Help on deciding clarity and shape

[citress]

I am looking to buy an engagement ring. Yes, it is for myself. My fiancee left me with that very difficult task. After researching on the 4 C''s and the different certifications, and looking at prices online to fit my budget, I decided on what I want for my diamond:

Color: G or better
Clarity: SI2 or better
Cut: Top 2 tiers
Carat: 1.1 or bigger
Budget: $5000

I still have a few questions regarding my choices and was wondering if anyone would be able to give me any suggestions. Initially, I went for the Princess shape. I find it unique and the prettiest out of all the other shapes, maybe a Round shape diamond would the only exception. However, I realised today that GIA does not have a cut grade for the Princess cut. I think only AGL does, but AGL certified diamonds seem to be more expensive than GIA certified ones. And since I''m going to make my purchase online (without ever seeing the real diamond), I wonder if I should buy a Round cut instead? With a Round cut, I know for sure that the cut grade is issued by an independent institution, not estimated by the merchant. Furthermore, a round diamond is supposed to be the most brilliant out of all the cuts. On the other hand, a princess cut diamond will give me a bigger rock for my money. Hehe. What do you guys think? Do you think if I only pick from their top 2 ranges I would be pretty safe?

An example of a round diamond I picked is this one:

1.2 carat round diamond

If I go with my original plan, which is a princess cut, it would probably be this one:

1.26 princess diamond

Also, do you think a clarity of SI2 is too low? When I purchase diamonds online, they will go check to see if the diamond has any visible inclusions. Do you think that is good enough? I want a very sparkly diamond, and so I choose in the top 2 cut tiers. But will a clarity of SI2 diminish the brilliance of an excellent cut diamond? If so, will the difference be noticeable, or will it be negligible?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 9/21/2006 12:14:16 AM
Author:citress
I am looking to buy an engagement ring. Yes, it is for myself. My fiancee left me with that very difficult task. After researching on the 4 C''s and the different certifications, and looking at prices online to fit my budget, I decided on what I want for my diamond:

Color: G or better
Clarity: SI2 or better
Cut: Top 2 tiers
Carat: 1.1 or bigger
Budget: $5000

I still have a few questions regarding my choices and was wondering if anyone would be able to give me any suggestions. Initially, I went for the Princess shape. I find it unique and the prettiest out of all the other shapes, maybe a Round shape diamond would the only exception. However, I realised today that GIA does not have a cut grade for the Princess cut. I think only AGL does, but AGL certified diamonds seem to be more expensive than GIA certified ones. And since I''m going to make my purchase online (without ever seeing the real diamond), I wonder if I should buy a Round cut instead? With a Round cut, I know for sure that the cut grade is issued by an independent institution, not estimated by the merchant. Furthermore, a round diamond is supposed to be the most brilliant out of all the cuts. On the other hand, a princess cut diamond will give me a bigger rock for my money. Hehe. What do you guys think? Do you think if I only pick from their top 2 ranges I would be pretty safe?

An example of a round diamond I picked is this one:

1.2 carat round diamond

If I go with my original plan, which is a princess cut, it would probably be this one:

1.26 princess diamond

Also, do you think a clarity of SI2 is too low? When I purchase diamonds online, they will go check to see if the diamond has any visible inclusions. Do you think that is good enough? I want a very sparkly diamond, and so I choose in the top 2 cut tiers. But will a clarity of SI2 diminish the brilliance of an excellent cut diamond? If so, will the difference be noticeable, or will it be negligible?

SI2 is better than you find in many mall stores, believe me... but some people are clarity sensitve just like others are color sensitive. One person might prefer a D SI2 and another person might prefer a K VVS2. And many, many more might prefer an H VS2 We each find our balance... Me? I''d go lower than G on color and higher than SI2 on clarity... but you have to find YOUR sweet spot

as for stone shape - how do you want to set it? do you want the look of a squareish stone on your finger or a round one? I liked the performance of rounds but I didn''t want a round stone... now there are some seriously kickbutt squarish halos you can put a round in, but I really wanted a non round stone, period. Again, preference

 

[JulieN]

Yes, you may have a stone with reduced performance with SI2 clarity, so you'll need your vendor to check.

For round: http://www.jamesallen.com/diamond.asp?cid=131&item=859900 Needs Sarin and Ideal Scope, but the picture looks nice.

Princess: http://www.exceldiamonds.com/diamond/31249.html Needs to be called in.

Angles on the Adiamor round aren't great, and I think they ripped images from Whiteflash.

 

[Lorelei]

Welcome to PS

Get the vendor to check that an SI2 is eyeclean, but bear in mind clarity only normally reduces performance if the diamond is so badly included as to interfere with the passage of light through it - usually some I2'S and I3's. Concentrate on cut to get the sparkliest diamond you can. If you want to look, many here have brilliant and clean SI2 diamonds to give you an idea, a Princess cut may show more in the way of inclusions, but certainly there are clean ones out there. A properly graded SI2 clarity shouldn't diminish an excellent cut in most circumstances. You will not notice any difference assuming cut and colour are equal between a clean SI2 and a VS clarity for example.

 

[Giangi]

With SI2s it''s not usually a matter of affection of light performace (which might happen if the SI2 was a cloud throughout the stone), it''s rather about being eyeclean or eyecleanish. Not really that many SI2s do not display eye visible inclusions if scrutinized closely. Is that something that could bother you?

 

[citress]

Wow, I have to say this is the most helpful forum I''ve ever posted on! Thank you for all your suggestions!!

Well, the reason why I went low on the clarity is because I don''t really know what inclusions look like, I''ve never scrutinized at a diamond before, and I don''t know if I can pick them out even if I see one. I only know what I read about it online, which is that they can be a cloud or feathers (?) and in some severe cases, interfere with the performance of the diamond. I do know what the color distinctions look like. I have seen yellowish looking diamonds and I can also see the color differences between a J and a F/G. So that''s why clarity ranks the lowest in my priority list, mainly because I don''t really know what they are.

From all of your suggestions, I think I should include SI1 diamonds in my search (though I would have to go down on carat size.. boo!). Most importantly, I think I should go into the jewelery store and request to look at diamonds with different colors and clarities to see what I feel about them.

JulieN, the Princess cut diamond you suggested looks like a really good quality diamond! It is now on my wishlist.

And is it safe to say that if an SI2 diamond is eyeclean, then it should not visibly affect the performance of the diamond, assuming all other factors are the same?

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 9/21/2006 9:44:35 AM
Author: citress
Wow, I have to say this is the most helpful forum I''ve ever posted on! Thank you for all your suggestions!!

Well, the reason why I went low on the clarity is because I don''t really know what inclusions look like, I''ve never scrutinized at a diamond before, and I don''t know if I can pick them out even if I see one. I only know what I read about it online, which is that they can be a cloud or feathers (?) and in some severe cases, interfere with the performance of the diamond. I do know what the color distinctions look like. I have seen yellowish looking diamonds and I can also see the color differences between a J and a F/G. So that''s why clarity ranks the lowest in my priority list, mainly because I don''t really know what they are.

LOL I think it''s safe to say we ALL can tell the difference in color between an F and a J. It''s just a matter of preference like what color car you''d buy. One isn''t better than the other.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I would make cut a top priority as well. Here are some ideas:

Round

1.07 G SI2 (Save $ -- only $3871 with PriceScope discount)

1.21 H SI2 ($5121 w/ discount . . . nice big spread of almost 7mm)

Princess

1.07 G SI2