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help picking a princess cut

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tap02150

tap02150

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
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275
Hi, I have looked into big online name companies such as Blue Nile and Union Diamond for the perfect ring for my girlfriend. I have a pretty dam good idea what I am looking for.

I''m trying to find a princess cut diamond that is quality > size but staying in my low budget range =/

I would like:

.75-.90 ct IDEAL CUT
E or F color
Nothing below VS1 (at this clarity, tiny inclusions can''t be seen by the naked eye, right? (that''s my goal)!
I want a beautiful sparkling ring so I''m going to say Excellent Symmetry and Excellent Polish.
The last detail I need some help on: the girdle; i read not to get anything "extremely thick" so maybe a medium to thick girdle would be best?

My range for the diamond alone is about $3000-$4000.


I found this one on blue nile, but the price may be steep: someone let me know what they think :)


http://www.bluenile.com/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-e-color-vvs2-clarity_LD01378962?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=1



For anyone who reads this and replies, I really greatly appreciate your help. I really do not know any other online diamond stores that I can trust besides BN and Union Diamond. If you find an amazing diamond that is a little pricier than my range, I can always make things work for that special ring. Thank you again for any help!

-Ted (22, M)
 
I heard James Allen has decent prices. Are they a trusted site with quality diamonds and service?

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1251671.asp

I like this one. 2 questions though

1: on the GIA report, it states: Clarity Characteristics : Feather .....what does this mean?! lol

2: the girdle is thick to very thick.. is this real bad? =/
 
$4121 with the pricescope discount, which you have to ask for.

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1231701.htm
 
http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1253370.asp

Seems to be almost the exact same diamond for about $1,200 less...What''s the catch? Anyone know what i''m missing?
 
It is not the same diamond.
Other specs are different, and the WF one is from Canada and is Expert Selection which is a high standard of cut from Whiteflash.

I do not know how to compare cut on Princess cuts so I'll let others comment.
 
Thank you so much for your post. Every little bit help. I can go for a Canadian diamond :D haha, plus, i like being able to look at it with that view option.
 
I can't view the JA diamond (work compy sucks!)...i'm sure they are both nice stones but can't compare right this minute :p

Can you ask JA for an IS image?

ETA: just saw the BN diamond, i think it has potential!
 
So I think I narrowed it down to these 3 for now

http://www.bluenile.com/princess-cut-diamond-1-carat-or-less-signature-ideal-cut-e-color-vvs2-clarity_LD01378962?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=1

$4200 from BN




http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1231701.htm

$4200 from WhiteFlash


AND


http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1251671.asp

$3400 from James Allen


CAN someone please explain to me why the price on the James Allen diamond is significantly cheaper? Are James Allen Ideal cuts not equivalent to WhiteFlash Expert Pick? or Blue Nile''s Signature Ideal cut? Is it the sole fact (the largest difference between diamonds) that James Allen diamond has a thick to very thick girdle (compared to medium from WF and BN)? I must be missing something.$800 is a lot of difference... can it really be just profit difference?

Thank you for any insight! :)
 
OK! Few things to talk about here.

1) Blue Nile is a great site with a wide inventory of diamonds. But they are a drop-shipper, which means they can not inspect each diamond for you and provide pictures or reflector images. Buying a princess without seeing these is very risky because princesses have a huge variation in cut quality. There''s just no way to tell whether one is well-cut by numbers alone. So while I would consider buying a round diamond from BN, I would not recommend it for fancy shapes.

2) Regarding color, you could comfortably go down to G-H, and most people would be unable to tell the difference once the stone is set. This would save you a bit of cash.

3) It''s not necessary to say nothing below VS1 for an eye-clean diamond. If all you want is for the diamond to be clean to the naked eye, you can go to VS2, SI1, even SI2 provided that the vendor can inspect the diamond for you and tell you what they see. VS2 is virtually guaranteed eye-clean. SI diamonds are more variable.

4) Regarding the girdle, you generally should avoid very/extremely thick (hidden carat weight, but not a dealbreaker if you have an otherwise great stone) and very/extremely thin (a breakage risk). Anything in between is OK.

5) Polish and Symmetry have less to do with sparkle than the proportions of the cut. It may be OK to go as low as good polish/symmetry and still get a sparkling diamond.
 
Also, don’t be lured in by vendor labels of ideal. The only true ideal cut grade for a princess is the one issued by AGS. GIA and other labs do not grade princesses on cut quality.

As for the stones posted, I don’t like the WF stone (big chunks of leakage!). The JA stone is worth looking into (get an IS from them). I believe the WF stone is more expensive because of the Canadian provenance, but I could be wrong.

I’d be happy to suggest some stones later on, but it’s 2 AM here and I need to go to bed!
 
I would get IS image from JA to see if its any good or not also you can go down to a VS2 to be safely eyeclean. I personally would not buy the WF stone, too leaky and too many dark areas, cant say much about the bluenile or JA stone bc they don''t have ASET or IS. Another thing, G color is very white and would allow you to get more options and perhaps a larger stone.

Here are some confirmed winners:
http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6153/

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6170/

http://www.niceice.com/certcopies2008/ags0009139410/index.htm

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1204608.htm

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6156/

http://highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=634
 
Wow, thank you so much for your information and help! I greatly appreciate it. I had no idea that the WF was "leaky". Maybe i still need to learn more before purchasing?
 
Date: 7/30/2009 8:20:39 AM
Author: tap02150
Wow, thank you so much for your information and help! I greatly appreciate it. I had no idea that the WF was ''leaky''. Maybe i still need to learn more before purchasing?
Click to expand...
The WF diamond is not a bad diamond, it shows a small amount of leakage yes but it is still not a badly cut diamond - it depends what you want. If you want THE BEST cut then don''t go for this one, if you want more of a value for the money diamond and have other priorities than cut perfection then maybe this one could be on the list.
 
By the way, could you tell me what an IS image is? And if i get one for the James Allen diamond, what am i looking for? lol sorry all the questions
 
If you want THE BEST cut then don''t go for this one, if you want more of a value for the money diamond and have other priorities than cut perfection then maybe this one could be on the list.
Click to expand...


I do want THE BEST visible diamond to the eye. I''d rather not budget on something that can be seen by the naked eye. I think cut perfection is what I am looking for, but I am open to any ideas or comments. Thank you :)
 
Date: 7/30/2009 8:46:16 AM
Author: tap02150



If you want THE BEST cut then don't go for this one, if you want more of a value for the money diamond and have other priorities than cut perfection then maybe this one could be on the list.
Click to expand...


I do want THE BEST visible diamond to the eye. I'd rather not budget on something that can be seen by the naked eye. I think cut perfection is what I am looking for, but I am open to any ideas or comments. Thank you :)
Click to expand...
Yes, this is my favourite tutorial on how to interpret Idealscope and ASET images.

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=education-performance

Ok then it sounds as if that has helped you narrow down what you want so I would look to getting the best cut diamond you can in that case.

James Allen only offer Idealscope not ASET at this time by the way. IS shows leakage or lack of as the case may be, leakage is " the enemy" for the most part.
 
Ok, after learning about IS and the ASET scope, I looked into some more diamonds again. My very favorite so far has to be:

http://highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=634

for $3900


I also liked:

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1204608.htm#

for $2800 (1000 cheaper than the High Performance diamond).. I think the biggest difference is the carat size? .707 for this one, or .75 for the HP


I didn't really like any of the GoodOldGold.com diamonds because they seemed leaky (showed a lot of white on their IS pictures).

Also, I am getting an IS picture for this James Allen diamond:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1251671.asp

(it says its no longer available because its on hold for me while i get the IS picture. the price for this one was $3400)




*EDIT* I found this: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6153/

Smaller, .70carat....but still looks like a pretty solid diamond for a good price!


Let me know what you guys think, or if you find any other superb diamonds somewhere else! I think I'm getting closer with all your help! I cannot thank you enough for your help and support with my decisions :)
 
yap, you got it. :) All looks good, except the JA stone as I can see the flash image now and also no IS is available so no comment on that one yet.
 
Date: 7/30/2009 9:50:22 AM
Author: tap02150
Ok, after learning about IS and the ASET scope, I looked into some more diamonds again. My very favorite so far has to be:

http://highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=634

for $3900


I also liked:

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1204608.htm#

for $2800 (1000 cheaper than the High Performance diamond).. I think the biggest difference is the carat size? .707 for this one, or .75 for the HP


I didn't really like any of the GoodOldGold.com diamonds because they seemed leaky (showed a lot of white on their IS pictures).

Also, I am getting an IS picture for this James Allen diamond:

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1251671.asp

(it says its no longer available because its on hold for me while i get the IS picture. the price for this one was $3400)




*EDIT* I found this: http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6153/

Smaller, .70carat....but still looks like a pretty solid diamond for a good price!


Let me know what you guys think, or if you find any other superb diamonds somewhere else! I think I'm getting closer with all your help! I cannot thank you enough for your help and support with my decisions :)
Click to expand...

I will just fix the links so it is easier for others to help you...Ellen will probably want to look and she needs active links for her computer.

http://highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=view-id-diamond-infinity&id=634

http://www.whiteflash.com/princess/Princess-cut-diamond-1204608.htm#

http://www.jamesallen.com/diamonds/E-VVS1-Ideal-Cut-Princess-Diamond-1251671.asp

http://www.goodoldgold.com/diamond/6153/

Ok I took a look at each, they all show great potential - the JA diamond needs an Idealscope as JA do not offer ASET but this one too looks very promising. So it depends on preference and taste, also all the vendors have upgrade policies but if this might ever be a consideration you might want to read the terms of each carefully.
 
you guys are my heroes :) There is nothing better than genuine people helping others out in an extremely important decision!



17.gif
 
Different personalities. The HPD and GOG are similar to each other (2 chevron) with the JA and WF being a different look (4 and 3 chevrons, respectively). All are excellently cut.

GOG has a video that shows the difference in how the number of chevrons affects the overall look of the diamonds, I'll try to find it again.

EDT: Here you go http://www.goodoldgold.com/videos/AGSPr2chev3chev.wmv

It may help you decide which look you would prefer.
 
Date: 7/30/2009 10:26:29 AM
Author: tap02150
you guys are my heroes :) There is nothing better than genuine people helping others out in an extremely important decision!



17.gif
Click to expand...
Glad you think so! Helpfulness is highly valued here in all sorts of ways and so glad you find us to be of real assistance!
 
The HPD, WF, and GOG diamonds look great. The JA one as we mentioned has potential, but it''s harder to say without the IS, so post that when you get it. Looking at the image I predict that it will be above commercial quality but not cut quite as well as these other three. Keep in mind that even though the carat weight on the GOG rock is smaller, it''s actually near the same dimensions as the heavier Infinity. And it''s the cheapest...so that would be my choice.

When interpreting IS/ASET, also keep in mind that GOG photographs their stones on a white background, and HPD/WF use a black background. So what you interpret as more leakage in the GOG stones is probably not any more than the others. You can''t go wrong with a GOG signature diamond, just like you can''t really go wrong with an ACA or Infinity.
 
Date: 7/30/2009 10:27:48 AM
Author: jet2ks
Different personalities. The HPD and GOG are similar to each other (2 chevron) with the JA and WF being a different look (4 and 3 chevrons, respectively). All are excellently cut.

GOG has a video that shows the difference in how the number of chevrons affects the overall look of the diamonds, I''ll try to find it again.

EDT: Here you go http://www.goodoldgold.com/videos/AGSPr2chev3chev.wmv

It may help you decide which look you would prefer.
Click to expand...




Lol that video was very informing, but it has made my decision twice as hard now haha. I can''t decide if I like the 3 chevrons (smaller, but more plentiful sparkles) or the 2 chevrons (larger and fewer sparkles). Anyone have a preference with experience first hand they would like to share?
 
I prefer 3 chevrons. It''s a happy medium for me between 2 chevrons (broad/chunky) and 4-5 (crushed ice).
 
Thanks for the opinion, i was favoring the 3 chevrons in the video as well. Quick question to go along with this. How can you tell if a diamond has 2 or 3 chevrons by looking at it? I saw it in the "helium report". Does it state it somewhere obvious that I''m missing? the GIA?
 
It shows it on the diagram
 
i am really sorry, i still can''t figure out the whole chevron thing. I don''t even really know what I''m looking for. What exactly is a chevron? What diagram shows it?
 
I figured it out, =p sorry and thank you!
 
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