help me find a RB 0.9ct

[indianajoe]

So we found an engagement setting we really like at a large brick and mortar chain, but the store's diamonds are a total ripoff. I decided to buy online, and since receiving the stone this morning I've done some more research and found that GIA excellent grade isn't everything. Here are the GIA dimensions

0.9
57 table
62.5 depth
35.5 table angle
41.0 pavillion angle
50% star
80% lower girdle
4.0% girdle, medium to sl thick
no culet
EX cut
Ex sym
VG polish
strong blue fluorescence
SI1
G

I only learned about HCA today, and this diamond gets a 4.0 which ain't that hot. I suppose I was expecting more from an "excellent" stone. I can see a ring of sparkly light escaping from the side about halfway down between the girdle and culet, and I feel like the diamond should be brighter from the top.

I'd like to stay within the 0.9 carat range. Girlfriend doesn't seem to care whether it's H cut or better, and I would like to keep it SI1 or better. Budget is $4k (somewhat more than what I paid for this diamond).

Question: Is my money better spent by purchasing a VG cut stone, such as the following, which has a much better HCA score of 1.0.? Are there any other diamonds you can suggest within my budget and parameters?

http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=NavDiaSea#certViewer_cert_pid=LD03159677|cert_num=1

0.9
56 table
63.5 depth
37.5 table angle
40.0 pavillion angle
50% star
75% lower girdle
5.0% girdle, sl thick to thick
no culet
VG cut
VG sym
VG polish
strong blue fluorescence
SI1
F

Thanks everyone!

 

[JulieN]

Impossible for us to say without pics, or better, an Ideal Scope.

You have to know how to use HCA. The one you posted from BN faces up like a .8, and that combo is waaay too risky to buy without a picture.

 

[bunnycat]

Agree with JulieN. That combination would be risky probably even with a picture. A well cut .9 stone should have dimensions around 6.15-6.2, perhaps a little above it's shallow but not too much deviation from there. 6.01 is about the diameter of a .8 stone and on top of not facing up it's proper size, there's probably other issues inherent to a really deep stone like that with a shallow bottom.

here's one that scores 1.2 on HCA. It's more of a 60/60 stone (so may lean a little towards white light return than firey light return) and you'd have to have them check if it's eye-clean, I think. It also faces a little larger than a .9 would because it's a hair shallow (60%) so proabably faces up like a stone a few points heavier, like .93.

http://www.jamesallen.com/#!/loose-diamonds/round-cut/0.90-carat-i-color-si1-clarity-excellent-cut-sku-202359

 

[indianajoe]

Thanks for the replies! I totally forgot to look at the diamond dimensions - yes, that VG cut I posted would appear rather small.

I do like the james allen stone and I like that the website posts pictures. I'm not sure if the I color would be too much though. BN seems to have some good prices but no pictures. It seems like a beginner's ideal scope kit for $68 would be good investment for me if I keep buying these diamonds online.

Do these ideal cut BN diamonds fare better? Here's a 0.92 at 60.1% depth that's 6.3mm x 6.34mm. It scores a 1.4
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=hero1#diamonds_pid=LD03239920

Here's a 0.9 at 62% depth, a little smaller than the james allen one, but a few hundred $$ cheaper and a slightly better color. Scores a 0.9.
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=hero1#diamonds_pid=LD03182576

 

[bunnycat]

Thanks for the replies! I totally forgot to look at the diamond dimensions - yes, that VG cut I posted would appear rather small.

I do like the james allen stone and I like that the website posts pictures. I'm not sure if the I color would be too much though. BN seems to have some good prices but no pictures. It seems like a beginner's ideal scope kit for $68 would be good investment for me if I keep buying these diamonds online.

Do these ideal cut BN diamonds fare better? Here's a 0.92 at 60.1% depth that's 6.3mm x 6.34mm. It scores a 1.4
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=hero1#diamonds_pid=LD03239920

Here's a 0.9 at 62% depth, a little smaller than the james allen one, but a few hundred $$ cheaper and a slightly better color. Scores a 0.9.
http://www.bluenile.com/diamond-search?track=hero1#diamonds_pid=LD03182576

The first one is another 60/60 stone (shallow) and will probably lean towards white light. Nothing bad about it, it's just another flavor of diamond to educate yourself on.

The second one is a little closer to the current "ideal" cut specs.

Either one could be worth looking at, and if you're willing to get a beginners Idealscope kit you can post IS images here for people to comment on.

The other main concern with them would be the Strong Blue Fluor. Most times it doesn't cause any issues but you'd want an appraiser to probably look at it and make sure you are getting all the good benefits of fluor and no bad ones. It's rare that it is a problem (in fact the stone in my avatar is an I with Medium Fluor), and generally only becomes a problem with certain combinations of inclusions, but an appraisal would probably take care of looking at that.