Help needed! Thanks

[nijiye]

(A decision must be made on Monday! I really need some help here!)

Could you guys help me decide whether the following one is worth buying:

round
AGS Ideal 0 (triple ideal)
1.01 carats
I
VS2
Depth: 60.7
Table: 56
Crown Angle: 34.8
Crown %: 15.2
Pavilion Angle: 40.9
Pavilion %: 42.9
HCA score: 1.6
Price: a little less than 5k.

Any comments is very welcome. Thanks very much

 

[Todd07]

With a 1.6 HCA score it's a great cut and the search by cut link shows you have a good price http://www.pricescope.com/sift.asp




Can you get an idealscope/firescope image? I compared my stone's firescope image with other stones with good HCA scores before I felt comfortable with my pick

 

[nijiye]

Here it is

 

[nijiye]

Don't know how much I can trust HCA.
I also found a H SI1 scores HCA 0.7, with a comparable price. Which one should I go with?

 

[nijiye]

A decision must be made on Monday, so please help me decide

 

[alexah]

To compare the two stones you're currently considering, you'd have to give us all the info on both...

Is THIS the second candidate from WF's expert selection (idealscope attached for comparison's sake)? Did WF say it was completely eye-clean?

If both stones are comparable/comparably priced, the decision becomes which color/clarity combo you prefer &/or which vendor you prefer? Also, some people prefer the look of a stone w a higher (yet still under 2) HCA score whereas others prefer the look of a lower score... do you have a preference?

 

[nijiye]

Thanks for your reply, and you are rite, it is the 2nd stone I mentioned.

AGS : Round Ideal Cut
Carat: 1.010
Color: H
Clarity: SI1
Depth: 60.5
Table: 56
Crown Angle: 34.9
Crown %: 15.4
Pavilion Angle: 40.6
Pavilion %: 42.9
Girdle: Thin-Medium/Faceted
Polish: Excellent
Symmetry: Excellent
Culet: Pointed
Fluorescence: Negligible
Measurements: 6.52-6.54X3.95

My preference is to find a best looking stone (0.95 & up) with my 5K budget. I started by looking at G-H & VS1-2 & Ideal/Excel cut stones. Shortly, I realized that I can hardly find such stones within 5K in today's market. Then I decided to loose one of the criteria. It can be either a G-H & SI1 or an I & VS1-2.

These two stone meet my criteria just fine. One is I & VS2 & "A cut above" & HCA 1.6; The other is H & SI1 & Ideal cut & HCA 0.7 . Vender, weigt and price are comparable. I am currently leaning toward the first one for the brand name "a cut above". But the HCA scores really make me feel uncomfortable. Does a HCA 0.7 means lot more beautiful than a HCA 1.6?

P.S. Why would somebody perfer a higher HCA score (still under 2)?

 

[alexah]

Again, I'll ask which is more important to you? If they're both completely eye-clean from all angles, then why not get the higher color if you were looking for a higher color to begin with?

Since both stones are from WF, this is what i'd do - ask one of the pros over there to look at both stones and find out:
1. if he feels that one of them is "better" than the other (in another thread a vendor pulled two stones & he thought one was "exquisite".

2. if the color dif is noticable - fe, my mom recently got a H & i recently got a J - but because the H was a "low" H & the J a v "high" J, there wasn't a discernable dif in my eyes, even upside down on a folded biz card. A dif lab may have graded both stones I's.

If the above don't help, you could ask WF send both stones to a trusted appraiser, as was recently done HERE and get the appraiser's opinion.

As far as the HCA scores go, I'm pulling this directly from the HCA page:

"Even though HCA grades cut more effectively than systems like the AGS, it does not yet factor in symmetry and minor facets. Having found a diamond that scores well, you should employ an expert appraiser to examine the stone. If you decide not to, then at least compare the diamond to others and/or view it through an ideal-scope.
 
A score below 2 (Excellent) means you have eliminated known poor performers (more than 95% of all diamonds). Your own personal preference may be for a diamond with an HCA score of 1.5 more rather than one with a lower score of say 0.5."

 

[aljdewey]

----------------
On 8/28/2004 7:35:30 PM nijiye wrote:

I am currently leaning toward the first one for the brand name 'a cut above'. But the HCA scores really make me feel uncomfortable. Does a HCA 0.7 means lot more beautiful than a HCA 1.6?


P.S. Why would somebody perfer a higher HCA score (still under 2)?----------------

Because the HCA doesn't work the way you think it does. 0.6 isn't necessarily a "better" score than 1.6. When stones are under 2.0, that means you've likely eliminated 95% of poor performers.

However, everyone's personal taste is different. Some people like more contrast in their stone; some like less. One isn't "better" than the other, it's just personal preference. Think of it this way....vanilla isn't "better" than chocolate, nor chocolate "better" than vanilla. Both are good, and you need to select the one *you* prefer.

Let me give you what I think is the best possible advice. Call Brian at Whiteflash and ask him to look at both of these stones together. Let HIM tell you what he sees (inclusions, scintillation, etc.) and make your choice from there. He's one of the most knowledgable guys around, and he won't steer you wrong.

 

[Todd07]

I second the advice of having Brian at WF pull both stones and compare them for you while you are on the phone. The data indicates either stone will be a visual winner so I think you will be happy with either choice.


Personally, my choice would be to look for an I-J well cut SI1 that is eye clean and use my budget to maximize size/diameter.




Why not pick a third stone (J VS2-S1) and have it compared with your other two choices?


$5268* J, VS2, 1.2C, ACA from WF





When you've decided, you can increase your confidence by sending your final pick to a local independent appraiser where you can view it together. If you like it, you then buy it and you've already got the stone appraised for insurance.