Help on this oval cut please!

[waterisgood21]

Priced at $27,900 - is it worth the price tag? is it a good cut?

OVAL BRILLIANT

Measurements: 9.16 x 6.40 x 4.10 mm
Carat Weight: 1.51 carat
Color Grade: D
Clarity Grade: VVS1
PROPORTIONS:

Depth: 64.0%
Table: 57%
Girdle: Medium to Thick, Faceted
Culet: None
FINISH:

Polish: Very Good
Symmetry: Very Good
Fluorescence: Faint


http://www.markbroumand.com/2.71ct-oval-cut-diamond-engagement-anniversary-ring-2835-1d29337384/

 

[waterisgood21]

i forgot to add the price is just for the stone itself

 

[oohsparkly]

Since no experts have answered I thought I'd have a go. I recently bought a beautiful oval.

I am not able to evaluate the price (though it seems high to me)... but you are paying for the D color and very high clarity. That is fine if those aspects are important to you. I personally would not go lower than H for an oval but for price I wouldn't go higher than F either. The clarity is higher than you need for eye clean but again if higher clarity is important to you that's fine.

The cut grade could be better but with ovals you have to see them and evaluate the light performance in different lighting situations, preferably comparing them to others to give you some perspective. The bow tie needs to be seen in different lights as well to see how that operates. I've seen bowties that were defined and black - clear as day under jewellers lights. Others are more diffused or not there at all (that's a bit rare). Mine has a darkish thread across the middle that vanishes in many lights, but never looks like a dark bow tie. For me that was good enough. I actually compared it to two others that had no bow tie at all but mine had better light performance and brightness and contrast in duller light so it was the winner for me.

Below is a post from Gypsy that came from a thread on Fat ovals;

From Gypsy:
Here are my thoughts on ovals.


Table, I like smaller tables on ovals so under 60% is my preference.
Crown Height... higher the better 12-16%
Depth... this is a hard one. The shallower you go (59% max) the more spread, but deeper ovals (65%) seem to sometimes avoid bowties better. I would kinda 'wing it' on this measurement. As long as the diamond isn't too shallow or to deep, just check the bowtie.
Girdle-- very thin is bad because it will chip and very thick will hold weight and face up smaller. But in general medium is what you want but whether it is thin or thick or medium --even is a must. You don't want a wide range (very thin to very thick is not really good).
Polish: Very good or EX
Symmetry: Very good... preference for EX

But the most important thing with ovals is-- A) I'd go for color over clarity (eyeclean SI is fine) B) I wouldn't want a bow tie.

 

[Gypsy]

Thank you OS. I really appreciate you reposting that.


If that's the actual picture. The diamond has a bow tie. And it's not even a symmetrical one.

Also high clarity is not something I would want to pay for. But with fancy shapes you can't be picky. What they look like, and how good their light return is trumps clarity for me. As long as it's eyeclean, the rest is gravy.

As for color D is special. But a well cut F or G would be a better purchase, for me, than a D with a wonky bowtie.

I wouldn't pay 28k for it. I just wouldn't.

I just looked and I didn't see anything worth your time on James Allen. If it were me I'd call Brian Gavin and ask Brian himself to find you a good performer. Or Good Old Gold and ask for Jon to find a good performing oval for you.

 

[oohsparkly]

Thank you Gypsy. I used those guidelines to help me choose my oval!

 

[Gypsy]

Welcome honey. Looking at those stats, I would be okay with a larger table than over sixty with the right crown height. Keep in mind these are preferences largely and that there are no ideal stats for ovals.

Also there are lots of different faceting plots and some need deeper depths to work. Personally, if you can find them, I like 8 main ovals the best. But again, hard to find and personal preference.

 

[oohsparkly]

I have noticed you point out about 8 mains before. I went and looked at my cert and mine is a 6 main oval. The facets are very pretty, but I don't know how it compares to 4 or 8.... one of those fine details that escapes all but those who have the chance to look at lots of diamonds I suspect.

 

[tyty333]

Seems way overpriced to me but I guess that could be the high clarity/color which I wouldnt pay for.

Here is a JA example
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/F-VS1-Ideal-Cut-Oval-Diamond-1485525.asp

 

[LibbyLA]

I have a J oval that I love, but I prefer warm colors. It looks white in most light. I think you have to see different colors and decide what appeals to you. You can get 2 ct+ GIA-graded ovals in less than D color and/or lower clarity for less than $15K. I wouldn't pay that much for a diamond, but that's just me.

liz

 

[Gypsy]

I have noticed you point out about 8 mains before. I went and looked at my cert and mine is a 6 main oval. The facets are very pretty, but I don't know how it compares to 4 or 8.... one of those fine details that escapes all but those
who have the chance to look at lots of diamonds I suspect.

Six mains are lovely too! I just haven't seen any of those in person, so I have a preference for ones I've actually seen.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Hi Waterisgood!
I can't comment on any particular diamond or seller, but I do have some advice that applies wherever you shop
1) Make sure the grade is issued by GIA. ANY non GIA grade is suspect. ( other than AGSL, however you're likely not going to see an oval graded by AGSL)

2) trying to use measurements, in general is not productive, UNLESS you already know what you're looking for, like Gypsy. If one person uses specs based on another person's taste it might not match their own vision.
Long hard experience with ovals has shown me that there's no formula to eliminate "bow tie" effect.
In fact, sometimes the bow tie makes the stone- other times it kills it