Help Deciding between two Diamonds

[A_Little_Help]

Hi Folks I am having trouble deciding between the following two diamonds to be set in a single 6-prong setting. Any thoughts on which diamond is a better choice are appreciated.



Diamond 1
Shape: Round Briliant
Measurements: 8.09 - 8.16 x 5.05mm
Carat Weight: 2.01
Color: F
Clarity: VS2
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: None
Comments: Surface Graining is not shown

Table: 55%
Depth: 62.2%
Crown Angle 34.5
Pavilion Angle 41.2

Thin-medium girdle

Table clean, feathers on edges of stone
$28,600.


Diamond 2
Shape: Round Briliant
Measurements: 8.28 - 8.31 x 5.07mm
Carat Weight: 2.11
Color: E
Clarity: VS2
Cut: Excellent
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Fluorescence: Faint
Comments: Pinpoints are not shown

Table: 55%
Depth: 61.1%
Crown Angle 34.0
Pavilion Angle 40.8

Thin-medium girdle

Small crystals in table and edges
$29,400

--- Any thoughts you have on the better choice? I am leaning toward the ''cleaner'' F. Price is not an issue at this point. The better looking stone is what is important.

 

[A_Little_Help]

Second Cert.. for Diamond 2
- Thanks

 

[hausee]

I am no expert, but second stone has HCA score 0.9, which is a good sign. I guess you need to pick stone under score 2 to eliminate the bad ones.

Factor :Grade
Light Return :Excellent
Fire :Excellent
Scintillation:Excellent
Spread or diameter for weight :Very Good
Total Visual Performance 0.9 - Excellent
within TIC range


First one is 3.3
Factor Grade
Light Return :Very Good
Fire :Good
Scintillation:Good
Spread or diameter for weight:Very Good
Total Visual Performance 3.3 - Very Good - Worth buying if the price is right

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome to PS

See if the vendor has any more info such as Idealscope Images, a Sarin report and last but not least, actual pictures of the diamond. I prefer the second, but get some more info if you can. Are these diamonds with an online vendor?

 

[hausee]

too bad Bluenile never post the picture of the stone, Otherwise we can inspect the inclusion of the second stone...you can ask them though, good luck...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

#2 looks best. But do you have photos of it?

 

[Ellen]

Date: 11/29/2006 3:53:23 PM
Author: Lorelei
Welcome to PS

See if the vendor has any more info such as Idealscope Images, a Sarin report and last but not least, actual pictures of the diamond. I prefer the second, but get some more info if you can. Are these diamonds with an online vendor?

What she said!

 

[starryeyed]

Just based on the paper, I like Diamond #2. I don''t think you will be able to see the crystals with the naked eye. Diamond #2 is bigger, the color is better, and thanks to Hausee''s work, the HCA numbers are better. Also, it looks like there is less variation in the table diameter for Diamond #2: 0.02 variation vs. 0.07 variation for Diamond #1.

Actual images or additional info would help reassure you probably.

PS - WELCOME to Pricescope!!

 

[starryeyed]

And I''m totally jealous!

Please keep us posted!

 

[A_Little_Help]

Thanks everyone for the input. I am requesting images of Diamond 2 (with the crystals in the table) Hopefully I can post them soon.

In general are crystals apparent to the naked eye in a V2? Some of the folks on PS have mentioned that not all VS2s are eye clean.

Is faint fluorescence something I should worry about. It seems that it isn''t an issue according to most of the postings I have read on PS.

- Thanks again

 

[JulieN]

yes, it is possible, esp at 2 ct size.

faint fluor non issue

 

[starryeyed]

Regarding clarity:

The GIA defines the qualifications for each group in the scale as follows:

Very slight included group: VS1 and VS2
The definition of this group is as follows: “The VS inclusion in question will be hard to detect, even for an experienced examiner using x10 power magnification”.

VS1: Have imperfections that are very hard to detect with a jewelers loupe. These diamonds are much cheaper than the IF-VVS2 range and are very popular.

VS2: Considered to be without significant inclusions. They are the most popular in the VS2-IF range. A beginner would find it very hard to detect the imperfection with the aid of a jewelers loupe.

From the Pricescope tutorial section:

1 in 100 people can see VS2 inclusions; if this worries you then buy VS1, or wait a decade till your ability to focus close up drops away

So there is a 99% chance you will not be able to see the crystal with your naked eye. I''m sure you will see it with a black and white maginifed image. So will it bother you that it''s there - that''s the question. They both sound like gorgeous stones, so you can''t go wrong.

 

[Kay]

Assuming #2 is eye clean, which I would really expect with a GIA graded VS2, I''d pick #2 for the better color, larger diameter and better HCA score. Faint fluorescence is a non issue as long as it is blue fluor not yellow.

 

[A_Little_Help]

Just got off phone with the BN representative and they weren''t able to get photos, but they spoke directly with the vendor who has both of these stones and he looked at them both while they were on the phone.

Diamond 2 (the 2.11 E with the crystal) - he said is eye clean, and thought it might have been borderline VS1 - which is great...

Yet he recommended Diamond 1 (the 2.01 F with the feathers in the crown) which was the slightly cheaper diamond. This would seem to conflict with the previous statement, since Diamond 2 is bigger, and an E. But he is the one looking at the stones!

My inclination is to go with the eye of the jeweler, and Pick Diamond 1 - especially since he is actually selling a cheaper stone, so would have no financial reason to push that stone.

Does that make sense?


** Side Note ** I just want to thank everyone on this forum for creating this amazing resource of asynchronous, dispersed, collective wisdom. I''ll try not to get all misty-eyed about the democratic power of the internet and empowering the consumer, but this forum has made a very difficult process *much* easier. Even the healthy debates I have read in the various forum have been just that - healthy and educational. So thanks again thanks to all who have directly and indirectly help me make this decision.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 11/30/2006 4:35:44 PM
Author: A_Little_Help
Just got off phone with the BN representative and they weren''t able to get photos, but they spoke directly with the vendor who has both of these stones and he looked at them both while they were on the phone.

Diamond 2 (the 2.11 E with the crystal) - he said is eye clean, and thought it might have been borderline VS1 - which is great...

Yet he recommended Diamond 1 (the 2.01 F with the feathers in the crown) which was the slightly cheaper diamond. This would seem to conflict with the previous statement, since Diamond 2 is bigger, and an E. But he is the one looking at the stones!

My inclination is to go with the eye of the jeweler, and Pick Diamond 1 - especially since he is actually selling a cheaper stone, so would have no financial reason to push that stone.

Does that make sense?


** Side Note ** I just want to thank everyone on this forum for creating this amazing resource of asynchronous, dispersed, collective wisdom. I''ll try not to get all misty-eyed about the democratic power of the internet and empowering the consumer, but this forum has made a very difficult process *much* easier. Even the healthy debates I have read in the various forum have been just that - healthy and educational. So thanks again thanks to all who have directly and indirectly help me make this decision.

Why did he recommend that one over the other? Did he elaborate on how they looked/acted? i.e. scintillation

 

[A_Little_Help]

I got the info from the BN representative following her conversation with the jeweler, so unfortunately I didn''t get a super concrete ''why'' or have a chance to talk to him my self but, my impression was that both stones were beautiful but his choice was more of a gut feel(?) He certainly wasn''t anti-fluro, he said it was a non-issue.

 

[Ellen]

Hmm, well, all I can say, knowing what we do is, I much prefer the numbers on the second one.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 11/30/2006 4:57:45 PM
Author: Ellen
Hmm, well, all I can say, knowing what we do is, I much prefer the numbers on the second one.

Same here..I''d still go with the second one..better numbers, better color, and he acknowledged the clarity was high.

 

[starryeyed]

The whole thing is kinda curious to me. The 2.01 F has been hanging around since August 2006. The 2.11 E is a newer diamond - Oct 2006 cert. The prices per carat are F $14,229 and E $13,934. Why would an E that is larger, borderline VS1 trade at less per carat?

I''m concerned that the salesperson didn''t give you a concrete answer on why one was preferable. This is a HUGE red flag for me. If they has said, "Oh, the crystal in the table is undesirable" or "The first diamond has better fire" or whatever else, then at least you would know the reason. The way it is now, I can''t help but think the reason has more to do with their margin on the sale. Maybe they make more money on the F. They are salespeople afterall.

Or maybe someone else wants the stone and will buy from another vendor if the E isn''t available. If you buy the F and the other party buys the E, they are ahead on 2 sales. There are so many possible internal reasons, and if they didn''t give you a solid scientific reason for one diamond being preferable, I''d be suspicious. It may be worth calling back and insisting on an answer. THIS IS $30K and you are an educated consumer!