Help me find a lovely I1

[glitterata]

Mara? Canadiangrrl? Vendors? Anyone?

After all this time admiring everyone's superideal cut diamonds, I crave one of my own. However, I don't NEED another diamond--I have two substantial heirloom rings. And I don't want to spend a lot of money.

I want the biggest, best-cut I1 I can find, J color or better, for $1000 or less. It doesn't have to be eye clean, but it does have to be a fireball with gorgeous arrows and fantastic angles, and it needs to be at least .5 carats; bigger is better.

I'd rather not see black in the stone, but one or two eye-visible crystals or feathers would be just fine, as long as they don't interfere with the sparkle. Strong fluorescence would be a plus. I'm not scared of oiliness.

There just aren't very many I1 stones listed in the search engines. Any advice about where to look for this stone of mine?

 

[Giangi]

I am not Mara, but hope I can help...

As you noted, I 1's are hard to find in ideal cuts, but this is what I found:
0.54
F
I1
61%
54%
AGS
-
no
5.28x5.31x3.23
$1604
$866*


0.63
G
I1
60.8%
56%
AGS
0.4-0.9

ex
id
mb
5.60*5.62*3.41
$1343
$846

0.64
G
I1
61%
55%
AGS
0.9-1.4

ex
ex
mb
5.59*5.63*3.42
$1381
$884

These are AGS graded, so you can be pretty sure that they will look very pretty... So I'd make a call and ask to the vendor how they look.

Otherwise... If you can spend an additional $100-300...
0.53 SUPERBcert Round VS1 J $1,131.02
0.56 SUPERBcert Round SI2 F $1,360.80
0.61 SUPERBcert Round VS2 J $1,242.57

But this one would be my first choice, hands down:
0.503 J SI1 AGS A CUT ABOVE Ideal H&A $1,050.00

At this size, J color is still VERY white...

Have fun!

 

[Mara]

Glitter..there may not be alot of I1's out there right now but if you have the patience to wait....keep your eyes on the inventories of the superideal companies, you never know! SC had that great G I1 and also CG's I1 is really nice as well. So you may need to be a little more patient on this one...but you can do it! Did you consider an SI2? There are some great looking ones out there...

and you still get a great discount.




If you can come up with another $200...there's this SI2 and you get good color:




.618c H SI2 AGS0 H&A 1.5 EX EX VG VG HCA


GOG Brokered Stone: $1209


t: 55


d: 62


crown angle: 34.1


pav angle: 41

 

[glitterata]

Thanks, Giangi and Mara. Those G I1s look like possibilities. With MB fluorescence, even!

I really do want an I1, not an SI2, though. I actually like the idea of seeing geologically cool inclusions, and I want the stone to be big enough that I can see arrows easily. I don't want to get a .5 carat SI2 when I could get a .6 or .7 I1 for the same price.

In my mind, I've set aside $1000 for this project (as a birthday present for myself), and whatever's leftover goes to Doctors Without Borders. So if anyone finds me a gorgeous, really cheap I1, they'll be helping a worthy cause.

I wonder whether vendors have access to beautifully cut I1s, but just don't list them because they think Pricescopers won't be interested in them? Anyone know?

 

[Mara]

Glitter I would get in touch with the vendor (or vendors) of your choice and tell them what you want. Get them involved. Surely they have access to more stones than you or I...they may be able to come up with something fun for you.




Look at Jax..with her .50c H I1 8* pendant for her $1500 (or maybe it was less, who knows!)! What a find!

Also found this one right now--I know you noted 'superideal' but if you wanted a bigger stone you may have to go 'ideal' and nix the H&A designation, but if you get an exceptionally cut stone you will still see H&A most likely!




http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=2163406


.73c H I1 for $1183 in their 'Very Best' group. No cert information but the #s look like they could be good if you get those angles.

Oh and this one:




http://www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com/diamond_detail.cfm?did=1479675


.67c G I1 'Very Best' group for $985 -- again really nice numbers but no cert information, get the angles, etc.

 

[Jax172]

Actually, the Eightstar was a little more than the $1,500 but not that much more.

It was still a great deal and my husband thought it was too good a deal to pass up. Probably the only chance we'd ever have to own an Eightstar of that size. We will have to wait a bit to set it, and I won't get a very big Valentines present or birthday present. But I don't mind.

However, I certainly wasn't expecting to find such a good deal. They are out there, you just have to look. Also, contacting a few vendors would not be a bad idea. They have access to quite a few stones. Plus, with an I1 you'll want to make sure that you get the full picture on what it will look like. We got the GIA cert and a picture of the diamond from Steve at Dems and so far it looks like it will be OK. Not totally eye clean, but a sparkler that will look good as a pendant.

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 12/31/2003 12:35:16 AM glitterata wrote:

Those G I1s look like possibilities. With MB fluorescence, even!

Yes, Giangi listed some winners w/ all *your* interested spec requirements. Decent sizes also.

 

[highendgems]

IMO, it is near impossible to get a 'well cut' I clarity stone becuase there is almost no demand for them. It costs the cutter the same to cut an I as an SI, and no way will they choose the I.

STAY AWAY FROM I stones at all costs. Your requests can be matched in the SI category.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Patty just bought an I1 stone and loves it...had it appraised and everything. Here is her thread (sorry-don't know how to create link):

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/weve-bought-the-superbcert-1-35-g-i1-diamond.11393/

 

[Giangi]

IMO, it is near impossible to get a 'well cut' I clarity stone becuase there is almost no demand for them. It costs the cutter the same to cut an I as an SI, and no way will they choose the I.

STAY AWAY FROM I stones at all costs. Your requests can be matched in the SI category.
-------------------------

It makes NO SENSE at all!!!!!! Also, I find it offensive for people that bought I 1's and are happy with their choice.

Patty and canadiangrrl bought GREAT looking I 1's, eye-clean and ideally cut. Needless to say, they got an exceptional bargain. There's a market for I 1's, especially if one is looking for a fun stone or doesn't have a lot to spend. Sometimes GIA or AGS are stricter than expected and give you I 1 when you expected SI 2. It happens all the time. If Glitterata is lucky and patient, she might find a stone like that. But there's no need to talk that bad about a PROPERLY graded I 1.

 

[Mara]

HighEnd...welcome to the forum. I'm sure by now you have realized that the people that frequent these forums are not your average consumer. If one of us asks for an I1..we know what we are getting. There have been some people here recently who got spectacular I1 stones that were exceptionally well cut, Giangi noted CG and also Patty with her amazing SC 1.35 G I1 stone. Also Jax herself just bought a .50c+ H I1 EightStar for a pendant and you saw what she said about the pictures.




If you were talking to general mass-market consumers who were shopping in your average maul with no concept of worth or markup, your comment may make some sense, but most of us here have figured out that if you are willing to do the resesarch and put in the time, you can find an I1 that will be a stunner and it means a huge discount for your pocketbook. Plus many of us are size buffs along with cut nerds, and we'd rather have a .70 I1 than a .50 SI2 as Glitter noted.

Happy New Year!

 

[Patty]

Another size buff and cut nerd here, Mara.

I love my I1 stone. I love getting a good deal and I'm willing to see an inclusion to save about $4000 probably. I just sent my diamond back to Barry to have it set in a 3 stone ring. After looking at it for a week, I'm still not sure if I can see the inclusion. It's right in the table, and I'm not sure if I'm seeing the circle at the bottom of the table or a round inclusion. The chances of anyone else noticing this are very slim, except that I of course will point it out to anyone who is interested. "Look at my $4000 inclusion!"

And I feel VERY lucky to have found an I1 stone in such a great color and cut. You are correct, highend, that there is probably little demand for ideal cuts of I1 stones, and they may not be easy to find, but it's not impossible to find them.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Ooooh, Patty-post pics of your new ring when it comes in!

 

[Jax172]

I think you can find I1 stones that are certainly going to be beautiful stones. You just have to know what you are buying. If you work with a reputable jeweler you can probably find quite a beautiful stone. It's probably a little harder to find an I1 stone that is a great cut, but not impossible and with a great cut, there will be so much sparkle coming off of it that you probably won't notice the inclusions unless you are looking for them. And remember not every SI1 or SI2 stone is eye clean. So even with an SI stone you'd still have to check with the seller to make sure it is eye clean. And I agree with the others, there are some cases in which I'd rather have a larger well cut I1 stone than a smaller eye clean SI stone. For instance, this pendant. If we wanted a better clarity grade in an Eightstar we'd have to go smaller. I don't mind if upon close examination there are a few visible inclusions. Most people won't get to examine it that close anyways. All I care is that it is one heck of a sparkler. And with an eightstar it should be.

I will post pictures of it as soon as I get it so everyone can see an I1 Eightstar.

 

[canadiangrrl]

Yeah, by all means, avoid those sh!tty, low-margin, I1 stones!! They're unmitigated crap, each and every one of them!!! Avoid, I repeat, AVOID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Canadiangrrl, subversive as ever

 

[canadiangrrl]

*adopting a more serious tone*

I think there is a market out there for well cut I1 stones. But it may be a matter of economics for both the cutter and the vendor - less margin, I would assume. This is a slightly sore subject with me so the less said, the better. At present.

Glitter, I'd call Jim or Josh at DCD after the holidays and see what they can do for you. The reason I recommend them is because I bought my I1 from them, as you likely know, and they're not likely to steer you wrong. Josh actually recommended that I avoid one particular I1 (brokered) stone. Unbeknownst to him it had been recommended as being "100% eyeclean" by another vendor. Josh had called the broker himself and when I got the copy of the AGS DQD, it looked like someone had sharpened a pencil all over the plot diagram.

I'd also recommend staying at G or better (D-E-F if you can find it.) Reason? Well, if you're going to trade off on clarity, go as high as you can in colour. That's my rationale - might as well have the 'best' of the 5 C's where you're able and where it's most noticeable.