Help choosing between 3 RB stones from JA

[yellowstar]

Hi guys,

First I want to share my experience with Brilliant Earth. I posted https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/opinions-needed-on-these-3-stones.257635/ earlier this week for suggestions between another 3 MMDs. I decided to go with the first stone from BE.

I asked for a visual inspection via their webpage live chat on Wednesday, and a customer rep told me they will send me the result via email when available. Then I got an email from another rep asking me what I need help with. Not sure why they didn't pass the message through, but I replied again I want a visual inspection for a specific diamond.
On Friday I haven't got their email response, not even an ACK, so I made I phone call to ask whether the result is available. I was surprised this time they told me no inspection is requested.

Another thing is that I tried to call them on Thursday around 4:30pm. I waited for 10 mins, but nobody answered the phone. I tried again after 5pm, this time I couldn't get through. I'm wondering why the website said the line is 24/7. "Our jewelry specialists are here for you 24/7. Call us or live chat us at any time."

Because of such incidents, I feel BE's customer support is not very unreliable. I also read a few posts about terrible BE experience in this forum. Thus I decided not to purchase from BE.

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In comparison, I think JA's customer service is very nice. They are very responsive to my messages. And they don't charge for putting diamonds on hold.

I scanned through 1.3 - 1.7 ct G+ MMDs on JA. Now I've narrowed down my choice to these 3 stones below.

A: 1.52 ct / F color / VS1 / hca 1.6

Lab-Created 1.52 Carat round diamond

This 1.52 carat Lab-Created round diamond F color vs1 clarity has Ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from IGI

www.jamesallen.com

B: 1.32 ct / E color / VS1 / hca 1.9

Lab-Created 1.32 Carat round diamond

This 1.32 carat Lab-Created round diamond E color vs1 clarity has Ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from IGI

www.jamesallen.com

C. 1.36 ct / F color / VS 1 / hca 0.9

Lab-Created 1.36 Carat round diamond

This 1.36 carat Lab-Created round diamond F color vs1 clarity has Ideal proportions and a diamond grading report from IGI

www.jamesallen.com

My priority is cut > carat > color. B seems to have the best arrow pattern, but the crown angle (35.6) is not in ideal range. What's your opinions on them? Would love to hear your thoughts

 

[OoohShiny]

The additional size of the 1.52 would be noticeable! so it is hard to not be tempted by that.

That said, to my eyes it looks 'dull' - and you can see strong stria lines (layers) throughout the stone, which may be causing that effect.

I would therefore (personally speaking) not go with this one. If it is cheaper than others of a similar size/spec, it's likely to be for a reason... (like 'dullness' or obvious stria!)



The higher crown on number 2 is not necessarily an issue - the crown/pavilion combo still scores well on HCA (so the angles work together) and you can see potential performance on Serg's Cutwise platform (and see it's pretty much on the 'sweet line' of performance similar to Tolkowsky) :

Sweet Line in Round Diamonds – docs

Consider two dimensional Ca-Pa variations of the round parameters

docs.cutwise.com

Looks like it has shorter Lower Girdle Facets, giving fatter arrows, which may increase the coloured 'fire' it gives off. The higher crown will also increase the opportunity for fire, so it could be a very 'rainbow colours' stone in terms of light return

I think it also looks 'crisp' in terms of faceting and transparency.



The last is very much in the middle of the sort of angles that are usually recommended on here. The smaller table will mean larger crown facets, increasing opportunity for fire. I think it looks as 'crisp' as No.2 in terms of faceting and transparency.


For me, then, definitely not No.1, but numbers 2 and 3 both look promising, and the different crown angles will give a different 'flavour' to each.


If it's not a ridiculous suggestion, and if you have the cash/credit available and don't mind the hassle of doing a Return, you could purchase both and see which appeals more visually?

You would need to check the T&Cs, though, to make sure you can do Returns as expected, and how they would work in terms of shipping and insurance.



All IMHO, of course