier to see in a bigger Asscher. After reading a lot of posts on Asschers here, I decided to ask GOG to bring in some diamonds for me citing Storm''s critera for depth and table.

They have come up with 3 so far, with another 3 coming in next week. Preferably, I should pick one of this from the first round before they order the next 3.

0.82 L VS2
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6114

0.7 J VVS1
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6102

0.50 D VS2
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6101

My question is if anyone has any input on these 3.

In particular, how "bad" is an L? When I was in LA, I saw a J and didn''t think it was really yellow, although I could see the difference next to a D. Do they look even yellower when set in white metal or will that help it look whiter? I am sort of partial to the 0.82 L, because of the cut and slightly larger size. However, I don''t have a great understanding of the different scans and what to expect from them in real life as far as fire and depth feeling are concerned.

Any thoughts?

Hope everyone is having a good start of the weekend!
 
FWIW none of these comes with GOG''s lifetime guarantee.

To me that means Johnathan does not consider them to be the cream of the crop.
 
L is going to have a noticeable tint.
Unless you know the person who will wear it likes a tint I would go higher in color.
Some people do love them some don''t.

I''m not impressed with the first 3.

The L is the best of the lot and its just so-so.
The regular pictures and the ASET are showing a lot of obstruction and not a lot of brightness for all 3.
 
Thanks for the input so far.

Doesn''t sound like anything too exciting yet. I will have to hope for better ones next week.

I am wary of going with L color but I might have them hold on it for this round. I don''t want to ask the person receiving the diamond too many questions and risk blowing my cover. She doesn''t have any diamonds at all, so I don''t know if the tint would be noticable.

I am trying to interpret the Aset image for the 0.82 F. For this size of Asscher, what would be a desirable pattern to see? I don''t mind a compex explanation if anyone has the time, or a link to a relevant post. The info I have seen was primarily about other shapes.

Thanks so much for your help!

0.82F-Aset-.jpg
 
less blue more red especially under the table is the short version for it.

Something like this. But is out of your budget.
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5191/

Also notice this has the lifetime policy of GOG meaning Jon stands behind this stone in its optics.
 
Date: 7/3/2009 9:48:38 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
less blue more red especially under the table is the short version for it.
Click to expand...
yep under the table and more red or green over the arrow pattern under the crown facets.
 
Date: 7/3/2009 9:48:38 PM
Author: Stone-cold11
less blue more red especially under the table is the short version for it.


Something like this. But is out of your budget.

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/5191/


Also notice this has the lifetime policy of GOG meaning Jon stands behind this stone in its optics.
Click to expand...


I see the difference, yes.

Maybe I will have more luck with smaller Asschers considering my price range. I actually didn''t request a specific size from GOG, just a price. I wasn''t expecting something as big as 0.82, but I guess the L brings the price down a lot. This is going on a small finger and to Europe too, where people tend to have smaller stones, so I don''t have to go big for the sake of showing off. Based on previous discussion here on PS it seems that people have been able to find nice Asschers at around 0.5 ct, but it isn''t easy. I hope that this is where GOG comes in, making that part easy.

I realise that I am nearly asking for the impossible, a nice step cut surface to gaze at, but keeping it small.... (and cheap)

I''ll post back here when I get some new suggestions next week from GOG.

Thanks for you help so far! Happy 4th!
 
An L colour does have a slight tint, they do not look a crisp white, more of a creamy white colour in a round and in a step cut you might notice this more.
 
I talked to GOG today. They will now back the 0.82 L with the Lifetime guarantee (saying that the optics are "nice" ) which adds some comfort but doesn''t alter the red fields in the ASET image.

They are shooting a video of it for me, together with some less tinted ones so that I can judge the color of an L. But I will probably end up having it sent to me so I can see it live. If I can post a link to the video, I would appreciate the input from all of you PS:ers.

Unfortunately, the combination of the market closing next week ( I had no idea that the Diamond market closed) and GOG being closed after that leaves me no time to see more diamonds from GOG if this 0.82L is not to my liking. I asked WF, and they replied that I should check with GOG. Does anyone have any other recommendations for asschers?

I had hoped to get a diamond by the end of the month, but of course I will have to postpone if can''t find anything decent.
 
GOG made this video for me with the 0.82 L VS2 next to 3 other asschers ( .71ct D VS2, .90ct G VS1 & .70ct J VVS1).

I need to watch it a few more times before I make a decision, but I thought I would let you enjoy the movie too.

http://vimeo.com/5511761
 
at around the 38 second point you can see the obstruction in the .82l I am concerned about.
Compare it to the .90
 
The .90 is sweet to bad its out of your price range :{
 
In the video I like the one on the far right the best.

Not sure which that was.
 
Yes, the one on the right was the 0.90ct G VS1 for $4,496.

I liked that one most too, and yes out of my price range.
7.gif


The .82 seemed to stand out as only sparkling up and down the 4 corner cuts, the other were more sparkly all over. So, I like the other ones in the line up more, but they are pricier. I understand that you get what you pay for.

As far as the L tint is concerned. I don''t think that it is that obvious in this video. I think that I would be OK with that type of color as long as I don''t keep it next to a D. If I had a micro pave setting like Asschergirl''s would I have to make sure that those diamonds were similar color?

Does anyone think I have a chance at finding something better in my price range or am I just asking for too much?

I had a look at James Allen. They have this : http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Asscher-Diamond-1243996.asp But no ASET or other info. Any reason not to look into this one too?
 
I think you can request Idealscope and a sarin scan to be done on the stone. Also, you can have their in-house gemologist take a look at it. But one bad point about that stone is that it has an extremely thin girdle, depends on the location and extent of the Ex Thin part, that could be bad for the durablity of the stone in a setting.
 
agreed, the .90 was the prettiest
 
Thanks for your input so far. I emailed JA and asked for more info on their Asscher.

I have watched the GOG video many times and I know that I can see the difference between the 4. Unfortunately, I like the most expensive diamond. Big surprise. :)
Its not like the 0.82L is unpleasant to look at, and I am likely to always find something nicer for twice the price. On the PS scale, is this .82L a dog, shopping mall class, average or kicken? I guess not kicken.

Size is not super important, I actually started at 0.5 and somehow ended up at 0.82. Of course too small an Asscher will make it harder to appreciate the steps. But I saw somewhere else here on PS that a nice 0.5 can be found. Color is not too critical either, I will want to see this L in real life, but at least the Js that I have seen looked acceptable to me. I think cut is of the greatest importance to me in this case.

My question now is if, given my budget (and to some extent time) contraints, could I do better?

Thanks for your input!
 
budget I think you can do better.
Time is a harder problem.
Did Jon say when the other 3 will be in?
 
The "market" is closing for 2 weeks and GOG closes for 1 week after that. I''m not sure what market they are referring to. So, the next time to look is on the 27th. I had sort of wanted to get the diamond set by the 25th. I did mention this when I started the search, but there was no mention to me that there would be 3 consecutive weeks of no diamonds until recently.

My reason is that my GF is coming to visit from Europe on 25th and I wanted to get this done before she gets here. We are taking a nice trip etc and it would all just fit perfectly. I have a feeling she might be unconventional and propose first if I don''t beat her to it. But I don''t want to get a total dog just because I couldn''t wait a few weeks. Of course, there is no knowing what other 3 would be available. They might be more of the same or worse. Storms comment that I could do better for my money is encouraging though.

I think that unless someone here convinces me that it is an absolute total dog, I will have it sent out to me next week and I can look for myself.

Are there any other places I could look at or does anyone see anything of interest on the market now? I can only guess based on the numbers what might make a nice Asscher. So hard without a picture.


Storm: I really like your honest opinions on Asschers. I think I have read every single Asscher thread on PS and seen you on there. :)
 
I have the 0.82L at home to look at and I am not bothered by the L color, but I am still seeing if I can do better. JA has the following:

1203730
Shape: Asscher
Carat weight: 0.50
Cut: Premium
Color: I
Clarity: IF
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 71.1%
Table: 59.0%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Girdle: Medium to slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 4.36*4.26*3.03
Ratio: 1.02

1203730.jpg
 
What is the crown height?
 
Or this:

Item Number: 1132164
Shape: Asscher
Carat weight: 0.56
Cut: Ideal
Color: D
Clarity: VS1
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 66.5%
Table: 59.0%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Girdle: Slightly thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: Faint
Measurements: 4.74*4.72*3.14
Ratio: 1.00

1132164.jpg
 
tem Number: 1139159
Shape: Asscher
Carat weight: 0.90
Cut: Ideal
Color: J
Clarity: VS2
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 65.1%
Table: 62.0%
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Good
Girdle: Medium to thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 5.53*5.44*3.54
Ratio: 1.02

Crown Angle: 0.0°

1139159.jpg
 
Last one.

Item Number: 1243996
Shape: Asscher
Carat weight: 0.70
Cut: Ideal
Color: I
Clarity: VS1
Certificate: GIA

Depth: 63.8%
Table: 62.0%
Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Good
Girdle: Extremely thin to thick
Culet: None
Fluorescence: None
Measurements: 5.09*5.03*3.21
Ratio: 1.01

1243996.jpg
 
Date: 7/15/2009 4:18:42 PM
Author: strmrdr
What is the crown height?
Click to expand...

I was trying to find it but none of these show in the GIA report check and JA doesn''t have the info of their site. I will email and ask them.
 
I like this one if the crown height is high enough
Item Number: 1132164
Shape: Asscher
Carat weight: 0.56
Cut: Ideal
Color: D
Clarity: VS1
Certificate: GIA

It in effect has a large culet but it looks pretty bright around it.
It is a bit contrasty but at that size that can be a good thing if the brightness is decent

The last 2 are no goes.
 
What you might consider doing if you have the funds to tie up temperately is order this one and compare it in person to the gog and return the one you like the least as long as the ch checks out.
Shape: Asscher
Carat weight: 0.56
Cut: Ideal
Color: D
Clarity: VS1
Certificate: GIA

Would cost you a little bit in shipping charges.
 
Date: 7/15/2009 4:49:19 PM
Author: strmrdr

It in effect has a large culet but it looks pretty bright around it.

It is a bit contrasty but at that size that can be a good thing if the brightness is decent

The last 2 are no goes.
Click to expand...


Funny that the GIA report says no culet. I was also looking at the square hole. Is the report wrong or is this just an illusion?
 
Date: 7/15/2009 5:07:09 PM
Author: tungsten
Date: 7/15/2009 4:49:19 PM

Author: strmrdr


It in effect has a large culet but it looks pretty bright around it.


It is a bit contrasty but at that size that can be a good thing if the brightness is decent


The last 2 are no goes.
Click to expand...



Funny that the GIA report says no culet. I was also looking at the square hole. Is the report wrong or is this just an illusion?
Click to expand...

either the report is wrong or it has a no culet because there is a sharp angled set of facets there.
Either way it is the same effect as having one.
Some cutters will do that to avoid the large culet on the report.
Sometimes it harms the look sometimes it doesn't.
At this size we are talking about a pin point so it don't hurt.
Shrink the image down to actual size and you will see what I mean.
 
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