Help! Chosing the right Diamond

[hngo]

Hi All,

As you can see I'm new to this forum and hoping that everyone here can help me out with chosing the right diamond.

So I've been doing a fair bit of searching for diamonds and so far have found these two which seems ok, But not sure if they are great or not. Both are round diamonds and costs the same. Both come with GIA reports with the proportions below

Diamond 1 (I have seen this diamond and it does have quite a good sparkle and is eye clean)

E SI1 0.81ct
5.99-6.02 x3.68 GIA
Depth 61.2
Table 58% (This looks slightly larger than what most recommendations seems to be. Would it make that much of a difference?)
Crown angle 35
Pavilion angle 41
Crown Height 14.5%
Pavilion depth 43%
Star length 50%
Lower Half 80%
Girdle med to sl.Thick faceted
Polish and symmetry excellent
Inclusions feather,crystal (I struggled to find the inclusion looking through the loupe, did find it looking through the side with the loupe but again difficult to find with the naked eye even after knowing where it was. Seemed like a really good SI1)
Unfortunately no other reports

Diamond 2 (Looks good on paper but haven't seen the diamond yet, have requested for images idealscope etc but have yet to receive)

F VS2 0.77ct GIA
5.95-5.97x3.59
Depth 60.3
Table 57%
Crown angle 34
Pavilion angle 40.8
Crown height 14.5
Pavilion depth 43
Star length 50%
Lower Half 80%
Girdle Thin faceted
Polish and Symmetry Exellent
Inclusion Feather

I'm Thinking Diamond 2 may be the better of the two on paper as Diamond 1 has a slightly deeper crown angle

Can I get your opinion please.

Thanks in advance

 

[chrono]

I'm not one of the experts on RBs in RT but the least I can do is help you with the HCA to see whether the 2 stones you are considering passes the first test.

Stone 1, E SI1 0.81ct
Selected: 61.2% depth, 58% table, 35° crown angle, 41° pavilion angle
Light Return = Very Good
Fire = Very Good
Scintillation = Very Good
Spread or diameter for weight = Very Good
Total Visual Performance = 2.4 - Very Good - Worth buying if the price is right

Stone 2, F VS2 0.77ct GIA
Selected: 60.3% depth, 57% table, 34° crown angle, 40.8° pavilion angle
Light Return = Excellent
Fire = Excellent
Scintillation = Excellent
Spread or diameter for weight = Excellent
Total Visual Performance = 0.9 - Excellent, within TIC range

Stone 2 looks promising and I would wait to see the IS. Generally, ASET is unnecessary for rounds because an IS tells you everything you need to know.

 

[Gypsy]

The entire purpose of faceting a diamond is to reflect light.
How well or how poorly a diamond does this determines how beautiful it is.
How well a diamond performs is determined by the angles and cutting. This is why we say cut is king.
No other factor: not color, not clarity has as much of an impact on the appearance of a diamond as its cut. An ideal H will out white a poorly cut F. And GIA Ex is not enough. And you must stick to GIA and AGS only. EGL is a bad option: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/egl-certification-are-any-of-them-ok.142863/[/URL]
So how to we ensure that we have the right angles and cutting to get the light performance we want?
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/diamond-cut
Well one method is to start with a GIA Ex, and then apply the HCA to it. YOU DO NOT USE HCA for AGS0 stones.
https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/holloway-cut-advisor
The HCA is a rejection tool. Not a selection tool. It uses 4 data points to make a rudimentary call on how the diamond may perform.
If the diamond passes then you know that you are in the right zone in terms of angles for light performance. Under 2 is a pass. Under 2.5-2.1 is a maybe. 2.6 and over is a no. No score 2 and under is better than any other.
Is that enough? Not really.
So what you need is a way to check actual light performance of your actual stone.
That's what an idealscope image does. https://www.pricescope.com/wiki/diamonds/firescope-idealscope
It shows you how and wear your diamond is reflecting light, how well it is going at it, and where you are losing light return. That is why you won't see us recommending Blue Nile, as they do not provide idealscope images for their diamonds. BGD, James Allen, GOG, HPD, ERD and WF do.

The Idealscope is the 'selection tool'. Not the HCA.
So yes, with a GIA stone you need the idealscope images. Or you can buy an idealscope yourself and take it in to the jeweler you are working with to check the stones yourself. Or if you have a good return policy (full refund minimum 7 days) then you can buy the idealscope, buy the stone, and do it at home.


Now if you want to skip all that... stick to AGS0 stones and then all you have to do is pick color and clarity and you know you have a great performing diamond. Because AGS has already done the checking for you. That's why they trade at a premium.

 

[hngo]

Thanks Chrono and Gypsy for the replies

I have requested Ideal scope images for the stones and just waiting to see what they look like.

I'm looking for diamonds mainly at stores rather than online as it looks like it may be cheaper to get it from a store atm for me, plus its easier as I don't need to go through customs and taxes etc.

I've been looking at mainly GIA stones as many of the jewellers here deal in GIA and not AGS stones which is a bit of a shame.

Since diamond 1 in this case has a HCA of 2.5 I should be rejected this diamond and have a look more at diamond 2 (once reports/pics come in) and look for other options?