help me pick a diamond.............my turn :)

[hausee]

If they all no good, help me find one, thank you. My diamond criteria listed as following:

Diamond Budget: ~$4000
Type: H&A or expert selection of round diamond.
Carat : 0.8+ the bigger the better if within budget
Color : H+
Clarity: VS2+ ( SI1 acceptable if eye clean)
Cut: Idea (very important, both for AGS and GIA)
Polish: very good +
Symmetry: very good +
Holloway Cut Score: ~2; ring for young people

thank you...

 

[JulieN]

ideal scope pictures?

 

[hausee]

took me sometime to put them together...thanks

 

[JulieN]

Oh, boy. Well, that''s a good problem to have. Definitely get on the phone or email the folks there, I''m sure they''ll be glad to assist you.

 

[simplysplendid]

I will go for Diamond 1 because it looks the biggest!

 

[ILikeBond]

I second diamond 1, for the best spread and color/clarity combo at that price. The 41.2 degree pavilion angle bothers me, but the idealscope image is unreal. Diamond 1 also has the best blacks in between the arrows for the most contrast. It honestly looks like you couldn''t go wrong with any of these, but my vote is 1.

 

[hausee]

another question: Can $4000 get a bigger diamond with simillar light performance?

thank you

 

[starryeyed]

Hi Hausee. That was an excellent post - tons of info! I ran the numbers through HCA, both the regular and the Megascope. Here is what I found (numbers are crown & pavilion angles):

Diamond #1
34.0 & 41.0 degrees = HCA score 1.4
34.5 & 41.2 degrees = HCA score 3.2 (Megascope)

Diamond #2
34.5 & 40.8 degrees = HCA score 1.3
35.0 & 41.0 degrees = HCA scorre 2.3 (Megascope)

Diamond #3
35.0 & 40.9 degrees = HCA score 1.9 (Megascope)

Diamond #4
35.0 & 40.8 degrees = HCA score 1.6
35.3 & 41.0 degrees = HCA score 3.2 (Megascope)

This seems curious to me. (I hope I didn't make an inputting error!) I don't know much about the "Megascope", but there seems to be quite a few posts here about why there are discrepancies.

 

[hausee]

Yeah, I was superised at the moment. That is why I added GIA angle number to the post. Originally, there are only megascope angle #.

so which ond do you like is best?

 

[starryeyed]

So looking at the Idealscope images, I like the F VS2 the best. The red is the most even throughout the image. The others have more pinkish-gray in the area under the table. I''m guessing that this is confirming the HCA numbers from the Megascope numbers.

 

[starryeyed]

About the $4000 question...you are basically doubling your budget, so you can definitely get something bigger with similar light performance! Have you used the "Search by Cut" function under "Prices" in the toolbar?

Here are a few from James Allen. At first glance, they look like the biggest for around $8K using "Search by Cut".

1.15 G VS1 Ideal 1.5 HCA $7570

1.18 G VS1 Ideal 0.9 HCA $8180

 

[isaku5]

Date: 11/28/2006 6:22:26 PM
Author: starryeyed
About the $4000 question...you are basically doubling your budget, so you can definitely get something bigger with similar light performance! Have you used the ''Search by Cut'' function under ''Prices'' in the toolbar?

Here are a few from James Allen. At first glance, they look like the biggest for around $8K using ''Search by Cut''.

1.15 G VS1 Ideal 1.5 HCA $7570

1.18 G VS1 Ideal 0.9 HCA $8180

I must have missed something.

Where in any of the posts here is there mention of an 8k budget?????

 

[ILikeBond]

Date: 11/28/2006 5:41:27 PM
Author: hausee
another question: Can $4000 get a bigger diamond with simillar light performance?

thank you

Someone misunderstood and thought you were adding another 4 bills. Suh-weet!

If you can go down on color and clarity, you can go up in size. Look for ideal cut H/I stones in the SI1 and SI2 range. Make sure they are eye-clean, etc., and of course evaluate all the other information in the same way, and I bet you can get close to a carat.

Here''s one I just found quickly that looks pretty good - .907 ct. http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2382/

Here''s a 1.034 J/SI1 ACA from whiteflash - very nice if you don''t mind the color. Its closer to 5k, though, b/c you pay the premium at 1 carat.

http://www.whiteflash.com/hearts_arrows/A-Cut-Above-H-A-cut-diamond-150441.htm

Good luck!

 

[hausee]

thank you starryeyed, I really wish I can find addition $4k for the ring...

as for the color, my GF can only go down H.

Clarity should be SI1+

So you guys think the diamonds I found have pretty fair price?

thank you

 

[Ellen]

I vote #1. I like all the specs the best, and the IS is gorgeous, the best of the bunch imho.

And I don't think that's a bad price.

 

[starryeyed]

Ha-ha! Pardon me! I thought you were adding anothr $4K. I wondered myself. That''s a good example how words can be totally misconstrued, huh?

So, I''m a little concerned about the Megascope numbers. Are these considered more accurate? Is it like a Sarin report? If so, what you thought was Excellent light peformance on 3 out of 4 diamonds actually is not.

 

[hausee]

I think I am gonna go with #1 if I do not have choice.

And I also went over james and goodoldgold and found following diamonds. please give me some advice...thank you guys...

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/2250/


-------------
ring of Xmas

 

[Ellen]

You're really getting a lot here. I love the one I picked before, and I love the one you linked from GOG, and it's a lot cheaper....Check on eyecleanliness though!

 

[hausee]

I know I got a lot. They are screened from lots of diamonds listed on James...Well, at least picture show they are eye clean..


thank you , pleazzzz help me out...I need to get the stone set by superbcert. so there isn''t much time left before Xmas.

 

[Ellen]

Ok, I pick the two I already mentioned, and the only one I''d consider out of the ones listed would be E. It''s still 500 more than the GOG, so I''d cancel it out. That leaves the very first choice, and this GOG. GOG is cheaper. So, I''d call and make sure both are eyeclean. If one isn''t then get the other. If both are, I''d get the GOG because it''s less money and the same size.

 

[hausee]

here are the ideascope of two H&A diamond...



For the last 5 diamonds, is there a reason why you rule out the rest? I just want to get a bigger diamond with 4k budget.

 

[starryeyed]

Hi Hausee. Take a DEEEEP breath! I think you have to know in your heart what trade-offs you are willing to accept and what's most important to you and your GF.

The Megascope numbers indicate that some of the original stones you picked may not perform as well as you originally thought. Is this important to you? The second set of diamonds have better HCA scores. Some of those are ID/ID Polish & Symmetry, some are VG/VG. One stone, although bigger is a Premium cut. Do you think you will notice a difference between F and H? Sticking with VS diamonds is probably safe - making sure an SI diamond is really "eye-clean" adds another component.

In terms of my own preferences, I like F or higher for color, ideal cut, EX/EX or ID/ID, VS2 minimum, 1.5 HCA score or lower, no culet. I'm willing to take a smaller stone for these factors, but there are many people who place more emphasis on size. I'm also open-minded about fluoro, but some people won't touch it. So if I were choosing, I'd go for Diamond #3 or Diamond D. That's my personal preference though and I'm sure many people would advise you otherwise.

 

[hausee]

Thank you starryeyed. Me and my GF are both comfortable with color H and VS2. But she is more concerned about SI1. Anyway its really hard to find a stone to fit our criteria even in such big inventory.

And by the way...E looks not that clean....uhhhh...

 

[starryeyed]

Sorry, I just edited my post - I meant to say Diamond D, not E. Oops!

I know what you mean about a dirty VS2. I saw one that was so snotty that I would swear the grader put on the wrong glasses before heading to work that day!

 

[hausee]

too bad...otherwise that one sure looks big on my GF''s 4.75 finger...

 

[JulieN]

that''s pretty clean IMO. I think you need to talk to the vendors.

Also, I never pay attention to the Megascope numbers, since the Ideal Scope images don''t match the numbers, but match alright to the GIA numbers.

 

[dh97]

I like stone #1 and stone E

 

[Ellen]

hausee, if you want the biggest diamond you can get, then you''re looking at A or E. Don''t go by carat weight, go by diameter.

I''m picky, so A''s table is a bit bigger than I''d want. You might not mind. If it were me, I''d go with E.


And to me, an IS image tells you what you need to know. The HCA is more of a predictor.

 

[starryeyed]

I''m sorry about that! Wow, I''m a little motor-skills-challenged today - this typo and the extra $4K! I must be dizzy from all of the diamonds! Ha-ha!

Do you think you''d be able to see one tenth of a millimeter though? I think that''s about the difference in diameter between #D and #E. If #E is too included for you, skip it for sure. You are at the point where you need to eliminate, lest you suffer "analysis paralysis"!

 

[dh97]

I don''t like the depth, and a small table of #B, #D is ok. I prefer #E ( look bigger and cheapper than #D )