Help in choosing between these diamonds

[ricky0309]

Hi there!!!

I am helping my good friend in finding a good diamond to be used for his proposal. He told me that his budget for the diamond is US$1,000.
I understand that the most important thing about a diamond is her cut. So I try to look for an ideal/H&A diamond which I could get within this budget.

I found three of such diamonds from Good Old Gold with various Clarity/Color/Carat attributes. I can''t decide which is the best one of the three, so I would like to ask your expert opinion to indicate your order of preference among these three diamonds:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1397/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6883/
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7044/

Also, I would greatly appreciate if you are able to point out a better alternative to those three diamonds above.
Thanks a bunch for your help!!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 3/30/2010 12:38:12 PM
Author:ricky0309
Hi there!!!

I am helping my good friend in finding a good diamond to be used for his proposal. He told me that his budget for the diamond is US$1,000.
I understand that the most important thing about a diamond is her cut. So I try to look for an ideal/H&A diamond which I could get within this budget.

I found three of such diamonds from Good Old Gold with various Clarity/Color/Carat attributes. I can't decide which is the best one of the three, so I would like to ask your expert opinion to indicate your order of preference among these three diamonds:

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/1397/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6883/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/7044/

Also, I would greatly appreciate if you are able to point out a better alternative to those three diamonds above.
Thanks a bunch for your help!!

Hi Ricky,

I like the third diamond best followed by the first, they are all good stones but this one is my preference. The second is more of a ' modified h&a' rather than traditional, Jon has some cut this way as some clients like the look and performance. As it is an L colour this stone could look more of a ' warm white' in this size and you might notice this more from the side view.

With the last stone check it is eyeclean if interested. Also it is possible he could get a larger stone for the money, something in the region of .50 ct?

 

[yssie]

Did he voice any other preferences with regard to size, colour, clarity, etc?



You found three guaranteed stunners. However, depending on what his gf wants.. I will say that a lot of women would prefer a little more size, and if that is an important criterion I would skip H&A, get an excellently performing near-H&A, and save on paying a H&A premium. I would also look at vendors with lower pricepoints - excel, JA - the policies aren't as good but the up-front savings might be worth it. A nice eyeclean J/K SI2 or even I1 may be something for him to consider.



Just one opinion.

 

[ricky0309]

Hi Lorelei, Yssie:

Thanks a lot for your opinions. I went to James Allen website, and found these two beauties:
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/I-VS2-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1279578.asp
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Round-Diamond-1213078.asp

I particularly like the first one since it has noticeably bigger carat and still decent color/clarity. Will this be a better choice compared to the previous three? Comment please?

 

[yssie]

I like the I VS2. Don't like the second's hearts pic - discontinuities btwn 2:00/7:00 and 3:00/9:00, and I can't imagine what sort of tilt angle might cause that in just photography