Help choosing between this local stone and an online offering

[whit prowdy]

Hello!
I'm a long-time lurker but have never posted before. All the info I gleaned from this site helped me buy a 5-stone ring (natural, ACA stones) from Whiteflash for my wife 10 years ago for our 25th anniversary. I had a great experience with them so was planning to make this purchase from them as well.

I'm going with a single 2.5 carat lab-grown stone this time but I didn't love the settings I was seeing online (not just at WF, but James Allen and a number of others, too) so I found a local jeweler who has one that's perfect. I told him I'd be bringing him a stone to set and during our conversation he asked if I wanted him to show me a "super ideal lab-grown stone for comparison." I said sure, thinking why not?

I saw his stone today and, to my untrained eye, it was very nice but lacked the sparkle that my wife's 0.45 carat ACA stones have--they are really dazzling! Here are the stats he shared (he has not shown me the certificate yet):

GIA certified
2.50 carat
G
VVS2
Triple excellent
Fluorescence: None
Table 56%
Depth 62%
CA 34.5
PA 41.0
medium (faceted) girdle 3.5%
culet: none

I ran the numbers in the HCA and got a score of 1.7 so I was encouraged. But, again, when I saw it today I was disappointed. Of course, no ideal scope (I didn't plan ahead and try to buy one in time to use for our meeting) or ASET images and he has all the negative opinions about internet diamond buying that you can expect. He's holding the stone so I can compare it with the other(s) I bring to him.


WF has two stones for me to consider right now, but I only have the certificate for one of them at the moment. They are bringing both in-house to get light performance images for me.
Here's the data for the first stone:
IGI certified
2.50 carat
F
VS1
Cut grade ideal
Polish excellent
Symmetry excellent
Fluorescence: None
Table 57.5
Depth 61.9
CA 35.4
PA 40.7
Medium (faceted) girdle 3.9 (I think--it wasn't on the certificate but I subtracted crown height and pavilion depth from the total depth)
culet: pointed
Also has "Hearts and Arrows" on the certificate


Just comparing numbers with what I read on ideal cut diamonds I was pretty hopeful about the local jeweler's stone. The numbers for the WF stone don't seem quite as "good" to my newbie thinking, but I did plug them in the HCA and it returned a score of 1.9.

Some of the questions I have include:
Should I care about IGI vs GIA for the WF stone?
Does the size of the stone affect the fire or scintillation I'm (not) seeing vs my wife's smaller ACA stones?--or should a great cut perform well no matter the size?
Should I care about the pointed culet vs none?
Should I care about the girdle--seems a bit thick?

If the light performance images check out from WF should that be enough of a green light to purchase the stone for comparison with the local jeweler's stone?

Prices: $5900 local guy's stone; $7800 for WF's

Sorry for the long post!--I really appreciate any opinions you can offer. I'm happy to try and provide any additional info I may have omitted.

 

[DejaWiz]

Hello and welcome to PriceScope, whit prowdy!

Definitely wait for WF - they will fully vet the diamond and provide any and all info about it, including ASET Images.
The proportions of the WF is what I would lean towards over the diamond with the 41/34.5/57.5 combo graded by GIA, especially is the symmetry precision and optical performance check out and gets the ultimate greenlight by no other than WF!

 

[Kim N]

I think both stones are on the upper end of pricing, especially WF's.

A great cut should perform well no matter the size. If the jeweler's stone doesn't wow you, there are a myriad of other options to choose from.

I would not worry about pointed vs. no culet or a medium girdle.

IGI stones are more plentiful than GIA, so I wouldn't rule out an IGI stone if the performance checks out.

This is an HPHT D VS1 GIA stone for only $4307.

2.70 Carat Round Lab Diamond GIA 1445000320 | Ritani

2.7 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS1 Clarity with diamond report number GIA #1445000320

www.ritani.com

 

[DejaWiz]

Kim N that is one heck of a stunner - nice find!

 

[Kim N]

Kim N that is one heck of a stunner - nice find!

Thanks, DejaWiz! I'm kind of shocked at the value for the money. These Ritani prices are something else!

 

[DejaWiz]

Thanks, DejaWiz! I'm kind of shocked at the value for the money. These Ritani prices are something else!

Don't I know! -

 

[jewels2]

WF doesnt cut their own Labs do they? I love Wf and have diamonds from them but I would not pay the premium for a Lab that I could get for much less elsewhere

 

[whit prowdy]

I think both stones are on the upper end of pricing, especially WF's.

A great cut should perform well no matter the size. If the jeweler's stone doesn't wow you, there are a myriad of other options to choose from.

I would not worry about pointed vs. no culet or a medium girdle.

IGI stones are more plentiful than GIA, so I wouldn't rule out an IGI stone if the performance checks out.

This is an HPHT D VS1 GIA stone for only $4307.

2.70 Carat Round Lab Diamond GIA 1445000320 | Ritani

2.7 Carat Round Lab Diamond ID Cut D Color VS1 Clarity with diamond report number GIA #1445000320

www.ritani.com

Wow!—that does look impressive, especially for the price. Looks like I need to reconsider my current options.

 

[DejaWiz]

Wow!—that does look impressive, especially for the price. Looks like I need to reconsider my current options.

I can attest to the value factor: my wife's similar size D VS2 came from Ritani and was in this price realm...wow factor off the charts and it's a dream diamond that my wife will enjoy for life!

 

[whit prowdy]

Does the Ritani site provide light performance images like WF does? Or do the images and specs for that stone look good enough on their own?

 

[Kim N]

Does the Ritani site provide light performance images like WF does? Or do the images and specs for that stone look good enough on their own?

I recommend putting it on hold right away and then asking for advanced images. They're not always able to provide them (and are often pretty slow to get them), but it doesn't hurt to ask. I do think the video and proportions look really great. You could just buy it and return if you don't like it.

 

[whit prowdy]

Thanks!—will look into that when I get home.

 

[whit prowdy]

I plugged the stats from this stone into the HCA and it returned a score of 0.7. I seem to recall reading that scores less than 1.0 are less suitable for rings? Would that be enough to avoid this one?

 

[Kim N]

I plugged the stats from this stone into the HCA and it returned a score of 0.7. I seem to recall reading that scores less than 1.0 are less suitable for rings? Would that be enough to avoid this one?

There are some combinations that are better for pendants and earrings, but this one should be fine. It looks quite precisely cut. The HCA also got revamped recently where a bunch of stones now score lower than before.

 

[whit prowdy]

Thanks! Going to reach out to them right now.

 

[lovedogs]

Go with the ritani stone! Their prices are incredible. I wouldnt pay that much for a lab stone (the numbers from your local jeweler are high). The WF price is also higher than I think is reasonable

 

[whit prowdy]

Go with the ritani stone! Their prices are incredible. I wouldnt pay that much for a lab stone (the numbers from your local jeweler are high). The WF price is also higher than I think is reasonable

Thanks! I just sent an email to Ritani. Hopefully it's still available and they can assist with light performance images. I will reach out to them in the morning as well. Regardless, the price is good enough that it will be worth my time to buy and return if necessary.

Really appreciate everyone's help here!

 

[whit prowdy]

Oh, one other question I forgot to ask: the polish on that stone is Very Good, not Excellent. I read about so many potential issues with GIA triple excellent stones—should I be leery of one that isn’t even 3X?

 

[Kim N]

Oh, one other question I forgot to ask: the polish on that stone is Very Good, not Excellent. I read about so many potential issues with GIA triple excellent stones—should I be leery of one that isn’t even 3X?

Since it still got the Excellent cut grade, I wouldn't worry about the polish. There's a GIA study that found that the difference between EX and VG polish and symmetry is negligible.

 

[whit prowdy]

Thank you for the quick reply!

 

[whit prowdy]

Okay! The stone from Ritani is on the way! They said advanced light images were not offered for that one so I'll just see how it compares to the others and return if necessary.

If I haven't pestered you all too much already I would really like to share the light images from the WF stones when I get them to see what you think.

 

[DejaWiz]

Okay! The stone from Ritani is on the way! They said advanced light images were not offered for that one so I'll just see how it compares to the others and return if necessary.

If I haven't pestered you all too much already I would really like to share the light images from the WF stones when I get them to see what you think.

Awesome!
Please do share as many pictures and videos to your heart's content!

 

[whit prowdy]

Thanks!—will do.

My order confirmation from Ritani now says they’re checking to see if it’s available, even though the estimated delivery date was tomorrow! I guess I’ll find out soon enough…

 

[Inked]

I cant wait to see it! Ritani is amazing, i dont get it, they really have incredible prices, but I guess you need to do more legwork on your own, they have less customer service, but thankfully we have experts here that help us!

I had the same emails from ritani (about checking availability) and it really did come the next day. The actual supplier sent it to me directly (not ritani) because it had his invoice to ritani in it and his paperwork, lol. At least i knew they weren't lying about their cost and markup

 

[whit prowdy]

Great to hear! The email did say that, if it’s available, they still expect delivery tomorrow.

I also ordered an Ideal Scope beginner kit—thought I would try it out on the Ritani stone vs my local jeweler’s stone.

 

[Kim N]

Great to hear! The email did say that, if it’s available, they still expect delivery tomorrow.

I also ordered an Ideal Scope beginner kit—thought I would try it out on the Ritani stone vs my local jeweler’s stone.

Wonderful! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and seeing your photos!

 

[whit prowdy]

Just a brief update:

I did receive an email from Ritani on Friday that "my diamond has been secured" (yay!) and that the vendor is shipping it to them shortly. I just finished an online chat with them and they weren't able to tell me anything more.

Do any of you know whether this is usually a day-or-two kind of process or more commonly a week-or-two?

Whiteflash also had a delay receiving the two stones they located for me so I haven't received any advanced light imaging data from them, either.

(Only reason I care is that my local jeweler who is doing the setting gave me a Dec 10 deadline if I want to have the ring for a Feb 13 anniversary trip we're taking--I haven't asked him yet if there is any wriggle room in that date... I was originally planning to do this for next fall but once I started I got excited about the possibility of having it for this trip :^)

 

[HerefortheBling]

Just a brief update:

I did receive an email from Ritani on Friday that "my diamond has been secured" (yay!) and that the vendor is shipping it to them shortly. I just finished an online chat with them and they weren't able to tell me anything more.

Do any of you know whether this is usually a day-or-two kind of process or more commonly a week-or-two?

Whiteflash also had a delay receiving the two stones they located for me so I haven't received any advanced light imaging data from them, either.

(Only reason I care is that my local jeweler who is doing the setting gave me a Dec 10 deadline if I want to have the ring for a Feb 13 anniversary trip we're taking--I haven't asked him yet if there is any wriggle room in that date... I was originally planning to do this for next fall but once I started I got excited about the possibility of having it for this trip :^)

My Ritani purchases have usually taken a week or so to arrive at Ritani once the stone is secured. It goes fast once it gets to Ritani, but most of their inventory is in another county, so I'd bet on at least a week.

 

[whit prowdy]

My Ritani purchases have usually taken a week or so to arrive at Ritani once the stone is secured. It goes fast once it gets to Ritani, but most of their inventory is in another county, so I'd bet on at least a week.

Appreciate the info!

 

[whit prowdy]

I received the light performance images from WF on the two stones they acquired for me and the stone linked above from Ritani is supposed to be shipped to me today.

At this point all I have is a photo and the cut proportions for the 2.7 carat Ritani stone:



Here are the images from WF:
2.50 F VS1




2.51 G VVS2:





I, obviously, really wish I had similar light performance images for the Ritani stone.

Can you tell me which WF stone has better images? And can you hazard a guess as to whether or not it will be obviously superior to the Ritani stone? The difference in price is substantial--$7900 for WF vs $4400 for the Ritani stone.

I'll just have to pay to have the WF stone shipped so I can compare in person--just wondering what you think!

If I've omitted other important data I can certainly add it--please let me know.

Thanks again for your help--it is greatly appreciated!